Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This fanfiction is in no way endorsed or approved by the people who do.
Summary: The intention of this fic was to create an alternate view of world of Naruto, not recreate the common fanfic cliches. It is not visible in the beginning, but I hope to shoot for a grittier, more real feel in my fanfiction, as I see the ninja world in a light that is not so pretty contrary to what many authors tend to portray in their fics. The story begins at the end of Naruto's training journey with Jiraiya (The time skip in the manga), which has taken a bit longer than originally intended.
Torva Veritas
Prologue: Quiescere
"Aww c'mon, why can't we just stop and take a small break? We've been walking all day!" A scowl directed at the older of the two traveling partners could easily be seen on the boy's face.
The older man chuckled to himself a bit. "That's no way to talk, it's only a bit further, and besides, what kind of ninja complains about sore legs on super important mission?" In his best impression of the Third, he turned to the boy, "A true ninja must know to put the needs of his mission on a higher priority than the needs of himself."
The young boy cocked an eyebrow and placed his hands on his hips. "Don't try to pull that on me! That may have worked when I was just a little kid, but I've gotten a lot smarter since then. You've taught me better than to just follow a mission blindly, just like that time with the scary shark guy where you had to..." The boy was silenced with the lighthearted remarks and hand of his companion.
"Boy, you know I told you to stop telling those ridiculous stories. I have no idea where you get that tendency from." The boy's cold stare of death showed that he knew exactly where it came from. "Alright, alright, I'll make a deal with you. Make this last leg of the journey easier on me and I'll treat you to whatever meal you want once we're back in Konoha. Deal?"
"Deal! But you're going to regret it!"
"I'm sure I will short stuff, I'm sure I will..." After a quick ruffle of the boy's blond hair, the man picked up the pace, somewhat excited to see Konoha again after his unexpected separation of five years.
Five years.
Five years since she had accepted this damn job, and five years of paperwork to prove it.
With a deep sigh, Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha, relaxed back in her chair, ready for a break from this paper castle she had built around her desk. While it was usually a good plan to try and do the work as it came in, rather than let it build up, Tsunade was never one to actually think a situation out in advance. All planning did was tie you down to routine day in and day out, there was no risk involved at all. Having no plan meant always having the opportunity for a little surprise, and if the cards turned out just right, maybe even a big one. The result of this thinking now blocked The Legendary Sucker's view of her office door; one did eventually have to pay their tab no matter how hard they tried to run away.
But then again, this paperwork didn't exactly require... how should she put it, a ... sober ... Hokage, and there was no harm in having a little bit of fun while working, right? Right.
With that matter decided, she reached over the worn wooden desk to her favorite hiding spot for her emergency stash of sake. Shizune had been quite the resourceful enemy in the past, but she still had a ways to go until she rivaled one of the legendary sannin. A simple alteration of the same genjutsu she used on her body, and viola, the all important emergency stash looked just like a paperweight in the shape of her favorite slug. No better place to hide something than right out in the obvious.
Her flawless logic was immediately interrupted as she lifted the paperweight up off the stack it had claimed for today. Right on top sat a crumpled letter, with her name scrawled in blue pen and a slight red stain in the upper left corner, but that wasn't the most interesting part. A small, red frog sticker sealed the letter shut. Only one person was stupid enough to send a private letter to the Hokage with a marking that would immediately reveal who wrote it, and that person happened to have unruly white hair, the status of legendary sannin, and an obsession with anything involving scantily clad women.
Another sigh escaped Tsunade as she shook her head and broke the seal on the letter.
My Dearest Tsunade,
While I obviously cannot go into details due to the nature of how I am sending this message, I figured you could do with a little heads up. Expect us back in a couple weeks, some problems have been solved, but as always, new ones have arisen. We think it should be safe to return to Konoha for awhile, but put out a few more watchdogs till we get there and can affirm the situation. I'm sure the kid is gonna be a bit excited to see his home after such a long time, so try and keep it together until we get back.
Yours Truly,
Jiraiya
Well, this certainly was good news. Unforeseen circumstances had made it so Naruto couldn't return in the original time frame, but if Jiraiya said things were ok for now, she would trust him. Those same unforeseen circumstances had kept her from hearing much word about Naruto's wellbeing over that time period as well. Jiraiya had sent her a measly two reports, the first one six months into the journey, stating he was sure Akatsuki wasn't planning to move for at least another two years, and that this meant he would need to keep Naruto out of Konoha, for the safety of the village, once they started moving until a solution could be found. The second letter she had received about a year later; It was a hospital bill Jiraiya had forwarded to her with a quick note that said, "Sorry."
She also had no clue when exactly this letter had arrived, which was partially her fault since she had been avoiding her desk like the plague for the past week and a half. That meant that this little situation needed to be taken care of ASAP, but, as fortune would have it, being Hokage also meant being able to push your work onto others.
