Chapter 1: The Awakening Uzumaki Naruto fell to his knees as he fought to catch his breath. This chakra control training is tough! He thought. Then another thought came to him I wonder... then he contacted the nine-tailed fox Kurama, whom was sealed inside him, and a good friend. "What's wrong, Naruto?" Kurama asked, not being able to completely hide the concern in his voice, even though it was obvious that he was trying. "I was just wondering," Naruto replied. "could my lack of chakra control have anything to do with Dad only sealing your Yang chakra in me?" The fox looked confused, "What's that?" he asked, puzzled. "My Yin chakra is intact. It's impossible to separate the two unless you only need one for a jutsu, but..." Naruto was surprised at these words. His father had died sealing away the Kyuubi's Yin chakra for good... didn't he? Suddenly the world started distorting. Trees, buildings, everything around him started blurring. "What the!" Naruto cried. Then his head started throbbing. "What's happening!" he cried, gripping his aching head. "The computer's going haywire!" An unfamiliar disembodied voice cried. "Pull him out now!" cried another. Then, from exhaustion, pain and confusion, Naruto passed out.
Naruto heard a dripping nearby as consciousness returned to him. I must be in the hospital. He thought. I guess I must've trained too hard, passed out and dreamed all that weird shit. As he slowly sat up, he looked around. Not any hospital room I've been in before. Though he was in a hospital bed, the room itself was dim, with a freshly drained tank nearby where the dripping was coming. It had medical equipment attached to it as well as electronic equipment that he couldn't identify. He also noticed that he was wrapped in a blanket, but... Where are my clothes! Looking around frantically he didn't see them anywhere, nor anywhere to even store them. What the... "He's still recovering from being pulled from the machine..." Naruto heard the first voice say as it approached the room. "Orochimaru-sama." A chill ran down his spine at the mention of the Otonin with a passion for human experimentation. "So I see," Orochimaru said as he entered the room. Two unfamiliar men, one dark-haired with glasses over his light brown eyes, the other blond with green eyes, as well as Yakoshi Kabuto, flanked him. Naruto clutched the blanket closer as the four of them approached him. Orochimaru paused a few feet away and grinned. "Naruto-kun, you're probably wondering what's going on, aren't you?" Naruto, too stunned to speak, merely nodded. "You see, for the past fifteen years, since you were two years old, you've been living in a virtual reality." Naruto's eyes widened at these words. "You've retained your skills and jutsus," the second voice, which belonged to the dark-haired man, said, "however..." "Although the people you've met were real and the terrain and geography were pretty much right on..." The blond first voice continued for him. "Your encounters with them were not," Orochimaru concluded, then grinned, "You're a stranger among friends." Tears welled in Naruto's eyes. Shutting them tight, he cried "You're lying!" Ignoring the stinging pain that the shout caused his throat, Naruto, still clutching the blanket, rushed out knocking over the two strangers in the process.
Breathless, Naruto had finally stopped running when he'd reached a lake. His muscles aching from the run, he sat in a tree's shade on the bank and took a drink with the blanket covering him. He'd stuck to shade trees the whole time because the sun had felt like it was roasting his skin. This is just a dream, he thought looking at his reflection. He was pale, thin and his blond shaggy hair was waist length. When I wake up I'll be back in Konoha. "There he is!" He heard someone shout from behind. Fearing Orochimaru's henchmen, Naruto turned around quickly. But to his surprise it wasn't Otonin, but Konoha ANBU Black Ops! "Are you alright, Naruto-sama?" One of the ANBU asked in a familiar voice as he knelt next to Naruto. Exhausted and feeling safe, Naruto passed out in the arms of the ANBU, not bothering to try and identify the familiar voice.