First story, hope everyone likes it. This will be a Good Karma story. Also, I took a leaf out of jrvegeeta's book and decided to remove the Uchiha Massacre, so it won't happen in this story.
BTW, since I'm such a fan of both Infamous and Sly Cooper, I might just add a couple of thieving elements to this story. Cuz I'm cool like that.
"I was... I am scared."
"I am too."
The first thing that Cole MacGrath realized was that his head hurt like a bitch. The second was that he wasn't in New Marais.
Not even close.
He was lying on the ground, in the middle of a huge forest, and was basically lost, in every sense of the word.
"What the hell?" The last thing he remembered was kicking the crap out of the Beast, then talking to Kuo, and then activating the RFI.
"I should be dead." The RFI, or Ray Field Inhibitor, was a device designed by Dr. Wolfe, designed to get rid of all traces of the Ray Sphere radiation. It had the added benefit of destroying the plague that was killing millions, and the unintended consequence of killing all Conduits, active or not.
He had turned on the RFI and had chosen to save humanity, at the cost of thousands of potential Conduits, including himself and the Beast. He remembered the strength he had gained after he had touched the fully charged RFI. He looked down at himself in surprise to find that energy still there, in the form of dozens of tiny sparks running across his body. He didn't feel the RFI anywhere near, so he guessed it was safe to assume that the device had changed him, made him more powerful. He didn't feel like there was any limit to his energy, like he could literally keep going forever.
However, that could be a problem. If people saw someone sparking like he was, they might be a little freaked, so he calmed himself down and forced the energy back into his body.
He felt the familiar handle of his Amp that was still attached to his sling-pack, and swung it experimentally. Still in working condition. Speaking of the sling-pack, he pulled it off and unzipped it. In it was his old couriers jacket from Empire City. He moved that aside, and his jaw dropped.
In the sling-pack, four Blast Cores glowed. He had no idea how he'd gotten four Blast Cores, but he decided not to use them yet. Might draw unwanted attention, so he put them back and zipped up the pack, pulling it over his shoulder.
Cole sent out a Radar Pulse to determine if there were any electric sources anywhere near. A huge bunch of them showed up on his radar, a little to the southwest.
"Alright, I should probably head in that direction... and talking to myself isn't getting me anywhere." With that thought, he set off at a brisk pace of about twenty miles an hour towards the town.
All the while, the Electric Man pondered how he was still alive. By all rights, he should be dead, seeing as how he had used the RFI, a device that was supposed to kill all Conduits. He was gripped with a bit of dread as he realized that it might not have worked. He had defeated the Beast, but the plague might still be spreading, or Conduits might even be activating on their own.
He was snapped out of his reverie as he neared the town, and realized that it wasn't just a town... it was full blown city. Twenty feet high walls surrounded it, something that he might not be able to scale easily.
Cole instead looked at the group of people guarding the front gates and raised an eyebrow. They were dressed in combat pants, sandals, and jackets, and all of them had headbands on their heads.
"Halt!" one shouted. "Who goes there? State your business!" For a second, he fumbled for an answer.
"Um... sorry, I'm kinda lost..." he said somewhat sheepishly, which actually wasn't a lie. The guards looked at him, then each other.
"Alright, I suppose you can come in, but would you be willing to surrender that... whatever-it-is on your back?"
"No. This is the one thing left of my friend who I lost a little while ago. I'm not letting it go," he said, a bit more forcefully. They looked at him for a second, then one with black hair and black eyes spoke up.
"Give it to us. You have no right to refuse us! We are ninja, and you are a lowly civilian. Give it to us, or we will force you to hand it over!"
"Belay that, Uchiha," said another one. "You are out of line." The dark haired one looked like he was about to say something else, but the man gave him a cold stare.
"It is in his possession. He can keep it if he chooses." The Uchiha guy gave Cole a dirty look, as if it were his fault that he'd gotten scolded. He turned away, and the Conduit saw a red and white design on his back that looked like a fan.
"Okay, now that thats out of the way, welcome to Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village."
"Thank you." With that, Cole walked forward through the gates.
He looked around, and saw dozens of tall buildings that could be easily scaled, and power lines going every which way. He honestly had no idea what he was going to do here.
The Conduit was snapped out of his reverie by the sound of a woman screaming. He looked towards an alleyway, where three men were holding a woman with purple hair in a trench coat against a wall. His eyes narrowed, and he started towards them.
The three men had pushed her against the wall violently, and were giving her uncomfortable looks.
