Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village; said to be the most peaceful of the Shinobi villages. It was said that Konoha's population left no one unaided, from the orphans to the elderly awaiting the hand of Kami to take them. Many villages would scoff at the peaceful façade; however Konoha also had the strength to maintain such peaceful notions. Within the village people would happily move through life, even with the attack of a great Yokai seven years ago; it seemed as though the population had gotten over the incident. No one seemed to mention the attack of the Kyuubi No Kitsune; it was almost as though the attack had vanished from their history, even the buildings had been repaired and shops slowly reopening over time.
Families had grieved and moved on while the orphanage had found work once more, finding homes for the children who had lost the most, left with nothing but the clothes on their back and a name. It was a somber sight-seeing a few of the older children help in the shops and grills, however the children didn't let their misfortune phase them so the adults didn't give them reason the remember the night the Kyuubi had attacked.
The greatest loss of that night was one that none could forget however, it had been the loss of Namikaze Minato; the Yondaime Hokage. On the highest mountain was his likeness carved into the mountain face along with the three Hokage before him, Minato had been one of the most loved in Konoha; leading the village to a more peaceful time before the attack of the Kyuubi. Out of the many lives lost the one that would still strike an emotion from the attack was the mention of the Yondaime, with him Konoha had lost one of their most impressive Clans; or so they were lead to believe by the death of Minato.
In the battle with the Kyuubi, Minato had chosen to give his soul to the Shinigami in order to defeat the beast. Minato's passing had push the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen; to return to Hokage tower in Minato's place until the elderly man could find a heir to the Hokage name before his passing. Along with the passing of the Yondaime however came a new problem, all because of one orphan left behind in the wake of the Yondaime's death.
This orphan was a pariah among Konoha, with long spiked red hair and bright blue eyes the young child bored the seal of a Jinchuriki over his navel; his tanned cheeks marked with the long whiskers like a fox. The child's name was Uzumaki Naruto, cursed with the burden of being a Jinchuriki; bound to be hated by and shunned by his peers as well as those whom should be thankful that the young child survived the sealing. However as the boy grew, so did the hatred of Konoha; word of the blood-red haired Jinchuriki lead him to be the target of abuse and even attempts of murder. The Yondaime had sealed the Kyuubi into the body of the child for him to be seen as a hero, a living sacrifice to cage the Kyuubi into his body until the boy was old enough to either attempt to tame the beast or reseal the demon into the next of kin should he live to bare children.
Instead the young child was feared and hated, even though the child was barely a few hours old; the last time Hiruzen had seen Naruto smile was when he held the babe close to him before leaving him at the orphanage. That had been years ago, now whenever Hiruzen looked through his crystal ball in Hokage tower he saw cold blue eyes as Naruto walked through the streets; cast out and forced to live as an outsider where he should've been taken in as a hero.
Naruto walked the streets with his head held high. Long red hair fell in a cascade of spikes to the middle of his shoulder blades as iced cerulean eyes narrowed as the older villagers glared down at the five year old boy. It was hard to miss the red-head among the sea of Konoha's more common hair colors; there was little doubt that natural red hair was not a trait among the civilian or Shinobi population. Naruto wasn't bothered about his hair color nor did he care for the glares sent his way by those who growled a name under their breath; the young boy knew that there was something different about him; he wasn't naïve enough to think the villager's hated him without a cause.
Those whom he knew had lost everything in the Kyuubi attack had openly swore at him, throwing their empty sake bottles at him; only to have half of them miss and the other half only brush against him. Naruto would stop when the bottles started to fly from more than one location, he closed his eyes and hung his head; he was used to this but it didn't make the bottles that hit him hurt any less.
"Why don't you die, demon filth!" Someone yelled. Naruto's eyes snapped open and narrowed darkly as similar insults were yelled at him; the red-head had growled lightly but stood still as the bottles soon ran out. Once the final bottle hit the ground Naruto merely turned slightly to face the drunkards his eyes were as cold as ice, the villager's flinched slightly before they glared back; the tension in the air could be cut with a knife before Naruto merely shook his head and walked away.
His actions had only put fuel on the fire as one of the drunks rose and began to stumble towards the child, growling under his breath about the spawn of a demon. A few others saw the young boy's indifference as arrogance and called out to Naruto in drunken anger.
"Oi, you little shit!" The drunk slurred, "You think you're worth something?" Naruto stopped walking, his head hadn't risen from when the bottles where slung at him, his clothes were starting to reek of the sake that was warming in the sun light; staining the rags that he wore further. The shops refused to give him proper service and he was treated lower than the Inuzuka Clan's dogs, his food was rotten and thrown onto the ground before he could reach out for it.
Naruto knew that he wasn't worth what the civilians had put before him. Something in his blood had yearned for more than what he was given; even though the truth was that he didn't even feel as though he wasn't part of Konoha. The villagers had treated him lower than dirt; he had never done anything directly to earn the hate of the civilians; even if they did have a reason it wouldn't have been anything bad enough to warrant the constant watchers that the young boy had.
