A Game of Death and Taxes, a naruto fanfic

Alright again, I'm just trying to get back into the swing of writing more regularly. However it is proving to be a challenge. Anyways normally I would give you a brief summary of that this story WILL be in the future. This is mainly so that readers don't find themselves 10 or so chapters in saying "Wow... this isn't something I want to read."

However... this story is quite different than most stories out there. That is not to say it is bad, it is simply different. And frankly I've been on this site since before Naruto Fanfiction was even around(before I even made an account), and I haven't seen this type of story. So I don't want to spoil anything by saying what this story is, or foretelling anything about the future of this story. So! I greatly greatly encourage everyone to read the entire chapter. I know that once you have been on this site for awhile. You can read about the first 2-3 lines of a scene, and get the gist of the entire scene. And as such when searching for new fanfiction, you can often write off a story in a couple lines saying "Oh Naruto gets beaten, gains a mentor" "Naruto gets the sharingan" "Naruto falls in love with Hinata" "Naruto and Sasuke are gay for each other."

Whatever it may be. And as such I must once again say, read the chapter. Because most of what you see here is not something you are going to see often.

So now that I have gotten that bit out of the way. While I wont tell you what this story is. I will tell you what it isn't.

Naruto is not a young genius shinobi in Anbu or Root division trainee.

Naruto is not a time traveler.

Naruto is not a child prodigy like Itachi or Kakashi.

Naruto is not raised by Minato and- or Kushina.

Naruto is not going to have an instant romance with X canon character in the academy.

Naruto does not have any super secret bloodline.

Naruto is not some beaten village outcast that gets charged high prices at stores.

Naruto is not going to be mentored by a character that wouldn't plausibly be in the immediate story without author interference. (EX: Kisame, Mei, Pein, Konan, Deidara, Sasori... any Akatsuki or shinobi from other villages pretty much.)

Naruto is not going into a marriage contract.

And now I will give you the one tidbit of information that I have to say before this story begins(That I can't say during an actual chapter, and you will not find out later).

Konohamaru does not exist in this story. (Major change right? lol.)

Anyways that is all. So without making you wait any longer, please enjoy the chapter.

XXXXXXX

XXXXXXX

Through the dark of night, under the light of the moon, a loyal shinobi named Momochi Zabuza of the Hidden Mist village practically flew through the trees with a squad of shinobi behind his lead. Some of the most talented swordsmen in the world were assisting him in his goals. Perhaps this was because his goals were shared by many in the world. A loud explosion going off in the distance shook the trees, and kicked up a wave of dust that could even be felt from their respectable distance from the explosion. However the swordsman knew that he couldn't stop moving. He knew that the moment they stopped moving would be the moment that him and his men would be annihilated.

"Zabuza! We can't keep this up forever!" yelled a white haired individual over the span of two separate breaths as he had to take a moment to vault over an upcoming log in his path.

"You think I don't know that Mangetsu?" Zabuza barked back, snarling his serrated teeth, his bandages trailing behind him in the wind like corrupted streamers having been ripped earlier that day. He gave a heavy jump toward a rather large incoming tree. He knew that time was of the essence for his shinobi and with a heavy head, and a heavy blade cut viciously straight through the bulky tree clearing a new makeshift path for his shinobi.

Mangetsu wisely didn't say anything for a good few moments until Zabuza situated the giant decapitating blade on his back once again. However the moment it had returned, the white haired second coming of the demon didn't hold back his tongue. "Zabuza even your girl is looking tired. We need to make a move, or we are all going to tire out."

Zabuza grunted in response, not wanting to acknowledge the white haired teenager following behind him. However one look to his side at the young female told him everything he didn't want to hear without saying a word. He was going to run the girl into the ground at this pace. She was no older than 10 years of age. Her cheeks were flushed red and her silky black hair had started to cling to her face due to sweat. She was panting with every step she took as if it were going to be her last. But she kept pressing on. Yet despite all of this, despite the fact Zabuza had his answer, he had to ask. "Haku, you can keep up right?"

And despite the girls obvious pain, and glazed eyes. She blinked a couple times as if her hearing was fading, "Of course Zabuza-sama." She said with spaced breaths as every step took a portion of her remaining energy she had left.

Zabuza turned to look forward and his lips pursed into a frown. With a heavy sigh, not in the slightest bit phased by the heavy set speed he and his shinobi were partaking in. "Fine Mangetsu. Enlighten me. What would you do?" Zabuza drawled as he busted through and overhanging branch with his shoulder, landing onto the ground floor once again during their run.

Two swift cutting sounds through the wind followed by two rather heavy thuds signified that Mangetsu and Haku had both followed suit in his lead. Albeit, their falls weren't incredibly heavy thuds, they only sounded like that to the ears of the silent killing expert Momochi Zabuza.

"Its simple, why not just fan out and cake the area in mist. They may be mobile, but that doesn't mean they would be able to navigate our environment." Mangetsu said in a rather confident tone.

Zabuza rolled his eyes at the idea, and forced himself to remember that the boy behind him was a very young teenager, and lacked the necessary experience. So he bit his tongue on his response in hopes to keep a level morale, "It wont work. There is an upcoming flash point 2.5 miles north east of us. There is simply too much ground to cover to get a thick enough mist to make it worth it. Particularly since we have shinobi who are on their last legs."

