Hello guys, it's me again and I'm releasing another new fanfic. I am very interested in doing Naruto fanfics which involve a new character to the story. However, unlike my other fanfic known as The Hidden Shinobi, this one starts from the beginning of the actual Naruto series, where he characters find out their genin teams. However there will be a twist since the two main characters are Naruto and the new character who has yet to be announced. There will be pairings, but I am not sure on a harem. Also there could be polls on what kind of kekkai genkai my character will have, since I have yet to decide if he will even have one. I have thought of the plot for this story, and I will enjoy writing this one as well as finishing The Hidden Shinobi. I hope you will like my new character as well. Comments are greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.

The Ranger of Konoha

Chapter 1: How it All Began

A group of boys were in the playground in the peaceful place known as the Hidden Leaf Village. Usually they would be playing, but today they all sat on the swings in a heated talk.

"I heard that the Konoha Rangers are so good, that it makes the ANBU Black Ops and Hunter-nin Division look ordinary." Said one boy.

"Yeah me too!" said another. "I heard that it is a super-secret group, which are used for the most dangerous of missions. In fact my dad says that they are like the Root ANBU of his day, but smaller and stronger. It's also extremely rare if you see one of them, let alone multiple"

"Oh please, if they are not strong than how come somebody like Naruto-san isn't in it, and is instead running a genin team." Said another boy.

"No you stupid, I think he is probably gonna be Hokage someday, and I think running a genin team was something that all future Hokages did, besides the First Hokage." Said the second boy. The rest of the boys nodded in agreement.

A young man was sitting on a tree branch leaning against the tree right by the playground, but hidden from the view. He had just woken up from a nap, and was a bit annoyed because it was by some group of brats talking loudly. However he then smiled when he heard what they were talking about.

"I remember how it all began… that was such a long time ago. Those were good times…" he thought to himself.

The story of how the elite group known as the Konoha Rangers came to be all started thirteen years ago, at Konoha's Shinobi Academy…

Thirteen Years ago…

A boy with spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes walked into the Academy classroom. He was an odd fellow from the horrid bright orange suit he wore and the three unusual whisker markings on either side of his face. He took a seat in a desk right next to a gloomy looking boy, wearing a blue thin coat over a black t shirt. On the back of the coat was the Uchiha clan crest.

The odd boy in orange decided to sit down next to the gloomy one, which apparently angered the many fan girls fawning over the gloomy one. It even angered them more when the boy in orange accidentally kissed him on the lips.

A boy in the back corner of the classroom snickered under his green hood. He rarely laughed, mainly because of his quietness and his head was always down because he was busy doing something or just thinking. Too many of the kids in the academy class, they thought he was as odd as orange boy or bug boy.

They only thought that because they could rarely see his facial features, and plus the boy barely talked. But the boy didn't care, because to him they were all idiots that didn't even know they were getting into.

The boy in the corner desk did however, like one kid and that was the boy in orange mainly because he was funny, loud, brash, and was one hell of a prankster and an idiot. He knew the boy was dead-last but he didn't care, because after all he seemed like a nice kid and was no better than the rest of the new genin. He genuinely liked the whisker boy. He would only wave to him or smile at him in and out of school. He thought since he was an oddball it made him a likeable kid, but he noticed that apparently not many villagers thought so. The whiskered boy was treated poorly by the villagers, and he knew that, but like the rest he was too cautious or was too confused by the way he was treated.

As the boy with the hood pondered this, a chunin by the name of Iruka Umino walked in. He sat down at his desk and began to talk.

"Hello class and congratulations on becoming genin. This is the first step into becoming a strong shinobi." He said cheerfully. "Now it is time to announce your teammates who will be working with you as you progress on being a shinobi." He stated.

"On Team 7, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha." The boy in the corner noticed the strange reaction on how the whiskered boy cheered, and then frowned, as the pink haired girl next to him cheered. All while the gloomy Uchiha just brooded.

Then the boy in the corner of the room heard Iruka-sensei announce the other two teams one of them known as Team 8 which were comprised of Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame (bug boy), and Hinata Hyuuga (shy girl). The other was Team 10 and that was comprised of Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka.

"Our last new genin, Saito will unfortunately not be joining any of your teams due to the three person capacity. He has a different selection course. That will be all class, good luck" smiled Iruka who was signaling for them to leave.

On that note the genin teams got up and shuffled out of the room to meet their Jonin Senseis, while shooting curious looks at Saito as he began to talk to Iruka about his special training.

