152Disclaimer-I do not own Naruto in any way, shape or form, nor does my partner in writing Hakkyou no Yami...
Oc's and Concepts: The Original characters and concepts of this story were created by Hakkyou no Yami and myself, we worked very hard to create the original characters and the concepts, and we would appreciate that you do not use our Original Characters or our concepts without expressed permission from BOTH of us.
Notice: In case any of you are wondering, or have not noticed this story, along with just about any other story made by myself, and Hakkyou no Yami will be AU, the characters will be OOC, and above all else, we will NOT be following canon. We will extract elements FROM canon, but we will not be doing a rewrite of the canon storyline.
Our sincerest apologies for a lack of updates, I however am in college and Hakkyou no Yami has problems of his own, so we are hard pressed into updating, in addition to other random problems that randomly come up.
Please check out both mine and Hakkyou no Yami's forums, the links to both are on my profile near the top. Also please check out both of our profile pages.
Also, please check out the following
Hakkyou no Yami-Tales of Destiny: Rebirth of the Genesis
Hakkyou no Yami-Eternal Legends: Rebirth of the Second Onslaught
Mystic 6 Tailed Naruto- Rage of the Tormentor
Mystic 6 Tailed Naruto-Dark Legends: Wrath of the Demon King
Mystic 6 Tailed Naruto-Various challenges
TheDemonKingNaruto: Naruto: Rise of Hellwing Naruto
Lord of Daemons: Eye of the storm
Lord of Daemons: Naruto: Strange Aeons
Attention-Important Notice
1. The pairings will be slightly different than the original version, also, do not suggest any pairings as they have already been decided, and do not bother asking what the pairings are ahead of time as we will NOT be giving spoilers.
2. Naruto will be FAR more powerful than he was in the original version of this story. Before any of you complain however, examine exactly WHAT Naruto is, and see WHY he is going to be so damn powerful. Fret not, as he will receive challenges, but they simply will not be what the challenges were in the original story.
3. There have been slight plot changes from the events that happened in the original version. Some events will still occur, some events will not occur, however the events that will remain shall be different than the original version.
4. In case any of you are wondering, or have not noticed, like in the first version, this story, along with just about any other story made by myself, and Hakkyou no Yami will be AU, he characters will be OOC, and above all else, we will NOT be following canon. We will extract elements FROM canon, but we will not be doing a rewrite of the canon storyline.
Attention-The following stories are to be rewritten…Hakkyou no Yami and I have reread the stories, and we both feel they need drastic improvements.
Calamity of the Frozen Storms
Demonic Legends: Rise of the Inugami
A figure stumbled through the trees, their form coated with dirt, mud, and little bits of leaves and what appeared to be a bit of blood. The figures apparel was that of an orange jumpsuit which had stains of paint, and what appeared to other pieces of cloth that had been sewn onto it in a haphazard manner, clearly an attempt to lessen the brightness of the outfit they were wearing, a hopeless attempt. The figure was a male, no older than twelve years old by the amounts of baby fat on his body, and by his general height, which even seemed a bit short for one his age. His face was rounded, and he had a skin tone which was a light tan. His face was framed by short golden blond bangs, with the rest of his golden blond hair spiking up all over the place, and he had piercing cerulean blue eyes…his cheeks however, had three whisker marks on each side, six whisker marks in total, and they did not look like they were painted on, they looked more like they were a part of the skin itself.
The figure's name was Naruto Uzumaki, an academy student in the village of Konohagakure no Sato.
Or as he often referred it to…his eternal prison…
Naruto had lived a life which was nothing short of torture. His life was such a misery, that the most sick, twisted, and low life of child rapists would never be condemned to such a horrible existence, as it would have been deemed far too cruel a punishment.
Yet he had to suffer that existence for the last twelve years of his life, for a reason he himself did not know of.
Grunting to himself, Naruto walked towards a small pond that was close by, and reached into his pocket to pull out a small canteen. When he reached the pond, he placed the canteen on the ground beside him, and then leaned down and cupped his hands in the water, then brought the water to his face, greedily drinking it up. The cold and fresh water touching his lips was refreshing for him.
He did this a few more times before he reached for his canteen and stuck it in the water, allowing it to fill up. After he filled it up, he drank down a bit of it, before he dunked it back into the water, hoping that the water would last him the day.
He inwardly snorted at that baseless hope, 'With all the training they only make ME go through, I will be lucky if this last until noon.'
Sighing and looking in the direction of the sun, he saw its position in the sky and sighed, he would have to leave when the sun reached the tree on the other side of the field.
He was incredibly smart when it came to practical skills; however, the academy only cared for literacy and random facts which were absolutely useless to a Shinobi.
Then again, that little fact just may help him today.
To be truthful, he had never wanted to be a shinobi, he had never wanted to bind himself to the village, however, extenuating circumstances forced his hand. He had been kicked out of the orphanage, and had been stuck on the streets. He was often beaten by civilians, and shinobi alike, only by sheer luck and circumstance, he was saved from death either by passing shinobi who stopped the beatings, or they were unable to finish the job, and was rushed to the hospital fast enough to keep him alive. Somehow, he healed through all of this, he managed to survive it all…but he was tired of it. He was tired of being defenseless in the face of these bastards, he was tired of being attacked and beaten, so he joined the academy for the sole purpose of learning to defend himself from the ones that attacked him.
Sadly, they focused more on literacy and academics…however, he had to suffer through all of that to learn how to fight and defend himself. However, what they taught in the academy wasn't enough to defend himself, what he needed to defend himself could only be taught by a sensei, and he could not get a sensei without graduating the academy and becoming a Genin, and that was another serious issue. If he graduated and became a Genin, he would be forced to serve this village, and the only escape from there was to become a missing-nin, and be hunted by hunter-nin for the rest of his life…however, he was left with few other options.
Today would be his third attempt at passing the exams…he can thank the civilians for keeping him from passing the last two times.
On the days of the exams, he had been attacked, and mobbed by the civilians, and beaten to the point he could not even walk, causing him to miss the exams, and have to take another whole year of the academy, just so he could take the exams…this has happened twice.
Taking a deep breath, he sighed and looked up at the sky. It was just about time for him to head to the academy. He only hoped that this time, he was not mobbed by those damn civilians.
Taking his canteen and stuffing it in his pocket, he began his trek to the academy.
However, he did make it halfway across the field, before he had to jump back in shock as suddenly out of nowhere in a flurry of leaves, an ANBU appeared directly in front of him.
The ANBU seemed to stare outward, "Naruto Uzumaki, by order of the Sandaime, I am here to escort you to the academy so as to prevent you being unable to attend the final graduation exam due to the attacks caused by the villagers of Konohagakure."
Naruto frowned, "Look, I can walk to the academy by myself; I don't need an ANBU to walk me to school." Naruto tried to go around to ANBU, only for the ANBU to grab his shoulder.
"I never said we would be walking there."
Before Naruto could say anything, the ANBU performed a hand sign, and the two of them vanished in a Shunshin.
Konohagakure Academy
The Konohagakure Academy where children began their lives to become soldiers dedicated towards Konoha's protection. The schoolyard was bustling with children left and right as they either headed towards the classrooms or began conversing with friends and classmates.
Just outside the walls of the academy, in a swirl of leaves, the ANBU and Naruto suddenly appeared.
