Intro: Hello! This is my first ever fic, so I hope you enjoy. Without further ado, I present The Nine-Tailed Sage! (P.S. This is one of those stories that begins with part of the ending, then goes back to the beginning for explanation and details.)
Chapter 1
Blood and bodies.
That was all that could be seen on the landscape that was the elemental nations. Bodies just floating on a knee-deep sea of blood, seeming to go on endlessly in every direction. Some were recognisable, with only the smallest of fatal injuries. Other bodies, however, were just maimed beyond belief, impaled, crushed, decapitated, sliced, burned by many different elemental jutsu. Organs spilling out, bodies torn to pieces, destroyed by kami knows what. The worst part wasn't the smell or even the horrendous sight of these war-torn bodies. No, the worst part was the deafening, ear-splitting cries from those unlucky enough to not be accepted by the bittersweet embrace of the shinigami. Eventually, the crying and moaning died out, only to be replaced by a familiar sound.
The sound of metal crashing against metal.
One of the culprits was a tall fellow, around 6'2" tall. This man was very well toned, with a slightly tanned complexion covered by multiple gashes and bruises, which in turn were covered by a thick coating of blood, sweat and dirt on his whole body. He had the remains of a tall, dark cloak with an alternating pattern of red and blue flame-like swirls, with the bottom border of the cloak having a purple colored flame with a white outline design.
The man had a sharp, angular face that held great authority and seriousness about it, but also a gentle, caring and playful feel as well. His eyes were a blue as the deepest ocean, with a black pupil and six concentric ring-like circles to them. The man also had spiky golden locks that stretched to his shoulders, with alternating red and blue tips at the end of each spike of hair, as well as a streak of burnt orange complementing the gold. Last but not least, he had six well-defined whisker marks on his face. around his neck was an all-black necklace with six dark maroon magatamas flowing lightly in the october breeze. In one hand of this sage-like man was a beautiful katana with an Ivory hilt and a blade that seemed to be made entirely of controlled wind. In the other hand was what seemed to be a japanese long bo made out of a combination of bamboo and an unrecognisable black metallic substance.
The sage-like man's name was Uzumaki Naruto.
After what seemed like ages, Uzumaki Naruto moved at speeds that only Might guy in with all eight gates open could even hope to keep up with keep up with, hoping to completely obliterate the two men that had been responsible with completely obliterating all shinobi, even his own comrades and girlfriend. These men, however, were no pushovers themselves. They had both been brought back by fate from the great beyond just for power, and would stop at nothing to obtain it. They were both related, with one being the descendant of the other. Right now, they themselves were both disheveled, beaten and bloodied, but were determined to defeat the Uzumaki that held the final piece to their puzzle. The two men both had the Rinnegan, and were proficient in using it to its fullest.
The two men that wanted Naruto dead were none other than Madara Uchiha and Indra Ōtsutski, otherwise known as the first Uchiha as well as the Sage of Six Paths' Elder son. Both of these men moved at speeds that rivaled the Sagely Uzumaki, with the clash of the three men creating a gigantic explosion where they clashed.
(7 years ago, Konohagakure)
Loneliness.
That was only one of the many feelings that the Hidden Leafs self-proclaimed Number one Hyperactive Knucklehead ninja felt in his home village tonight. It was a warm summers eve in Konohagakure, families were out enjoying themselves, having a grand old time and living on the high of life, while a certain blonde prankster was alone, per usual, trying his best to avoid all of the stares he was receiving from adults and shinobi alike. He was pretty used to the starring, but the name calling was still like salt in an open wound to him. Most shop-keepers also did not want the demon boy or fox brat anywhere near their business', at least not if they wanted customers that was. The only place Naruto could go were the run-down shops that nobody would shop at anyway, and even then their prejudice would still prevent the small blonde child from entering, at least not for very long that is. 'Why does everyone hate me so much' Naruto thought, 'I haven't done anything really bad to deserve this'.
The blonde was still thinking as he passed by a bar that some Jounin go to for really cheap drinks. Some that were piss drunk saw the small twelve year old pass by and got angry really fast, letting the alcohol do the talking and, for some, the thinking as well. "Wh-who does that demon sh-shit stain think he, think he is?" said one of the Jounin to three others, who were also clearly drunk. "Yeah, if it weren't f-for that damn hokage, we would sol-solve the villages problems by now!' slurred another, getting yells in agreement from the other Jounin in the group.
"W-well why don't we do that now?" said another to the group, which got a resounding slurred cheer in agreement from the group. With that they got up, attempting to go after the blonde.
(with Naruto)
The blonde was headed home, head down and sobbing when all of a sudden he felt a severe pain as he was sent crashing to the ground. He was violently lifted up and thrown into a wall at high speeds, creating a large hole in the side of an abandoned building. He was too shocked and dazed to move, and when he tried he felt a severe pain in his left arm as well as a slight pain coming from his right wrist and both shoulders. "Why are you doing this, PLEASE STOP!", the blonde screamed in complete agony, sobbing more than ever. "No, I don't think we will," said the most sober of the group after using a jutsu to sober up. "After all demon brat, you're still alive, so we're not finished yet," said another after sobering up, with the remaining two following suit. However, an Anbu leaped in between the boy and the men. "Stop, as order of the hokage, this boy shall remain unharmed. Now leave, before I ma-" and before he could finish that thought his throat was sliced open by a kunai, and then was imbedded with multiple shuriken and kunai before being run through by his own blade.
What happened next would make many people question if these four men had any morals at all.
