This fic will be AU and contain a smart Naruto. I'm sick and tired of the Naruto who is portrayed as loud and obnoxious. The backstory is that Naruto has been pretending to be stupid on the behest of the Sandaime. He will start to show his true colors after the graduation. Also, it's only the civilians and some ninja that dislike the boy, otherwise he is respected. Also, Shikamaru will play a big part in the story, Naruto and him will be like brothers. The pairings will be Naruto/Temari and Shikamaru/Fem Haku, Kaka/Anko, and Asu/Kure...maybe more. Be prepared for some twists in the story. Naruto will have a bloodline-that many people might not be expecting. This contains slight Sasu/Saku maybe Hinata bashing. Ja...ikimasho!
The Beginning of a Legend
A small twelve year old boy was running, no he was sprinting through a forest in the middle of the night. He had no idea what was going on. Well no, actually that was a lie. He knew exactly what was going on. He wasn't stupid. That bastard of a teacher, Mizuki had "tricked" him into stealing the Scroll of Sealing just so he could give to the the gay ass pedophile, Orochimaru. Somewhere in Oto, a pale snake freak sneezed.
Jeez, Naruto thought. How much longer will I have to wear this damn mask. It's bad enough that all the civilians in this damned village hates me, but I have to act like an idiot on top of that. Plus this frickin' jump suit. I mean what self respecting shinobi wears kill-me orange. This will definitely have to change once I become a ninja, (if that happens). Naruto then thought back to his meeting with the Sandaime a couple hours ago.
Flashback:
"Oi, jiji I have something to tell you!" Naruto exclaimed, shushining into the room in a great blast of fire.
"Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that! The paperwork might get burned damn it! I HATE paperwork!" the Sandaime yelled very loudly. The hidden ANBU flinched at their leader's loud voice.
"Listen ya old geezer. I failed the last exam just like you wanted." Naruto then adopted his 'real' face-a face of utter calm that betrayed no emotion. "Mizuki wants me to seal the scroll of sealing. I think that somehow, Orochimaru is involved. Every major attack in Konoha history in the last twenty five years always leads back to him. Anyway...what do you want me to do?"
The Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked ill. He was actually starting to look his age. "Naruto," he said, "Take the scroll and see what he wants. You have my permission to show your true strength and your bloodline against him—under the condition that you kill him of course. The traitor will die regardless of your actions."
The Sandaime had asked Naruto to hide his true potential from all of his peers, except for one. In fact, that exception was also a lot like Naruto as well. Naruto's A rank mission for the past five years was to act as the 'dobe' and scope out true potential for the village.
"Alright jiji, just give me the scroll and I will leave." Hiruzen tossed him the scroll. Naruto was just about to walk out when Sarutobi said "Naruto, you have my permission to learn a jutsu out of the scroll. It doesn't matter which one...ok?" If Naruto was surprised, he didn't show it. Instead, he nodded his understanding.
The ANBU in the room were flabbergasted. The Sandaime Hokage-the GOD of Shinobi was letting a not yet Genin learn a jutsu out of the forbidden scroll! Contrary to popular belief, the ninja section of Konoha respected Naruto immensely for being the Jailor of the Kyubi no Kitsune. Most of the ANBU in the room were part of Naruto's guard when he was a kid and had to be protected against the attacks of the retarded villagers. It was only some resentful Chunins like Mizuki who hated him, besides the civilian section. But still. Even if he was the surrogate grandson of the Hokage, (and the son of another) to have a child learn out of the scroll was unheard of.
Naruto paused as he was about to exit the room. "Anko nee-chan, Kakashi nii-chan. Come with me in the forest. I think that there is more to Mizuki than meets the eye. He is not a standard chunin." Naruto left in the same way he came, in a whirl of flames.
This left the two ANBU in question, Hebi and Inu surprised and confused. Not only had Naruto correctly deduced their ANBU identities, (they weren't allowed to tell him who they were) he had sensed that they were in the room AND he had called them Nee chan and Nii chan. It was heartwarming. The two ANBU looked at each other and nodded, only to disappear in a swirl of leaves.
Flashback Kai!
Naruto grinned as he felt two familiar presences near him. He didn't acknowledge them because he knew Mizuki was watching. The Shinobi in Konoha were all informed of what Naruto was doing, and why. They all liked him, and trusted the Sandaime that Naruto would do a good job. Right now, all the potential senseis (except Kakashi) and other jonins were watching the events unfolding through the Sandaime's crystal ball.
Naruto came to a clearing and stopped. He sensed Mizuki in a treetop about 100 feet away from him. Recalling what the Sandaime said, he decided that he would learn a jutsu from the scroll. Opening the scroll, he found none to be interesting.
Kage Bunshin – he learned that one when he was five and learned that he had too much chakra for a regular useless bunshin.
Bakaretsu Bunshin- Too easy for Naruto. HE had already made his own variation out of it...less explosive though. The bunshin's body would explode in a thousand sakura petals, each as sharp as a razor. He had used this variation when a Kumo nin had tried to kidnap Hanabi Hyuuga four years ago when he was eight.
Naruto found some more that looked interesting, but were really not. Hell, he had learned half of them years ago, mainly from Kakashi and Asuma. The two jonins were his surrogate brothers. Well, technically, Kakashi was his cousin. Sakumo Hatake was the cousin of Namikaze Minato, but since both of them were orphans, the boys' uncle, Jiraiya had raised them. They were as close as brothers, and the bond had been passed down to their children as well.
Hmmm. Naruto thought as he looked at the scroll again. Shiki Fujin. That's what dad used to seal furball in me eh?
"Kit, how many times do I have to tell you that I resent being called FURBALL!" (Did I forget to mention that Naruto knew about the Kyuubi since he was four? No...well oops.)
