Title: Dreaming of Freedom

Chapter 1: No More Secrets-Papa Roach

Genre: General/Angst

Warnings: Mild Sakura and Kakashi bashing, major Sasuke bashing, slight language, slight violence, strong, smart Naruto, nice, fem Kyuubi,

Rating: T

Pairings: None

Summary: All Naruto wants is freedom. It's his reason for becoming a shinobi. But when his dream is destroyed he decides to drop his mask and show Konoha the true Uzumaki Naruto. The entire time Sound and Akatsuki are moving closer and closer. Will Naruto put aside his own problems and help save Konoha or stand by as they're destroyed?

1) First off I would like to say that my summaries suck. Please read about three chapters before you decide whether it's good or not.

2) Next I would like to say that although there will be Sakura and Kakashi bashing it won't be without reason or too extreme. The Sasuke bashing will be extreme but there's a valid reason for Naruto's hatred.

3) Naruto will be a bit of a Mary Sue when it comes to power but I intend to focus more on how he changes and how his fights affect him than the fights themselves. It's better like this anyway, my fight scenes are horrible. Besides, there's a reason for his strength.

4) This story might seem like just a collection of popular plot ideas but I'll do my best to keep it original. It follows the series so there will be spoilers.

5) If you have any questions or want to tell me what you think please leave a review, and NO FLAMES! Just because you don't like it doesn't mean you have to be rude.

6) Finally, each chapter will be named after a song that I think captures the feel of the chapter but this is not meant to be a song fic.

I don't own the awesomeness that is Naruto or Papa Roach. I don't even own any merchandise.

"asdfjkl;"is talking

'asdfjkl;'is thinking

"asdfjkl;"is Kyuubi/Inner Sakura talking

"asdfjkl;" is Naruto/Sakura speaking in his/her mind.

00000000 means a scene change or time skip

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The Village Hidden in the Leaves is one of the strongest shinobi villages in existence. Despite its power, or perhaps because of it, it is also one of the most peaceful. Its people treat each other like family. Even those who have been orphaned can find love within the village. Except for one small boy.

This particular boy is hated by the entire population of Konoha. One would probably assume he had done something horrible to deserve such anger, but the truth is this child has no control over what makes him different. In fact he doesn't even know why their eyes become cold every time they look at him. This is because no one in the village will tell him.

Seven years ago, Konoha was attacked by a nine-tailed demon fox known as the Kyuubi. The Leaf shinobi fought with all their strength, but it was to no avail. Many lives were lost and many more would have been lost if the village, the Yondaime, hadn't sacrificed himself. He gave his soul to seal the demon inside a newborn baby.

his infant was to be seen as a hero for containing the demon within his tiny body. Unfortunately, the villagers didn't understand this. Instead they saw him as the monster that slaughtered their loved ones and took the life of their beloved Hokage. Because of this the 3rd Hokage passed a law that sentenced anyone who spoke of the Kyuubi to death.

Despite this the villagers managed to make his life a living hell. The children saw how their parents treated him and did the same without knowing why. He is alone, hated by everyone around him except one person. However, his life is about to change for better or worse.

This child's name is Uzumaki Naruto.

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"Hey, Old Man! What's this book about?" A young blonde boy stood by the bookshelf of the Hokage's office, holding up a bright orange book he had found hidden behind the others. Sarutobi looked up only to panic when he realized what book Naruto was about to start reading. He quickly ran over and grabbed the novel out of Naruto's hands.

"You shouldn't be reading that, Naruto."

"Why not?"

"It's advanced shinobi techniques. You wouldn't understand it anyway." He silently prayed that Naruto would buy his lie. The blond stared curiously at him until he finally turned back to the bookcase to pick another novel. Inwardly Sandaime sighed in relief. He loved Naruto like a grandson but sometimes the child was too much for one person to handle. The seven-year-old had burst through his door several hours ago asking if he could stay in the office for little while. Normally, Sandaime would say that he had too much work to get done, but today was the anniversary of the Kyuubi's defeat and he realized that Naruto wasn't safe anywhere else. He probably would've been too worried about Naruto to get any work done anyway.

So he had allowed Naruto in on the condition that he entertain himself quietly. Since then the boy had been reading book after book off his shelf. The Hokage was sometimes amazed by how much Naruto read. And most of the time it was books meant for adults or at least teenagers. The fact that he rarely asked for help only further proved that he was beyond the normal level.

"Naruto, It's about time for you to go home and to bed. You have school tomorrow. "

Naruto looked up at him pleadingly. "Can't I stay here? It's not like we're going to do anything in class anyway. We never do anything but review after vacations and I already know the lessons. I'll just end up sleeping through class."

"According to your teachers you're failing all your classes."

"It's because they don't like me. They get me in trouble for no reason. I get punished for doing things that the others do all the time and they give me harder work."

The elderly shinobi sighed. He wanted to let Naruto stay but he had a lot of work to do. As for the accusations against his teachers, Sarutobi decided he would have to have a little talk with them.

"Then it's even more important you don't miss a class. They might use it as an excuse to expel you. "

The seven-year-old thought about this for a minute before nodding slowly. He walked across the room and was about to replace the book when Sandaime stopped him.

"Why don't you keep it? All you have to do is promise that you'll go straight home and to bed. Consider it a birthday present."

Naruto's eyes lit up and he smiled for the first time in a few months. It was more from the thought of receiving a present than what the present actually was. He hugged the old man who merely chuckled and pushed Naruto away. He turned him to the door and pushed him towards it gently. Naruto took the hint and ran out of the office as fast as he could, the book clutched tightly to his chest.

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Naruto was walking down the streets of Konoha while reading his book he was so engrossed in it he didn't notice when three men moved in front of him. He bumped into them and fell down , dropping his book in the process. He looked up fearfully. He had been in situation like this before and knew they would most likely beat him. All he could hope for was that it wouldn't be too bad this time.

" well , what do we have here? It looks like we've caught ourselves a demon. What should we do with it?" the biggest spoke in a cold, evil tone. He was obviously their leader.

'Maybe we should kill it." the second one wasn't as scary as the first one. His voice didn't send chills down Naruto's spine the way the first one's did.

They slowly advanced on him. He got up and tried to run but they grabbed him by the back of his collar and threw him in an alley. Then it began.

Naruto had long ago realized that the best thing to do was to focus on something else. This made it all blur together until he wasn't sure what they were doing to him. He just knew that his body hurt everywhere.

He was dimly aware of more villagers arriving, most with blades.

'oh, crap.'

And then everything went black.