Hello all! I have returned! This time I am here to stay! I am still working on and tweaking the next chapter of A Hidden Legacy for all those who read that story! Read my bio for more information on that!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything pertaining to the series.
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The Kyuubi Festival was one of the most celebrated holidays of not just the Leaf Village but the entire Fire Nation. The Festival which lasted a full week reached its climax on October Tenth the day the Fox was defeated. This great day was celebrated with parades, a carnival, and all other types of fun activities that brought the entire nation out in full force to the shinobi village. The very atmosphere was one that was filled with joy, laughter, and celebration all except for one lonely individual.
Naruto Uzumaki was born on the very day the fox was defeated but he never got the chance to truly celebrate it. Unlike the other children in the orphanage who would go out and enjoy the festival with the orphanage staff he was always confined to his cold little room on the other side of the building. This year though things would change and he would do everything he could to experience the festival.
Naruto was a very intelligent child, which would come as no surprise to those who knew his lineage, and he had watched and waited patiently for his chance. When he heard the tell tale sounds of the other children leaving the building and the door locks being latched he eagerly made his way to the center of his little room and undid a lose floor board. Here is where Naruto kept the few mementos that he treasured. He had learned early on that the only way to keep the caretakers from taking his things or the other children from breaking them was to hide them.
Naruto had a very odd collection of things in his secret spot. He had several books that the other children had tossed away, a few broken toys that no one else wanted, and a thick blue blanket that looked like it had seen better days, a few pencils, and a small notebook. The only thing that he took out though was the small kitchen knife he had hidden under the blanket.
Making sure he covered his hiding spot again he used his knife to slide in between the door itself and the frame and slowly dragged it upward. He could feel each one of the locks sliding back and before long he had all three locks undone. Being very careful Naruto slowly crept his way down the hall, once he was sure no one else was in the building he made his way to the front door. Hesitantly he put his hand on the doorknob and turned it. As he pushed the door open he could never have guessed what tonight would bring him and his future.
As Naruto walked around the village he began to get the feeling that he wasn't exactly welcome. He had never lingered outside of the orphanage long or when people were around and he began to think the looks he was receiving were the reason why. At first things were great! He had never seen so many people before and everyone just seemed so happy. Reality hit him like an ice cold slap in the face when he wondered into one of the shops that were giving out free candy. Naruto had never had candy before but had often heard the other children beg for some so he figured it had to have been good. The only problem was as soon as he walked in it seemed like time had stopped and everyone had become statues. Then the looks came, even at a young age Naruto could tell those looks were anything but pleasant.
This continued everywhere the young blonde went until he decided to just go back to the orphanage. Everywhere he went people glared at him or ignored his existence. Naruto knew it couldn't have been anything that he had done since he was rarely let out of the orphanage and when he was he was always alone. Naruto wasn't paying attention to where he was going and ended up walking down the wrong street by the time the young blonde looked up he was thoroughly lost. Starting to panic like most children the boy tried to run back the way he came and ended up bumping into a man.
"I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going" he mumbled before trying to get up and run around the man but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"It's okay kid what are you..." the man never finished his sentence as he got a good look at the boy who had bumped into him. Pure unadulterated rage gripped the man fiercely as he stared down at the demon that had taken away his family. His grip on the shoulder of the child grew painful and he could tell he was hurting the demon by the uncomfortable look on his face. For awhile he had thought the demon had died off but here it was in the flesh walking around freely while his family rotted in the grave.
"Look what we have here boys. Seems like the little demon is lost, what do you say we help him find his way home?"
Naruto could tell the man didn't mean him any well meaning. He could tell when the man got a good look at him; his face took on the same appearance as the other people he had met except it was more potent. Then the hand on his tiny should gripped him with so much force he thought it would break. He began to struggle in earnest when the other drunken men in his group all looked at him with sheer hatred. Seeing no other choice Naruto stomped on the man's foot and bit his wrist.
"Goddamit!"
Hearing the enraged man roar in pain Naruto took the chance to get himself free and start running. It wasn't long before the man recovered and him and his cohorts began to chase the boy throughout the streets of the Red Light District. Naruto for his age was a very agile and swift child but even he was no match for an adult. Not knowing where he was going Naruto took a turn and found himself stuck at a dark alley, trying to hurry and get out he found his way blocked by the group of men who had been chasing him for the past ten minutes.