"Ah go suck it nii chan." Was Naruto's snarky response.
"Well ya know, I did love to suck my lady dry back in the day...but I guess i'll have to make do with you now." Kyuubi shot back.
Naruto just gave a mental chuckle at his 'brother's' response. "Yeah yeah I know, Hitomi nee chan was the love of your life and then you were sealed inside me. Jeez it wasn't my fault that Madara Uchiha decided to use Kohoha as fodder for his twisted plan to dominate the world.
As soon as Kyuu had met Naruto after Naruto meditated to reach his inner self, Kyuu had told Naruto who he was and why he was sealed inside him. Hitomi happened to be Kyuu's mate. Naruto in turn had relayed all the information to the Sandaime. The Sandaime had secretly been ordering Jiraiya to look out for any information regarding the traitorous man.
BACK TO THE FOREST
'Well, I gotta make Mizuki-teme believe that I'm learning a forbidden jutsu. I'll do Kage Bunshin I guess.' For the next hour or so it looked like Naruto was working very hard at mastering a jutsu while in fact he was having an intense thumb war with himself.
From the treetops Mizuki was watching the 'Demon-Brat' carefully. 'Yes, that's right Naruto, learn from the scroll. It's not like you will be alive later to use it anyway. Soon, my lord, the scroll of sealing will be in your hands and I will be rewarded beyond belief!' (Insert manic laughter here.)
Mizuki had been planning this little escapade two weeks before the genin exams. Naruto had joined the Academy when he was seven. Mizuki had periodically been placing genjutsus on his tests, to make him intentionally fail. Of course Naruto, being the damn genius that he is, told Sandaime Jiji all about what the bastard had been doing. In addition to the genjutsu, Mizuki had given Naruto rusty old kunais to throw and always sparred with Naruto himself to humiliate him further. The only reason why Naruto put up with the crap was because Hiruzen had given Naruto the S-Rank mission of revealing all of Mizuki's dirty little secrets-(they will be divulged later on).
Just as Mizuki was about to tell Naruto what a 'good job' he had done in getting the scroll of sealing, another presence quickly made itself present.
"NARUTO!" Iruka-sensei yelled. "What the heck are you doing with that scroll?"
For a second Naruto had been confused as to why Iruka was here when all the shinobis in the village were informed of what Naruto was doing. Then Naruto realized that 'all the shinobis' to him just meant some chunins, all the jonins, and the ANBU'. Iruka must not have heard Naruto's mission, and came to confront him himself.
Naruto quickly put on his 'stupid' mask. "Oh Iruka sensei you caught me! Ano sa! Ano sa! Mizuki sensei told me that if i learned a jutsu from the scroll, i could graduate. Ne, honto ka? (Is that true?)." said Naruto feigning ignorance.
Iruka, for his part was flabbergasted. Mizuki had come to him earlier saying that Naruto had stolen the scroll of sealing. Iruka knew that Naruto was depressed that he hadn't passed, but to seal a forbidden scroll? That was preposterous. Iruka was frightened that perhaps the demon sealed inside of him was influencing Naruto into doing this. It also raised the question as to how the 'Dead last' had managed to steal something that had various barriers around it. Perhaps Naruto was more skilled than he let on, (no shit) or that he had done his ridiculous Oiroke no Jutsu on the Sandaime. He shuddered at the latter of the two.
'Mizuki?' Iruka was very confused at the moment. Before he could say anything, Mizuki decided to make his presence apparent.
"Naruto, excellent job in taking the scroll. Now, please give me it so i can give to back to Sandaime Sama. We had this entire thing planned out for you so you can graduate. Having you learn from the scroll was the best way of developing your non-existent skills."
In the Hokage's office, the Sandaime snorted. Mizuki had no idea what was going to become of him, Naruto would assure that.
"Ya know what Mizuki sensei, i don't really feel like it. This scroll is pretty cool and giving it to a stranger is against my morals." Everyone who heard that comment sweat dropped.
"Haha... don't make me laugh! What would a demon like you know about morals? Oi Naruto, do you know why everyone calls you a demon? Perhaps I should be the one to tell you."
"Wait Mizuki, no! It's against the law!" A frantic Iruka cried. He had been assessing the situation in relative silence, thinking on what to do next. Iruka was in turmoil. Mizuki was one of his oldest friends since the academy who, was making Naruto a pawn in a scheme that only God (or Orochimaru) knew.
"Iruka you idiot, you can't stop me! Naruto, the reason why everyone hates you is because you are Kyuubi no Kitsune! The Yondaime sealed him in you and the Sandaime made a law that said that know one can talk about it."
Naruto put on a horrified expression and began to roll on the forest ground in what looked like uncontrollable fury, but it was actually badly restrained mirth that was coming out. "Nooo! Noo! How is that possible? Is that why the village hates me? Is that why i have massive stomach pains when i eat too much ramen? Then, then, am i really a monster?" Naruto's expression changed to a stormy visage. "That's what you expected me to say isn't it? Well newsflash asshole, i've known about Kyu nii-chan since i was four and i gotta say, as long as i keep feeding him ramen, he's a great brother."
Everyone in the Hokage's office burst into uncontrollable laughter. Asuma was clutching the sides of his father's desk while wiping the tears from his eyes. "God i love Naruto's mask sometimes." he said. The Hokage himself concealed his mirth carefully and replied, "Yes, well lets see how this plays out."
Mizuki looked like a gaping fish for a moment. Iruka was stunned. Anko and Kakashi quickly pulled out cameras and snapped pictures of their shocked expressions.
Mentally, Iruka sweatdropped. Only Naruto could bond with the king of Makkai (hell) through ramen.