After retrieving the battered blonde from the wall and launching the dead anbu through a wall, the men proceeded to break all of the bones inside of Naruto's tiny limbs, enjoying the small blondes cries of pain as each bone was shattered. The men did this so he couldn't escape their grasp. The group then flung the boy through abandoned buildings, breaking more bones in the poor defenseless blondes body, as well as all of his ribs. They then took Naruto, who had fallen into unconsciousness a short time after they finished breaking his limbs, and used him as target practice for a while, piercing all but his vital organs, and nearly severing off some limbs of his. After a while, the group had their fun, and decided to bring him as far away as they could and leave him for dead. They grabbed Naruto, who was just barely alive thanks to the fox not wanting his host dead just yet, and started to travel as far away from the village as possible.
(4 hours later)
It had been 4 hours since the group of jounin had left the Konoha with the tiny blonde Jinchuuriki, and they were nearing the edge of the land of fire. "How much longer do we have to go before we can dump this worthless trash?" inquired one of the members of the group. "Not much farther, we're almost there, and they the burden of the leaf will be taken care of, and we will return as heroes of the leaf." said the leader of the group, letting prejudice again replace common sense. Another hour passed when all of a sudden, they came to an ocean. A storm had also started about 30 minutes before they arrived, and it was picking up fast. "Lets just dump the body and leave, I want to get back before the rain gives me a cold." said the fourth member of the group. After cleaning off the blood and from their flak jackets and disguising the scents of the dead Anbu but not the blonde, with their story being that the small boy killed the Anbu in a rampage, so they took the Blonde down. In their minds, they would be seen as heroes, not criminals.
After washing up, they each took turns abusing the blonde some more, after realising that he was somehow still alive. They then discarded Naruto's body in the water and took off, insulting him some more as they left. However, what they didn't count on was a mysterious man watching their every move, from before they had left Konoha up to now.
(Konoha)
As the group returned to village, they noticed something that baffled them: A search for the demon boy and those responsible for the murder of a rookie Anbu found where the last traces of the boy were found in the village.
"Hey you four," said one of the Jounin in charge of the manhunt for the boy, "Where were you guys? Last time I checked with the hokage, there were no missions available, and yet you guys look like you just came back from one. Care to explain?" questioned the man. The leader of the group, seeing how he was proud of what his group did to the Uzumaki Jinchuuriki, decided to tell the story of what they did.
"We were just strolling through Konoha, when all of a sudden we saw the Demon boy kill an Anbu because of his rampages. So, us four Jounin attacked the Kyuubi brat and subdued him. We then brought him out of the village to a point where he couldn't hurt anyone anymore." The leader said with a smirk on his face. However, what happened next shocked him to his core. In a split second all four men hunched over in pain and were handcuffed at the hands of Anbu.
(several hours later, Terror and Investigation)
Ibiki Morino. The name itself sends shivers down many people's spines. He is what many would dub as the best interrogator to have ever lived, and for good reasons too. Not much would get by him, and he made sure that he kept that reputation strong. Now, he had to deal with four men that potentially knew the whereabouts of the self-proclaimed "Number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja" before he was captured, killed, or worse: captured by Iwagakure simply because he looks like the man that caused Iwa so much strife during the third great shinobi war.
"So before I begin," Ibiki said to the leader of the group, "I'll give you one last chance to tell me where the boy is. If you still won't talk, then I'll be forced to do unspeakable things to you. Things that you can only dream about in nightmares" Ibiki warned. "There's really no need for any of this," the ring leader said, "We've done this village a favor by getting rid of that damn fox, the same fox who killed my siblings, as well as destroyed countless families and took the life of our savior, the Yondaime Hokage'. "Well, I can see we're gonna do this the hard way, don't say I didn't warn you: Kuchiyose: Torture Chamber!" and with that, Ibiki went to work, discovering where they took Naruto, and immediately teams were sent out while the leader of the group was executed, cursing out Konohagakure the entire time for protecting the "demon shit stain" instead of "finishing the job" as he called it. The other three members were imprisoned until a decision could be made on what to do with them.
(Several Days Later)
'Wha-where am I...' thought the tiny blonde as he woke up on an unfamiliar island. As he came to, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to remember what had happened to him. 'Oh yeah, I remember, I was being abused by those Jounin...why, what did I do to deserve it?' The young Uzumaki boy was still trying to figure out why he was attacked when he remembered that they had every bone in his arms and legs broken, but was suddenly fine. "HOW AM I ABLE TO MOVE MY ARMS AND LEGS?! WEREN'T THEY BROKEN BY THOSE EVIL MEN?" the blonde screamed out loud as he was still frantically moving his suddenly healed body like it was brand new.
After getting over the shock of not being in pain, he decided to get up and take a look around, to see if he could find anyone that may be able to help him. A few minutes of searching later, the tiny Jinchuuriki came across what seemed to be a village, although to his surprise it was completely destroyed, with only a few buildings still standing. As he looked at the rubble, he recognised the swirl-like pattern that was on the back of the jackets in Konoha, except they were on all of the buildings that he could see weren't destroyed or badly damaged. 'I wonder why that symbol is on all of the buildings here' the curious blonde pondered to himself as he wandered aimlessly.
After what seemed like hours to the small boy he found the village gates, which, to his surprise, were only cracked and littered with Kunai and Shuriken. "U-zu-shi-o-ga-ku-re…" the blonde said slowly aloud, as if testing out the name for himself before saying it with more confidence and vigor,"Uzushiogakure." Still not sure where he was, he decided to the village, maybe finding out more about this strange place. It was also getting late, so he decided to put off the exploration until the following day and just rest in the biggest building he could see, as he knew from his time in the leaf that clan heads often lived in the big buildings, and they were also the most wealthy people in the clan, meaning good food and comfortable beds.