"Let go of me!" she shouted, but they simply smiled and leered.
"Why should we, snake whore? Your a traitor to our village, and need to be punished!"
"I'm not a traitor," she growled. They all just grinned, and one of them reached for her jacket.
Then Cole punched him in the face.
The guy flew twelve feet straight into the wall of the alley, and for a second no one moved.
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked the two remaining men who were looking at him fearfully.
"N-nothing!"
"Then scram." They didn't need to be told twice, and ran out of the alley. He turned to the woman, who was looking at him in wonder.
"You okay?" he asked. She nodded dumbly, and he saw that she was pretty. Really pretty. "What's your name?"
"A-Anko Mitarashi. What's yours?"
"Cole MacGrath."
"Thanks for saving me."
"No problem. It's what I do." She smiled.
"Do you need anyone to walk you home?" he asked, and she blushed lightly.
"Sure."
They took off together, and started talking about likes, dislikes, hobbies, and so on. He had questions about the structure of the village, so she explained how the ninja system worked, and talked with some distaste about the civilian council.
"They're nothing but a bunch of old, rich, corrupt and perverted fools! I swear, one of them even offered me money to have sex with him! As if!" He grinned.
"By the way, how did you do that earlier?" she asked, and he looked at her, confused.
"You hit the guy so hard it made a crater in the wall. It didn't even look like you were trying!"
"Well... I wasn't, really..." she gaped at him, amazed.
"How are you that strong? I know a lot of jonin that aren't as strong as you are!"
"I'm not exactly normal, per se..."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm what's called a Conduit. I basically have superpowers." He held up a hand and threw an Alpha bolt to demonstrate. She raised an eyebrow.
"Thats not exactly special. A lot of ninja can do that with Chakra."
"What's Chakra?" This got her attention.
"You don't know what that is? How can you do things like that without it?"
"Well..." he said, and went on to explain the Ray Sphere and all the powers he had obtained, all the way up to his fight with the Beast. She stood still throughout the entire thing, shocked (no pun intended).
"That's... amazing! With that kind of power, you could easily surpass almost any ninja in this village!" She took his hand. "Can I take you to the Hokage? He needs to hear this."
"Of course. I was planning to go to him anyway. Might be a little peeved if he finds out there's a renegade Electric Man running around the village..." She laughed at that, and they took off towards the Hokage tower.
But before they had even gotten halfway, they heard shouts and a shrill cry of pain. Anko's eyes widened.
"Oh no... Naruto!"
"Who's Naruto?" She looked at him fearfully.
"No time, we have to go!" She took off along the rooftops, and he followed.
They arrived in an alleyway to find dozens of villagers, carrying everything from pitchforks to knives, huddled around a small, limp blond boy, who was covered in bruises and stab wounds.
"We're going to kill you, demon! You'll pay for everything you took from us!" yelled one of them, and approached the boy with a huge axe.
Before he could swing it, Cole dropped down right in front of the man and socked him in the jaw, throwing him backwards into another group of villagers. They looked up at the tall, very angry man in odd clothes, and someone yelled at him.
"What are you doing? Why are you defending the demon brat?" Cole looked backwards at the little boy coughing weakly as blood dripped from his body. Anko dropped down next to him and started bandaging his wounds.
"I don't see any demon brat. All I see is a bunch of drunk people trying to kill a little boy." He turned back to said boy. "Anko, keep him alive. I can heal him, but I need to deal with these fools first." She nodded slowly, and kept on working.
A guy, a ninja by the looks of him, rushed forward with a kunai in hand, intent on ending the boy's life. Before he could get close, Cole swung out an arm and clotheslined him hard. The chunin fell on the ground, gasping and holding his neck, his windpipe crushed. Cole bent down and used Arc Restraint on him. Solid cuffs of electricity arced around the ninja's arms and legs, holding him in place.
The rest of the villagers looked on fearfully as the stranger turned to them, his eyes glowing in anger. Then they realized that his eyes were literally glowing a bright, electric blue.
He raised both hands, and sent a blast of electricity that slammed against the remainder of the villagers and sent them all flying out of the alley.
Before he could turn back, a trio of masked people landed in front of him. He raised his fists and prepared to fight, but the one it the dog mask forestalled him.
"Wait, we don't want to fight. We got here as fast as we could. We were about to step in, but you didn't need any help."
"Thanks, I guess. Now move over, I need to get to the kid." Cole stepped around the ANBU agents and kneeled next to the little kid, who was growing pale. Anko had bandaged him up pretty well, but the dozens of huge bruises suggested that the inside needed treatment, not the outside.
