Chapter I - A Long Way Down the Road
True men of legend are hard to come by. Either they fail to live up to their myths, or they turn out to be cowards who never deserved them in the first place. In this era, mythbusters were a common thing: ronin, bounty hunters and martial art disciples who loved putting rumors to the test. Though, there was one man that even they knew not to cross blades with. One man who's sword preserved his reputation. One man who always left a new corpse for every mile he walked. A samurai who had never tasted defeat. His name was Naruto Uzumaki – the Orange Flash.
"What the hell do you mean you can't give me the reward?" the Orange Flash barked so loudly, local wildlife around the shrine scattered in surprise.
From outside the weathered road shrine, Naruto heard a sigh. "Naruto, even you must know why I can't give you the reward for this bounty."
"Because you suddenly became some cheap bastard overnight? Do you know how long its been since I've had a decent meal, Zetsu? I've been eating nothing but plum berries for the past six weeks!"
"Actually, plum berries are an excellent source of nutrition. They're a much better to snack than most of the things you can buy in a town," Naruto's captured bounty explained.
"Can it, Bushy Brows," Naruto ordered.
He tugged at the rope bounding the bushy-browed young man's wrists. The man in green had been exceptionally tough for Naruto to capture. No doubt his trickiest bounty yet. He ran at speeds that Naruto thought impossible for a human being to reach. After chasing the green beast for nearly a week, Naruto finally cornered him and claimed his bounty. Unfortunately, it looked like he wouldn't be claiming the reward that went with it.
Naruto glared at the rickety shrine. He couldn't see Zetsu, who was hiding inside like he always was, but he knew the enigmatic bounty collector could feel his scorn.
"Stop playing around and hand over the reward, Zetsu!" Naruto exclaimed again.
"I can't give rewards for bounties to another bounty," Zetsu said calmly.
Naruto paused. "Huh?"
The shrine's door slid open a crack. Through the opening, Zetsu held out a poster that Naruto squinted to look at. His eyes widened what he recognized his face on the poster. His ears had been enlarged to that of an ape, and his lips looked like they could suck entire lake dry, but that spiky hair and those whiskers were irrefutable.
"What the hell is this? I'm wanted?" Naruto asked "What did I do? …and why the hell is my bounty so high? It's over five times what's on Bushy Brow's head!"
"Do you really not remember?" Zetsu's second voice asked. "You'd think you recall the time you ravaged the Hyuga clan's princess."
"What? That never happened! I don't even know who the Hyuga clan's princess is!"
"So you assaulted a stranger, then? Naruto, I never imagined you'd be a serial rap-"
"I'm not! I didn't touch any girl while I was in the town the Hyuga clan lives in! I've been framed!"
Naruto felt a hand touch his shoulder.
"Naruto, I understand your pain," Bushy Brows said with a somber look. "For I too have been accused of a crime I did not commit. The injustice in this world makes the youth in my blood boil!"
"Youth in your blood?" Naruto repeated.
Zetsu's first voice grumbled. "Anyway, I can't give you the reward for any bounties so long as you're wanted yourself. Sorry, Naruto. You should probably avoid towns for a little while."
"Wait! Zetsu! I'm telling you that I-"
Naruto's last words only echoed back at him. Zetsu's presence could no longer be felt inside the shrine. He had vanished from thin air like he always did. Naruto gritted his teeth.
'Damn the Hyuga!' he thought.
Still pissed, Naruto turned to Bushy Brows and dug into his kimono sleeve. The green beast's round eyes lit up with terror when Naruto withdrew a kaiken and unsheathed it in front of him.
"W-wait! Naruto, just because you can no longer claim my bounty doesn't mean-"
"Shut up and stand still," Naruto said while grabbing one his hands.
He slid his kaiken into the rope's knot and sliced it loose in one motion. The bewildered bounty held his newly free hands up to his face. He couldn't believe it. His eyes began to water.
"Naruto, I cannot believe you're such a kind-"
Naruto walked off without hearing the rest. He couldn't claim the jump suit wearing man's bounty, so he was done with him. He was already halfway down the road when a mighty gust kicked up out of nowhere. A small typhoon formed in front of Naruto. When it died down leaves fluttered and the green beast was standing in front of him.
"May I have your attention for a moment?" he asked.
Naruto huffed and rested his hand on his katanas. "What do you want Bushy Brows?"
"My name is Rock Lee. I am a shinobi wandering Hinokuni in search of the remnants of youth."
"Remnants of youth?" Naruto recited while scratching his head.
