I do not own Naruto nor its characters and story - only the concepts I inserted and designed myself.
Introduction
Some people are born different, while some are changed by nature and destiny.
You may think this is a story of tragedy and pity, but, though our protagonist's story does have its share of maladies and misfortune, particularly in the beginning, I will tell you that this one is a tale of bravery, courage and acceptance.
This is the story of one Uzumaki Naruto, a life in the darkness meant to shine as a beacon.
Chapter 1
So says the legend, and it must never be forgotten…
.
.
.
Once appeared a Nine Tailed Demon Fox.
One swing of its mighty tail could crumble mountains and cause tsunamis.
To fight the Demon, the people assembled the shinobi.
One brave shinobi was able to seal up the Demon, but he lost his life.
.
.
.
That shinobi was called the Fourth Hokage.
.
.
.
Mornings in Konoha were as usual as the start of day can be in a ninja village.
Birds flew high, merchants started opening their business, patrols roamed hidden and the most courageous of the stray cats roamed in search of breakfast.
Everyday life is not supposed to be extraordinary, just glorious in how typical and mundane could thing be in times of peace.
Peace that was about to be shattered in a most phenomenal way.
Naruto was just finishing the last touches of what many would consider to be, at this point of the village's history, his biggest work of art ever.
(And by work of art, I mean desecration and vandalism.)
The Hokage Rock, the mountain where the faces of all Konoha's leaders had been carved into stone, their solid and unmoving gaze watching over the village they fought so hard to create and protect, four of the most powerful and respected shinobi that had ever lived.
Obviously, those same faces were now a bit less inspiring, being covered by giant blotches of brightly colored paint, spiral marks, nonsensical scribbles and a string of curse words that should not (and therefore could only be) in a child's vocabulary.
Hanging from a rather ingenious rope system, tools of crime in his hands, Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's prankster, dangled in front of his magnun opus with pride.
(And no, Naruto was not someone who would know what magnum opus meant.)
Way down below, though, there were many shinobi that could only yell profanities and threats over the obnoxious boy over his most recent… "artistic achievement".
Warned by such a ruckus, the current leader of the village, the once-retired but currently-reinstated Third Hokage, easily recognizable for his white robes and ceremonial triangle hat, joined the gathering, watching the offensive – and yet still impressive – deed.
The aging Hokage knew not many ninja who would accomplish such a feat, especially in such a large and highly visible monument, doubly so as it was right in the back of the Hokage's Office, the administrative area and, supposedly, the most secure area of the village's ninja administrative facilities.
But even him, "The Professor", with his hard-earned patience and great talent to recognize skills where many would see failure, was getting tired of Naruto's antics.
The spiky-haired whiskered face blond faced back at the gathering crowd - sensing the arrival of the Hokage -, an unrepentant grin in his whiskered face, large green goggles covering his face above his nose.
"Shut up, you idiots!", he yelled, stirring tempers. "None of you guys could do something this horrible, but I can! I am incredible, believe it!"
He brandished the dripping brush to the crowd, just adding fuel to the already combustible situation.
Yes, Naruto felt really proud right now.
But, as the shinobi saying goes, first comes the pride, then comes the fall.
Luckily for the prankster, it would not be a literal fall.
Unluckily, though, it had been the arrival of his school teacher, Umino Iruka. The chuunin was easily recognized by the general ninja population, despite his overly tradicional attire and typical high ponytail, mainly from the large scar that crossed his face, from one cheek to the other, cutting a small yet deep gash just under the bridge of his nose.
Iruka was also known as one of the very few shinobi that could actually have some (bare) form of control over the blond menace.
As soon as Naruto heard his teacher's voice, yelling for him, a small voice inside of the kid's head wondered if actually falling would not have been preferable and downright merciful.
Finally subdued – and tied by ropes, just for an extra measure of safety – Naruto sat in front of his class at the Ninja Academy, located not that far from the Hokage's Office.
(A most strategic location, since after the leader's office, what else would be more important to keep safe than the next generation of Konoha's shinobi?)
Naruto's current class was formed by many young students, that, just like him, hoped to one day graduate into genin, the first and lowest rank in a shinobi village's forces.
Above genin, there were chuunin, just like Iruka and Mizuki, their sensei, shinobi that were recognized for their skills and leadership. And above the chuunin there were much more powerful ninjas, until there was the one and only Hokage, the most powerful shinobi of all, the leader and protector of Konoha and its people.
Iruka was scolding the goggled boy for his behavior, reminding him that the next day would be Naruto's third attempt on graduating Ninja school – to which the boy only replied with a bored 'yeah, yeah'.
This in turn resulted in an even bigger scolding than before – and a surprise review on the Henge no Jutsu – the Transformation Technique.
That also annoyed Naruto's classmates, the most varied selection of students that you could find, a mix of orphans, civilian-originated promises, ninja-clan-born-and-raised kids and some illustrious future clan heads in-training, from whom many expected great achievements in the next decade or so.
Naruto, as many others, was an orphan. But unlike other orphans, he was detested and despised by most ninjas of Konoha.
If you only took his frequent misbehavior, you would think this would be the reason why, but he could swear there was something else that made other people hate his guts so hard, something far larger than he could understand or grasp upon…
All the students formed a single line and performed their henges in order, some with more or less success than the others.
Naruto… did not fare so well himself.
The kid had already expected much, since, from the Three Academy Jutsus, he could only perform the Kawarimi no Jutsu (The Replacement Technique) with above-abysmal skills.
Transformation and Clone though…
Iruka lowered his head, in a mix of annoyance and disappointment, not to say sadness as well, as Naruto, tasked with turning himself into a visually identical copy of his teacher (who stood right in front of him, so there should not be any problem on recreating specific details on clothing and body measurements), became instead such a parody of Umino Iruka, completely disproportionate and barely even passable as a human being.