"Keida, shut up or you'll bring the Anbu around my bar again." The owner sneered before looking at Naruto. "The demon brat isn't worth me getting shut down because you can't control your temper." The drunk looked between Naruto and the owner of the bar before he grunted and went back to his seat and ordered another bottle of sake.
Naruto had sighed to himself before he resumed walking, he was going to the Hokage tower for a visit; it had been rare for the Hokage to invite him directly to his office. Hiruzen didn't want it to look like he was favoring Naruto over the others in his village; however he felt that he owed it to the memory of Yondaime Hokage, little did Hiruzen know that his inactivity had already damaged Naruto's view of Konoha. Naruto looked over his shoulder to see two people in black cloaks, one was wearing a Tiger mask and the other was wearing a Dog mask; he knew that they were there to make sure that he made it to the Hokage with little issue. There was little doubt that the incident at the bar would be reported, however if anything was done about was yet to be seen.
Naruto was used to being the village's outlet for all of their hate, Naruto had never felt the loving touch of a mother or the comforting hug of a father; all Naruto felt was disdain and hate. The rags that Naruto wore had been his symbol of being an outcast; even in the orphanage he had only been given rags; only driving Konoha's disdain further into him.
The Anbu watching the child wore somber expressions under their mask's, Tora more than Inu; their masks were their code names for it was the simplest way to know who was who among them. Tora's eyes narrowed as she watched women sweep their dust carelessly upon him, sickening smirks in their eyes as they watched the boy try to get the dust off his clothes and out of his hair. The incident at the bar was so frequent that the Anbu could only report it, the price of allowing abuse upon the boy was to raise their taxes; which in turn only encouraged them to be worse to the child. Tore and Inu could only jump in front of the houses after the boy had past them, a sign that the women had been seen and would be reported.
When others had seen the Anbu, they pushed their children inside and slammed their doors shut as Naruto walked by. A child that had escaped her mother's hold broke free and shoved the small boy down and put her hands on her hips, her smile was that of a superior putting someone below them in their place.
"Haruno Sakura, get away from him this instant." Her mother yelled out to her. Being the daughter civilian Council member had spoiled the girl, almost to the degree of a few of the Clan member's children. With disgusted green eyes and short pink hair tied up in a red ribbon; Sakura sneered and ran inside of her house, into the arms of her mother. The last thing Sakura and her mother had seen before the door closed was Inu helping the small boy up, the boy's cheek had a small scrape that would be healed by the time he reached the Hokage. Sakura's mother's held her close and ran her fingers through the pink locks of her daughter's hair, she had lost her husband in the attack of the Kyuubi; that pain would never leave her but she knew that without the boy they'd all be dead.
Sakura was only following the example of the other civilians, she had seen her friends push the boy around; she didn't understand why the boy was hated but Sakura didn't want to be seen as a demon lover by her peers."Kaa-San-." Sakura was cut off by her mother's finger to her lips. "Sakura, I don't want to see you near that boy ever again." Sakura's mother said firmly.
Sakura looked at her mother in a confused way, her brows furrowed as though she didn't understand what she had done wrong; other kids pushed around the boy and they got praised. Sakura had even seen Genin and Chunin throw kunai knives at the boy, yelling about how he was a demon; Sakura didn't understand what the boy had done to be called a demon but he must've been bad. When Sakura thought about it there was always one Jonin who would always chase away the other Shinobi, though the only thing that she could remember was that it was a younger looking man with silver hair that seemed to defy gravity. With a small, uncertain nod; Sakura promised her mother that she wouldn't go near the boy again.
Within the Hokage tower, Hiruzen looked over the village with a rather sobering expression of disappointment. The incident at the bar and many like it had been reported in higher numbers over the past 3 years; all with Naruto at the bottom of it, but as the victim instead of the aggressor. Minato would surely want to see the village burn for the pain inflicted upon his son, Hiruzen looked away from the window for a moment; a sudden cry had made the old man turn to the window to see an older woman. The woman had lost everything in the battle against the Kyuubi, with a broken leg she had been forced to use a cane to walk; that same cane was now being used to beat Naruto to the ground. Anbu had quickly restrained the woman to returned her to her house, the scene hadn't gone unnoticed as Hiruzen rubbed his temple lightly; he needed to find a way to save Naruto from his own home but he had no answer.
For a brief moment Hiruzen had considered allowing the orphan to be placed with another young boy, struck down by tragedy and the loss of his whole family at the age of 6; young Uchiha Sasuke was also alone in the village of many. The young boy had been mentally tormented by his own older brother, leaving him scarred with Survivor's Guilt at being the only one of the Uchiha Clan to remain in Konoha; Hiruzen didn't know how to reach the young raven haired boy.
Every time the elderly man had visited Sasuke in the Uchiha compound Hiruzen found himself staring into cold onyx eyes. Sasuke didn't want to become attached to others, his cold nature often pushing them away; for some reason it would seem that the raven haired boy didn't want anything to do with anyone who could help him with the task of helping him get stronger. 'Oh Kami, help me guide these young souls…' Hiruzen thought.