Rock Lee nodded. "But I will put that mission aside for now. I was framed for a crime I did not commit, but you let me go."
'No. I didn't. I just couldn't get the reward for your bounty is all.'
"I now owe you my life. I will stay in your shadow until I can repay my debt to you."
Naruto was completely stunted. Did Rock Lee not realize that normal circumstances he would have turned in without a second thought? Before the samurai could ask him, the youthful shinobi disappeared in a tornado of leaves. Naruto looked around.
He shrugged and continued down the dirt road, his stomach growling.
"I need to hurry and find something to eat."
A short ways from the capital, the Shogun of Hinokuni and his escort party were traveling down a dirt road of their own.
Shogun Danzo peeled back the curtain of his norimono to speak to his chief adviser. "Fu, how much longer until we reach to the capital?"
Fu lowered his head to speak face to face with his Shogun. "We will reach Konoha before the afternoon arrives, Lord Shogun."
Danzo hummed to himself then let the curtain fall back. "Good. We need to prepare for the Brandishing Ceremony before nightfall. I can't wait another day."
"Understood, sir."
Danzo was in a rush. He always was, but now more than ever. The people were getting restless. Ever since his rise to shogun, Danzo had been going out of his way to solidify his rule. Even before he became shogun, he was already prepping for his future authority. So why were the citizens not falling in line? Why was he still getting odd looks whenever he left the shogunate?
'It's must be because my cabinet is still incomplete,' Danzo concluded. 'Yes, that's what it is. People can still see Hiruzen's footprints everywhere. Once I appoint my own Hodaiichi, the people will finally see me as the shogun, and not just as Hiruzen's replacement.'
Danzo kept thinking over his plans. Then, one of the samurai guarding him stopped the norimono bearer in the front. Danzo peeked out.
"What's going on? Why are we stopping?" he agitatedly asked the samurai.
"...we've been surrounded, sir," he answered.
On cue, a group of man jumped out the forest and ambushed Danzo's escort party. All of them were obviously of the samurai class. Two of them covered the rear while three blocked the front. Of the three samurai Danzo had brought with him, two of them gripped their swords, ready to draw at a moment's notice. The other stood calmly, his rice hat obstructing his eyes.
"Danzo! Come out now, you traitor!" one of the men barked.
Danzo stared at the man. "...you are from the Sarutobi clan, I presume?"
"If you know who we are, then you also know why we're here," another man hissed from the rear.
Danzo looked at all the Sarutobi surrounding him. Then he huffed and ducked back inside.
"I have no time to deal with usurpers. I'm a very busy man right now," Danzo claimed from inside his norimono.
"The only usurper in Konoha is you! Now come die with what little shred of honor you still have!"
Danzo snorted. Honor was such an overrated prospect. While he lead Shinsengumi, honor was the last thing keeping the capital in order. While the Sarutobi paraded about, flaunting their honor at everyone who looked at them funny, Danzo was doing all the real work to keep the shogun and Konoha safe – forming spy networks, assassinating threats, blackmailing nobles, bribing officials, digging up dirt on both. Konoha would be nothing without his efforts, but these hot-headed fools didn't understand. Nobody did.
Nobody except Hiruzen Sarutobi, but he was already dead.
"...and you traitors can go join them. Sasuke... take care of them," Danzo commanded.
At his shogun's words, Sasuke stepped forward and removed his hat. His raven hair and black eyes cast an aura so subtly intimidating, the Sarutobi samurai all began to sweat.
Sasuke gripped his sword. "It will be done, Lord Danzo."
As he stepped forward, the other two guards went to the back of the norimono. They knew better than to get in Sasuke's way. They were afraid to get in his way.
The blades of the three samurai Sasuke was approaching shook. The person in front of them was just a boy, so why was every instinct they had telling them to run away?
Agitated by his body's cowardice, one of the Sarutobi samurai broke the silence with a battle cry. "The Sarutobi will have their revenge!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs while lunging at Sasuke. In an instance, Sasuke drew his sword then sheathed it again. Everything in-between was blur, but the attacking Sarutobi could have sworn he saw a crescent streak flash in front of him.
The front of his hakama along with his chest gashed open. His blood splattered in front of him, and the samurai fell at Sasuke's feet. Sasuke walked over the body like it was fallen branch in the road. He kept his right hand on his hilt and his left under the guard. The samurai in front of him backed away in fear. They had never seen such fast swordsmanship. They didn't even catch a glimpse of the blade.
