Chapter 1: Possibilities

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Four masked ninja sped through the streets of Konoha, in pursuit of their target. "Stop right there gaki!" one of the Anbu yelled for the third time, as the target showed no sign of slowing down. Onlookers murmured to one another, speculating what the cursed child had done this time. It wasn't unusual to see the blonde academy student in some form of trouble, and without any real knowledge of what he had done, rumors would surface which assumed the worst.

As the blonde turned down an alley, the Anbu quickly followed, but stopped as they arrived to find the alley empty. "Dammit! He's vanished again!" one of the Anbu yelled, loud enough for people in the street to hear. "Fan out and search for him! Don't let him get away!" At that, three Anbu took to the rooftops and sped out of sight, while the last moved further into the alley, out of sight of any civilians. A small puff of smoke, and where the Anbu had been there was one Uzumaki Naruto, grinning to himself, clearly pleased with his little show. No, there had been no Anbu at all, nor was anyone really being chased. This was just another of Naruto's pranks. After a quick henge to look like a civilian, Naruto cautiously left the alley to discuss with the other villagers possible reasons for today's chase.

-flashback-

"Ne, jiji, teach me to use jutsu." A six-year-old Naruto begged.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I'm a very busy man", the Hokage replied, a bit saddened that he couldn't spare some time to teach the boy. The old man paused, as if to consider something. "How's the academy? Has Iruka taught you to read and write yet?" A proud nod was the boy's response. Iruka was a bit strict for his liking, but Naruto was always happy to be taught something. Sarutobi smiled, glad that the boy wasn't being completely neglected. "I'll tell you what, Naruto. Since you've been asking about jutsu every time I visit you, I've brought you a gift this visit." Sarutobi reached into his pocket pulling out two scrolls, and handing them to Naruto. "These are scrolls that are given to academy students when they start learning jutsu. It may be a bit early for you, but it can't hurt to get a head start. The first scroll explains the basics of something called chakra, and is the first step needed to learn jutsu. The second scroll contains a very basic jutsu, henge, which is the first jutsu you'll learn in the academy." You could see the excitement in Naruto's eyes as he stared at the scrolls before turning his attention back towards the closest thing to a guardian he had. "Thanks jiji!" Naruto shouted as he gave Sarutobi a quick hug before immediately starting to read through the scrolls.

Naruto had immediately taken a liking to henge, and quickly started finding some uses for it. Having read that the better the user's control, the harder it would be to see through it, Naruto resolved himself to practice using it whenever he got the chance. At first, he had used his new found ability for small pranks, but it didn't take long for him to notice that while transformed, none of the villagers glared at him or avoided him, and he could even enter shops and restaurants without any problem. And while as Naruto he didn't have access to the library where jutsu and other ninja-related texts were kept, he found that simply by taking on the appearance of a ninja he was able slip in without incident. Well most of the time, anyway. It only took once being caught for Naruto to realize that although his henge could fool civilians easily, experienced ninja could see through it with only a glance. By only visiting during hours when most ninja were busy, though, and changing his appearance each time he entered, Naruto was able to explore the library's vast wealth of knowledge to his heart's content. From this moment onward, Naruto would seek out any knowledge he could gain, as he began his early training to become a powerful ninja.

-end flashback-

Naruto now lay in the soft grass of a forested area of Konoha, enjoying the peace and quiet. His show in town earlier wasn't his first, and it wasn't solely for his amusement. First of all, it helped keep up the image of the mischievous troublemaker he had worked hard to build up. In the many years he had been visiting the library, Naruto had begun secretly working to grow stronger each day, while learning jutsu and techniques no normal academy student should know. It would be odd, though, for someone with no access to information, or even tools, to have such knowledge or strength, and so Naruto had created an image of himself that led others to believe he was just an overactive troublemaker with dreams of becoming a ninja. Another reason for his charades in town was to practice some of what he had learned. Over the years Naruto had perfected his henge through continuous use, and now it was nearly impossible for even the most skilled jounin to see through it. Today's chase, though, was just a standard exercise using one of his older techniques, the Kage Bunshin. Learning it took a bit more effort than simply sneaking into the library, and it had taken him over a month's worth of practice to create a suitable clone, even though he was now capable of making many, many more. It was also a great chance to put his acting to use, by interacting with the citizens afterward. Simply looking like someone wasn't too useful if you weren't able to take on their personality.