Iruka shook his head. This was one of the reasons why, despite how much he rooted for the kid, he could not expect the blond to ever become a genin, no matter how much he applied himself.
If Naruto's classmates were more attentive, they would have wondered or asked their teachers about Naruto's peculiarities. But most only followed their parents way of thinking, Iruka suspected.
So, after another failure in class, Naruto was held back after school to help cleaning the monument, the watchful eye of Iruka hovering over the boy.
Armed with brush, cloth and buckets of water and soap, Naruto had spent at least a couple of hour just scrubbing the places indicated by the older shinobi until they were completely rid of paint.
Without the help of someone like Iruka, that knew about his condition, Naruto's current punishment would have been akin to impossible to accomplish.
Iruka, despite his rigid treatment, felt for the boy, so, in order to reward the kid for his efforts, invited him to some ramen for dinner later that day.
(Now, what many would consider this to be just a fast and cheap way of paying for dinner, for Uzumaki Naruto it was a treat from the Heavens themselves.)
The Ichiraku Ramen, a traditional spot for anyone looking for a good rich bowl of steaming ramen noodles and broth, was Naruto's number one favorite place in the entire village of Konoha. Iruka also knew about it, as he had already treated the kid to the famous ramen many, many times before.
Middle of the night, at the front seats of the old store, Iruka was questioning the kid, while Ayame, the daughter of Ichiraku's owner and cook, Teuchi, brought the two ninja a couple of bowls of reinforced ramen.
Teuchi and Ayame were both civilian, but they worked in a shinobi village, which meant that they understood better than many how tough the ninja life was. And, as they were also ones of the few who better knew about Naruto, they had helped the ninja-in-training for years with extra-support and extra-ramen – both much appreciated by the blond.
"Why were you doing that to the monument?", asked Iruka, annoyed. "Don't you know who the Hokage are?!"
"Of course!", Naruto said, before swallowing a good bit of the delicious dish, the goggles still in his face, the dark lenses fogged up by the steamy delight. "The First, the Second, the Old Man, and the Fourth, the four strongest ninjas of Konoha…"
Silence. Iruka noticed the lack of slurping or gurgling – never a good sign when one sat by Naruto's side.
The blond rested the now empty bowl on the counter and turned to his teacher, a serious face instead of the usual cocky smile.
"No matter what, Iruka-sensei", Naruto asked, as he pulled his goggles up onto his forehead, revealing two almost completely pale eyes. "One day, I'm going to get the Hokage name… and then I'm going to become a Hokage that will surpass all other Hokages… and then…", Naruto motioned to the goggles, putting them back down, hiding his eyes once more, "… and then… I'll make the village recognize my strength!"
Iruka was momentarily speechless… until the loud grumbling sound broke the silence from before.
Naruto brought both hands together, as in prayer "… by the way, sensei…?"
"…", Iruka sighed. "Teuchi-san, seconds for us, hai?"
"You're the best, sensei!", Naruto cheered, all the heavy atmosphere gone from Ichiraku Ramen.
After leaving Naruto at the boy's apartment, Iruka took his time walking back home.
He had known about Naruto's condition for some time, after the boy tried hiding it from the sensei after one kunai-throw class.
Iruka himself had fallen for the blond's act for weeks, until he had realized how every time the young student did something that would raise a flag, always hesitating a fraction of a moment before a move, the atrocious hand-writing, the poorly executed taijutsu… what others did naturally, Naruto seemed to make a mockery out of it of or simply fail, in a miserable way.
Amidst children and adults that did not care about him and did not want to acknowledge his presence, his act had been perfect.
But Iruka was both a chuunin and the boy's teacher – and his suspicions only rose until he accidently spotted Naruto washing up all by himself, the ever present goggles lifted for just a few seconds, but enough to clue him in.
Later that day, Iruka requested an emergency meeting with the Hokage, who he suspected knew about it all.
The Sandaime ('Third One') was completely frank, after judging the chuunin worthy of the story.
Uzumaki Naruto was blind.
Complete blindness, from birth. Something to do with a malformation of the connections between his eyes and the brain, Iruka did not know the exact medical terms, but it was something that could not be treated, cured or naturally healed.
If there ever was a reason not to be trained, there it was.
The condition was kept a secret from the moment it was discovered. The Uzumaki baby had been kept away from normal orphanages and given to the care of various medic-nin tutors, who each either tried some new form of treatment or just tried to make the young blond's life at least comfortable – though barely.
But where others would see a reason to keep the kid away from other ninjas-in-training, the Sandaime had seen potential, once more.
Sarutobi Hiruzen may have been known amidst the scholar experts as "The Professor", but many more knew him by another, more ferocious alias, "The God of Shinobi".
Those who had seen him in his prime, thirty, maybe forty years before, would often list him as the perfect shinobi, with immense chakra reserves rivalling the strongest Hokage but with such precise control of his chakra that he could pull only the bare minimum needed for a jutsu or the highest quantity of chakra to cause the maximum effect without loss of control of his technique.
Power and finesse would only make a shinobi an even greater person of mass destruction, but the Sandaime's application and mastery of taijutsu ("Fighting techniques"), genjutsu ("Illusion casting technique"), fuinjutsu ("Seal Art Techniques"), bukijutsu ("Weapon Techniques") and ninjutsu ("Ninja Techniques"), and his proficiency with the five natures of elemental chakra and the Yin and Yang release made him someone akin to a deity more than to a mortal man.
And with such abilities, it wasn't hard to understand how the Hokage, after discovering the young orphan's plight, had not seen it as an impairment, but as an opportunity.
Taking his free time from governing the village, the Sandaime taught Naruto the basics on moving and writing without the use of eyes.
Years before…
"This", the Hokage said, holding a much younger Naruto's hand inside his own, "is the sensation of chakra, running inside your own body to the outside."
"Chakra…", the boy repeated, barely out of the age of learning how to speak.