Mangetsu flushed in embarrassment and gave a long look north east as if seeing an ghost through the treeline. His lips tightened and his body tensed as he looked at the back of Zabuza's head as they traveled. He always knew that there was a gap in skill between him and Zabuza. There was a reason Zabuza was titled "The Demon of the Mist" and he was titled "The Second Coming of the Demon," he was the junior, and Zabuza was the senior. There were times that the gaps between the two weren't that large. And then there were times like these where the gap of experience between them was massive.

Zabuza gave a grunt and gave a harsh right turn shouting out, "With me!" as the rushed up to a near by cliff that he proceeded to scale rapidly the his comrades. It didn't take long for the group of shinobi to reach the top. The various ranks of shinobi surrounding their leader. Whether they were the inspired and hopefully genin trying to make their name in the world, or the experience special operations member who wants to see a change in the world. They all were able to reach the top and take a moment to glance out at that behind them from the path they were just fleeing from. There was a sea of shinobi with Leaf headbands making their way across the forests. A great sea, large and oppressive. Like a long extending reach from the distant Fire country.

Zabuza and his men? They stood no chance.

The sound of footfalls from behind Zabuza's squad of shinobi let the reality of their situation dawn on them. They knew they wouldn't be able to outrun these shinobi forever. It was just wishful thinking. With a heavy heart, Zabuza spun around and drew his blade, forcing the younger shinobi of his group to step aside. This action brought him face to face with one of the most terrifying shinobi in the world.

The hissing of snakes flowed through the air as a pale skinned man stepped before the countless Konoha shinobi on the cliff. His tongue elongated and wrapped around a hilt that was soon protruding from his throat. It didn't take long for the legendary snake wielder to withdraw his legendary blade Kusanagi. And with a hiss he spoke his first, and only words. "Lets make this quick, I was actually doing something interesting before this fiasco," he finished in a bored tone as he faced off against the seven shinobi swordsman.

XXXXXXX

An old man sat amongst countless bickering adults minding his own business. He cared vary little about the conversation going on before him with various civilians and shinobi alike in the council chambers. The shinobi legend was perfectly fine with letting those years his junior bicker like children. There were few moments in the day that the veteran had the time to himself to simply sit and think, to just relax. If he could take the time to just tune out the various questions the council kept asking amongst themselves, he could get his own brief period of peace. This was why he simply sat back in his chair, the Hokage hat covering his face.

"We need to put a stop to this. How can we just stand aside with those savagesjoining our village. Alongside our children? Those snow beasts from the north?" a fanged woman spat, standing before her designated chair. "Every one of them that comes to this village is barely even human. It is bad enough we have the take care of their bitches' pups as well."

"Aren't you pissy Tsume? Did someone piss in your dog food this morning? Frankly I remember saying something quite similar when your clan tried to join our village. After all, your little bitch ancestors kept trying mix your genes with the founding clans. It is only by grace of Kami that your numbers were redu-"

Tsume wasted no time vaulting over her seated area, charging the man sitting arrogantly on the other side of the room, his red eyes glaring directly at her with a tight smirk on his face. "What was that Fugaku!" The only thing that stopped her from reaching her intended target was a shadow that flew across the ground, and intercepted her path. It latched onto her like a parasite and stopped all movement from her in an instant. Although, just because her body wouldn't obey her commands, her mouth was still in working order.

"Yeah, whatever, sit there and look ugly then. Say hi to Mikoto-chan for me. That is if she even gives a damn about you anymore. After all you incestuous scum likely only go for the strongest member of the house. And considering you are outdone by your socially awkward son, it wouldn't be a surprise to me if you got back to her sucking on h-" Tsume's body shut itself up as her hand reached up and cupped itself tightly over her mouth preventing herself from talking. It left her to simply divert her attention from the Uchiha clan head, and glare over to the side where a pineapple haired man sat with a hand covering his mouth, rolling his eyes in a moment of boredom.

An old wise voice of a village elder sailed through the air softly, "Tsume-san, now is not the time for us to be arguing amongst each other. I do believe everyone called this meeting because they had important matters they all wished to discuss, isn't that correct? And I highly doubt that the important matter was simply about the few nomads that settled here from the north?" The calm voice from the village elder seemed to bring everyone back to reality, and caused the men and woman to take their seats as all discussion stopped. Even the civilian portion of the council had become uncharacteristically quiet.

"Hokage-sama..." one member of the civilian council stood up as he spoke in the silence of the room. "We have to ask the question that has been ignored for the past countless meetings we have had. What is the status of the Kyuubi jinchuriki? Has he made progress? Is he an liability. Should our families be worried that such a beast can at any moment break out and rampage around our streets?" There was a small murmur of agreement throughout the civilian sections of the council, while the shinobi sections remained quiet. It was actually quite normal for the shinobi to be relatively quiet during the village meetings. They were often just more informed then the average civilian that bought their seat on the council to discuss political matters for the village.

The legendary Hokage sat back in silence, not showing even a reaction to the civilian's comments. He remained completely unresponsive as he sat back silent in his chair.

The civilian, and the two other civilian council members sitting beside him took this as the "Go ahead" to continue questioning the leader at the front of the room. "And what is this about us sending our shinobi to the Mist? We just got back from the mist what is the point?"