As the sun began to set, Naruto found himself drifting off to sleep in the familiar clearing. He never slept at his apartment anymore, since there were villagers that went to such lengths as to attack him in his sleep. That was all behind him though, as he rarely appeared in the town streets as himself anymore, except to show villagers that he was still around and causing trouble. Even his classmates at the academy only saw him during class, if he even showed up. Despite being far beyond the level of a genin by now, he still kept up his façade in front of the class, showing up late, goofing off, and getting grades that made even the worst students seem intelligent. Tomorrow, though, he would need to show just enough to pass the test and become a genin.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" The call signaled it was Naruto's turn to enter the testing room. At a table at the front of the room sat Iruka-sensei, who taught Naruto's class, as well as another teacher, Mizuki.

"For this test, Naruto, I'm going to need to you make a bunshin. If you can make more than one, that's great, but you need at least one to pass." Iruka gave a small smile of encouragement, hoping Naruto would be able to pass. His bunshin during class had been less than impressive, though Naruto had promised him to practice until today's test. With any luck, the boy would manage to get a clone today.

Naruto gave a quick nod, and began focusing chakra. A cloud of smoke signaled he had finished, and Iruka awaited nervously for the smoke to clear. When it did, two Narutos stood grinning confidently. "See Iruka-sensei? I told you I'd be ready for this test."

"Congratulations, Naruto! You pass!" Iruka said, handing Naruto one of the hitai-ate on the table. Mizuki's expression of distaste didn't go unnoticed to Naruto, who laughed a bit just to upset the teacher more.

"I'll see you here tomorrow for the team assignments. Make sure to be on time." With that, Iruka prepared to call in the next student.

As Naruto left the classroom, he received a few different reactions to his new hitai-ate, mostly surprise, a couple congratulatory, and one elated, which belonged to the shy Hyuuga girl he had discovered often shows up to watch him train. While on guard at first, he eventually decided to just let her watch. At least in her case, it was fine for someone to know what he was really capable of.

"Congratulations, Naruto-kun." She managed out, keeping her eyes focused on the ground in front of her. Despite talking to her crush often since he first approached her two years ago, she still became nervous when his attention was on her.

-flashback-

Naruto sat propped up against a tree at one of his more frequented training grounds, breathing heavily from his workout. He looked at the marks he had placed on his wrists and ankles. Each was a simple-decoration: a square containing a diamond, with a thin ornate design surrounding the square. It wasn't the first seal he had tried to make, but it was the first one that worked the way he had meant it to, adding an adjustable amount of weight to make his training more effective.

As he began to recover, he felt a small chakra signature close by. Crap, I had wanted to keep my training a secret. Maybe they didn't see me though. Standing up, he looked around in the direction he had felt someone. While he couldn't see anyone, he still felt a presence, and so quietly approached to investigate. Naruto almost collided with someone as he reached a group of trees, a small 'Eep' catching his attention in time to avoid colliding with the girl as she tried to sneak away.

"Oh, hey there, Hinata." Naruto said casually, recognizing her from class. When turned around and began fidgeting with her fingers, he tried again. "What brings you out here? Did you come to train?"

"I-I was…I w-was just…" she tried to stammer out, still facing away. "…j-just…w-watching…"

"Oh, that's fine then." He replied, much to her relief. In truth, he wasn't really fine with it, since he went to a lot of trouble to hide what he could do. Still, he couldn't help but trying to calm the girl down a bit. "Hey! Why don't you train with me?" With this, he could do some easy cool-down exercises, without causing much suspicion.

"I-I'm sorry!" the girl rushed out, much to Naruto's surprise. "I h-have to go now!" Hinata hoped the apology would suffice, as she sped off, clearly embarrassed to have been spotted. Shrugging it off, Naruto sat down to rest a bit longer before continuing his taijutsu practice. The weights would take some getting used to.

Only a day later, Naruto was about to begin his morning workout again when he felt a familiar presence, from the same place as yesterday. Looking over, he saw a head of raven-colored hair poking out from behind a tree. As her eyes met his, the head quickly disappear behind the tree, but the presence remained.