Naruto stumbled for a second, and then glared up at the ANBU.
The ANBU paid Naruto no mind as they vanished in the same Shunshin.
Naruto frowned and looked to the side, and sighed, 'Well, at least I don't have to worry about a damn mob attacking me this time.' he began to walk through the gates of the academy walls.
As he walked through, the ones that saw him became silent. It was not long before them, and others began to whisper amongst themselves.
'Hey, isn't that the dobe? I can't believe he actually showed up.'
'Yeah, last year he didn't even show up.'
'Yeah, I heard about that, he said he was injured.'
'Yeah, probably because he was doing something stupid as usual.'
The kids began to laugh as they continued to talk shit about him behind his back. Not like he really cared, he had long since grown used to it, and long since stopped caring what they said about him.
Without looking back at them, he continued his trek towards the academy buildings entrance.
"Hey dobe!"
Naruto stopped as suddenly, a few civilian kids began to surround him, not allowing him to pass.
He turned around to see Kiba Inuzuka grinning with a white puppy on his head, his apparent ninken Akamaru.
Naruto frowned, while Kiba chuckled, "So, you actually decided to show up this year? I'm surprised. I heard that you didn't show up last year, or the year before. Made the excuse that you were too hurt to even come to class, yeah right, you probably decided to just goof off like you always do you stupid fucker."
Shaking his head and sighing he looked up at the academy and began to head towards the school entrance.
Kiba sneered, "Hey you worthless shit! I'm talking to you!"
Two of the civilian boys pushed Naruto as he tried to walk past them; he stumbled, and glared at them.
Kiba sneered, "You would do best to listen to your betters! Especially since everyone else is better than you." he grinned cruelly, "Then again, what would anyone expect from a no-name, motherless shit of an orphan!"
Naruto frowned, and snorted, "Oh please Kiba, I have heard that insult more often than you can count…then again, you can't count that high can you?"
The other kids were silent at this and looked at Kiba, who began to growl and grit his teeth.
Kiba snarled out, "Watch yourself dobe, I might 'accidentally' lose my temper."
Naruto frowned, and snorted, "Why should I be worried about somebody like you?"
Kiba growled, "Because I am a somebody, the heir to the Inuzuka clan!"
The group was silent as more kids gathered around to watch the group.
Naruto snorted, "Oh, so that's why you can't come up with anything intelligent to say. You do after all come from a family of inbreds. I wonder which one of your uncles your mother fucked to produce you Kiba." he turned and pushed passed the two civilian kids, who were too shocked to say anything.
Kiba was silent, his mouth agape…until his eyes became slitted as he charged screaming, "You fucking bastard!" he charged at Naruto, knocking him over before he leapt onto him and began to brutally punch him in the face.
The other kids were cheering Kiba on as he began to pummel Naruto.
Kiba grinned and started to get him so he could start kicking him.
Naruto used that moment to deliver a hard kick to the side of Kiba's knee.
"AGHHH!" Kiba screamed in pain as he clutched his knee.
Naruto swiftly got up and delivered a punch to his chin, before kicking him square in the chest, causing him to fall onto his back after he was launched back about a good five feet.
Kiba growled as he looked up, "Akamaru, get him!"
Out of nowhere, Akamaru leapt out and dug his teeth into Naruto's leg while he was caught unaware.
"AGH!" Naruto cursed as he looked down at the puppy and sneered, "You cheap ass little-" Naruto could not finish as Kiba got back up and slammed into him, attacking him with just as much violence, while Akamaru bit into him, hard.
Naruto managed to gain enough leverage to flip Kiba off him, he smacked Akamaru away, causing the puppy to whimper.
Kiba's eyes widened, "Akamaru!" he looked up at Naruto and sneered, "You'll pay for that!" he reached into his pouch, and pulled out a kunai, and charged at Naruto, the kunai aimed towards Naruto's chest.
Naruto lurched back as Kiba charged at him, he quickly brought up his right arm as he turned so his right side was blocking the strike.
'SQUELCH' the kunai pierced deep into Naruto's flesh, going right through his forearm.
"AGGGHHH!" Naruto cried out in pain as he was then tackled over by Kiba, who then proceeded to hit him again and again.
Finally, Kiba got off him and spat on him, "That'll teach you to mess with your betters!" he turned and began to walk off, with the other civilians following, laughing as they went.
Naruto grunted, and snarled in Kiba's direction as he yanked the kunai out of his arm, cursing as he looked down at the wound.
The large hole in his forearm seemed to hiss as he saw the wound begin to knit shut, as the veins, muscles, and tendons also healed up, while new skin grew over the now healed flesh.
Frowning, he glanced at his other injuries, which began to heal in a similar way.
Sighing, he then looked at the kunai that Kiba had jammed into his forearm when he was unable to fight him on even terms…still coated in his blood. He examined his vague reflection in the blood coated metal, and snorted, and then pocketed the kunai as he continued his trek towards his classroom.
Ten Minutes later, Naruto's Classroom
Naruto finally arrived at his classroom after having to deal with about half a dozen other students who thought it would be funny to single him out and treat him like shit. Not like he cared though, as far as he was concerned, they did not matter to him at all.
He arrived at the classroom, which was bustling with the students talking amongst themselves as they were fantasizing how being a Shinobi was a dream come true.
Frowning, he entered the classroom and sat in his usual seat, and looked around at the other students who were going to be taking the exam today.
As he looked around though, he turned his head in the direction of the doorway as it began to open.
He sighed in annoyance as the form of Sasuke Uchiha walked into the classroom.
The lone Uchiha survivor had a stoic frown on his face, and he looked around the classroom for an apparent seat. His eyes landed on a seat directly next to Naruto. He walked down the stairs and swiftly took the seat.
Naruto could not help but glare at the Uchiha as he looked around, and saw the angered looks of several girls in the classroom.
Naruto snorted and looked away, not wanting to deal with some delusional self-absorbed fan gi-
"OUT OF MY WAY NARUTO-BAKA!"
Before Naruto noticed, Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka had grabbed onto his shoulders and yanked/shoved him out of his chair, and began to fight over the seat they had just ripped him out of.
As Naruto was shoved out of the chair, he lost his balance due to the sudden movement, causing him to be driven headfirst into the corner of a desk, sending an incredibly sharp shot of pain as a trail of blood began to flow from the open wound on his head.
Sakura and Ino began to yank at each other's hair as they continued screaming at each other, "Back of forehead! It's mine!"
Sakura glared as she grabbed Ino's hair, "No, it's mine! Fuck you Ino-pig!"
As the two continued arguing, Naruto pushed himself up…and glared hatefully at the two of them, snarling as he reached into his pouch for the kunai.
Just as he was about to rip the kunai out, the doors to the classroom opened, revealing the forms of Iruka and Mizuki.
Iruka frowned and snapped, "Alright, everybody get in your seats, now!"
Naruto glared in Mizuki's direction, and frowned as he glanced back at Ino and Sakura as they continued to fight over his chair, all because the last Uchiha was sitting right next to said seat. He could not help snorting as he turned away and sat elsewhere, if they wanted to sit next to the 'prodigy' Uchiha, then by all means.
Iruka and Mizuki meanwhile walked to the front of the room, and Iruka cleared his throat, "Today is the day of which will change your lives forever. Today is the day where you will all be tested, and judged to see who among you is qualified to become Genin of the village of Konohagakure no Sato."
