AN: I'd written this long ago. I just decided to post it for the heck of it. If you like the concept I might just let you adopt it, but until then, enjoy. I'll correct grammar mistakes if you point them out.

Disclaimer: I don't own the concept behind Naruto and its characters. This disclaimer applies to all chapters.

Chapter 1

5-years after the Kyuubi's defeat

Late into the night, a short black-clad figure silently dropped to the floor after sneaking into the Konoha Library through a small unlocked window.

'Jackpot!' was his first thought at successfully infiltrating the library after days of careful planning. The only snag he had hit in his plan was the Sandaime hokage's near god-like ability to know what anyone was doing at any time in the village. He had yet to find out how it was done but had taken a risk by choosing to break into the building at a time he knew the Old man was indisposed.

'If he doesn't know I was here after tonight, I'll make sure to always leave out for him those stupid orange books he likes reading so much so I can keep coming back.' he thought as he moved through the rows of shelves to the section he knew was used by most gennin and chuunin ninja. Naruto was not a complete stranger to the titles of most of the books as he recognised some of the topics from passages in his textbooks from the academy, where he had recently enrolled.

'Alright! First on the list is stuff to do with the body, and after that... I'll come up with something.' He proceeded to sift through the mounds of information he would have access to for the whole night.

Just as he had anticipated, there were a great number of books dealing with human anatomy, not only for ninja use but also for civilians. Our hero pulled out a chair from a table in the room and began meticulously sorting through the books he had grabbed. He copied down the book titles on a piece of paper knowing he would not have time to read through the big, heavy volumes in one sitting.

No, breaking into the library was just one stage of his plan. He needed to get the titles to the books first before he could initiate the second stage of his plan. He drew up a list of the books and scrolls he would need in order of priority, bringing his operation to a close after a tedious near five hours of constant work. He then replaced every book to it's exact location, with the exception of the tome that was first on his list.

A yawn escaped him when he was finally done, indicating just how tiring it was for the five-year-old boy to carry out his plan.

'Operation, success! And I still have a few hours left to catch some sleep.'

Just as he had gotten in, the black-wearing academy student left the library leaving no signs indicating that he was there just a few minutes ago.

Three months later

In a remote part of forested area within Konoha, a blond haired kid cursed.

"Damn it! How the hell am I supposed to aim these stupid things!" came the yell that scared away a few birds perched on the nearby treetops. The object of the boy's cursing and current bane of his life was a set of senbon, medical needles, that he had painstakingly scavenged from used training grounds all over Konoha. He was using the senbon to try and hit specific pressure points on a wooden dummy he had made, according to a few charts and diagrams that were in the most recent scroll he had acquired from the library.

He had taken to the Art of Medical Practices with a fervor unheard of from most people. It was a testament to his intelligence that he was able to comb through half the medical texts on his list(which comprised of forty four assorted books and scrolls) and that he was well on his way to practically apllying what he had learned as well. He was able to name from memory a part of the body and list its characteristics and functions to the minute detail of the sequence of synaptic nerve firing for the groups of cells of the body part. In most circles he would have been named a prodigy for having advanced as fast as he had when he was only five years old.

Naruto had found out that his healing factor was at least eight times higher than that of most people. His senses were also much more keen than those of other people, a fact he was not aware of since he assumed that he was just like everyone else.

'But I'm not like anyone else...' His face drooped as he remembered that he was in some way connected to the beast that nearly destroyed Konoha. Before his thoughts turned darker he turned his attention back to what he was doing before.

'Maybe, if I held them differently...' Naruto's current scroll was on the battle aspect of iryojutsu(medical techniques). He was already conversant with the use of senbon in acupuncture to interrupt and redirect nerve signals to cause numbness, pain or redirect blood flow to cause certain body reactions. He had practiced a bit on a few forest animals and was confident he could do just about everything that was in the books and more. His imaginative mind was constantly coming up with new ideas for the iryojutsu and information he was acquiring. He always made sure to record and archive everything he came up with. Right now he was learning to use senbon to incapacitate the human body and had hit an obstacle namely his throwing posture and the lack of a proper teacher to instruct him. But let it not be said that that was enough to stop Uzumaki Naruto.

