Alright guys, I am bringing you another Naruto story; and before you ask, it isn't the rewrite of Gamer Shinobi I promised. That is still in the planning stage. What I have for you is a story I've had in my head for about a year now and it finally reached the point that I had to get it out.

I have a few points to get out before you start reading.

1. The story will follow the general cannon, but will be highly augmented with my own plots and add-ons, so it classifies as AU.

2. This is an OC-centric story, as is everything I write. Please give it a try even if OC's aren't your thing, as I strive to create a character that belongs in the story and not one that feels forced into it.

3. The main paring is already decided; it will be my OC paired with Tsunade, which will be delved into to explain how the age difference isn't a detriment to their relationship. I will still be taking suggestions for pairing, be they for additional girls for my OC or for other couples.

4. Finally, if you feel like I'm not succeeding at creating a believable character or that he is way to OP, let me know and I will do my best to correct it.

Chapter One

Endure

"The words "shinobi" and "endure" are both written the same kanji. Make no mistake; this is no coincidence, as shinobi are those who survive all that is thrown at them. Endurance is the defining trait of a true shinobi; enduring the hardships of war, the sadness of loss, and the pain of sacrificing oneself for ones allies." I take in the words of my master as I sit in seiza. Looking to my left I see Naruto, my fraternal twin brother. His dark orange shirt, black pants, and black open-toe boots are all torn up and dirty from our just finished spar. Looking down I see that my dark blue combat jacket, mesh shirt, black pants, black boots, and black gloves are likewise torn up.

I can feel the exhaustion creeping into my body and looking at Naruto I can see he's in the same shape as me. Looking back to our master, I take in his appearance. He is about average height with short spiked black hair and a short pointed black beard. His age is only made apparent by the slight wrinkles on his face. His build shows his decades as a shinobi, he is lean and hasn't an ounce of fat on him; even after giving the shinobi life up he maintained his training regimen. The same one he has spent the last year passing on to us.

"The time to forge ahead and take your destiny is fast approaching. Tomorrow the two of you will be receiving your team assignments and beginning your lives as Genin. From there you will make your way through the life of a Konoha shinobi." He stops and kneels down to our eye level and places a hand on our shoulders. "As of tonight I am no longer your master; before you speak listen. First, it is grossly disrespectful to train another's student without permission. Second, the two of you need to grow alongside others of your age. Finally, I have taught you all you need to know to start your journey. So go my faithful students, it isn't like you can't come and visit this old man from time to time."

With that our now former master fades away with a body flicker. As we stand Naruto turns his head to the night sky. He takes in a deep breath and smiles as he exhales. Looking over to me his smile gets bigger.

"So, Keita, are you ready to start down our path." He asks as he locks his hands behind his head.

"Yes. You as Hokage and me as your protector and right hand." I answer with a small smile, looking down. Memories of all the pain, suffering, hate, and rejection we have faced are cascading through my mind. They are silenced when I feel Naruto's hand land on my shoulder.

"As you always have been." He replies with tears forming in his eyes. As I go to say something he pulls me into a hug. "Soon, soon everyone will acknowledge us."

"Yes they will my dear brother."

Ω

Twelve years ago the nine-tailed fox, the Kyuubi, attacked our village. Many people died that night, including mine and Naruto's parents. As unfortunate as that is, it's not the most terrible thing to happen to us that night. You see, the previous Jinchuriki died just after Naruto was born; I was born 20 minutes before Naruto. As such a new host was needed but the sealing process is dangerous and there were not available candidates in the area, so the only viable option was selected. The newborn baby, only problem is that the Nine-tails' chakra is too powerful and too plenty for an infant to hold. That is why one half was sealed inside of Naruto and the other inside of me. As far as I can tell Naruto knows nothing about the Fox, hell I only know because my half 'woke up' six months ago and told me what happened on the day of my birth. I possess the Yin half while Naruto holds the Yang half inside him; His name is Kurama

Yin-Kurama is an interesting being, he spends most of his time sleeping but when he's awake he is full of advice and wisdom. He has taught me a lot and I am thankful. With him being the Yin half of the Nine-tails I have inherited an affinity for using Yin chakra. Combine that with my Uzumaki heritage giving me better use of Yang chakra and I'm on my way to mastering Yin-Yang chakra. According the Kurama Yin-Yang contains the essence of creation, which will further my path to power. Protecting my brother is the only thing I care about. To that end I will do whatever necessary to obtain the power I need to do so.