The students whooped and hollered happily as they heard this.
Iruka raised his hand to quiet them, "However, you will all need to pass the tests given to you at a marginal level, if your score is too low, then you will not be allowed to go on to become Genin of the leaf."
This silenced the room for a second, before hushed whispers resounded throughout the classroom.
Naruto frowned and grit his teeth a bit, this did not bode well for him, he only hoped he got enough scores in the right place in order to pass, students were not allowed to retake the academy after the third failure.
As Iruka finished, Mizuki walked over to the pile of papers and lifted them, and began to walk around the room, passing a sheet of paper to every student.
As Mizuki got closer to Naruto though, a small smirk graced his features as a sheet of paper slipped into the pile with a slight of hand.
When he got to Naruto's desk, he gave a smile before placing a sheet on the table in front of the blond.
As he walked away, he could not help but smirk cruelly before he quickly hid it and finished passing out the sheets.
When Mizuki finished, Iruka spoke, "Alright everyone, the test will begin…now."
At the moment of Iruka's proclamation, students quickly began to scribble answers on the papers.
Naruto frowned and looked down at the paper, and read the first question…
'Date of Konohagakure's founding'
Naruto frowned at this question, 'When is this ever going to be useful to me?' he sighed in annoyance and shook his head, then began to scribble the answer on the sheet.
Mizuki caught this in the corner of his eye, and grinned as a cruel glint entered his eye.
Time-skip, one hour
Everyone had finished with the test and passed it in, once Iruka had sorted the papers, he looked up at them, "Alright, I want everyone to follow me; we will be heading out to the training field for our next portion of the exam." Iruka stood up and began to head to the exit, followed closely by the students.
Naruto followed after the other students as they headed outside.
Mizuki meanwhile followed behind, a glint in his eye as he carried out a crate for this part of the exam.
After everyone had exited the building, they had been directed to one of the training fields, which had been altered for the examination.
Iruka spoke up once more, "Alright, the next portion of the exam will be demonstrating your skill in throwing weapons. You will each be given five kunai, and five shuriken for each arm, you must show proficiency in this area of becoming a Shinobi, as in the future your very life may depend on your accuracy with a shuriken. Now I will call each of you out in alphabetical order, and you will then be presented your shuriken and kunai." he looked at the clipboard and called out the first name.
Naruto meanwhile watched as the students began to throw their kunai, most of them missing the targets, with only a few of them even having the capability to get the kunai to dig into the target, and even less even showed any accuracy with the kunai. With the shuriken it was even worse, even more of the students missed the targets, and even fewer managed to get the shuriken to even dig into the target, so far only a handful were accurate enough to get the shuriken to hit the target, AND make them stick into the target.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto was broken from his thoughts as he was called up, and he looked towards Iruka.
Iruka coughed, "Naruto Uzumaki, would you please come up and perform the designated action?"
Naruto sighed and walked up to the table to grab his kunai and shuriken.
Mizuki meanwhile was smirking as he flexed his fingers a bit.
Naruto grabbed onto the kunai and shuriken, and prepared himself in a stance. Meanwhile, Mizuki frowned a bit as he glanced down at his fingers as he continued to flex them.
Naruto took a breath and tossed the kunai towards the target. As he moved his hands, his body subconsciously drew upon his muscle memory from months of training, months of practice, trial and error. The kunai soared through the air with precision and force…hitting the bull's-eye of the training post.
The entire class was shocked by this as they began to whisper amongst themselves, in awe of what they had just seen happen. The dobe had gotten a bull's-eye on his first try. Several others in the class however were whispering about 'beginners luck' or 'cheating'.
Naruto paid them no mind as he grasped another kunai, and tossed it at the post. Hitting just outside of the innermost ring of the target.
As Mizuki saw this, he cursed inwardly…his fingers flexed quicker and cracked as he moved them.
Naruto meanwhile was throwing his third kunai.
Mizuki flexed his hand once more.
Naruto threw the kunai…causing it to miss the target entirely.
The class erupted in laughter as they began to shamelessly mock him.
'What a loser.'
'I knew it was a fluke.'
'As if he could be any good on purpose.'
Naruto frowned in annoyance, and hurled his last two kunai, which ended in the exact same result.
Iruka sighed and watched as Naruto continued to miss with the kunai, marking down each miss.
Mizuki meanwhile was giddy, barely hiding it from his students, and from the currently preoccupied Mizuki.
Naruto grit his teeth a bit as he began the shuriken portion.
Mizuki grinned and began to flex his fingers…however, his eyes were suddenly filled with panic as he looked down at his fingers, and frowned, 'Damn it…' he frowned as he looked up at Naruto, who began to perform well again. Snarling inwardly, he began to flex and crack his fingers again.
Iruka nodded his head in approval as he saw Naruto continue to hit the target in a coordinated fashion. He smiled as he continued to give high marks for this portion towards Naruto.
Mizuki kept frowning as his fingers continued to move, Naruto was on his last three shuriken, and had begun to reach for the first of the three. Mizuki cursed inwardly again, only for a smirk to momentarily appear on his face as his fingers flexed once more.
Naruto threw the shuriken, which missed the target entirely.
The chorus of laughter erupted once more as Iruka sighed as he placed a bad mark on Naruto's sheet.
Cursing, Naruto grabbed the last two shuriken and threw them, they both missed with even worse accuracy than the first one.
Iruka sighed, "Naruto, you're done." he finished writing down the marks, and sighed as he called up the next person.
Naruto cursed and got out of the way as the next person walked up, all the while, Mizuki smirked as he looked at his fingers.
After the last student had finished with the throwing weapons, they headed inside for the next portion of the exam. Once each student was again seated, Iruka spoke up, "Now is the final portion of the exam, you will each perform the three basic academy jutsu, the Kawarimi, Henge, and Bunshin. After examining your scores for the written portion of the exam, and your scores for the throwing weapons, and adding in the scores you receive from the ninjutsu portion, you will be graded, and depending on your score, become a Genin of Konohagakure no Sato."
There was a chorus of cheers amongst the students, while a few remained silent, simply waiting for the exam to begin.
Meanwhile, Mizuki walked over to the pile of papers…and smirked as he saw Naruto's on top. Looking around briefly, he grinned as he looked at the paper.
And the ink upon it began to fade away, becoming as blank as it was when it was passed out, all except for Naruto's name.
Mizuki smirked briefly, before he grabbed the stack of papers and passed them to Iruka.
Iruka smiled, "Thank you Mizuki." and he began to grade the papers…upon coming to Naruto's name however, he sighed, "Why does he do this?"
Mizuki shrugged, "I don't know Iruka."
Iruka sighed and finished grading the papers, "Alright, I will call you into the other room where you will display your capability in the three academy ninjutsu." Iruka stood up and entered the room as he called the first student.
For what felt like hours, Naruto waited for it to be his time to perform the techniques so he could finally pass this exam, and go on to further his capabilities, so he would never be defenseless again.
After what felt like another hour, Iruka walked out of the room with a gleeful student who was happily and proudly wearing their headband, "Alright Naruto, it is your turn."
Naruto could not help but smirk as he got up and walked down the aisle towards Iruka as he held the door open. When he entered the room, he looked around; the room was rather large, larger than the classroom which the students were situated. He was inwardly curious as to why this room was left bare.