(Next Morning, Uzushiogakure)
Naruto awoke from what he could recall as the most comfortable sleep he has ever had in his 10-year existence. After a good stretch, Naruto got dressed and decided to explore the clan house, seeing as this was his best option in terms of figuring out where he was in the world, and also to maybe find a way back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He left the master bedroom, and made his way back down to the main entrance. When he got there, he decided to explore each room thoroughly. He started out by searching each bedroom, only to find nothing about where this island village was. He finally decided to give up, and turned around to head upstairs when all of a sudden he slipped on something and face-planted, giving himself a bloody nose. As a drop of blood touched the floor, it started to glow and move, revealing a staircase descending into the earth. "Woah, I might as well check it out, seeing as I did that, dattebayo!" exclaimed the blonde as he followed the staircase downwards into the earth.
(5 minutes later)
'That's...a LOT...of books...' the blonde said to himself as he stood staring in awe at the two story library that held what could easily be close to ten thousand scrolls and books of all shapes and sizes. How these people managed to collect all of these books and scrolls was beyond the tiny jinchuuriki's little mind. as he looked around, there were books for everything: from beginner to advanced and even master level nin and gen and fuuinjutsu, to medical books, to even a clan history section. However, Naruto felt like he was missing something, like these weren't all of the books this clan had to offer. As he took a look around, he noticed something strange. What he was looking at was in the fuuinjutsu section of the library. As the boy took a book out, it didn't have much information, just a rough outline. As he went through the books and scrolls, he noticed what looked to be the outline of a door. After a few minutes of searching through countless books, he found one that opened the door, which had a dark hallway behind it. 'Woah! A secret tunnel! I'm just so awesome that I keep finding all of these secrets! Dattebayo!' With that, the blonde took off running.
(10 minutes later)
If the library Naruto had seen before was considered huge, then he had to redefine his definition of size. This library was by far the largest that Naruto had ever seen, being at least 5 stories tall and just as wide. The part that amazed him was not the size of the library; he had gotten over that. No, what surprised him was actually two things. The first being that this was only one part of what seemed to be a huge hexagon of different rooms, each of which was the same size as the others. There was a vast armory and training arena, a huge bedroom fit for a king with an extraordinary kitchen filled with ingredients and recipes, a clan history room with a live family tree, a room for meditation, the library of course, and finally, an elemental training room that would help with Naruto's training with the elements when the time came. 'This place is humongous!' the blonde thought, eager to train and learn everything there is to know about this place. The second thing that had piqued the blonde jinchuuriki's interest was that the library was mainly fuuinjutsu, which Naruto didn't know anything about. Anything else was either A or S-ranked nin, gen, or kenjutsu. "Alright, time to show the world what Naruto Uzumaki is made of, and finally get those mean people to stop making fun of me or hurting me, dattebayo!" and with that, Naruto got to work, starting with the library, where the first jutsu he learned was the Kage Bunshin No Jutsu and all of its variants.
(3 years later, Konohagakure)
Peace.
That is what most of the villagers have felt for the past four years, ever since a certain boy was abducted and never found, even by the best trackers of the Inuzuka clan. While some were saddened by the disappearance of this young boy, namely the Hokage, one Anbu captain, and one of the Sannin, most everyone else was jumping for joy and celebrating the day that this boy had finally disappeared, even though most saw him as the Kyuubi. However, what they didn't know was that their time of "peace" in this village was soon to be up, for a young blonde traveller was sitting high above the village, staring down upon it. "So it seems that nothing has changed" the tiny sage said, a small smirk finding its way upon his whiskered face. All of a sudden, the small jinchuuriki closed his eyes, breathed a calm breath of air, and flashed into the air, as if he was a leaf in the breeze. At the same time, three different but similar people felt a slight breeze and saw a leaf pass by them at once.
(Land of waves, 2 days later)
Zabuza Momochi. His name alone strikes fear in the heart of men. Alone, he has the capability to face a small army and emerge victorious, with little to no harm done to him. However, the man that he is facing is no pushover, either, for he has garnered similar fame for his use of the sharingan, the doujutsu unique to the now extinct uchiha clan. What makes this man so special however is the fact that he uses it flawlessly in combat, even though he is not an uchiha. This man is Kakashi Hatake, otherwise known as the copy ninja, and the man that claims to know over 1000 ninjutsu, including the one he made famous, the raikiri. "Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu/Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu," both Kakashi and Zabuza yell at the same time, with the copy ninja living up to his name and using the Sharingan to copy Zabuza's many handsigns without trouble, even though he weaved through them too fast for the average shinobi to follow. Well, except for a sharingan wielder like Itachi Uchiha, the man responsible for the demise of the Uchiha or Kakashi, and certainly not fast enough for a certain blonde sitting far away, observing the clash between the two evenly matched elite shinobi as well as the fight between Zabuza's only "team mate", a masked faux hunter-nin named Haku who was picking apart the genin team under Kakashi. "Well, looks like I better act now before it's too late," the blonde said before breathing a calm breath, closing his eyes, before dropping to the ground, almost hitting it before silently fading out again like he wasn't even there to begin with.
(With the Genin team)
To put it lightly, Haku was outclassing the two rookie genin in every way possible. The two genin trapped in Haku's ice dome were the always arrogant Sasuke Uchiha, the only person Itachi didn't kill in the Uchiha massacre, along with the quiet but efficient Sai, who was orphaned young, but became close with the third hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He considered the man to be a grandfatherly figure, and the Hokage to consider him to be like a grandson. All of a sudden, as both Sai and Sasuke were fading into unconsciousness, a blur went by, shattering the dome and sending Haku far into the air, before Haku blurred out of existence, the last thing heard from him was the name of his Mentor, Zabuza. Then the world went dark for the two.
