Hey guys. I'm a new writer here and I'm trying to get the hang of things as I start this story. Give me a review if you got time so I can learn the ropes here. Other than that, please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters in it.


A seven year old child trudged the streets, as the daylight began to disappear and the cold air of the winter began to settle in. He sighed. It was days like these that made him miss the orphanage. They fed him bare minimum and constantly berated him, but at least he got to sleep inside. Well, at least most of the time. When the place got too crowded, they wouldn't hesitate to send him away. But the days he got to sleep on the orphanage floor were probably the best days of his life. Now, that old bitch of a matron kicked him out, and the streets were his solace. Damn his pride for not letting him go to the Hokage and tell him what happened. Now he had to find food and a place to sleep. He'd already mooched ramen off that old man for two nights. It wouldn't really be fair to take 2 days worth of noodles without any pay. That guy needed to make money too. He guessed he could steal bread from the other asshole who kicked him out of his shop more times than he could remember. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice another kid walking his direction as the bumped into each other. The other kid turned around angrily.

"Hey, watch where you're going," the kid exclaimed angrily before noticing who it was he had bumped into, "Oh, Naruto, it's you. What's going on?"

"Just trynna find something to eat." Naruto responded, "Whats new with you, Noru?"

"Probably heading back to the orphanage if they don't fill up for the day. Why don't you swallow your damn pride and just talk the Hokage. He'll make sure you're allowed back." Noru reasoned.

Naruto shook his head. "I'm not gonna beg. I'll get even later. I actually gotta talk to the old man right now."

"The place is pretty boring without you," Noru informed him. Naruto laughed in response.

"You know damn well all I did was sleep and eat. Mostly sleep. I'm pretty sure the place is lively enough without me."

"You know what I mean," Noru shot back, "I got nobody to talk too. Everybody's an asshole."

"At least you got a place indoors," The blonde muttered, "If you really don't wanna be there, you can help me find food. Less for me to do."

Noru snorted. "Like you said. I gotta place indoors. Thats better than what you have. I gotta get going. It supposed get really cold tonight, and the place is gonna fill up real fast."

Naruto nodded. He understood how it worked as an orphan and bore Noru no ill will. They after all, were forced to mature earlier then most. Seeing as Konoha now adopted a first come first serve policy when it came to well fare regarding the high number of homeless adults and children after the Kyuubi incident, it was all about looking after yourself. "Alright, I'll catch you later then." Both children then trudged off their separate ways.

Naruto sighed again lethargically as he arrived at the Hokage tower. He opened the door and walked past the young chuunin receptionist, who gave him an angry glare.

The receptionist snarled angry. "Where do you think you're going brat."

Naruto rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Listen bitch. I really don't have any patience for your crap right now. If I were you, I would just sit down, shut up, and finish whatever nonsense you need to get done." Without waiting for her response, he walked and opened the entrance to the Hokage's room and saw the old man in his chair. He turned around.

"Ahhh, Naruto-kun. Please sit down."

"I'd rather not, old man," Naruto replied tartly, "I don't plan on staying very long."

Sarutobi nodded, "Very well. Iruka has informed me that you have not been attending the academy. Did you forget what I told you?"

Naruto yawned. "Did you forget what I told you old man? I don't want any part of ninja life. I just wanna sit back and relax."

"It is in your blood to be a shinobi Naruto-kun. It is also in your best interest." The aging leader attempted to reason with the child. Naruto cocked his head.

"Are you saying just because I have an oversized deformed mess of chakra taking of space in my gut, I gotta put my life on the line for pieces of trash I couldn't give two shits about? No thanks." Naruto asserted.

Sarutobi silently groaned. He would have given anything for that event to never happen. One day, when Naruto was walking the streets alone, some homeless civilian, drunk out of his mind, decided to tell Naruto all about his furry little problem. Executing the guy didn't change the fact that Naruto was even more adamant about letting this village burn. Not to mention the fact that he was by far the laziest child he had ever seen next to the Nara brat. It was even more annoying that he was just as intuitive and perceptive as Shikamaru as well, if not more so. He knew for a fact that Naruto was responsible for fifty percent of the petty thievery in Konoha, though he chose not to mention it. "Naruto-kun. You will attend the academy tomorrow. I'm sorry, but I have your best interest at heart, and being a ninja is the best option for you. If you do not go, I will have to make you go. You know I have the power to do so."