"Oi, Hinata!" Naruto called out, jogging over to her. "Back again?"

"…B-because you s-said….it was f-fine…" she trailed off, looking off to the side.

"Of course it's fine." Naruto repeated. If nothing else, he was glad to be able to talk with someone without using a false face and personality. The girl didn't show any signs of hating him either, so he could trust her with at least this much. Grabbing her hand, he began pulling her into to the clearing, which caused a deep blush to cover the confused girl's face.

"C'mon, you can train with me today." He said, grinning back at her.

"B-but, I'm not s-strong enough." Hinata answered, still letting him lead her to the middle of the training ground.

"Then we'll just have to fix that." Naruto paused for a moment, thinking. "You're a Hyuuga, so you use taijutsu, right?" Still a bit overwhelmed, the girl gave him a small nod. "I've got just the thing, just a minute." Hinata watched as Naruto ran over to bag of training supplies he had brought with him. After digging through it for a minute or so, he returned holding two different size brushes and a flask of ink.

"Found them. We should probably sit down, this will be easier." Hinata was unable to respond, as he mind still hadn't caught up with all that was happening. "Hinata? You okay?" He waved a hand in front of her face, catching her attention. "H-huh?" She stuttered out, not having heard him.

"We should sit down, it'll be easier." He said again. Seeing her confused look, he held his arm out, and pulled back his sleeve enough to reveal the design he had painted on his wrist. "It's a weight seal. You've heard of using weights for training, right?" Naruto asked, receiving another nod in return. "Since you use taijutsu, the extra speed and power you get by training with weights should be a good place to start your training." Seeing she understood, they found a comfortable patch of grass and sat down to begin work.

Hinata struggled to stay focused as the boy she admired held her arm, with the sensation of the brush lightly passing over her skin only making her efforts more difficult. She watched as his eyes moved from her wrist to his own, then to a paper he had beside him, and then back to her wrist. After several minutes had passed, he set the brush down, signaling he had finished. "Now, just two more on your ankles." He said with a smile, giving her an excited look. For the first time he was able to share something he knew with someone, and sealing in particular, it seemed he was going to really enjoy.

Realizing they weren't yet done, Hinata convinced him to break for a couple minutes, which she used to calm herself down. Once she thought she was ready, she sat with her legs out, and waited for him to continue. It felt odd to her, as in her family she would often have to sit crossed-legged, or with her legs tucked under her, as was required of the formal Hyuuga clan. As Naruto began work on the seals, she had to keep her mind off the current situation, not wanting to faint and ruin her current luck.

Several more minutes passed in silence as the Naruto repeated the same procedure, taking care to draw the seals just right. It was a bit harder, he noted, drawing them on someone else than it was on himself. Still, he completed the seals, and satisfied with the results, let Hinata know the process was finished.

Standing up, they were both pleased to see that the seals were safely hidden beneath her jacket and pants. Hinata was grateful she could receive such a gift from the one she admired so, but was a bit embarrassed to have the markings displayed. Naruto just didn't want to have people questioning where she got the seals.

After taking a moment to more closely admire Naruto's handiwork, a thought came to Hinata's mind. "N-Naruto, they d-don't feel heavy…"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot to explain. You have to put chakra into them to make them heavier or lighter. That way, you can change the weight without changing the seal. Try it out."

Hinata took the chance to channel some chakra into the symbol on her right wrist, and was nearly thrown off balance by unexpectedly sudden change in weight, earning a laugh from Naruto, as he had done the same thing when trying the seals out the day before.

Hinata turned around again, hiding her face from embarrassment. Still curious about the seals, though, she put a good amount of chakra into each of them and tried walking around. Seeing the obvious strain as she slowly started walking, Naruto stopped her.

"Hang on for a moment. You should start off with a comfortably small amount of weight, like I am. If the weights are so heavy you can't move around easily, they'll do more harm than good." Hearing this, she looked up at Naruto before adjusting her weights again. "Even if they feel too light to change much, you'll still notice the effects after training." Naruto told her. The instruction reminded her that they still hadn't begun training, and Hinata once again became nervous about spending the morning with her crush.

Hinata forced her hesitation down though, replacing it with newly found determination. Naruto had given her a chance to get stronger, and for his sake, she wasn't going to let it go to waste.

