Eyes of Pain
by ShinobiSam
Premise: What would've happened if Mizuki actually acted somewhat like the chunin he was? What changes would it cause? And where on earth do Ebisu, the Rinnegan, two Caged Bird Seals and Team 7 figure in all of this?
Author's notes: This chapter is simply a prologue (teaser? introduction?) for the rest of the story.
Naruto Uzumaki had his eyes on a goal.
He had to become a genin this time.
He had to.
The future Hokage couldn't be held back from becoming a genin yet again. Hey, didn't anybody know that being able to make some stupid clones was useless to an awesome Hokage? To be Hokage you had to know kickass jutsu and wicked strong techniques, not some shit like clones.
And yet, that jerk Iruka-sensei, he had to fail him, didn't he? And why? Because he couldn't create some stupid clones!
He was gonna get a prank. A big one. He was gonna think of it for a long time, plan carefully, and the prank would be so awesome that Iruka wouldn't dare to mess with the great Naruto Uzumaki again. And when he became Hokage, he was gonna…
Lost in thought about what he was going to do in the future, Naruto wasn't concentrating on where he was going. Thus, it was no surprise that he managed to loose his footing on a branch of a tree, and slipped.
And boy, did he fall hard.
'Well, crap…' was all he could think, landing hard on his side. 'Heh….good thing I hadn't been higher, otherwise…'
Never mind! He was Naruto Uzumaki, and this little fall wasn't gonna stop him. He would go somewhere clear of trees, and learn the jutsu he had to master so that he could pass.
So, he quickly resumed his travail, trying to get to his goal quickly…
Thank Kami; Mizuki-sensei had told him about this better way of passing, otherwise he'd have had to stay back in that boring Academy for another session. The next Hokage couldn't stay back at that damn Academy for that long, could he…?
Unfortunately, he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings yet again and nearly slipped…
Ehh…..he really had to concentrate on where he was going, or he was really gonna get hurt, damn it!
Moving forward quickly, Naruto finally managed to find an awesome spot for practicing. Mizuki-sensei had said he'd find him after two hours or so, so he'd better hurry, and then he'd be closer to becoming Hokage...
Opening the huge scroll quickly, Naruto looked at the first justu given there, and swore in anger, "This sucks! I should have some new cool jutsus, and I gotta do clones…..clones?"
But, he soon said, "Ah well, I gotta do this to become an awesome ninja, and I'll do it, because I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm never gonna give up!"
Happy with that, Naruto immediately started doing the Shadow Clone Jutsu, whatever the hell it was…
Or more correctly, started trying to do the Shadow Clone jutsu…
(Location: Outside the Hokage Tower)
Rushing towards the forest in which he'd told the brat to go, Mizuki barely concealed a malicious smirk.
That brat had to be one of the most gullible persons in all of the Konoha, and was perfect for his goal. Today had been the perfect day to put his plan in motion.
That brat, Naruto Uzumaki, had been failed yet again in the Academy, due to his inability to form two measly clones. Honestly, it was pathetic.
That boy screamed at the top of his voice that he was going to be the next Hokage.
Yes, and Iruka was a cross-dresser who enjoyed roaming in the streets of Konoha in the dead of the night.
He had absolutely no chance of becoming a proper shinobi, let alone a Hokage.
But really, if there was even a glimmer of hope that he'd become a shinobi, he was going to remove that too, wasn't he?
People in Konoha already had a deep-seated animosity towards that brat. After all, he held one of the village's worst enemies in him. That mostly expressed itself in the form of neglect, dislike, disapproval, discomfort and things like that. All in all, it was mostly passive opposition.
But now, that situation was changing.
The opening salvos had already been fired.
Incidentally, Naruto had been the one to do so.
Naruto already had a limitation in the form of a largely negative reputation. When you combined that with his hyperactive personality, his extremely limited vocabulary, his over-cheerful disposition, his lack of seriousness, and to a certain extent, his hideous jumpsuit, it was hard to take him seriously at all. His continuing pranks were viewed as an inconvenience and more proof as lack of his maturity and intelligence.
How true.
And now, when many ninjas and the Hokage knew that he'd stolen the Forbidden Scroll, his reputation would take another nosedive. That is, if he wasn't taken prisoner, or as Mizuki hoped, killed.
Anyways, that brat had swallowed the lie that he had been fed, and had run off to the Hokage's Tower to grab the Forbidden Scroll.
Idiot.
If it were not the fact that Mizuki had managed to get most of the ninjas out of the way (through one excuse, reason, pretense or the other) before Naruto had gotten in.
That brat might've been able to pull of some pranks, but infiltrating the Hokage Tower was way out of his league. He'd have been taken to the Hokage before he could say 'scroll'.
But, the most important thing was, his plan had worked, and that brat had managed to take away that Forbidden Scroll, and was probably trying to learn one of the jutsus from that scroll.
Hmm…maybe that brat would've died by the time he reached there?
He could always hope.
Focusing back on his surroundings, he increased his speed a bit, and went in even deeper the forest.
