Prologue

(Narrator POV)

The streets of the East Sector of the Village Hidden in the Leaves were eerily silent. Not a soul walked the streets, but if one were to look closely, they would make out black blurs flitting across the rooftops and in between the alleyways. However, the streets weren't completely deserted.

A drunken pair of men wobbled along, stumbling and holding onto each other for support. They were two of the strongest men in the entire village. Both were renowned S-rank shinobi, and both had earned their place in every single bingo book in every single country. Their names: Kakashi Hatake and Gai Maito.

Kakashi stood at a good height of 6'2''. He had a well-built wiry frame that spoke of speed and strength. He had very spiky silver hair had seemed to defy gravity by shooting out in all directions. He wore his Konoha headband on his forehead such that it completely covered his left eye. He wore a standard Konoha Jonin flak jacket, a long-sleeved black shirt under that, dark blue shinobi pants, black ninja sandals, and a pair of black finger-less gloves with metal plates on the backhand. However, his main feature was that he wore a black face mask that obscured his lower face, including his nose, cheeks, and mouth.

Gai was a tall and very well-built man. He stood at a height of 6'3'', and clearly had a well-defined musculature. He has thick, black eyebrows, high cheekbones, and black hair cut in a bowl style. He wore a standard Konoha Jonin flak jacket, which was unzipped, along with a tight green elastic jumpsuit and bright orange leg warmers. He wore blue shinobi sandals.

They both had returned from an S-rank elimination mission that evening. They had cleaned up, rested, ate, and ended up taking a walk. Later on, they met some friends and fellow jonin, namely Anko Mitarashi, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuuhi, and Yuugao Uzuki. They chatted a bit and ended up going to a bar and having some fun. However, with the large pay from the S-rank mission jingling in their pockets, Kakashi and Gai had a little bit too much fun with some dango and sake. One thing led to another, and they soon found themselves drunk, wandering aimlessly in the empty streets of Konoha.

The pair made their way to the Training Ground No.44, otherwise known as the Forest of Death. It was a large circular training ground, about 10 kilometers in radius. The entire forest was bound by a very large and very strong metallic fence, with barbed wire and spikes on the top. There were exactly forty-four gates equally spaced around the fence. Inside it is forest, a river, several ponds, a lake, and a massive tower located in the center of the forest. The forest was given its moniker because of the large amount of gigantic, poisonous, venomous, and aggressive fauna and flora. If people wanted anything dangerous, this forest would give them dangerous, and some more.

As Kakashi and Gai walked around the perimeter, they heard a pained cry echo through the woods. Both perked up and listened closely. After all, it might have been the alcohol playing tricks on them. But it was no illusion, as the cry rang out once again. They shook off the alcohol using chakra, and took off with dizzying speeds towards where the sound had came from. After running for about a minute, they could sense three chakra signatures, two were low-chuunin level and one was high-kage level. They picked up the pace and moved towards the chakra signatures. Soon, they came upon a slight clearing in the dense forest. There was some action going on in that clearing.

The pair jumped on a tree that overlooked the clearing. From their hiding spot, they observed what was going down.

Two obviously drunk chuunin stood in front of a beat-up looking kid. Kakashi and Gai recognized the child on sight. This kid was no ordinary kid. He was Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, and Pariah of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Naruto had spiky blond hair, deep blue eyes, and three whisker marks on each cheek. He stood at only 3'2'', and looked malnourished. However, he had a certain hardness in his eyes, the look of a survivor, and his frame was tightly bound with compact muscle.

Right now, he was in pretty bad shape. Cuts, bruises, and scratches littered his wiry little body. His clothes were ragged, wrinkled, and torn all over. He panted and stood his ground as the two chuunin circled him, looking at him with looks of absolute hatred. Naruto didn't even flinch. He looked at the chuunin. The chuunin looked at him. After a bit of this standoff, the chuunin hurled two kunai towards Naruto.

Time seemed to slow down for the blond kid. As the kunai neared him, he instinctively closed his eyes, curled up into a ball, and covered his vitals. However, something happened which shocked even the two jonin. A large number of glowing, golden chains sprouted from his back, materializing out of Naruto's chakra. The chains moved with extreme speed, instantly interlocking into a very tight golden dome around him. With two soft pings, both of the kunai bounced off harmlessly.