The still rather heated Inuzuka spoke up in a growl, "Civilians worry about civilian matters, shinobi worry about military matters."

The civilian scoffed and waved his hands around for emphasis, "Oh yeah we need supplies, yeah right."

This however apparently caught the attention of the village leader who removed a hand from his chin, before lightly rolling his fingers across the desk in front of him. He then spoke in a soft, yet commanding voice. "When I was there recently, as I am sure you have all heard in a previous meeting. A shinobi opposed me." he finished in a coarse voice, as he lit a characteristic pipe on the desk and took a couple of drags on the pipe. The smoke spilled out of his mouth like a waterfall, shadowing over his face under the hat.

In the quiet council room, the majority could make out the faint sounds of the main civilian and the two people he was sitting next to talking amongst themselves.

"Who cares, its just one guy." whispered one of the men.

Another male followed up the statement with, "Yeah, I mean why go back for one guy. Risking the lives of our men like that?"

A fist slamming onto a desk echoed throughout the council room. Smoke spilled out of the Hokage's mouth as he said in a gruff drawl, "You three... step forward." as the Hokage stepped out from behind his desk before everyone in the chamber, locking eyes with the shinobi elders before scanning across the room with a narrowed eye.

As the three civilians stepped forward, the aged Hokage began to speak, setting a scroll down on his desk. "What was I thinking? Sending our troops out to the Mist?" He addressed the council in a loud slow voice as if he was trying to educate a mentally deficient child. "After all, we just got here and we have more than enough shinobi and civilian supplies to last our village all year right?" he asked the council a rhetorical question with open arms. "Why go back?" he asked with a fake smile over his face as he shrugged his shoulders in an over the top way. He proceeded to take a pause and allow a few more drags on his pipe before speaking once again, "But... there was that Seven Shinobi Swordsman that stood up to me..." he said as he paced back and forth.

"But come on, it is still just one guy. What can he really do? Forget about him. We are needlessly letting our shinobi risk their lives," the man once again tried to reason.

"Maybe your right... it's just one shinobi." he took a long pause as there was a murmur of agreement in the back of the room with the civilians. "Alright well what is this gentlemen?" He asked gesturing to the three civilians that stood before him as he drew a kunai from his robes. "A tool?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow. Upon a lack of verbal response and only slight nods of head, he proceeded to elaborate. "Well this isn't just any tool." he continued, now twirling the blade on his finger. "It is a finely crafted, expertly shaped, flawlessly made stainless steel. It is sharpened to the highest of perfection. This beautiful and magnificent work of art gentlemen... is a kunai knife." he emphasized his statement by showcasing a rather fancy twirly of the kunai knife across his hands, akin to a teenager who had spent too much time spinning pencils or playing with butterfly knives.

"So tell me gentlemen, what is this?" he asked as he raised up the knife through it's ring on his index finger.

"A kunai knife?" they proceeded to ask, still slightly unsure due to the man before them wording the question like it was some secret test.

"Wrong! It's a fucking tool!" a secret test that they failed. This became apparent as the Hokage turned his back to them after quickly tossing the blade into a near by desk a shinobi was sitting at and began to scrawl onto the scroll on the desk with a near by ink and brush. To the civilians in the room, it was mostly just gibberish. However some of the shinobi were able to get a vague idea of what their leader was writing down onto the parchment. In a matter of moments, the leader had withdrawn two kunai from the scroll on the desk. He turned back to the men in the center of room and gave a heavy sigh before addressing them "I want you to pretend this kunai is a mist ninja." He waved the kunai around a bit for emphasis. It was at that moment he gripped, and lobbed it at the civilian on the left of the outspoken one. It slapped harmlessly against the man's chest, and fell to the floor.

"Did that hurt?" the legendary shinobi questioned.

"No..." was all the civilian could respond with confused eyes, not exactly sure where this was going.

"Well how about this one?" he said as he lobbed another at the other civilian follower, all the while tossing the scroll that was formerly on the desk, and causing it to string down from the ceiling.

The civilians paid no mind to this. However it was the shinobi that realized what was going to happen in front of all of them. But they would be too slow to react.

The civilians gave a laugh, believing that the leader was trying to have a joke with them, "No it doesn't hurt." one said in between chuckles.

"Hmmm..." the old Kage said, "Well how about these ones!" he slapped his hand against the hanging parchment, causing it to glow for only a second. Then thousands of countless sharp kunai proceeded to pour out of the seal before the village leader. They buried the three civilians under the sharpened steel, as their cries of anguish and murder were snuffed out by the deafening clanking of forged steel piling on top of each other.

The village leader removed his Hokage hat, revealing his scarred face as he stared back at everyone present coldly until the kunai ceased spilling out of the scroll. The main raised his chin a bit giving full view to everyone the characteristic X shaped scar that resided there. He then spoke up once again, walking onto the pile of shifting kunai with the balance of a shinobi that had been in practice for a life time. "If you let one ninja stand up to us! They all might stand up to us!" he yelled out giving a cold look to a particular village elder sitting in the council room. "Those ninja out there... The Mist, Rock, Cloud, Wind country shinobi? Even the smaller countries serving us? Combined... they outnumber us fifteen to one! And if they ever figure that out, there goes our way of life! Its not about food, or supplies. Its about keeping the other villages in line. That is why our shinobi had to go back."