That brat had managed to do something properly.
It was almost too good to be true.
Well, it was too good to be true. And that was because Iruka Umino, the other instructor of Naruto's class at the Academy, was already searching for Naruto inside the forest.
It was the sort of thing which happened due to sheer luck.
And also because the Hokage had designated the ninjas at hand specific places which they had to scout for Naruto.
The Forbidden Scroll being stolen was serious business and the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen had ninjas at Naruto's apartment, the Academy, training grounds, and any place where he thought Naruto could hide.
That of course, included the forest.
In which Iruka had been assigned to search for Naruto.
It was dumb luck, really. Mizuki hadn't even been there, trying to get to Naruto quickly.
However, rather than luck, it was the fact that Mizuki had a head start on Iruka while trying to find Naruto, due to which Mizuki found Naruto first.
The predator had found the prey.
(Location: Unknown location in the Forest)
A tired and weary Naruto was lying down on his face on the forest floor, savoring the taste of success.
He did it!
Ehh…nothing else could have happened, could it? He was the most cool ninja in all of Konoha, and nothing could've come in his way!
Something like this could have not stopped the future Hokage, the most kickass ninja ever!
And now, Sakura-chan would know how awesome he was! He had learnt this Shadow Clone thingy, and that when he couldn't do those damned clones at all!
Hell yeah! Now, he even knew something that idiot Sasuke didn't know! Take that, asshole!
Quite happy with what he'd done, Naruto got up, even though he was feeling tired due to all that training, and grabbed the scroll, getting ready to get to Mizuki-sensei and become a genin!
However, he was brought up short by the feeling of something grazing his arm, and he suddenly doubled over in pain.
He had been attacked with a kunai, which had grazed his arm and now lay on the ground.
Why the bloody hell was someone throwing kunai at him anyway?
Naruto, with all the intuition of a rampaging monkey, started looking around, trying to find the man who'd done this.
He really should've run the hell away from there.
Mizuki was going to take that scroll from the damn brat, and hopefully, give him one painful death.
Throwing another kunai at Naruto, Mizuki jumped into the ground.
For all his alertness, Naruto still managed to get himself cut by the second kunai.
He really should've run the hell away from there.
Naruto didn't know who was throwing those damned kunai, but when he found that out, that shithead was gonna get a good ass-kicking.
Mizuki wasn't going to give him any opportunity to do that.
Thanks to the Underground Fish Projection Technique (due to which Mizuki had taken to the ground like a fish took to water), Mizuki managed to get pretty close to Naruto.
And he took a shot at Naruto's chest, near his heart. With a kunai.
Naruto, with his ungainly gait and lax reflexes, couldn't do much.
Pain exploded in his chest.
At least, the blow wouldn't kill him immediately.
Mizuki didn't care. With a smirk on his face, he got out of the ground, ending his technique. That brat was dying anyways, why waste more time?
Employing all the speed that he could muster, he ran towards the Forbidden Scroll, quickly grabbed it, and jumped on the tree nearest to him.
Then, he got away from there as fast as he could, with his hair whipping back from the wind, his heart pumping with adrenaline, and his eyes full of the dreams of power, which were going to become truth very, very soon.
And the demon brat? Heh…that pathetic waste of space was going to die very soon. Good riddance.
Back in the clearing, Naruto would've been fuming.
That is, if he didn't have a bloody kunai in his chest.
He tried moving, trying his best to ignore the biting pain in his chest.
He tried with all his might, not caring for anything else. Just like he'd done all his life.
He couldn't lie down here, and let his blood flow out of his body. He'd die. And he couldn't die.
He kept trying to get his body to move, but the pain that racked his body refused to let anything of that sort happen.
The jarring pain was growing, growing and growing more.
It was spreading throughout his body. It was coursing like blood, reaching everywhere in his body.
And pain soon brought forward his equally frightening counterpart, fear. It was quite powerful, pain feeding on the fear, fear feeding on the pain, attacking Naruto in tandem.
The pain wouldn't stop, would it?
It was never gonna stop.
It would simply eat him up, and kill him.
The combination of pain and fear was slowly clawing away at his will, the indomitable will of Naruto Uzumaki. Clawing and biting and scratching and hurting and attacking at his determination, his source of strength.
Death, it seemed, was inevitable.
He was gonna die here?
He was gonna die in a damn forest clearing?
He was gonna die from a mere kunai?
He was gonna die because of Mizuki-sensei?
He was gonna die before he kicked Sasuke-teme's ass?
He was gonna die before he made Sakura-chan fall in love with him?
He was gonna die before everyone acknowledged him?
He was gonna die before becoming HOKAGE?
He really should've run the hell away from there.
He was gonna die. Plain and simple.
And that made him very, very angry.
He'd tried so hard, and he was gonna be killed by a freaking teacher with an ambition?
His anger was a fire spreading from his belly, throughout his body. His anger rose, and kept rising, until it was like the waves of the sea, pounding the shore of his mind ruthlessly, continuously. Breaking down his control, his rationale, and replacing them with hateful, primal instincts.