"Got you know you little fuck! We're here to pay you back for all the pain you've put us through when you killed our families and friends. We are finally going to finish you little shit!" he yelled spittle flying from his mouth in rage. Naruto could tell by the look in his eyes and the others that they were going to hurt him. He didn't understand why the thought he was a demon or that he had killed anyone.
"I'm not a demon I'm a boy! Please just leave me alone! I didn't kill anyone!" he yelled tears in his eyes as the men advanced closer to him knowing there was no way he would be able to fight them off. Deciding to not go out without a fight Naruto waited as the first man began to get closer to him. The first man lunged for him hands raised towards his neck.
Following his instincts Naruto dropped to the floor as the man flew over him and crashed into the cement wall. He didn't have time to watch as the men all began to come for him. Naruto avoided a few but a solid punch to his stomach had him gasping for air as fresh tears poured from his eyes. Before he could stand a veritable horde of blows rained down upon him. He couldn't even hear the men as they yelled obscenities at him as they beat him.
Bones were snapping in the young malnourished blonde, bruises began staining his body black and blue, blood seeped out the cuts he had gotten and his mouth from too many punches to his face. As he began to fade into unconsciousness he felt something deep inside him seemingly snap before he screamed and his vision was engulfed in bright blue.
[hr]
The Hokage was standing on top of the biggest float in the Kyuubi Festival Parade. As he watched the people celebrate his mind couldn't help but wonder to the young Kyuubi Container and legacy of his successor. He hadn't been able to truly check in on the child considering Konoha was still recovering from the destruction the Kyuubi had wrought upon their village and the loss of Minato and Kushina. As he turned to wave at a gathering of citizens he caught sight of a bright blue explosion in the distance. Nodding to his ANBU they sped off towards the sight of the explosion.
As he neared the explosion sight a foreign feeling seemed to pass through him signaling to his ANBU they nodded as they felt the same. Landing in the area he was surprised to find men scattered all over the area. They had lingering traces of the blue energy on their bodies. It certainly didn't feel like anything he had encountered before but it had seemingly knocked out all the men in the area.
Suddenly a low moaning sound broke the silence of the Hokage and his ANBU. They all turned to see further in what was once an alley a small form laying on the ground. Immediately the bright blonde hair gave the Hokage a sinking feeling in his stomach. He watched as one of the ANBU picked him up and brought him towards the Hokage. He felt his heart sink and his stomach drop out from under him. It was just as the Hokage feared the child that was beaten and bloody all over was the legacy of his successor.
"Take him to the hospital immediately! The rest of you round up these men and take them to Ibiki and Inoichi and see what they can learn what happened here." he ordered and the ANBU rushed to obey. As they all left with their assigned duties the Hokage surveyed the area. What was once a small and narrow alley of about 4 meters wide had now become a large demolished area circular in dimension about 30 meters wide in every direction. The buildings that were once in the area were reduced to little more than debris. He had no idea what could have happened but he had an inkling that Naruto had somehow caused all this to happen. The only thing he could do now was wait for the T&I Department to find out what happened here but he had an inkling Naruto might have inherited more than just his looks from his parents.
[hr]
Naruto woke up and felt terrible. The young blonde tried to recall where he was and how he had gotten there. Then his face immediately fell when he remembered that he had passed out when those men had attacked him. He still didn't understand why they had attacked him and had been so mean to him. He remembered though passing out and a great blue light. He looked around and saw that he was in an all white room laying on a very nice bed. He knew he couldn't be back at the orphanage then since he didn't remember there being an all white room there and besides if there was one it wouldn't have stayed white for long and the bed was much too nice compared to the one he had back at the orphanage. He tried to sit up but a sharp pain in his stomach made him cry out and then whimper in pain. Before he could do anything someone walked in through the door.
Naruto stared as the man walked inside and closer to his bed with a bright smile on his face. The man was a giant, well at least to Naruto he was, with bright green almond shaped eyes, pale skin, and jet black hair that was cut short with a few spikes in the front. He wore shinobi style black pants with a dark grey sleeveless shirt that had a black short sleeve mesh shirt under it. He didn't wear the typical shinobi sandals but instead had on some combat boot with a metal tip. The most eye catching thing though was the long white coat he had on that had the kanji for Healer and Doctor sewn in green on his left and right breast pockets. He was immediately wary because no one who smiled at him had ever meant him any good and last night only enforced that lesson on him.