"Naruto!" Iruka snapped as he saw Naruto look around the room. Naruto quickly turned towards him as Iruka sighed, "I will be very frank with you Naruto, your possibilities towards graduation are not looking very good. If you fail to do any of the required ninjutsu, then you will automatically fail, and since this is your third time, you will not be allowed to reenter the academy."
Naruto's eyes widened a bit…before they narrowed a bit as he lightly growled out, "Transparently clear…sensei."
Iruka nodded his head, "Good, now, I want you to perform a Kawarimi with the chair directly to your left."
Naruto turned his head to the left, and looked at the chair. He nodded his head and performed the hand signs for the kawarimi. In a brief puff of smoke, Naruto and the chair's positions were switched.
Iruka nodded his head, "Good, very good. Now, I need for you to perform the Henge, and transform into either Mizuki or myself."
Naruto nodded his head, and performed a series of hand signs. A cloud of smoke appeared around him as his chakra poured out of his body. Iruka and Mizuki watched as the cloud dissipated, revealing that Naruto had transformed into Iruka.
Iruka smiled, "Good, now all that is left is the Bunshin."
Naruto nodded his head, and began to perform hand signs as he began to mold his chakra.
Mizuki frowned, but smirked as his fingers traced the underside of the desk. In a single spark, a bolt of chakra traveled underneath the desk, and arced all along the floor, before seemingly melding with the wood as it traveled closer to Naruto, right as he performed the technique.
"Bunshin no jutsu" Naruto spoke out the technique as he completed molding his chakra, and two puffs of smoke appeared beside him.
Iruka leaned in closer as the clouds of smoke began to dissipate.
Only to reveal two poorly formed clones.
Iruka sighed and looked at Naruto, "I am sorry Naruto, but you fail." he stood up and walked towards the door, past Naruto, who was looking at the ground, his eyes agape in shock.
He had done everything right, down to the formation of the chakra, all the way to how to manifest the Bunshin, just last night he had successfully performed this jutsu.
He could not believe it…all his hard work, for nothing.
Iruka looked back at Naruto, "Naruto, we need to make room for the next student, you need to leave."
Naruto was momentarily broken out of his trance, long enough for him to acknowledge Iruka and walk out of the room.
As he exited the room, Mizuki grinned inwardly, 'All according to plan.'
Time-skip
Naruto had exited the academy, walked onto the nearby field just next to the academy building, and sat upon a bench just bordering the field.
His head lowered, he looked at his fingertips, his eyes glazed over in thought as his hair hid his facial expression.
What had happened? What could have possibly happened that would have caused him to fail? For weeks he had done nothing but train in the academy ninjutsu, he had passed out in the forest night after night from training so hard, woken only by the sun's rays hitting his face as he laid in the dirt after passing out from exhaustion.
He had done the Kawarimi perfectly, to the point he could switch places with a twig that was many meters away, he could do it efficiently enough that he barely needed to do the hand signs anymore.
Then there was the Henge, he had practiced it well over two months because he constantly had to train himself for different sizes, shapes, and figures. He knew that if he needed to use the jutsu outside of Konoha, he could not simply use Iruka's height, figure, and body shape if he wanted to impersonate a bandit, a civilian, or if need be a nobleman.
And finally the Bunshin jutsu, a useless jutsu as far as he was concerned, it was just a worthless illusion that did nothing but distract civilians, and maybe bandits, but against a true Shinobi it had no use other than to weaken the one who used it, even if it was only by a small margin, but even still, he had been able to master the jutsu after three months of training with it.
Yet he had failed…and there was nothing he could do to change it.
His best chance of becoming stronger, to become powerful, to never be defenseless again, it was now gone.
"Hey Naruto."
Naruto was broken from his thoughts as he looked up, and saw the smiling face of Mizuki.
Naruto frowned and looked back down, "What is it Mizuki?"
Mizuki smiled and chuckled, "Now, now Naruto, is that any way to speak to your sensei?"
Naruto scoffed, "I failed the exam three times Mizuki, I am no longer considered a student Mizuki, so you are hardly my sensei."
Mizuki frowned and sighed, and turned away, "It's a shame."
Naruto snorted, "What is?"
Mizuki sighed and began to rub his forehead in response, "The fact that you were considered 'failed' the first two times you took the exams, just because you were too injured to come in. And now because of that technicality, you are not allowed to reenter the academy to try the exam next year. And now, so many people will remember you as the dead last los-"
Naruto snapped, "Is there a point to this conversation other than rubbing salt into a gaping wound Mizuki?" Naruto snarled out, glaring heatedly at him.
Mizuki stared at Naruto, and coughed, "Uhm…anyways. I am just trying to say that it is unfair that you are unable to become a Shinobi because of a technicality…so, I am going to offer you a second chance."
…
…
…
Naruto's eyes widened a bit, and he looked up at Mizuki, his eyes filled with curiosity and wariness. But his eyes quickly narrowed, this opportunity seemed too good to be true, "What are you talking about Mizuki?"
Mizuki smiled, "It is a special test, one that tests all your skills as a Shinobi in a realistic setting, one that can bring about all the skills you have learned, and apply them all in a setting which they will be useful. After all, you can't exactly draw upon all your skills in a controlled classroom setting; much less see if they are up to par with what is expected of a Shinobi right?"
Naruto gave him no answer, only staring at him with his still narrowed eyes.
Mizuki continued, "However, if you fail this…well, the consequences will be dire." he smiled at Naruto, "So, what do you say Naruto? Want to take one last shot at this?" Mizuki smiled that usual sweet smile at Naruto, awaiting his response.
Naruto looked down at his feet as he processed what he had been told. He had the chance to take this exam, become a Shinobi…become strong, become powerful.
He would never be defenseless again.
His desires were screaming at him to take this chance, to take the opportunity to become stronger…but another part of him was screaming something else, something far quieter, yet it spoke to him more than the other voice in his head.
Why waste his life in a village that despises him, all for the chance to get stronger, a chance which may never happen.
Even if he became a Shinobi, there was no guarantee they would teach him anything. He saw the looks Shinobi gave him left and right, those hateful glares, those twisted whispers on how he should just crawl into a pit and die, how he is undeserving.
Why waste his life in a village that will never give him a chance?
Naruto clenched his fingers and spoke, "No…I will not."
…
…
…
Mizuki was shocked beyond reasoning, he could not help but stutter as he tried to speak, "B-but, this is a one-time opportunity, you would be able to-"
Naruto turned towards Mizuki and snapped, "No! I am done with this village, I am done with being constantly set back no matter how hard I try to move forward." Naruto snorted, "If Konoha will not let me become strong within its walls, then I will have to leave its walls so that I can gain strength." he turned away from Mizuki and walked away, "You can take your 'second chance' Mizuki…I got my own." he exited the academy field as he headed towards the exit of the academy grounds, leaving the stunned Mizuki standing in front of the bench.
After a minute, Mizuki's face scrunched up into an angry scowl, "Damn it!" he cursed underneath his breath, and he frowned as he looked up at the Hokage Tower.
'Looks like I am going to have to do this myself.' he snorted and began to head back to the academy as the students began to pile out of the academy as simultaneously, their parents and loved ones began to pour into the academy grounds, 'Years of sabotaging that demon brat, and it all goes to waste.' he sighed and looked back towards the tower briefly, a wry smirk appearing on his face, 'Oh well…' he headed into the academy towards his office, his plans swirling about in his mind.
