The Convergence of Fraternity
I don't own Naruto or else many things would have turned out different.
Chapter 1
The village of Konohagakure was bathed in a warm orange glow as the setting sun illuminated four enormous stone heads, the monument of four of the greatest men the village had ever known, their four Hokages.
The faces of the four famous leaders of the village, former and current, looked down on the village they had sworn to protect, creating the illusion of them still protecting it, even from the grave and under their guidance the last few merchants closed their shops and headed home, if the Hokage monuments were capable of it they would have smiled, their village was at peace.
But deep within the alleys of Konoha, where neither the last rays of the setting sun nor the ever watchful eyes of the Hokages could reach, a young boy was fearfully cowering behind a trashcan, a terrified whimper escaped his throat as a man entered the blind alley, blocking the light from the main street, plunging the alley into even deeper darkness.
"Come out, come out" The silhouette of the man mockingly chanted as he wobbled deeper into the dead end; "Wherever you are!"
The boy tried to burry himself even deeper into the small space between the trashcan and the wall he had hid himself, desperately hoping to escape the notice of the evil man that had chased him ever since he made his way home from his birthday dinner at Ichiraku Ramen.
It was the best birthday he had ever had as the Hokage had picked him up from his new apartment, the Hokage had given it to him after that mean lady from the orphanage had kicked him out, and there he had told him the great news, he had been accepted into the Ninja academy, he was going to be a shinobi.
The Sandaime Hokage had smiled serenely as he watched the normally quiet and calm boy jump around in joy. "Calm down Naruto-kun, you need to finish your ramen and then up to bed with you, you should start your training as soon as possible, the clan children have the advantage of someone to teach them after all, I am sure you do not want to be left behind."
Sure jiji!" Naruto smiled before a curious look crossed his face; "Hey jiji could you help me train!"
The smile fell from the Sarutobi Hiruzen's face as he looked down into the hopeful eyes of his pseudo grandsons face, how he hated to crush his childlike hope, but no matter how desperately wished to help him, to guide him, but he had to restrain himself. Should certain elements within the village find out that he was giving their jinchuriki special training, it would be all he needed to sink his claws into him; "I am sorry Naruto-kun, but sadly there is nothing I could do, political stuff you know!"
Naruto nodded his head dejectedly, even though he didn't truly understand, before a determined look appeared on his face: "Don't worry jiji, I will become a great ninja either way, don't you worry!"
"Very good!" The Hokage commended his young charge; "But enough of that, up to bed with you!"
Hiruzen smiled at the sight of the normally quiet calm and serious boy whine and beg to be allowed another round of ramen, it was a side of the boy that was only shown to him, the child behind the boy that was growing up far too fast due to the treatment of the village.
No matter what he did, what law he passed or how much he preached for them to give him a choice, Naruto lived a lonely life, without any friends or any kind of love, except what little he could give him whenever his time allowed it. While no one had dared to attack him after one of his chunin was stupid enough attack the boy when he was still in his crib, the public execution that had followed had been gruesome but it had done its job, it had driven home to the citizens of Konoha that an attack on the boy would not be tolerated, but he could not force them to be kind to him and since they could not attack him they had ignored him. They took an out of sight, out of mind approach and had started to ignore his very existence systematically ostracising him.
"No whining Naruto-kun, up to bed with you!" Hiruzen sternly scolded the boy, who finally accepted his fate and heeded home.
'Don't you worry Jiji, I will show the Academy just what Uzumaki Naruto is capable off, dattebayo!' Naruto thought determinedly as he made his way home, excited about the prospect of showing his Jiji and the village what he could do by beating all the clan kids in the Academy.
So focused was he on his musings that he never saw the man standing in front of him.
Naruto fell to the ground in a hard thud as he crashed into the man that stood in front of him, muttering an apology he looked up at the man he crashed into. A middle aged man with shaggy medium length black hair wearing the standard uniform of a Konoha shinobi, his olive green Chunin vest proudly showing a blue four pointed star surrounded by four equally blue dots, in the middle of the star the fan of the Uchiha clan was proudly shown, instead of the normal red spiral.
The man slowly turned around, his swagger a clear sign of heavy alcohol consume even to the young Uzumaki, his glazed black eyes suddenly sharpened and his face twisted into a grimace of hatred as their eyes met.