In a moment of thought, the elderly Sandaime looked over the village, his had two pariah on his hands; they were both orphans of death; yet one could remember the kindness of a family while the other had never know kindness at all. The idea of bringing the two of the boys together had begun to take root; the idea however had been burned out when he thought about the Council. There was no possible way that the Council would allow the last Uchiha to be in the same area as Naruto, Yondaime's Legacy or not; to them Naruto was the Kyuubi in human form. With a sigh Hiruzen turned away from the window and sat down at his desk, in the time he had taken to try and sort through his own dilemma Naruto had made his way into the office; the appearance of the young boy had shocked the old man.
"You had wanted to see me, Hokage-Sama?" The young boy said; his blue eyes seemed void of emotion as he stood before the old man in rags. Hiruzen nodded, uncertain of what to say. "Naruto… Where are you clothes? Has someone taken them?" Hiruzen asked; the boy's eyes looked over the rags on his body carefully. The poor elderly man didn't know that the boy had paid heavily for the thread bare pale rags he worse.
Naruto had looked insulted for a moment, had the Hokage expected to see him in finer clothing. Naruto's eyes closed part way before he shook his head, his small hands at his side as his dusty red hair waved behind him. Naruto had been told for so long that he wasn't worth the things he needed that he begun to believe it, the Hokage hadn't done anything up to stop it; if he had maybe the boy would have the proper attire for standing before the man. "This is all a demon is worth…" The child uttered.
Hiruzen felt his heart shatter hearing those words come from Naruto, he knew that if Minato had been alive there would be nothing to save Konoha from the young father's wrath; Naruto had been the Yondaime's world even in death. The old man stood and walked up to the 5 year old, Naruto took a step back out of reflex; he didn't like being too close to other people. Hiruzen didn't miss the recoil and frowned, he had been told that Naruto was being beaten by the villagers; this was proof of their neglect and abuse. Naruto eyed the old man was a passive caution that he couldn't hide from his eyes, the deep cerulean eyes strayed to both of Hiruzen's hands whenever they went away from the old man's sides. Almost as though Naruto had expected even the Hokage to beat him, he had little doubt that the Sandaime saw him get beaten by the old woman; Naruto had thought that the old woman merely wanted to walk by him before she struck him with her cane.
She was shouting about the Kyuubi, but Naruto didn't understand; he was too young to remember whatever had happened to the Kyuubi but he endured the beating until the woman was led away by the Anbu. "Hokage-Sama…" Naruto murmured, "Why do the villagers called me Kyuubi?" The Hokage could help but stiffen and look at the young boy, he didn't want to tell the young boy the truth; however he knew that if he didn't he would ask someone until he knew the answer.
It was dangerous for Naruto to know that he was a Jinchuriki, a human sacrifice in order to keep a great demon at bay; Hiruzen remembered stories of containers going insane after finding out what they were and demanding power from the demon locked away. Thankfully the Yondaime had altered the original seal, instead of the seal releasing the Kyuubi should Naruto die; the seal linked their death ending the Kyuubi and Naruto's life at the same time. It was unfortunate that the villagers couldn't understand that fact; however they were blinded by their hate and grief, many wounds still festering under the scars of the Kyuubi's attack. The need to keep the young boy safe had won out against the risk of Naruto's reaction.
"Naruto… The Yondaime had no choice…" Hiruzen began, finding it hard to speak. "You may not understand now but I will tell you the truth, the fact that you're alive is proof that the Kyuubi is gone; but both of you paid a heavy price." Naruto's eyes narrowed into mere slits, his blue eyes nearly hidden behind bloody lashes as he listened. "5 years ago from this very day, the Yondaime gave his life to stop the Kyuubi no Kitsune from destroying Konoha; however the great beast wasn't kill but sealed away in the body of a new born child…" Hiruzen said, his voice trailing off. "That child had lost its parents to the Kyuubi when it was only minutes old, that little boy was you Naruto; you are Jinchuriki. A human sacrifice, within your body lays a great evil; the very life force of the Kyuubi is hidden away within the seal over your navel."
Naruto's body had long gone rigid, everyone knew but him; even the Hokage had kept this secret from him. Even though he wasn't able to fully understand what he had just been told, he understood enough of it to know that the Kyuubi was inside of him; a part of him. Naruto didn't know if he wanted to fall to his knees and beg the Hokage to tell him that this was a sick joke to play on a child his age or if he wasn't to run and hide from the world. The young boy felt tainted, as if his whole being was covered in a dark taint that bred hatred. "Naruto…?" Hiruzen questioned quietly, his hand just touching a small balled up hand.
Without another word Naruto turned from the old man and ran, he ran as fast as he could without looking back or running into anyone else; leaving the old man to wonder if he had done the right thing or further condemned the young boy into a personal Hell not even he could begin to fathom. Little did he know of the dark laughter the echoed into the young boy's head; awoken by the shock of truth the Hokage had given Naruto. For the first time in Naruto's life, the Kyuubi was awake and whispering malice.