It was at that moment, that the Darkness of Shinobi and the God of Shinobi locked eyes for the first time that meeting in silence. The tension between the two could be cut with a knife. One shinobi believed in the historical Will of Fire. The other believed in doing whatever necessary to protect the roots of one's village.

A masked anbu suddenly appeared before the council, he too was balancing perfectly on the kunai with very little effort necessary. He was short in size, and his skin was flawless and full of life. It was quite obvious to everyone in the room who exactly was standing next to the Darkness of Shinobi at that instant.

"Orochimaru and the shinobi you allowed to accompany him have flashed back to Konoha Hokage-sama." he whispered quietly.

Danzo gave a grunt as he took his steps off of the mountain of kunai, grabbing his cane that rested against the wall. He looked as if he was about to perform a high speed travel technique, before he turned to the council room. "This meeting is over. Leave the mess here, I will have some genin come and clean it tomorrow. The sooner they get used to death, the better." he said coldly as he watch a puddle of blood begin to leak out from below the mountain of metal. It was with that note that the man vanished from sight. The young boy standing above the mountain of kunai gave a bow, before he too vanished.

Silence reigned in the council room due to the display they had just witnessed. But Uchiha Fugaku was the first to rise up from his seated position. "Well thank you Tsume for sharing your incredible imagination. But now I am going to return home to my wife, and I believe everyone here just got to see a glimpse of my son." he said with a fair amount of pride in his voice. Fugaku then proceeded to walk out of the council room, beside a fuming Tsume, and out the door before utilizing his high speed travel.

One by one everyone filed out of the council room in some fashion, until it was just one man left sitting there at his desk in the Elder seat of the council. The God of Shinobi, Sarutobi Hiruzen cupped his chin in his hands as he took the time to look down at his desk in thought, and it was simply one thought that kept repeating in his mind.

How did Konoha come to this...

XXXXXXXX

"Oh come on! come on!" a young eight year old blonde groaned out in a strained voice from his place on the couch in the living room. His feet were kicked up onto the coffee table in front of him. He stretched his hands both out, clasping on to each other as if the boy was trying to pull his target with some kind of invisible force. His target? A cup ramen that was cooling quickly from where it sat on the counter fifteen feet away from him. On both of his wrists rested two different bracelets clinging to him closely, but as if they were in zero gravity. Yet never falling off his wrists. The bracelets appeared to be fairly, almost relic like crafted in incredibly detail. The clear objects standing out on both separate chains was one having a small round shiny mirror, and the other with a very small metallic sword. Both objects floated loosely on the slack of chain they were given, floating weightlessly in the air.

It was at that moment that Sarutobi Hiruzen had walked in the front door, only to catch sight of what the blonde was doing. The problem was he didn't understand what the young boy was doing. "What?" He asked in a deadpan voice, clearly confused by what he was witnessing.

Naruto rolled his eyes after glancing at the older man's perplexed face, and instead flung himself back onto the couch. "These things don't work." Naruto drawled in frustration as he shook the two bracelets on his wrists. "Time of need my ass." he mumbled at the end.

Sarutobi could only smirk at the young boy sitting on the couch. He took off his elder robes, and set them temporarily on a coat hanger in the corner near the doorway leaving him in his shinobi attire. He stepped into the dimly lit living room with a sigh, finally able to relax at his own home. "Naruto..." the God of Shinobi began as he walked over and grabbed Naruto's cooling ramen cup, and set it down before the boy. "When I told you that those two gifts I gave you the other day would come to you in your time of need. I didn't mean when you were too lazy to go grab your ramen cup." the former Hokage said with a smile. "And you should be a bit more mindful of your language. I hope you don't talk like that to your sensei."

Naruto flushed in embarrassment, but was quick to regain his composure. It was only a few seconds later that the eight year old asked, "Well I don't get it then... when is it supposed to come to me? Like what are they? Why did you give them to me? What do they do?" Naruto was ready to continue on until he saw the man before him hold up a hand.

"Naruto..." Sarutobi began with a grin, "One question at a time. Remember what I to-"

"Patience is a virtue..." Naruto drawled, rolling his eyes at the man who came to be a father figure for him.

Sarutobi with a smile reached out with a hand and ruffled Naruto's hair before standing up. "You have your father's looks. But your mother's spirit." The old Sarutobi commented before making his way to the corner of the room that had a neat round table with his favorite pipe situated on it.

If Naruto hadn't been blushing before, he was now. Not to mention the fact that he could almost feel himself literally swell up with pride at the mention of being like his parents. "Thanks..." Naruto mumbled while looking down, not sure how to respond to such praise. It was then that the two were left in silence in each others company. Naruto eating his ramen, and Hiruzen with his pipe.

"Naruto, those two items I gave you are very powerful. And they both have a lot of history behind them." Sarutobi began as he turned to Naruto from his seat that was now in the corner of the room.

"History?" Naruto said with a groan as he immediately thought to his academy classes with Iruka, teaching about the founders of Konoha.

"History is important Naruto it-"

"Teaches us how to prevent mistakes of the past." Naruto said nodding his head as if he was listening while he waved his hand dismissively. "I've heard it before old man." Naruto said with a grin, a small glint in his eye as he looked at the staff wielder.