"You" The man growled and kicked the boy at his feet hard, a sharp gasp escaped Naruto's mouth as stabbing pain surged through his body from the point where the foot of the member of the Konoha Military Police Force hit him; "What do you think you are doing, you little demon!"
Suddenly a cruel grin appeared on the face of the man as he slowly took a Kunai out of his pouch; "Maybe it is time someone taught you a proper lesion, you monster!"
Terrified Naruto struggled to his feet and ran, he ran as fast as his little feet could carry him.
His whole body shivered in terror as the footsteps of his assailant grew nearer and nearer, he tried to burry himself even deeper into his hiding place, but the hard cold wall stopped him, stuck between the trash bin and the wall of the blind alley Naruto realised that he was well and truly trapped.
The footsteps grew even louder and he could practically feel his attacker's alcoholic breath on his face, his hands desperately searching for something, anything he could use to defend himself. A sharp hiss escaped his lips as something cold and sharp pierced his searching right hand, he desperately tried to stifle his cry as he clasped the sharp object tightly in his hand, ignoring the feeling of his blood running freely from his hand.
But it was too late; his attacker had already heard him, his blade glittered in the dark as the few rays of light from the main valley that entered the blind alley were reflected from it and its wielder drunkenly rushed at the boy.
Naruto gripped his makeshift weapon with both hands tightly as he watched his would be killer rush closer and closer.
'I am sorry Jiji, it seems that I won't see you again!' Naruto thought sadly as tears spilled from his face, the encouraging, smiling face of his pseudo grandfather appeared before his eyes and determination flooded him; 'No! I won't give up, I will not die!"
Suddenly his attacker seemed to slow down and it seemed like a sudden light shone through the valley as he could suddenly see much clearer. He was surprised how easily he ducked below his would be killer's weapon and before he even realised what he had done he had thrust his weapon forward and buried it deep within the chest of his attacker.
The drunken fog vanished from the man's eyes as a suddenly stabbing pain sobered him up and he looked down himself, he gasped in surprise as he saw a large shard of glass produced from his chest and the pain seemed to grow even worse and he fell to his knees.
He struggled to look up at the boy who had somehow hurt him and his whole body froze in shock at the sight in front of him, there glowing in the dark alley were two blood red eyes with a single tomoe spinning lazily around each pupil.
"Sharingan!" He gasped out in shock as the legendary Kekkai Genkai of his one clan glared back at him from the face of the village pariah; "How?"
He would never get an answer to his question as darkness surrounded him and he knew no more.
Naruto looked down at the still body of his attacker in horror and he gagged as vomit suddenly rose up his throat and he retched his soul out, tears still spilling from his eyes at what he had done.
When suddenly a hand softly landed on his shoulder, Naruto whirled around in fright only to look into the white porcelain mask of a crow. He took a terrified step back at the sight of the ANBU, the infamous shadows of the Hokage, as a thought struck him; 'Oh god what will Jiji think, I killed one of his Shinobi.'
Karasu(Crow) down at the young Uzumaki as he quickly took in the gruesome sight around him, only sparing a disgusted look towards his clan mate, before he grouched down towards the crying boy. He quickly swallowed his shock as he saw the pair of one tomoed sharingan eyes that stared back at him, that could wait; the boy took precedence for now.
"It's okay Naruto-kun!" Karasu told him softly; "It is okay, no one will hurt you anymore. You are safe now!"
A sob of relief escaped his throat and he threw himself into the arms of the surprised ANBU, who could only awkwardly pad the desperately sobbing boy on the back as he cried himself into unconsciousness.
Karasu carefully picked the sleeping boy up into his arms and vanished with a Shunshin, leaving the slain body of his clansmen alone in the alley.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat alone in his office, relishing the calm and quiet of the late hour, and finished the last of his seemingly never ending work for the day. With a satisfied sight he put down his pen and a sigh of relief escaped him as he leaned back on his chair, finally he was done and he allowed his mind to wander. A small smile appeared at his face as he looked back at his dinner with Naruto, like always the mere thought of the boy filled him with joy, he was such a precious boy. Smart and calm like his father and a warm caring heart just like both of his parents and sometimes, just sometimes the temper that made his mother so terrifying would appear. It truly was a pity how only he ever took the time to get to know the boy and see the truly special boy that he was.
