It's the roots of the tree that truly protect it. – Danzo Shimura
Hey guys I just had to start off of this fic with Danzo taking Naruto as a little kid, I read one story like it called Demon of the Leaves, that story is awesome and you guys should check it out. Enjoy
Konohagakure no sato of Hi no Kuni was considered the greatest of the five shinobi nations on the Elemental Continent but right now that mettle was being tested by a being of pure and unadulterated power.
The Kyubi no Yoko appeared suddenly and attacked the shinobi as they rose up to protect their village.
"Hold it back until the Yondiame Hokage gets here." A shinobi yelled as he was quickly swatted by one of the nine tails of the Kyubi.
Many shinobi ran through hand seals for Katon, Suiton, and even the rare Raiton and Futon jutsu but nothing was able to stop the Kyubi from its target as its youki healed any wounds that could be inflicted.
Suddenly a large toad poofed into existence in front of the Kyubi with a human on its head. Said human was none other than the Yondiame Hokage Namikaze Minato aka Konoha's Kirio Senko.
In his arms was his new born son Uzumaki Naruto. The boy had his fathers blonde spiky hair and blue eyes but had his mothers facial features.
The most noticeable thing about his face however were the six whisker-like marks, three on both cheeks, from being born to a jinchuriki of the very beast in front of them. "I'm sorry for this my son but I must do this for the village and to make a way for you to fight Uchiha Madara when he returns, please forgive me son I know you are the Child of Prophecy."
With that said Minato began going through hand seals for the Shiki no Fuin jutsu. A bright light encompassed the field and the Kyubi disappeared as Gamabunta reversed summoned himself back to Mt. Myoboku.
Minato and Naruto fell to the ground but were both caught by shinobi. Minato was caught by the Sandiame Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen and Naruto was caught by a young anbu by the name of Hatake Kakashi.
"I want my son to be seen as a hero Hiruzen, promise me he will be." A dying Minato said. "I will make sure he is seen as a hero Minato-kun, go in peace." With that the greatest Hokage in history died.
Timeskip
The Sanidime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, walked down the halls of the Hokage mansion where the Konoha Council meeting was to be held. Two days had passed now since the Kyuubi's attack. Two days since the Bijuu had been sealed into Naruto. Two days since Konoha had lost it's greatest hero. An appointment which had been greeted with such happiness by the village only weeks earlier, now found itself in shock as it attempted to recover from the lost. Even now, Hiruzen wondered how things might've been different if he had arrived sooner to help Minato and Kushina.
Hiruzen walked slowly as he entered into the council chambers and sat down at the table where the rest of the council was at. In respect of his position and title, everyone stood and only took their seats after he had. Seeing that all the members had arrived, Hiruzen called the meeting to order. "This meeting is now in session. I believe the first order of business here should be the matter of Minato's successor as Hokage. Do I have any nominations?"
Silence met the aged leader. His old teammate and advisor, Homura Mitokado, was the first to speak up. "I think I speak for everyone here when I say that Konoha is not ready to select a new Hokage. I can't think of a ninja in Minato's generation capable of surpassing him at the moment and to simply place someone in the position out of necessity would make the village look weak and vulnerable." The rest of the shinobi seated nodded their heads in agreement.
"I agree," Hiruzen's other teammate, Koharu Utatane stated. "For now, I believe the best option would be to reinstate Hiruzen as Hokage. He has served us well as our leader in the past and until we find a suitable successor, he should continue to do so. Are there any objections?" When none were heard, everyone looked toward the old man for his response.
The Sandiame breathed deeply into his pipe. "Very well then, I will continue to be Hokage until we find a new leader that truly possesses the Will of Fire and the strength and abilities required of a Hokage." He said, agreeing to the proposal. A sigh of relief was felt throughout the room. One problem was now out of the way and done with.
"I'm glad that we've solved the problem of who will continue to lead the village," A voice from the back of the table spoke up, "The issue of what to do with Konoha's Jinchuriki remains however. I ask you now Hiruzen, what will become of Naruto Uzumaki?"