A shift in balance here, a slight raise in the elbow... Naruto drew his arm back then thrust it forward, letting the senbon in between his right forefinger and middle finger fly towards the previously aimed spot on his target(which coincidentally resembled a certain instructor from the academy whom he particularly disliked for having sent him out of class after raising his voice to ask a question). The needle struck the target just a few millimetres off the intended target.

"Finally!" Naruto breathed, feeling relieved. He set himself up for another throw and again he nearly hit his target. His pose was a rough and he moved his body too much but now that he was on the right path, he would be able to improve to the point he could do it unconsciously, just as the book had described.

That night Naruto dragged himself to bed after a hearty meal of forest picked fruit(he was trying to save up as much of his money as he could) and sighed contentedly while he mentally reviewed just how far he had come since picking up his first book. He had not slacked off on his academy work either and was already ahead of the instructor in the curriculum they were covering(courtesy of the academy library). So much about him had changed in just three months. His change in diet from the previous back-to-back ramen meals now consisted of a wide variety of meat, fruits and vegetables. He had been most thankful that he had discovered proper nutrition after having read of how growth could be stunted if the body did not get enough nutrients which his previously didn't.

'I could've turned into a midget for all I know if I kept eating nothin' but ramen!' he chuckled at the thought of a chibi Naruto surrounded by his normal sized peers. His peers. This was a sore spot for him. He was three years younger than everyone else in class. They picked on him because he was shorter and younger than them. He suspected that their parents contributed to their isolating him in class despite how much he tried to be friendly to everyone.

'Guess I can't win 'em all.' A loud yawn and Naruto was drifting off to sleep, dreaming of a time and place where he had lots of friends who kept the loneliness away.

7-years after the Kyuubi's defeat

Naruto ducked and rolled out of the way of a couple of senbon that were heading for him. His breathing hastened as he purposefully tripped a wire and proceeded to dodge his way through a hail of shuriken that were flung at him from all sides around him. The moon hung low in the sky, providing little illumination through the thick foliage in the area that Naruto had dubbed his own personal training grounds, where he was presently setting off a number of traps he had earlier set up and was attempting to dodge the volleys of weapons being flung at him in near-zero visibility as part of his training.

The blond boy had stepped up his training to include physical conditioning and battlefield awareness ever since he had completed his reading on The Medical Arts. He had felt he had to take care of his body and pre-condition it to prepare for the life of ninja that he would undoubtedly be a part of, thanks to his relationship with the Kyuubi. He had yet to find out exactly what the nine-tails had to do with him but he felt he was getting close.

As part of his medical training, Naruto had learnt a lot in regards to chakra and the body. he had gained a number of medical techniques that he had trained, bled and sweat to master for two years since he began to search for answers as to why he was so different to others. He had finally tapped into his chakra and was surprised to find it was a great deal, no doubt as a result of his incredible physical fitness. Chakra being made up of physical and mental energy meant that the more one had of either, the more chakra one had. An adult's chakra was more potent than a child's due to their more developed physical structure as well as their more experienced mental ability. Naruto had realised that he could not rush that aspect of getting stronger and all he could do was wait for time to take it's course.

Of course that didn't mean he would let himself be idle. There was tons he could still do, and with his high healing factor and keen senses, he was sometimes scared of the potential he had.

It had taken a lot of work to bring up his chakra control to the levels he needed to be able to utilise the iryojutsu described in his pilfered tomes of knowledge. He had had to work on numerous exercises due to the ridiculously high levels of chakra he had for his age which would be expected from most jounin and not a third-year academy student. Naruto was quick to take advantage of his chakra levels though and at least once a month he would experiment with a new use for chakra(but always researching in the library before utilising the idea to make sure he did not blow himself up).He had modified chakra strings so that he could use them to cut up objects(these he called Kiri no Chakra no Moji Retsu or The Cutting Chakra Strings) and he was also on his way to learning to fire them in short bursts as Chakra Senbon. His training through the evasion of traps was to improve his situational awareness and train his reflexes before he would delve into a suitable taijutsu or kenjutsu style.