His musings were interrupted as one of his ANBU suddenly appeared in his office, he was just about to reprimand his subordinate for this blatant break of protocol, when he saw the unconscious boy in his arms, his clothes ripped and tearstains left on his face.
"Karasu report!" The Hokage thundered, his normally kind and grandfatherly posture stiffened and his voice sharp and commanding, showing his ninja a glimpse of the man that earned himself the title of Shinobi no Kami(God of Shinobi).
"Hokage-sama I was just returning home from team training when I heard sobs coming from Ao alley!" The quite small ANBU unconsciously stiffened as he reported to his supreme leader, still holding the six year old boy in his arms; "As I investigated I saw Naruto-kun here sobbing over the corpse of Uchiha Shigeru. A preliminary examination of the scene makes me belief that Naruto-kun defended himself with deadly force from an attack of Uchiha Shigeru. Naruto-kun was quite distraught and after I tried to calm him down he lost unconsciousness. I believed it to be best to bring him here, so that he will be greeted by a familiar face!"
The Sandaime nodded his head in understanding and at a wink of his hand another ANBU appeared; "Same(Shark) take your men and clean up the scene, contain it."
After Same left, Karusu spoke up once more: "Hokage-sama there is something more, but maybe it would be best for that to be kept on a need to know basis!"
The Hokage regarded his ANBU with a long look before he nodded his head and only Karasu's own ANBU training allowed him to see as the Hokage's protective detailed vanished from the room.
"I cannot understand how, but it seems that due the trauma of his attack Naruto-kun has somehow awakened the Sharingan!" Karasu explained making even the seasoned Shinobi no Kami gasp in surprise; "What I do not know is how, none of his parents were members of the Uchiha clan."
At the Hokage's raised eyebrow about his subordinate's knowledge of the jinchuriki's secret parentage, the ANBU explained: "You must remember Hokage-sama that Uzumaki Kushina was my mother's best friend; I know she was pregnant before her death and I think I am capable enough to recognise her son. I am also well aware with whom Kushina-obasan spent most of her free time."
Sarutobi Hiruzen could only nod his head at those words and looked at the boy still resting in Karasu's arms, yes everyone who knew Kushina could quite easily recognise her son, his hair spiky like his father's was fiery red like his mother's and on the sharp face flawless face he had inherited from his father rested, currently hidden by his closed lids, two hauntingly beautiful purple eyes.
"So Naruto-kun has truly inherited the Sharingan, how surprising!" The Hokage finally spoke.
Karasu's eyebrows rose in surprise behind his porcelain mask; "You know how he inherited them Hokage-sama?"
"Indeed I do" The old man tiredly explained; "I simply never thought it would matter, the chances of him ever awakening the dōjutsu were slim at best!"
As the ANBU started to speak up, he held up his hand to silence him. "Before I explain, please get me Shisui-kun; this concerns him as well!"
Karasu was confused with what his best friend had to do with anything, but before he could voice his confusion the Hokage had picked the boy out from his arms and with a stern glance reminded him of his orders and he vanished in a Shunshin.
Tiredly the Hokage sat down on the couch in his office and rested the head of the sleeping boy on his lap, he unconsciously stroked the red hair of the boy as he thought about what had happened. He was too old for this, he thought, he knew that he should have been more careful, should have protected the boy better, but he had grown complacent and allowed himself to belief that no one would dare attack the boy again after what he had done to the last and now sadly Naruto had paid the price for his improvidence.
"Jiji" The quiet, nearly soundless voice of the boy tore Hiruzen out of his self-reproaches, the meek and fearful tone from the normally so confident boy tore at his heartstrings as he looked down at the crying boy.
"Shh Naruto-kun" The grandfather tried to sooth his grandson; "Everything is alright, no one will hurt you anymore, you are safe now."
"But" The boy whimpered; "But Jiji, I killed someone!"
The Hokage sighted sadly, no six year old boy should life with the burden of having taking a life, hadn't his own senseis founded this very village for that very reason, so that children could grow up safely and not having to spill blood, but he their student and successor had once more failed their dream and Naruto had to pay the price for his failure.
"You defended yourself Naruto-kun, you were attacked and defended yourself." Hiruzen clarified; "I know that right now that does not make much of a difference to you, but it makes all the difference in the world. You need to understand that as a ninja you will be forced to kill, but still hold on to the feeling you are experiencing right now, that shows that you are still human, still a good man."