They were shaken, but they still had their honor as warriors. They both circled Sasuke and attacked him at once. They thought he wouldn't be able to defend both of their attacks at once. They were right, but Sasuke never planned to in first place. In an interval of two seconds, Sasuke drew and sheathe his swords two times. Two men were slashed and fell near feet.
The remaining Sarutobi samurai still standing at the rear of the escort party watched in dismay. There was rumor going around the capital. A rumor that the new shogun had already found a samurai worthy of being appointed the Hodaiichi. The Sarutobi clansmen knew that samurai was currently walking towards them. They should have ran. There was no chance of them winning, but the spirit of the former shogun and former clan head still blazed in their sunken hearts.
They charged at Sasuke with their heads held high. After Sasuke drew his sword, they heads got a little bit higher.
Sasuke cast the blood from his blade with a single stroke and sheathed it one final time. The breeze casting up his hair reminded him to fetch his hat. The guardsmen who had done nothing but watch the slaughter avoided eye contact. The Uchiha clan was the strongest in the capital, but even by those standards, Sasuke was a monster – a samurai who would soon carve his name in legend. Though, Danzo wasn't surprised. The one eye he still had left could always spot talent.
"We've been delayed for far too long, Fu. We need to get a move on," he ordered.
Fu nodded and gestured at the norimono bearers to pick Danzo up and start moving. After just ten paces, a rustling was heard from the foliage and another person jumped out of the forest. He too was of the Sarutobi, but unlike his deceased clansmen, he was still a child. Probably not even thirteen, Fu predicted. He wasn't even of marriageable age yet.
The boy pointed his sword at the men in front of him, though he seemed more afraid of it than they were.
"Y-you... I won't let you pass!"
Danzo sighed heavily when he heard the familiar voice. "Even Hiruzen's grandson wants to stand in my way."
"T-that's right! My name is Konohamaru Sarutobi! I carry both the will of the Sarutobi and the capital that I was named after! I'll avenge my fallen clansmen and my grandfather!"
The fight had not even begun, but Konohamaru was already breathing heavy. The two guards stepped forward and drew their swords. They were hesitant when facing grown men, but a child was of no threat to them.
Before they reached the boy, Sasuke passed in front of them. He stopped in front of Konohamaru, his black eyes glaring holes into the boy.
Konohamaru forced a confidant smile onto his face. "...s-so you want die first, huh?"
Sasuke didn't say a word, neither did he draw his sword. He didn't even remove his hat. He just beamed down at Konohamaru with his cold, dark eyes. Those eyes told the young Sarutobi many things:
He was going to die.
He would not kill Danzo.
He would not avenge his clansmen.
He was nothing.
Konohamaru wanted to retort, wanted to say something, anything, but the eyes commanded that he keep his mouth shut. To try to escape the eyes, he shut his own and looked away from Sasuke. When he opened them, he saw the lifeless face of what used to be his second cousin; eyes rolled to his back of his head, blood leaking from his mouth and a fly already buzzing around his eye.
That was his limit. He dropped his sword, fell to his knees and vomited before Sasuke's feet. Once Konohamaru started purging his bowels, Sasuke returned to Danzo's side.
"Fu, can we start moving again?" the shogun asked.
Fu watched the pathetic boy heaving in the middle of the road for a little bit longer before saying "Yes, sir."
The norimono bearers, Fu, Sasuke and the samurai guards all walked around Konohamaru without sparing a second glance. He had stopped vomiting, but he still stayed on his knees. At the very least, he managed to hold in his sobs until Danzo and his subordinates were out of earshot.
Naruto's mother once told him that one day he would come to a fork in his life. He didn't think she was being literal though.
One path to the left. One path to the right. No roadsigns.
"Well, isn't this is just great..." Naruto grumbled while scratching his head.
In the middle of the forked path was a shrine,so tiny Naruto could have tucked it under arm and took it with him. He bent down to see if it had any clues about which way should go. It didn't. He sighed. He could have asked Rock Lee for help, but Naruto was hoping that if he didn't acknowledge Lee's invisible presence, he would eventually disappear for good. Not likely, but Naruto was dreamer.
"Well, I guess there's only one thing left to do..." Naruto dug into his sleeve and pulled out a copper coin.
It was the only money he had left. How ironic that something so insignificant would decide his future.
Naruto prayed to the nonexistent God of Copper Coins and flipped his into the air. Heads would take him left and tails would take him right. He bit his lip while he watched the coin spin. It finally came down, bringing Naruto's fate with it, and right before it hit the dirt road, a thin pink tether grabbed it and reeled it in.