The aged ninja sighed, knowing that he would have had to confront this issue and man sooner or later. "For now Danzo, I intend to place the boy under my protection until he grows old enough to take care of and think for himself. After that, I will let him choose what his destiny will be in the village, including whether or not to become a shinobi."
A murmur arose from the different members, which Danzo quickly took advantage of. "Bah! You have always been too soft on matters such as these my old friend." He spoke in a firm, commanding voice. "A Jinchuriki is meant to be used as a weapon of the village and should be treated as such. To take matters like this lightly would only be a potential danger and hazard to Konoha!" Several members seated nodded, giving their consent to Danzo.
Hiruzen frowned. "I do not take this matter lightly Danzo and you know I have always had the village's best interests at heart. But I will also not allow Naruto to be misused and abused like he is nothing more than some sort of tool!" He relied angrily, "The Yondiame wished for Naruto to be remembered as a hero, and I think I can best honor that wish by granting him the potential to lead his own life where he can make decisions for himself!" A few more members clapped and nodded in approvement, while others still continued to shake their heads and frown.
"Do you really think that is going to happen?" Danzo shot back, "You speak as if you are doing the best thing in the world for him, but I know what will happen in reality." He continued on, in a wise, foreseeing voice. "He will be scorned, rejected, and cast out by society. He will grow up feared and hated by those his age, which will simply cause him to become emotionally damaged and hate and fear those around him. In the process, this will simply heighten the risks and dangers of him losing control of the Kyubi and its destructive powers."
"I have already thought up a solution for that." Hiruzen rebutted, "As of now, all shinobi and civilians are forbidden to speak of Naruto's burden to their children and those at Naruto's age. This will allow him to grow up and interact with them without the preconceived fear of knowing what he is."
"Do you really think that will work?" Danzo sneered, "Their parents will simply shove their fears and hatred onto the children's shoulders. Try as you like, but nothing you do can replace the hatred the villagers have for fox and the tragedies that occurred because of it." Then Danzo's eyes narrowed, his voice deepening. "There is a solution to all of this however. Give me the boy. I will put him into Ne, train him, and make him worthy of containing the strongest of all the Bijuu!"
"I will not allow it!" Hiruzen yelled, "As the Hokage, I use my power to reject this solution and all forms of it!"
"That may be true, but you know if a majority of the Konoha Council sides against the Hokage on a decision, it can be overturned." Danzo retorted matter-of-factly, "I hereby call on the Council to vote on this matter and give their voice on what should be done."
Going around the room, the different members each proceeded to give their opinions. Jonin Commander Shikaku Nara spoke first. "We cannot give into radical solutions at this time when the village must hold true to it's values at all costs. I vote no."
Choza Akimichi spoke next. "I side with you my old friend. I vote no also."
The final member of the trio, Inoichi Yamanaka shook his head. "I am sorry, but I cannot side with you in this decision. I will not risk my clan being hurt any further by the Kyubi. I vote yes."
Hiashi Hyuga nodded in agreement. "My thoughts mirror Inoichi's exactly. I vote yes as well."
"The hell with both of you!" Tsume Inuzuka yelled angrily, "I ain't gonna be sending off a baby to be one of Danzo's warped little minions! My vote is no!"
"I vote no." Shibi Aburame repeated quietly.
"I believe my answer is obvious." Danzo stated, as his turn came. "I vote yes."
"I am afraid I side with Danzo in this matter Hiruzen." Koharu said sadly. "The risks are just too great I'm afraid. I vote yes."
"I am going to have to disagree on this as well my friend." Homura continued. "I will have to cast my vote as yes."
"Hmph," Hiruzen grunted, "I vote no. With 5 votes yes and 5 votes no, the decision then falls to Fugaku as the tie-breaker." Inside, Hiruzen smiled to himself. In the past, Fugaku had always sided with him on issues such as these. With his support, Naruto would be able to safely grow up in an environment free from Danzo's influence.
"I have heard all of your arguments for and against this plan." The Uchiha clan leader began, "And after hearing all of them I will give my answer on what I believe should be done about the boy. My final vote...is yes."