"But it hurts so much Jiji!" Naruto sobbed and buried his head even deeper into his Jiji's lap; "I won't it to go away, I don't want to feel like that again!"
"I know how you feel Naruto-kun, but what you feel is normal and it is good so!" Naruto rose his head and looked at his grandfather in confusion; "To take another human life should never be easy, every life is precious and everyone no matter how bad he may be has someone who will miss him. Just like I would be sad if that man had succeeded in killing you, someone is now mourning him. I know there will be a time when you will have to kill again, but when that time comes I won't you to be certain that you have no other choice. Only take a life when you need to protect something precious to you, whether it is a person or our home, but most importantly hold on to the pain that comes with taking a life, it is what allows you to keep your humanity in this bloodstained world of shinobi!"
After seeing the jinchuriki's determined nod, he sent him a comforting smile and allowed him to cry some more, petting his head comfortingly on his head.
The intimate togetherness of grandfather and grandson was interrupted by the sudden return of Karasu and he was not alone, standing beside him, nearly a head taller than the short ANBU stood a teen of maybe fifteen with somewhat short spiky black hair and onyx black eyes.
The black haired teen looked in confusion at his village leader on the couch, the red mop of the village's jinchuriki on his lap. He was confused, he had just made his way to bed, when his normally courteous best friend had unceremoniously shunshined into his bedroom in his ANBU attire and had without long explanation ordered him to redress himself. His curiosity quickly turned into dread as the ANBU informed him that the Hokage demanded his immediate attendance, such a demand from the military leader of a mercenary village like Konohagakure never promised anything good and he had promptly readied himself and they made their way towards the Hokage tower hurriedly.
But once they had arrived at the Hokage's office the sight that greeted Uchiha Shisui was not what he had expected. The Jonin Commander was not there, nor were the Village Elders and the War hawk Danzo or anyone else he would have expected to be present during a village emergency. The Hokage was alone, with the exception of the six year old jinchuriki of the Kyubi no Yoko.
"Ah Shisui-kun!" The Sandaime warmly greeted one of his most trusted shinobi; "It is good that you could arrange it so quickly!"
Shisui could only nod in acceptance of his Hokage's pro forma gratitude, both knowing that even if it would have been inconvenient for him, no one denied a summon of the supreme leader of one's' village.
Waiting for the Hokage to explain his summon he looked down at the boy resting on his leader's lap, he of course knew who he was, no Jonin worth his salt would not know of him, but this was the first time he had ever truly met him. As he studied the boy he could not help but marvel how similar he looked to a member of is clan. He may not possess the normal raven black hair of an Uchiha, but the spikiness of his hair, the sharp and aristocratic features of his face, the slim and elegant built of his body and his eyes. The puffy violet eyes that looked curiously back at him had the wrong colour, but still the sheer intensity of his eyes held a quality he had ever seen in those who held a dōjutsu.
Finally the Hokage spoke, but his words were not directed at Shisui or even at Naruto, who looked curiously at the both the blackhaired teen as well as the ANBU that had brought him here and whom he recognised as the ANBU that had found him.
"Itachi-kun please remove your mask, this will be a long discussion and one that concerns Uchiha Itachi far more than Karasu!"
A gasp of surprise escaped Naruto as the ANBU that had helped him removed his crow mask, smooth black hair fell down an aristocratic face and two intense black eyes were revealed to the world, but what surprised Naruto was not his looks but how young he was, the ANBU could be older than twelve.
"As you wish Hokage-sama!" The young shinobi spoke; "I have brought Shisui as you ordered!"
The silent demand from the Uchiha to finally explain could not have been clearer to the Hokage if Itachi had shouted it out and with a tired sigh he finally explained. "Shisui-kun I am sure you must wonder why I have summoned you?"
Not you even waiting for his reply the Sandaime explained: "Around a hour ago Naruto-kun here was attacked by a Uchiha Shigeru and he had to kill him in self defence and it appears that sometime during the attack Naruto-kun has awoken the Sharingan."
The sharp intake of breath from the teen was clearly audible in the room and Naruto was surprised by the shock that appeared on his face at the word Sharingan and being the curious child he was he asked his Jiji: "Hey Jiji what is that Sharingan thingy?"