Naruto looked. The tether turned out to be the tongue of a yellow toad, who standing on top of the shrine in the middle of the forked road. It swallowed the coin as soon as it got it in its mouth. Then it made a face.
"That wasn't a fly..." it said thoughtlessly.
Having literally watched his future be devoured, Naruto snatched the toad off the shrine, and squeezed it like toy.
"That was all of the money I had you damn frog!"
It gagged. "I... I'm actually a toad..."
"You think I care? Cough. It. Up!"
"I can't just... throw up on... demand like that."
Naruto stopped squeezing the toad, and sighed.
"Fine. You don't have to throw anything up then."
The toad's face shone with relief. "Really?"
"Yeah..." Naruto withdrew his kaiken. "I'll just slice you open and take it back myself!"
The toad screamed bloody murder while Naruto prepared to dissect it. Right when the tip of his kaiken poked the toad's belly, Lee appeared and grabbed Naruto's hand.
"Wait a minute, Naruto! To harm innocent animals is something only a villain would do!"
"He's not innocent. He's a thief, and where I come from, thieves get gutted."
"Naruto, surely there's a better way than just cutting this frog open."
"...I'm still a toad."
Naruto glared at the frightened toad. Then he growled, and hid his kaiken in his sleeve again.
"Fine. That coin probably would have only bought me a rice ball anyway," he said in a defeated tone. He peered back at the road. "I guess I'll go just left. That's what you're supposed to do when you don't know where to go, right?"
"...wait. Are you lost?" the toad asked.
"Yeah. What about it?"
"I can tell you where to go."
Naruto glanced back his brows raised. "Are you serious?"
The toad stood and nodded. "Keep going left and you'll be walking though more forest for a couple days, and eventually hit the sea. But if you go right, you'll arrive at Konoha, the capital of Hinokuni."
Lee scratched his cheek. "Mister toad-frog, how do you know all of this?"
"Well, a bunch of people have been coming though his area lately. They're going to the capital to watch this thing called the Brandishing Ceremony."
"Brandishing Ceremony...? Oh! Naruto, the Brandishing Cere-"
Naruto, once again left mid-conversation. He started down the left road.
"Naruto, where are you going? The capital is that way," Lee said while pointing down the right path.
"Yeah, I know. That's why I'm heading left," Naruto said while looking over his shoulder. "I'm a wanted man now, in case you forgot. Now way in hell I'm going to a place with that many people."
"But you'll miss the Brandishing Ceremony!"
Naruto shrugged and kept moving. Lee sighed and followed after him. The toad, not knowing what to do, hopped after the two.
"Hey. Lee is your name right?" he asked the green shinobi. "Do you know what the Brandishing Ceremony is?"
Lee nodded. "It is one of the most important events the shogunate can hold. Its a ceremony where the current shogun appoints his Hodaiichi – the samurai who will serve as the shogun's chief guardian and right hand man. Only the greatest samurai in the land earn this honor."
Naruto snorted. He bet all the samurai who took that position were losers who could only hold a sword when a training dummy was standing in front of them.
"Is a Hodaiichi really that great?" the toad asked.
"Yes, and they all receive a title mirroring their glory when they're appointed. There have been many great Hodaiichi, but in my opinion, the greatest was the fourth."
"The fourth?"
"Yes. His name was Minato Namikaze the Yellow Flash."
Naruto stopped. He look he had gave Lee was so overtaking, the latter shifted back a little. Then he looked at the toad.
"Hey, toad-frog dude, when is this brandish thing in the capital gonna start?"
"Uh... my name Gamatatsu, and I think its happening tonight."
Naruto looked at the sky. It was going to be noon soon. He gripped one of his katana.
"Alright! New plan – we're heading to capital to watch this Brandish Thingy!"
"Brandishing Ceremony," Lee corrected.
"Whatever. Come on, let's go," Naruto said while headed back down the left road.
Lee disappeared in whirlwind of leaves and followed him from the shadows. Gamatatsu hopped Naruto's shoulder.
"I want to go see it too!" he said exclaimed.
Naruto made a annoyed sound, but still let the anxious toad ride his shoulder. As long as he got to Konoha, he didn't care. He wasn't going to let anything get between him and the Brandishing Ceremony now; not even a bounty. Naruto was going to find out what a Hodaiichi was. Maybe then he would find out why his father was called the Traitor of the Nation.