"He's losing blood too fast. I think he's bleeding internally," the kunoichi said, heartbroken. Cole put a hand on her shoulder.
"Anko, back away. I'm going to try something." She looked up at him tearfully.
"Can you heal him?"
"Yes," he said. "I promise that he'll be okay."
She pulled away and stood next to the ANBU agents, who looked at the stranger warily.
Cole looked down at the boy, who was still coughing up blood.
"Hold on, kid," he whispered, and put both hands on Naruto's chest. Arcs of electricity danced along his fingers, and sent them into the boy's body.
For a second, he jerked wildly, but then settled down. Cole looked down to see that the cuts were healing a lot faster than normal, and raised an eyebrow. That was unusual.
And he looked, amazed, as electricity started flicking around all over the kid's body. He backed away slowly, as they continued to dance around. Finally, Naruto opened his eyes, and looked at them groggily.
"What happened?" he asked, unaware of the electricity flowing on his body. Cole looked at him, stunned, and the others looked at both of them.
"Cole? What's the matter?" Anko asked, looking at Naruto's body.
"He's... he's a Conduit. I have no idea how thats possible!"
"What do you mean?"
"As far as I know, there is nothing like the Ray Sphere in this world. So how in the world could he be an active Conduit?"
"Maybe it was you," said the man in the dog mask, who had pulled down his hood to reveal silver hair sticking up at a gravity-defying angle.
"What do you mean, Inu?" Anko asked.
"Well, maybe since your a Conduit yourself, somehow your electrical energy could have jumpstarted his powers."
"True," Cole mused, deep in thought. "I think we should explain this to the Hokage."
"Um, Cole? Anko?" Naruto spoke up, and they looked at him questioningly. "Why am I healing so quick?" They looked at his body to see the dozens of cuts closing up in seconds.
"Part of that was me, kid. But your cuts are healing unusually fast, especially for a child. I think that you absorbed some of my electrical energy, which might be another part of it. However, it usually takes at least a couple of days for cuts to heal, even with powers like ours. So there's something else..."
"As fascinating as this is," Inu stated. "We should probably report Hokage about what's happened here. I think it's time that Naruto learned about his parents, and his... tenant."
"Are you sure? Do you think that now is the right time?" Anko asked, surprised.
"The kid is a lot smarter than he looks. He'll figure it out eventually, and I'd rather it be revealed to him now."
Anko sighed, and held out a hand to the boy, who came forward uncertainly and took her hand.
"Naruto, we're going to tell you something pretty important soon. Try not to freak out, okay?"
"I'll do my best," he said, smiling.
A few minutes later, they stood in the Hokage's office, the ANBU agent giving the old man a report on what had happened. The leader of Konoha listened with interest as Inu detailed to him some of Cole's abilities, as well as the surprising appearance of Naruto's own powers. Afterwards, Cole was called forth to tell his story, which took almost ten minutes.
At then end of the odd story, the Hokage frowned slightly.
"Naruto, could you come over here? I have something important to tell you." Naruto approached the desk.
"What is it, jiji?"
"Well... do you know about the Kyuubi?"
"Nine Tailed Fox? Yeah. Wasn't he killed by the Yondaime twelve years ago?"
"That story isn't exactly accurate. Yes, the Fourth fought against him, but there wasn't a way to kill him. So instead, he had to find a vessel to hold the demon's power in check. He had to find a baby... his own son."
Naruto looked down for a second, and then spoke softly.
"It was me, wasn't it?" The Hokage looked at him, surprised. He hadn't expected him to grasp the situation so quickly.
"Yes it was." Naruto looked up at the Third Hokage with a look of hurt on his face.
"Jiji, why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't have a choice, Naruto-"
"Yes you did. You could have told me why I've been hated, chased, beaten and nearly killed since I was born. You didn't trust me." Sarutobi looked at him sadly.
"I'm sorry, Naruto. I just had no idea how you'd react to the news." Naruto looked up at him and smiled.
"Well, whatever. As long as I know now, I suppose I'm okay. Am I really Lord Fourth's son? Cool!" All the people in the room couldn't help but smile. For a second, Naruto was all angry and sad, and the next second, he was dancing around the room, talking about how awesome it was to be the Fourth Hokage's son. Then he stopped and looked thoughtful.
"Jiji, is that why I haven't been adopted? I mean, shouldn't a lot of shinobi know about seals?"
