A/N If you are just starting to read this story, be aware that I have changed the OC Aziki back to Naruto. If you see any references to Aziki or the like, just replace it with Naruto, and I would appreciate it if you would let me know in a review or PM. I think I got all of them but it is possible I missed a couple as I don't have a beta reader.

Jutsu

"Speech"

'thoughts'

A/N Had this idea rolling around in my head for awhile, figured I'd pump out the first chapter or two and see if there is any interest. I've always been fond of the concept of genjutsu and fuinjutsu and found that the Konoha 12 were sorely lacking in these departments. Hoping this story, if it has any interest, will fill that niche. Without further ado, the first chapter.

It was another regular day for Naruto, running from the villagers, attempting to fend for himself in Konoha. It is tough for an 8 year old to survive when he is hated and hunted by his village. His stubborn refusal of help from the Sandaime didn't make his situation any easier either.

'Man, it would be nice if I could just get some spices in peace once in a while. All this evasion isn't really my thing, but the Hokage doesn't like it when I use my abilities. What can a guy do I guess.' Muses Naruto as he ducks into a dark alley with a bag containing his required herbs and spices he can't find outside the village. 'I'd best get outside the wall before the villagers spot me again.' And with that, the young boy took off for the wall, eager to get back to his cave outside the confines of Konoha.

Naruto Uzumaki was a self-proclaimed recluse. Upon discovering his resident within his mindscape when he was 6, he had brought it up with the Sandaime, Hiruzen.

Flashback

Hiruzen was sitting in his office working on the bane of his existence when he heard a much needed distraction, in the form of a knock, on his door. "Enter." He replied and to his surprise a young red headed boy whom he knew very well entered his office.

"What can I do for you today Naruto? Have you been having trouble with the villagers?"

"No, but I think I know why I have trouble with them now Hokage-jiji."

Caught off-guard by this and hoping his suspicions were wrong, Hiruzen replied "Oh, do tell?"

"Well I had a dream last night, but it wasn't like a normal dream. It felt like I was trapped inside my own mind. After wandering around for a while I came across a large pit in a field, contained in the pit was a big fox. He had 9 tails, and there was a tag with 'seal' on the bars over top of the pit. I tried talking to the fox but he simply glanced at me with one eye then went back to sleep." Explained the boy.

"I see," the Hokage said, 'it must be his mindscape, and his first meeting with the kyuubi. He is smart enough to figure this out on his own, so I should come clean about everything before he comes to any conclusions and decides he can't trust me,' the Sandaime reasoned. "What you experienced was not a dream, I believe it was your mindscape. And the fox you encountered would be the kyuubi no kitsune. How much do you know about the events that happened 6 years ago Naruto?"

"Well, I know the kyuubi attached the village 6 years ago, and the Yondaime sacrificed himself to defeat the beast. I know many many people died that night." He replied.

"You would be correct in saying that the Yondaime defeated the beast, but he did not kill it. The kyuubi is a bijuu, and a bijuu can not be killed. If they are killed they will disperse and reform in a few years to sow destruction in their feral state. The only way to safely suppress a bijuu is to seal it inside a newborn, whos chakra coils have not yet developed. On the night the Yondaime fought the kyuubi, he and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, sacrificed themselves to seal the beast inside their newborn son, you, Naruto Uzumaki." Hiruzen explained solemnly, hoping the boy wouldn't take this too hard.

"Ok, so you mean to tell me that I have the kyuubi sealed inside of me, and that I am the illegitimate son of the Yondaime and the Red Death of Konoha? That is a lot to take in. Why wasn't I told earlier?" Naruto questioned.

"A select few shinobi councilmen and myself decided that it would not be safe to tell you of your lineage, due to the Yondaime's enemies he made during the Third Great War. As such we were going to wait until you either turned 16, or became a chunin to tell you of your lineage and inheritance," the Hokage explained. "Since you know everything now, I must ask that you do not spread this information lightly. It could put you in great danger if word spread outside the village walls. If you could find it within you to forgive me for deceiving you these past 6 years, I would like to offer you the keys to the Namikaze estate, and everything that your parents left for you."

"But Hokage-jiji, if I were to move into the estate wouldn't it create issues within the village? It would be safer if I continued on as is. I will take my rightful inheritance when I can better protect myself. I will take any scrolls they left me however, as I can maybe learn something from them." The boy replied.

'Did I just hear what I think I heard come out of a 6 year old? His reasoning and deduction skills are incredible.' "As you wish Naruto, I will retrieve the scrolls and bring them to you at your cave. Speaking of which, do you still insist on living in that cave? It is harder to keep an eye on you and react appropriately if something happens when you are outside the walls." Hiruzen said.

"You always have an ANBU watching me anyways, and the villagers don't see me as much when I keep to myself outside the walls anyways so it causes less problems for everyone. Plus, I like the peace and quiet of my cave, and my eyes don't play tricks of people I don't want them to out there." He explained.

"As you wish Naruto, I will see you tonight with your scrolls. Do you think you could prepare a stew for us? I always have liked your cooking." Hiruzen requested.

"Aye, I wouldn't mind the company, see you tonight Hokage-jiji," the boy replied and swiftly left the office, heading for the secret tunnel under the wall to his cave.

'I always forget how powerful his eyes are, I wonder if he will be able to enroll in the academy or not,' Hiruzen mused while he searched his safe for the scrolls.