"Aww now Naruto, thats not nice. I'd have at least 5 more years left in me if I was Hokage right now." the man said, his fatherly smile showing he didn't actually take Naruto's 'old' comment to heart.

"Oh really? And here I thought you would be rolling in the grave in no more than four years." Naruto teased back.

The wizened Sarutobi got a confident look, and mock seriousness as he leaned in closer to Naruto, "Oh well..." he began in a low slow voice, "the only way that would happen is if my senseis came back from the dead to take me down." he finished with a completely straight face. It initiated a staring contest between the two. And as the few moments went on, it proved who was the more patient of the two as Naruto burst out laughing.

"Uh huh, sure! And I'm going redefine the world, and then take up the mantle of Hokage right?" Naruto said still in a fit of laughter and amusement.

The professor sat back in his chair with a grin forming around the pipe as he decided to light it once again, "Hey it could happen." he said as smoke poured out of his mouth.

Naruto just decided to smile and not comment on that, allowing his fit of giggles to come down before resolving to sit in silence. "You should be Hokage..." Naruto said quietly as if he was telling a secret.

The older man shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to get into such a discussion with one so young. "It is what it is Naruto. The rules from the founding of Konoha have been that way for a reason."

Naruto frowned, "Well if you knew what would have happened... would you have fought harder to change those rules?" Naruto asked in a solemn tone.

Sarutobi looked as if a lump was caught in his throat before he replied with a heavy heart, "If I had known..." he took a pause as he sifted through his head, "If I had known... well Naruto for now lets no dwell on the past." he finished trying to write off the conversation entirely.

"And what about the whole 'We learn from our history' bit old man?" Naruto inquired.

"Not tonight Naruto." the former Hokage said with a strained smile, but with a tone that said there was no room for argument.

The two sat in silence for a good while after that. Naruto barely even nibbling at his ramen that had long since gone cold. Eventually Naruto jingled the two gravity defying bracelets, "So... you were saying about these?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Hiruzen lit his pipe once again as he began, "Right... well those two items I gave you are very special. There is a lot of history behind them Naruto. I know that since I have practically raised you, you know of the story of the Sage of the Six Paths. You know that he gave a lot to the shinobi world. And some of the things it was said that the man did were so incredible that it almost seems impossible to believe. However what few people realize is that the man had left behind many artifacts, scattered all across the shinobi nations."

Naruto took a pause as he let it sink in, his brow contorting as he searched his brain for information pertaining to the subject, "You have mentioned something like this. Do you mean like the Gold and Silver brothers of Kumogakure?" Naruto questioned with slightly wide eyes.

Sarutobi gave a weak smile at the rough memory of his childhood, "Yes, much like the Gold and Silver brothers Naruto. You see Naruto both of your parents each found one of these items, on separate ends of the shinobi nations in your childhood." The wise old former leader had Naruto's undivided attention as he continued on. "Your mother came to this village with this..." He reached out and raised up Naruto's wrist with the tiny disk attached to the bracelet, "tied on a necklace around her neck. She was quite a charming girl when she was about your age. If not a bit of a hot head."

Naruto had a large grin spread to his face. He loved hearing stories about his parents. Particularly about when they were kids, and few could give him stories like that except for the man sitting before him.

"Your father on the other hand, he gained his artifact from the war. While I wasn't there, reading his report it was said that your father alone took out an entire fort that was hording supplies for the war by himself. It was a major blow to the Iwagakure forces. Very few people could do what he did that day." Hiruzen said in a serious tone.

Naruto got a large grin at the exploits of his father. "Alright old man, be honest," Naruto said with an ever growing grin, "Could you have beaten my dad?"

Hiruzen shared an equal grin with the young blonde. "Well, there is no doubt your father was very gifted Naruto. But I still had a few decades of experience on him. However I have no doubt that the Yellow Flash of Konoha could have surpassed the old Professor with time. After all Naruto, what have I told yo-"

"It is the duty of a Konoha Shinobi, and most importantly a Hokage to leave behind a better and brighter future for the future generations." Naruto recited another of his many lessons with practiced ease.

"You are catching on quick. I'm glad you remembered."

"How can I not... when you've beaten it into my head." Naruto said with a roll of the eyes, the slightest smirk coming to his face.

Sarutobi chuckled a bit before he continued on with his story. "Well anyways, both of your parents gave me these items when they were younger. And before you were born Naruto, your mother came to me and my wife, and made us promise to do whatever it took to keep you safe from those that would want to hurt you. And your mother wasn't a woman to take no for an answer Naruto." Sarutobi smiled remembering the confrontation between the two. The woman actually acted as if he wouldn't have done anything in his power for such a close family friend's child. "So now Naruto I give you these two items. And I know, you may be thinking that it doesn't tell you a thing about the items themselves. But before I do that, I have one more thing I must tell you."

The smile that had found its way to Naruto's face began to fade slowly as he listened to The Professor's following words. "Naruto those two items are incredibly powerful. And there is a saying that dates back far before shinobi times Naruto. The saying is 'Heavy is the head that bares the crown' which means that with a great power comes great responsibility. Now your mother told me to protect you. She did not say that I had to give you these two particular items. You see, I have had these two items with me for a long time and I was going to give them to a shinobi that I felt deserved them and showed true promise."