But it was not the Sandaime, but rather the teen that answered the kid breathlessly; "The Sharingan is a dōjutsu, the famous Kekkai Genkai of the Uchiha clan." At the confused look of the boy he explained; "A Kekkai Genkai is a special ability that is passed down only by one specific family and the Sharingan is a special eye technique that is only inherited by members of the Uchiha clan, mine and Itachi's clan."
"And I have that Sharingan?" Naruto said in confusion before elation suddenly appeared on his face; "Does that mean we are related, that I have a family."
"Yes" Itachi answered this time; "It means that we are somehow related, but you must understand Naruto-kun that members of ninja clans guard their secrets jealously and clans with Kekkei Genkais especially, what I don't understand is how we are related!"
"I can answer that!" The suddenly very old and tired sounding voice of the Sandaime Hokage explained, he felt the whole weight of his over sixty years of age and three Shinobi World Wars as he saw the shocked and betrayed look on his pseudo grandson's face.
"I had my reasons for keeping it a secret Naruto-kun!" The Hokage tried to sooth the hurt boy; "You must understand Naruto-kun that as Itachi-kun said ninja clans guard their secrets jealously and the Uchiha clan were always especially careful about that. Your father, for it is from whom you have inherited the blood of the Uchiha, himself was an orphan unknowing of his heritage until he found out by accident when he was already a grown man and by then he had already fallen in love with your mother!"
"My Kaa-chan!" Naruto asked in wonder, his heart pounding against his ribs in excitement as he for the first time in his life learned about his parents, for no matter how often he had asked his Jiji he had always denied him, only telling him that they loved him and that he had to grow older before he could tell him.
"What had my Kaa-chan to do with my Tou-san's clan?" Naruto asked in confusion, but understanding downed in Itachi.
"May I Hokage-sama maybe it would be best for an Uchiha to explain it to him!" At the Hokage's nod he continued; "Your mother Naruto-kun was named Uzumaki Kushina and she was a member of the Uzumaki clan. Now before you interrupt me, the Uzumaki clan was a clan that while closely allied to Konoha did not reside in Konoha, but in Uzushiogakure. Uzushiogakure was destroyed during the Second Great Shinobi World War and as far as I know Kushina-baasan was the only survivor."
"The Uzmaki clan was a powerful clan, so strong infact that during the Warring States Period, before the founding of the hidden villages, it was said to be the only clan to be capable of standing on even footing with the Two Great Shinobi Clans, the Uchiha and the Senju, that would later found Konoha. They were relatives and allies of the Senju clan, marriages between those two were so common that some clans even said they were just one clan. That is also the root of the problem, the Senju and the Uchiha, even after they made peace and founded Konoha were never on the best of terms and marriages between those clans still remain strictly forbidden."
"Forbidden?" Naruto asked in confusion, still trying to process what he had just learned.
"Yes forbidden!" Itachi said before he tried to explain it to the boy better; "How shall I explain it better? The Senju and the Uchiha clan feuded ever since the very beginning of our clans, for over a millennia the two clans have fought each other, all that anger and hate did not simply vanish, even years after Konoha's founding the hatred was still so strong that the friendship between your mother and mine was not accepted. Even half a century later the elders of the Uchiha clan still tried to forbid the mere friendship between an Uzumaki and an Uchiha, can you imagine how they would have reacted to a marriage."
Comprehension dawned on Naruto's face and tears threatened to spill from his eyes. "So my mere existence is a crime in the eyes of my relatives!"
"You need to understand that not every Uchiha is still so fixated on old clan feuds, look at Itachi-kun and Shisui-kun for example!" The Sandaime soothed the distraught boy; "But yes, fearing how the Uchiha would react, I chose to keep your relation to them a secret, I never imagined that you would ever awaken the Sharingan, your father didn't!"
"So who is my Tou-san?" Naruto asked suddenly excited once more.
"Naruto-kun, listen carefully!" The Hokage said sharply, a deadly serious expression on his face; "What I am about to tell you must never leave this room, the consequences would be deadly. I wished to wait for a few more years to tell you, allow you to grow stronger, so that you could better protect you once the truth comes out, but it seems that fate has other plans."
