Chapter 1

Unknown-nin345: 'Ello there everybody and welcome to the first chapter of The Tale of Four Brothers. I'm going to keep this short so you can get to the story.

--Pairings (that are for certain): Naruto x Hinata; Oc x Tayuya; Oc x Ayame; Oc x Shizune

Summary: Four brothers, all cursed by what they hold. They grow & learn to be one with the shadows, but now their father & mentor decides the four should step into the light & show the world what they can do…

"All right class! Remember: tomorrow is your final exam, so get a good night sleep and a good breakfast." Umino Iruka said to his class of shinobi's-to-be. He watched with a small smile as the class quickly filed out of the room. When the teacher thought all of his students had left he sat down at his desk and started looking over a couple papers that were lying about.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei?" A soft voice spoke up from in front of him. Iruka looked up and was met with the sight of his favorite whisker-marked, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, goggle-wearing, orange-loving, hyperactive ninja-in-training, Uzumaki Naruto.

The scarred teacher smiled and asked, "What's up Naruto?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I was wondering if I could ask you something." He said a little nervously.

"Shoot."

Naruto was silent for a moment before he let out a deep breath and walked over to the window, leaning his forehead against the cool glass. "Have you ever wanted something badly Sensei? But you knew that unless something big happened you'd never be able to go after it?" The blonde boy asked his teacher.

Iruka frowned slightly as he thought a bit on the question. He stood up and walked over to stand by the blonde boy. When he reached Naruto's side he noticed that the blonde seemed to be staring at something in particular. He followed his student's line-of-sight and found himself looking at the shy Hyuuga heiress.

Iruka smiled lightly and said, "I'm sorry to say that I've never felt that way before Naruto. All I can offer are two bits of wisdom that came from these fortune cookies I read once."

Naruto looked up at him, a little amused, and asked, "Fortune cookies?"

Iruka nodded solemnly. "Yep, from fortune cookies. Now, one read: 'If you ever find yourself doubting the road you walk, listen to your heart in order to steady your feet.'"

"And what was on the other one?" Naruto asked.

Iruka lowered himself down so he was eye-level with Naruto and said, "It read: 'The part of a man that shall be tested with the hardest trials will not be his mind or his body; it will be his heart that shall have to endure.'" He finished, briefly laying a hand over Naruto's heart.

Naruto brought his own hand over his heart before he looked back up at his sensei and smiled brightly. "Thanks Sensei. I'll see you tomorrow!" With that he opened up a window and took off.

Iruka watched the blonde make his way across the Academy courtyard before he disappeared around the gate. The scarred teacher went back to his desk, chuckling to himself.

"Who'd have thunk it? Naruto actually likes Hinata that way," He said to the empty room as he got back to work.

---- (Scene Change) ----

Meanwhile Naruto ran lithely through the streets of Konohagakure, barely making a breeze as he ran. His heart, which had been troubled, had been greatly lightened by Iruka's words and his smile was stretched from ear-to-ear. Finally, after ten minutes of swift running, Naruto turned into a narrow and dark alley.

He walked over to a green dumpster that was located in the alley and quickly crawled under it. The blonde soon came to a sewer entrance which he quietly lifted open. Once the manhole was uncovered he lowered himself down it before he pulled the manhole cover back over his head.

The blonde boy then descended down the ladder into the dank sewer below. Waiting at the bottom of the ladder was an orange skateboard leaning against the wall. Naruto pulled it off the wall and started boarding down a route that had been second nature to the boy for years.

"Yo Naruto!" A voice shouted from the blonde's left. The blonde skateboarder looked over to the source of the voice and saw one of the three people he called brother riding a purple bike.

The boy on the bike had shaggy brown hair that ended in between his shoulder blades in two short ponytails and stood at 5'6''. His eyes were a bright yellow and had a black ring in the middle of the yellow. He was wearing a dark-blue long-sleeve shirt with a purple vest over it along with loose purple pants and black tabis. Attached to his white belt were a first aid kit, a holster for kunai/shuriken, and a specially designed holster for sebon needles. His name was Ikazuchi Denkou.

