"The Power of a Pretense"
By Quick-n-Popular
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Wish I did, but ain't going to happen in my lifetime.
A/N: As this being an "Alternate Universe" story, a lot of information from the source material has been either removed or altered so that this story could work. Thus, you may have to suspend some disbelief. I hope ya like it!
Chapter One: Danzo's Plan
Fire lit the sky, the air was plagued by ash and smoke as buildings were set ablaze. The beautiful town of Konoha was in utter chaos and ruin. Many of its inhabitants were scurrying about, trying desperately recover those who have fallen to the Kyuubi moments before its departure.
One man, however, was not running nor was he frantic like so many others at this time.
Danzo, the well known "warhawk' of Konoha, known for his quiet demeanor and war-hardened mind; was walking to the area in which the Kyuubi was last seen engaging the Yondaime Hokage.
He had observed the Hokage and the Kyuubi's entanglement from a distance, wanting to know first hand as to the outcome of what was to happen. Like so many who had already fallen, he too had some doubts as to what the outcome of the battle against the demon fox was going to be. Then, in the last moments, he saw what he had heard of from some certain sources as to what the Yondaime had planned when he was going to combat the Kyuubi. The specialized sealing of the beast into a host in a means to contain it as there was no way to defeat it outright.
From where Danzo had hid himself for observation, it looked as though the Yondaime's plan worked as the fox had changed from a being of form into a swirling vapor of red mist that went directly at him and into the host into which it was to be housed. He then heard the Hokage screaming outloud and then quickly falling to the ground and laid still. Danzo had heard from his sources that this particular type of sealing came with the cost of the caster's life and the outcome seemed to prove that true.
Danzo shifted on his cane as he limped his way to the fallen Hokage to observe, first hand, that the man had done his job and see the host for himself.
It had been a mystery to his sources as to whom the man had chosen for such a task, but whomever it was, Danzo had plans for it. Such a being to contain such an extraordinary power would be too valuable to be left to the devices of the soft Sarutobi as he was sure he would safe guard it. Danzo knew if he could obtain the host first and have his ROOT members hide it, he could then make a declaration of the host being dead and keep it for himself to train and use right. His mind began to set in motion the right story to feed to Sarutobi, who he was sure was on his way here.
When Danzo finally came upon The Yondaime's form, he saw a wriggling mass hidden in the confines of his cloak. Getting onto one knee, Danzo used his only available hand and moved aside the flap of the cloak to reveal the host within it.
A crying child with a tuft of blond hair on its head cried out loudly as it moved its tiny fists in process.
Danzo's only eye lingered on the prized tiny thing and then went to the stomach where the seal containing the Kyuubi behind it was. He narrowed his eye as he couldn't find that said seal. Frowning, he picked up the child and looked all over it. He couldn't find ANYTHING. Danzo then put some chakra into the child but nothing surfaced. He scowled some more, his brow furrowing.
'It isn't here.' He summarized. His eye then went back down to the Hokage and a thought then struck him. 'Could it be that it back fired somehow? Did the Yondaime's seal went back to its caster as opposed to working as it had intended?' It was the only possible reason he could come up with. The seal had sent the Kyuubi back to the Yondaime and when the Hokage sacrificed his life to the shinigami, the Kyuubi went right along with him. Danzo grunted out of disappointment, he would never get the chance to have such a powerful weapon at his disposal ever again.
His eye once again fell upon the child in his hand. The child looked up at his with curious eyes as it sucked on its thumb, its crying and displeasurment having stopped.
Looking upon said child, Danzo soon came aware as to who the parents were. The tuft of blond hair, the deep cerulean eyes. there could be no mistake. A smile slowly appeared on the weathered face of the warhawk. In his hands, he was holding the son of the Yondaime, one of the most powerful shinobi's ever to grace Konoha and had died saving it.
The wheels in his head began turning once more, all was not for not, anymore. He could still use this child. Because of its father, he would still have a powerful shinobi.
Danzo's thinking was halted as he could hear approaching footsteps along with the voice of the Sandaime issuing orders as he was making his way over to the area.
Danzo knew it was too late to summon one of his close ROOT members nearby to take the child. He quickly began thinking of a way...
Sarutobi Hiruzen was both panicked and grief-stricken. He had watched from the tower the events that had occurred. The Yondaime had calmly walked out to confront the Kyuubi, his child in his hands, and his face a look of a tortured, yet determined; spirit.
After the Kyuubi's departure, Sarutobi began to set out to rescue the son of the Yondaime and set out orders to those around him to help the fallen. Upon getting closer, he was surprised to see that he wasn't the first one to reach the child as, in front of him, Danzo was cradling the child in his arm ad was waiting for his arrival.