"So you admit to being the demon? That's great, now you will be executed and i will get the scroll of sealing. Then, i will be made the Hero of Konoha for killing the very thing that nearly destroyed it."
Naruto was getting sick and tired of Mizuki's pathetic attempts to rile him up. This could be noted because of the visible tick on the boy's face. But, he wanted to know if Mizuki really was working for Orochimaru. "Pardon me sensei," he snarled the word with contempt. "I am not adequate with sealing jutsus, (that's a lie) but if a kunai is sealed into a scroll, then does that really mean that the scroll itself is the kunai? No, the kunai and the scroll and completely different and it would be best if you and the pathetic civilians in this village learn that. However, if the scroll is opened, the kunai will be unleashed and reek havoc on its victim. Am i correct?"
Neither Mizuki nor Iruka could find any flaws with his logic. Iruka was startled by the many revelations that Naruto had made. He was certainly not the hyperactive blond that he was thought to be. This Naruto was calculating and shrewd, like a true shinobi.
Mizuki was growing impatient with the brat. He took out a syringe and a vial of purple looking liquid from a flap in his chunin vest. He took the syringe and inserted it into his wrist. Naruto felt a dark presence entering Mizuki's system. Cautiously, he took a whiff of the air and became alarmed. The stuff smelled like Anko, like snakes. But it was stronger, much stronger. It reeked of death, depair, anguish, and surprisingly little boys. "Shit," Naruto cursed. Mizuki was growing stronger by that stuff, and things just got a lot more complicated for the blond.
Kakashi and Anko were worried for Naruto. They knew that they had to step in sooner or later, but what Naruto had said earlier stopped them.
Flashback no jutsu...Hajime!
"Oi, Naruto, why did you want to see us?" Kakashi asked with his usual eye smile. Anko stood beside Kakashi as well, waiting for an answer.
"Nee chan, nii chan..." Naruto began very serious, "I asked both of you to come with me because i trust you with my life. Kaka nii, you are my brother and Anko nee, i'm pretty soon you will become my sister...legally. Kakashi and Anko looked at each other, bewildered, then Kakashi blushed furiously as Anko turned as violet as her hair.
"Maa, Maa, Naruto. You know Anko and I don't have that kind of relationship. Yet." Kakashi said.
"Oh really, then why did i hear you moaning and groaning her name in the bathroom over and over again. For like half an hour, all i was listening to was Anko, ohh Anko, why are you doing this to me. And so on. Be quieter the next time you do something like that." Naruto retorted.
Kakashi wanted to bury himself under all of his porn books never to be dug out again. Naruto, i'll pay you back tenfold one day. Anko didn't know whether to be appalled or flattered that the silver haired wolf was 'ahem', thinking 'happy' thoughts about her. Though now that i think about it, she mused, he is quite the looker...If only i could see what was beneath that mask of his, or maybe even lower...she added perversely.
Kakashi cleared his throat. "Anyway, you must have a good reason for us to come if you think that you can't take Mizuki by himself."
Naruto replied, "No, Mizuki most likely will not be that big of a problem. I will kill him. I need you two here for one of two reasons, either he will have some type of backup, or he has the curse mark like you did Anko Nee. If he does, then his body, once no longer living, will be the perfect reference to Orochimaru's work. I checked Mizuki's records, and he left the village three months ago to a village called Otogakure for a potential alliance between us and them. Mizuki was rather rudely turned away from them, but I believe that Orochimaru has something to do with it. When he came back to the village, his fiancee, Tsubaki reported that he was being rough and violent. He was also yelling something in his sleep like "power, I need more power." Iruka reported that he nearly killed an academy student while a simple taijutsu spar. In fact, Mizuki was openly showing his hatred towards me in class, and placing all of my tests under high level genjutsus that were somewhat difficult to break. Not to mention that he smells strongly of snakes. Kyu's nose dies just standing around him. His aura is becoming dark and malevolent. Something or someone has to be influencing him.
If it had been anyone else but those two who had heard what Naruto had said, they would have been floored. However Kakashi and Anko knew of their "Naru-chan's" intelligence.
Kakashi nodded and said, "So what do you want us to do?"
"I want you to trust me. Just watch my back...please. This is your little brother asking."
Kakashi eye smiled and Anko ruffled his hair. "Why of course Naru-chan, who are we to deny our little darling otouto (little brother) anything?" Anko said.
Naruto grinned his foxy little grin and exclaimed "Thanks guys, you're the best!" Kakashi watched as he ran off into the distance, clutching the Forbidden scroll. Ne, oji san, oto san, what would you say if you saw Naruto now?
"So Kakashi, what was it that Naru-chan said about you jacking off to me?" Anko asked sultrily. The look in her eye was that of a predator to her pray. SO Kakashi did the only thing that any man would have done in his place...he ran...far away.
Flashback Kai!
"Anko," Kakashi whispered to her from their hidden location in the treetops, adjacent to where Mizuki had been hiding, "Let's trust him, and see how this plays out." Anko nodded her affirmation. The pair watched the trio with tense eyes, ready to move at the slightest sign of Naruto faltering.
Meanwhile, Mizuki was developing a very tiger like exterior. The telltale signs of the cursed seal appeared on his body as well. His body was smoking slightly, and Iruka was cringing with the vile chakra that surrounded him. Iruka turned to look at Naruto, and to his surprise, Naruto held a deceptively passive attitude. His face was void of any emotion while he was taking in the scene in front of him.
Naruto was in deep concentration. Without a doubt, Mizuki's transformation was because of Orochimaru's experimentation on that vile he had injected. That potion seems to give the user enhanced abilities for a designated period of time. However, it takes a severe toll on the body, and Mizuki will die within minutes after the effects are over. Hmmm, well Oro-teme, i guess i can thank you for one thing. Naruto's musings were cut short by a hysterical laugh.