"Yo Denkou!" Naruto shouted back with a small smile and a short wave. He turned his attention back to the ground in front of him and swerved around a piece of rotting wood that lay in his intended path. He heard the sound of rubber bouncing when Denkou hopped over the rotting wood.

Soon the two arrived at a section of the sewer that looked no different that the rest and stopped at it; Naruto flipping his skateboard to his hand and Denkou folding up his bike. Naruto then place his free hand on a certain part of the stone wall before the two. After a couple seconds a small section of the wall slid up, revealing a shaft leading straight down along with a pitch-black ladder.

Naruto went down it first, followed by Denkou. When the two of them reached the bottom they started walking side-by-side down a hallway that looked very different from the sewer they had just left and was lit every few feet by a torch that burned with a blue flame.

"You ready for the final test tomorrow?" Denkou asked to break the silence.

Naruto nodded as he answered. "Yeah, with Iruka-sensei being the teacher the test should at least be fair this year."

Denkou grunted in agreement and the two walked in a comfortable silence before the brunette broke the silence once more. "Sooo…when are you gonna grow some balls and ask her out?"

"I'll ask her when Nadare manages to ask Ayame-chan out." Naruto replied without missing a beat.

"Well you better figure out how you're going to do that then." Denkou said, chuckling lightly. When Naruto looked over at him he explained, "Before I came down I saw Nadare exiting Ichiraku's and he was doing a little victory dance. Want to guess what that might mean?"

Naruto hung his head and sighed, "He asked her out. Man, now I owe Kaen fifty ryou." Denkou laughed lightly.

Soon, the two brothers came to what others would have thought to be a dead end. Both reached into one of their pockets and drew out a long cloth which they proceeded to tie around their heads at eye level, the part covering their eyes was white and had been designed to protect them from the Uchiha's Sharingan. Naruto's was orange and Denkou's was purple.

Denkou then reached out and pushed three different bricks into the wall in front of them. The two watched as half of the wall slid up while the other half slid down, revealing the extremely large room that lay beyond it. The large, square room could effectively be divided into five different sections.

In one corner of the room was a fully stocked kitchen; complete with an oven, fridge, microwave, cupboards, assorted cookbooks, and a table to eat at. Naruto was the only one allowed to use the stove though, since he was the only one who could manage to not burn water.

Another corner had technological stuff; there was a dozen TV's, various movies, video games along with their respective consoles, a stereo system, and a computer. A comfy sofa also rested in the corner along with a small circle table for snacks.

The third corner was a rest and relaxation area with meditation mats, incense, and even a hammock.

In the final corner of the room was a large library with books ranging from sci-fi to fantasy to history to technique scrolls to even erotica novels.

Taking up the center of the room was a large training mat that was used for sparring and taijutsu training. Many bumps, bruises, cuts, and even a couple broken bones were earned here.

Finally, there were three doors, one on each wall (not counting the secret door Naruto and Denkou were currently standing in). Two were normal wooden ones while the third was of the type normally seen in an important dignitaries home (the kind that slides).

Naruto and Denkou stepped forward as the stone door slid back into place behind the two and then set their respective wheels on either side of the secret entrance. Looking around the two spotted their brother, Kajiarashi Kaen, resting in the hammock as he listened to his i-pod, bobbing his head to the beat of the music.

The boy lying in the hammock was the only one of the four brothers that was completely bald. He was wearing only a black trench coat on his torso with a ring hanging on a cord around his neck; the ring was designed to look like two serpents intertwined, both were crowned with a golden flower, one serpent's head was devouring the other's tail, and in between the two serpents was a small emerald (a/n: Google 'Ring of Barahir' to get a good idea of what I'm trying to describe). He was wearing black cargo pants that had blazing red wave designs on the sides along with black steel-toed combat boots. The headband he wore was red, which served to cover up his sea-green eyes. He stood at 5'8''.

Denkou walked over Kaen and tapped the boy on his shoulder. The boy turned his bald head up to Denkou and removed his headphones.

"What?" He asked; sounding slightly agitated.

"Is Nadare down here yet?" Denkou asked.