Tomorrow sees the start of our arduous journey. I know life will try to break us, but we will not let it.

Ω

Getting out of the shower, I step in front of the mirror and examine myself. My hair is red and goes halfway down my neck. My violet eyes are the only part of my body affected by the Kyuubi's influence, the iris is oval and the pupil a slit; much like that of a fox. I take after our mother in looks while Naruto takes after our father. As my eyes travel down I look over the various scars I've accumulated over the years; the most prominent being the crescent shaped scar circling the outer edge of my right eye and the diagonal one running across my left cheek. The combined dangers of living on the street and being one of the 'demon children' assured bodily harm on a regular basis and I always took the brunt of the assault to protect Naruto. October 10, our birthday, is always the worst. It is the day of the yearly 'Fox Hunt'. Banishing those thoughts and sighing I look away and pull on some boxers and a pair of shorts. I don't bother with a shirt as Naruto is the only other person in the apartment. Walking into the living room I see he has already finished setting up dinner, cup ramen and water; a typical meal for us as very few stores will sell us anything and the ones that do exceedingly over charge. As I plop down there is a knock at the door.

"It's open." Naruto yells out not worried about who it is, as there is only one person that ever visits us here. The door opens the reveal Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. He also happens to be our surrogate grandfather. As the old man and his two personal Anbu guards, Dog and Cat, enter our small apartment I see pain and sadness briefly flash through his eyes as he looks at my bare chest. The sheer amount of scars is different than the two he sees every time looks at me, he still hasn't gotten used to them.

"As I've said before old man, it isn't your fault. You can't always protect us. I'm strong enough to endure any amount of pain for Naruto." I say before taking a bite of my ramen. Naruto just gives a sad smile as he puts down his empty cup and grabs another.

Sighing, the old man walks over to the couch and sits between us and leans back. His escorts wander around the apartment. They are being very nonchalant, but I know better. They're checking for any signs of damage to our stuff or a break-in. Not that they would find any signs, we've gotten good at hiding them. I stop watching the Anbu when Naruto speaks.

"So, Jiji, how's Hokage life treating you?" He asks with a large grin on his face. How he can stay so positive and happy after all that's happened to us, I'll never know. Never the less, I'm glad he is staying so strong.

"Pretty much the same; too much paper work and not enough pretty girls." The pure sadness his voice is slightly concerning. Not looking at pretty girls shouldn't drive one to genuine sadness. Then again the old man is a helpless pervert. If he wasn't so powerful he'd be hopeless. "So, tomorrow is a big day for the two of you. You already have your forehead protectors and Genin rank and tomorrow you'll be getting your team assignments."

"I just hope we end up on the same team. Since we aren't the number one and dead last, there's no guarantee." Naruto says with concern in his voice. We've been together all our lives and are used to working as a pair; neither one of us wants to lose that nor the company of each other. The old man smile mischievous at Naruto's comment.

"Oh, I don't think that'll be a problem." He says as he gets up from the couch. As he walks to the door Naruto starts to badger him with questions about what he means by that. "Come now Naruto, I can't tell you that. Besides I wouldn't anyway, I don't want to spoil the surprise. Now you two should get to sleep, tomorrow is a big day. Good night."

"Good night." We both say as the old man and the Anbu take their leave. As he walks through the door Dog turns back for a second and looks at me and Naruto. I tilt my head to the side and Naruto starts to speak, but Dog just turns and leaves. Naruto shakes the confusion from his mind and stands up.

"What do you think Jiji meant by it won't be a problem?" Naruto asks ask he gathers the trash and heads to the kitchen. I get up and follow him with the cups and begin to wash them.

"Probably exactly what it sounds like, that we're on the same team. Which makes sense; our fighting styles compliment each other. Besides, I doubt the old man wants to separate us since our goals are tied together and we are brothers." I say finishing the cups and drying them off. "Regardless of what he meant by that statement, he was right about tomorrow being a big day so I'm headed to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

Ω

As I sit in lotus position on my bed meditating I hear an all familiar deep voice call out to me in my head.

"So kit, are you nervous about tomorrow?" Kurama's voice resonates throughout my mind; so he finally decided to wake up, did he?

