Disclaimer: Naruto, character, names and related indicia are trademarks of and Ⓒ Masashi Kishimoto and Weekly Shōnen Jump. Naruto Publishing Rights Ⓒ Shueisha. I do not make any $$$ from the publishing of this story to any website.
The original FanFiction of Crimson Wind Red Dream is the concept of Tsukune08. This is merely a reproduction of their original story with the same title and some of my own original ideas. Please check them out and read their stuff.
Rated M for explicit language and trigger scenes!
A Chance Meeting
October 10th, 7 AK
The soft glow of warm sunshine was broken only by the lazy clouds that drifted through the deep blue sky, providing a modicum of shade for citizens of Konohagakure no Sato while they prepared for festivities that would take place throughout the entire village. Children played in parks while their parents conversed and exchanged gifts; Merchants set up open face stalls with merchandise; Shinobi relaxed on leave. This was a day marked not only for celebration, but as a day of memorial for a tragic event that shook the entire Shinobi Village; costing many lives and leaving a sizeable portion of Konohagakure no Sato in recovering.
Overall, it was a pleasant day for the Village Hidden in the Leaves-that is, except for perhaps one individual.
A young child scrounges in a knocked down garbage bin behind an Akimichi Family Bar-B-Que, the filthy rags worn as a shirt seeing use as a napkin for his hands as a rib bone is hanging between his teeth. What meat remains is tough and and sparse, but the taste of sauce on the bone is still sweet to the young boy. A clatter of noise yanks the boy out of what little daydream he had as a large man stood by the opened door way of the kitchen leading out into the alleyway.
"Hey! What do you think you are doing!? Get out of you here you filthy little rat, that food doesn't belong to you!" The large man shouted as he tossed a dripping bag of refuse at the small child, laughing as the bag split and emptied its disgusting contents all over the boy.
The boy was covered from head to bare foot in what remained of food orders and slimy cardboard containers. Without a look back, he sprinted out from the alleyway as he tried his best to wipe the muck from his dirty hair and face. When he felt that he was a safe distance from the heavy-set man that yelled at him, the boy crouched behind a pile of burnable waste that was set against a stretch of stone wall. He continued to run his hands through his long tangled black hair, trying to pull out any remains of garbage before standing back up to look in the direction he came from; checking that he hadn't been followed.
The small child stands at a mere flat three feet nothing, despite his young age. His exposed arms and legs are covered in various bruises and scars, ranging in color from dark blue to a sickly yellow. His skin is stretched taut over his bones and the various rags did little to hide his malnourished state. Shoving his hands down into the pockets of his torn shorts, the boy kicked his feet in the dust as he made his way out of the short alleyway.
Eventually, the boy found himself in a section of village he hadn't previously ventured to when he smelled a wonderful aroma emanating from a roadside stall. The interior of the stall was separated from the roadside with several paper curtains that were hung from the eve of its sloped roof. The boy did his best to inconspicuously move behind the stall towards a pair of bins in an effort to salvage a quick meal. He was so absorbed in his rummaging that he had not noticed the setting sun and it wasn't until he determined that nothing more than scraps of vegetables had been tossed away that he looked up to see the twilight sky.
With the sounds of a neighboring festival starting, the small child knew he had to immediately make his way back to the forest as stealthily as he could in order to hide the night of his birthday away. He was almost to the Hokage Monument when he heard the raised voices of a violent mob behind him. The boy frightfully looked behind him and it was by pure happenstance that he locked eyes with a man in a green flak jacket that lead the group of Konohagakure no Sato Civilian and Shinobi alike.
"It's the Demon Child! Get it!" Yelled the man out front, a sharp Shinobi tool in one hand.
"Grab it before it can escape!" Another man yelled out from within the group as it threw a stone at the boy's head, knocking him to the ground as a cut appeared over his left eye.
"Tie it up!" A woman's voice shouted over the crowd as a bundle of rope and wire were placed in several sets of hands.
Several Shinobi pounced on the small child before he could make it more than a few feet with their superior speed, forcing his face into the dirt as he arms were pulled hard behind his back into an uncomfortable position. He could feel the sharp wire dig into his wrists as a length of rope was tied around his neck just before he was hoisted from the ground, his toes barely able to feel the ground beneath him.
"I haven't d-done anything t-to you.. W-why?" The boy choked out as he struggled to breathe against the tightened rope.