"You shouldn't try to move around too much Naruto. While you do heal a lot faster than anyone else that I have met you still need a few more days of rest. You had some serious injuries kid so I'm going to need you to not move around so much okay?"
The man had a very nice voice that seem to make you want to pay attention and do what he said but Naruto was still wary as he tried to scoot a bit further from the man which irritated his ribs and caused him to whimper in pain. Before he could even get away the man had gotten close to him and laid a growing green palm against his ribs. Naruto was about to move away again but was amazed because the pain was fading away.
"What is that?" he mumbled lowly. The Doctor being a shinobi and healer heard the boy and merely smiled and continued healing him before moving out of his immediate space which Naruto was grateful for.
"Maybe I should introduce myself first. I'm Doctor Riku Hikari I'm what you would call a Medical Ninja. What I just did was a combination of the Shosen no Jutsu and a Pain Reliving Jutsu. This was to boost the healing of your ribs and relieve the pain you were feeling." he said while going around and checking Naruto's charts.
"I was the one to tend to you when they brought you in kid. You had some serious injuries but your body had already started to try and heal itself but it was still very sluggish so I decided to heal you myself before making sure you were settled in this room."
Naruto was curious now. As a kid who literally had to teach himself how to read and write he had always been drawn to the stories about shinobi. Every story he had read about shinobi never mentioned one thing about Medical Ninja. He was intrigued and wanted to ask questions but he was still wary of the man. He opened his mouth several times but couldn't bring himself to talk to him.
Riku observed the young blonde in amusement as he made a valiant impression of fish as he continued checking the kid's stats. He had already written up his report that he would deliver to the Hokage but there was a lot wrong with the kid. He was malnourished, underweight, had weak bone density, and his chakra coils had recently undergone some kind of trauma or something. He figured he would stay with the kids until the Hokage came and checked on him.
"What do Medic Ninja's do?"
Riku was a little bit startled he had expected the boy to do a great impression of a mute while he was here but his soft little voice had caught his attention.
"Well Medic Ninja are very rare but if you ask me we are very valuable but then again I am a little biased. Well Medic Ninja are like field doctor's we make sure to keep our team alive through our various medical skills. We heal our teammates, make antidotes to poison, and provide other support roles depending on our supplementing skills. Now even rarer are the Combat Medics!" he smiled fondly thinking about his career as a Medic Ninja and the legacy from which his career was born from.
"Combat Medics? Why are they so rare?" he asked genuinely intrigued about this type of shinobi.
"Well Combat Medics are frontline fighters and superb medic ninja. The greatest of all of these are Tsunade Senju who is hailed as not only the greatest combat medic in the elemental nations but one of the most powerful ninja in the world. She single handedly created some of the most powerful medical techniques that we use today and is a superb fighter. While she isn't known to be a ninjutsu powerhouse like her teammates she is extremely strong! It's said she can use one finger to shatter whole boulders which makes her taijutsu dangerous for anyone in her way, her evasion skills are top notch, she can poison anyone without them knowing, and her genjutsu capabilities are also great. All around she is what every Medic aspires to be. She is admired all over the world for being the reason so many of our soldiers made it out of the last shinobi war alive. She found counters to poisons no one else could cure, she healed injuries many thought were fatal, she even went against Salamander Hanzo with her teammates and came out alive." he said to the young blonde whose eyes got bigger and bigger with every feat he was told of.
"She sounds amazing. If she's so awesome how come there aren't more Medic-Nin's?" Naruto was curious. If she was able to do everything Riku said then he wondered why there weren't stories of medic ninja like there were of other shinobi.
"Well Naruto becoming a Medical Ninja is extremely hard. It takes very precise chakra control to use our techniques. Then you have to study very hard in several different subjects in order to use the techniques right. You see Medical Ninja require a very precise degree of finesse that even most Genjutsu specialist don't have. Then in order to be a Combat Medic you have to be able to supplement your medic prowess with sufficient combat skills which is twice as hard."
Naruto simply nodded his head taking in all the information that Riku was telling him before he turned and looked the Doctor in the eye.
