*Hello, everyone! I've read quite a few stories on here in the past year, so I thought I'd take a crack at writing one of my own. This may have a bit of a familiar feel to it - A quick recap on how Naruto was oppressed, Sakura treating Naruto like crap and hurting him, Naruto reflecting on his self worth, etc. However, my plan is to have a short intervention from a character from one of my favorite (game) series and have him leave a profound impact on Naruto that contributes to character development that's a bit different from the canon storyline. If anyone reading ever played Bloody Roar II, you might enjoy the guest appearance. Anyway, let's get started!*
* - Author's note
" - Speech
' - Thoughts
bold italics - Narration
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bloody Roar.
The village of Konoha had always shunned Naruto Uzumaki since the day he was born. Some villagers did it out of anger for losing their loved ones, some did it out of fear of the Kyuubi's return, and some did it merely to fit in with the crowd. Labeling the boy as an outcast was easy; finding an actual fault with the boy was not. Hiruzen Sarutobi knew of Naruto's true, gentle nature, and despite the blonde boy's antics that made life in the village slightly inconvenient, he knew his actions were desperate cries for attention and acceptance. Naruto's recent promotion to a genin was a step in the right direction for the boy's pride, but the Sandaime could see the latent pain and suffering that still remained in the boy's ocassional solemn expressions. Hiruzen prayed for the day that someone would come along to accept Naruto and give him the push he needed to progress as both an individual and a shinobi, and while he did not live to see it happen, the Third Hokage's prayer became a reality.
"Come on, Sakura-chan! Just go on ONE date with me!" Naruto begged as Team 7 was returning from a mission.
"Ugh, Naruto..." the blonde's pink haired teammate sighed. A conversation of this nature occurred daily between the two.
"Yes, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto with a hopeful gleam in his eye. Sakura usually bonked him on the head at this point, so he thought she might finally give in. Unfortunately, something far worse happened...
"I will NEVER, EVER, EVER go on a date with you. You're weird, you're annoying, and you just get in the way! You ruin everything - it's like you're a monster. It's no wonder everyone likes Sasuke better than you." Sakura knew she'd feel slightly guilty for that later, but getting Naruto to buzz off was her only concern at the moment. Her guilt only seemed more imminent once she saw the disturbed expression on his face.
"Sakura, I..." the poor boy stammered, at a loss for words. He had heard much worse from the villagers throughout his troubled childhood, but never did he think that he'd hear that from someone that he held in such high regard.
The pinkette sounded slightly apologetic, but stayed firm. "Look, Naruto... Maybe now you'll realize it's time to move on."
"You're right, Sakura," the blonde stated quietly. "Despite it being an impossible task, I realize that I should've moved on by now. In fact, I've realized a lot of things..."
"Huh? Like what?" Sakura asked, almost dumbfounded that the supposed knucklehead could deduce anything on his own.
"Nothing you'd understand. I'll be going now. Sorry to bother you so much, Sakura. I won't be a burden to you anymore." With that, Naruto turned in the opposite direction and began walking away. Naruto's sudden change in mood made a combination of guilt and curiousity wash over Sakura.
"What do you mean by that? Come back, Naruto!" shouted Sakura as she started to walk after him. Naruto had increased his pace to a full sprint by the time she had finished her question, putting enough distance between them to where Sakura couldn't catch up.
"You'll just never understand, Sakura," Naruto mumbled to himself as he tried his hardest to hold back his tears. "No one seems to understand... Not even my teammates want me around. They probably don't even care if I return to the village. Maybe we'll just see about that..."
Meanwhile, back in Konoha...
A young boy stood in front of the Fifth Hokage's desk. He was just older than Naruto and the rest of the genin, yet quite a bit taller. He wore a light, sleeveless gi that somehow didn't come off obnoxious like Naruto's attire despite its vibrant yellow hue. The sleeves appeared to have been ripped off, but the rest of his outfit was rather tidy - he wore a red waist sash with a matching red scarf that was almost inconveniently long. He also donned some light battle gear; his hands were wrapped in brown gloves and metal plates closer to his elbows, and he had matching leg gear, with light armor running up his shins that was supported by thin belts along his thighs and attached to his waist. The boy's hair was a shade darker than Hinata's bluish-black color, and the neatly combed style with wild bangs completed a contradictory yet fitting image for the boy.
Lady Tsunade eyed him for several moments, letting her gut tell her whether the guards made a mistake in letting a complete stranger in the village for evaluation despite the boy's genuine nature.
"So, you planned on defecting to Konoha, huh?" Tsunade sounded amused yet intrigued to hear his reply.
'Well," he answered, "I didn't really plan on going to any destination in particular... I was just looking for a new place to call home, and this is the first nice place I found!"