"Haven't done anything!? Haven't done anything!? You killed our Fathers, our Mothers, our Brothers, our Sisters, our Sons, and our Daughters! You killed our friends, our companions, our teammates! Now we are going to continue what the fourth started this night seven years ago!" Several people within the crowd shouted in return, their voices full of animosity and malice.
The boy took the beatings. Each blow more painful than the last, adding to already numerous scars on his frail body. The mob poured salt and sand into his fresh wounds, making the pain worse as each fresh cut burned. The final act of the night was to drag his body through the street before they crucified his hands and legs to a wall before dispersing into the night. They hoped that the child would bleed in a slow and agonizing death, each one thinking the Demon Brat too evil for a swift death.
After some the crowd was gone, through the severe pain-the boy managed to loosen the sharpened Shinobi implement pinning his left hand to the wall. Even through the pain, his cunning mind managed to keep him alive as it had for the last four years. Eventually the boy was able to pluck the remaining tools from his right hand and legs without a whimper, leaving the abandoned alley in order to seek sanctuary away from the roaming mobs of villagers.
After a couple hours, the small child limped into a hidden cave. He considered it his own since he had discovered it a couple years before and had used it in the past as a sort of safe place to escape when he needed to hide. Although he claimed it as his own, the boy had never explored it fully, due in part because of just how devoid of light the cave became the further away from the small opening. Once the filthy boy was in the cave, he collapsed upon a makeshift bed of leaves, his wounds beginning to recover.
He awoke hours later from a resounding crash of thunder somewhere overhead, the quick flash of lightning illuminating the cave. At some point during his uneasy rest, the world outside began to storm. The boy moved a little further into the dark to get away from the lashings of the fierce wind that accompanied the storm. After he made the decision to sleep out the storm, he tried to fall asleep in the dryer albeit cooler patch of rough cave floor. Another flash of lightning overhead with the crack of thunder a few short seconds behind unnerved the small boy. He could swear he could hear a crackling noise from further within the cave that unnerved him. Suddenly the smell of roasted wild meat filled the boy's nose and a loud groan from his stomach answered in kind.
The inquisitive nature of the boy urged him to seek out the delicious smell as it permeated and mixed with the stale air of the cave. As he moved further into the cave, the warm glow of a small campfire filled the small space from around a bend in the cave walls. He kept to the shadows as best he could, not wanting to risk an encounter with whomever had started a fire within the cave, especially after the encounter he had only just had a few short hours ago.
"I can feel that you are there, you can come out-I pose no threat," an old voice called out from behind the bend. It was monotonous and sounded strange, as if the person who spoke hadn't said a word in years.
The boy took a few moments to consider his options but it was the smell of roasting meat and his own apparent hunger that persuaded him to move from his hidden spot and into the light of the campfire. There before the boy sat an elderly man, his skin aged and brown, his hair gray and reaching to the ground as he sat with his legs crossed. He was dressed in old armor that had obviously seen much better days. Yet none of this drew the boy's attention as much as the dingy grey cloth that was wrapped over the man's eyes.
"H-hello, I didn't know t-there was anyone else here," The boy spoke up, his eyes immediately finding the large chunk of wild meat supported over the small flames of a fire by sticks and wire.
"Ah, but I knew you were here. Come, sit and join me. I can hear from your stomach that you are quite hungry and there is far too much meat here for an old man to eat just by himself," The man spoke softly, gesturing to a place beside the fire.
Another groan from the boy's stomach was his only response as he took a seat where the elderly man indicated. This elicited a throaty chuckle from the man as he reached over and took the meat from the fire before he tore off a large chunk and handed to small child.
"What brings you here, young one?" The man asked as he set the rest of the roasted meat beside him on a cloth.
"I was looking f-for a place to sleep away f-from the villagers. I did not w-want to be hurt anymore and decided t-to explore the rest of this cave since the storm is t-too strong for me to return to the village anyways," The boy responded in wide-eyed fascination between mouthfuls of the deliciously cooked wild meat.
"If you had power, what would you do with it?" The old man turned to the boy as he spoke.
The child furrowed his eyebrows as he thought long and hard before he tried to answer the aged man. He didn't want to accidentally give the wrong answer.
"I would make it so no one could hurt me," He finally responded as he swallowed another mouthful of meat.
"Only to protect yourself, would you seek out power?" The venerable man spoke, a slight frown pulled at the corners of his mouth.
