Hey, penmuse here with a new story. First one for Naruto, so lemme know how I'm doing. Please forgive the uncoordinated mess that is the prologue, I promise that it gets better. Aside from that, enjoy the story.

From the Shadows

The sun was shining, birds were chirping, citizens were frequenting the markets, children were playing in the streets, ninja were coming from and leaving for missions and ANBU were watching from the shadows.

All in all, it was just another normal day in Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and that included a young child with spiky blond hair, cerulean blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks running from some enraged shinobi for- once again- defacing the Hokage Monument.

This boy, one Naruto Uzumaki, seemed to be the master prankster of Konoha, as he would devise some of the most elaborate schemes, leaving his teacher to wonder why the child continued to fail classes. But- no matter how simple or complex the prank was- he rarely ever managed to escape some form of retribution.

If Naruto was not caught by the ninja that were chasing him, he would have to escape an angry mob composed of villagers. Even if he were not caught, he would be forced to run form them. However, it was not because they were angry about the prank, far from it. Naruto was chased, beaten, harassed and, on occasion, nearly killed by these mobs because of what he was: a jinchuriki, a demon container.

There once existed a single beast with ten tails and an immense amount of power with on desire: to wreak havoc upon the earth. However, a man known only as the Sage of Six Paths managed to seal the beast inside himself, thus becoming the first jinchuriki.

But, as time continued to pass, the Sage continued to age. Knowing that his end was near, the Sage, rather than allowing the ten-tailed beast to be free, split its power into nine demons- the biju- and each one with differing amounts of power.

Now, thirteen years ago, the demon lord, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the nine-tailed fox, attacked the Hidden Leaf Village, sewing destruction upon its inhabitants. It was only through the efforts of the Fourth Hokage that the demon was defeated. By sacrificing himself, the Yondaime managed to seal the fox's chakra inside a newborn, Naruto Uzumaki.

It was after the death of the Yondaime that the Third Hokage- who had previously retired- resumed the position and issued a law stating that no one was ever allowed to mention that the Kyuubi was sealed away rather than killed.

While Naruto never did anything to harm the villagers or its inhabitants, the citizens still blamed him for what happened. They saw him as the demon instead of as Naruto; for what he contained rather than for who he was. The villagers needed a scapegoat and were all too eager to vent their frustrations, their hate and their vindictiveness upon the boy.

While the Third Hokage did not share the same views as the general population, there was little he could do to protect the jinchuriki other than assign shinobi to protect him, many of whom shard the villagers' view of the child. And- as such- did far worse things to the boy than many other knew, or the mobs could ever imagine.

Because of the constant ostricization and beatings, Naruto- until a few years ago- was- for the most part- homeless. He was left to fend for himself, as he had no family because they were either killed in the attack or abandoned him because of what he was. Many times, Naruto was forced to steal or search through the trash so that he wouldn't starve.

It was now dark, and- after having managed to escape the shinobi as well as the mob that had been chasing him- Naruto wanted nothing more than to be able to go home, fall onto his bed and go to sleep. But he knew that couldn't happened for a while because- as he walked through the door- he found that his apartment had- once again- been trashed and graffitiid. Naruto knew that before he could rest, he would first need to do some cleaning. Not to mention that he had another job to do.

Naruto wasn't just some happy-go-lucky teenager like he led people to believe. He was something much more dangerous, much more deadly. He was a Shadow Stalker; an elite assassin.

Naruto learned sometime ago that in order to survive he could not rely on others, so he began to train; vigorously. He became quite proficient in not only ninjutsu, but taijutsu and kenjutsu as well- though no one ever knew it.

The day after his eleventh birthday, a man approached him with an offer- one that Naruto quickly accepted; one that provided him with the opportunity to become even more powerful.

The day after, Naruto began his training to become a Shadow Stalker. He learned stealth, efficiency and many other arts. He learned how to not only travel by the shadows, but to manipulate them as well- to the point where it would seem as though the victim's own shadow had turned against him.

Upon finishing his training, Naruto learned that the man who had given him the offer as well as trained him would also be the one who supplied him with missions. He would meet no one else from the organization in order to help protect not only himself, but the other members as well.

Soon after receiving the tattoo that marked him as a fully-fledged member, Naruto received his first assignment: the assassination of a corrupt noble in the Land of Rice.

After each completed mission, Naruto would receive his payment. He quickly learned that his jobs would not only include assassinations, but spying, espionage, sabotage and kidnapping as well.

Concealing his absences was not difficult- as no one aside from the Hokage really ever noticed him, and he was almost always occupied. For prolonged disappearances, he would simply unseal a blood clone to exist in his stead.

With his apartment now reasonably fixed up, Naruto quickly donned his work clothes: a black shirt with black pants and a dark, animal fur cloak. He put a mask resembling a black wolf over his face and pulled up his hood to obscure his abnormally blonde hair.

Hurriedly strapping a katana to his back, Naruto jumped out his window and set off into the darkness to complete his next assignment quickly so that he could get some sleep for the next day: his Genin exam. And- though he was not inherently worried about the exam itself, he had no desire to be absolutely exhausted when he showed up.

Hoped you liked what read...Leave me a review and tell me what ya think.