The spring sunset cast a beautiful glow across the Uchiha compound, highlighting the multiple houses and cherry blossoms with a decadent golden glow. A light chilling breeze sailed in between the dojos and trees alike, blowing loose petals into a small clearing near the outer edge of compound. The clearing, littered with bruised and battered targets and splintered wooden posts, only contained a single occupant. Said occupant, a young boy, was drenched in sweat, breathing heavily, with kunai peeking from between his gloved fingers. His shockingly blue eyes fiercely flickered around, analyzing his surroundings, before he suddenly gave a sharp grunt and launched up into the air. He spun acrobatically, his mop of hair leaving a golden blur in the sky, before six uniform flashes of silver shot outwards from his small frame. As he gracefully dropped to the ground, one foot sliding out to the side and the other knee softly impacting the dirt beneath him, a series of wooden strikes sounded out in unison. Looking up eagerly, he squinted his eyes before energetically jumping out of his stance and throwing his fist to the clear sky.

"Ah ha!" He proudly yelled out. "I knew I'd get it!"

Hitting the ground running, his worn blue sandals lead him to his intended location; the center of the several wooden targets he had launched his kunai at. Each target was perfectly pierced in the center of the faded red circles that had been painted on each of wooden disks long ago. The blonde jogged from Target to target, plucking his sharp blades out from the wood and sliding them into the holsters on his thighs. Upon completion of his small task, he squinted up at the sky, which was rapidly darkening, and smiled before he turned and set off on a slow run through the sparse forest.

X

"Mama! Mama!"

Akari Uchiha giggled lightly as the sound of the sliding door slamming closed was followed by the quick patter of light footsteps echoed through the quaint home.

"Mama! Guess what I did!"

The Uchiha turned just in time to see her son round the corner into the dining room, where she had been setting out dinner. As the blonde slid to a stop in front of her, she knealt down and brushed one hair through her raven black hair while her other hand reached out and teasingly pinched the young boy's cheek.

"Awww, my little Naruto, don't make me wait! Tell me all about your day!"

Naruto shook his head, slightly annoyed, and his mother let go of his cheek.

"I had such a good day, Mama! Today we practiced kunai throwing at school, and Himari-sensei said that we're gonna start learning about charka tomorrow!"

Akari smiled brightly at her son's enthusiasm as the blonde continued to spout on.

"Maybe soon I'll be able to do more cool ninja stuff like all the older kids! And then when I came home I went right to the field and practiced my throwing! And guess what I did Mama, guess!"

Akira, smiling, happily asked.

"Whatever did you do, my little sunshine?"

"I hit all the targets right in the center! At the same time! Isn't that cool?!"

Standing up and rustling her son's golden blonde hair, the Uchiha mother eagerly replied.

"That's super cool, sunshine! I'm so proud of you!"

Naruto blushed and flashed a blinding smile at his mother's praise as he followed her to the table and sat down, eager to eat after a day full of training. The two ate silently, with Akiri eating slow and gracefully while Naruto rapidly shoveled the steamed rice and beef into his hungry mouth. After he was done, he tiredly got up excused himself, wishing his mother a childish goodnight before heading off to shower and sleep.

X

As she cleaned up the meal, Akiri lightly smiled, letting her thoughts drift. She felt a pang of sorrow in her heart as she compared her young son and late husband.

"If only you could be here to see him, Riku." She sighed sadly. "You would be so proud of your little shinobi."

Riku Yamanaka. It had been nine years ago when the up-and-coming ANBU operator had left on what was supposed to be a simple escort mission, short work for such a skilled team. That was the last time Akiri had seen her husband.

Naruto had yet to be born; the poor child had obviously never met his father. And still, the comparison between father and son was undeniable, and it wasn't just because of the odd blonde locks or deep blue eyes. At such as young age, Naruto did not let on about his abilities. He had started reading his late father's books on chakra theory and tactics before he had even started studying at the Academy. Even more, all it took was a simple spin of her Sharingan for Akiri to see that Naruto had an impressive chakra reserve, let alone for a young eight year old. Still, none of that even held a candle to the boy's incredible drive and work ethic. That evening's events only went to provide evidence; like most days, Akiri did not see her son from the time he left for classes to sunset. No matter what, with no regard for weather or holidays, Naruto practically lived in his small training field. Without her son telling her a word, Akiri already knew that her son excelled far above his peers. Of course, these assumptions were only confirmed by Naruto's teacher, Himari Nakamura, who had personally saught out Akiri after Naruto's first few weeks at the Academy. She had told the blonde's proud mother that Naruto was already leaps and bounds ahead of his classmates, and that knowledge-wise, he belonged in classes with the third-years, rather than children his own age.

Akiri just didn't know if a skip in education was what she wanted for her son yet, but the option was still most definitely on the table. Still, one thing was undeniable;

"Our son is going to be a great shinobi, Riku. I can feel it."

X

A/N: Hey there, fellow Naruto lovers! Just in case it needs to be stated, I don't own Naruto, if you hadn't somehow figured that out yet, and all original characters, which will be plentiful, belong to me. This is going to be the only time I say that, by the way.

On another note, this work will obviously be following a very different Naruto, born into the Uchiha, with no Kyuubi, and set early enough for this Naruto to meet Mikoto Uchiha(Yes, that'll be the main couple of this fic). If you look at the timeline, you'll also notice that Naruto will be around for the Great Shinobi War, so stay tuned for that. Other than that, the first few chapters are going to progress pretty fast. I want to get to the development phase fairly quickly, so we won't exactly be skipping stuff, but we'll definitely just be brushing over the important scenes. Hope you guys decide to stick around, and leave some criticism if you'd like; I can take it, trust me. Enjoy!

(P.S. This story is rated M for Mature for a reason. If you aren't comfortable with death, blood, or sexual content, you might want to find a new story. Just sayin'.)