"And s-so that when others recognize me, I could protect them too, of course! Them and people precious t-to them too!" The boy spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"You would still protect the people that persecute you, if you had the power to do so? Ludicrous! But I can sense that you speak with honesty and a purity of heart so I choose to believe you," The man chuckled as he reached to his side and drew a sheathed weapon into his lap. The boy had shown a level of wisdom well beyond his years. Running his gaunt hands over the worn sheath of the weapon, he smiled as he faced the small child. "I believe this weapon will better serve you, young one. It is called Kamikaze, the Divine Wind. It may be old but all is not as it seems, just look deeply inward and this blade will never fail you."
The boy was confused what the elderly man meant before his world suddenly became black; his stomach far more fuller than he could ever remember it being before. He slept for a couple more hours in front of the dying coals of the warm fire before he awoke feeling far more rested then he had ever been.
As the boy rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he sat up on his makeshift bed of leaves. The soft sounds of an early autumn morning carried on a light breeze from the entrance of the cave was the only indication that the boy had slept throughout the storm from the previous night. What had happened though? How had he managed to get back to his bed? He tried his best to recall what had happened the previous night but it was like grasping at the fleeting edges of a forgotten dream. He could only remember being in excruciating pain and making his way to his safe haven away from Konohagakure no Sato and its citizens. When the boy stretched out his arms and legs, he felt the wrapped hilt of a weapon just beside the pile of leaves.
"Before drawing this blade, beware your heart," A voice spoke. "Only those strong of heart and sure of their strength may wield me. Be careful lest you fail like the countless of others that came before you,"
"I have never failed in anything I have set myself to. I have lived my life in hunger and sadness. I am worthy of wielding this blade!" The boy faltered but for a moment before he exclaimed at the top of his lungs to the strange old voice that spoke to him. He grasped at the hilt of the weapon and pulled it from the sheath before the entire cave flashed a bright white.
"Then I accept you as my master, until I deem you unworthy. If it is power you seek to protect yourself and others, then use me as you will. But if it is power you seek to take vengeance of another, then it is you that will be used," The ethereal voiced a warning, surprising the boy as it sounded in his head instead of outside. "Do not be frightened. I can simply communicate with you through your thoughts by accepting you as my master. No one else may draw my blade unless I deem them worthy. However, perhaps you may prove to be the only one who will wield my full potential. You are the first in a very long time to gain my power and I am honored to be in your service young one,"
The boy was stunned to say the least as he drew the blade. At first glance, the weapon appeared to be nothing more than a battered sword with a heavily chipped and rusted blade, the hilt's fabric tearing away. To the young child, it was a beautiful blade even if he did not know how to use it. He could finally defend himself against his attackers. He began to wonder what sort of powers the sword might possess.
"My powers will awaken as you grow more powerful young one. You will not be able to use me to protect yourself or anyone else until you have trained in how to use me. But do not worry young one, as I will instruct you in an ancient and lost art that will allow you to reach the full potential of what I am capable of,"
"Sweet! So what can we do now?" The boy almost shouted.
"You will train physically so you can handle my blade proficiently. Your natural affinity appears to be that of the wind, so combined with my techniques-you will become a Lord of the Wind. Are you left handed or right handed?" The elderly voice whispered within the boy's mind.
"Uhm, I can write with my left hand and when I throw stuff, it is more accurate-but my right arm is stronger," The boy answered.
"Ambidextrous. Amazing, you may just be able to really pull out my full potential after all. That however, is a long way away. For future reference, you do not need to speak in order for us to communicate. Simply think whatever it is you have to say so that we may be able to communicate. First and foremost-I believe it is imperative that you find yourself some better clothing to wear, a means to eat a well balanced diet, and perhaps a nice place to sleep that would do you better than what you have currently. For now, how about you see if you cannot find the Elderly Man who was nice to you in the Village," The voice spoke once more before it receded deep within the boy's mind.
October 11th, 7 AK
Kurenai Yūhi, Chūnin of Konohagakure no Sato, was returning for a long, horrible mission. Another Chūnin and herself had been sent on a simply C-Rank mission to transport a package of documents from Konohagakure no Sato to Sunagakure no Sato, then return with a response. The trip itself to the Village Hidden in the Sand was uneventful. It was not until the two Chūnin were only a day's travel from Konoha on their return trip that everything turned to shit.