"Your father was an orphan, his mother was a kunoichi from a civilian family that died during child birth, taking the identity of her child's father to the grave, he grew up in one of Konoha's orphanages and at the age of six he entered the ninja academy. From the moment he entered the Academy it became apparent that he was meant for great things, he graduated at the age of ten and soared through the ranks until he succeeded me and became the Yondaime Hokage, his name was Namikaze Minato!"
"The Yondaime was my Tou-san!" Naruto shouted in disbelief.
"Indeed!" Hiuzen chuckled; "You kind of remind me of him you know. You may have inherited your mother's looks, but you got your father's calm and collected demeanour and his brain!"
"Jiji" The redhead timidly asked; "Do you have a photo of my parents?"
"Sure!" The Hokage slowly got up from the couch and made his way towards a book shelf where he pulled out a red photo album and after flipping through it for a few seconds removed a single photo and handed it to Naruto.
The redhead stared in wonder at the couple that was shown on the photo. His heart beat harder as he searched their faces for similarities to his own. A tall blonde man smiled at him, his spiky hair similar to his own and his sharp, angular face looked similar to how he thought his face would one day look. The smaller red haired woman that snuggled into the man's side on the other side had a much rounder face than his, but her hair while straight was the same deep red colour as his own and familiar purple eyes looked at him. But the thing caused tears to appear on his face was the swollen stomach of the woman and the loving gazes on their faces as the woman held her husband's hand to her pregnant stomach.
'Kaa-chan, Tou-san' Naruto thought tearfully, finally content with the knowledge that his parents did indeed love him; 'I promise I will make you proud!'
"Hokage-sama, please forgive me, but what does that have to do with me?" Shisui asked in confusion, wondering why the Hokage had specifically asked for him; "I mean I am always happy to meet a relative that doesn't have a pole stuck up his behind, but I am sure there is more to it than that!"
Despite the seriousness of their discussion the comment of the easy-going Uchiha elicited a chuckle from the Hokage and the serious Itachi.
"Indeed Shisui-kun" Hiruzen agreed; "As I already explained Minato himself didn't know who his father was, until he was hurt during the third Ninja World War and his blood test showed that he was related to the Uchiha clan. A cross reverence with the medical files of the Konoha hospital later, we learned just who his father was. Imagine my surprise when I learned than my friend and former comrade Uchiha Kagami had a child out of wedlock."
"Tou-san" Shisui said in surprise; "But that would mean"
"Yes" The Hokage interrupted; "That means that Naruto-kun here is your nephew!"
"WHAT" Naruto and Shisui shouted in unison.
"My uncle?" Naruto asked as he turned to the black haired teen
"His uncle?" Shisui asked in disbelief, before he simply smiled; "Cool!"
The Uchiha teen crouched down in front of the crimson haired boy, who looked at him with wide hopeful violet eyes; "Hey Naruto-kun, my name is Shisui and it appears that I am your uncle, nice to meet ya!"
Before he could speak even more, a body crashed into him, a soft oof escaped his lungs as the small body of his nephew tackled him. His heart ached as the heart wrenching sobs of the boy reached his ears and he felt his shirt starting to cling to his body as the tears of the red head touched his skin.
"Hey, hey Naruto-kun!" Shisui awkwardly petted the boy's head, not familiar with the situation of a young child crying in his arms. It felt bizarre to him that his nephew was crying in his arms, considering that when he had awoken that morning he was an orphan, the only son of an already old shinobi, who despite his prodigious talent and the constant pressure from his clan had waited quite long to start a family of his own, and now he had suddenly learned that not only did he have a brother, who was the freaking Yondaime Hokage of all people, but also had a nephew that like him was alone in this world; "Don't cry! I am here and I promise you, I will take care of you!"
And while he spoke he knew that he was telling the truth, the boy in his arms was his family and he promised himself that no matter what happened he would love and protect him, like he always wanted to be loved and protected after his mother's death.
"Does that mean I am going to live with you now, Shisui-ojisan!" The tearstained eyes of the young Uzumaki looked up at the Uchiha hopefully and the old Hokage's heart nearly broke as he once more had to break the young boy's heart.
"Sadly that is not possible Naruto-kun!" The man that had earned the name of Shinobi no Kami nearly winced as he saw the heartbroken look on the boy's face; "As Itachi-kun already explained, the Uchiha would never stand for a child of both the Uchiha as well as the Uzumaki clan to exist, they must never learn of your birth!"