"Ohhh, I can just feel the power oozing off of me. Now i can finally beat you to the ground demon brat! And you too Iruka. You protected that demon so many times that it makes me sick! You're just a weak, pathetic, demon lover!"
Iruka was boiling with fury. "Shut the fuck up! Look at yourself! How dare you call Naruto a demon when you yourself have turned into a thing. Who are you Mizuki, what are you?"
"Me, I am your killer. Mizuki raised his fuuma shuriken to pierce knew he was trapped, he had no way of countering that shuriken when it came.
So this is how I will die eh? At least Naruto can get away to inform others. Iruka resgined himself to death.
All of a sudden, a great burst of wind knocked the shuriken out of Mizuki's hand. He looked around wildly until he spotted the creator of the wind. There, fifty feet in front of him, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto stood there with his back against the very same tree that Anko and Kakashi were hidden in. "So, how did you like my Fuuton Renkudan?" Naruto asked as if he was discussing the weather outside.
Mizuki's lips turned up in an insane smile. "Ah hello Demon, how would you like to see your sensei die today?" Not once did he consider that Naruto had just done a B-ranked elemental jutsu. And this was the supposed dead-last of the year.
"Iruka sensei? Dying? Don't be preposterous, the only one dying will be you today."
Iruka was amazed that the boy thought he could actually kill Mizuki. In addition to that, he was surprised to hear the 'preposterous' come out of his mouth. It seemed like the only vocabulary that the boy had was 'ramen, and hokage'.
"Ne, Mizuki-teme, tell me, who do you work for?"
At this, Mizuki stiffened, and Naruto, Kakashi, and Anko saw this.
"Wh..What do you mean...b..boy?"
Hmmm, Naruto thought. Mizuki is stuttering, and is sounding an awful lot like someone else I know. I wonder who. Meanwhile in the Hyuuga estates, a blue haired pale eyed girl sneezed while in front of her Naruto Shrine.
"I mean that the stuff that you injected is not from Konoha. This leads me to believe that you have accomplices from another village helping you in some plan. Or perhaps you are planning to steal the Forbidden scroll, leave the village, and give it to your master."
Mizuki gulped nervously. He hadn't expected the brat to be so observant in his analysis.
"So tell me again, Who are you working for?" This time the question was laced with demonic killer intent. Mizuki nearly pissed in his pants while Iruka was trembling on the ground. Where had the adorable hyperactive blond gone, and who exactly had replaced him?
Inwardly, Anko smirked. Fuck with him and you are screwed.
The people in the Hokage's office were all proud of how far Naruto had come, even when he was faced with adversity.
Mizuki put on a face of false bravado. "Ha ha, why the hell would i tell a demon like you anything?"
"Hmm, maybe because this 'demon' is going to beat the shit out of you if you don't." A gentle wind flew through the area, and at Naruto's whim, captured Iruka and guided him back to safety. As Iruka stared at Naruto in awe, Naruto asked, "It's Orochimaru, right? That curse seal is his."
At this moment, no words were needed to confirm Naruto's suspicions. Mizuki's face told all the answers.
Kakashi made subtle handsigns and within seconds, the Hokage was next to him, observing keenly. Anko dropped down to pick Iruka up.
Once both were situated comfortably on the tree tops, Iruka was thoroughly confused. The Hokage, and two Anbu were just watching his wayward student without having the slightest inclination to help.
"Ano...Hokage Sama..." Hiruzen looked at Iruka with petulant eyes. "Why is it that you are not helping Naruto fight Mizuki, god knows that he needs it."
The Hokage chuckled slightly, "Ah Iruka, you should have more faith in Naruto. He is not who he seems to be. I'll tell you a small secret. I was the one who ordered Naruto to fail the graduation test three times. Naruto had been voicing suspicions of Mizuki, and when Naruto was asked to take the Scroll of Sealing by the idiot, well it was a perfect ploy to get Mizuki admit working for our village's greatest traitor. Naruto is very strong, stronger than most chunin, and he will only continue to grow. So let's watch my delightful grandson beat the living daylights out of the shitstain in front of us shall we?"
"Naruto is that strong?" Iruka whispered incredulously. It was hard for anyone to believe(except those who knew him), that the prank-loving, hyperactive, idiotic boy was strong.
"Hai, Iruka he is, now shut up and watch." The Sandaime replied.
Mizuki eyed the demon-brat warily. He had controlled the wind to such and extent that was not possible. Just who was he? The best option that Mizuki had was to kill the boy as soon as possible so that he could not mess with his plans any more.
"Are you going to do something, or do i have to make the first move?" Growled Naruto impatiently. "Tch, this is too troublesome for me to deal with.
Those who were watching through the Sandaime's crystal ball sweatdropped. Since when did he start acting like a Nara? Nara Shikaku, was also watching the confrontation, smirked. It was about high time that somebody understood how troublesome this situation was.
The Sandaime inwardly sighed. Naruto, as strong as you are, why can't you be more paitent?"
Mizuki was furious. "All right you brat! Let's go, show me your demon abilities!"
Naruto sighed. "Listen you idiot, how many times do I have to tell you that I AM NOT THE FUCKING KYUUBI?"
"I don't care, you are the Kyuubi, no matter what anyone says."
"Alright, well it's your death." Naruto put on a very official tone. "Touji Mizuki, you are hereby under arrest for breaking the Sandaime's decree as well as betraying the village and trying to join a sworn enemy. The punishment that I have deemed prudent is death."
Mizuki scoffed. "Oh and what can the dead last, someone who is not even a genin do to me, a chunin? You filthy demon brat, you could never touch me!"