From that day onward, they met at the training ground whenever Hinata could make the time. Although she wasn't exactly being secretive about her training, as she learned Naruto was, her results weren't easy to see. Other than the improvement in her Jyuken technique, her physical abilities remained hidden by the ever present weight she had to move with. In most cases, results would still show through, even with weights, but Hinata had resolved to increase her weights with each chance she got, quickly gaining more weight than Naruto, who only increased his when he could no longer see results from his current weights. If anything, any observer would think that her movements were slowing down instead of improving.

As days passed, the two continued to train together. As much time as they spent training, though, they didn't really meet outside of the training. It was enough though; For Hinata she was content just being able to spend nearly every day with him, while Naruto had grown to think of her as someone very important to him. Other than old man Hokage, she was the only person who treated him kindly.

Most of their workouts consisted of running, exercises, and sparring. At times Naruto would show up with a new jutsu or seal he wanted to try to learn, and Hinata would help him with whatever she could. To Naruto's surprise, Hinata would also spend a large portion of her time running, an activity which didn't seem befitting of the small Hyuuga girl. Naruto would do his best to assist Hinata in training her byakugan, expanding its focus and range. Shadow clones were really helpful, as they would spread out in all directions to provide Hinata with a challenge. After explaining the shadow clones to her, he also let her know that he had a couple of them reading in the library while he trained everyday, which was important in learning new techniques, despite how uncomfortable it was to have so much information flow into him when they dispelled.

Things continued this way for the next couple of years as they moved up in the academy, finally reaching the day of their graduation test.

-end flashback-

A lone man with a ruff face wearing a long tattered brown cape entered a small ramen stand known as Ichiraku ramen. Taking a seat, he gained the attention of the man behind the counter.

"What can I get you today?" Teuchi asked, not one to miss a chance to have a new customer. A moment of silence before the man looked up, showing a tired-looking yet serious face. "I'll have 20 bowls of Miso Ramen, please."

Teuchi tried making an annoyed expression, but couldn't keep from cracking a grin. "Oi, Naruto, I can never tell it's you until you order." Seconds later, the short blonde boy sat where the stranger had once been, with an amused expression on his face. "Sorry about that, just practicing. Ninjas have to be able to disguise themselves, you know."

Hinata had left for home just after graduation, and so Naruto decided it would be a good time for dinner. He could think of no better dinner to celebrate his graduation than his favorite ramen stand, which he visited frequently, with a different appearance each time. "Notice anything different today?" Naruto asked eagerly, waiting for his meal to cook.

Teuchi nodded, smiling. "You've got a hitai-ate now. I guess that means you've graduated from the ninja academy."

"Yep!" Naruto confirmed loudly, adjusting his hitai-ate for emphasis. "I'm officially a ninja starting today. A true Genin of Konoha." As his food was placed before him, Naruto began shoveling bowl after bowl into his mouth, finishing it all in mere minutes before paying with some of his allowance and heading back to the forest to get some sleep.

Naruto awoke to a damp feeling and the faint sound of dripping water. Did it rain? Opening his eyes to be met with only darkness, an ominous feeling let him know that he was no longer in the forest where he had fallen asleep. Instantly on alert, he leapt to his feet and got a better look at his surroundings. He found himself in what seemed to be a poorly-lit, partially flooded hallway, with pipes running along the walls and many other hallways branching out from the current one. It was down one of these halls that he could feel a powerful chakra, familiar, yet somehow different than any chakra he had felt before.

Following the feeling, Naruto soon found himself in a large room, staring at a gate so large he couldn't see the top through the darkness. As he stared at the seal in the middle of the door, he already had small idea of where he might be, but was still startled into jumping back as two large glaring eyes opened within the darkness of the gate.

"Hello, Uzumaki-san." a loud voice bellowed, confirming Naruto's suspicions. The way the creature stressed his name made Naruto a bit nervous, but the tone of the voice didn't seem to contain the hatred or killing intent he had expected. "Glad to finally meet you, my increasingly interesting keeper."

"So, it's true then…" Naruto half-asked, looking up at the beast's eyes unwaveringly. "That strange seal on my stomach…you're the Kyuubi."