First the duo had come across some bandits that had decided Kurenai would make for a good time and attempted to subdue the two Chūnin. They were clearly no match for the trained Shinobi's superior skills but with their numbers-they managed to wound Kurenai's partner. She managed to dress the wounds with basic first aid in order to keep her companion from dying; but just as it so happened-an Iwa Nukenin, that had been tracking them from the borders of Kaze no Kuni, decided the two weakened Chūnin would be easy pickings. The Nukenin engaged them both in combat and managed to snuff the light of Kurenai's teammate with jutsu that left his body peppered full of holes. The Iwa Nukenin then assumed that it would be easy to subdue Kurenai; however the Konohagakure no Sato Chūnin wasn't known as the Mistress of Genjutsu even at her young age of 14 for nothing. She was the foremost Genjutsu Expert that Konohagakure no Sato had seen in the previous sixty years and she would not be taken down easily. She managed to defeat the Nukenin and even sealed his head into a sealing scroll.
Making the decision that she needed to rest before making the thirty mile trek back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Kurenai found a secure place to rest and fell into a fitful sleep with nightmares of Kunoichi being captured. Luck was not on her side however as she woke up a short couple of hours later, unrested and kranky with the sound voices beneath her. With her own weakened condition in mind, she waited for the opportunity to flee. Once she had a clear shot, she took off among the branches of trees-running from the bandits. Unfortunately, one of the bandits caught sight of her and began to pursue, showing at least some training in the Shinobi Arts as they kept pace with her.
In her exhausted state, she only got as far as the outskirts of a forest of Hi no Kuni before her Chakra gave out. She was forced to the ground and running on pure adrenaline when the bandits caught up to her. After a brief Taijutsu encounter, in which Kurenai was successful in breaking one of the bandit's noses, they had her captured and were getting ready to enjoy their 'spoils of conquest.
"So this is the Mistress of Genjutsu of Konohagakure no Sato. What a pity that you are such a weakling when you cannot rely on your Shinobi Arts," The bandit with the broken nose remarked before he pulled his fist back and decked her hard against her own nose, breaking Kurenai's nose in retaliation.
"Look at those eyes, so full of Ice and Fire. Such a unique color too. I've never seen anything like it," The second bandit chuckled as he grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head backwards. "They will look so nice when they are broken and empty,"
Indeed, Kurenai's eyes were a curious shade. Dark red pupils ringed by a lighter shade of red iris. Something that many had commented on and a constant insecurity for the Chūnin.
"Look at this body boys," The third bandit announced as he pulled on the white and black top over mesh shirt, ripping both and exposing her budding C-cup breast.
As the tops tore away, it exposed her smooth stomach and hourglass shape, her hips flaring into her toned ass and legs that seemed to go on forever. Kurenai was one of the most sought after women within the Village Hidden in the Leaf-however she had turned down advances for the exact reason that she was about to be molested for. Men only wanted her body and nothing else.
"Of course I had to be captured by these perverts. This is the second time today for Kami's Sake! Are there not any decent men left in this world? How the hell am I going to get away from these men? I can barely move and I am out of Chakra!" Kurenai thought to herself, as she tried to formulate any means of an escape plan. "If you're going to do it, just get it over with!" Kurenai spat in face of one of the bandits.
"Oh don't you worry, bitch! You are going to enjoy this by the time we are finished with you. You'll just be begging for more!" The bandit holding her hair gained a malicious smirk as he backhanded her.
"I doubt it," Kurenai retorted. "To think I am going to lose my virginity to these men. I'd rather die. Fuck!"
The young boy was walking out in the forest after he had to take an alternate route back into the village as the original way had been blocked. He had Kamikaze slung over his back as it was currently too long for him to tie to his waist. The boy was heading north to Konohagakure no Sato when he began to hear odd grunting noises.
"I suggest we see what is going on over there young one, I sense that someone may be in danger," The voice whispered into the back of the boy's mind.
Taking into the account the urgency in the weapon's voice, the boy drew the old blade slowly as not to make too much noise and gripped it tightly in both hands before he moved forward. After a couple dozen steps, the noises became louder and the boy could hear a loud feminine scream. Immediately, he rushed forward and pushed aside a part of the bush to sneak a peek into the clearing ahead-careful not to be seen himself only to be shocked at what he witnessed.
There in the clearing, was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She was being manhandled by three naked men and had her positioned so that she was bent over a stump on the far edge of the clearing. The boy saw the fear in her eyes and immediately knew that if he did not do something, he would regret it. He didn't know what was about to happen, but the fact that she men outnumbered her and she was screaming for help was the only motivation he needed to formulate a plan in order to help her.
"I can help you take these vile beings out, if you want the power to protect the woman. This will drain us both and I will only be able to do it once before I must rest. Do you wish for my power?" The weapon questioned.