"Yes, Naruto, they do. Unfortunately, on the night of the Kyuubi attack, Danzo and the civilian council made a law stating that no ninja can adopt you. Civilians can, but he made sure that no one would want to."
"I"m starting to dislike this 'Danzo' guy," Cole spoke up, they all agreed. "And, speaking of that, why don't I adopt the kid?"
For a second, absolute silence reigned in the room.
"Really, Cole? Would you be willing to do that?" Anko asked, and the Electric Man nodded emphatically.
"Of course. I am the only one who can teach him to use his powers, so living with him would be ideal. I technically am a civilian, so I can do it. The only problem would be finding a place where we could train..."
"I believe I can help with that," Sarutobi stated. "I can give you the Namikaze estate, where Lord Fourth lived. It has ample training rooms and plenty of space, so it'll probably be ideal. It is Naruto's birthright anyway, so he can have it if he chooses." Cole nodded.
"Sounds good to me. But of course, it's still all up to Naruto." They all turned to look at the blond boy who was still a little bit in shock. Then he grinned foxily.
"Sounds good to me too." Cole looked at him and smiled.
"But beware, kid, my training regimen will be intense and arduous. It will take everything you've got just to keep up!"
"Then I'll gladly give it my all," Naruto stated determinedly. The Demon of Empire City grinned.
"Oh man, we are definitely going to get along well."
Sarutobi got Cole's attention, and motioned for him to follow. Once they were alone, the Hokage started talking.
"I will not be putting Naruto in the shinobi Academy. I think that it's best that he learns to control his powers first. I can assign a tutor to him to see that he learns about basic ninja jutsu."
"When will he be entering the academy?"
"The school itself lasts for three years, so I will have him enter when the rest of the current beginner students graduate."
"That should make them angry. I have a good idea about something he could do while he's waiting. We'll figure it out." The elderly man nodded, and they strode back to the center of the room.
"Alright. And just so that the civilian council doesn't find out and try to make Naruto's life miserable, no one outside of this immediate group will be notified of MacGrath's decision. Anko, you will be the boy's tutor for basic ninja skills. Make sure to teach him the Shadow Clone Jutsu for fast learning. Dismissed."
They all nodded and turned to leave. On the way out the door, Cole was stopped by the ANBU agent.
"Take care of him, all right?" The Electric Man knew that he was talking about Naruto.
"Of course, Inu."
"My name is Kakashi. Kakashi Hatake," he said, pulling off is mask to reveal another one that covered the bottom part of his face. A straight scar slid down a closed left eye. Cole took one look at his face, and nodded. They shook hands, and took off in different directions.
Naruto, for his part, was absolutely ecstatic. He was going to his Dad's house, he'd just learned that he had superpowers, and a nice guy had adopted him and promised to teach him!
"Hey, Cole? What are we gonna start with?" he asked the man who was ahead of him by a few feet. Cole looked back at the little kid who looked totally excited.
"First, we're going to get you started on parkour and using basic powers."
"Parkour?" Naruto asked, and he and Anko looked at him, confused. Cole looked back at them, disbelieving.
"Parkour is a necessity, kid. Have you never heard of it before? It is, quite basically, the art of getting from point A to point B in the most effective fashion. How will you get away from enemies if you can't run or climb?" The blond nodded in understanding.
"If that's what your talking about, I think I have some experience with that from running away from mobs and people who were chasing me for stealing." The Conduit raised an eyebrow.
"You stole stuff?"
"Yep. I had no other choice. First time it happened, I was starving, and I saw this guy running an apple cart and chomping on a couple. I came forward and asked him for some. I even had money, but he kicked me in the chest and told me to stay away. So I ran around the other side and pocketed a couple. Totally didn't notice me, until some boy with dark hair and a weird circle-ish design on his chest saw me. I had to run." He looked down sadly, and Cole knew that he was reliving a pretty bad part of his life. Then he remembered something, and pulled out a pen and paper.
"Is this what the circle-ish design looked like?" he asked, and held up a drawing of a crest he had seen when he had entered the village.
"Yeah, that's it. Why?" Cole's eyes darkened.
"That's the crest of the Uchiha clan. If their attitude is anything to go by, they don't like too many outsiders."
"The Uchiha's? They're the police force of the entire village. They're responsible for civilian crimes, and a lot of people look up to them."
"Can't see why," Cole said, frowning, as Naruto smiled. "Anyway, I'm getting you started on your first lesson."
"Right now?"
"Right now."
"What is it?" The Electric man looked at him and grinned.
"Try to keep up."