Naruto dodged the last kunai and stood still for a moment to calm down his heart rate before starting to pick up the weapons that littered the ground. All of the equipment he had was scavenged from training grounds where he sometimes masqueraded under a henge posing as a cleaner. Some of the lost causes he sold at a local forge in the village and saved the money he got from them. When he was done collecting the weapons, sometimes having had to sniff them out, Naruto stowed them away in a backpack he usually used to carry his school stuff.

'I need more ninja wire...' he noted as he took inventory on what he had used and which kunai needed sharpening. He then gazed up at the stars and took his time appreciating their beauty.

'I wonder if there's more out there, maybe another world or another reality where things work differently. Where there's more to life than training.' Naruto shook his head to clear his mind. 'Another reality? I must be starting to lose it. I think I'll go talk to the Old man tomorrow. He was getting worried about my grades.' At first, Naruto had been excelling at the academy. Some said he could make Rookie of the Year if he kept up his pace. This made people more angry and upset than they had been when he had started attending the academy. It got serious when some kids singled out Naruto and ganged up on him one day because,

'Because their parents were mad at them for letting me get ahead of them.' he thought grimly.

Since then Naruto had taken to under-achieving to the point where his past success was called a fluke. No one had confronted him since then but he had taken on a new title of The Idiot when he purposefully messed up his jutsu in class.

'Bah, who needs 'em! Old man, Teuchi ji-san and Ayame are my friends and that's enough for me. It's too bad I can't tell them about the stuff I've been doing. Feh, it's better if I stay out of their lives, I mean, Ichiraku's has been doing much better now that I stopped eating there during the day.'

Naruto sighed and steered his thoughts in a different direction, namely, a new book he had found.

'I wonder what Fuinjutsu is like...'

8-years after the Kyuubi's defeat

Sandaime pinched the bridge of his nose in defeat as a headache threatened to start. The source of his misfortune stood next him in the form of one Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto had just told him that the reason he continued to do poorly in class was because he 'didn't feel like trying'. Sarutobi Hiruzen worked with politicians daily and had done so for many years. As such, he could tell that the boy with whom he was standing atop the Hokage Monument watching the sunset was not lying. This actually made sense to him.

According to the reports from the academy, Naruto was supposed to be a disgrace to ninja everywhere. He had just barely avoided flunking nearly every subject introduced to him. Yet, the Naruto that he saw when he looked at the boy, who was currently entranced by the majestic sunset infront of him, he could tell he was more than he appeared to be. As a veteran of three great wars, Hiruzen had become accustomed to reading people and assessing them from their appearance, a skill which had saved his life more than once when he was fighting an enemy who's skill level was unknown. It was also useful to him as the hokage as he was able to tell if his subordinates were slacking off.

When this incredible skill was applied to Naruto, he was surprised as to what he found considering what he learned from the reports.

Naruto carried himself with a confidence and grace which was not found in most gennin until they were ready to become chuunin. His posture was good though not completely excellent, his hand-grip on objects was that of one who was accustomed to working with precise and deadly weapons, even the way he stood suggested that he was capable of easily and quickly shifting into a solid fighting stance. The boy's chakra capacity would have been the envy of most chuunin and even a few jounin, yet, it flowed smoothly around him indicating the great level of control he had over it. Hiruzen would not be surprised if Naruto could perform a basic iryojutsu near perfectly on the first try(if only he knew!). Even his eyes were observant and calculating. Sandaime could have sworn that when his bones cracked out of old age the other day as he was sitting down, Naruto's eyes were studying him as if in his mind he was reviewing the causes of arthritis and it's counters, although that would be absurd and utterly unbelievable!

Despite all the secrecy surrounding Naruto, he never once lied to his grandfather figure. Hiruzen knew it was true because when he visited the academy to talk to the students, it seemed as if Naruto didn't want to try in class. The hokage reviewed his options,

'I can ask him exactly what he's been doing, and if he lies I can force him to tell me, but that wouldn't be right and would only drive him further away from me. He has to come out and tell me himself... Why don't you trust me anymore, my boy?' He really cared for the boy and wanted to help him realize what goals he had considering that they were honorable but that was really hard to do when the said boy refused to let him into his life.