And soon enough, his anger exploded, filling every orifice of his mind, consuming all other thoughts, breaking down all other concerns and boundaries.
That bastard Mizuki had run towards the Forbidden Scroll, without looking back, without caring. As though he was no longer of any concern to him! As if he didn't exist! As if his life would be better without Naruto!
His anger fueling his desire, Naruto instinctively grasped the kunai embedded in his chest, and pulled it out.
Hell, it hurt like a bitch.
But Naruto didn't care.
Mizuki was gonna pay, and that was all that frickin' mattered. That bastard was gonna be screaming in pain when Naruto was done with him!
But first, he had to catch that bastard.
With an animalistic growl, Naruto ran and jumped on the branches of a nearby tree, landing on all fours.
It didn't matter that he had a bloody hole in his chest. It would heal.
It didn't matter that he was just an Academy student, and Mizuki was a chunin. It didn't matter.
It didn't matter that he should be calling someone instead of running after Mizuki. It wasn't possible.
It didn't matter that he had been beaten by Mizuki just a few seconds ago. It would be different this time.
All that mattered was that he'd been attacked. And he was gonna take his revenge. It was that simple.
He was gonna shred Mizuki into pieces.
Grinning viciously, Naruto sped away.
Pity he didn't see Iruka, who had just landed in the clearing while he had been jumping from tree to tree.
Though, Iruka wasn't that blind.
He'd seen Naruto.
He'd seen the blood which had dropped from the wound on the ground.
He'd seen the red chakra cloak which had enveloped the blond boy.
He'd felt the anger rolling off from the boy.
This wasn't good at all.
One of Konoha's biggest nightmares had awoken.
And by the looks of it, it wasn't all that happy.
The Forbidden Scroll was missing too.
Shit.
Naruto hadn't seen Iruka.
He was still racing ahead, his new-found source of power making him all that faster.
His eyes glimmered with the prospect of vengeance. His mouth watered with the desire of ripping apart Mizuki. He grinned at the prospect of savoring the blood that Mizuki would spill.
Charged up with these thoughts, Naruto put on a burst of speed, using some of that endless power, whatever it was.
Mizuki, on the other hand, wasn't feeling all that invigorated.
His plan had been going perfectly, without the slightest hitch.
He'd fooled everyone into thinking that the brat had stolen the scroll.
He'd taken the scroll from him.
He'd left the brat to die, after sticking a fucking kunai in his chest.
So, why the blazes did the Nine-Tails' chakra suddenly engulf him, and everything around him?
The shock that had coursed through him had been enough to make him loose his footing on a tree branch, and land awkwardly on the ground.
Shouldn't that bastard Fox have died when that brat died?
Fuck.
It was still alive.
The loathing and menace that chakra had was enough to make less powerful people cower in fear.
The Nine-Tails' attack had left an incredible imprint on the minds of the people due to the emotions it engulfed Konoha with.
The swishing tails and incredible power of the Fox hadn't affected the common Konoha citizen as much as the feelings of despair and hopelessness it had brought with itself.
The Fox radiated utter hatred, loathing and contempt. Its emotions' influence was so great that most people could do nothing more than hiding somewhere and praying that they were spared.
It was horrible. People were consumed with despair and hopelessness. They were overawed by the sheer power of the Nine-Tails' chakra, and the hatred it brought.
It made them feel weak.
That was partly why Naruto was ostracized so much by many people in Konoha.
Naruto was a living reminder of their weakness.
And no one likes being reminded that they're weak.
So was the case with Mizuki.
He was shivering, ever so slightly. That rotten feeling was overpowering him, and he was one of those who didn't like to be reminded of their helplessness.
Damn it to hell!
He couldn't act like a fucking coward here. He was a chunin, a shinobi!
This wasn't even the fucking Nine-Tailed Demon Fox! It was Naruto Uzumaki, the son of a bitch!
This wasn't the time to be scared. It was the time to get the hell out of here!
Trying to gather his wits about him, Mizuki quickly grabbed the scroll, got up, and prepared to get the fuck out of there.
Well, all he managed to do was to notice a smirking Naruto on one the branches of a nearby tree.
Who had red chakra pouring from him, ready to strike with his claws.
Damn it to hell!
Author's Notes: Hola. I've done the first chapter of the rewrite of 'The Path of Destiny', though I've changed the title. So, Naruto's much more like his canon counterpart at this point of time, and Mizuki's actually behaving somewhat like a chunin. More changes will come soon. And yeah, if you don't like the lack of paragraphs in this chapter or something, it's all MS Word's fault.
The second chapter should be out by the end of the month.
Yeah, I'm very lazy. Why do you ask? I'd be very grateful if you could press the review button rather than asking such important and unanswerable questions.
RikudouSennin: Thanks for the review, the first one of this fic too. Regarding the one-liners: I will try my best to maintain a balance between one-liners and large paragraphs. While writing this chapter, I simply went with the flow of my thoughts, and thus ended up with this. Needless to say, I'll try to be more careful the next time.