With Naruto
As soon as Naruto exited the academy grounds, he made a beeline for his apartment complex, not stopping for anything, not stopping to hear the whispers of the populace around him. He passed through the business district of Konoha, passing by shops and restaurants and the likes.
As he passed through, he passed the now withered husk of what used to the Ichiraku Ramen stand.
For a time, it was the only store in the area that would sell to Naruto at a decent price, and for a while, Naruto went there every day just so he would have something to eat.
However, it was not long before the village turned them against him, he had been chased out of the store after a while…however, they had already doomed themselves. Because they had served him, nobody in the village ever went there, and they were forced to close up shop. They likely had left the village to find business elsewhere.
Naruto continued on his path towards the apartment, moving through the districts one by one, until he finally entered the district he lived in.
His apartment complex was located in the middle of the area bordering the slums and the residential district. It was not the best place to live, but neither was it the worst. The streets were filthy, lined with trash; the streets had bums and prostitutes lining the alleys, with some common civilians and a few shinobi walking along the sides of the road.
Naruto scowled as he looked at this place…this was the place he had been forced to live in for the last decade at least, ever since he was thrown out of the orphanage as a child. After he had been entered into the academy, this was the place that he had been shoved into, while so many other orphans in similar positions were given much better quality homes.
Naruto scoffed and looked up as he finally arrived at his apartment complex, 'After today, none of that will matter anymore.' he quickly headed upstairs and headed towards his apartment. He unlocked the door and walked inside.
The apartment was an absolute mess, from his own lack of initiative to clean it, as well as the vandals who kept breaking into his apartment and trashing his stuff. The furniture destroyed, the walls covered in graffiti and large holes in the wall. At first, Naruto would try to repair what damage he could, but after a while, he simply stopped caring whether they destroyed his apartment or not.
Pushing aside some junk, he searched around, looking at the floor, until a small smirk came to his lips. He leaned down and stuck his nails between the floorboards, and lifted up a small panel.
Inside were some minor essentials, money, non-perishable food, some containers, anything he would find useful on a mission. He had placed the materials there for when he went on a mission; however, it seemed he would not be using them for their intended purpose.
Quickly gathering up the containers, money, non-perishables, and the small map of Hi no Kuni he had managed to sneak out of a shop some months ago, he then stuff them into his bag.
Smirking in satisfaction, he looked out the window to see the sun setting.
Sighing, he stood up and exited the apartment complex, and began to head towards one of the village exits…
Hokage Tower
Sitting at his desk, examining the files showing the newly graduated academy students was the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
As his eyes gazed at the list of new graduates, a disappointed sigh escaped his lips.
Naruto Uzumaki had failed to pass the exam…and because it was his third failure, he could not retake the exams.
Hiruzen sighed heavily as he began to rub his temples, 'I had hoped I would not have to resort to this.' taking a deep breath, he then pressed a button underneath his desk and spoke into a microphone on his desk, "Aid, please send for my ANBU, I have an assignment for them, tell them it is urgent."
He released the button, and there was a hissing sound coming from the speaker, until a woman's voice spoke up, "Yes Sandaime-sama."
Hiruzen sighed and leaned back in his chair, and looked up at the ceiling.
He knew that after this, the council was going to give him hell like no other, but he refused to let years of planning be wasted all because of technicalities.
'Knock…knock…'
Hiruzen turned towards the door, and coughed as he sat straight in his seat, "Enter."
The door opened, and three ANBU entered the room. They formed a single line facing the Sandaime, and saluted, "Reporting as requested Sandaime-sama."
Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, good." he coughed slightly, and leaned forward, "I wish for you three to locate Naruto Uzumaki and bring him here, I have to discuss something important with him."
The ANBU stood still, and then saluted, "As you command Sandaime-sama."
Hiruzen smiled, "Good." he then waved his hand to dismiss them.
After they exited his office, he sighed heavily and leaned further back in his chair, groaning. He had been sitting in that chair for far too long, he should probably move around a little bit. His eyes landed on a stack of papers which he had forgotten to bring to the receptionist, 'Why not? After all, until Naruto gets here I am not doing much else.' he stood up and grabbed the stack of papers, and exited his office and began to walk down the hallway towards the receptionist.
Had he stayed but a minute longer, he would have been able to sense the single Shinobi as he used a seal dispelling technique to remove the seals on his windows, before quickly slipping in, and heading directly towards the door just parallel to the Hokage's desk.
Not wasting a moment, the Shinobi quickly picked the locks on the door after carefully and swiftly removing the seals on the door. After ensuring there were no other hidden traps on the door, he opened it, revealing its contents.
Behind the door was a large room, covered in shelves, filled with boxes, scrolls, and texts…though the Shinobi walked past all this, and smirked as they saw their prize.
A large chest, rectangular in form, locked and sealed tightly.
As he reached forward to begin opening the safe however, he heard footsteps heading towards the office. In a panic, the Shinobi simply grabbed the safe, and headed towards the still open window, and quickly leapt out as the Shinobi fastened the safe onto their back.
Not more than a few seconds after the Shinobi had escaped from the office, did the Sandaime reenter his office.
The Sandaime was about to head to his desk, when he noticed the door wide open, along with the window.
His eyes widening with terror, he ran to the door and looked inside…his eyes were filled with fear once more. He ran to his desk and hit the button underneath it, "Aid! This is a code red, I repeat a code red! Somebody has just stolen the forbidden scroll. Sound the alarm!"
The Sandaime did not have to wait three seconds to hear the alarm sounding throughout the village, and as he looked out the window, he saw the forms of his Shinobi leaping into action.
Naruto
Naruto had headed through the forests in Konoha so as to avoid any civilians or Shinobi who were walking around in the middle of the night, the bonus to this was that it cut back the time he needed to spend in the village by a relatively good margin.
He stopped however when he heard the alarms ringing from the village.
He absent mindedly wondered why they were sounding the alarm as he continued on his path. Whatever it was though, it no longer involved him, because after today, he would never look back at this village as he embraced his new life.
Or so he believed.
Mizuki
Cursing, Mizuki increased his speed as he heard the alarms. He should have had a backup strategy just in case this had happened. Unfortunately since his original plan had gone down the drain, he had to improvise as best as he could.
As Mizuki stopped on a tree branch, to catch his breath, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small map of Konohagakure. Covering the map were small lines, circles, and other things which had been added.
As he examined the map, he was unaware of the chakra presence coming from right behind him.
"Mizuki!"
Mizuki nearly jumped as he turned around, and saw the face of Iruka.
Iruka's eyes were wide, and then he spoke with a harsh tone in his voice, "Mizuki! What do you think you are doing?"
Mizuki snarled at Iruka, "I don't have time to deal with you!" Mizuki began to jump away through the trees. Iruka wasted not more than a second as he began to chase after him.
Iruka threw a volley of kunai towards Mizuki, who managed to dodge them as he threw a volley of his own kunai towards Iruka. Iruka dodged them as best as he could, though a single kunai managed to nick his cheek.
Mizuki grinned and turned and continued to speed away from Iruka, the chest still fastened to his back.
Iruka continued after Mizuki, and drew out several shuriken and kunai. He shot more chakra into his feet as he used every muscle in his legs to launch himself towards Mizuki. With as much precision as he could manage, he threw the kunai and Shuriken one after another directly at the traitorous Chunin.