"Shizune! Get in here, I need some help with something!"
Hinata could not believe what was right in front of her eyes. After all this time waiting, not even knowing if she would be graced by this sight ever again, here it was, right where she least expected it. Her pulse quickened with excitement at her discovery.
Her mother's favorite white lilies, right here in the flower shop owned by Ino's family. Who would have thought that the new trade agreement with Mist would have brought these into Konoha? She remembered very little of her mother, but she did remember her tending to her garden as a little girl, with these flowers being her favorite of them all. Unfortunately, Father had them removed after her death, which, she had reasoned, was because seeing them hurt him too much. This also meant that she wouldn't be able to put any into her garden, which saddened her a little bit.
"Hinata!" An overly excited blond called out to her, and she turned around to face her.
"Ino-san, its nice to see you. It has been quite awhile since we last talked. Your training must have you pretty busy." Ino walked over to her, a scowl now on present on her face.
"You're tellin me, Ibiki is a slave driver. I know this is the best choice for me since I'm not too adept in combat situations, but still, you think he could give me a break every now and then." With that said, the girl let out a small sigh, and performed a complete emotional 180, a sly smile on her face.
"So, what brings you here Hinata? Finally ready to take Kiba up on his offer?" A bright blush immediately flared on the young girls cheeks. Thankfully, the past three years of her life had been filled with a little social training for her future position, else she might immediately have reverted back to her stuttering, finger pushing ways.
"Not exactly, I just noticed the lilies from outside. My mother used to grow them when I was a child."
"C'mon Hinata, you've been waiting around for five years now. A 17 year old girl as pretty as you has no reason to be sitting around at home on Friday nights! Live it up a bit! While I hate to say it, we have no clue when Naruto is coming back, if he ever is."
This earned the blond girl a cold stare from the young Hyuuga. "Naruto-kun will be back, I know it. He has to, because he promised he would become Hokage one day, and I know he will."
"Your loyalty amazes me Hinata, but you don't even know if hes going to be the same Naruto that left." Another sigh was let loose by the girl. "But I have to say, Naruto was always one for surprises, so you may just be right. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt him any for you to go have a little fun with Kiba though, would it? Plus if you show some interest in a guy, your Dad might let these talks of arranged marriages I've been hearing about slip away for now."
"That's true, but it just wouldn't feel right. Kiba's a nice guy, but..."
"But nothing. Just give him a chance Hinata, things may turn out for the best, who knows? A little fun never hurt anyone."
"I suppose...that it would be ok... but just this once."
"Perfect!" The sly smile Ino had been wearing turned into a full blown one. "Now to figure out what you're going to wear."
"B-but Ino-san.." Trapped in the jaws of the beast, Hinata was dragged up into Ino's room. Maybe Ino's training in persuasion and interrogation had been going a little too well.
"There she is my boy, Konoha in all her splendor and glory." The older man broke a wide smile, and spread his arms out to reveal the spectacle.
"Doesn't look all that great to me, its just a normal town."
"That is where you're wrong short stuff. This place means the world to me, and I hope that one day it'll mean the same to you. This is where you'll be training to be a ninja, aif everything goes well."
"Really, you mean it papa? I can't wait to be a strong ninja just like you!"
This got a chuckle out of the older man. "All in good time, but before I forget, wipe those whisker marks off your face before we go into town. I know they make you look amazingly cool and all, but it might not be a good idea to keep the facepaint on when you're in town with me."
"Why papa? I want people to know that I'm the son of the super strong Uzumaki Naruto!"
"I know kid, I know. Lets just say that in this town that name doesn't have the reputation it does elsewhere. Maybe later you can put them back on, but for now no whiskers."
"Aww.." The boy wiped the markings off his face with the back of his hand.
"Alright then, into Konoha! I hope the Old Man's ramen stand is still there, I promise it'll be the best ramen you've ever eaten."
"But we always eat ramen! You even told me I would get to pick where we ate, and besides, it can't be good for a growing boy like me! I heard it even stunts your growth!" Naruto would never learn who taught him that one, but he had his suspicions. Jiraiya had complained about Naruto's eating habits enough over the years to be a suspect.
"Its a risk I'm willing to take!"
"What?! Hey!"
The older of the two blonds took off running towards the gate, laughing the whole time while the smaller boy chased after him. Times like these were a much needed break from the life he had been living. He just hoped his bad times weren't following him into Konoha.
(A/N) A bit confusing? I would imagine it came out as so, but give the plot a little bit of time to develop before making any radical judgement calls. First note - before I get comments – Do you think a 17 year old Naruto could have a child he was biologically responsible for? The correct answer is no in this case, so put those fears aside for now. If anyone would like to pre-read my chapters for me, just send me an e-mail (address in profile). Comments are welcome as well. Any help at all, really, would be greatly appreciated.