The older master turned the small hand up and touched the little index finger with his own. "And this is the flow of chakra that pulses at the tip of your own finger. Let's try feeling it, okay, Naruto?"
Few years later…
"A ninja with fully developed chakra control can perform amazing things, even with just the tip of his fingers' chakra", the Sandaime explained, as he spun his smoking pipe on top of two stretched fingers, his own index and Naruto's.
The blond faced the fingers, the pale eyes almost shining as he felt the chakra float and spin, from the Old Man's finger, above his and back, making the smelly pipe spin around.
(Naruto had long since known how to recognize the Sandaime by the smell of burnt tobacco and paper)
"Can I learn this, Old Man?", Naruto asked interested in what was happening.
The tingling sensation of chakra was always comforting for him. Ever since he had learned from the old master, Naruto could sense it at the tips of his fingers and his toes, if he concentrated enough.
"In time, Naruto… you see, many shinobi use the slightest sensations they can pick from their senses to give themselves an edge on their missions. Since you have a shortage of one of them," – Naruto winced – "that means I'll have to teach you how to make the best out of the others you do have."
"Hey, Old Man! Does this mean I'll have some super-ability to hit superhard with the tips of my fingers?!", the blond kid asked, overexcited. "Or, or maybe! I can point a finger to someone and I can hit them from a distance! Or grab a guy and spin him so fast-"
The older ninja interrupted the younger one ('I really should not have read him all those fantasy stories', he thought to himself), the voice betraying the smirk.
"Well, I'm thinking more on the lines of reading with the tips of your fingers."
"Huh?", Naruto asked, confused. That didn't sound as cool as 'Uzumaki-Style: Awesome-Ninja-Fingers-of-Destruction Technique' he had just made up in his mind. "Reading? But… with fingers?"
"Yes, it's a rare technique used by shinobi of old. It may not sound very impressive, I know, but imagine from a different perspective: people will not be expecting a blind shinobi that can read the enemies' secrets with just the brush of his hands, will they?"
The Sandaime had, of course, stretched the truth a little on the occasion, since, as far he knew, the ability to feel letters inscribed in paper was something of a lost art, probably barely used by any shinobi in the last few decades or so, but it was the best way the Hokage had found to forc- err, instigate a boy like Naruto on finally learning how to read.
Naruto started smiling, blissfully unaware of the Old Man's plans, because he himself felt like he had learned more than one lesson that day.
It had been, as the Hokage told Iruka, a really trying experience for both of them, but after almost three years, Naruto had been able to join the Ninja Academy with the barest ability to write and move around without raising too many suspicions.
Iruka had even asked, on that occasion, if the Hokage had not been too strict with Naruto, expecting too much of someone who appeared destined to be unable to perform the duties of a Konoha's ninja, but the old man had just – surprisingly - smiled back.
"You have Naruto in great esteem, Umino-san", the Hokage had started. "Ours is a world that will not show him the same kindness. Yes, it may be harsh and sometimes too blunt the ways I had dealt with Naruto, but the boy knows that, if he can't take it, he can't make it to the hat."
Sandaime had tipped said hat, the Hokage's hat, down. "Naruto only knows rejection over his orphan condition, he has never known a parent's love, and is hated by all the villagers because of that incident… the closest thing to love, in his mind, is being noticed. So, to get attention, he makes a lot of trouble. To get noticed, he is loud and proclaims to everyone that he will become the Hokage. He is seeking acknowledgement of both his existence and his abilities in any possible way. He acts tough and reckless, but he is truly suffering… because of the secret that protects him and the village. The secret I forced into everyone. I realized too late, I'll admit, that what I've done made many turn against Naruto. At the time, I did the best I could to protect the legacy the Fourth has given us. I hope Naruto will come to understand it as well, and if not, I'll take the whole responsibility and all the spite he may have against the village."
Iruka, reading the mood, stood up, bowed to his leader and left home, many new things in his mind, but, before the chuunin could leave the office…
"But I started believing in Naruto, you see". Iruka turned to see the hat, now up, and only determination in the old man's weary eyes. "What I taught him, in the beginning, was a way for him to be just as free as he could be, not dependent of me, of others' pity… a small amount of mercy, for a powerful kid who could never be a genin. That's what I thought, in the beginning."
The Sandaime brushed his short goatee. "But I was wrong. Naruto slowly showed me he was not someone I needed to protect from the world, he never cared about his blindness or others' pity, only about when he would be able to join the Academy. He did not think himself as crippled or defective, he, for lack of better word, 'sees' himself a ninja. Always did, always will do. So I taught him more. How to walk without bumping into people, how to move around objects and jump through tree tops, how to be as close to any other kid born with the gift of sight, so that he could level the playfield and show everyone who he really was. I believe he can overcome anything, even other people's prejudice and his own hate. The power to change fate and the will to protect everyone. Not ever since I've met the Fourth Hokage that I have seen it shine so brightly, until Naruto."
To see the Sandaime, the man who could foresee the results of a battle and almost predict the potential of a student by just talking to them, the amount of hope he had just put on the kid's shoulders, even if said boy did not realize it yet, made Iruka look up to the skies and contemplate.
Naruto woke up the following day, his alarm clock barely escaping the same fate of its brethren that filled the boy's thrash bin (three steps from the door to the right, eight from the middle of the bed).
The blond rose from his bed, already heading straight to the small kitchen that he had in his really small apartment (six steps forward, counter at neck level). If not for the Hokage, accommodations would have been much harder to acquire, especially for an orphan with a disability.
Naruto liked his home, though. It was small but it was his own 'village' in itself. Here, he made the rules, he was the one who knew how and where stuff were supposed to be.
The sound of the kettle whistling (loud, continuous Si), a few moments later, rose his attention from the shower (neutral odor shampoo, calluna-scented soap, just because). Naruto got ready and went back to the kitchen (seven steps, counter at his left), already donning his favorite jacket, a bright orange piece of fashion he had got after one talk with the 'Old Man' when Naruto had asked him what was the most noticeable color there was.