Naruto turned around to the place where the Sandaime was positioned. The Sandaime was confused as to what Naruto was doing. Naruto simply threw his hands up in exasperation and kicked the base of the tree a couple times causing the four occupants of the tree top to hang on using chakra.
"Mizuki...' Naruto began in a very serious voice, "Rank means nothing. In fact, i know of one other genin who could kill you right now. (while tending to some deer, a boy sneezed.) Has it ever occured to you that every action that i took was nothing but a farce, a mask? Do you honestly think that i would willingly wear this orange abomination, and that i would eat nothing but ramen ? Has it? I am a lot stronger than you, traitor. And after i graduate, i will flaunt it openly."
Back in the treetops, Iruka knew he had a lot of thinking to do on his blond haired student. Even the Hokage had said that Naruto was stronger than he looked. For years he had adhered to Hatake Kakashi's ideology of looking underneath the underneath. It seems that he had never truly 'looked' at Naruto before. If he had, he would have seen the fake smiles among other things. He would have seen the fake crush that he had on a certain pink haired banshee, and he would have seen the look of hurt on Naruto's face when Iruka had said that he had failed. I really did mess up didn't I?, Iruka thought ruefully. From now on, he would be at Naruto's side for as long as he lived, this he vowed.
"Prove it then demon," Mizuki's voice broke Iruka out of his stupor. "Prove that you can kill me. But wait, you can't. You are just talk, you are nothing, you are the scum that resides beneath my feet, and I intend to put you in your rightful place demon."
You just made the biggest mistake of your life, Mizuki. This was the thought of all of the onlookers.
"Hn, is that so." Naruto said in an uncanny imitation of Uchiha Sasuke, "Well then, let me show you just what I can do." With a single handmotion, hundreds of Naruto clones appeared. Kage Bunshin no jutsu.
Mizuki was slightly scared at the thought of the Kage Bunshins. Slightly was the key word. "Hey, brat! So this is what you learned from the scroll is it?"
One of the Naruto clones picked his ear and looked at his finger. "Eh, no. The boss never really learned anything from the scroll. Hokage jiji said that it would be best if we went along with your plan and pretend to steal it. He learned Kage Bunshin from Kaka-Nii along time ago."
"So you didn't learn any techniques from the scroll at all? Pity. At least you could have died with some sense of accomplishment."
"The scroll wasn't really helpful as I know most of the techniques." Naruto replied.
Iruka was floored. Naruto...Naruto knew jutsus from the forbidden scroll? Now he knew that he had to pay more attention to Naruto.
Kit, c'mon already. I want to kill this bastard so bad.
Gomen, Kyuu-Nii. I really have talked to much haven't I? Well, let the ass kicking begin.
Yeh Naru, kick his pasty white butt from here to America.
America...what's that?
Ahh...Never mind, anyway go on and start!
Naruto gave a mental nod to the fox and cracked his knuckles. "Let's get wild." Immediately, all of the Naruto clones began a barrage of kicks and punches that knocked the wind out of Mizuki.
"U-Zu-Ma-Ki, Naruto Rendan!" Mizuki was thrust upward briefly, before he came crashing down to the forest floor in a sickening crunch. The onlookers winced at Mizuki's plight. Never fuck with Naruto when he is mad...period.
Mizuki groaned on the floor. How? How was it possible that this demon could injure him this much? It wasn't. He was a chunin and Naruto was a nobody. Then Mizuki felt it, the power in his veins flowed as the liquid that he injected burned, leaving him powerful and Naruto helpless. Or so he thought.
Kakashi and Anko were growing anxious. As they were about to leave, a hand stopped them.
"Do you honestly think that Naruto would forgive you if you entered his fight?" The Sandaime inquired. Kakashi was about to say something, but Anko cut in. "Sandaime sama, Naruto is our little brother, more so Kaka Kun's then mine, but a little brother all the same. We can't bear the thought of any one hurting him. So please, let us go to him."
"Anko, Kakashi. Trust him. He specifically asked the two of you to come here for a reason and that reason was as backup. So I ask you to trust my grandson."
Iruka was silently listening to this confrontation. Mitarashi Anko and Hatake Kakashi think of Naruto as their little brother? And the Sandaime thinks of his as his grandson? Naruto...what other surprises do you have?
Kakashi and Anko nodded, albeit hesitantly.
Back on the forest floor, Naruto eyed Mizuki with wary eyes. He could smell the venom burning through Mizuki rapidly. Based on this rate, Mizuki will die in the next fifteen minutes. But, he has gotten ridiculously strong as well. What should i do?" Naruto created several more Kage Bunshins without letting Mizuki know. and sent them throughout the forest. One of the Kage shushined to the treetops where the four ninja were located.
"Yo, I'm Alpha, Boss's right hand clone. I was sent here to ask you to join the fight if Mizuki goes out of hand. Oh, and Boss said that Mizuki will die in about fifteen minutes, whether or not the boss kills him."
"Oh and why is that?" The Sandaime asked.
The Naruto clone looked grim, an expression Iruka had never seen on Naruto's face. "Mizuki injected one of Orochimaru's failed experiments into his system. From the smell that boss got from it, it is composed of Orochimaru's blood, tiger DNA, and snake venom. While the potion makes the user stronger for a short while, it completely destroys the chakra pathways and leave the user too weak to think. Eventually, the venom will spread to one place-the heart. When the venom is saturated in the heart, it will constrict the heart and force the aorta to burst, effectively killing the user."