A stunned silence filled the room. Even though everyone had cast their vote on what they believed should be done, no one had been expecting Fugaku to turn on Hiruzen in the end. A smile broke across Danzo's features. "I see that I appear to have won. In that case, I will be taking the boy immediately to Ne headquarters." He stated smugly.
"Danzo please!" The Third begged, "He's barely a day old! Don't destroy this boy's life! Minato would've—"
"—Minato is not here. The Council has given it's decision and as such you are required to uphold it. I believe this meeting is concluded then?" he asked. Hiruzen just sat in his seat, unable to speak or move. Seeing he had won, Danzo turned and walked out of the room to collect his new pupil. One by one, the Council members left, a grim look on all of their faces, even the ones who had supported Danzo.
After they'd all left, Hiruzen continued to sit motionless in the dark. A single tear rolled down his wrinkled, old cheek. 'Minato, Kushina, I'm so sorry.' He thought to himself. 'What have I done?'
Timeskip 4 years
In a deep underground base sounds of a heavy battle could be heard as metal clang against metal in a fight for dominance. The combatants in any other place may have been odd but this was the Elemental Nations, the land of shinobi so this sight would have been more expected.
In a field of craters an old man whose head was wrapped in bandages and who seemed to have only one arm was fighting a child of four who stood at an abnormal height of 4'5 and had blonde spiky hair, azure blue eyes, and six whisker-like marks on his face. The boy in question was one Uzumaki Naruto and he was in the midst of his kenjutsu training with Shimura Danzo.
Since Naruto had been able to walk, talk, and understand Danzo had been training him personally and raising him on Ne doctrine and beliefs. Naruto at this young age had already lost all his emotions and was training to become the ultimate tool of Danzo. When the training first started Danzo found that Naruto was a pure and unadulterated genius. This boy at the age of one and a half was manipulating chakra like it was second nature and doing the basic academy jutsu at the age of two. The boy was put through the most rigorous and challenging training Danzo had which even his other operatives were unable to complete or survive for that matter.
Naruto's skills just grew as he got older until the point where Danzo knew soon he would have nothing left to teach the boy. The boy took to any and all training like a fish to water and kept coming back for more. He was already able to fight Danzo to a stand still in kenjutsu alone and that was no easy feat since Danzo was the foremost kenjutsu specialist in Konoha.
Not only was the boy proficient with a blade but he could use any sharp object to end lives as he was trained. Every other operative in Ne had found out the hard way that to fight Naruto in a battle of blades was to ask for your own death. Even now Danzo had trouble keeping the boy at bay and the boy was only allowed to use thirty percent of his over all power.
Naruto also excelled in ninjutsu. He was as his name sake a literal Maelstrom whenever he used his ninjutsu. When Naruto turned three Danzo tested him for his chakra nature and was pleasantly surprised to find out like him (Danzo), the boy had an affinity for Futon chakra.
Over the next year Danzo trained the boy extensively in Futon chakra to the point where even he could not hope to beat the boy using Futon chakra. He even trained Naruto in his own personal Futon chakra jutsu that revolved around using vacuum manipulation.
To help with the boy's training and taking into account that the boy had a lot of chakra. Scratch that this boy had chakra to burn, at two the boy had enough chakra to make most Jounin jealous and at the age of three he had more chakra than any kage to date with A, the Yondiame Raikage being the exception. His chakra was stronger than what even history said Uchiha Madara's was and that was saying something. Any way knowing that Naruto would never be able to utilize the normal bushin, Danzo taught him the kage bushin jutsu.
With this jutsu Naruto sped up his training to the point where if Danzo where to put him up against the hailed prodigy Uchiha Itachi, Danzo was sure enough to bet that if Itachi didn't go all out he would at the very least lose a limb. At the most he would be utterly obliterated.
"Naruto that's enough!" Danzo said as Naruto immediately stood down and sheathed his blade and bowed down. "Hai Danzo-sama, what are your orders?" "Go to your barracks and rest, we will be heading to the ruins of Uzushiogakure within the months to see if there is anything left of the legendary fuinjutsu of your clan." "Hai Danzo-sama." With that Naruto shunshined away in a swirl of wind.