"Can I become a Medic Ninja?" he asked shyly. Riku couldn't help but grin at the young blonde wrapped in the blankets of the hospital bed. If the kid wanted to try and be a medic ninja he sure wouldn't stop him from trying. Besides becoming a medic ninja didn't mean the boy couldn't pursue other avenues later if he didn't like it or take to it.
"Of course you can but why would want to be a Medic Ninja? Why not be a Hokage? Or what about an ANBU or Hunter-Nin?" genuinely curious of why the boy would want to be a Medic Ninja.
"I want to help people. If I help people and heal them maybe they won't hate me so much and finally maybe acknowledge me" he mumbled softly into the blankets. Naruto could see the good that the medic ninja could do and figured if he could heal and save people lives maybe the people of the village wouldn't hate him anymore. Maybe they would finally see that he wasn't some kind of 'demon'.
Riku just smiled brightly at the kid while inside he was seething at the idiocy of the villagers. He himself had lost his parents, his wife, and his daughters to the Kyuubi but he knew that the boy was not the demon itself. It also helped that he was a teammates of Kushina's and understood a good bit of sealing. He felt rather grateful to the boy for keeping the beast sealed. He vowed to himself right then and there that if the boy couldn't be safe anywhere else he would be safe at this hospital.
"Of course you kid. You can do anything as long you put your mind to it understand? You need to get some more rest then I'll be back to check on you okay?" Naruto nodded before snuggling himself back into the mountain of blankets the nurses had wrapped him in. Riku left Naruto's room nodding to the ANBU guards and Nurse outside of the room and made his way to his office to meet with the Hokage.
[hr]
As soon as he opened the door he let the tension in his shoulders ease away. His office was one of his favorite areas of the hospital it was big, which was to be expected from the head of this hospital, but decorated to his taste. The floor was a nice shiny redwood without any scratches miraculously enough. Three of the four walls were outfitted with floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with all sorts of material he collected over the years and some left from previous heads of the hospital. The fourth wall was dominated by a large bay window set up with a lounge that overlooked the Western Side of the village. As he took his seat the aged Hokage moved away from the window to look at him. Riku had always hated when the old man would turn his stare on him, it's how he ended up with his current position.
"Riku, how is Naruto fairing?"
"Well he's doing a lot better. While he is healing faster than normal it's nowhere near as fast as Kushina would heal. He will have to remain in the bed for at least another day or two before I feel comfortable releasing him. He had so many broken bones and busted blood vessels it was touch and go for awhile. He still has lingering pains though." he stated clinically in order to keep his composure due to the injuries suffered by his friends' child.
"Good. Those idiots who attacked him stated that he had bumped into them and that he was lost. Inoichi reviewed their memories and their guilt is confirmed that they attacked him maliciously. The strange thing is that they all remember Naruto letting out this great pulse of blue energy that flung them back. Now from examining them the force that hit them was strong enough to cause broken bones before they hit the ground. It didn't feel like any chakra or attack that I am familiar with. Did anything show up medically in Naruto-kun?" He sat down in the chair in front of Riku's desk and looked at him with knowing eyes.
"Well that would explain an oddity we found when examining Naruto-chan. His chakra coils which aren't usually truly active until the child reaches the age of 6 and is inducted into the ninja academy were forcibly opened I would say in panic due to the attack. The strange thing it wasn't chakra, well not any chakra that I've identified, that flowed through his coils. Now I do have a theory..." he stated looking at the Hokage who nodded in order for him to continue.
Nodding in return Riku cut his palm and placed in on his desk. A seal array sprang up from where his hand was and began to glow as the kanji began to swirl. Soon the kanji began to spread and link to other seal arrays around the room before converging and becoming one huge seal array that left a tense pressure in the air. Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at the smirking young doctor.
"Before Kushina gave birth, I had her and Minato place a privacy and banishment seal in the office. It serves to evict people in the room who should not be here and keep the conversation unheard from prying ears and jutsu. Now you know Kushina had special chakra that manifested itself as Chakra Chains correct?" The Hokage merely nodded in response knowing versatile Kushina was with her special chakra.