Seeing the boy before him tense up as he spoke, the beast let out an amused laugh. "Yes, they call me that. Do you fear me, boy? You who has suffered naught but pain because of me, do you despise me, boy?"

Naruto stood silent, unsure of how to answer. Despite all of the torture he had to endure when younger, his current life wasn't…bad. He had graduated from the academy and become a full-fledged ninja. He had people he cared about, such as the old man, and Hinata. Teuchi and Ayame at Ichiraku's were always nice to him, and even Iruka-sensei cared about him. Although many villagers still glared at him and did anything they could to make him unhappy, he didn't really hate them either. After talking to so many of them over the years while in henge, he had to admit that although their hatred was misguided, it wasn't unreasonable. He knew enough to understand that not everyone is strong enough to move past losing friends and family, and that feelings always betray reason.

"I neither fear nor hate you." was the boy's eventual response, his face unchanging, and his eyes remaining locked on the beast's. This elicited another laugh from the fox.

"I see, I see." The fox looked contemplative for a moment before continuing. "For now, know that you may call me Haru. When next we meet, I hope we can have a more lengthy discussion."

Before he could respond, a strange feeling swept over Naruto, as he found himself lying in the grass where he had fallen asleep. With the sun already peeking over the horizon, there would be just enough time for some light training before heading to the academy. With so many thoughts swimming about in Naruto's head, something like training would be a good way to settle his mind. He could work out the details some other time.

"Team seven: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Inuzuka Kiba." Iruka announced, getting various reactions from the room. "Next up is team eight: Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto turned back to wave to Hinata, who was clearly relieved to hear they were teamed together. Catching the eye of their other team member, Shino only gave a simple nod before returning his focus to the front where Iruka had just called the last couple of teams.

"Now, your jounin sensei will all be here soon to introduce themselves. Until then, feel free to visit with your new teams." As Iruka opened the door to leave, he found one of the jounin already arrived, and about to enter. "Perfect timing, Kurenai-san. I wish Kakashi-san could be as prompt." Kurenai sweat-dropped at the comment, knowing all too well the infamous habit of her colleague.

Walking up to the podium, she coughed once to get the class' attention. "I'll be in charge of team eight. The three of you, come with me." Watching as three students stood up, she followed them out of the room. Leading them out of the building, she signaled for them to take a seat on one of the benches out front, which they did. Naruto was quick to sit in the middle of the bench. For some reason even he wasn't too sure of, he wanted to be sitting next to Hinata, and by taking the middle, she would end up next to him regardless of where Shino sat.

"I'm Kurenai-sensei, and I'll be the jounin-sensei in charge of your team." she started politely. "Let's start by introducing ourselves. You should already know each other from academy classes, but now that you're a team, you'll be relying on each other, so you need to learn a great deal more about each other. Let's start with Hinata, since I've spoken to her once before at her house."

"Ano…my name is Hyuuga Hinata…my family uses mainly taijutsu to attack an opponent's internal organs…we have a kekkei genkai, Byakugan…it allows us to see in all directions…and through solid objects."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm gonna become Hokage!" Naruto proclaimed as he began his introduction, earning a muffled giggle from the girl beside him, and an amused smile from Kurenai. "I don't have any particular fighting style, but I'd like to think of myself as fairly knowledgeable."

"Aburame Shino." the boy stated, meaning to end his introduction with that, but continuing when motioned to by Kurenai. "My clan uses insects to disable opponents, as well as for scouting and tracking."

Satisfied, Kurenai began her own introduction next. "My name is Yuuhi Kurenai, and I'm a genjutsu specialist. Even a powerful opponent can be beaten if their mind isn't as strong as their body. Now, as you may or may not have guessed by a some of your abilities, this team was constructed with the intent of becoming a tracking and information gathering team…" She paused to look over the boy in the center of the bench once more. "Naruto, despite your academy scores, the Hokage insisted that you would be a valuable asset to this team. While I had planned on taking the Inuzuka boy instead, I trust the Hokage's judgment, and expect you to serve this team well." A nod from Naruto showed that he understood. "Before we get too comfortable, though, I think I should tell you that although you've graduated from the academy, you must pass one more test as a team before you can officially join a genin team. I have some preparations to make before then, so we'll be having the test tomorrow. I'll meet you all here at sunrise."