I have the perfect weapon and soon the Elemental Nations will be under my flag, though Danzo as he left to prepare himself for the trip.
Timeskip 3 years
It had been three years and Naruto skills as a shinobi sky rocketed beyond what anyone would have ever thought possible. After a trip to Uzu Naruto was able to find an archive of Fuinjutsu that only an Uzumaki was able to decipher and he not only cracked it but even made it more difficult to the point where Danzo couldn't even begin to understand it.
Naruto, like all Uzumaki, took to Fuinjutsu with a deep fervor. He came to the point where he could formulate seals for any occasion with only his chakra. No one in the history of the Uzumaki were able to do fuinjutsu to this level and he just kept growing until he came upon a very special type of fuinjutsu that called to him. Jikukan Ninjutsu.
Danzo could swear it was in his blood, quite literally, look at his father and his mastery in the art. Anyway Naruto went beyond even Minato's own mastery and took it further to the point where Naruto could send portions of his body to an alternate dimension to escape injury from an opponent as well as teleport any object or person over great distances in an instant. Naruto was also at the skill level to create Jikukan barriers in an instant and use them to great effects.
Naruto's taijutsu also increased to a level where anyone other than Maito Guy or Hiruzen where to fight him they would be crushed. The boy, when not on missions trained like a machine and when he fell down from exhaustion got back up and kept going. His particular taijutsu style was actually a variation of the humming bird style, which made his already quick and speedy movements unpredictable.
With more effort and training Danzo knew Naruto would surpass even the Raikage in terms of taijutsu.
The only skill Naruto could be called mediocre in was genjutsu. His large chakra supply took away any chance of him every being a master at genjutsu however through sheer determination he was able to become proficient enough in them to do a few B rank genjutsu and confuse his enemies to the point where they wouldn't realize they were in a genjutsu until they were dead.
The final trump card Naruto held was the Kyubi. Ever since he had begun his training Danzo had hin contacting the Kyubi and slowly but surely gaining an understanding of it and slowly controlling its immense power. When Naruto was five he was able to go into a three tailed state before he lost control. With more years of practice he was now able to fully transform into the Biju if he ever came into a situation where it was needed.
Through his connection with the Kyubi Naruto was able to tell Danzo what really transpired the night it attacked and Danzo began monitoring the entire Uchiha clan.
He upped Naruto's training so that he would be able to face off against Madara should the time come.
Back to the story, Naruto was already growing an infamous reputation both inside and outside of Konoha. He was known as the Konohagakure no Kijin both for his burden and the way he was so merciless to his enemies. At seven years old Naruto already had a kill count well into the thousands thanks to the high level missions from Danzo. These missions were missions even the other Ne operatives were unable to complete even with teams.
Such as the mission to not only infiltrate Amegakure but to assassinate Sanshuou no Hanzo and retrieve the Salamander Contract. Not only did Naruto complete his mission but he even destroyed most of Amegakure to the point where barely any shinobi could thrive there.
Hanzo and his entire family as well as his entire regigment of shinobi had been wiped out and by a six year old!
Danzo although confident in Naruto's abilities had expected the boy to return heavily injured considering who he was facing but when he came back covered in the blood of Hanzo and his men with the Salamander Contract Danzo knew then that he had the truly perfect weapon.
He allowed Naruto to keep the Salamander Contract and even let Naruto sign his own personal Contract of the Baku.
Naruto trained with both summons to the point where he could use them each efficiently in battle.
Now we find Danzo standing in a dark room with a boy of 5'2 with spiky blond hair and a Kitsune mask kneeling before him.
"Kitsune I'm assigning you the greatest mission of your career so far, the Uchiha are staging a coup and while Itachi will be eliminating them soon I want you to focus on personally killing and bringing me the head of Uchiha Madara."
"Hai Danzo-sama."
"I have information that says that Itachi has been training with Madara in preparation to kill his clan, I want you to eliminate this great threat to Konoha and bring me his Sharingan eyes." Danzo said with authority.
"What of Itachi Danzo-sama, do I kill him as well?"