(With Kakashi and Zabuza)
Zabuza, hearing his name called by Haku, turned his attention to where a fading image of his protege was, the voice soon turning into an echo. However, that distraction gave Kakashi time to close the gap between the two, with his Raikiri, a jutsu that covers the users hand in electric chakra allowing for the user to pierce many objects in their path, also making the jutsu perfect for assassinations. Just as Kakashi was about to pierce right through Zabuza, who was petrified knowing he was about to die, The copy ninja felt extreme pain in his leading arm as for a split second he saw that his arm was hyperextended by the attackers feet, snapping his arm before he was gone. Milliseconds later same person that snapped Kakashi's arm reappeared to launch the Jounin high into the air by a knee to the jaw, before appearing above Kakashi to hook his feet under the Sharingan wielders arms, doing a backflip in air with the copy ninja still hooked on. He then launched the ninja at the ground head first at breakneck speeds, only to appear as the ninja was about to hit the ground, spin kicking the ninja in the back and launching him 100 feet away. He then started walking towards Zabuza, who was in awe at the short cloaked ninja's abilities, only to disappear and, without even appearing again, transporting Zabuza away.
(the next day)
Kakashi was still trying to figure out what had happened back on the bridge. He had Zabuza right where he wanted him, and then he got the beatdown of a lifetime. 'How could anyone move that fast? Only Minato-sensei or the Raikage could have done that, and I don't think Kumo would send Raikage A after me. Could it be you Naruto?,' the leader of team 7 pondered to himself. To the copy ninja, it would make sense that the son of the fastest man to have lived could be responsible, but what didn't make any sense was why he wanted Zabuza, a known S-class missing-nin from Kirigakure who is also an ex-member of the Seven legendary ninja swordsmen, the only one of the seven known to be able to use any of the seven swords he wanted. Looks like he'll just have to ponder it later, right now they had to return to Konoha to complete the mission. He would definitely be speaking to the Hokage as well as Jiraiya about this, to see if maybe the toad sage knew of Naruto's location or if any other reports of someone moving at speeds rivaling the Leaf's Yellow Flash had come up in the elemental nations.
(With Naruto)
Looking at his two prisoners, they didn't seem all that tough. Even though one of the two was a monstrous killer with unrivaled talent, and the other was a cold and calculating warrior with the same natural talent, talent the blonde would cultivate, they didn't seem to dangerous. Ultimately Naruto would turn both the demon of the mist Zabuza Momochi and his icy partner Haku into brilliant warriors with skill only rivaled by those under the blondes guidance. 'All I have to do now is wait for them to rise and shine, then I will explain my goals and ambitions, and show them what they can become if they stay and train with me', the blonde said to himself as both Zabuza and Haku started to awaken from their unconscious slumber. "Wha-where am I? What happened to me, and how am I not dead/Wha-where am I? What happened to me, and how am I not dead," both Zabuza and Haku stated at the same time, confused as to what happened back on the bridge. "I was in the middle of a fight when.../I was in the middle of a fight when..." the two continued, before, "ZABUZA!/HAKU!" With that, that looked around, until they found each other, and sighed a sigh of relief, each happy the other was safe. "Zabuza, Haku, it's good to see you're both finally up," Naruto stated, which got both of their attention, also prompting immediate attempts to perform jutsu from each, before the blonde appeared in front of both in an instant, immediately backflipping onto his hands before creating a Rasengan in each hand to propel himself at the pair, going right between the two, then manipulating the air at his feet to launch forward, pushing the back of their heads down, smashing both of their faces into the ground. Unfortunately, this knocked both Zabuza and Haku unconscious again, and the young blonde was stuck waiting yet again for the two to awaken from their unnatural slumber, which the boy accidentally caused.
(back in Konoha)
"That is the official mission report Lord Hokage," team seven leader Kakashi Hatake told the third hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai may leave, I will give Kakashi the mission pay. However, I wish to speak to Kakashi alone." "Yes, Lord Third," and with that the three genin exited, leaving Kakashi alone with the Third Hokage. "So Kakashi, how did you really get that broken arm," Hiruzen asked. Kakashi told Hiruzen what happened, how he was defeated, and how a hooded man managed to seemingly appear with the breeze. "Lord Third, I think it was Naruto. I don't know why, but I just had this feeling on the bridge that I didn't even acknowledge at the time, but now I just believe it was sensei's son," the copy ninja said. "Well if it truly is the son of the fourth, he needs to be found and brought back here, to his home, where he belongs," Hiruzen answered, a serious expression on his face.
"I don't think he will be coming back here to stay, and I can tell you exactly why," a new voice came from the shadows. Out stepped a tall man with long, spike white hair tied into a ponytail, extending down to his shoulders. "Lord Jiraiya, it is a pleasure seeing you, but what do you meant? Minato-sensei's son must come back. I made a promise to train the boy when he graduated, and now is the perfect time, even though from our encounter it looks like he won't need me," Kakashi told the man, a sad expression on his face while doing so.
"What I mean is that even though I have no eye-witness reports of the boy, my spies have picked up some information that basically gives away his position, and I plan to visit him," Jiraiya finished.
"What are you talking about? What information," both Hiruzen and Kakashi asked simultaneously.
"Well, it has come to my attention that not only have Haku and Zabuza gone missing, but other very powerful ninja from all over have gone missing in similar fashion to how Haku and Zabuza disappeared," the toad sage finished.
"How exactly does this pertain to Naruto's location," Hiruzen asked quizzically.
"Well, a few weeks ago, one of my spies noticed that natural whirlpools have reformed near the Uzushiogakure, something that hasn't happened since before its destruction in the third great shinobi war. He went to investigate further, and for a village that was destroyed it looked like it was pretty rebuilt. If I had to take a guess, I'd say that the boy discovered the secret training rooms of the clan head, along with the legendary Uzumaki Fuuinjutsu library hidden deep below Uzu, and knows all about his lineage, including who he is. If you want to find that boy, Uzu is the first place I'd check, and I do plan on checking it out," the sage finished.