Naruto inwardly cursed. So the old man was pulling out the big guns. Fine. He would humor him for one day and attend that useless waste of space. Before he could speak, an Anbu shushined into the Hokage's office.

"Hokage-sama, the Uchiha clan has been massacred?" The anbu spoke frantically. The Hokage's eyes widened. Even Naruto's eyes rose slightly.

"Well, I can see you have your hands full, old man. I don't wanna bother you any further," He waved his hands to silence the Hokage who had began to speak, "Don't worry, I'll attend the damn academy. He then walked out without waiting to be dismissed. The Hokage rubbed his eyes tiredly. He could only imagine the paper work that would follow.


Naruto walked aimlessly, taking his frustration out on little pebbles, scattering them with kicks. Some dumb bastard decided to murder the entire Uchiha clan, and put the whole fucking village on high alert. Anbu were running around like ants around a dead carcass. How the hell was he supposed to steal a damn thing right now. He didn't have food, and now there was a murderer in the vicinity. He had to sleep outdoors when there was psycho running around powerful enough to kill every member of the most dangerous clan in the village. He was so preoccupied his his thoughts that he didn't notice an Anbu right in front of him. Naruto stopped as he noticed the ninja turn around a foot in front him. Naruto squinted his eyes, before widening them alarmingly. Wasn't that...

"Uzumaki Naruto." Uchiha Itachi stated emotionlessly before turning around again. The blonde pariah didn't respond, as his brain was organizing the information. The Uchiha clan was massacred, and the strongest member was right in front of him. 'Holy shit, I better play innocent.'

"Yo, how're the folks?" Naruto kicked himself mentally as soon as the words came out of his mouth. Did he really just ask this guy how his folks were? He really needed to work on this innocent kid charade. Fortunately, Itachi seemed not to hear. But something else caught Naruto's eye.

"Hey, is that bread? A whole loaf of bread? Can I have it?" Naruto asked excitedly. His luck could change in an instant. Itachi turned around again.

"The 'folks' are dead. That is why the village is on high alert," The Uchiha heir responded, "Please don't play innocent Naruto-kun. I know you are not stupid." Naruto's heart sank. Maybe he did hear after all. Apparently, the trained shinobi also saw through his pathetic clueless act.

"Yes, my condolences." Great, now I fucked up my chances of eating dinner.

Itachi narrowed his eyes before speaking. "You mentioned you wanted bread."

Naruto deadpanned. "No offense, Anbu-san, but you've been a step behind me this whole conversation." He sweat dropped again when he realized Itachi ignored him for the second time.

A minute passed before Itachi pulled out the bread from his pouch and threw it to the orphan. "I think you have more use for it than I. Take care, Naruto-kun." With that, he disappeared, leaving a perplexed Naruto behind.

So, an Uchiha anbu, who presumably killed his clan, just gave him bread. A slightly strange turn of events. No matter, he decided to stop analyzing the situation. He wasn't going hungry today. The bread didn't smell poisoned, and even if his enhanced senses were lying to him, the furball would heal him up. Even better was that the strange turn of events had prompted a solution to where he was going to stay for the night. The day just got a lot better. His mood was only dampened slightly by the fact he had to attend the academy tomorrow.


The Hokage sat in his chair, pondering the implications of current events. He wasn't surprised when Itachi Uchiha appeared in his office.

"It is done Hokage-sama, as I am sure you have heard." Itachi spoke in a monotone drawl, that hided obvious emotion that did not go unnoticed by the Professor.

"I know. I truly apologize, Itachi-kun. If I could have avoided this situation, I would have." The Hokage offered sadly. Itachi shook his head.

"There is no need for apologies, Hokage-sama. I loved the village more then my clan. Though their death does sadden me, I do not regret it. I do thank you for believing me in that some Uchiha had no prior knowledge of the coup like my mother, and allowed me to spare them. Sasuke will not grow up alone as I had feared."

