I do not own Naruto or DBZ

Heavy rain thundered against the village hidden in the leaves. Cries of hate and anger split through the air, and footsteps splashed through the puddles of water.

"Kill the demon!" one man rallied. The other villagers began to chant along with him. Though it wasn't just villagers. A few ninja had joined them as well.

A teen blonde was running from them as fast as he could. 'What do I do? There's too many!' he thought to himself in panic. He then lost his footing and slid across the slick, muddy ground. He hit the ground and rolled across it into a building. He pushed himself backwards to avoid a few kunai that were lobbed at him.

"Please! Stop this! I don't want to fight you!" he cried.

"This is the end, Naruto! Demon brat!" One of the ANBU that had joined them brought his sword up, planning to deal a final, sharp blow to finish the blonde off. Naruto clenched his eyes shut. The blow never came. He opened his eyes again and gasped as he saw a man in a pink chang pao with the words 'kill you' printed across the back. He had a long pointed face and a black braid with a ribbon at the back. All of the villagers and ninja who had been chasing him were killed. It seemed as though the man had enjoyed every second of it too. Like it was a hobby.

"W- who are you?" Naruto asked in shock.

"I am Mercenary Tao. I have come to kill you." he stated bluntly.

Naruto's eyes widened. He tried to get up. "Hey! H- hold on a second! Let's talk about this!" he stuttered out. He took a clumsy fighting stance in an effort to defend himself.

Tao studied him with interest. The boy's stance was awful and he was pretty weak as he was. However, Tao could sense hidden potential in the boy. 'This may be just the boy I could use to prove that blasted brother of mine wrong.'

Naruto noticed the man staring at him. "What? What is it?" he asked nervously.

"I tell you what. I will refrain from killing you if you decide to become my apprentice." Tao offered.

Naruto's gaped. He hadn't expected that. A voice began to speak in his head. 'You should accept his offer.' Naruto went to protest, but it continued. 'Think about it. This man, he's a mercenary. Meaning someone in the village with a lot of money is now paying people to come after you. Your name isn't well known enough for it to be someone outside of the village. The counsel or the Hokage himself. Possibly even clan heads who don't want to get their own hands dirty. This village has betrayed you. They've betrayed you for years. It's time to stand up for yourself, Naruto. It's time to stop letting them walk all over you without consequence. They are not your friends. They are not your allies. They have made it clear. They are your enemies!'

Naruto thought about what he said for a few moments. His fear of death slowly turned to rage as he realized the fox had a point. They had betrayed him. A long time ago. Now they just made it obvious. He looked at the Mercenary. "Mercenary Tao. I accept your offer. I will become your apprentice. Please. Teach me to be strong and ruthless like you." he bowed his head in respect.

'Oh yes. He will be strong and ruthless. Maybe even more so than me one day. After all. Years of torment breeds more cold killers than any training ever could.' Tao smirked. "Come, then." Tao gestured for Naruto to follow him.

"One moment." Naruto said.

"What is it?" Tao asked in annoyance.

Naruto pulled a kunai from his pouch. Without any trace of emotion on his face, he drew it across his hitai-ate, symbolizing his new status as a missing-nin. He put the kunai back in its place and then followed Tao out of the village. He didn't look back, fearing that it would cause him to change his mind. No. He had made his decision. They would pay for what they'd done.