"Well, if he is indeed rebuilding the old village of Uzushiogakure, then I will see to it that a peace treaty will be signed by both myself and Minato's son, or should I say the Uzukage. However, just because one spy saw something on the island village of Uzu does not mean that Naruto is in fact there. Jiraiya, see if you can't gather any more intel on what is happening over there. If you do discover something, and it turns out you were right about the boy ruling the village, you two will be my escorts to the village." With that, the hokage finished his speech.
"I would be honored to be your escort to the village of Uzushiogakure, Hokage-sama. It will also be an honor to see what the son of the Leaf's Yellow Flash has been up to since he was kidnapped all those years ago," Kakashi said, truly excited about his mission the following day.
"Yeah, I share the same sentiment as Kakashi. Who knows, if my information is correct and we go see him, maybe I'll be lucky enough to find out he hasn't begun training with elemental manipulation yet, and I can still teach him a thing or two. Heh, who am I kidding, if he truly has discovered that room, he may very well be even stronger than all of us combined, that is if the rumors about the clan head's storied training ground are in fact true," Jiraiya finished with a smirk on his face.
(Meanwhile)
"This should be interesting. Naruto will definitely want to know about this," a strange man in a large dark blue cloak with red and gold borders said before flashing out of existence like the golden haired sage.
(Next morning, Konoha Gates)
"Don't worry sensei, I'll be sure to get you some more information about the boy as soon as I can," the sannin told Hiruzen before walking through the gates and disappearing into the forest. 'I hope you're right Jiraiya...' the third Hokage Hiruzen thought to himself as he strolled on back to the Hokage mansion, taking in the day while happily smoking his old wooden pipe. 'Maybe Naruto is planning on coming to the Chunin exams, in which case I may finally be able to see the boy once again' Hiruzen thought to himself yet again as he began to resume working on the paperwork from each of the hidden villages regarding the genin being sent to Konoha for the upcoming Chunin exams.
(Later)
Inside the newly remodeled Uzu Clan Head building, the young blonde sage was meditating in a room filled with 20 targets that were all well hidden. All of a sudden, the blonde snapped his eyes open and, moving at speeds that no normal human could track, all targets were eviscerated via senbon needles infused with wind chakra to make them almost untraceable. The result, however, was far from untraceable, with the targets being torn to pieces and each piece being pinned into the wall behind them. the young Uzumaki landed with grace, and as he finished his routine, the door opened up with a masked man walking into the room, partially freezing the room as he walked towards Naruto.
"Haku, what are you doing here," the jinchuuriki asked politely. "I've come to give you some vital information about some things you needed me to investigate," Haku said in a monotone voice. "Okay, what have you found out that is important enough to interrupt my training," Naruto asked with a very serious demeanor to him. "Firstly, I've found out the location of 5 Jinchuuriki, as well as their condition in their respective villages and some very strong leads about the location of the last three. Once we confirm the location of the remaining Jinchuuriki, as well as their current conditions, I will let you know and we can start to go round them up."
"This is good news Haku, I'm impressed with how far you and Zabuza have come since I rescued you two from the bridge in the land of waves," Naruto told the masked boy. "Now what else have you come to tell me," Naruto asked in a slightly monotone voice.
"Well, while in Konoha, the Hokage talked to Jiraiya of the Sannin and Kakashi Hatake, son of "The White Fang" Sakumo Hatake. Apparently, the Sannins spy ring knows that something is going on here, and Jiraiya even knows of this room. If they find out that you are alive and the leader of this village, you can expect a visit from the trio," and with that, Haku finished.
"Well, while this is troublesome, I guess it can't be helped. Since they will eventually come for me, I will grace them with my presence first by attending the Chunin exams in Konoha," Naruto said, shocking Haku internally.
"I thought you didn't want anyone to know that you were alive, at least not yet," Haku exclaimed, his voice still Monotone.
"Well, like you said, Jiraiya knows that something's up, and will eventually come looking whether or not the Hokage gives the okay to do so. Also, given the fact that this man is known as a spymaster, It won't be much longer before my godfather confronts me and offers some meaningless training to make me stronger or something like that," Naruto explained, "So I've decided that I will go to Konohagakure and compete in the Chunin exam. I'm assuming that none of the genin there, not even the so-called last Uchiha, could even dream of being on my level."
"I'm sorry to question you so much, but won't this keep you from your goals?" Haku asked the Blonde Sage
"Well yes and no. Yes because of the fact that I won't be able to keep training for at least a week until the preliminaries are over, that much is a fact," Naruto told the other boy, "However, if what I hear is correct, and it usually is, two very important people will be there. The first is Suna's Jinchuuriki, Gaara no sabaku, and the other is the snake Sannin Orochimaru. Even though I still have no idea what he will be doing there, although frankly I don't care, as he could not possibly have any chance of defeating me, I will find out why he's there. That is how this will also help with our plans, seeing as I may be able to recruit Gaara during the exams."
Naruto then told Haku to try and find out why Orochimaru was going to be at the exams, and also to locate the rest of the Jinchuuriki, as well as some rumors of extremely powerful S-rank missing ninja potentially forming a powerful group that should not be trifled with. Haku nodded in agreement, then left to go investigate. With that, Naruto turned back from the conversation and commenced training again.