Iruka was at loss for words. (he seems to be stunned by Naruto a lot right?) "Naruto, how exactly do you know this?" he asked. The Naruto clone looked at Iruka critically before his eyes softened a bit. "Gomen, Iruka sensei. I guess you are not used to this Naruto are you?" Iruka shook his head. The Naruto clone continued, "For the past three years, the Boss and several jonins have been researching Orochimaru's experiments. Something big is about to happen and we know it. With the information we acquired, it was possible for us to remove Anko Nee's curse mark. The seal reacts to the users emotions and will. Anko nee never used the seal willingly, so there was no taint in her chakra. The more taint there is, the harder it is to remove. Plus, hers was the prototype, which means all other curse seals are modeled after hers. It also makes it the weakest seal-thus it was easier to remove." Iruka looked at the others incredulously, but they all nodded and told him that Naruto's story was one hundred percent true.
"Naruto, could I ask you a question?"
"Go on Iruka sensei."
"If you are this strong, then why hide it from us. Why did you fail the exam three times?" Naruto's face darkened. "As the boss would say, which will the people fear more, a smart demon or a stupid one? This is all our mask. The civilians are scared of boss and have tried to kill him several times. Of course they couldn't because Boss has the backing of all the clan heads plus all the jonin and ANBU in the village. Throw in Hokage Jiji into the equation and boss is virtually untouchable. But we can't show our powers until it is safe, which means until we are Ninja. Only the civilian sector of the village and some chunins hate the boss. If the boss wanted to get food in the past, all the civilians would overprice him and say that 'they don't serve demons.' The boss only shops in shinobi owned store plus Ichiraku Ramen, which is the only civilian store that will serve him. He openly loves the two working their, and many shinobis eat there because of boss."
Iruka bowed his head in shame. He remembered when Naruto had first entered the academy. No instructors paid attention to him, and Iruka admitted that he was one of them. He used to hate Naruto for something that Naruto had no control over. But as the years passed, Naruto grew on him like a little brother. Today he learned that the Naruto he knew was not the real Naruto. He wanted to know the real Naruto better.
Naruto saw the look that Iruka had. "Iruka sensei, it's alright that you couldn't see through my mask. Only those extremely close to me can like those three. I have many secrets that only the most trusted Jonin and ANBU are privy to. So don't beat yourself up."
"Hai, Naruto, arigato."
Naruto just smiled in response.
Meanwhile, the real Naruto and Mizuki were engaged in a heated fight. Naruto figured that Mizuki had about five or six more minutes to live.
"Fuuton: Daitopa!" Naruto cried. Mizuki deftly dodged the wind and made a couple hand seals. "Mugen: Narakumi no Jutsu!"
Of course Naruto had trained with the genjutsu mistress Yuhi Kurenai when he was younger. He knew all to well what the hell viewing technique did. Kurenai, after realizing that he wouldn't succumb to her genjutsus, practiced on Sarutobi Asuma. He claimed he saw all of his cigarettes being burned forever. Although Naruto was not susceptible to genjutsu, he couldn't cast any of them for his life. So obviously the justsu that Mizuki had done had absolutely no effect on the blond.
"Eh, was that supposed to do something?" Asked Naruto. Mizuki sweatdropped.
"Alright, then it's my turn then." Naruto said in a bored lazy voice that reminded everyone of the Nara clan. Inwardly, Shikaku beamed as he looked through the crystal ball at the blond with fond eyes.
Alpha, ask jiji if I can use my bloodline. I know that he said yes, but there are many people watching this fight.
Will do Boss. "Hokage Sama, boss asked if he could use his bloodline. Although he said that you allowed him to do so, most of those who are watching this fight through your office do not know of his bloodline."
"Naruto has my permission. Let him know that those who are watching are trustworthy."
"Hai." the Naruto clone replied. Boss, Hokage Sama says it's alright. Go on.
"Naruto has a bloodline?" Iruka asked. "Which one is it?"
"That is something that you will have to see Iruka." Was Anko's reply.
Thanks Alpha. Naruto took a deep breath and steadied him self. "Oi, Mizuki, prepare yourself."
Mizuki took up a defensive position, poised for any attack that Naruto would throw upon him. However, Naruto made no inclination to move. In reality, the words Naruto had said earlier were meant to provoke Mizuki into attacking. That way, his blood line would be effective.
"Well demon, are you going to attack or not."
"Hn, did you say something?" Kakashi grinned at his cousin. I love him so much!
"Tch, well of you're not going to attack I will!" Perfect. Naruto thought, He can't escape now, plus he has three more minutes to live.
Mizuki went through roughly ten hand seals. Just as he was about to cry out his ultimate attack, a cry of Kage Mane justsu,...success, was heard.
Mizuki could not move. Even with the extra speed he had received, he was stuck. Frantically, he looked around the surrounding are for any Naras, but he couldn't find them. Instead, everyone's favorite blond haired demon brat kneeling twenty five feet away from his with his hands in a rat seal. Shadows extended from his body and held Mizuki in place.
"NARUTO'S A NARA!" Those who did not know about his bloodline looked forward in awe. Then they turned to Shikaku for an explanation.
"Tch, this is troublesome but yes he is. His father was my half brother. Same father, but different mother, although his mother did hold Nara blood as well. Naruto is my nephew and Shikamaru's cousin. The entire Nara clan knows of this, and we have adopted both Hatake Kakashi and Uzumaki Naruto into our clan. Kakashi is also my nephew as Sakumo was my brother's cousin, making him my cousin as well. The Nara blood runs strong through Naruto. He has made us all proud." Shikaku finished with obvious pride in his others couldn't help but agree.
Elsewhere in the forest, Iruka was shaking. Naruto had a kekkai genkai, and the Nara limit at that.
"Sandaime Sama, did Naruto get that because of..."