"No, I need Itachi to go undercover for this new organization that has been coming up ever since you destroyed most of Amegakure, I have heard that the leader of the group was going to kill Hanzo the very next day after you attacked but since he couldn't he is looking for the one who did it but I don't know why. We need a mole in this organization to make sure that they are of no danger to us, understand Kitsune?"
"Hai Danzo-sama."
With that Naruto disappeared in a flash of yellow light.
Time skip night of massacre
"Haha Itachi is giving them merciful deaths, how pathetic my clan has become." A masked man said as he broke the neck of another Uchiha member.
"Uchiha Madara I presume?" a monotone voice said from the shadows. A boy with blond hair and a kitsune mask walked out of the shadows behind the Uchiha founder with a nodachi class blade in his hands.
"Ah it seems Danzo is getting them when they are youn-,
Madara was cut off as the nodachi blade phased through his head.
"That's was very disrespectful gaki and now I'm going to kill you, wait a second that blade it couldn't be, all of the Uzumaki were wiped out years ago with only a few survivors and no one knows of that blade "
Madara said and clinched his teeth as he said that blade.
The blade Naruto was wielding was the most powerful blade in all of history, it was once the blade of an Uzumaki whose power nearly broke the world into pieces. His name was uttered with fear and it was said whoever of his descendants could wield his blade would surpass him, his name was Uzumaki Sephiroth.
"Uchiha Madara for your crimes against Konoha you are hereby sentenced to death so ordered by Danzo-sama."
With that said Naruto attacked Madara with vigor and Madara found himself completely outmatched in terms of the blade.
Danzo truly has himself a powerful shinobi, if he were allowed to live this boy would definitely surpass his ancestor and conquer this world if not destroy it, I must kill him before that happens only I will rule the world thought Madara as he let Naruto phase through him again.
Madara aimed a punch at Naruto's head but was startled when his hand phased through Naruto's head. Jikukan Ninjutsu at this level and so young, you really are an Uzuamki, I don't think I can win this battle like this.
Before Madara realized it Naruto had sliced not only a piece of his mask but also his right eye which Naruto then quickly and completely plucked it from its socket before Madara could counter.
"Ahhhh, you damn gaki how did you get by my Jikukan jutsu and do that!" Madara roared.
"I placed a special fuin on you that negates your ability to use Jikukan Jutsu as well as your sharingan for a minute, now I can deliver this one and your other one to Danzo-sama."
With that Naruto continued his attack with Madara becoming more desperate with each passing minute the fight dragged on until finally he put some distance between them and began forming hand seals and shouted, " Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu "
A huge fire ball soared towards Naruto who just stood there and took the hit. As the technique ended Madara saw a melted version of his opponent that soon burst into black foxes and scattered.
Sensing something behind Madara turned around to a fist hitting him in the solar plexus knocking the air from him. Naruto capitalized on this and drove his blade through Madara's side and quickly yanked the blade back moving it back and forth to cause more damage.
Damn it, I can't beat this gaki now, I have to retreat for now and plan for later to destroy him, thought Madara as he hugged his side and kept Naruto in view.
"I underestimated you boy but when I come back I will end you-
Madara was interrupted by a senbon needle hitting him on his leg.
"That senbon is covered in a special poison that will destroy you from the inside out and there is no cure for it, you will slowly die and when you do I will take that last sharingan from you as ordered."
Naruto said in his monotone voice.
Madara was livid, he could feel the poison already coursing through him and not stopping, his body was slowly shutting down and his own chakra was beginning to poison him.
"An excellent tool I have wouldn't you say Madara?" Danzo suddenly appeared behind Naruto.
"Danzo I will kill you and destroy your little village for this and the world will be mine!" Madara roared as he began gathering his strength for one last Kamui to escape.
"No Madara you and your clan will be wiped from this place permanently and I shall rule the new golden age, Kitsune kill him and bring me his final eye."
Naruto was instantly in front of Madara with his blade ready to skewer him one more time but Madara was able to dodge it and use the last of his strength to perform Kamui.
"I will kill you one day Kitsune!" Madara exclaimed as he faded away.