(Two weeks later, Konohagakure)
It had been two weeks since Naruto had decided to take part in the Chunnin exams. Now, on the three year anniversary of his disappearance from the village, he stood atop the gates of Konohagakure, and stared at the Hokage monument, specifically at the stone face of the fourth hokage. 'Dad...' the boy thought, as he smiled at him, knowing who his father was, but unfortunately not his story, something he intended to hear while in the village. After standing and staring for a few moments, he decided that he should go to his hotel now and unpack before deciding what to do or where to go. He was fairly certain that not many people would recognise him, and if they did it would be glares of hate and disgust because of what he held inside of him. However, after these exams were over, people would know who he was, that much he would make sure of.
He was walking to his hotel as he passed many people who stared at him, although not in disgust, but in confusion and wonder, as if trying to remember where they had seen his face before. Some recalled him as that boy, while most just shrugged him off after trying to remember where they had seen him before but couldn't. He couldn't help but feel like he was being watched, and decided to lose them by disappearing into a passing breeze like he was never even there.
'Naruto-kun, are you...' a tiny girl with a large beige jacket, purple hair and completely white eyes thought to herself as she came out of her hiding place where she was watching the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki from and stared at where the boy was just standing.
(The next day)
Naruto wakes up bright and early and decides to head to one of the training grounds to do what he has been doing since his kidnapping; train. After travelling for a good ten minutes through the village, he comes across training ground 7, and starts his routine off by meditating and stretching. "Ok, let's get to work," the Uzumaki says aloud, "Kage bunshin no jutsu!" naruto proclaims as he creates 5 clones of himself. "Alright boys, come at me, but no ninjutsu, okay?" The clones complain to Naruto, but his answer doesn't change. After accepting the decision, the clones flash away, their speed faster than anyone other than the Raikage, which is truly saying something.
Naruto, feeling the vibrations from the movement of each clone, readies himself for anything. Quickly, the real Naruto does a backflip as one of the clones blurs soundlessly into reality with a punch that would make Maito Gai proud. The clone misses, and The real Naruto lands on the clones arm with upside down using his fingertips only to balance himself. The real Naruto senses another clone aiming for the back of his head, and, using his incredible strength, launches himself into the air with the hand that he is using to prop himself up.
A split-second after Naruto launched himself a clone also blurred soundlessly into existence with a punch that was aimed for the back of the Kyuubi Jinchuurikis head, only to have his arm pulled towards the other clone. The real Naruto, after throwing the second clone at the first one, kickflips himself upright where he launches five senbon needles at his target with speeds that greatly dwarf those of Haku's speeds. Both clones are destroyed in an instant and Naruto is finally given some time to breathe. This is short lived however as the other three clones come at him from impossible-to-dodge angles.
Thinking on his feet and calculating all of the outcomes in his head in less than a second, Naruto narrowly blocks a kick with his knee, then flips the clone backwards and away by lifting his knee up and pushes outward with his foot. He then does a standing flip upwards and kicks backwards with both feet, scoring a massive hit on the clones chest, rocketing him towards the sky. Only one clone remains, and seamlessly slides into a stance that doesn't have many openings to exploit.
Thinking on his feet, the real Naruto launches 10 senbon, and forms a hand seal, yelling out, "Senbon Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," which multiplied the 10 senbon into 100 senbon each traveling noiselessly through the air towards the clone, who panicked. The clone, after getting over his initial shock, clapped his hands together and yelled "Fuuton: Gale Palm!", which deflected away the senbon coming towards him. What he failed to realise was that the real Naruto had snuck up behind him.
When the winds died down, he was surprised to find that he was still there and not dispersed. What surprised him even more was the fact that the senbon seemed to be suspended in midair, almost as if they were floating. As soon as the clone realised why the senbon were still there, it was too late. The real Naruto pulled the dispelled the shadow senbon, and pulled the original ten through the smoke and towards the fake.
As the senbon were only two inches away, he jumped up, and pulled the needles into the clones while simultaneously cutting the wires on each of his fingers and thumbs so that he could catch each needle. He did so and landed, before turning around and throwing a needle into a bush, hearing the word "Ow" being bellowed from the bush.
"I hope you enjoyed the show, Jiraiya of the Sannin," the blonde said in a booming monotone voice.
Jiraiya was stunned to see how much the boy had changed, physically. He was no longer the short brat running around causing trouble. He was sporting a dark blue and black shirt with an orange, red and gold border on the shirt, black ninja pants and red sandals, as well as wearing the same cloak that Haku had been sporting, only his had a sword compartment in the back and a hood. He had grown taller, making him around 5'6" tall. He also did not appear to be garnering any fat at all, that fact being proven to the Sage by his well-toned arms that seemed to have muscle sculpted on. If he had to take a guess, the rest of his body was probably the same.
His face and hair was what really shocked Jiraiya the most. His face was sharp and angular just like Minato, but still well rounded like Kushina. The whisker marks that defined the boy were darker and slightly sharper, giving him an animalistic and more fox-like look, which Jiraiya assumed had something to do with the fox affecting the boys body as he grew. His eyes were a much darker blue than they were, which made the spymaster wonder if there was something hidden that he was not showing off, which would have sounded crazy if the white part was not tinted a very light shade of blue as well.
Naruto's hair, just like his face, was very different from how it was when he was younger. It was more golden than yellow, which Jiraiya wondered how it was possible. It also ran down to the place where his shoulder blades met on his back. The craziest part, however, was the big red streak with a fire orange outline going from the front of his hair to the very end of it.
"Well Gaki, it seems you've changed since being in the village. Also, seeing that spectacle you probably consider a warm up, it seems that I really have nothing to offer in terms of training, am I right?" the Sannin asked the boy in a slightly upbeat tone. "In terms of ninjutsu, yes, you are right. However, there are some things you can still offer me, Jiraiya." At hearing this, Jiraiya was all ears, wanting to know what he could possibly offer such a talented young boy.
"Do tell," the toad sage said again in a slightly upbeat tone.