"So we don't tell them!" The young boy naively said.
"Think Naruto-kun!" The Professor chided the boy; "How do you plan to explain that Shisui-kun, a man that has no known connection and has never officially met you, suddenly decided to adopt you!"
Realisation dawned on Naruto as he listened to the words of Hiruzen and he felt his lower lip tremble once more; "But I don't wanna be alone anymore, jiji!"
"Don't cry Naruto-kun!" Shisui hurriedly tried to calm the boy down; "Just because you can't live with me doesn't mean that you will be alone!"
Two large confused eyes looked at him from a tearstained face as he hurriedly thought of something, when his best friend came to his rescue.
"How about this, Naruto-kun?" Uchiha Itachi drew the attention from everyone in the room as he spoke up, after he had allowed the small family time to come to terms with everything they had learned and he himself had analysed the new information; "You want to become a ninja, don't you?"
The boy tilted his head in confusion as he looked at the young ANBU, while realisation dawned on the faces of the older two. Slowly Naruto nodded, still not quite understanding what the teen was trying to get at.
"Well Shisui here is a Jonin, an elite shinobi, and I am sure he would be delighted to help you with your training." The boy nearly jumped in excitement as he looked at his uncle, who nodded his head, his face mirroring the excitement on the boy's face; "And I am even inclined to help as well whenever my duties allow me to!"
"You will niisan!" Naruto hugged the ANBU excitedly, surprising the young teen; "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Hokage-sama I hope that is okay with you!" Shisui asked for permission from his military leader; "We assure you that we will make sure that we keep it hidden!"
"Please jiji, please!" Naruto begged his grandfather.
"Very well!" The Hokage allowed with a smile; "Naruto-kun will need training with his Sharingan. Now that he has awoken it, it will be only a matter of time when he will be forced to use it. A Sharingan user without the protection of the Uchiha clan will surely draw the attention from the other villages and he will need to be capable of defending himself."
"Awesome!" Naruto shouted excitedly.
Three ninja watched amusedly as the young boy jumped around the room excitedly seemingly forgetting the hardships and pain of the day.
"Enough Naruto-kun." The Hokage calmed the boy down with a serene smile, it was good to see the boy happy again, it was rare to see him so carefree and after that night his worries grew even stronger. He had feared that the traumatic event would be too much for the already struggling boy, but it seems that he would be fine. He was sure that it would take some time, but still he knew deep in his heart that Naruto would be fine; "I know that you are excited, but still it is late and it seems that you will have a big day tomorrow!"
Excitement flooded him once more as his jiji told him that his training would start tomorrow, finally someone was willing to help him, someone other than his jiji to care for him; he had a family.
But suddenly his excitement vanished and it felt like he was plunged into ice, coldness seeped through his bones and his memory flashed back to the events of that night, he felt his hand pulse painfully and for a second he thought he held the sharp shard of glass in his hands once more. His whole body shook in terror and everything around him seemed to blur, when suddenly a soft, yet strong hand touched his shoulder and he looked up into the kind and compassionate eyes of his uncle.
"Ojisan I don't wanna!" Naruto whimpered as tears once more spilled from his eyes; ""Please I don't wanna be alone!"
"It's okay Naruto-kun!" Shisui tried to soothed the distraught boy; "It's okay Naruto-kun, I won't leave you alone okay."
Naruto looked deep into the pitch black eyes of his only living family, searching for something; when he finally spoke again his voice was small and incredibly vulnerable. "Promise?"
"Promise!" The Uchiha nodded; "Come on Naruto-kun let's go, you need to go to bed. I promise I will stay with you, okay?"
"Okay Ojisan!" Naruto voice was still small and scared as he put his small hand into the bigger one of his uncle tentatively.
"Don't call me Ojisan, Naruto-kun." Naruto looked hurt until he saw Shisui grin down at him; "I am far too young and good looking to be an uncle, call me Oniisan!"
A small grin appeared on Naruto's face. "Yes Shisui-oniisan!"
I hope you liked it.
Those who have read Beyond the Hatred will surely realise the similarity to it, but there will be fundamental differences later on.
I am looking for a beta, if anyone is interested please PM me!
Lordy2207