Naruto remained oblivious to the Sandaime's worries as he stared at the sun which was slowly dipping beyond the horizon. His form was slouched slightly and if one would look carefully they would see in his eyes the signs of the little sleep he had the previous night. He was still contemplating the staggering conclusion he had reached to the question he often asked himself of his relationship with the Kyuubi. He had thought he was ready for anything that could be thrown at him but he was wrong. He had just reached a level of proficiency in fuinjutsu where he could identify the basic functions of most seals.

Fuinjutsu reading material was nearly impossible to come by in Konoha. He had spent months scouring the library(he did find some cool basic ninjutsu that he had copied down and would soon be able to use and modify into more powerful techniques) but he had to search high and low in his previously unlimited knowledge source at the library and piece together what snippets he could find on the subject before he could progress anymore in figuring out Fuinjutsu itself. He had even had to resort to eavesdropping on gossip like he used to to acquire more detail on the subject. From what he had gathered, fuinjutsu was a skill reserved for jounin and a few exceptional chuunin due to the high risk in its practice, not even considering the intelligence needed to work with the little squiggles. Naruto had already seen the seal on his stomach and this kept him from being deterred in his goal as he knew that sealwork held the answer to his yet unanswered question.

Desperate to overcome the handicap, Naruto had started skipping school a few months back making sure that there would be no suspicion should he fail to attend for a period of up to a week. Once he was sure he would not be missed, he began to sneak out of the village to the nearest towns and establishments to search for more material on the Sealing Arts. He knew he was taking a great risk and should he be caught, the consequences would be grave. As if something like that could stop him.

Naruto had been able to find research material(somewhere, a certain perverted sage feels an overwhelming desire to cheer out loud) once he knew exactly what kind of places to look for it. Along the way, he had run into hostiles; roadside bandits and the like, and he was at least able to view the results of all his training. His sacrifices bore fruit in the form of an aged scroll that was used to instruct fuinjutsu. He only had a few weeks to work with it so far but for him it was enough.

The night before his meeting with Sandaime atop the Hokage Monument he had scrutinized his seal and realized that it was a very powerful containment seal. Things started to click into place. 'Yondaime was a seal expert.' he had actually forgotten that little detail from all the material that he had read. Now he knew what everyone else(the adults anyway) did. This was where his healing factor and enhanced senses came from. What else did the Kyuubi do to him? Was he even human anymore?

The questions kept coming all night and he barely got any sleep. Here he was now, standing next to the Sandaime watching the sunset together. He hadn't even noticed it had become dark. He turned to look at Sandaime who was now getting ready to leave. He couldn't help but wonder, 'Does he know what I am?'

Just before Hiruzen left Naruto he sought to reassure his surrogate grandson in hopes that later on, he would open up to him.

"Naruto," Eyes, blue like the ocean, regarded him as he took a breath to continue. "I want you to know that I care about you, and if you ever need to talk to me about anything, I'll be there for you, just like I always have." That said, the old man used the Shunshin no jutsu(body flicker technique) to leave, most likely to return to his office or go to his home.

When he was gone, Naruto came to the realization that the Sandaime was there for him from the beginning, regardless of the Kyuubi being sealed inside him. If there was one thing Naruto was sure of, it's that he was grateful for what he had, but now he could see that his hiding of things from the old man was destroying their trust.

'But he didn't trust me enough to tell me about the Kyuubi...' Naruto instantly berated himself for that thought. 'Of course he couldn't tell me! I never gave him reason to think I was ready to know. Even now, I'm still having trouble coming to terms with it.'

'First thing tomorrow, I'll tell him everything.'

Naruto decided it was about time he headed back to his apartment. He decided to take a shortcut through the Uchiha District. His decision would set in motion events that would later change his life.

AN: I'm back, Bwahhahahaha. Review or feel my wrath! Sorry, I can be quite bipolar sometimes.