The first of which I know you will agree to without a doubt. I want you to help me with learning Senjutsu," Naruto said to the elder sage.
Jiraiya went wide eyed and became ecstatic. "Really? You want to learn the toad style from me? Of course you do, I mean, they don't call me the Toad Sage of Myobokuzan for nothing!" the Sannin exclaimed proudly.
"No, I just want guidance through it, seeing as you know senjutsu. Besides, I already have a summoning contract." the blonde told the white haired man.
"Oh, is that so? May I ask which summoning contract you have?" the sage asked quizzically.
"Well, it's actually quite funny. I have come across a grand secret that only the elders of the Uzumaki Clan knew about and some monks living in isolation atop the peaks of the largest mountains in the elemental nations that I met and befriended during my travels. The secret is being able to have a contract with more than one summoning animal."
That information alone sent Jiraiya into shock. 'More than one contract? Impossible, no one should be able to do that, especially not a gennin like this Gaki. Just what did you learn in the past three years Naruto…' the sannin thought to himself. "Th-that's impossible. Nobody has ever had a contract with more than one animal. Not even the Rikudou Sennin had a contract with more than one animal."
"I assure you, it's possible. I'll prove it to you during our training outside of the village. Now for the other request I know you can help me with, even though you may be a bit hesitant at first." Naruto said, changing the subject.
"I have a feeling I know what you're going to ask, but go ahead and ask anyway." Jiraiya said to the boy.
"I want to know what my father and mother were like, their personalities, everything...even the day they died, and why my father decided to make me the Jinchuuriki of the most powerful of all of the Bijuu, the Kyuubi no Kitsune." The blonde finished, in a monotone voice.
"I had a feeling you would ask that, and I've got an answer for you," Jiraiya said to the boy.
"So, will you tell me, or will I have to visit Jiji at the Hokage tower," Naruto asked, referring to the Sandaime Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, once called the God of Shinobi, as his Grandfather due to their relationship.
"I will tell you everything once we begin your training, alright kid?" the white haired sage said, hoping Naruto would accept his proposition.
"Alright Jiraiya, you've got a deal. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to head out to get some food so that I'm not hungry during the exams." Naruto said. "Oh and before you head out, you can tell Jiji that I'll visit him before I head out with you, okay?"
Jiraiya nodded and they both went their separate ways. 'Naruto, I promise to tell you everything you want to hear, as well as help as much as I can to make up for not being there for you' Jiraiya thought as he wandered off into the village.
(5 hours later)
Naruto, after eating a good breakfast and packing his things into a sealing scroll, headed for the academy where all Genin were instructed to go for the first portion of the test. As he was headed to the academy, he was passed by three little kids, two boys and a girl, one of which was the thirds grandson Konohamaru. All three rounded a corner, and bumped into a ninja that was wearing a long black suit with what seemed to be a puppet on his back and some paint on his face. "...Time to teach this punk a lesson - " the boy proclaimed, only to have his hand grabbed and the boy released by Naruto, who seemingly came out of nowhere.
"Who do you think you are, trying to harm the third hokage's grandson like that." Naruto told that black clad genin, his eyes widening at that statement.
"Kankuro, I think you have made a fool out of yourself for too long this time. I apologise for my brother's actions. If you would unhand him we will be leaving." A new voice said, when all of a sudden a swirl of sand appeared and out stepped a red-headed boy with the Kanji for love tattooed above his left eye and holding a giant gourd on his back.
"What is your name, boy?" the red-headed child said in a monotone voice that sent chills down many people's spines.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, formerly of Konohagakure before I was Kidnapped." Naruto said, finishing with a smile.
"Uzumaki...I must kill you to prove my existence, and besides...mother wants your blood." The red headed boy said with a sadistic smile, before swirling away with his brother and sister, Temari, who was standing near the fence.
Naruto sighed before turning to see a certain Uchiha, glaring at him with both sharingan active, as if trying to read the strange boy who claimed to be the child that was taken from this village and presumed dead.
A look of sheer shock came over him as he didn't even see Naruto move, when all of a sudden, the blonde Jinchuuriki was standing right next to him on the tree branch, as if there the whole time. "So it appears as if you finally awakened those eyes of yours, Sasuke. Good job, but good luck trying to track me at that stage of your dojutsu." With that statement, Naruto vanished, as if only a voice in the wind, sending Sasuke into a fit of rage. 'How dare he insult me, Sasuke Uchiha, wielder of the greatest dojutsu in the Shinobi world! I'll show him not to mess with an Uchiha, especially one with a fully matured Sharingan like me!' Sasuke thought arrogantly.
"Sakura, Sai, let's head out to the academy. I don't want our team to be late to the first test." Sasuke said to his teammates as they started their trek to the academy.
(10 minutes later)
As Naruto appeared entered the academy, he saw many of Genin that he remembered from class when he was still in the village. All of the people he knew were Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka and his dog Akamaru, Ino Yamanaka, Shino Aburame, Rock Lee, TenTen, Neji and Hinata Hyuuga, Sakura Haruno, and lastly Sasuke Uchiha. He decided to find a nice small room to meditate in and decide whether or not he would do something about Orochimaru, who he still had no idea why he would be in the village unless he wanted something, which he guessed would be Sasuke's sharingan.
As he was meditating, he suddenly noticed two chakra signatures enter, and he knew by the chakra that was then diverted to one of the two people's eyes that it was the Uchiha and his fangirl-turned-teammate Sakura spying on him. "Is there something I can help you two with?" Naruto asked, not moving an inch from his spot, shocking the pair that thought they were hidden. "Yeah, how dare you try and act cooler than Sasuke-kun Naruto. You know your place as the dead-last, and you will always stay that way! Besides, Sasuke-kun is an Uchiha with fully matured Sharingan, which means he's unbeatable!" Sakura finished, her inner self agreeing with everything she said,
"Sakura, do you really know what you're talking about? Or is it just what 'Sasuke-kun' has been babbling on about, with you regurgitating it to try and get him to fall for you?" Naruto finished, ticking both members of team 7, the Uchiha even more than his fangirl because of the blondes disrespect to his arrogant pride.