The kunai and shuriken sailed through the air, heading directly towards Mizuki.
Mizuki heard them sailing through the air just in time for him to narrowly avoid several of them puncturing him in vital areas.
With Naruto
Naruto pushed aside some low hanging tree branches as he headed towards the village gates, and was just about to release the branch…
'THWACK' suddenly out of seemingly nowhere, three kunai and two shuriken punctured the tree he was next to, just barely missing him by a foot or so.
He jumped back and released the branch, "What the-"
"AAAGH!"
Naruto looked up as he heard the cry of pain, and he had to jump back as he saw a figure fall from the treetops.
The figure belonged to Mizuki, who had a kunai lodged into his thigh, and two shuriken in his left arm.
Naruto stared in shock, when suddenly Iruka jumped from the trees and landed in front of Mizuki and him. Iruka narrowed his eyes, "Mizuki, of all the despicable things you could have done, this is…the…worst…?" as he began to shout at Mizuki, his eyes landed upon Naruto, who was standing a few feet away from the fallen Mizuki, his eyes filled with shock.
Mizuki grunted and looked up to where Mizuki was staring at…and his eyes narrowed.
Naruto kept staring at them, before he finally spoke, "What the…"
Iruka shouted, "Naruto, get the hell away from here! You are in danger!"
Naruto quirked an eye, "What the hell are you-WHOA!" Naruto managed to evade a kunai that been thrown in his direction, thrown by the wounded Mizuki.
Mizuki sneered as he got up and reached for a second kunai.
Iruka jumped into action and blocked Mizuki from getting the second kunai knife. Mizuki had to jump back to evade Iruka's strike, wincing as he tried to move his left arm, the shuriken however were still embedded in it.
Iruka pulled out a kunai and swung at Mizuki. Mizuki was fast enough to counter with his right hand, causing Iruka to stumble away as he ripped the shuriken out of his arm.
Iruka charged again, this time Mizuki countered with a kunai of his own.
Naruto meanwhile was frozen with shock, how in the hell did he end up in this situation, all he wanted to do was head out of the village, that was it. Somehow he is now stuck watching a knife fight between his two sensei's.
Mizuki cursed and clashed his kunai against Iruka's, "You couldn't have just done what you always did and just looked the other way, would you Iruka?"
Iruka cursed; "I will never look the other way when one of my comrade's tries to betray everything we have been taught!" he pushed against Mizuki, who merely scoffed.
"Oh don't give me that bullshit! I know you kept looking the other way when I was sabotaging that fucking demon brat!"
Iruka's eyes widened, and he glanced at Naruto, then back at Mizuki, "What?"
Mizuki snorted, "Don't play dumb just because the demon is watching us, admit it! You knew damn well I was sabotaging him. You are no better than I am Iruka!"
Iruka looked back at Naruto, whose eyes were staring at them.
Mizuki remained silent, then looked between the two, then back at Iruka, "You…you actually didn't know?" he stared at Iruka, and a smirk graced his features, "Hehe…heheha…Hahahhaaa…HAHA! HAAAHAHAAAA! Oh I cannot believe this!" he pushed back at Iruka, and kicked him hard in the chest, "You actually had no idea I was sabotaging that fucking demon?" he said pointing in Naruto's direction.
Iruka got up and cursed.
Mizuki was practically crying from laughter, "Oh I can't fucking believe this, I knew you were naïve, but to not notice something that was right in front of you? Oh come on, I used chakra strings to make his throwing suck! I taught him improper forms, hell I even went so far as to get chakra paper that would absorb any writing he put on the papers, and I even etched seals right underneath the floorboards to keep him from doing the Bunshin properly. Man, I honestly thought you hated the demon so much you just looked the other way, but now I know it is because you are a complete fool!"
Iruka looked down, and clenched his fist, all this time, he had been fooled that Naruto was just a troublemaker, when all this time, Mizuki had been sabotaging him from the beginning.
"HEY!"
Both Iruka and Mizuki looked up towards Naruto's direction.
Naruto's teeth were gritted and his eyes were narrowed, "Are you telling me, that I have spent all this time in the academy, because one of my sensei's decided to sabotage all of my work? And what the fuck are you talking about? Demon?" Naruto's eyes were filled with anger, and confusion.
Mizuki saw this, and smirked, "Oh, you don't know?" he said in a sarcastic, twisted tone, "Then again, why would you know, the law is still in place."
Iruka's eyes widened in horror, "No Mizuki don't!" he ran at Mizuki, trying to stop him.
Mizuki grinned and simply pulled out a kunai, and stabbed at Iruka just as he leapt at him.
Iruka was punctured right in the side of his abdomen, "AAAGGGHH!" and fell to his knees, gritting his teeth in pain.
As Iruka was on the ground in pain, Mizuki smirked, "Oh don't pretend like you care Iruka, we both know it's because of this demon your parents are dead."
Naruto's eyes widened in confusion, and he snapped, "What the hell are you talking about?"
Mizuki smirked, "You know how the Kyuubi was defeated?" Naruto gave him a hardened stare as a response, "How the Yondaime sacrificed his life to destroy the Kyuubi, to end a menace far greater than any we have ever faced in the history of the elemental nations…it was all a lie!"
Naruto's eyes were filled with confusion.
Mizuki continued, "While the Yondaime did sacrifice himself, it was not to destroy the Kyuubi, oh no. No jutsu in existence has the power to kill a demon, much less one of Kyuubi's caliber! No, the Yondaime, he had only a single option…"
Iruka hissed in pain as he tried to move, "No Mizuki don't!"
Iruka's words fell upon deaf ears, Mizuki's eyes were filled with a crazed glint as he shouted, "He had to seal the Kyuubi inside of a living host body! A baby! YOU!"
…
…
…
Naruto's eyes widened until it felt as though his eyelids had fused to his skin, and were rendered incapable of closing, "W-what?"
Mizuki cackled psychotically, "Oh all these years, you were lied to, hated, treated lower than trash could be treated, oh it must have been a nightmare for you!" he said in a sickeningly sweet tone.
Naruto lowered his head, it all made sense to him now…the beatings, the neglect, the hate…
All his life, he had wondered, why, why was he hated, treated like a criminal…a murderer…a monster…a demon…
It was because he was the container of the Kyuubi no Yoko…
The container of a demon…
Mizuki chuckled as his eye began to twitch, he reached to his back and pulled out a folded Fuuma Shuriken, "Oh, don't fret Naruto, I'll ease your PAIN!" he snapped the Fuuma Shuriken open, and threw it at Naruto, and screamed like a madman, "Enjoy the pits of hell Kyuubi!"
Iruka tried to stand and stop the shuriken, but he was too injured to move, "NO!"
Naruto snapped out of his trance, and saw the Fuuma shuriken sailing towards him. His eyes seemed to quiver as they widened further, and he was about to move to narrowly avoid the shuriken.
'Clang'
Only for the Shuriken to suddenly veer off course and sail into a tree.
Mizuki's eyes widened, "What! How did-HUURGH!" Mizuki was silenced as a kunai knife was jammed into his throat.
Standing next to him was an ANBU, his mask concealing his visage as he tore the kunai out of Mizuki's throat. As Mizuki fell to the ground, he quickly took the chest from his back, and allowed Mizuki's still bleeding carcass to stain the ground with his blood.