"Then I want to wear orange!", he had replied. "That way everyone will notice me even more!"
The Hokage did try to explain to him that doing such a thing would defeat the purpose of stealth, a common trait in a ninja's life, but the younger ninja was adamant about it.
Three minutes later, the ramen he had poured the boiling water over had finished cooking (a decent beef and vegetables one he had kept for today), a small timer ringing as a reminder (Naruto liked this one because its ring was not so annoying and it was shaped like a tomato).
Stomach full, clothes on (the air was chillier today, he zipped up the jacket), Naruto walked over his table, where he had left his goggles the night before.
Naruto only wore them outside his house, and never took them off as long as he could.
The large, green rimmed, dark lensed goggles had been something he had worn for so long that it instantly became his trait mark amongst the students in his class. It's dual function only made it more invaluable: for one, goggles were not that uncommon to be found on a ninja's wardrobe (as a way of protecting oneself from flashing lights and eye-incapacitating attacks), for another, it was the perfect mask so that one's enemies could not see where the wearer would be looking at.
By hiding his disability, Naruto actually made himself even more of a ninja than the common ninja – who could have guessed as much?
Dumping the disposable empty cup of ramen on the kitchen trash bin (under the sink, right side), Naruto set his goggles over his eyes, locked down his apartment and left to the ninja academy.
(Two kilometers, east of his home, four small streets zigzagging up, roughly eight thousand steps on a walking pace, careful with the mud holes next to the Hyushen Clan's bakery…).
"Now, for the practical portion of your graduation exams", Iruka started, after collecting every sheet of paper left with his students, "you will do the Bunshin no Jutsu."
Naruto cursed inwards.
'WHAT?! THAT ONE!? That's my worst skill!', he reckoned.
At the topic of The Academy Techniques, his Replacement skills were… almost good, and he thought he was starting to get the hang of Transformation (as seeing an object and sensing it through chakra were two very different things, but he still could translate one to another), but Clones… yeah, Naruto knew he would never be famous for his clone-making skills…
He wondered why, though.
Henge into something or someone almost always demanded the use of sight and Kawarimi required the user to have sharp senses as one needed to know exactly where the right something was to exchange places with it at the right moment, but with Bunshin the user made an illusion copy of his or her own body, nothing more than a distraction or a diversion.
A copy should not be hard to make because it was, in essence just chakra recreating the body from where it came from – or so the Old Man once explained to him.
Naruto's Clones, though…
The small puff of smoke that followed Naruto's "Bunshin no Jutsu!" emphatic yell easily vanished, presenting to the two teachers not the request Bunshin, but a rather pale, sick and possibly agonizing copy made of chakra.
Naruto faced the clone – he could feel its chakra and the poor guy… yeah, it was sick and horrible and for Kami's sake, that had been the blond's best clone so far.
Rubbing the nose area right between his eyes, just above the scar, Iruka sighed, the feeling of a headache looming in his future.
"Fail!", Iruka complained, as the clone, mercifully, puffed out of existence… with a much stronger bang than usually expected.
Mizuki, the fellow chuunin sensei, smiled in sympathy.
"Iruka-sensei…", the silver haired teacher called out, "…this is his third time, and he did technically create a clone…"
Naruto's face rose, mouth slightly agape.
"… we could let him pass."
Iruka came back to the examination table, covered in Konoha's hitai-ate, the forehead protectors that had the symbol of the village, a stylized leaf, a symbol of ninja's allegiance and, in the blond's case, the first step to being accepted by the Leaf shinobi.
"No way, Mizuki-sensei", Iruka sadly but firmly decided. "Everyone else did at least three, but Naruto only created one clone, and it was a useless one."
It was in Naruto's best interest, Iruka decided. Not all that graduated genin would necessarily join the shinobi force, as there were more test on the future to really determine who, among the successful graduates were active shinobi material, and who would be better off enlisted on alternative service, like medic-nin or the cryptography section.
Iruka understood what the leader was trying to do, giving so much for the kid and expecting so much but… a genin that could barely execute the three academy jutsu, who was blind and… something else, it would be much safer to keep the young one still in Konoha, safe and protected.
'Naruto can still do great things for Konoha, just as the Hokage predicted', Iruka reasoned, 'just not in the way of the ninja.'
"I can't let him pass", he said with finality, as the blond turned in his direction, in barely contained anger.
Iruka felt for him, but he was a chuunin and he knew better.
It was for his own good.
The day was coming to an end, and there were many new Konoha genin leaving the Academy, bearing their hitai-ate with pride.
Usually, it was always the same, a new class graduates, some succeeded, those who didn't were congratulated by their families for their effort and, for those who were both failures and had no families, at least they had friends that came and cheered for them, supporting them for the next year.
Naruto, as he was, could only sit at the swing at the far side of the courtyard (one hundred and forty steps from the Academy's doors, the ever present scent of the carnations that grew near the old smooth maple tree) and observed them, those lucky students, an entire class of graduates and not a single failed student.
Except for Uzumaki Naruto.
The shouts of praise and promises of reward stung a little.
The not so low comments of 'the kid', 'he's over there', 'good thing he failed' and 'we can't have him becoming a shinobi' stung a little more this day.
Those large goggles of his had also another function, as Naruto had discovered in moments like this.
One hundred and forty steps or so from there…
Iruka barely looked away from the crowd of parents and just-graduated genin.
"Iruka, I need to talk to you."
The Hokage's words were not spoken as orders, but for any Leaf Ninja, they did not have to be said like that to be treated as such.
"Yes", he complied, and just as subtly, both teacher and The Professor were gone, and barely anybody had noticed it.
And so was Naruto.
"So… he failed, yet again."
To hear such a tone from the Hokage made Iruka's heart sink a bit. The man was one of the greatest shinobi to ever live, but he also treated every one of the ninja under his command as his family and protection.