"Do your thing, if I cannot protect her-then what good is my word? How can I possibly protect myself?" The boy responded without any hesitation.
"Indeed, you are worthy to wield me. You know nothing of the woman in need of help yet you are willing to sacrifice your power in order to save her. I shall grant you your wish, she will be saved," The voice answered before the boy's eyes changed.
His normal cerulean eyes changed to that of a menacing red with elongated slits that curved in a misshapen 'S'. The boy's vision was vastly improved instantly and he could feel his body moving more fluidly than he ever thought could be possible. He charged into the clearing right as the bandit holding the woman's hair forced her head back and began to lower his groin to her face. The three bandits were stunned that this little kid had suddenly appeared with an old decrepit weapon in his hand. Before any of them could react, the boy had castrated and beheaded one bandit as he held his engorged member in what to have been preparation. As the bandit's head fell off, the other two bandits took a stance, forgetting all about the woman in the process.
"You little shit bucket, you just killed our brother! We are going to beat you into within an inch of your life before we have our way with the 'Genjutsu Bitch of Konoha'!" The largest and dumbest looking bandit shouted before they both charged.
The boy waited their charge out and ducked with ease under the first bandit's first before he rolled to the left, putting the first attacker between himself and the second-all the while he thrust the blade of the sword forward faster than the bandit could react. The small boy managed to impale the blade of Kamikaze right through the bandit's pelvis and out the back. Pulling the blade back, the bandit slumped down to the ground, his eviscerated member held in his hand as the boy swung the weapon horizontally and separated the bandit's head from his shoulders. The remaining bandit contemplated just what kind of monster this young child must be to move like he did while being so young.
The woman was shocked. She could not believe this young boy had come out of nowhere and managed to kill not one but two of the men that attacked her, possibly saving her from what had just been about to happen to her. Her belongings and package were still in her pouch that had been discarded with her torn clothing but were forgotten as she just stared in awe at the grime covered boy handling three full grown men with minimal Shinobi Training. As if he was a Jōnin and they were mere greenhorns.
The small child was becoming exhausted and he knew it, moving at speeds that his body was not used to and expanded energy that he shouldn't have with his malnourished body-it was beginning to take a severe toll on him. He knew that he needed to finish soon or he would pass out and put himself in even more danger; not to mention he would fail to protect the beautiful woman. He couldn't let that happen, he would fight until the very last breath in his body in order to protect her if that is what it took.
The last remaining banded was just trying to figure out how to beat this poor bastard of a kid. He decided that a long range attack was his best option against a Kenjutsu user, so he put some distance between himself and the small boy before his hands began to flash through handsigns as fast as he could manage in order to activate his only known jutsu.
"You have just enough left to try my most basic power, young one. It would certainly be the most effective and advantageous to use it right now," The voice offered deep in the recesses of the boy's mind.
"Anything to save the woman!" The boy thought as hard as he could without the slightest hint of hesitation.
"Run!" The woman screamed as her eyes widened while she watched the small child face the remaining bandit. The bastard had finished his handsigns and put his hands up mouth.
"Kanton: Gōkakyū no Jutsu[1]!" The bandit smirked as he fired a large fireball straight at the young child, sure that the boy could not dodge or block his jutsu with such a derelict sword.
The small boy concentrated solely on the Chakra building within his frail body, and barely heard the voice of the beautiful woman call out to him or the enemy announce the name of his jutsu. When the Chakra hit a threshold, the boy pushed it down into the blade. His expression was one of amazement as he watched the blade transform into that of an oversized black fang. The cross guard turned into a large patch of orange fur similar to that of an animal.
"Aim for the point of impact of the oncoming attack, where the Chakra is at its densest and release your attack," The voice whispered to the small child.
"Kaze no-" The boy began to say as the large fireball bared down him, the incredible heat enough to melt steel and char bone. The woman stared in shock as an aura of Chakra surrounded the boy, pressing back against the fireball like a protective cloak. "Kizu[2]!"
The smirk the bandit had faded quickly as he watching the aura of Chakra push against his jutsu before it enveloped the transformed weapon. With a single downward swing of the blade, the small boy sent a crescent of red energy through the great fireball and straight at the poor bastard. The bandit was caught off guard from the spectacle and as such, was to slow to dodge the violent energy that passed through his body.
"Ha! Is that all… you… got?" The bandit's eyes went wide as he tried to swallow and take a step forward. As soon as he moved, a red seam appeared to run down the middle of his body and blood began to pool beneath him as his body separated and crumpled to the ground. The small boy's attack had sliced him completely in two.
