A/N: Hey all...I've been working on a story, soon to be called The Fox's Masks. I like to have a well laid out story line so I never will post a story that I haven't at least finished an outline for, and this one proves to be a three part multi-chapter fiction. I am posting this as a one-shot of the type of Naruto you will find in this soon to come fanfiction. A Naruto that has been to hell and back again...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

This is an event before the start of the story I am working on. Ten year old Naruto.

ONESHOT: It's Not the First

Naruto Uzumaki looked up at the starry, clear night sky. Blood dripped from his hands, a steady drip on the large puddle on the ground, and the splatter covered part of the 10 year old's dark colored uniform. His blonde hair was wind blown, and matted from the blood. Surrounding him were bodies, all ninja from another village, and missing nin at that. Most were hacked to pieces by some sort of blade, though the boy had none on him that one could see.

The scene was sickening. Twenty-three dismembered corpses around a single, ten year old boy with a distant expression as the small child just looked up at the night sky. A figure entered the clearing, looked around, and then eyed the boy carefully.

"You OK?" A gruff voice came from behind. Naruto turned slightly to see a man with a Wolf mask standing near him. Cold blue eyes were all the Wolf could see of the boy as he looked at him, like steel.

"Wolf...you want to know something?"

"What?" Wolf was cautious as Naruto looked back at the sky.

"It's not the first kill." He stated. Wolf frowned beneath his ANBU mask.

"The first kill?"

"Yeah...people always say that it's the first kill that hurts the most. The first time you feel blood from another man run around your fingers. The first time you see the light leave someone's eyes, knowing you are the cause, even if they were evil at heart. That's not true." Naruto clenched his fists and looked at Wolf again. Pain suddenly flooded his eyes, breaking the steel exterior for a moment.

"It's not the first that hurts the most. It's the hundredth. It's not the first the hurts the most, because you still feel it. You feel the pain of killing another man. It's the hundredth that hurts the most because you've realized that you've stopped caring. You realize that you don't even notice the man's eyes as you kill them, turning to kill the next. You've steeled yourself against them. It hurts the most because you just don't care anymore. And when you've stopped caring about killing another man...you realize that perhaps you aren't even human anymore." Naruto whispered. He then flicked the blood off his hands before pulling a hood up over his hair. He put a Fox mask on, it covering the boy's pained eyes.

Suddenly, it wasn't a boy, but his Commander in front of him. ANBU clothing with only the kanji for 'FOX' over the heart area in a small red box. A white mask that showed he was ANBU. Wolf felt something pull at his heart as he thought of everything the boy had gone through. Attempted assassinations. Kicked out of an orphanage. The hate of the villagers. Losing one of his first ANBU teams. And then HIS betrayal. The reason the boy had grown so strong. The reason the boy had forced himself to train until he nearly died, pushing himself beyond limits to get stronger. The reason the boy had surpassed them all...

"Let's go Wolf. We have to report by daybreak or I'll be late for the Academy."

"...As you say, Taichou-sama." Wolf bowed his head and both vanished.

A/N: So there you go. Now, Naruto isn't completely emotionless you know...this part occurred two years before where my story begins, and he has gotten over a few events proceeding the start of the story. This part is still fresh after some things occurred, making him a little more cold towards his subordinates.

I am sure you've guess Naruto isn't exactly the last place in this one. Sure, he acts like it, but he is as far from it as it gets when it comes to strength. Not many know about it either, just Sarutobi and a few select others, like Wolf.

I hope you like this Naruto. Feedback would be nice, but I hope to come out with the story itself soon. I have finished the outline for part One of Three, but now have to flesh it out. I know where I want it to go, now I just have to get it there...

Thanks for reading...