"Not at all, what happens tomorrow is of little consequence. Nothing will get in the way of my goal."

"I've never seen one as young as you with such a fierce will. I have no doubt you'll achieve your goal. Now, do you remember your last lesson?"

"I do. Yin creates form from imagination and Yang breaths life into that form with physical energy. Yin and Yang represent the most basic ideas of chakra, as chakra is the combination of the spiritual and physical energies. Once each of the parts is mastered they can be combined into Yin-Yang release. The Sage's Creation of all Things is the pinnacle of Yin-Yang release. The Creation of all Things is what allowed the Sage to reform the Ten-Tails into the nine tailed beasts, of which you are the ninth and most powerful."

"As you are the Yin half of the Nine-Tails you give me a natural affinity for Yin chakra. The Uzumaki clan is closely related to the Senju clan, whom inherited the Sage's Yang affinity and as such I possess a better grasp of Yang chakra, along with increased stamina and a naturally more powerful healing ability. With proper training and time my mastery of Yang chakra can reach the same level as my Yin chakra, once this happens I can move on to Yin-Yang release, as the two need to be in perfect balance to be united. This will allow me to reach heights I normally wouldn't be able to reach. Even without the combination, incorporation of Yin chakra will increase the power of any jutsu I use and allow better use and control of Genjutsu; while the increase in Yang chakra will directly influence my stamina and natural healing ability." I summarize my last lesson as concisely as I can.

"Very good, tonight will be less of a lesson and more of a preparation for your immediate future. While you want to master the power of Yin-Yang, you need put those thoughts to the side, though you need to do so without forgetting or neglecting them. You need to put more of your focus on your current abilities, not ones you want to develop. So continue to improve your control over Yin and Yang separately, but don't forget to train your elemental affinities. You're extremely lucky to be born with two of them along with gaining a proficiently in a third. Wind, Water, and Earth are very good for the style of combat you prefer. Now get some sleep."

With that I lie down and drift off to the thoughts of how to best improve my abilities both with whatever team I join and on my own.

Ω

Looking around I see that everyone except Iruka-Sensei is present, with strikes me as odd. Iruka-Sensei is never late and reprimands anyone who is. Another thing that I notice is there were no Jonin anywhere around the academy this morning; I would have noticed as the academy has the day off today. The biggest oddity is that we were told to gather at the training grounds and not in a classroom,

I feel someone nudge my left arm and turn to see Shikamaru, he nods his head in the direction of an unoccupied section of the training grounds. Following him I try to piece together the puzzle in front of me. Shikamaru and Choji are the only friends me and Naruto have. Shikamaru has never been one to base his views on the views of others and Choji is just a naturally nice person, so neither thought twice about befriending us.

"You noticed?" Shikamaru asks when we're a suitable distance away from everyone else. I nod and sit down at the base of a tree, Shikamaru does the same.

"I did. No Jonin anywhere near the academy, the shining example of punctuality being late, and changing the tradition venue of team assignments. Something is going on."

"I agree. None of this adds up. There's just not enough information to figure out what's going on." He says with a bored look on his face, but I call tell he's intrigued. This is an interesting set of circumstances we find ourselves in.

"Actually, last night the old man came by to visit. He told Naruto not to worry about us being on different teams and told Naruto he didn't want to ruin the surprise by telling him what that meant." I inform my genius friend. He pushes himself up into his iconic thinking stance and after a couple of minutes he sits back down and looks at me with a slight smile on his face.

"I think they're changing the team setup this year. The change of location likely means there is another test to face, one that could be designed to determine a leader or something along those lines. The Jonin and Iruka-Sensei being late could actually be them hiding and watching us interact. That would mean they're observing us to find out what our relationships are and how well we'll get along as teammates. I still don't see how all fits together." An idea forms in my head, one that may shed some light on our situation.

"KIBA." I shout-whisper; I see Kiba's head snap in my direction. I nod me head to motion him over, with a confused look on his face he jogs over to me and Shikamaru.

"What's up Keita?" He asks in a friendly manner. While I wouldn't call him our friend, Kiba is friendly towards me and Naruto; we just never really hangout or anything, so he isn't really a friend. I motion for him the come closer, which he does.