The woman began to relax, her own exhaustion working against her as the threat of the three bandits was squashed in under a minute of the small child's arrival. She could do nothing but stare at the boy as he smiled and his impressive weapon seemed to revert to that of a worn down and rusted blade with a chipped edge.
"Where did he get such a powerful weapon? Who is this kid? Where did he come from?" The woman could feel herself giving out. The stress of almost being sexually assaulted twice in one day, albeit one far worse than the other, was beginning to take a catch up to her-not to mention the fading adrenalin and low Chakra Reserves. She had only a few moments before she would black out.
"Hey! Are you alright, Megami-Chan?" The boy shouted as he rushed over to the woman, missing the faint pink blush that powdered her cheeks. "Hey! You're a Konohagakure no Sato Kunoichi! Do you need help getting back?"
"My name is… Kurenai Yūhi, Chūnin… I am returning from a mission… Please… I have to get to the Hokage," The woman introduced herself before slumping forward, unconscious. The last thing she would be able to later recall was the six identifiable whisker marks on the boy's cheeks and him appearing right next to her and she began to fall.
The boy watched Kurenai swagger a moment before she began to fall forward, and he rushed to grab her. He was tired but he would persevere for her sake if that is what it took to ensure she made it back to Konohagakure no Sato safely. He gently laid her down before he removed the tied rags he wore as a shirt and managed to get them to cover her large breast. He ripped some of the thin material from his shorts and fashioned it the best he could around her hips to cover her own pelvis, recognizing a drastic difference between hers and his own. He wondered how he was going to get both of them to Konohagakure safely without hurting either of them as he was pretty certain he could not carry her-even if he wasn't so tired. He knew he could not just leave her here either. So once more, he used his swift cunning and managed to lash together some big branches with strips of clothing from the dead guys. He took their weapons and anything he thought might be of value before he loaded them up with Kurenai, doing his best to drag Kurenai on a makeshift sled back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had finally managed to get of his Kami-Be-Damned Office. His only reprieve from there had been when he had previously checked on a Naruto Uzumaki when the boy would be brought into a Hospital, though that hadn't happened in a few years-and he never had the time to stay until the boy awoke. He received regular reports from an ANBU officer that was assigned to watch the boy at the orphanage, but something had seemed off lately. He just couldn't figure out what it was and he had not had the opportunity to personally investigate it himself. Sarutobi considered getting the boy an apartment to live in if the boy ever enrolled within the Ninja Academy; but until then there just wasn't much he had been able to do. His hands were tied thanks to the law.
The Hokage sighed deeply and inhaled a large amount of sweet smoke from his wooden pipe. The damn law, ever since the damn laws had changed thanks to times of peace-the paperwork had practically tripled. Paperwork; Mission Reports, Daily Reports of activity within the walls of the village, Diplomatic Correspondence with Foreign Dignitaries. Sarutobi had been unable to keep as close as an eye on Naruto as he wished he could. Yes, the reports do mention that he is doing as well as any orphan could be, but that is only from reports. There was no actual interaction. He was still struggling to get the damn law revoked in order to assist the poor orphaned child, but the Council seemed to do everything in their power to make it as drawn out and difficult as it could be.
Sarutobi was walking around the edge of the forest behind the Hokage Monument to calm his nerves when he heard a rustling in the bushes. Hiding a sharpened Shinobi Tool beneath his white robe, he waited with a baited breath while watching the bush.
Out from the bush came a boy of only Five or Six years old with black hair and blue eyes. Strikingly familiar blue eyes. It took a moment for the recognition as the Elderly Hokage scanned the boy's face and found the telltale whisker marks on his cheeks.
"Naruto!?" Sarutobi exclaimed in surprise before he took in the rest of the boy's appearance and just what it was he was doing.
A sheathed sword was slung diagonally across the boy's back and the torn thin shorts hanging off his small frame, held up with a piece of frayed rope. Behind the boy was a sled carrying an exhausted but otherwise seemingly unharmed Kunoichi with packs of what appeared to be another Shinobi's weapons and scrolls resting between her legs. The Hokage's eyes narrowed seeing all of this together.
"Hai Oji-san," Naruto said as he began to faint, weak and beyond exhausted from walking three hours after his encounter with the Bandits and pulling a teenage girl behind him on the sled. "What a chance meeting…"
Jutsu List:
[1] Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique
[2] Scar of the Wind
A/N: So yup… I am suddenly reminded of another FanFic that included a sword that could transform. Read and Review!