The ANBU was joined by two others, one who had a distinguishing mark that signified him as the commander, "Is the target secure?"
The ANBU who had delivered the killing blow spoke, "The target is secure, and the threat neutralized." he said whilst holding up the chest.
The head ANBU nodded and looked around, he headed towards Iruka and leaned down, he looked up at the other ANBU member, "Get a medic, stat. He is bleeding out badly."
The other ANBU did as requested and quickly used Shunshin to acquire a medic-nin.
Meanwhile, the lead ANBU was using basic medical knowledge to stem the blood flow. Iruka winced as he whimpered out, "N-Naruto…"
The ANBU heard what he said, and turned his attention towards the lone blond, who was still standing in the same spot.
The ANBU whom had executed Mizuki walked up to Naruto, "Naruto-san, I am ordered to-" Naruto paid the ANBU no mind, and began to walk the other direction, "Naruto-san, where are you going? I am ordered to-"
Naruto snapped, "What the hell does it look like? The village gates are in this direction, and after hearing what Mizuki said, it is only solidified my decision."
The ANBU seemed confused, "What decision?"
Naruto turned his head, revealing his cold cerulean blue eyes, "To leave Konohagakure no Sato." he turned away and began to head off.
Naruto had not made it three feet before the ANBU appeared in front of him via a Shunshin. Naruto jumped back a bit before the ANBU grabbed his shoulder, "That is something I cannot allow, I have orders, and there is a standing order to have you brought before Sandaime-sama…immediately."
Naruto could not say a word as the ANBU quickly used Shunshin, just as the other ANBU came back with the medics.
Sandaime's Office
Hiruzen sighed and nodded his head, having received a report from one of his ANBU; apparently the ANBU that had been sent to retrieve the medic had bumped into another ANBU, and had informed them of the successful retrieval of the scroll. The ANBU had quickly reported to the Sandaime, and an immense amount of relief flooded his system.
He swiftly dismissed his ANBU, and sighed heavily, "One issue down…I only hope that Naruto-"
Suddenly, out of nowhere an ANBU used Shunshin to appear in his office…his hand holding the shoulder of Naruto Uzumaki.
Hiruzen was shocked by this, before he shook his head, "Uhm…thank you for retrieving Naruto, you are dismissed."
The ANBU nodded his head and vanished in a Shunshin, leaving Naruto Uzumaki in the office of the Sandaime.
The Sandaime coughed, "Naruto, I am sure you are curious as to why you have been brought before me."
Naruto turned towards the Sandaime and snapped, "Damn right I do! I was on my way to leave Konoha when your ANBU said there was a standing order to have me brought before you!"
Hiruzen's eyes widened. Naruto wanted to leave Konoha?
Hiruzen began to sputter, "W-what? Why would you wish to leave Konoha?"
Naruto was gritting his teeth, his anger welling up within him, "Why would I want to leave this Kami-forsaken village? Why wouldn't I want to leave it is the better question, but since you asked the first one, I'll humor you." he took a deep breath, and spoke, "For as long as I could remember, I have been treated worse than even the worst child rapist, I have been beaten, brutalized, and spat upon by civilian and Shinobi alike, only barely surviving by passing Shinobi managing to get me to the hospital in time to save me, only for those same Shinobi who saved me to be brutalizing me during the next beating! After all this, I chose to become a Shinobi for the sole reason to become strong enough to defend myself when I was attack, but the damn academy only teaches so much in terms of combat and self-defense, and focuses more on literacy than anything else!" Naruto's eyes seemed to dilate as his fists clenched tightly, "I tried three times to graduate the exam to become an official Shinobi of Konohagakure, so that I could become strong, so I could get the training I need to defend myself, to never be defenseless again..." Naruto took a deep breath, and spoke in a cold dead tone, "…but…it seems I can't even be given the right to participate in the exam, the first two times I was beaten to such a bloody pulp that I could barely walk on my own, and even though the reason for me missing the exam was not my fault, it still counted against me, today's exam was my last shot!"
Hiruzen spoke up, desperation clearly in his voice, "I sent an ANBU to escort you so that you would not be attacked this time!"
Naruto spat, "Oh thank you very fucking much 'Sandaime-sama'." he said with obvious sarcasm in his voice, "That was really helpful; it really helped me a lot…HA! I was set up to fail the moment I walked through those academy doors! My tests were rigged, I failed, I never have another chance to be a Shinobi, and it is because of you!"
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, "Now you listen here, I did not know that your tests were being tampered with!"
Naruto snapped, "Like you did not know I was the container of the Kyuubi no Yoko?"
…
…
…
Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock, "W-who told you that?"
Naruto snorted, "The same person who rigged my tests, Mizuki, and judging by the reaction of Iruka, and you just now, I can only assume that it is true."
Hiruzen cursed, "Naruto, you must understand that I-"
Naruto smashed his fist into the desk, "Understand what? That I was treated like a criminal, a demon, a monster? All because of something that was not my fault, something I had no control of, something that I did not even know about? That begs another question as to why I was never told! You feel like answering that question?"
Hiruzen lowered his head, "It was for the greater good Naruto, you must understand."
Naruto snorted, "And that logic and reasoning is why I am leaving this village…that those less fortunate have to suffer for the benefit of those with more fortune." Naruto turned around and was about to walk to the office door.
Hiruzen stood up, "Naruto, you cannot leave Konoha!"
Naruto turned and looked at him, "Oh, and why is that? I am not a Shinobi of this village, I am a civilian, hell I am not even legally allowed to reenter the academy because of your own laws! Tell me, what possible reason could there be to me staying in this village, tell me?"
Hiruzen gulped and began to speak quickly, "Naruto, being what you are, the seal upon you is affected by your emotions, if you allow your emotions to overcome you, or if you unintentionally will it, you will release the seal, and you will die."
Naruto frowned, "Yet another reason to leave this village, if you, the leader of the village cannot even take the effort to tell me, the container the truth, then why should I stay here? Since you clearly did not care enough to teach me about this seal earlier in my life."
Hiruzen cursed, he had to think of something, "If you leave Konoha, you will be at risk from bandits and Shinobi."
Naruto snorted, "And being at the mercy of the villagers and civilians in my own village is so much better I assume? At least beyond the walls of Konoha, I am not at constant threat of being assaulted by my neighbors."
Hiruzen gulped and continued to speak, "Naruto, please, you wanted to be a Shinobi right? Well, what if I graduated you by my authority as Hokage? You would be able to grow stronger an-"
Naruto did not allow him to finish, "And stick me with a sensei who no doubt hates my guts…" Naruto turned around and headed towards the door.
Hiruzen bit his lip, and clenched his fist…and he spoke with a fierce tone in his voice, "Naruto, the moment you walk beyond the walls of Konohagakure, I will have no choice but to send Hunter-nin after you!"
Naruto stopped as he reached for the door.
Hiruzen continued, "Like it or not Naruto, because of what you are, it is your fate to be a Shinobi of this village!" Hiruzen began to pant from the volume of his shouts.
Naruto made no motion to move, he only stood there, his hand outstretched to grasp the door handle…after a minute, the hand slowly moved to his side.
Hiruzen sighed, "Naruto I-"
"Is that so…Sandaime?" a cold voice echoed from Naruto's position.