Xxxxxxxx

"I can't believe Saito had me fooled his entire time at the academy. He could be a skilled as Itachi Uchiha the way he was explaining his situation. An S-Rank secret nonetheless." Thought Iruka as he walked out of the Hokage Tower after his conference about him with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Lord Third is putting a lot of trust into him, I wonder if he can handle this…"

One Year Later…

Saito had just passed the gates of Konoha and was walking to the Hokage Tower to report his successfully completed 194th D ranked mission. He never minded doing a D Rank mission, after all, he knew that all great Konoha shinobi completed numerous D-Rank missions. Also, he already did numerous C and B rank missions and he was already once lucky enough to complete one A-rank mission.

Saito had been doing many skillfull missions and his outfit proved that. He wore a black vest with multiple pockets similar to a chunin vest, however without the collar and on the back a white hidden leaf symbol replacing the regular Uzumaki spiral. He wore a dark blue long sleeve shirt under the vest and dark gray pants down halfway to his shins. He had on white bandages on his shins and black shinobi sandals. On his back he wore a quiver full of arrows, a bow and a bamboo sheathed ninjato also known as a shirasaya. He on a white mask covering half of his face and a dark blue cowl. Under the hood was a Konoha Leaf forehead protector on black cloth.

As he was walking many people gave him looks of curiosity as he traveled down the path. His outfit made himself look intimidating, even though he was only a genin. As he was walking he overheard some jonin discussing something about the Chunin exams. Saito walked slower and closer to the jonin group.

"So it seems we are hosting the Chunin Exams in three months. That should be fun." Said a jonin with a scar on his left cheek to the other jonin.

"I think that this year's exams should be interesting. I heard that Kakashi might nominate his group, so we may be able to see the Last Uchiha. Apparently he has already awakened his Sharingan." stated another shinobi.

"Don't forget the brat Naruto Uzumaki, I hear that he's extremely unpredictable, you never know what he will do." Said a purple haired woman wearing a trench coat. The one with the scar chuckled.

"Whatever you say Anko." he snickered. Anko just rolled her eyes.

Then the man with the senbon in his mouth spoke. "There's supposedly a genin who's been doing a lot of missions and has been bouncing around from team to team since he's not on an official one. Apparently he was an average student in the academy but I suspect that he was doing that for deceit. I hear he's quite talented from one of my ANBU friends who have been seeing him from time to time." Anko and the scarred man eyes widened in interest.

Then the purple haired kunoichi known as Anko elbowed the jonin with the senbon in his mouth.

"I wonder if that's him." Said Anko quietly as she looked at Saito who was walking. The shinobi with the cowl then approached them. "What do you want brat?" asked Anko roughly. Saito seemed unfazed by the roughness in her voice.

"I'm sorry." Eye smiled Saito. "I just couldn't help but overhear that the Chunin Exams are taking place here in three months."

"What's your name kid?" asked the jonin with the senbon. "It's Saito. What's yours?" He replied. Anko raised an eyebrow towards the senbon jonin. "The names Genma Shiranui, Special Jonin."

"Nice to meet you Genma, but I better get going and start training for the exams. I intend to try to pass and get chunin as a rookie, and I'm gonna need more training besides my other training" Saito said with a smile.

"Now heres an idea, what if I trained the kid for the exams. This kid looks good, and if he becomes chunin well I can brag to Anko telling her how great a sensei I am." thought Genma.

As Genma was thinking, he noticed that the kid was walking away. He then called out to him.

"Hey kid wait up a bit!" he shouted. Genma then walked towards him. "If you want to I'll train you for the exams. I know you get other training but I'm a Special Jonin and I have experience. Also you'll get one on one sessions which can be pretty helpful" explained Genma.

Saito smiled from underneath his cowl and then said,

"I appreciate it that I do. I would like to train under you, sensei." Genma smiled lightly and then put on his serious sensei face.

"All right then, meet me at training ground 24 at 6AM tomorrow. Bring what you need. It'll be a long session."

"I understand. See you tomorrow sensei," Replied Saito. After he said that he made a ram seal and shunshined

Genma walked back to Anko and the man with the scar and smirked. "Looks like I got a student." He smiled.

The Following Morning

"All right kid tell me a bit about yourself before we begin." Started Genma. Saito shrugged and began. "My name is Saito, just Saito. I like to train, do missions, sleep, eat, and read. I don't like fan-girls, arrogant people and bullies. My dream is to become a shinobi known for his unorthodox skills and achievements. Somebody like Kakashi of the Sharingan." Finished Saito.

"Judging by how he dresses and how he talks this is the special genin that I've heard about. Good pick Genma." He thought to himself."Admirable dream there kid." Replied Genma. "Anyways, I'm Genma Shiranui and like I said before, I am a Special Jonin. I have similar likes and dislikes as you. My dream is to just do my job and have a happy life." Saito nodded.

"All right then kid we will spar first and train in other areas for today. Let's see how your taijutsu is." Smirked Genma.