"Well from what Kushina told me every Uzumaki Clan member had special chakra but it would usually develop itself in person specific ways. Now must Uzumaki special chakra would manifest in small ways like memory recall, greater strength, muscle density, things of that nature and only a few had special chakra that developed to advanced abilities such as Mito-Sama's Sensory Ability and Kushina's chains. I believe Naruto has developed special chakra ability. The energy he let go is not chakra but travels the coils. When doing a study on Naruto we found blue vein like lines that are now running throughout his chakra coils. Another strange thing is that unlike chakra that exits through the tenketsu, these veins seem to have made their open exit points and are three times more numerous than his tenketsu. I haven't been able to analyze the energy since it remains in under his skin but I think the rush of the special chakra creating it's on pathways drained the seal from Kyuubi somewhat which is slowing down the integration of the Kyuubi's chakra into his system." he passed a folder of his observations and theories towards the Hokage who gazed at the contents.
"Is there anything else to this situation?"
"Yes sir, when the new energy made it's on pathways it had an interesting effect on Naruto's internal physiology. Having been on a team with Kushina I had the chance to study the pathways and chakra flow of bijuu containers. Kushina never had impressive chakra control because her chakra flow was like a raging river. always tumultuous. Now Naruto, taking in the fact who his parents were, is destined to have a large chakra capacity which he does for his age, add the constant influx of Kyuubi and his chakra control is shot to hell. Interestingly enough his new pathways are altering the paths of chakra coils and the density which is aiding in controlling the flow of chakra but the most exciting part is that the new energy is like an antithesis to the Kyuubi chakra it's simply remarkable!"
"Hmmm interesting so this new energy that is constructed from his special chakra is doing what exactly to the Kyuubi's chakra?" Sarutobi rummaged around his robe looking for his pipe seeing that this conversation looked like it would take a lot longer than he anticipated.
"Well in regards to the Kyuubi's chakra it's not so much as effecting it as it is effecting the influx of purified chakra Naruto receives from the seal converting the Kyuubi's chakra in order to generate it into the child. Usually the influx of chakra is very tumultuous and throws off the flow of the chakra already in his body but the new energy is intercepting the chakra before it integrates with his regular chakra stream and for lack of a better word 'taming' it so that when it merges it's a seamless and easy merge. What this would mean for him in terms of long term effects unlike other jinchuuriki who often suffer horrendous chakra control he won't have that problem which will aid him greatly since he's seemingly decided to become a shinobi."
The Hokage had stopped looking for his pipe upon hearing that little piece of information. The look on Riku's face was way too smug for just the boy becoming a shinobi.
"What aren't you telling me Riku?" the aged Hokage stared down the much younger man who continued to smirk.
"Well Naruto-chan was very fascinated in the medical techniques I used on him when I came to check on him. He asked me all kinds of questions regarding medic ninja and their functions. Then he asked me about Combat Medic's and what they do and from there it evolved into me talking about Tsunade-Hime. Then he asked if he could become a medic ninja and of course I told him he could be anything he wanted to." Sarutobi was surprised most young boys Naruto's age when they thought of ninja they thought of super strong hero like men who used ninjutsu, taijutsu, or weapons. Being completely honest Sarutobi had figured that with his huge chakra capacity that Naruto would be a ninjutsu specialist when he got older which could still happen. Medic ninja training was by far some of the most difficult and arduous to pursue.
"Another thing I would like to bring up Lord Hokage is the fact that although Naruto was beaten so badly it was compounded upon the fact that the boy is in absolutely terrible health. The only reason he is still alive is because of the Uzumaki resiliency and life force as well as being the container for the Kyuubi. He is very malnourished, underweight, and his body is too susceptible to bad breaks in his bone structure. Something at that orphanage isn't right." Riku had a look of pure loathing on his face as he discussed his findings. Sarutobi was really worried now, if the boy was being treated horribly at the orphanage he needed to move the boy out of that environment and deal with the caretakers. He signaled to his ANBU as one left to do as he wished.
"I will be having the ANBU and the T&I Division looking into his care at the orphanage. This is such a miscarriage of justice it saddens me that he has to endure this for so long under my watch. Kushina would have my head for what he's gone through. Sometimes it pains me to protect the people of this village when they can so easily hate an innocent child." He was about to light his pipe as he would when thinking but a quiet cough caused him to look into the disapproving eyes of Riku. Resisting the childish urge to pout he put his pipe away, just like every head of the hospital before him Riku did not tolerate smoking in his domain, he hoped his son never had to spend an extended time here or he'd go crazy.