Kaen gestured out with a hand and said, "Does it look like he's here yet? Now if you don't mind, I'd like a few minutes of peace before the 'fearless leader' gets here." With that he put his headphones back in his ears and leaned back in the hammock.

Denkou shook his head at his brother's antics and looked up to see where Naruto had gone to. He saw the blonde standing over in the kitchen preparing a homemade pizza.

The brown-haired boy walked over to Naruto and asked, "What's it going to be tonight?"

Without looking up from his work Naruto shortly answered, "Buffalo chicken and extra cheese."

"Mmm. My favorite." Denkou said, rubbing his stomach in anticipation.

Suddenly the door to their left opened and the final brother, Hamato Nadare, came back-flipping through the opening. When he reached the training mat he launched up into the air, flipping head-over-heels four times before he came down on one hand.

The final brother had bright, snow-white hair that he kept in a short flattop with a short braid going down the right side of his head. He wore a dark grey t-shirt underneath a blue combat vest that he left open and blue shinobi pants that had streaks of grey running down the legs that tucked into black sock in blue shinobi-styled sandals. The white-haired youth had blue bracers that stretched from the back of his hands to his elbows. On his back rested a katana in a blue sheath with the handle being wrapped in blue cloth. His eyes, had they not covered by his blue headband, were a keen, intense, and stormy grey. His height came out to 5'7''.

He looked up at Naruto and Denkou and asked, "How was that?"

Denkou held up a card that had a red eight on it while Naruto and Kaen, neither having stopped what they were doing to watch, both held up seven point fives.

Nadare brought his feet down and stood up. "Are you guys ever going to give me a ten?" He asked his brothers.

"Maybe someday, who knows?" Denkou answered with a shrug.

Nadare sighed and walked over to the kitchen area. "What's on the menu for tonight?" He asked, noticing Naruto slide something into the oven.

"Buffalo chicken and extra cheese." Naruto said as he reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of soda.

"Sounds good." Nadare commented as he pulled a bottle of tea from the fridge.

Denkou, meanwhile, walked over to the library and picked a random book off the shelf before settling into a nearby chair. A silence descended on the room, broken only by the faint murmurs of the music Kaen was listening to.

After he had taken a couple sips of his tea Nadare asked, "Do you guys think Master Splinter will let us go all out for tomorrows test?"

"Depends on if he thinks we're ready." Denkou said without looking up from his book.

"Well I don't know about you dudes, but I really hope Splinter lets us." Naruto said before taking a gulp of his soda. "I really want to put Sasuke-teme in his place."

"From what you've told us about the little prick, I think he deserves more than that." Kaen said as he walked over to the kitchen and grabbed his own drink. "Like shoving a big stick right up his a--"

"Good afternoon, my sons." An aged voice interrupted Kaen.

The four brothers turned to the source of the voice (Denkou rising out of his chair) and bowed to their father as well as mentor. "Good afternoon Master Splinter."

If anyone else had been present they would have surely thought the four brothers were out of their minds since Splinter wasn't even human. He was a giant rat that walked on his hind legs and carried with him always, a short knobby walking stick. His fur was brown, bordering in some areas on black, and he had a little tuft at his chin that could have been regarded as a goatee. The rat-man was wearing a red karate gi with black shoulder paldrouns as his only means of clothing.

Splinter walked over to kitchen area, his walking stick tapping against the stone floor. "Once you finish eating we shall begin your exercises. It would not do for your skills to dull on the eve of your final exam."

The four brothers looked at each other in surprise before Nadare asked, "Does that mean you're giving us permission to go all out tomorrow Sensei?"

Splinter nodded, "Yes, but use caution my sons. Try not to reveal all of your skills, for keep in mind: Deception is a ninja's greatest ally."

"Wahoo!" Naruto shouted. "So, can I finally get rid of this disguise?" He asked with excitement showing in every part of his body.

Splinter nodded with a smile. He chuckled as Naruto quickly ran off to the room the brothers shared. The old rat then filled a kettle with some hot water and put it on the stove so that he could have some traditional tea.