"I need you to put that Inuzuka nose to work. See if there's anyone around that's trying not to be." He looks confused for a moment before realization dawns on him; he nods and begins sniffing the air. After about three minutes he stops.

"I can smell four people that are hiding; one is definitely Iruka-Sensei." He says with pride in his voice.

"Where?" Shikamaru asks.

"The bushes next to the pond, the big tree 50 feet to our left, the broken bench to the north, and Iruka-Sensei is hiding in the middle of the Shurikenjutsu targets."

"Good work Kiba." I say.

"Alright, I'll head to the tree under the guise of looking for a better spot to nap, Kiba you wander around for a bit and make your to the bench, Keita you head over to Naruto and fill him in then head to the bushes and send him to Iruka-Sensei. Once we're all in position we act. I'll use my Shadow Imitation Technique to subdue my target, Kiba your target is most likely using a localized Genjutsu so flaring your chakra should reveal them, you simply need to pull out your target Keita as the bushes are large enough and dense enough to merely crouch in, and Iruka-Sensei is almost certainly using the Cloak of Invisibility Technique so removing the cloak will expose him."

With the plan laid out we part and head to our spots; once we are all in place we act. As I dive into the bushes I feel Kiba's chakra flair up, hear someone land on the ground, and hear Iruka-Sensei laugh. I collide with another person and we immediately begin wrestling to gain control. As my hand slides across my targets face I feel the most ridiculously large eyebrows I've ever come across; taking advantage I grab one as tight as I can and take control of the struggle. Effectively dragging my target out reveal a man with a bowl cut and a tight green bodysuit, before I can take in anymore of his appearance he slaps my hand away and jumps to his feet. He points his thumb at himself and gives me an impossibly big smile.

"HAHA, YOU WERE ABLE TO DEDUCE MY LOCATION AND APPREHEND ME, THE FIRES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY IN YOU YOUNG GENIN. I, MIGHT GUY, GIVE YOU THIS GIFT AS A TOKEN OF RESPECT FOR YOUR FIRE OF YOUTH." The strange man yells out at the top of his lungs while pulling a green body suit from out of seemingly nowhere. I stand there stunned for a moment before I reply.

"No, the old man told me not to talk to perverts." I say in a deadpan fashion, this cause Might Guy's attitude to do a flip. He is now sputtering out a jumbled mess of confusion and shock at my accusation. Before anymore can come of this situation, I hear a familiar laugh from the middle of the training field. Spinning around I see nothing for a second before the old man literally appears out of thin air. The must be using the Transparent Escape Technique, one of the best stealth techniques there is.

"You never cease to entertain Guy." He says with a smile on his face. "Now then, everyone gather around, I have important news to give you all."

After we all gather around the old man we see the four that were hiding and a fifth we didn't know about gather behind the Hokage. Looking at the fifth hidden Jonin, I see he is dripping wet and holding a short hollow bamboo shoot; this cheeky bastard was hiding in the pond. He is of average height with one eye covered by his forehead protector and has gravity defying silver hair. The other two consist of the old man's son and a woman with wild black hair and red eyes. Looking back to the old man as he starts speaking I catch the silver haired Jonin alternating his gaze between Naruto and myself.

"I'm sure you are all familiar with the setup of the Genin teams; squads of three lea by a Jonin-Sensei. Well this year things will be different. There will be no teams; all twelve of you will be on a singular team. That team will be split into two divisions; Assault and Support. The Assault team will consist of: Keita and Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Rock Lee, Shikamaru Nara, and Tenten. Support will be: Hinata and Neji Hyuga, Chōji Akimichi, Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka, and Ino Yamanaka. The four Jonin here will be training you all in different areas. Iruka will answer any questions you have about your placement and explain the structure of the teams training regimen. I have to go take care of some paperwork, but I do wish you all the best of luck." With that the old man disappears with a body flicker.

I look at Shikamaru and see that the same thought in coursing through both of our minds; What the Fuck.

Thank you for reading the first installment in Naruto: Enduring the Storm. Please review and let me know what you think, reviews keep me motivated and make my day when I get one. You can even PM if you prefer that. I accept all reviews that aren't senseless flames. If you have a legitimate problem with something and can convey it in a polite way, I am more than happy to hear from you. I strive to improve my writing and story telling skills to increase my readers enjoyment. Again thank you for reading and please leave a review or PM me.

With laughs,

SonoftheJester