Hiruzen took pause as he looked down at the bracelets hanging from Naruto's wrists. "You see Naruto, after the war all three of my students vanished for a period of time taking an extended leave. Tsunade went into retirement having lost many loved ones in the war. She even delved into gambling and alcohol. She became a downward spiral of destruction. She kept spiraling, gambling, drinking, lashing out at anyone that tried to help her until eventually those around her stopped trying to help. Until she had hit rock bottom. My other student, Jiraiya. He found some orphan children during the aftermath of the war, and he felt that these children showed significant promise. He even said that he believed that they could redefine history. He decided to stay and train them for a few years. But they are not important to this story Naruto. Who is important is my final student."

"Orochimaru..." Naruto muttered with a tightened lip as he recalled an encounter he had with the man before.

"Yes Naruto. Orochimaru has always been fascinated with ninjutsu. He was an expert at inventing them as well. However one of his hobbies and passions he had acquired over time was searching and collecting ancient artifacts. To this day he wields one of the most dangerous weapons in the world, The Sword of Kusanagi. A blade that can cut through virtually anything. And the reason he has it now is simply due to his search. However when he went out and left Konoha shortly after the war telling me he was going to search for another legendary blade much like Kusanagi, The Sword of Totsuka, The Sakegiri Longsword. I knew he would never find it. Do you know why Naruto?" Hiruzen questioned the blonde with a soft gaze.

Naruto shook his head slowly not exactly sure where this was going.

"That is because The Sword of Totsuka, and the Yata Mirror that were formerly possessed by the Sage of the Six Paths now reside on your wrists."

The silence that followed was a tense one as Naruto stared at his two wrists closely. It took a while, but Naruto finally spoke up. "Wait... but I don't understand, if you had the blade all along? Why didn't you just tell Orochimaru you had it?"

Sarutobi smiled lightly at the question, "Because Naruto... sometimes children will travel to the ends of the earth just to find what they are looking for... only to come home to find it. For a long time I wished that would happen to Orochimaru. However somewhere along his journey, his goals had changed. He returned a different person than the simply willful, talented, and inspired youth that left Konoha." Sarutobi took a deep breath after he finished his speech. He wasn't really feeling up to answering the questions about how he felt his pale faced student had changed on his journey. So he opted to quickly follow, "Anyways Naruto. Those relics on your wrists are very special. Wear them with honor. But... just because you have relics on your wrists doesn't mean I will let you stay up late before your first day of school."

The look was priceless as Naruto opened and closed his mouth looking for an excuse. "What!" Naruto yelled out in surprise, despite the former Hokage still being close by. "But... I haven't eaten yet!" Naruto tried to reason.

The God of Shinobi smirked at the young blonde as he exited the living room, "Shouldn't have played with your food then."

Naruto glared for a long time at the spot where the old man was formerly standing before shifting his gaze to the cold ramen cup before him. "You think this is funny don't you..." Naruto groaned as he picked up the cup walking towards the trash. "Why did you get cold..." he said in near anguish as he lifted the trash can lid as if he was being forced to throw away his prized possessions.

XXXXXXXXX

"The Fourth Hokage had unfortunately fallen in battle that day protecting his village from the vicious nine tailed fox. And it was shortly after that conflict that Danzo became the Fifth Hokage." a tall, heavy set man said from the front of a classroom. "Naruto, tell me what was the rule that lead to Danzo taking up the position of the Fifth Hokage rather than our village falling back on the Third Hokage who was formerly in charge not long ago."

Naruto who had been formerly spinning a pencil around his thumb as he looked at his two bracelets was almost surprised when he was called out by the teacher. It took some time for him to regain his composure before he said, "During the reign of the Nidaime Hokage who developed the majority of Konoha's military systems, he developed a rule. This rule was simply that a Hokage could only be Hokage once. They couldn't become Hokage again after already having, and giving up the position. He made this rule because at the time it is believed that the Nidaime Hokage had developed a technique to bring people back from t-"

"Thank you Naruto." the tall man at the front of the class said with a glare the told the blonde that he should shut his mouth.

Naruto rolled his eyes, and proceeded to scan the room as he rested his head on one of his hands at the back of the class. He barely recognized anyone in the classroom. He had been training quite a bit with his old man since he was a kid. But he still was able to get out of the house quite often. However as the village of Konoha continued to expand to accommodate more people, it became less of a village where one was likely to run into the same person rather regularly. It instead became a giant city where the chances of running into the same person once a month were slim at best.

He remembered Hiruzen, the name he had taken to calling the man that raised him because 'Dad' simply didn't seem to fit, telling him about the academy classrooms. He said that the classrooms had expanded to double if not triple in size since his reign as Hokage. He mentioned that Danzo believed quite firmly that a strong military would bring success to the village. An ideal that was similarly shared by Iwagakure. The only difference between the two cultures was that Konohagakure had the able bodies to meet the supply and demand for a strong military. As such the typical training for the academy was heightened quite a deal, and it showed.

Naruto glanced around the room and could see the pink haired girl writing down countless notes had bruises along her tanning skin, and scrapes on her knuckles. Although most people in the room had similar injuries. She was just most notable as she shakily held her pen, writing purely through willpower due to the obvious pain it was putting her hand through.