"Yes, Hokage-sama", he spoke, in a professional tone.
"… that's unfortunate", was the Hokage's words, after a moment or two. "Failed the Bunshin test again?"
"Hai", Iruka confirmed, again.
"Hm…", the older man just nodded, in contemplative state.
Naruto's achievements had been great, the Hokage knew, as he succeeded the initial stages of a training regime Sarutobi had to go through himself, decades ago, albeit much older than the boy. The skills the Old Man had learned from the Monkeys through summoning contract had made his chakra skills sky-rocket, and to see the young Naruto already grasp the concept of unconscious chakra usage had been inspiring…
… but Naruto's problem would always lie on Ninjutsu. The techniques the Hokage had taught him were akin to Tree Walking and Water Walking, the efficient application of chakra in the daily life of a shinobi. But when he had to perform any Ninja Technique, Naruto simply failed abysmally.
The Hokage knew exactly why. And the fact was, there was no way Naruto could ever perform any of the Three Academy Jutsus.
That had not been an obstacle the previous year, when there was that one genin that had also failed the Three, but got a recommendation from a Jounin (a 'most energetic and youthful request!', if Sarutobi remembered the words correctly) of his talents that an exception was made, and even then, the paperwork alone and all the reunions to debate over it had been a nightmare.
But in Naruto's case, the Sandaime could not play favorites. He already had Homura and Koharu bothering him around, and him making any sort of political influence to make a special case out of Naruto was just what Danzo would need to start undermining his authority even more.
('How the Suna saying goes? Any scratch is fatal with poison?', the Hokage reminisced.)
The Sandaime sighed. He knew there would be no way to reverse such decision, since he trusted Iruka's judgement as a teacher.
It didn't hurt him less, though.
Not so far from there…
The Uzumaki boy dangled his legs from an extended wall section, two floors above one of the less expensive market streets of Konoha.
(there's the smell of clothes softener and paper and ink, someone is brewing a miso, but it's not even night and the sun is not down yet)
Found and joined by his other sensei, Mizuki, Naruto was now having a strained conversation with the silver-haired chuunin about his current situation.
(The grown up usually smelled like dry earth and leather, less papery than Iruka – the boy always did enjoy the smell of wilderness – and Mizuki always stepped around students lightly, instead of Iruka's firm and loud 'pay attention to the class' walk)
"Naruto, you must see…", Mizuki started, not understanding why the goggled boy gave a slight shrug and humourless smirk, "Iruka-sensei is a serious person and he wants the best –"
"If he wanted the best for me, why does he only pick on me?!", Naruto asked, frustrated.
Mizuki went quiet, weighting how much he should tell the boy about his long-time friend.
(The boy could pick the controlled breath, no hands rubbing onto one another though, so Mizuki was nervous, but not anxious?)
"Iruka's parents were… killed, when he was young, and he's had to do everything himself… so you may say he probably sees a lot of himself in you."
The boy paused his legs movement, interest suddenly picked.
"He is probably thinking he wants you to be safe", Mizuki continued, words carefully spoken not to cause any outburst. "Since you also have no parents, Iruka's feelings are for you to be strong on your own pace, no rushing like he had to."
Naruto, truthfully, had never thought about his teacher in that way. Iruka knew about his condition - one of the few who did - so maybe the reason he kept failing the student was out of fear? Not just for the blindness, but because he did not want to see Naruto getting hurt?
'Is that how parents act like?', Naruto risked a thought… but what pained the boy the most was…
"… but I wish I had graduated", Naruto spoke, after a moment. "Sensei, you don't know how much I have worked to get this far."
Naruto entertained the thought of telling Mizuki about his… condition, as well, but the silver-haired sensei interrupted him.
"Well… then…", Mizuki said, hesitating.
(Naruto was not used to people hesitating around him – they either said what they wanted or ignored him, but hesitation?)
"… I'll tell you a special secret", Mizuki offered, with a smile.
And if Naruto wasn't in the state he was, he would have noticed the 'off-ness' in the man's voice. As he was, Naruto was curious about this special secret of his…
Later that night…
He had done it! He actually did it, thanks to the Old Man's training!
He stopped at his destination, a small wooden cabin far from the village but still in Leaf's territory.
Naruto had found the building months before, when he was practicing the Old Man's lessons. When the boy told Iruka–sensei about this place, the following morning, the teacher started talking about old outposts that were used by patrolling ninjas when Konoha was smaller but now got abandoned, only serving as place of rest and yawn!
(All Naruto thought was 'It's a Secret Ninja House that only I know about!', so he just nodded along, planning to visit it some time later and stock pile it with instant ramen.)
Back to his moment of triumph, Naruto decided it was time to claim his reward!
The boy laid down the large scroll he took from the Hokage's office, the one that was almost as tall and large as himself, opened it on the forest floor and proceeded to scan its first lines with his chakra-reading… he could feel the slow bass hum he got every time he touched something imbued with chakra.
He got the real deal, all right.
He allowed his finger to complete the first line, the words "Kage Bunshin" out of his mouth as of habit before he could process them. "Wait, 'Shadow clone'? Oh, man!"
He felt like tossing the whole thing away immediately, after so many disastrous tests, Bunshin had to be the first thing he found in the scroll?
Cursing his luck, he almost skipped it, but, in his infinite wisdom, Naruto decided that he could give the jutsu a try…
(Also, it had the name Kage Bunshin, and to a twelve year old like Naruto, it made sense a Hokage to know and use techniques with the name 'kage' in them.)
If the Iruka that was nearing his location was happy or furious, Naruto could not determine for sure – sensing with chakra was not an exact science, as the Old Man kept telling him about the nuances of the heart beat that one could pick with enhanced hearing or the way someone breathed could be felt through the air and bla-bla-bla! – but the older man sounded out of breath and smelled of sweat and something else the boy simply could not tell from such a distance.