"I failed my mission Danzo-sama, I apologize and I'm prepared for the punishment." Naruto said as he kneeled for his master.
For a moment Danzo just stood there and stared at his weapon and then said " No punishment needed just give me his eye and train more, you are getting rusty with all of this peace among the land, I will have Torune and Fuu gather the Sharingan of the other Uchiha to add to this one I got from Shisui.
Timeskip 5 years
It had been twelve years since Naruto had been under Danzo's wing and now the Konohaagakure no Kijin was the most feared and respected shinobi of Konoha and yet no one other then Ne operatives even knew what he looked like.
However trouble arose that Danzo did not foresee, after twelve long years Hiruzan had finally succeeded in disbanding Ne!
"You summoned me, Danzo-sama. What is my next mission?" He asked in an adolescent, monotone voice.
"As of now, the Foundation is being broken up under the order of the Hokage himself." The old shinobi answered, "All Ne members are being transferred to different assignments suited to their various skills. This includes you Kitsune."
"Then what is my assignment?" The boy, codenamed 'Kitsune', asked again.
Danzo frowned in response. "The Hokage had decided that it would be best if you were sorted into a Genin team from the academy under the direction of a Jounin sensei. You are to go and meet with him after this to receive further instruction on how this will take place. Until the time comes when we take back Konoha under our control, you will treat this like any other mission you have recieved."
"Very well Danzo-sama." The boy nodded, "I will leave at once." As he turned to leave, his leader spoke once more.
"There is one other thing. For this mission you will not be using codenames. Instead you will use your real one."
For the first time, a surprised look came over the blonde's face. "My...real name?" he asked in a confused tone.
"Yes," Danzo replied, "From now on, you will no longer be known as Kitsune. Instead, you will be known by the name you were given at birth, Naruto Uzumaki and if you are happened to be put on a team with the last Uchiha, I want you to watch him and if he even looks as if he is going to be a threat to Konoha eliminate him without hesitation."
XXXXXXXXXX
The Third Hokage sat in his desk, feeling better than he had in years. 'Finally,' he thought to himself, 'I have a chance to break Naruto free from Danzo's hold! I only hope it isn't too late.' Just then, the door opened a crack, and the same individual he was just now thinking of walked into his office.
"Naruto!" he said in a happy tone. As he spoke his name, the boy seemed to be caught slightly off guard for a minute, only to return to his emotionless expression moments later. "How are you my boy?"
"I am fine Hokage-same." He responded, "What are your instructions for me concerning my mission?"
"This isn't a mission Naruto." The Third answered in a kind voice, "Being part of a squad is privilege and testament to the skills you have demonstrated in the past. It will be a chance for you to work with others of different abilities and create lifelong friendships in the process." As he spoke these words, Naruto's face remained unchanged. The Third sighed to himself, this was going to be harder than he originally thought. "You will report here tomorrow morning where you will be photographed and your files inserted into the academy records. At noon, you will head to the school where you will be told of who your team will be."
Naruto nodded, understanding his orders. "Where will my quarters be at now that I am no longer part of Ne?"
"Ah, yes. I've arranged for you to have an apartment nearby. If you would follow me..."
XXXXXXXXXX
A few hours later, the two walked into the apartment as the Third opened the door, coughing as dust flew out. "It is a bit dusty, but it has all the essentials you will need and with a bit of spit shine I'm sure you could clean up the old place." He said in an encouraging tone.
"What is 'spit shine'?"
Hiruzen sweatdropped in response. 'This might take a while.' Smiling quickly, he brushed off the comment. "It doesn't matter. Just tidy up the place as you see fit, get plenty of rest, and remember to report to my office tomorrow morning. That is all for now." With those remarks, he turned and walked outside, praying that his plan would be a success.
XXXXXXXXXX
The day just would not seem to end for the old man however. As night fell, Hiruzen received a report that one of the instructors at the academy, Mizuki, had stolen the Scroll of Seals and was now trying to escape the village with it. The Third quickly ordered all available ninjas to pursue him and retrieve the Scroll at all costs. If it fell into the wrong hands, it could mean disaster for the village.