Naruto was able to quite easily recognize Kiba Inuzuka sitting in the bottom left corner of the room. Naruto knew if he was completely honest, he could say he didn't really like the boy. He had a big mouth, was arrogant, and cocky. Which those qualities alone wouldn't bother him that much. Even he went on a cocky streak every once in awhile. The problem for him was that the Inuzuka simply did not have the skills to back up how often and how much he boasted. Perhaps his older sister. But not him.

As Naruto continued to tune out the instructor at the front of the classroom, he was easily able to point out the children that came from clans directly tied to Konoha's history. And then he could also see the children whom were not native to any family in Konoha. Not in the slightest.

'For example...'Naruto thought dryly as he stared across toward the pineapple haired boy sitting in the middle between a chubby boy eating chips, and a blonde whose hands were far too soft to be a practical shinobi. The children definitely came from the Ino-Shika-Cho shinobi trio that had become quite reknowned over generations.

The on the other hand, the white haired girl sitting next to Naruto, and rarely ever spoke? She was most obviously not a Konoha native. In fact Naruto knew he could probably lose count of the various things about her person that screamed "I'm not from around here!".

Perhaps it was the snow white hair? The silvery eyes that were barely noticable against her incredibly pale skin. A feat in it's own right living in Fire Country. The fact that her clothing was more primitive than what a person would find in the standard shinobi shops around the town? The very blue-gray bear hide that had been carefully crafted into a hood. Her abnormally toned and maturing form for her age, particularly so in her legs. Despite her young age, her abs were toned showing off a few small blade or claw scars below her tightly wrapped but developing chest. She had quite the beautiful face that was quite off put by the small scowl she seemed to constantly wear, in addition to the barbaric faded scar above her eyebrow, and fading blue painted symbol on her right cheek.

All of the staring Naruto was doing appeared to gather the girl's attention, and she whispered quite coldly, "Find something interesting?"

Naruto fought the urge to roll his eyes at that, "New culture is always interesting." he quipped back as her acknowledgment of his wandering eyes didn't put him off in the slightest.

She had brown leggings made of various leathers and furs. A make shift belt made of what appeared to be torn pieces of clothing, ornamented with bone teeth of various animals. Along her waist she carried a small sheathed skinning knife in the front, as well as a hatchet. She had no visible shinobi tools, but realistically at this age? More often than not, if they weren't visible? They weren't present. The most notable thing about her entire presences was the great big sword that was posted up against her desk. It was easily the size that she was, maybe even slightly larger. It had numerous gashes and other forms of wear and tear along the blade, all the way up to the bone horned hilt. The blade had seen far more combat than it would have been possible for the girl sitting next to him to be in. Or perhaps she simply didn't take care of her sword. That was always a possibility as well.

"Keep staring, and I'll cut you with it." was the quick and dangerous reply the girl gave in regards to Naruto's actions.

Naruto gave a blatantly fake smile before changing his gaze elsewhere. He would admit that the girl was interesting. But she wasn't that interesting. And besides? It was at that point the instructor shot Naruto a cold look that simply told him "pay attention damnit."

XXXXXXXX

In the dark, cold, barren ruins of the former Uzumaki Clan a single figure sat alone. Amongst whirling waters, in the biggest destroyed building, there was a man in an orange mask. He sat on a single large stone chair, the floors covered in a low level of water. Floating scraps of wood and support beams no longer doing their jobs laid discarded along the great hall.

The figure sighed heavily as he unclipped his mask, and held it loosely in his hand. In his other hand he held onto a bead necklace that he carefully rolled back and forth in his hand. To be simple the man was reflecting on life. He could no longer call it his own life. If a person were to ask him about his own life? He may tell them of his battle against The First Hokage, and one of the most influential people in Konoha's history. One of the most powerful shinobi in the world? Or perhaps to a select few he may tell them of long ago in history, he was a mere boy crushed utterly under a bolder, giving an eye to his rival and letting the boy grow into a legend in his own right?

Maybe one day he could reveal to countless people that it was he who wanted to see the Shinobi Nations united. Whether it be united out of love, or united out of tyranny and fear. That he could later on in history claim to be the one who crafted the reality that was "The Moon's Eye" plan? But that reality. That life? It seemed so far away now. A united nation? The nations were united, under tyranny. All of his work? His planning? His plots? They were useless now. To think that countless years of endless war ended by one man simply standing up and having the balls to take everything for himself. To defy the very complex ideas of time and space in order to establish a level of order around the entire world? Such ideas were never even prevalent since the era were Samurai ruled the Elemental Countries.

No, all of his persona's he had adapted over the years. There was no more point to his immortal existence.

He was not Obito Uchiha. He was not Tobi. He was not Uchiha Madara. He was not The Mizukage, Yagura. He was no one.

Well that was a lie. There is one identity that was originally his own, one identity he once held, an identity that he could never get. The one he could never get confused with. The God of Shinobi, The 'Savior of this World', The Sage of the Six Paths.

XXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXX

Anyways that sums up this chapter, let me give a brief run down of what this was supposed to be. Originally I had a lot of ideas for this story. However I could never really form them all together into a consistent thought. Like it is quite obvious this world has a lot of potential, and it is a really simple idea that I was actually really surprised was never really done on a larger scale. (If someone did anything like this, just say so in a Review. I'll gladly check it out.)