"Good the poor kids deserves some type of help. If it wasn't for the council I'd have adopted him I owe Kushina my life and her son as well. So despite anything you may find or may not find clearly he won't be returning to the orphanage correct?"
"No, that wouldn't be ideal. The council would veto any adoptions even in light of the prejudice he has faced and this current incident. I could probably get him an apartment or something similar but I worry because he is still very much a child." Sarutobi sighed before Riku pulled another folder out his desk.
"I have an idea Lord Hokage that may just work."
Sarutobi leaned forward and read through the folder before putting it down and looking Riku directly in the eye. "This might actually work."
[hr]
By the time the Hokage and Riku had finished their conversation the Hokage had a plan of action for when he had his meeting with the council. They were making their way down to where Naruto was and was surprised to hear a good bit of noise inside. Since the ANBU outside weren't concerned it couldn't have been anything threatening. The Hokage walked in first and was surprised to see three additional people in the room with the young blonde. Riku smiled coming in behind him at three of his most trusted employees were entertaining and healing the kid. He recognized the doctor sitting on the left side of Naruto's bed as one of the senior doctors who could have easily taken his job but didn't. Unohana Retsu was a very regal and statuesque woman with long black hair tied in a braid to the front. She was sitting next to Naruto who was wrapped in a mountain of blankets with only his head visible. She was helping the young blonde read from a book and explaining to him the words he was getting wrong.
Terohane Megumi was one of the most talented nurses in the hospital. She was big on aromatherapy and knew many of the healing property of plants in any form. She was setting up plants all around the room that would help to speed up Naruto's recovery. She was a very unassuming young woman. She had plain short chin length brown hair that was cut into a bob. She was very voluptuous woman with amazing curves a bit bigger than the average kunoichi which wasn't that shocking as she was an Akimichi before she married. She did have a set of spectacular hazel green eyes that always seemed filled with happiness and cheer.
Hayabusa Ryuuken was the nurse assigned to Naruto. He was one of the two head nurses in the hospital. He was nothing like what most would expect of a nurse. He was a very tall man standing at least seven feet in height built of pure muscle. He had wild bright red hair that was cut short but spiked in the front. He had bright silver eyes and was currently using a combination of medical jutsu and techniques in order to relieve pain from Naruto, reduce the swelling of his bruises, and mend the smaller fractures in his bones while explaining what he was doing to the curious blonde when his curiosity would get the better of him.
All heads turned to them as they made their presence known. All the hospital staff stopped and stood (in Unohana's case) and gave a bow to both the Hokage and Riku before continuing what they were doing. Seemingly reading his mind Unohana spoke up while Naruto continued reading.
"I just couldn't resist when all the nurses kept coming into the emergency area talking about the cute little chibi that was brought in with serious injuries I must confess my curiosity got the better of me and I had to come investigate myself. Imagine my surprise when I came in to find the room empty!" She looked down to the blonde child who was trying to sound out a word with some difficulty.
"The word is clavicle, and it is a bone that is found in the upper chest and shoulder." she outlined the bone on the young blonde who looked at his own body before retracing his own collar bone with his fingers before going back to reading about the adventures of a combat medic.
"Naturally I wondered where the child could have gone and saw a shuffle movement on the bed and low and behold there he was buried underneath a mountain of blankets. He is very shy poor thing, not that I can blame him after what happened. But I did have the foresight to bring a book that some of the patients in the children ward seem to like. It's about the adventures of a combat medic shinobi. It was so funny once he read the title he was nearly vibrating with energy and didn't waste any time in reading. He's very intelligent I've rarely had to tell him a word but I have had to explain a few of the meanings." Riku couldn't help but smile. Trust Retsu to play it off as her just being curious. Nothing took place in this hospital without her knowing of it in some type of way. He had no doubt that she brought that book on purpose knowing of the blonde's questions about being a medical ninja.
Megumi was just finishing up another section of flowers as she turned to her supervisor and Hokage. "I don't have any excuse I actually happened to stumble upon the kid by complete accident I thought this was the bathroom!" She laughed nervously much to the amusement of everyone in the room who knew her. While Megumi was a talented herbalist, nutritionist, nurse, and support specialist her sense of direction was absolutely horrible so it wasn't too much of stretch for her to stumble upon the blonde.
