Mizuki laughed to himself, he really would have to thank that brat the Hokage's Grandson. The boy had charged right into a meeting between the Hokage and the ANBU to try and defeat the old fool. This had given Mizuki the perfect opportunity to slip into the Hokage tower and claim a certain scroll. The Scroll of Sealing was strapped to his back and Mizuki was currently jumping from tree to tree to get to a secure location.

His plan was simple, he would make two copies of the scroll, a perfect one for himself and a false edited one that he would sell to the highest bidder. He would then return the original scroll to the Hokage for the reward money and blame it's disappearance on one of the brats from the Academy. Maybe that loud mouthed Inuzuka kid.

He wondered if Iruka would suspect him, that man was a weak fool always talking about morals and feelings. What good were those to a true ninja? A real ninja needed smarts, instincts and the intelligence to look out for himself before anyone else. No matter how high the price. Even if that meant your team-mate's lives. Mizuki allowed himself to daydream, images of Iruka bloodied and bruised flittered in his mind.

His lip curled up as he lost himself to his imagination. So engrossed was her that he did not notice the obstacle looming in front of him. Mizuki gave a shout as he found himself jumping right into a sticky, inky-black net. Trapped like a fly on a spider's web he struggled to break free but inky tendrils curled up around his wrists, ankles and neck holding him down.

A weight left his back as the scroll was cut loose and he twisted his head to see who was responsible. Standing behind him were two boys, one with bright blonde hair and the other had black hair, they couldn't be older than the latest batch of genins that he had passed only yesterday.

"Who are you?" he snarled poring chakra into his limbs to strengthen them but the net onto seemed to tighten it's grip. Then he saw something, the net was extending out of a scroll, a scroll that the black haired boy was drawing on very rapidly with a paintbrush.

"That is none of your concern," the blonde said, his tone was polite and didn't give any indication that he was mad at Mizuki for stealing the scroll or disgusted or happy that he'd caught Mizuki or anything.

"Look kids, I'll strike a deal with you if you'll just give me back my scroll," Mizuki drawled pulling a grin onto his face.

"We may look like children but we're not ignorant," the black haired one said.

"Your scroll you say?" the blonde smirked, "then you won't mind us taking a look?"

"Kitsune-san," the black haired one snapped, "it's not his, you shouldn't open it, it is forbidden!" The blonde ignored him as he broke the seal and unrolled the scroll scanning its contents. Uncomfortable but interested none-the-less the black haired one leaned over the blonde's shoulder to read as well.

Mizuki watched as the blonde began to form hand seals, "What the hell are you doing kid? Those are jounin level techniques and higher you won't be able to do any of them," Mizuki sneered, "now just give me the scroll and I'll let you both off easy."

"Let us off of what?" the black haired one asked. Mizuki growled, was this kid trying to annoy him.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Ten clones of the blonde appeared around the clearing and they all looked around at each other. Mizuki looked at him in amazement, there were ninja's twice his age to produce that many illusionary clones but to have produced that many shadow clones on what appeared to be his first try at the technique was impressive. More than that it was frightening. Either the boy was a genius protégée or he had phenomenal chakra reserves, neither of which Mizuki felt like fighting.

"Kitsune-san we have to complete the mission," the black haired one protested.

"I'll perfect the technique later, let's go," the blonde replied. He wrapped up the scroll and then tied it to Mizuki's back. Mizuki couldn't protest as his mouth was suddenly filled with ink and the bindings had wrapped up his whole body up to his nose including the scroll on his back. He then felt himself transported to what appeared to be the top of the Hokage tower.

He screamed at them through the ink and coughed at the acrid taste. "Stop complaining, we could have simply killed you, at least this way you may keep your life," the blonde sneered, "let's go Sai."

"Hai Kitsune-san," at this the two vanished leaving Mizuki bound and awaiting discovery.

---Underground---

"You took longer than expected, perhaps you aren't ready for the mission I had planned for you both," Danzo said sternly looking down at the boys who had reported to him.