One ninja in particular had been chasing after Mizuki relentlessly throughout the night. Iruka Umino had been friends with Mizuki since childhood and was now determined to get an answer for why he was doing this. As he jumped through the trees, he saw his old friend come into sight. "Mizuki!" he yelled, "Stop!" To his surprise, the ninja did as he turned around to face him.
"Oh, it's you Iruka. Don't tell me you were actually planning on stopping me." The silver haired ninja sneered.
"Why are you doing this?" Iruka asked angrily, "You've betrayed your friends and your village! Don't you realize the consequences for what you've done could have you imprisoned or worse?"
Mizuki just shook his head in response. "Iruka you fool, I've known all along what it is I'm doing. I've been planning it for sometime and soon this Scroll will belong to my master. I don't care about this stupid village or it's traditions. All I want is power and before long I will have it now!" With those remarks, he quickly pulled out a kunai which he threw directly at his former friend. The weapon buried itself in his chest as it's victim looked down.
Iruka then began speaking. "When I heard you'd stolen the Scroll of Seals, I couldn't believe it. Now that I've seen it for myself, I guess I have no choice but to take you down." Suddenly, Iruka vanished in a poof of smoke, a wooden stump taking his place instead.
'Substitution!' Mizuki realized, 'Then where is—' He jumped aside a moment later as a huge shuriken came racing towards him from behind. "Not bad Iruka," The shinobi congratulated, "I've gotta give you credit for coming prepared. Now I can take you on with my full strength."
"Just try it!" Iruka shot back, as he jumped forward and stabbed with his kunai. Mizuki dodged and threw several small shuriken in response, forcing his opponent to backpedal away from him. Then, pulling the kunai out from the stump and another from his pocket, he charged forward blitzing Iruka with a flurry of blades. The Konoha ninja tried to block them, only to find that he was quickly outmatched. After being slashed several times, he threw a out a smoke bomb, giving him time to jump to the ground floor.
"It's no use," Iruka said to himself panting, "He's way stronger than I am. I have to hold out until backup arrives." He had no time to catch his breath however, as a kunai quickly flew pass his ear, nicking it in the process. 'Whew, that was a close one.' The Chunin thought to himself. However, Iruka then heard a strangely familiar noise behind him. Realizing what it was, he jumped backwards a second too late, getting caught in the explosion that followed. The ninja fell to the ground burnt and beat up as his enemy jumped down to face him.
"A good try Iruka, but in the end not good enough." Mizuki taunted as he raised his kunai to end Iruka's life. As the teacher braced himself for death however, he realized seconds later that he was still alive. Opening his eyes, he looked up to see a sword imbedded in his opponents chest from behind. He fell forward, landing next to Iruka as blood poured from the wound in his chest. But the Chunin's eyes weren't focused on Mizuki. Instead, they were focused on his rescuer standing in front of him.
It was a young blond shinobi, about the age of one of his students, wearing a Konoha forehead protector and a strange uniform he had never seen before. He was carrying a sword in his hand, which Iruka immediately classified as a wakizashi. But his most striking feature was his face. It was devoid of any expression at all for what had just happened and was complemented by three strange whisker marks on either sides of his cheeks.
At that moment, Iruka realized the boy was speaking to him. "Are you all right?" he asked in a monotone voice.
"Ye-yes, I'm fine." Iruka answered, "But, Mizuki is he—"
"—dead? No, I missed his vital organs on purpose so that he could be properly interrogated by ANBU."
"But—what are you doing here?" Iruka asked in a concerned voice, "You're too young to be out doing this sort of work. You could've been killed!"
"I doubt it." The boy replied, "This man was quite weak in terms of Chunin standards. It's highly unlikely that he would be able to beat me."
At that moment, several shinobi arrived on the scene. A man wearing an ANBU Dog mask came forward and approached Iruka. "What happened here?" he questioned in a commanding voice.
"I tried to stop Mizuki on my own, but was unable to do so." Iruka explained. "I would've been killed if our young friend here hadn't intervened."