The Hokage nodded. He was grateful that he was able to do something good for this loyal individual, a true Konoha shinobi. "Of course. There is no need to thank me. I have always had utmost faith in you. My reason for summoning you is regarding your future status as a Konoha shinobi. Jiraiya has collected evidence on Akatsuki, an organization I wish for you to infiltrate. However, there is a change in plan. As opposed to our previous plan of labeling you a missing nin for life, I wish for you to report back to the leaf in 7 years time. I shall then inform you of your next mission."

Itachi nodded. "Understood Hokage-sama," He turned to leave before giving the village one last piece of advice before departing for seven years. "Watch Uzumaki Naruto."

The old commander simply nodded, as if already aware of the potential the boy possessed. "I shall. Before I forget," He tossed a document to Itachi, "This is a document explaining the circumstances in the scenario that I am no longer there when you return. Take care of yourself, Itachi-kun."

"And you as well Hokage-sama." The anbu prodigy disappeared without another word.

The Hokage lit his pipe and took a puff. Things would get very complicated in seven years.


Umino Iruka, the head academy instructor, grumbled angrily at recent events. The Hokage had called and kindly informed him that Uzumaki Naruto would be attending the academy tomorrow, and suggested that he make the curriculum more interesting to further entice the brat. As if his curriculum were not already as interesting as possible. He didn't think he could make a history lesson regarding the original monetary policy of Konoha any more interesting then he did. Of course, Naruto had been there for that lesson, snoring extremely loudly. In his defense, so was the Nara...and the Inuzuka, and surprisingly the Uchiha. The Akimichi was eating. Of course, he had planned a test tomorrow. Now, because the blonde orphan was finally showing up to class, he would have to postpone it. The only good part about this whole situation was that there would be a taijutsu tournament. That lazy brat would finally get an ass kicking for not showing up to an training. Oh yes, he was looking forward to that.


Naruto climbed the Hokage monument with his dinner at hand. A loaf of bread, and a nice view. He rarely slept here because of all the security, but everybody was preoccupied with the Uchiha massacre. This was the perfect place for an orphan to sleep, save for an orphanage. There was a great view, and the torch provided some warmth even on the coldest day, especially now, when the winter season was approaching full force. Sentimentally, he enjoyed being here as well. Yes, he was the laziest kid probably in the entire leaf village. But like any kid, he enjoyed a good bed time story. For example, he had always enjoyed the story about the mythical assassin who tried to kill the first Hokage and failed. No one quite knew if the story was true. He also enjoyed the story of the Nidaime, master of water, taming the beast of sea. Once again, no one quite knew what the beast of the sea was, but it made for an interesting enigma. He found the religious civil war before the founding of Konoha very interesting. He could listen to the story of the third Hokage all day, when he and his team mates, now known as old fart council members Koharu and Homura, embarked on a mission westward. There was some notion that there was a world beyond that of the shinobi one. A foolish theory, but it made for interesting speculation. The Third Hokage had returned with classified information. Basically, in Naruto's opinion, that meant there was no evidence. And finally, the tale that used to captivate him the most. The most recent spectacle in Konoha, regarding a demon fox razing the village before the Fourth Hokage sacrificed his life to kill it. Naruto snorted. He couldn't believe he actually bought that crock of shit. Thankfully, he soon after learned that the demon who had supposedly been killed was residing in his gut thanks to a very crude drawing that appeared on his stomach. The more appropriate term was seal. Thank god that drunk let it slip that he was a container, or he might still be idolizing that useless blonde leader.

"It's funny, you bastard," Naruto addressed the fourth's face he took a seat on the Yondaime's monument, "All the time I spent idolizing you, I find out you're the reason I can't sleep indoors. What's ironic is I hate your fucking guts, but I'm still sleeping on your head."


How'd you like it? Just know that this chapter is focused on building the character of people. Thats what the initial chapters are gonna be about. I already have an outline of the story said so I'm trynna take it in that direction patiently. Also everything, including all the stories Naruto mentioned he liked, will be pertinent later. Nothing in this fic that I mention is gonna be frivolous. Other than that, have a good day, and hopefuly yall review.

Peace