Flashback end

It had been two years since Naruto had learned of his tenant and his lineage. Since then he has spent most of his time studying the many scrolls his parents had left him. He still hasn't found any scrolls explaining his eyes however. His eyes are a bright yellow, with four tomoe around the pupil, which was a slit instead of a circle. He can't turn them off, like the similar in appearance sharingan. His dark red hair accompanying his eerie eyes were off-putting for most people he met, and if that didn't do it, his status as the kyuubi jinchuriki did.

With his eyes he is able to cast powerful genjutsu without hand signs, simply by imagining the scenario and making eye contact with his target. This is the main reason he chooses to live in a cave outside the village, because he lost control one time and the victim committed suicide from the fear induced by the genjutsu. It was a genin that was chasing him through the village on his birthday, throwing rocks at him. Naruto didn't mean to cast an illusion on him, but he was so emotionally distraught he couldn't help it. The Hokage found him in a cave a couple days later, and ever since Naruto has refused to live in the village until he can control his eyes.

So for the past two years, Naruto has been studying his inheritance from his parents, learning what he can and waiting until he hears from the Sandaime if he can attend the academy like a normal kid. Deeply immersed in his scrolls, he didn't hear the footsteps echoing from the entrance of his cave. "Hello Naruto, reading anything interesting?" Hiruzen asked with an amused expression on his face.

Naruto jumped in the air with a screech. "WHAT THE HELL HOKAGE-JIJI, DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!" He yelled in shock.

"What do you mean sneak up on you? I knocked on the cave wall and announced my arrival." Hiruzen replied, clearly enjoying the fact that he could still sometimes surprise his favorite pseudo-grandson.

"Oh, well I was rather into this scroll. It explains how to do fuinjutsu without ink and paper! You just do some handsigns and write the seal in the air with your fingers! Then you apply your hand to the intended target area. Cool huh? I can already do the exploding seal! Wanna see?" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Whoa whoa whoa, lets not blow ourselves up in your cave alright? Show me outside." Hiruzen replied with an eyesmile. 'This is quite the technique if it works like I think it works. Nobody but Kushina and Jiraiya knew how to do it. I'm sure this boy will be a fuinjutsu master when he is older.' Hiruzen mused as he walked beside the young boy.

"Okay, check this out!" Naruto yelled as he did 3 quick hand signs then wiggled his fingers on his left hand around, before jabbing a tree trunk. When he jumped away you could see the inner circle of the seal count down from 3 before it exploded, demolishing the tree. "Whoa, that was larger than I meant for it to be, whoops." Naruto said sheepishly.

"That is a very impressive technique Naruto. I don't think I know anyone aside from your kaa-san and Jiraiya that can do fuinjutsu like that. You're a natural! Now don't you want to know why I came to visit you today?" Hiruzen asked.

"Oh yeah, lets go back inside and we can chat!" The boy exclaimed before leading the Hokage back inside by his sleeve.

"Alright Hokage-jiji, what did you want to talk about?" Naruto asked.

"Well, remember when you asked me about whether or not you could enroll in the academy? The council has came to a decision, and because you do not have control over your eyes, the have voted that you should not enroll in the academy. Before you get upset, I have decided on a secondary course of action that will ensure you can get the training you require. I have assigned our genjutsu specialist to train you herself until such time as you gain control over your eyes, and then we will look at either enrolling you in the academy, or having you challenge the graduation exams and becoming a genin that way. How does that sound?" Hiruzen explained.

"Wait, you really mean it? You found someone willing to train me? Do they want to train me? I don't want to be a burden to anyone. If she has more important duties to attend to, I can continue as I have been. I don't mind." Naruto replied with a slightly dejected and lonely look in his eyes.

"Why don't you ask her yourself if she wants to train you. Kurenai, come in here would you?" Hiruzen said. After that, Kurenai Yuhi walked into the cave and sat down across the fire/cooking pot on a wooden tree bench. "Yes Hokage-sama, is this the young boy you were telling me about?" She asked.

"Yes this is Naruto Uzumaki, Naruto, this is Kurenai. When I told her about your eyes she expressed great interest in wanting to work with you. She is arguably the best genjutsu specialist we have in Konoha." Hiruzen stated.

"Wow, your eyes are really pretty miss, do you really want to train me?" Naruto asked, more than a little bit of hope in his tone.

"After hearing about you Naruto, of course I want to teach you. Hell, if my hunch is correct by the end of the next 4 years you'll be teaching me." She replied with a wink. Naruto was stunned. He looked silently from the Hokage back to Kurenai with his mouth hanging open, wondering if this was a dream. Coming to his senses he made a hand sign and shouted "Release!" When he blinked and looked back up at his current guests, he tilted his head to the side and looked awestruck at them again.

Kurenai leaned over to the Hokage and asked "is this normal? Should we do something?"

"He'll come to shortly. He hasn't encountered anyone who wanted to spend time with him that he can remember, so this seems surreal to him. Most people are scared of his eyes, and those who aren't hate him for his situation," the Hokage whispered back.

"I understand, this might be a long 4 years," she replied.

A/N And that is the first chapter. I'll probably get another chapter or two written this weekend. I'm going to skip his 4 years with Kurenai and come back to important moments in flashbacks during the story. I'm itching to get into the real ninja action. Let me know what y'all think. I'm still hashing out some of the plot points and such, as I want to see if this story has any interest before I put a huge amount of time into it. This is my first fic as well, so be gentle in your reviews! Cheers.