In almost the time it took Naruto to determine all of this, Umino Iruka was now standing right in front of him, exhausted by the sudden exertion.
Naruto did not look like he was faring any better, laying on his butt on the forest floor, almost out of energy, which was a first, honestly.
"Took your sweet time looking for me, sensei!", Naruto 'complained', smiling. "I only got to learn the first one, but it's because it had to be the worst one!"
Iruka stared at the boy, who appeared happy, not at all apprehensive from him.
That caused Iruka's inner instincts to raise a flag.
Before.
Iruka, as several other chuunins and jounins, gathered in front of their leader, the Sandaime Hokage.
News travelled fast, as the alarms had sounded moments before – an old code for theft of vital documents combined with an assembly order.
Translation: something important indeed had been stolen, but there were more details about the case than what could be broadcasted.
The Hokage was honest and direct: important documents had been stolen from his own private office, not the one that had the largest open window facing the village, but adjacent to that, much well-hidden and full of much vital files and relics of the village.
The identity of the author was also known, to the shock of Iruka, as Uzumaki Naruto had been spotted by Mizuki, his fellow teacher, carrying a rather large bundle that was now confirmed to be The Scroll of Forbidden Seals!
The Scroll was one of the relics left by the First and Second Hokages, a collection of secret techniques that could not be passed on to other shinobi simply by teaching, only passed down by merit and virtue.
Naruto was probably playing a joke or a prank as retaliation over the fact he had been failed – yet again – at the Academy and must have used some secret way of entering the building to steal the important heirloom.
The Hokage reminded his men and women that what the Scroll contained was not just powerful jutsus, but devastating techniques that could very well kill anyone who tried attempting to learn them – that and injure many others around him.
Kinjutsu, Iruka cursed himself. Naruto may have been attempting to prank the Village, but he might end up destroying it, if the worst should happen!
The ninja forces were spread in all directions, but Iruka knew almost without a doubt where he would find Naruto – someplace not obvious but not too far away, where he could feel safe and hidden…
A 'secret ninja house'!
And that's where the teacher found his student, who did not look afraid or ashamed at all.
Naruto looked proud – as roughed up as well.
"But I did it, so now you have got to graduate me, Sensei!", Naruto kept on, overjoyed. "I caught the scroll, I retrieved it to my destination and I was able to perform at least of the techniques inside of it before you arrived! Mission complete!"
If Naruto could predict anything, it wasn't the sudden coldness in Iruka's body.
Naruto knew coldness, of course, but his teacher feeling cold because of him…
"Naruto… what do you mean by… mission?", came the slightly shaken voice of his teacher, very uncharacteristic of him.
Naruto always had this concept of Iruka as a tree, he was solid, he was large, spreading all over the kids under his 'branches'. This Iruka felt rocked, not as steady.
"Hn? What do you mean, Iruka-sensei?", Naruto asked, confused. "The secret task set by the Academy to help me prove that I can become a ninja, Mizuki told me all about it –"
Naruto could not predict the palm-thrust Iruka-sensei performed on him – it had been firm but not meant to harm him, as it tossed his small body quite a way forward… before, also unpredictably, a multitude of sounds passed through where the older man still stood.
Naruto recognized it as the sound of dozen kunais or some other sharp objects flying through the air and hitting wood planks, tree trunks... and the flesh of his own sensei!
"Nice job finding him", Mizuki-sensei's voice came from the tree tops, the point of origin of the kunais.
"… I see…", Iruka's pained voice came, as the man now was now steading himself against the wall of the old cabin.
"Hey – hey!", Naruto shouted, conflicted. "What the hell is going on?!"
"Hm?", Mizuki's grunt came as a reply. "You still alive? I could bet there would be traps against anyone trying to open the damn thing... it doesn't matter, at all. Naruto, give me the Scroll!"
"Naruto!", Iruka's steadiness came, but now laced in fear. "Do not give him the Scroll!"
"Sensei?", Naruto asked, worried. He could smell the blood even from where he had landed, Iruka-san must have gotten seriously hurt.
"Even if you die, protect the Scroll, Naruto! It is too dangerous, full of the village's secrets and forbidden ninjutsu sealed within it!"
(A step forward, foot firm into the ground with a grunt - Sensei is gaining his strength back!)
"Mizuki used you in order to get his hands on it!"
The silver-haired ninja stood up, the branch creaked with the body weight shift.
"I'm surprised that someone like you could actually do it", Mizuki spoke – and Naruto could not help but shiver. There it was, once more, the coldness, the true one this time. "But you of all people should give the Scroll to me, after who you truly are –"
"No! DON'T!", came the shout from Iruka, a tone of panic that Naruto had never heard before from his sensei.
"Why, Umino? There's no point in hiding it, the Truth, that is."
A step to the side, Mizuki was now directed towards him, Naruto was sure of it.
Naruto's heart was beating faster now. He had gone from tired, to joyful, to scared, and now… now he was confused. And angry.
'What Truth?!'
"Twelve years ago", Misuki spoke, carefully, as if he was taking his time unwrapping a rather important present. "a Demon appeared in Konoha. You've heard about it, haven't you? The story of the Nine Tailed Demon Fox and how it was sealed away? Since that night, a law was passed in the Village, a law that should never be spoken to any child or outsider of Konoha, but, especially, a law that should never ever be told about to one Uzumaki Naruto."
"Not to me? What is this law?, Naruto asked of him, as he knew there was no lie in Mizuki's words – the boy could tell it plainly.
Mizuki started laughing, a suppressed laugh, as he savoured Naruto's ignorance.
"Tell me!", the boy pressed on.
"STOP IT!", Iruka shouted back, once more.
"The law was that nobody was allowed to talk about what has happened to the Demon Fox that attacked Konoha!", Mizuki's voice had pleasure all over it, and malice.
"The Truth is that you, Naruto, are that Demon Fox."