"And what exactly are you doing here?" The man asked the boy in a suspicious tone.
"The Hokage requested all available ninjas to pursue Mizuki and retrieve him at all costs. I followed his orders and retrieved him as commanded." The boy answered, his expression unchanged.
"Hmph," The ANBU snorted, "Well, you can leave now. Your help is no longer required."
"As you wish." Then, with a blur he was gone.
XXXXXXXXXX
Later in the night, Iruka sat in the Hokage's office going over what had happened. Mizuki was currently being held by the ANBU interrogation squad who were investigating what he knew. The Scroll of Seals had been safely returned and was now under heavy guard. But none of these things mattered to Iruka at the moment, since his questions were focused on another topic entirely.
"Hokage-same," Iruka began, "Who was that boy? He wasn't a member of any class in the academy that I know of, yet he clearly was well-trained as a ninja."
"The boy in question is Naruto Uzumaki." The Third explained, "As for why you did not know who he was or who taught him, it was because he was raised and trained by Ne."
"Ne?" Iruka repeated, "Well that would explain things, but shouldn't he be on some top secret mission or something?"
"On the contrary, he is the new transfer student being assigned to your class."
Iruka jawdropped, "WHAT? That boy was able to take out Mizuki with ease and you want to put him on a team of untrained Genins? What on earth would make you want to do this?"
A sad look crossed Hiruzen's face, "It is because he is the container of the Kyubi no Yoko."
Iruka's jaw fell even lower, as an angry look crossed his face. "I don't believe this! When were you planning on telling me that two of my students would be grouped with a monster? I will not allow it sir! It's far too dangerous!"
"Iruka," the Third interjected, "I wish to tell you something. Did you know that before the Yondaime died, he wished for Naruto to be remembered as a hero by the village? I tried to honor his wishes, but instead I allowed for him to be taken by Danzo and be turned into his mindless servant. The reason I am doing this is because I am trying to give the Naruto the chance he deserves to become his own person and rule his own life. Is it really wrong to want to give a boy a second chance who was innocent of any wrongdoing in the first place?"
A silence filled the office. Iruka bowed his head forward, ashamed of what he had said earlier. "I am sorry Hokage-sama. I spoke out of turn. I see now the reasons why you are doing this and it was wrong of me to think I knew better. Please forgive me." He apologized.
"It is all right Iruka. You're reaction simply shows how much you care for you're students well-being." Hiruzen told him kindly as he smoked on his pipe, "I have set the pieces in motion and now we must simply wait and watch for what the future will bring." At that moment, a knock was heard on the door. "Come in." The Third called out.
Inside walked Ibiki Morino, the head of ANBU's Interrogation and Torture Force. He bowed respectfully before speaking, "I have come to report on the information we have gained from Mizuki, Hokage-sama."
"Very good." The elderly man replied, "Iruka, I belive it is time you went home and got some rest. You have a big day tommorow and will need to be ready for it."
"Right." Iruka nodded, getting the hint. "Thank you again for everything you've told me. It's given me a lot to think on." With that, the academy instructor turned and walked out of the office closing the door behind him. Seeing that they were alone, the Third motioned for Ibiki to speak.
"We extracted the information from Mizuki rather easily with the help of the Yamanaka clan." Ibiki reported, "What we found was disturbing however. It appears that he was working to bring the Scroll back to Orochimaru."
The Hokage's eyes widened. "Did you discover any hint of where he might be located at?"
"No," Ibiki answered, shaking his head. "He covered his tracks too well for that. I'm afraid we were unable to gain anything else."
Hiruzen sighed, "Very well then. Please continue to try and gather what information you can from Mizuki. You are dismissed." Ibiki bowed once more before turning to leave the office. As he left, the old teacher pondered on what his former student was up to. Whatever it was, he was positive that it would not be anything good for Konohagakure.
Thats it, I know I plagerised just a bit from Masamune13 story Demon of the Hidden Leaf but it was such an awesome story I just wanted to add my take on it, I will be asking permission to run this story and if they say no I'll take it off and hope someone else makes an even better story, anyway guys let me know how you like it so far. :)