When Naruto emerged from the bedroom, any who had known him before would have been hard-pressed to recognize him since he no longer looked like the scrawny midget he had before and it looked like he actually had muscles.

His blonde hair, which had been in clumped spikes before now, stuck up in stringy spikes, making it look like he had been shocked by lightning with a couple strands falling down to his face. He was wearing an orange tank top underneath a black jacket that had orange flames trailing along the sleeves and the hem of the jacket with a red spiral on his back that he left open. His pants were a dark orange with black flames running along the hems along with black shinobi-styled sandals. His orange headband was still in its place and covered his sapphire blue eyes while his green goggles had been moved down to rest on his neck. Attached to a black belt he was wearing were a special pair of nunchuks; they were made from a special chakra-hardened wood and were overlaid with a thin sheaf of steel. Whereas before when he stood at 4'11'', he now stood at 5'6''.

Kaen looked at him and said, "Well, that's a damn sight better than that hideous jumpsuit you were wearing before."

"Hey!" Naruto said and pointed a finger at Kaen. "Don't be dissing the orange, for he who disses the orange shall pay," He intoned deeply.

Kaen chuckled. "Right, even you have to admit that the jumpsuit you were wearing was hideous. Orange is okay when it's dark, but it should never be that damn bright." Nadare and Denkou nodded their agreement.

"Gah. Whatever." Naruto scoffed as he made his way back to the stove to check on the pizza. He looked in the oven before he nodded to himself and slipped on an oven mitt before he lifted the pan that held the pizza out. The other brothers came closer to get their own slice of the heavenly goodness known as 'pizza'.

Naruto held up a hand and said, "Dudes, dudes, please. A moment to reflect."

"Ah." Nadare and Denkou said as they nodded in agreement before all four deeply breathed in the aroma of the pizza. They sighed in contentment and nodded at each other.

"Let's eat." Naruto said as he threw the pizza into the air while Nadare quickly sliced it into 16 slices that fell back onto the pan. The four brothers each took four slices from the pan and settled down to eat.

"Stupendous, as always, Naruto." Denkou complimented after a mouthful of the pizza.

Nadare nodded and said, "Seriously, if this ninja thing doesn't work out for ya, you could always become a chef."

"It's okay, I guess." Kaen said.

Naruto smiled and held a hand over his heart as he said, "Please, stop with the compliments, you're smothering me here." All four chuckled as they went back to eating; off to the side Splinter just shook his head in amusement.

When Nadare, Denkou, and Kaen finished the three went into the bedroom and came back out with their own weapons; Nadare a second katana identical to his other one, Denkou a five-foot bo staff that had purple wrapping in the middle of it, and Kaen had a pair of sais with the metal being tinted red.

The four brothers then made their way to the training mat and began their exercises. First was a bunch of calisthenics.

Then came a light four-way taijutsu sparring match, nothing was ever held back which of course meant that all four received their share of bloody noses, cut lips, and bruises. They took a small break so that Denkou could help speed up the healing of all their wounds.

Once their healing factor, and Denkou, had finished they proceeded to spar with their weapons, going three-on-one in order for each to have a chance attacking and defending. Once again, they took a small break in order for gained wounds to heal.

When they were finished healing Splinter walked into the center of the training mat and kneeled down. He lit and placed in front of him a lavender-scented candle before he clapped twice, extinguishing all light except for the candle's flame.

"Remember my sons, to be a true ninja one must become one with the shadow. Darkness gives the ninja power, while Light reveals the ninja's presence." Splinter said to the four brothers. He then lifted the candle and held it at chest level as he said, "Now then, can you extinguish this flame without revealing yourselves?"

There was silence for a minute before one of Splinter's ears twitched and he ducked slightly, just a dark shape went flying where his head had been and crashed into the sofa over in the tech corner.

"Too noisy Denkou." Splinter critiqued.

Another shape came hopping up on the rat-man's left, once it reached Splinter the rat-man launched up with his walking stick, hooking onto the shape's ankle and flipping it over to land right on Denkou, getting two groans of pain from both shapes.

"Too clumsy Naruto." Splinter said.