The boy felt like he had just been shoved aside once more, just like Iruka did earlier, because he could not feel the ground beneath him at all.
Wait. There it was, he had not moved an inch at all. His feet were the things that he could not feel anymore.
It felt hard to breathe, to move, to swallow, but not to think – he was not that lucky.
And, sadly enough, Mizuki just kept talking. "You are the Demon Fox that destroyed Konoha so many years ago!"
That made Naruto lose the air in his lungs.
"The Demon Fox that killed so many shinobi, including Iruka's parents!"
That made Naruto's chest hurt even more.
"The Demon Fox sealed by the Hokage you admire so much – who died because of you!", Mizuki was practically shouting now, enjoying the release of such an important bomb on his unsuspecting victim.
Something broke, at that moment, Naruto didn't know exactly what, but something just felt broken, he could hear the cracks all around him.
It was the floor, he realized, the ground beneath his feet was cracking in all directions.
Chakra was flowing from him, but it had never been like that before. It was good. And awful. He felt strong. Tense. Disturbed, as if he could not wait to run and punch something.
His jaw tightened, his teeth, he could swear he was feeling them grow!
And there was fire too, heat, coming from himself!
He was shaking now, he could not think straight anymore, but why should he? They lied to him, they lied to him all the time, his entire life, and he hated them, and he hated himself and kami he just wanted the beating in his ears to stop, he was getting deafened by it, he could not think, he just wanted to run-stop-think-shout-hurt-DAMN-IT!
"Didn't you find it odd to be hated by everyone?", Mizuki continued, as Naruto's chakra flared disrupted – so much that Iruka could clearly see it manifesting chaotically around the boy!
Mizuki pulled one of the large shuriken he had brought with him and started spinning it like a saw with one hand. "It's because they knew about it, we all knew it! And we all hate you! For what you've done!"
Iruka cursed, as he felt Naruto losing control more and more. He cursed himself…
'Naruto only knows rejection…'
… his own weakness…
'- the closest thing to love, in his mind, is being noticed. So, to get attention, he makes a lot of trouble.'
… his failure to Konoha…
'He is seeking acknowledgement of both his existence and his abilities in any possible way.'
… his failure to his services to the Hokage…
'He acts tough and reckless, but he is truly suffering…'
… and he had failed with Nar-
'I believe he can overcome anything, even other people's prejudice and his own hate.'
Iruka stood up straight, bearing though the pain.
As Mizuki let loose the large shuriken, Iruka's body shot forward, faster than he ever could before.
'The power to change fate and the will to protect everyone.'
The large weapon was too fast to capture or to stop. Naruto was shaking, completely unaware of the threat against his life.
'Not ever since I've met the Fourth Hokage that I have seen it shine so brightly, until Naruto.'
Only one choice to be made, clearly.
"UGH!"
Naruto came to his senses, as he was spread on the floor, not a trace of the foul energy he was releasing anymore.
Something warm surrounded him. And something wet just splatted on his face.
The smell, the breathing, the sounds he made, it was unmistakable.
And when the facts of what just had happened came rushing in, all at once, he couldn't stop asking, "… why?", as he could feel Iruka's solid frame above him, blood flowing from the man's torso and dropping on the boy he had protected with his own body.
And his sensei did tell him why.
"My… my parents… after they died… I had nobody… nobody to compliment me, to take care of me, to… to acknowledge me. I started acting like an idiot, to get people's attention." Sensei's voice almost failed him, but he kept going. "I started to flunk at school and used it to get attention… because it was better than being nothing… but it was so painful…"
Something wet fell onto Naruto's goggles, and came rolling warm through his cheek.
It wasn't blood, this time.
"Naruto… you must have been in a lot of pain… because of me… if I had done a better job, as a sensei, as a friend, trusting in your potential, you wouldn't have had to feel… like this."
'Iruka-sensei… crying?'
Naruto was the one that caused him so much suffering – was still causing him so much pain, and the older man was still protecting him!
"Hehehe, sorry, but this is very funny, if you think about it", Naruto heard the voice, but now on the ground level. Mizuki must have hopped down, after Iruka… "I'm actually tempted to let you both live, honestly! The ninja that cannot kill the demon that killed his parents, and the demon that will surely destroy Konoha!"
"SHUT UP!", Iruka yelled, pulling out the massive weapon stuck onto his back.
The teacher knew it would aggravate his injuries, but he had to face the other chuunin, he had to do at least this small thing for his student. "Don't you… dare say… something… like that!"
"Hm? And why not, pray tell?"
"Naruto… isn't like that", Iruka said, standing up from the child he had just protected. "You… you tricked your own student in order to get the Scroll… because you're weak, Mizuki! Because you want to destroy the village and hurt the Shinobi of the Leaf… but Naruto… is different…"
Iruka turned his back to Naruto, and faced his opponent, one he had called 'friend' for years.
"Naruto… is strong. He works hard… while nobody acknowledges him. He feels pain in his heart… and still wants to protect this village. He is not the demon fox…"
The loyal adult took a stance, the giant weapon used against him now poised to strike back its original owner.
"He is Uzumaki Naruto, ninja of the Hidden Leaf!"
And then Iruka fell on his knees, strength finally abandoning him.
Mizuki scowled, as he clapped in mocking attitude.
"Congratulations, Umino-san, that was a beautiful speech you just made…", he said, as he pulled the second shuriken from his back holster, just like before. "… sadly, I think it's the blood loss and the stabbing pain messing up your mind. Whatever, I thought better and changed my mind!"
With a flick of his thumb and little finger, the large shuriken started spinning like a buzzsaw.
"Hurry up and DIE!"
'So, this is it', Iruka thought to himself, not caring anymore about his fate, as he could sense Naruto, the boy he had just protected, shifting back. 'Naruto can outrun Mizuki, he still got a chance to run away… and I'll help him, even if all I can do now is take the pain from him…'
"BOTH OF YOU, D-!"