Kakashi was flabbergasted. He thought with surprise, "Could he have inherited Kushina-sempai's Uzumaki bloodline?" Gai was amazed that a child as young as Naruto could have awakened the legendary Uzumaki bloodline.

The chains loosened, and separated into individual links. Naruto slowly stood up, the chains undulating behind him like some beast. When Naruto slowly turned and looked at the chuunin, the chakra chains shot towards them with blinding speed. Neither of them stood a chance. The chains speared them through, then drilled through them, tore them apart, shredded them into mincemeat, and crushed their heads. Blood, guts, bone, flesh, and brain matter flew all over the clearing. The blood-coated chains slowly retracted into the silent child, like a snake retreating into its lair.

Naruto stood there, with empty eyes, taking in what he had done. He started to tremble. His breathing became ragged and panicked; he was hyperventilating. He stared hard at his hands, which were soaked in blood, as was the rest of his body. Some bone was caught in his hair. He took a step forward, and heard a squelch. He looked down and saw a bit of brain matter. It looked like thick, pink, slimy, bloody piece of noodle. That was the final nail in the coffin for Naruto. He lurched forward, emptying whatever was in his stomach. After emptying everything and dry-heaving for a couple of seconds, Naruto dropped to the ground with a solid thump. He had fainted. Well, you couldn't blame him.

The shell-shocked jonin jumped out from their hiding place and rushed to the scene. Gai quickly picked up Naruto and started brushing off the sick and gore on him. Kakashi cleaned all of the vile malcontents off of Naruto and Gai with a Suiton: Mizurappa, and then set the pile ablaze with a shout of Katon: Karyu Endan. They stood in front of the fire with grim, sad looks, knowing that Naruto had lost his innocence that night. Gai spoke with a heavy, serious tone.

"Kakashi, we should take him to Hokage-sama. He needs medical attention, but I don't trust the hospital. They hate him as well."

Kakashi sighed. "Yes Gai, we ought to take Naruto to Hokage-sama. However, he is in Suna for a political meeting about an alliance. He will not be in Konoha for another week. Let's just take him to my house. He can sleep in one of the rooms."

Gai was still worried. "What about tomorrow or the day after? The villagers or ninja may strike out at him once again. What will you do then?"

"Naruto can stay at my place the rest of the week. It's the least I can do for him. After all, he is my Sensei's son."

"Kakashi, you don't mean that he is-"

"Yes Gai, Naruto is the son of the Yondiame. But don't go around shouting it in the middle of the night!"

"Kakashi, your secret is safe with me. But if he is his son, why doesn't Hokage-sama tell people so they treat him better?"

"Simple. Minato-sensei had countless enemies. I'd bet my life that those enemies, especially Iwa, would try to kill Naruto in order to exact revenge. Also, if Naruto was revealed that he was the son of the Yondiame Hokage, he would be pampered and spoiled, and would never live to his full potential."

"Ah, I understand. Since you are being so Youthful and Kind by letting Naruto-kun live with you, then I will help you to take care of him. If I cannot do this, I WILL DO-!" Kakashi interrupted by slamming his hand over Gai's mouth. Kakashi hissed at him.

"Gai, are you crazy!? This is still the middle of the night, and you mustn't wake up Naruto!" Gai looked sheepish.

"I'm so sorry, Kakashi! I'll never do that again! If I fail to keep this promise, THEN I WILL-Urk!" Kakashi interrupted by slamming his fist into Gai's stomach.

"Gai, last warning. If you shout again, I'll knock you out." Gai looked ashamed.

"Ok Kakashi. I won't shout. Let's get Naruto-kun to your house! Let's race! If I fail to win, THEN I WILL DO-!" Kakashi pinched a pressure point on Gai's neck, causing the man to fall to the ground. Kakashi sighed. When would the man learn?

Kakashi ended up carrying both of them to his house. He unlocked the door with a key he hung on a titanium chain, which he wore around his neck. Kakashi tiredly removed his sandals and placed them near the door, doing the same for Naruto and Gai. He then plonked Gai onto the fluffy couch and spread a bedsheet over him. He gently took Naruto to the guest room and layed him on the bed, and spread a sheet over him. Kakashi tiredly walked towards the kitchen, crammed his mouth with a chocolate bar, drank a glass of water, and headed off to bed. The last thought on his mind, before he drifted into Wonderland was:

"It's gonna be hella awkward in the morning."

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