The idea behind the world was largely modeled on a quote I remember from a long time ago. I can't remember from what animated film it was, but the villain stuck with me due to how real he was. And as such the idea behind the villain and the world is that Danzo stepped up to the plate of Hokage upon the death of the Fourth Hokage. He takes the time to use the Hiraishin as a means to quickly transport vast amounts of shinobi around the elemental Nations in an instant. Then he just proceeded to take over the other nations one by one. Then being able to defend his territory with the mobility the seals provided. (I'd like it to also be known that I actually had this bit laying around for months before the most recent Naruto chapter was released. It allows me to feel like I can keep some degree of creativity before Kishimoto gutted my idea like a fish.

So what you see here briefly is a mere glimpse of the world. What I will tell you now is just general ideas and what this world could have been, because I frankly don't plan to continue it any time soon, if ever. If you want to try and write something like this, feel free. All I ask is you give credit for the initial idea.

Orochimaru plays a bit of a blood hound in this story, similar to the hand of a king. He is the long reach of Konoha essentially. When someone seeks to act out or oppose Konoha? He is the guy that gets sent out after most people. He is considerably stronger in this take on the world because he never needed to leave Konoha. With Konoha "owning" everything, he could take humans to experiment on from anywhere. And with Konoha and Danzo's resources at his disposal, he was able to grow exponentially. So long as he continued to help Danzo gain control on his Sharingan's and Hashirama cells.

Danzo becomes the dark horse. He is the darkness of shinobi, and frankly he is the "Truest" ninja in the Naruto series. And as such when a person like him rises into power in a world surrounded by a bunch of "Close but not quite" ninja? He takes advantage of it. He rules with an iron fist, and has a deep loathing for when people oppose his power and stand up to him. He is possessive of his current situation due to having tried to achieve it his entire life.

Sarutobivery much plays the wise old man of this story in particular. Not just to Naruto, but to other characters such as other people Naruto's age. Anko, Itachi, Kakashi. Even Sarutobi's teammates look to him for guidance at times. In truth Sarutobi is a fading light in the midst of a sea of Darkness. He is not Hokage by law in this story. But he still carries and preaches about the Will of Fire, a concept lost amongst the new generation. Now while Sarutobi's presence is always a constant threat to Danzo's ideals? Sarutobi is also retired. And Sarutobi having any kind of "out of the norm" death would cause a bit of outrage, and people may riot again Danzo's rule due to the potential foul play in Sarutobi's death. (Hence dissuading Danzo just outright assassinating the former Hokage).

Narutois a bit different than canon. He grew up with a strong father figure in his life. He knew of his parents. His shinobi foundations are solid in his life. Naturally he grows up to be skilled and strong. But the most important thing really is that Sarutobi passes on the Will of Fire to his effective son. And that alone creates ripples in the new generation. When an entire generation promotes ruling by an Iron Fist, and then there is one person against all odds preaching about true peace? It is a long shot, but is the only shot people really have to look for in the world. And as such unlike the actual Naruto series, Naruto's actions anywhere and everywhere truly have a major effect in a world of cutthroats.

Characters like Zabuza and Nagato. The characters that were formerly rebelling for or against an idea. For or against a country? They are now rebelling against this empire that Danzo has created. For personal reasons, or for simply hope of a better future.

Many New Characters. The way this story is set up essentially gave a vast opening to be inventive with the types of people you could find across all of the elemental nations. EX: The very barbaric female briefly showcased in this chapter. Bloodlines that are absent in the Naruto would may resurface due to the vast amount of people collecting around Konoha due to it being the "Safest" place. Or new bloodlines could be founded due to repeated mixes in the gene pool for the most recent generation.

Now naturally there are numerous more characters and ideas that change given this stories layout. Such as the Akatsuki members? The Jinchuriki? Itachi(to be quite specific with him). But we get to the final character I felt worth noting in bold.

Behind the Orange MaskFor the longest time we have been writing off this character simply as "Tobi" or Madara. But the fact of the matter is that the beauty of having a masked villain is that you are capable of doing really anything. And the can be virtually anyone. EX: Darth Vader turned out to be Luke's Father. The idea that anyone can be hidden behind that mask. Yet at the same time. That very person can pretend to be anyone as well. And as such you find yourself stuck in a place where you wish to know what lies behind the mask, but at the same time you may never really know. Ex: Why people in comic books are always so interested in a superheroes identity.

So I decided to make him The Sage of the Six Paths. What this entails, and his motives in this story however I wont state(on the offshoot that I come back to this). I wanted to really make a character that felt truly Gray in this world. And the character Tobi. Like just purely the canon version of Madara? In this world he doesn't really even seem that bad. A guy willing to go to war to put everyone in a genjutsu where they would get along in a fake peace? Or live in a world where the only way to secure peace is to prepare for war?

So adding Depth's to Tobi's virtually blank character was one of the first steps to making a respectable gray character. And giving him a historical and respectable back story that can plausibly fit in with his current history? It is a nice way to start.

So finally, those are all of the notes I will stick onto the chapter. If you find yourself interested in trying to write this story idea, and would like more ideas or want more information of where I was going with this? Feel free to leave a review, and I will get back to you. Anyways hope you enjoyed the read, leave a review to give your opinion on it, frankly I'd like to hear it. I would have tried to write this story if it wouldn't take so much damn work to hold it all together. (Essentially everything you would do in this story, you would have to make it original content because the foundations of the world have been broken under a new era.)