Xxxxxxx

Saito was panting. He may have been a weapons specialist in his other training, but his skill on ninjutsu was very much behind. His skill with his ninjato, bow, kunai, and shuriken was incredible, but he was behind in his elemental manipulation. Also, it didn't help that Genma was unpredictable and that he was being tough on Saito when it came to this part of training.

"Focus Saito, if you want to get anywhere in the Chunin exams, your expertise in utilizing unique weapons won't allow to beat every opponent. Some are really good when it comes to ninjutsu." Admonished Genma.

"Sorry Genma, it's just that I really haven't done much on my elemental jutsu or affinity. I can only perform some jutsu. It's a pain because even though I have an unusually large amount of chakra, I just can't seem to get a hold of it."

Genma thought for a moment and then spoke. "It seems to me that since your chakra control needs a bit more work, but you soon should be fine with that and soon I'll teach you some strong jutsu. Let's try the water walking exercise with massive waves. That should help." Smirked Genma.

A Few Hours Later

Saito was walking from the training ground. He was exhausted. "Damn, I didn't think that Genma was that good. I underestimated him way to much in our weapons spar." He was walking to where he lived, and was looking at the ground thinking until he bumped into somebody.

"Hey watch it!" shouted a blonde boy no other than Naruto Uzumaki, the loud genin and dead last of the Academy.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'll pay attention next time." Replied Saito as he started walking.

"Hey isn't your name Saito?" asked Naruto. Saito stopped and then turned around. "Yes it is." Replied Saito.

"I remember you from the Academy. I knew you looked familiar. You wanna get some ramen?" Saito thought for a moment.

"He seems nice enough to get ramen, but it's weird considering that I barely socialize at all. Hmmm I guess one bowl wouldn't hurt."

"Yeah I'd like that. Let's go." Responded Saito cheerfully. Naruto shot him his traditional fox-like grin. Saito smiled back from underneath his cowl.

As they ate at Ichiraku, Saito learned a lot about Naruto. He learned about his sad past, his pranks, and his missions, his sensei, and teammates. Naruto in turn learned a lot as well. He learned that Saito, like him never knew his parents, because they died during the Kyuubi attack and he was only a few days old. He lost his home and everything, and that was the reason why he had no last name. They had a lot in common, and because of that they had a deep amount of respect for each other.

Naruto was also very surprised when Saito finally put down his mask and cowl and revealed his handsome facial features. He had spiky dark brown hair that leaned toward his left side of his head and black eyes.

They were in the midst of discussing about the Chunin Exams that Saito had mentioned when Naruto got an idea.

"Hey Saito, I gotta good idea." Said Naruto. "Oh yeah tell me about it." Replied Saito.

"Why don't we spar from time to time, to see how much we improve in our training for the Chunin exams?" Naruto suggested. Saito thought for a moment and then responded.

"That's actually not that bad of an idea. That way we can teach each other some stuff, and we both get stronger. But one thing, we are going shopping and getting you some new shinobi clothes because I'm not training with you with that ugly thing on." Stated Saito bluntly. Naruto pouted and then replied, "Fine. But you're not gonna be wearing that stupid hood and mask on 24/7. Starting now." He sighed a bit and then paid and got up from his seat at the ramen stand.

"Later Naruto, it was a good meal. Thanks." He then walked out of the Ichiraku stand. On his way, he passed Sakura and Ino. After Saito left, Naruto quickly paid and left the stand where he was stopped by Sakura and Ino.

"Naruto were you having ramen with that guy?" asked Sakura. "Yeah I was he's a friend of mine." Ino then asked Naruto asked a question. "Naruto how do you know him?"

Naruto then smiled and replied, "Easy, it's because we went to the Academy together and we graduated together." Sakura and Ino had a look of utter confusion. Naruto sighed. "Remember Saito? That's him."

Sakura and Ino mouths dropped. "T-that's Saito?" questioned Ino. "Wow."

"Are you okay Ino, your face looks a bit pink. I hope you are not catching a cold." Said Naruto dumbly. Sakura then smirked at Ino.

"I think Ino will be just fine." Smiled Sakura. "See you later Naruto." Then she and Ino hurried along.

"Girls are weird." Shrugged Naruto. "I guess I'll head home now too. And on that note he starting whistling a tune as he was walking home.

Two Months Later

"Screw you Saito that arrow almost went through my throat!" Shouted Naruto. "Relax Naruto you blocked it with the tanto so it doesn't matter." Remarked Saito.

Naruto scoffed and continued fighting. They did this for a couple more hours integrating ninjutsu, taijutsu, kenjutsu and some genjutsu defense.