The Hokage sensed what he was asking. "No Iruka, it is not because of Kyuubi. Naruto is part Nara, so he had their bloodline. His father did not have it, but he passed it on to Naruto."
Iruka nodded and fell silent at his leaders explanation. Naruto was the most unpredictable ninja, that was for sure.
Mizuki was scared. No, he was terrified. The demon brat had a bloodline, which meant he was from a clan. And not just any clan, the Nara clan. Although it was a deceptively passive clan, they were merciless to whoever harmed any of their family. Mizuki was screwed. Perhaps it would have been better to die.
"So teme, do you give up or what? This entire thing is too troublesome and I really have to get home to tend the deer or else Yoshino Baa Chan will castrate me with her bare hands.
All the males shivered. Yoshino could be downright scary when she was pissed. Shikaku, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kakashi could attest to that.
Sighing, Naruto dropped the shadows. "Kanashibari no Jutsu!" He called. The ANBU level technique froze Mizuki in place. Quickly, Naruto revealed a katana that he had from a scroll. He threw it at Mizuki who could not dodge because of the paralyses jutsu. Naruto watched in grim satisfaction as the katana loped Mizuki's head off.
"Alright you four, you can come out now. Alpha, report!"
Alpha gracefully descended from the tree. "Sir, there are no known threats in the area. Mizuki was acting alone."
"Thanks Alpha, you and the others can dispel yourselves now." Alpha gave a quick salute to his boss and vanished in a poof of smoke.
Kakashi, Anko, Iruka, and the Sandaime also came down. "Ah Naruto, good work. But tell me, what will you do with his body?" The sandaime asked curiously.
"Hmmmm, I will examine it and send some results to baa chan (guess who). She will analyze it and send it back to me with her data." Naruto replied.
Kakashi laughed. "Now what say us five plus a dead body go back to Hokage Sama's office and have a nice long chat."
The five ninjas all shushinned back into the room.
As soon as he entered the office, Naruto's eyes met Shikaku's. "Gomen Jii san, I couldn't keep the secret much longer."
Shikaku waved it off. "It's alright Naru, people were going to find out anyway. So does this mean that you will take the Nara name?"
"Yes, I will. From today onwards my name will be Nara Naruto. Dad was an almost complete Nara, yet he took Jiraiya Jii san's last name of Namikaze. I can't call myself Namikaze Naruto because it would start an uproar. But one day I shall take the name Namikaze Nara Naruto. This is promise you." The fire in his eyes was so great that the onlookers were hypnotized by his piercing azure eyes.
"Wait, Namikaze...then does that mean..." Iruka never finished his thought.
"Hai Iruka sensei, Namikaze. Namikaze Minato, or the Kiroii Senko as well as Uzumaki Kushina, the Bloody Red Habanero were my parents. Think about it, do you really think that Dad would let any other parent bear that burden...no. Mom and dad knew what they were doing. My mother was the previous container to the kyuubi as well as the grand niece of the Shodaime Hokage's wife, making her his grand niece as well. Only those of Senju or Uzumaki blood can hold tailed beasts properly. So in essence, I am the living relative to three of the four Hokages, two sannins, the Nara clan, and Hatake Kakashi. Not to mention that since the Uzumaki clan was a branch of the Senju, I am the last of Whirlpool royalty."
For those in the room who didn't know of Naruto's impressive lineage, it was quite the surprise by the implications of what that meant. Naruto was basically village royalty, although the damn villagers could and probably would never see that. The others chuckled at the priceless expressions on some faces. Naruto never failed to disappoint them.
The Hokage cleared his throat. "Yes well Naruto, now that everyone knows your exceptional lineage, it is time we decide your rank as well. Clearly you are a very talented Ninja. Would elite chunin be good for you?"
"In all honest jiji, just put me at genin." All eyes widened at this. "Before any of you say anything, me becoming a chunin will throw off the team numbers. At this moment there are twenty four graduates, including me. If i am out of the equation, then that leaves an unbalance in the teams. So i have to be there. If i get bored or something, just promote me whenever. At that point, it would be easy to get another team member."
Everyone was stunned at Naruto's humility. He would sacrifice his own superior rank to keep the teams intact. He was more like an angel than a demon.
Hiruzen smiled sadly, "Ok, Naru-chan, a genin it is. But i order you two things!."
"Hai!" Naruto snapped to attention.
"You and Shikamaru must start showing your intelligence and true powers-that includes dropping your henge." Secondly, if i see you wearing the slightest bit of orange, you are out of the ninja career. I think i might ban orange from all the stores."
"Jiji, you are absolutely right. This orange monstrosity is driving me insane. And the henge, are you sure?"
"Well of course, you'll look more like your father with it...and if you run into Iwa nins, they most likely will add you in the bingo book as the Nidaime Kiroii Senko. (2nd Yellow Flash).
Iruka felt as if he were out of the loop. "Naruto, if you're wearing a henge, how come no one can see through it?"
Naruto replied, "I'm not really sure, but I think it has something to do with Kyuu nii being stuck in my gut. Kitsunes were always known for their prankster ways, and a solid henge is one of them. It's partially how i did all my pranks, that and I am a GOD at stealth. I hid from ANBU in plain sight in ORANGE for crying out loud. ANBU has an entire course designed to catching me. But it's only you who ever catches me. It's pretty amazing."
Iruka rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah well, it's like I can sense exactly where you are. My senses zone into you." The Sandaime and others made a mental note just to ask Iruka any time Naruto pulled a major prank like he did back in the day such as having the entire village's water supply turn pink and blaming it on the Haruno's.
"Iruka sensei, do you honestly think that i was some scrawny little kid who only ate ramen when i had Kaka nii, Anko nee, Gai nii, Asuma nii, Kurenai nee, Hayate nii, and Yugao nee as my teachers?"