Naruto sighed as he walked alongside Hinata to the training ground. Old man Hokage must have found out at least some of what he was up to. He didn't mind too much as long as the Hokage didn't ask him to stop, but he was curious as to how much the Hokage knew. After all, this was something he had started years ago, and by now it had grown into something Naruto was quite proud of.

Far from Konoha, outside of a small town on the western border of Fire Country, a young blonde genin resembling one Uzumaki Naruto walked slowly toward town, carefully observing his surroundings. As he walked, the kage bunshin made a hand seal, and promptly took on the look of an older traveler, wearing an odd hat. Arriving, he began walking around town, making a mental map of the area, taking note of any shops, landmarks, or persons of interest. After a few hours of simply walking around, he decided he was familiar enough with this town to move on to the next step. Again making his way through town, the clone this time stopped to talk to various people, such as shop owners, town guards, and anyone he could strike up a casual conversation with. As the sun began to set, the clone could feel his chakra supply dwindling. It wouldn't be long before he had to disperse. After one more stroll around town, the clone dispelled itself, sending his newly acquired knowledge not only back to its owner, but also to the many other clones throughout the continent.

The next morning came quickly, and Naruto now found himself arriving at the front of the academy just as his new teammates were arriving as well. "Good morning, Naruto-kun." Hinata greeted him.

"Morning Hinata." He replied, being used to seeing her this early when they would meet for morning training. Kurenai, who had already been waiting when they arrived, decided now was as good of a time as any to start.

"Today's test will be to examine your information gathering abilities, as well as your ability to work together as a team." Holding up a blank seal sticker with her signature on it, she let them each look at it closely before putting it away. "For your test, I have placed three of these somewhere within the village walls. Your task will be to locate all of them before the deadline. As with the one you just saw, they are all signed by me, so you won't be able to make a fake one." Seeing that one or more of them had questions, she continued. "None of them are indoors, so don't go breaking into anyone's property to look for them. You have five hours to find all three of them and report back here." she added, motioning to a timer sitting on a nearby bench. "If you have any further questions, you may ask them, but the test begins now."

Having no further questions, the three moved away a bit before huddling together to plan out a strategy. "Ano, how should we begin?" Hinata asked. Even with their abilities, Konoha was a large village, and wouldn't be easy to search.

Grinning, Naruto pulled out two pieces of paper and handed one to each of his teammates. Seeing they wanted an explanation, he continued. "From what Kurenai-sensei told us yesterday, I was expecting a test like this for a potential tracking team like us. After we left yesterday, I sent a clone to follow sensei to see just what her 'preparations' were. Those papers are maps I drew up with the exact location of a seal marked on each. We'll split up, and each being one seal back here."

Shino showed what was likely a surprised expression behind his high collar and dark glasses. "I see your capabilities exceed what you chose to show us in class, Naruto." Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment at the praise, but stopped as Shino continued. "I had also suspected such a turnout, and had one of my kikai bugs track Kurenai last night as well. It seems this team will function well as a unit."

The look on Kurenai's face was a priceless combination of shock and confusion, as team eight stood before here with all three seals after only twenty minutes had passed. "Ne, Kurenai-sensei, don't you think it was a bit unfair to expect newly graduated genin to reach a seal on the underside of a bridge?" Naruto asked, in an innocently mocking tone.

"W-well, I must say, you've all proven yourselves beyond my expectations." Kurenai congratulated, regaining her composure. "You all pass. Team eight will begin missions starting tomorrow. Now, as your new jounin-sensei, allow me to treat you all to lunch…err…breakfeast." She corrected, taking note of the unexpectedly early time.

"I want ramen!" Naruto shouted instantly, waving his arm in the air. Kurenai looked at the boy hesitantly before turning to the other two as if to ask their opinion. "I'm okay with ramen, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata answered her apparent question. "Ramen would indeed provide an adequate amount of nutrients for the time being." Shino added, obviously concerned with different aspects of the decision than the others. Unable to really decline their decision, Kurenai accepted, and they all headed to the nearest ramen stand, Ichiraku's.

A/N: That's all for the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it enough to look forward to what's to come. Remember to leave a review with any comments, concerns, or questions you may have, or to just let me know what you thought.