"If you don't believe me, then let me show you why you are the dead last and I am the top of the class!" the raven haired boy said with a cocky attitude.
"As much as I would love to, I don't really want to be late to the first test, and besides, it seems you have a challenger anyway." Naruto said, and with that he disappeared per usual, leaving the Arrogant Uchiha to deal with none other than Rock Lee.
(5 minutes later)
Naruto had gotten through the genjutsu trap that weeded out the people who weren't qualified to become Chunin and entered a room that was filled to the brim with people, some fit to take the test while others wouldn't even make a good Genin.
Naruto quickly found a spot to sit and meditate, catching the attention of all of the boy's former classmates. 'So it appears as though some do recognise me after all those years of being away from the village. That's nice to know.' Naruto thought as he continued to ponder about what to do with the snake.
"Hey, you guys see that boy over there sitting in meditation, with the blonde hair? You guys don't think that's...well, Naruto, right?" Choji asked the group.
"No way, don't you remember that Naruto had short blonde hair? This guy has long golden hair with a red stripe in it," Ino said to the others, "besides, this guy is way hotter than the Naruto we knew. In fact, Sakura-chan can have the Uchiha, I think I'll have this guy." Ino said. 'I'll bet this guy could destroy me in bed. Everyone does have a point though, he does resemble Naruto. If it is, then I'll make it my goal to be his first time' Ino thought to herself, her thoughts getting dirtier as she went on thinking about the blonde, now lusting over him.
As they were talking, a silver-haired guy with glasses came over to the group, talking about Ninja info cards, holding information on certain people. Sasuke, who was now in the room with the rest of the konoha genin, wanted to have information on Naruto. Unfortunately, his information and skills were unknown since he was not part of the village, and did not appear to have gone on any missions. This made the Uchiha furious, since he wanted to know he was better in every way than Naruto, which Sakura assured him was the truth.
After the guy with the ninja info cards, Kabuto, was done, some goons from Otogakure attacked him, and sent him flying, Naruto not paying it much attention. Things were about to escalate when all of a sudden a booming voice instructed them to calm down and that he was the proctor for the first portion of the exam, which was a written test. He explained the rules, which Naruto understood as, "cheat to get the answers but don't get caught."
This wasn't an issue for the boy, as he knew the answers to each question through his studies at Uzushiogakure. However, he knew that most likely everyone else except Sakura, who was extremely booksmart, was cheating in some way. He could see the Aburame Clans beatles flying around, both Hyuuga's were using the Byakugan, and even Sasuke was using his Sharingan. One thing he noticed was that the Yamanaka girl was staring at him, almost...lustfully. He could see she wanted something, so when she used the mind transfer on him, he locked away all of his secrets and allowed her access.
When he returned to his body, his paper was flipped over with a meeting place and time. He decided to check it out, since it seemed Ino was really adamant about it. A moment later, Ibiki gave the final question, which turned out to be an ultimatum, which was either stay and risk failing on the question or leave and retake the test at a later date. After about four or five people left, leaving over 45 candidates left, Ibiki said, "You all...Pass!," which shocked everyone except Naruto.
At that moment a purple blur crashed through the window and onto the ground. When the smoke cleared, a young woman with purple hair that seemed to be a combination of the Fourth Hokage's long bangs and Shukaku Nara's pineapple hair style. She wore a beige coat with a mesh shirt, and had purple eyes. She was holding up a sign that said "Anko Mitarashi: the sexy and single proctor for the Chunnin Exams!" "Ibiki, you seem to have gotten soft," the woman said, "There must be over 40 genin here." Anko finished.
"It's not my fault, they're all just stubborn kids is all. Anyway good luck to all of you on the second task, as you'll need it." Ibiki finished.
"Alright maggots, be at training ground 44 in 1 hour. If you're late, then you fail." As soon as she finished
"1 hour? fine. In the meantime, I think I'll train some more," Naruto said as the purple haired proctor left the way she came in.
(1 hour later)
Everyone that was at the first task earlier had made sure to get to training ground 44 at least 10 minutes early; everyone except a certain blonde shinobi that is.
"Hey where is that blonde kid that resembles Naruto anyway," said Shikamaru "If he isn't here in less than a minute, he will be-" Before he could finish, a slight breeze came through the area, and suddenly Naruto was sitting in meditation in front of the group.
"Uh...did anyone else just see that," Kiba asked, with the rest of the Genin nodding, in shock at how the boy seemed to have appeared with the wind.
"So it seems that you have all made it on time. Since the hour is up, I will explain the second task," Anko told the large mass of Genin, "This place is Training ground 44 and my second home. However, it has another Nickname: The Forest of Death!" the purple haired kunoichi said rather ominously. "The rules are simple: each team will be assigned a Heaven or Earth scroll. the main objective is to acquire the other scroll, and then make it to the tower in the center. You will have five days to complete this task. Any questions" Anko asked.
"Yeah, what about food," Choji asked.
There will be plenty of food to eat out there or get eaten by. Now if there are no more questions, then the second task of the Chunnin exams begins NOW!" the proctor yelled as all of the Genin dashed into the forest, not knowing what they would find.
END CHAPTER
I hope everyone enjoys the first chapter of the nine-tailed sage. Any comments will be appreciated. I will try to make each chapter around 10,000 words long!