"Well, aren't you a lucky young man to stumble across this village," Tsunade said with a small smile from his high regard for Konoha.
"Oh yes, ma'am!" the boy shot back ecstatically. "It would be an even greater honor if you approved my residency here!"
The blonde woman chuckled and calmly replied, "Whoa now, don't get ahead of yourself, squirt. I don't even have your name yet."
The boy cringed at the thought of forgetting his manners and not introducing himself. "Oh, my apologies, Lord Hokage! My name is Kenji Ogami. I would be ever so grateful if you could consider my request for citizenship in your fine village."
Tsunade chuckled harder at Kenji's nervousness. "Kid, no need for the formalities. Just call me Tsunade. It's nice to have someone around that actually knows decent manners though." She sighed as her thoughts shifted to a certain disruptive, blonde, knucklehead ninja. "Anyway, you seem to have the desire to join the Leaf Village with no malicious intent. Let us begin an evaluation of your skills. We will assign your rank and duties from there... If all goes well." Kenji exhibited a wide grin as he followed the Fifth to the training fields.
'This gives me a great idea,' Tsunade thought to herself. 'I wonder how the teams will react when I give them the news…'
The next day...
Team 7 returned to the village without Naruto. The rest of the team, save Sasuke, was worried about his return, Kakashi more so than Sakura. He could already feel Sasuke slipping due to the curse mark and his desire for power; he didn't want to have any risk of losing Naruto as well, even if all that had happened was a bit of heartbreak.
Kakashi reported the success of the mission to Lady Tsunade, but he froze in fear after seeing her reaction to Naruto's disappearance. Thankfully, after explaining the situation to Tsunade, her only negative reaction was towards Sakura.
"Good god, Sakura," Tsunade scolded. "I know you don't like the kid, but he's had it rough. Give him a damned break for once."
"I-I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama..." Sakura mumbled weakly.
"Don't apologize to me," the blonde woman retorted. "Apologize to your teammate. Knowing him, he'll be back by tomorrow after he vents alone. You can do it then. Speaking of tomorrow, there will be another person you all will be acquainting yourselves with at dawn."
Kakashi's brow furrowed as he curiously asked, "What do you mean? Are we being assigned another mission?"
"Almost, but there's a twist, Kakashi," Tsunade corrected. "I have passed a new training initiative for the village. It involves the addition of a chunin to each of our current genin squads. This will allow the chunin to both observe jonin and take occasional leadership roles that will serve as experience towards becoming jonin themselves. When he meets you later on, you will both discuss your mission with your genin students."
Sasuke rolled his eyes in light disgust. "Oh great, another person who wants to tell me what to do and slow me down."
"Sasuke!" Tsunade refuted. "You're lucky your squad's chunin is so well-mannered or else I'd make him put you in your place tomorrow!"
Sasuke chuckled in response to Tsunade's threat. "Hn, like he could land even one hit on me..."
"That's enough, Sasuke," Kakashi intervened. "I'm sure Lady Tsunade knows what she's doing, and I'm confident that our new comrade will be a valuable asset to our team."
Tsunade replied, "You should listen to your sensei, Sasuke. This particular chunin is no regular ninja. He comes from a land far away from the hidden villages. In fact, he just filed for citizenship here yesterday!"
"WHAT?!" The entire room was echoing with the voices of Team 7.
"Yep, he's fresh meat in Konoha. Pretty cute kid, too - I bet the girls will be all over him once they meet him."
Kakashi took a double take and asked Tsunade, "Wait, did you just say kid?"
"Indeed I did. He just turned 14!" To no one's surprise, all of Team 7 sweat dropped. Then, Kakashi realized that he could use the rest of the day to catch up on Icha Icha Paradise and thought of an excuse to leave the office.
"Well, that's some interesting news, Tsunade-sama," Kakashi quickly stated, "but we should probably get going now. We'll make sure to give our new member a warm welcome tomorrow at the training fields. Thanks again, bye!" Kakashi hastily led his two remaining students out of the office and shut the door behind them.
"That Kakashi, what an oddball..." Tsunade mumbled to herself. "I can't wait to see what Kenji has in store for those brats tomorrow, especially the Uchiha. I bet he's exactly what that team needs to get whipped into shape." After that thought, the blonde woman poured herself a tall glass of sake before letting her thoughts drift back to Naruto. No matter how annoying the boy acted, her soft spot for him would never fade.
"Naruto, your team and the village need you whether you see it or not... Wherever you are, you better come back tomorrow..."
*Well, that's chapter 1! The stage is set, and Kenji, better known as Bakuryu, is in the mix. Check out chapter 2!*