Prologue
Naruto was sitting, curled in pain. His whole body seemingly refused to move, trying not to breathe. The pain was just so unbearable. He weakly lifted his head, looking at the chains holding him. They were spiked, chakra enhanced, though this wasn't what pained him. What pained him was how he found himself here, in this small, dark cell. What pained him was the betrayal he experienced.
How it all turned out like this?
It started more than a month ago…
Hidden Leaf Village
Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, home to shinobi in Firs Country, was reading the report on a mission the team before her just completed. When she finally finished, she looked at the team before her. It was a team of fourteen year-olds who were pretty much bruised. No surprise there, considering this mission was about capturing a defected ninja from the Hidden Waterfall Village. What surprised her was that they handled this mission better than she and her young assistant calculated. She turned her eyes to the team leader, giving him a satisfying smile.
"Good job, all of you. Especially you, Uzumaki Naruto." The busty blonde said with pride while addressing the boy. The blonde sure have grown in this past year after Sasuke's defection. And not long ago, he was promoted chunin. So she gave him this mission to test his abilities and, as she thought, the boy led his team to a success.
The blonde, Uzumaki Naruto, the boy within whom the Nine-tailed Fox was sealed fourteen years ago, smiled at the praise. He scratched the back of his head, making his orange jacket more visible under the chunin vest. His spiky blonde hair seemed a little more messed than in the past, yet made a better contrast with his fox-grin. "Thanks a bunch, granny Tsunade." He said half cheerfully, half seriously.
"All right, you are all dismissed." She said, waving her hand to let them know to leave. The four bowed before her and left the room. The woman, who was actually in her early fifties, turned to the window once she stood up, looking at the beautiful sunset. It made her feel more relaxed. The village was peaceful. And the Uzumaki kid was growing happy. Though there was something she should tell him. But the council disapproved. It irritated her. He had the right, yet he was denied to know it. Yet perhaps they were right. Though he seemed better, Naruto still suffered the subhuman complex. Who knows how that would turn out?
Little did she know that soon, fate would bring upon the change not necessarily for the good. The change, that would leave a mark on the village and some of its people.
End…