"Then I realized that the poor thing probably hadn't eaten so I made him a nice little meal and then he asked in the cutest little voice what the kanji on my shoulder meant since he hadn't really seen it before!"
Naruto blushed and tried to duck even further under his blanket mountain to hide but Retsu pulled his head back out and pointed back to the book so he could finish reading.
"So I told him it stood for Herbalist and he asked what that meant. So I showed him! I unsealed some of the plants that I knew would help in his recovery and told him all about what they were good for and where they could be found. He seemed very interested so I just couldn't help but set up some more plants! It's always nice to hear someone be genuinely interested in your work you know?" she smiled at the still blushing blonde before unsealing a tea set from another set of her scrolls. Naruto glanced wide eyed again at the display. Despite having seen her do it before he still was amazed. Retsu had already told him it was something called Sealing Arts and she would tell him all about it later. Sarutobi eyed the blonde who watched Megumi began to make one of her specialty blends of tea, he could tell the boy was fascinated by the sealing she performed which when he considered the boy's parents it didn't come as a surprise. Riku merely nodded when the Hokage looked at him to acknowledge he had seen the interest the blonde had shown.
Ryuuken had just finished the last of his healing for the blonde and rechecked the boys' charts and vitals again before turning to address the Hokage and Riku. It never ceased to amaze Riku to see a man as big and powerful as Ryuuken be so at ease and move so easily in a hospital room. Ryuuken was one of the very few combat medics left in Konoha that was of noticeable skill. He was very adept in field medicine and was a powerful taijutsu and kenjutsu user but preferred the hospital work.
"Well I came to check on the little shrimp to make sure his healing was going okay. Happy to say that he's improving his healing factor is recovering his body at a faster rate than normal but nothing worrying. He had a few bruises that needed to be seen to and I needed to heal some of the smaller fractures again since someone decided to move despite being told not too" he glanced down to the blonde who had poked his tongue out at him when he was called a shrimp. Then tried to duck down again to avoid the look he was getting for moving around before he was told to.
"Curious little guy he kept asking what I was doing and wouldn't settle for a little kiddy answered. He was adamant to know what exactly I was doing and what it was suppose to do. He's really insightful for such a little shrimp." he tousled the blonde hair of the kid earning a surprised little squeal from his patient.
"Well thank you all for making our little patient feel welcome. I want to discuss some things with you all and a few others of the staff so be on stand by for a meeting. Right now the Hokage and I need to talk to Naruto-chan." The others all began to make their way out of the room, Naruto had tried to give the book back to Retsu but she just smiled and told him to keep it which you could tell made him very happy. Once the doors were closed and Riku activated another privacy seal the Hokage spoke to the young blonde who was staring at him with wide eyes.
"Hello there Naruto, do you know who I am?" he looked at the blonde who merely nodded before opening his mouth and replying in a surprisingly soft voice.
"Yes, you were the old man who visited me that one time when I was playing outside. You're the Hokage!" he continued to gaze at the older man in awe.
"You are correct Naruto-chan" the boy grumbled something under his breath. "What was that Naruto?" he looked at the young boy who was blushing under the stare of the older man.
"Chan is for girls!" he managed to hear the child say before he try to bury himself in his mountain again. Sarutobi chuckled to himself at the little bit of innocence the boy seemed to retain.
"I'm very sorry Naruto-kun please forgive this old man. I wanted to ask you a few questions okay?" Naruto peered into his eyes and Sarutobi felt as if his value was being determined. The minute the young blonde nodded he smiled before beginning a lengthy conversation that would change the course of events in the blonde's life.
[hr]
Naruto had been waiting for this day for over two years. He was sitting in his seat next to Shino Aburame in the Konoha Shinobi Academy vibrating with energy. He was sure others had noticed his increase in energy today. Iruka had to call for his attention four times in the past hour. He didn't mean to ignore the scarred chunin but today was THE DAY! As the bell rang to signal their release Naruto bolted over his classmates and was out the door in a full sprint to get home.