Mizuki's threat was cut short, as a sandaled foot came from beneath him and hit him at his chin, propelling the older ninja back and making his large shuriken star completely miss his intended target, the kneeled Iruka.
"You should not have done that", the child said, as he stood up, the large scroll in his hand and a fierce scowl on his face.
The very air seemed to shake around Naruto, as dust floated away from his body in the windless night.
"N-Naruto…", Iruka gasped. "Idiot! Run away!"
"So, the punk wants to fight?", Mizuki said, a thin trail of blood formed on the corner of his mouth. "I'll one-shot you first then!"
"Just try it, thrash…"
Naruto could feel Mizuki's movements – much clearer than he had ever before.
'The first step forward, left foot, short intake of air.'
He actually could hear the fabric of the man's shirt sleeve stretching!
How? Never, even in the months of training he had with the Old Man, had Naruto got near of such precise perception.
'Right elbow, hand brushing the jacket's front pocket, now pulling something from his belt, left side.'
Naruto remained still, he could not seem to hear his own breath, the world around him was loud – so loud! – like it never have been before.
And the smell of sweat, or blood, or the plants! 'Kami, there's a bird nesting above us, I can even smell the dried leaves and - left foot crushing down, right one forward now, right arm shooting forward!'
Naruto moved right just enough for the thrown kunai to miss his head – well, not entirely, as the blade did make a gash on his left temple, tearing apart the leather strap of his goggles.
It had started with him getting angry with Mizuki, he had become so enraged, then it all started becoming clearer, like… like…
Like he some part of him had just stretched itself and touched all that was faraway, outlining every shape in his close proximity.
Strange? Yes, but that's how he could describe what was going on, right at the moment.
Naruto kept his eyes closed, as he turned his back to Mizuki, pain blaring on his head, but he would not back down, he would not run away…
Mizuki was already moving forward, thinking of taking Naruto's distraction over the pain in his head and stab the kid on his back, only to get himself hit over the side of the face!
'How?!', he wondered, as he realized, Naruto had improvised a weapon and hit the older man with The Forbidden Scroll itself like a club. 'Was that on purpose?', the traitor wondered.
The child was now poising in an exemplary battle stance, the scroll now tossed to the side over freedom of hands.
'Is he really going to try any jutsu against m-'
"Listen up, thrash!", Naruto repeated the insult, the kid's eyes shut close. "I'll return the pain you gave to Iruka-sensei a thousand times over, and I won't even need to open my eyes to do that!"
Clearly, the taunt worked, as a furious Mizuki had just the time to yell back a response in the form of "Do it, then, demon!", before Naruto crossed hands, the index and middle fingers of both hands forming a cross shape.
Four words from Naruto and Mizuki realized how pathetically overwhelmed he was.
"KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"
'Woah…', Naruto thought, as something felt so different than before.
Earlier, he had managed to pull a Kage Bunshin – a Shadow Clone, created with his chakra and practically the same as his body, only much more frail – one good hit and it popped out of existence.
But now, as Naruto had filled the forest clearing with hundred copies of himself – maybe a thousand, who knows? – something else also happened.
Every other-him was shining, he could feel them, as if it was him there, and not a clone, and he could also feel their surroundings like they were doing, as well.
If his senses already could suddenly reach further than before, now he could even feel other places he hadn't just a moment ago, the nearest to the furthest Shadow Clones' senses now added to his area of perception.
It was such a sensory rush that he could not help but brag.
"Well, then, Mizuki…", came Naruto's voice, only simultaneously through dozens and dozens of boys, "if you are not going to come, I'll just have to start things off!"
At the end of a massive one-sided brawl, Mizuki, the traitor, laid completely pummelled – and surprisingly alive – and a single Naruto stood awkwardly as the victor, wondering if he had gone a little too far.
Iruka, in his own opinion, felt that the other chuunin came off lightly from this whole ordeal, but there were more important things to be solved first.
The adult stood up, with some difficulties, and the child–no, the hero, rushed to help him, only to be stopped by a hand on his chest.
"Naruto, I'm okay", he reassured the young pupil, while pulling off his own headband off. "I have a surprise for you, Naruto, can you guess what it is?"
Naruto's super-senses were now returning to the levels he was used to, but he could still feel the outlines of the hitai-ate in his teacher's hand.
"If it helps, do you want me to close my eyes?", came the suggestion of the goggleless, opaque-eyed student, which made both smirk.
"Uzumaki Naruto", Iruka started, while tying the headband around the blond's head. "Congratulations on graduating. Now, you'll be a -"
The rest of the lecture was muffled as the newest Konoha Genin knocked his teacher over with a hug – Iruka's conditions completely ignored by the exultant child.
Far from that scene, a very glad Hokage was now giving orders to his ninja to stand down, as the danger has come to pass.
(How he knew that, they weren't sure, but the Hokage always had been a man of many secrets, so they could just accept it.)
With a smirk, Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the horizon, the sun rising and the start of a new day, maybe even a new age, satisfied with the progress of his young pupil.
'It is but the first step of your journey, Naruto, but congratulations on becoming a genin!', he cheered internally.
AND CUT!
This began originally as just an one-shot story, a what-if that I decided to publish and see how people would react about it.
I do not have an impairment nor do I know people that live with any disabilities, such as blindness or deafness. Details and concepts you find here are from my own research and own ideas, so I hope I'm getting my story right and not to offend anyone.
I may be writing other chapters, but they will probably take some time to develop - this is much different to what I am used to, you know?
This whole chapter right now is almost as long as my longest fic to date, so I need to take my time with this beast!
Also, thanks to Zaziecurie, my friend from Tumblr and Deviantart for being my beta-reader and supporter!
Thank you for reading this story, I hope I can entertain you more in the future!
(...)
REVIEWS AND PRIVATE MESSAGES ARE MOST WELCOME!