"You were taught by elite jonins?" A random jonin who had watched asked?
"Yeah." That was his simple answer. "Anyway...KAI!"
In front of around fifty people crowded in the Hokage's office stood a Naruto who was taller by about five inhes-the same height of Shikamaru, with intense azure eyes. His blond hair was slightly darker and longer, and fell out in long bangs that framed his face. (think his dad's hair) His build was muscular, but not overly so. He was NOT the scrawny boy who Iruka has caught in all his pranks. He was a young man who was worthy of the shinobi name. He was the inheritor to the will of fire.
Kit, did you see their faces?
No duh nii chan, I look like the carbon copy of dad. Of course they are stunned.
Haha, i got a mental snapshot of this...now only if I could develop it somehow...
Naruto mentally sweatdropped. Yeah, have fun with that...
"YOSH, NARU-CHAN! YOU'RE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH FLOURISHES SO BRIGHTLY!" Gai said...yelled.
Naruto smiled warmly at him. Although many would be put of by Gai's eccentric ways, Naruto knew it was a farce to mask the pain of losing his wife a year before the Kyuubi attack. Gai had a son somewhere, but he didn't know where. (guess who it is!)
"Thanks Gai nii. You're springtime of youth has not diminished one bit. It burns so brightly that it blinds everyone." Naruto and Gai struck identical 'nice guy' poses and their teeth sparkled.
Kakashi pulled Naruto to the side. "Do not EVER do that again or Anko will set Manda on you, understood?"A storm seemed to rage outside.
"H...Hai, Kaka Nii." Stammered Naruto. Everyone except Gai laughed at his predicament. Gai went to go sulk in a corner with a sad aura emanating from him.
"Anyway, Jiji, do you know who's team I am going to be on?"
"Naruto, why don't you tell me?"
"Um...well I am the dead last in the class, so most likely I would be with the rookie of the year and the top girl in the academy. So I guess that would be Sasuke and Sakura."
"And how about your sensei"
"That's easy...Kaka nii would be our sensei because he is the only one who can teach Sasuke about the Sharingan once he activates it."
"Yes, very good...and how would your team turn out?"
"In all honesty, it would fail." Everyone except the Sandaime and Kakashi was surprised.
"Oh why is that?" Anko asked.
Naruto turned to his surrogate sister. "Sakura is the biggest Sasuke fain girl in existence. At least Ino only pretends to be, so that people will underestimate her. Sakura will blindly follow Sasuke anywhere, if if he decides to leave the village. She would die for him. Additionally, she hates me because according to her, I'm annoying. Kaka nii's test will be about teamwork no doubt. Sakura will work with Sasuke, but not me. Sasuke is a completely different story. I read the reports that Inoichi San had on him. The boy is mentally unstable. He would kill of his teammates to achieve his goals. You probably want me to be the teams' 'SUN', and bring light to Sasuke, but he will never listen. At most, I will become his rival and then he will try to kill me. The other teams are more balanced. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino under Kurenai nee would be the tracking team. Ino, Shika, and Chouji would be their parents team under Asuma nii. My concern about Kurenai's team is that they do not have any heavy hitters, ninjutsu specialists. The Hyuuga do not do ninjutsu, the Aburame rely on their bugs, but it takes too much out of them, and Kiba has a couple of combo attacks with Akamaru, but that's it. The team would not fair well against ninjutsu based opponents. They need at least one ninjutsu person on their team."
Many who did not know Naruto were phased by how much thought he had pit into this analysis in such a short time, Iruka included.
"Naruto, thank you for your insight. I daresay you and Kakashi should get home along with Shikaku otherwise Yoshini chan will kill me as well as you three." The Sandaime along with the three men in question shivered at the thought of their wife or aunt killing them.
"Bye jiji, see ya tomorrow. And tell Ko that he has to work on his Oiroke no Jutsu." Naruto disappeared in a burst of flames. Shikaku and Kakashi followed suit.
"Oiroke no Jutsu? What's that?" Genma asked.
"That technique is Naruto's inner pervert coming out. He calls it the "Kage Killer. Now he's teaching it to my grandson. We are all so so screwed." The Sandaime shivered once more. The remaining people in the room sweatdropped as they saw their leader cowering in fear from a twelve year-old boy's technique, even if the boy could give most members in the room a run for their money.
Shikamaru met Naruto at the front gates. "Yo Naruto, how'd capturing the traitor go?"
"Eh, he's dead now so no worries. Anyway, Sandaime jiji said that we had to show our real selves. Not the mask that we created."
Shikamaru gave him a once over. "So that's why you dropped the henge?"
"Precisely," Naruto answered. "Let's go to bed. We have to go to the Academy tomorrow. Oh, you should probably know that my name's Nara Naruto now. It was dad's real last name, so it's alright."
Shikamaru grinned. "Good, so now you can start acting like one instead of the hyperactive idiot that you were."
"Tch, troublesome, but yes." Naruto replied.
"Spoken like a true Nara. Let's hurry before mom finds us. She might kill us" Both boys hurried into their rooms. Nara Yoshino stepped out of the shadows and muttered, "I'm not that scary, am I?" A bird dropped dead from the tree as she and her trusty frying pan went to go hit Shikaku over the head for letting her darling nephew take on an enemy by himself.
Shikamaru and Naruto winced as they heard their dad/uncle's yells coming from downstairs. Yep, Nara Shikaku was whipped, figuratively and literally.
A new dawn was beginning, and with it a new era of heroes would emerge and change the shinobi world as everyone knew it. Nara Naruto and Nara Shikamaru would be at the middle of this change. Old legends will die, and new legends will be born.