"He's getting better, even with my mastery over weapon utilization he's been training hard. My ninjutsu is getting better as well. But with Naruto's clones it can be difficult." Thought Saito as he mulled this over in his mind.

"Hey Saito you listening!" said Naruto loudly. "You want to get ramen?" Saito immediately stopped thinking and nodded. "Oh yeah sure let's get ramen." Replied Saito cheerfully. As they were walking Saito took note of his changes not only in sparring but as well as his articles of clothing.

Naruto no longer wore his ugly orange jumpsuit. He wore a black t shirt with a red Uzumaki symbol on the front. Over it he wore a red hoodie with the Leaf symbol on the left arm in black and the fire country symbol in black on the right. He wore black shinobi pants and black shinobi sandals. "Looks almost as badass as me." Thought Saito as he mentally smirked.

As they were walking on a side they heard a shout. "Lemme go I'll have you know that I'm the grandson of the Old Man Hokage." Shouted a high pitch voice. Naruto and Saito looked at each other and ran toward where they saw none other than Konohamaru being lifted off the ground and pinned to a fence by a man in a black cat suit.

Saito put up his hood and mask and took out his bow. He got an arrow and drew back the bow. He nodded to Naruto who took out a kunai and got ready to perform a seal. Saito fired the arrow perfectly as it scraped the man in the cat suit's hand. He quickly dropped Konohamaru and began to look were Saito was when he was stopped by Naruto who teleported behind him and drew a kunai to his neck.

"I suggest you leave Suna-nin, before things get dangerous." Said Naruto coolly. "Yeah things will get dangerous." Interjected another Suna-nin with four scruffy pony tails as she whipped out a battle fan.

"Now let's all be calm here. We are here for the Chunin Exams so why not we wait till the exams start to settle our…differences." Remarked Saito as he was squatting on the corner of a fence twirling a kunai on his finger.

The sand kunoichi glared at him and was ready to make an attack until they were interrupted by another voice. "I agree with the masked leaf shinobi. The fun has yet to begin…" said a sickening voice.

Everybody looked up at the tree to see another Suna-nin with a gourd on his back standing upside down on the branch. The two other Suna genin paled.

"G-Gaara we d-didn't know you were here." Stammered the kunoichi. Gaara hopped down from the tree. "Let's go." He said without looking at them and began to walk away. He then stopped and looked behind to see Naruto and Saito.

"What are your names?" he questioned in that same sickening voice. "Uzumaki Naruto." Stated Naruto. "Saito." Replied Saito as he eyed Gaara. "Yours?" Saito asked. Gaara looked at him icily for a few seconds before replying. "Gaara, Gaara of the Desert." He said as he began to walk away.

Naruto and Saito stared at them for a while until Konohamaru ran up to them. "That was cool boss how you teleported and you to Masky with that bow of yours!" exclaimed Konohamaru. "Boss you gotta teach me that move!" exclaimed Konohamaru. Saito smiled underneath his mask and Naruto grinned. "Fine Kono but after the Chunin exams. I need all the training I can get." Konohamaru pouted a bit and then nodded.

"Ok Naruto." He said a bit dejectedly. "I'm gonna go beat up the Old Man later!" he yelled suddenly before running away.

"That kids quite something Naruto. Have fun teaching him." Smiled Saito. Naruto grinned before turning his face back into the serious face. "Do you think that Suna team was good?" asked Naruto.

"I think they're really good. I hope you can work well with Sasuke and Sakura because you're really gonna need them for this." Naruto deflated at that.

"Seriously though, teamwork is gonna be important for the Chunin Exams." Saito reprimanded. "Oh yeah then what about your team?" challenged Naruto. Saito smiled.

"I don't need to worry about that because I'll be fine. I talked to the Old Man. Now let's go get that ramen." Said Saito as he pulled off his mask and hood. Naruto nodded and they began to make small talk as they walked to Ichiraku's. Later on as they were eating ramen, Saito was interrupted by an ANBU Black Ops shinobi.

"Sorry to interrupt Saito but Lord Hokage wishes to see you see you immediately." Stated the ANBU.

"I understand. I will be right there." Replied Saito. The ANBU nodded and disappeared by the Teleportation Jutsu.

"Well it seems that I gotta go Naruto. I'll catch you later." Said Saito. Naruto nodded and bid good-bye to him as he shunshined out of the Ramen stand.

"I wonder why Saito had to leave…" thought Naruto as he went back to finishing his 8th bowl of ramen.

A/N: And that's a wrap of the first chapter of The Ranger of Konoha. I'll try to update more quickly. I'm really liking this story in my opinion. Read and Review or R&R. Also I'm still new to the writing scheme of things so please forgive me. I'm trying to improve as fast as I can. Anyways I'll catch you guys Later