The blonde had been trouble from the start. His original name was Naruto Uzumaki and he had been causing the third Hokage a lot of grief before Danzo had got his hands on him. As a baby Naruto had needed to be looked after but what woman would take in the boy that caged the fox demon Kyuubi? The third had been forced to take care of the child until he was old enough to know how to feed himself.

The boy had then been set up with an apartment paid for by the Hokage with a weekly allowance for money. Unfortunately the wishes of the late fourth Hokage that the boy be seen as a hero went un-noticed as Naruto frequently found himself the subject of beatings by random villagers. Not wanting to risk the breaking of the seal the third had assigned an ANBU unit to guard the boy should he ever be set upon thinking that this would make the attacks stop.

It didn't however and the ANBU ended up being called out at least three times a day, every day. Naruto found himself unable to leave his apartment and this was no way for a child to grow up. Danzo had then stepped in and offered to take the boy in personally and see to his education and training in the art of being a ninja. Reluctant but with little other choice the third had agreed and that is how Naruto Uzumaki became a member of ROOT.

Most of the members of ROOT were substantially older than Naruto except for two, Sai and an older boy that Sai had come to refer to as his brother. Sai was an exceptional student, he took to concepts easily and he was being trained to have no emotion. That was going perfectly until he began to interact with Naruto. Headstrong and loud Naruto had one goal in mind, to become Hokage so that everyone in the village would stop disrespecting him and start treating him like he was somebody.

This had made Sai question himself and seek advice from his slightly more emotional brother. Danzo had then taken Naruto away from Sai and when Naruto was returned to Sai he was no longer Naruto. With no emotions, no memories and no personality the blonde, blue-eyed boy was now Kitsune. Since then Sai hadn't let Naruto, or Kitsune as he was now, out of his sight but Danzo didn't care, just so long as they both did exactly as he told them to and never asked questions.

"I am sorry, Danzo-sama," Sai and Naruto chorused. Danzo looked down at the two boys, neither of whom looked genuinely sorry but that was their training, after all a ninja never shows his emotions.

"Why were you late? Mizuki is barely chunin material he shouldn't have been a problem."

"I was practising a new technique Danzo-sama," Naruto replied. Danzo raised an eyebrow, his eyes flitted to look at Sai for a moment. Sai wasn't looking at him or Naruto preferring to stare at a point behind Danzo.

"New technique?" Danzo enquired, where could the boy have gotten a new technique from, Mizuki wouldn't be able to teach them anything they didn't know but then how…

"From the Scroll of Sealing Danzo-sama," Naruto explained, "I am still perfecting it." Danzo was impressed but didn't show it, he knew well that the contents of that scroll was not to be learned and had told both boys as much but it seemed Naruto was still unpredictable.

"I see and what did you learn Sai?" Danzo asked turning to the boy who had stood silently by the original Naruto throughout the demonstration.

"Nothing Danzo-sama," Sai replied quietly his eyes downcast, he had been torn between the mission and intrigue, he thought he had done the right thing by not learning from the scroll but perhaps he hadn't.

"Then it is perhaps just you that is not ready," Danzo said sternly, Sai felt something stirring in his stomach that he didn't understand, he would have asked his brother what it meant but he was no longer around and Kitsune had no emotions to explain.

"I am sorry Danzo-sama," Sai said quietly without meeting the older man's eyes, instead he looked at Kitsune who ignored him. Danzo, noticing that we would not get anything from Sai, instructed both to leave and they obeyed vanishing in an instant. Sai wasn't ready yet but Danzo had a couple of months to prepare him so he wasn't worried. Kitsune was more than ready to lead, Kitsune had taken to the training in a way that Naruto never would have but suppressing the boy's personality had had effects Danzo had never anticipated. Only he, Sai and a handful of other ROOT members knew what had happened and none of them were allowed to speak of it.

-----

Tada...amazing isn't it? Lol, only joking. Can anyone guess what happens two months after the scroll of sealing was stolen? That's right, it's the chunin exams where Sasuke first meets Naruto:D