Hiruzen seemed to jump at the coldness in Naruto's voice, who then began to slowly turn around, his eyes glaring holes into the Sandaime, his voice colder than frozen steel.
"If that is the case…and if what you say is true…how I could simply will the Kyuubi to escape from its seal." his eyes narrowed, and he sneered, "Why don't I simply release the Kyuubi? Right here…right now?"
…
…
…
Hiruzen began to sweat heavily, his eyes never before filled with such terror. He briefly glanced out at the village, then back at Naruto, "Y-you wouldn't…"
Naruto frowned, and he clenched his fist, "Try me."
Hiruzen shivered as he began to rattle his fingers onto his desk, his mind racing as he tried as hard as he could to think of a solution to this dilemma. He was currently trapped between a rock and a hard place, on one hand, Naruto was the village's greatest asset due to him being what he is, a Jinchuriki, a weapon, a deterrent. Losing him would no doubt open the floodgates for other villages to invade, and they were still recovering from the Kyuubi attack, and the war with Kumo. On another hand, if Naruto wanted to, then the entire village would be annihilated in less than a half an hour at best, especially if the sudden release of the Kyuubi triggered an avalanche on the Hokage Monument, which would speed up Konoha's destruction.
He had only one option left…
Hiruzen wheezed out, "I-I'll make you an offer Naruto."
Naruto frowned, "I don't want to live in this village Sandaime, what could you possibly offer me?"
Hiruzen gulped, "J-just hear me out, please?"
Naruto frowned, and sighed, "What is it you are offering…Sandaime."
Hiruzen gulped, and spoke, "The moment you achieve the rank of Chunin, you will be given travel rights that far exceed the travel rights I myself gave to my students, the Sannin, you can go beyond Konoha, beyond Hi no Kuni, even beyond the Elemental Nations themselves if you wish." he held his hand to his heart while his other was held in the air, "I swear, on my honor as the Clan Head of the Sarutobi, and Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, that even upon my death, this will not change."
Hiruzen was sweating on the inside, he knew this was a long shot, a major long shot, but he had no other options available to him. If he wanted the chance to foster a true loyalty to Konoha within Naruto, then the travel rights will be useless anyways. All he had to do was ensure Naruto's life within Konoha was far better than the life he had been forced to live since his birth.
Naruto frowned and narrowed his eyes, "What is stopping you, or the council from denying me my right to become Chunin, even if I take this offer to begin with?"
Hiruzen bit his lip, "The decision to make you a Chunin does not solely rest upon the governing body of Konoha, it also falls upon Daimyo's, Lords, and other village leaders who come and attend the exam. If you are worried about them being bought out by the council, do not fret, the council does not have enough money combined to bribe the least wealthy of the lords, and all the Daimyo's and Lords desire only the highest quality of Chunin. I will also ensure that the council is unbiased in its decision…and…"he gulped and spoke, "I-I promise on the life of my children and my grandchildren that I will be honest in my part in the decision to make you a Chunin."
Naruto frowned, and watched as Hiruzen quickly began to draw up a document, which he then applied with his seal and signature.
Naruto thought this over, and he had to admit this deal showed promise. In seven months' time, the Chunin exams would begin. If he trained his ass off, he could win the Chunin exams, claim the title of Chunin, and be free of the village forever.
Naruto snarled as a thought came to his mind, "What if I am saddled with a sensei who tries to sabotage me?"
Hiruzen cursed under his breath, and looked at the form.
Taking a deep breath, "T-that will never happen Naruto, I promise you, that if such a thing occurs, then the sensei will be charged at the highest penalty of the law…p-public execution."
Naruto nodded his head, and began to think over the deal once more. The deal so far had all the pros in his favor, with the only con being that he had to obey Konoha's laws, and therefore he could not leave Konoha. But that would all change as soon as he became a Chunin…all he had to do was get the training materials and-
…
…
…
Naruto stopped at that thought…training materials…his parents.
All his life, he had wondered who his parents were, whether they were Shinobi, and if they were, did they leave behind any jutsu, techniques, anything for him? He had often heard how orphans were given their families possessions to train with and learn from if their parents were known.
And with him being the container of Kyuubi, he highly doubted that the Sandaime did not know who his parents were.
Naruto slowly turned his head to Hiruzen, and spoke, "My parents…who were they?"
…Hiruzen seemed to freeze up at the question, and his face seemed to pale a small margin, "I-I…uhm, Naruto, I…"
Naruto narrowed his eyes, he could tell that the Sandaime was trying to avoid the question, "Answer me, right now…" he grit his teeth, "I am not going to ask you again, who are my parents!"
Hiruzen bit his lip…and sighed heavily, "Naruto, I-I don't know how to tell you this-"
Naruto snapped impatiently, "Just tell me the truth, who the hell are my parents?"
Hiruzen flinched, and lowered his head, "Your father is Minato Namikaze, Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato…"
Naruto's eyes widened, and he looked out the window towards the Hokage monument, and looked at the stone face of the Yondaime.
His own father had been the one to curse him to this hell.
Naruto grit his teeth and turned towards Hiruzen, "And my mother…?"
Hiruzen flinched further and looked away.
Naruto snarled, "Answer me damn it! Who is my mother? And where the hell is she?"
Hiruzen seemed to grip the table tighter, and he spoke, "Naruto…your mother abandoned you the moment she had been told you had become a Jinchuriki, she had wholly believed you were the Kyuubi no Yoko…nothing I said could have persuaded her otherwise." he sighed and looked up at Naruto, "I-I am sorry Naruto, the last I heard from her, she said she had been training your brother and sister to kill you."
…
…
…
Silence reigned throughout the room, as Naruto's teeth seemed to grind against each other, and his fists clenched so tightly that his nails began to cut into his palms.
Hiruzen saw Naruto's condition, "Naruto, I want you to know tha-"
Naruto turned around slowly and quietly, and opened the door. Without uttering a word, or making a sound, he exited the office, leaving the aged Hokage in his office…alone.
As Hiruzen lowered his head into his palms, he was wholly unaware of the events that would unfold this day.
Watched closely by the eyes…of a God.
Elsewhere
Deep in an ancient realm, covered in an endless barren wasteland, layered by thick layers of stone, fire, and the darkness of a realm far more deadly than any place upon the mortal realm.
Deep at the bottom of the ancient cavernous realm, sitting above a lake of crimson waters, a palace, more grand than the finest cities built by the hands of the greatest artisans, and more terrifying than the darkest of nightmares.
In the center of this immense palace, an entity watched events unfold within the mortal world.
As its figure was shrouded by the pillars within its domain, its figure looked into a pool of crimson waters, swirling as it showed the figure what its eyes desired.
The figure seemed to chuckle to itself, and spoke in a voice both regal, and terrifying, "At long last, it is time." the figure outstretched its hand, still shrouded by the immense pillars, and in a mere instant, the waters began to shift, swirling faster and faster as the figure chuckled to itself once more.
As the figure walked away, an ethereal energy poured out of the structures surrounding it, and converged into a single point, swirling into a twisting ether as the entity walked forth into the anomaly before it.
As it walked into the anomaly, the figure allowed a wry grin to grace its features.
At long last, the Abyssal God had found his servant on earth…
Wow, long chapter huh? And it is only chapter one.
You can look forward to future updates of this story, and other stories in the near future...
Until next time, Ja-ne...