In the two years since 'The Incident' Naruto had come a long way. He was still the somewhat bashful boy he was but in two years Sarutobi, Riku, and others have brought him out of his shell. He was now the second tallest person in his class due to the diet Megumi had put him on, with the help of Retsu he always had something to read and to learn and was known in the Academy as the bookworm of the boys since he always had a book with him. Despite him spending so much time with medical shinobi he still hadn't learned a single medical technique. They often gave him extra reading dealing with medical studies but nothing that would teach him anything specific but today that all would change.
As he made his way into the courtyard of his apartment complex he could see the elderly landlady out in her garden. As he was passing by she looked up and greeted him with a warm smile and waved him over. Despite him wanting to get to the hospital as fast as possible Mrs. Chobase had always been one of his favorite people. Her husband and herself had made sure when he first moved in that he was comfortable and introduced him to all his neighbors.
"Where are you off to in such a hurry chibi?" Naruto gave her a foxy grin as she handed him a fresh apple from one of her apple trees. He took a deep bite savoring the sweet taste of the apple before replying.
"This apple is great baa-sama!" The elderly lady could only smile at the enthusiasm her youngest tenant showed just from one bite of the apple she had given him.
"Well Megumi-chan gave me some new soil last year she had made and I must say everything in the garden and orchard seem much healthier and tastier so thank her when you see her okay?" The boy nodded before remembering to answer to her previous question.
"Today is the day baa-sama! Riku made me promise if I made good grades in the Academy that I could finally start learning medical stuff! Iruka told me I was number two in the class overall and my tests were the highest so I can go to the hospital with others now and start learning!" he beamed at her as she smiled and ruffled his hair before motioning for him to go ahead and head up to his apartment.
When Naruto first met his neighbors he was very confused until the Hokage explained it all too him. In order to get over the council he had asked to locate him to his own apartment and they agreed. What the Hokage didn't mention was that his apartment complex was the one that housed almost all of the medical staff from the hospital and his next door neighbors were Riku-nii on the right and Retsu-nee on his left.
Naruto hurried up and changed out of his school clothes and put on a pair of light blue pants that cuffed at the bottom, a light blue shirt with the symbol for apprentice on the back and his medical bag that Ryuuken-nii had packed for him before he left for his mission. Making sure he had everything he needed Naruto sped off again for the hospital.
Passing through the village Naruto could see the glares and sneers directed his way but instead of faltering like he would have years ago he used that to bolster his resolve and make his way to the hospital with a grin on his face.
'I swear on my nindo I will change your looks! When I become the greatest medical ninja in the world I will change their view on me on patient at a time!'
Naruto soon found himself in front of the hospital. He took a deep breath before opening the door to Riku's office to find all his favorite people minus Ryuuken there waiting for him. Retsu gave him a chilling smile, Megumi had danger all but written in her aura, and Riku's eyes shone with the look of a predator who has seen its prey. The lone male in the group was the one to speak as Naruto closed the door behind him.
"You have done very well in the Academy in the past year Naruto. The teachers speak very highly of you, well the one that matters does. We're very proud of you but the kiddy gloves come off. You have been accepted as an apprentice and trainee in the medical ninja program despite your young age. Although we care very deeply for you we won't be pulling any punches here. Medical shinobi are not plentiful but no one can deny the skill every ninja has that passes this program. Today will mark the beginning of your journey down a road that will be paved in tears, sweat, blood, late nights, and intense studying. Are you prepared for that?" Riku wanted to be sure that this was what the blonde wanted. He knew how hard the program would be and how frustrating it would get and he wanted to give him a chance to back out and just be a regular shinobi. Naruto just glared at him with a look of steely determination and for a second he could swear he had seen Kushina and Minato standing at his sides with the same looks in their eyes.
"This is what I want Riku-sensei! Teach me everything you can! I won't stop until I'm greater than Tsunade herself!" he declared in a strong unwavering voice. Naruto had read enough about how only 5% of those who ever entered into the medical program made it out as certified medical ninja. He was determined to be a part of that 5% and no one or thing was going to stop him. Retsu was the next to speak as she walked to his side and motioned for him to follow her.
"Well said little one come now, your medical journey starts now." As she walked away with the small blonde following behind her Riku and Megumi exchange a fond look between each other before leaving the office.
[hr]
This is the introduction into my new story. I have this planned out pretty well in how I want this to work and I don't think anyone else has ever done what I plan on doing with Naruto. I hope you all enjoyed this story and be on the lookout for the update to A Hidden Legacy coming soon!
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