A third shape was tip-toeing up from behind Splinter that lunged a couple feet behind the rat-man who once again ducked. The shape managed to land on its feet and tried a direct attack. Splinter simply sidestepped and stuck out his walking stick which tripped the shape that went rolling over where Naruto and Denkou lay. Shouts of pain came from all three when they collided.

"Poor choice Kaen." Splinter admonished.

A dark shape suddenly descended down from the ceiling. There were two brief flashes of light and the candle in Splinter's hand split in half, the top part went spinning through the air before it landed down on one of Nadare's katana's. The white-haired boy brought the lavender-scented candle to his lips and blew out the flame.

The lights came on and the three tangled brothers untangled as Splinter said, "Well done Nadare."

Once Kaen managed to get to his feet he mumbled, "Splinter Jr."

Nadare just managed to catch it and mumbled back, "Hothead."

Naruto and Denkou just looked at each other and shook their heads in exasperation.

Suddenly a red light started flashing on each of the four brothers' left arm right in the middle of their biceps, shining through the clothing. Naruto and Denkou groaned while Nadare and Kaen just stared in silence. After a couple of minutes the light stopped flashing and a paper seal appeared in the air over where the red light had just been. As soon as the seal appeared each of the four brothers began changing.

Nadare's white hair grew out a bit and became shaggier while his braid stayed the same. His ears changed from normal human ears to dark-grey wolf ears that moved up to the top of his head. His jaw extended forward about half an inch while his canine teeth elongated with the rest becoming pointier. He grew dark-grey fur along his arms that stayed in a thin line along the outer side of them while his fingernails elongated into claws. A dark-grey wolf's tail sprouted just above the boy's butt.

Denkou's brown hair turned a shade lighter and grew an inch or two. His human ears shrunk a bit and turned into weasel's ears that moved up a little higher. His pupils lengthened horizontally while shrinking vertically until they resembled actual weasel's eyes. His jaw lengthened out farther than Nadare's while a small amount of light-brown fur appeared on his face and his teeth all became pointed. His fingernails sharpened and extended a little. Finally, a light-brown weasel's tail extended out from a spot above his butt.

Naruto's blonde hair extended out a couple inches and gained splashes of red coloring. His jaw extended out, farther than Nadare's but shorter than Denkou's, while his whisker marks darkened before becoming actual whiskers and his canine teeth elongated so much that they extended past his lips. His fingernails sharpened greatly before they jutted out an inch. A crimson foxtail with a black tip appeared at the base of his spine. Finally, the black pupils of his sapphire blue eyes became slitted, just like a foxes.

Unlike the others, Kaen didn't grow any hair. Instead, he took off his trench coat as a large turtles shell appeared on his back with a turtles underbelly appearing over his torso while his skin turned dark green. His index and middle fingers merged together, as did his ring finger and pinky. Down at his feet, his toes shifted and merged together so that, instead of five toes, he only had two. His top and lower lips jutted out a bit to form a, sort of, beak.

As soon as the transformation finished, all four grabbed the paper tag that was hovering over their arm.

Splinter watched as his sons in all but blood looked at the tags in their hand before he began speaking. "For fourteen years, I have taught you all that I know about being kage-buke. For fourteen years, you four have endured this curse that has been laid upon you by the demons contained with your bodies. Know that no matter what occurs tomorrow, I will always be proud of you, my sons." The four brothers placed their hands flat against each and bowed.

"We will not fail, father." The four sons said as one.

--- (End Chapter) ---

Unknown-nin345: I'm sure that some of you have guessed by now that I'm using the popular show/movie/video game: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as my basis for this story. I kept Splinter's name in English because the Japanese version of 'Splinter', which is 'Sakuhen', just doesn't sound as good. Also, as I'm sure you guessed, each of the four brothers is a Jinchuuriki.

Character/Bijuu Type/Bijuu's name

- Kaen = Three-tailed turtle, Isonade.

- Nadare = Five-tailed wolf, Houkou.

- Denkou = Six-tailed weasel, Raijuu.

- Naruto = Nine-tailed fox, Youko.

This is Unknown-nin345 signing off.

COWABUNGA!!!