Arriving without much breath, Sarutobi looked first at the child and then at Danzo. He asked one question.
"Did he succeed?"
Danzo nodded and presented him with the infant, on its belly a spiraling symbol lay visible.
Sarutobi sighed as he accepted the child. He knew the child was in for a rough ordeal, but he knew that once he relayed the message to the village that all would be all right, possibly, from here on in.
Danzo watched as the Sandiame turned and walked out of sight with the child in his hands and surrounded by the ANBU. A smile appeared on the man's face as he knew the Hokage had obviously had accepted what presented to him. Now, it was only be a matter of time before his plans would come into fruition...
Twelve years and several months later....
Uzumaki Naruto stood firm in front of the traitorous man he had once called sensei. Having just stolen a scroll in an effort to rectify a failed Genin exam, he had just witnessed three things that shook his core. One being the betrayal of his supposed sensei, the others was the revelation of him being the container of the demon fox that was the source of all the pain and suffering he had endured over a large course of his young life. Lastly, was being saved by his sensei, Iruka. The man, at first, confronted him about the stolen scroll and then revealed to Naruto his unwitting participation into helping Mizuki into stealing for him. Now, Iruka was injured greatly due to Mizuki. Having thwarted a final deathblow by Mizuki, Naruto was now ready to use the jutsu that he had learned from the scroll against the man.
"Touch my sensei again, you bastard, and I'll kill you." He said, murderously.
"Ha! The demon thinks he's tough. Well, come at me brat! If you're so sure of yourself." Mizuki raised his windmill-shuriken up high as he saw Naruto get into position and made hand signs and then shouted.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Next to Naruto stood two clones. He blinked.
'I...I thought I had made more!...Oh, well.' He scowled at Mizuki. 'The bastard is still going down!'
Naruto then, along with his two shadow clones, charged at Mizuki.
Mizuki smirked at the blond as he let his shuriken soar through the air at him and his clones.
Naruto and his clones dived away from the spinning blade and quickly made their way to Mizuki in the treetops.
Mizuki smirked as he whipped out a kunai and delivered several kicks that dispelled Naruto's clones and then he launched himself at the original, kunai held high.
"Once I get rid of you, this village may actually give me a medal for my service. Hell, they might let me KEEP the scroll as a reward!"
Naruto brought forth his own kunai as he scowled. "Keep thinking what you want, traitor. I'll make you pay for hurting Iruka-sensei!"
"Naruto don't!"
Naruto gave a quick glance to the side to see Iruka, painfully, crawl his way over in a vain-effort to stop his blond-haired student.
Naruto turned back to Mizuki as he thrusted his kunai at the man's neck. He wasn't fast enough as he felt a horrible pain in his abdomen. Looking down, he could see Mizuki's kunai protruding from his gut. Naruto felt cold and the world was spinning slightly in front of him.
"Now die, demon!" Mizuki delivered a kick to Naruto's head that had him sailing over the trees ahead.
Before darkness ensnared him, Naruto thought he could hear several figures shouting and engaging the area where Mizuki and Iruka were...
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Sarutobi sat by the bed as he gazed sadly at the blond haired boy who was attached to an IV stand, his head completely bandaged, and his abdomen stiched up; in the hospital early this morning.
Having watched the events unfold from his crystal ball the night before, he kicked himself for not acting quick enough to send the Jonins squabbling outside to the area to help Naruto and Iruka against Mizuki. They had found Naruto fifty feet away, his body mangled from his fall and his head bleeding upon his landing against an unearthed boulder. He was now someplace where he couldn't be reached as his mind was closed off from the world. Sarutobi, at first, thought of using Yamanka Inoichi to help bring the boy back, but Inoichi was against the idea as he said, being how young Naruto was; that he could possibly do damage by entering the young boy's mind.
Sarutobi sighed. After all these years, he still felt helpless in helping the poor boy. He thought by making his law that Naruto might find a better life with his peers, but seeing as how he was constantly pushed away by adults who spread their fears and hatred toward their unknowing children, it may never come to be. Now, all he could do is be there for Naruto when he woke up and hoped he could find the right words to reassure the boy that there still was hope for him.
Watching the Sandaime sit with the boy, Danzo turned away and his thoughts were happy ones.
'Soon it will all come together and the boy will be mine.'
To be continued.......
A/N: I know this is rushed but I wanted to present the idea and will be more thorough and better paced later on in the following chapters. This is an experiment and based on reactions I'll decide on whether or not to continue this. I'm working with three other stories, so you'll have to be patient.
A/N II: Please read and review as it'll inspire me to invest in this more and more.
Q-n-P