"War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend." - J.R.R. Tolkien
Honorbound. Chapter 1. A Mask Removed.
A small, frail looking boy ran down a wide street, frantically searching left and right for a way out. Mere hours separated the current moment from his 9th birthday, but there was no celebration to be found. Not now, not ever. He finally found a narrow alleyway to his right and swiftly ducked in and slid down the wall behind a dumpster, sitting down to catch his breath. Sounds of footsteps and taunting could be heard passing by the alleyway, further down the main street.
"Why do you hide your true nature?" a strange, masculine voice echoed down the alleyway. The boy's eyes widened and showing his dilated pupils, he glanced at the shadows noticing a tall but slender silhouette, leaning against the wall.
"Calm down, boy, if I wanted you hurt, I'd have done so long before you heard or saw me," the stranger assured, but the boy was wary of trusting the man, rightfully so.
"W-what do you want?!" the boy asked.
"To help. We both know your true potential lies far above childish pranks and that carefree persona you wear as a mask. You'll find that if you keep hiding behind that mask, you may just see yourself become the idiotic fool you want others to think that you are," the man said coldly, "Go to the Hokage Residence tonight, check entries 7 through 12. The first five entries will be sealed, a drop of your blood should do the trick, you can take those, nobody will notice their disappearance. The last one mustn't leave the building, just reproduce the first few pages on this scroll," the man instructed and threw down a small scroll, complete with a brush and ink set, all tied together with some string.
To say that Naruto was shocked would be a huge understatement. Not only did this man supposedly want to help him, but he had complete faith in his abilities to infilitrate the Hokage's private archives.
"Everything will be revealed in due time. In the meantime, grow, become stronger and hopefully we will meet again," the man said with finality before disappearing, the only trace of him ever being there being a gentle breeze.
And it was so that Naruto found himself sneaking around the streets, laying low and narrowly avoiding the occasional patrol. The Kyūbi Festival was the highlight of the evening and most Shinobi were either celebrating or mourning their fallen, this included the Hokage, who was currently comforting a certain masked Jōnin at the Memorial Stone.
Lighting an oil lamp, Naruto carefully entered the archives, which were thankfully guarded by only two guards, both too inexperienced and tired to notice the stealthy youngster as he made his way through the stacks of books and scrolls. Reaching the earlier entries, which were located at the very back, he rifled through until he found what he was looking for. As promised, the first five entries were sealed. To Naruto's inexperienced eyes, the circular patterns looked mesmerising, but they seemed familiar for an inexplicable reason. He bit his finger, grimaced and then swiped across all the seals.
A faint glowing lit up the spirals, before dimming out and leaving the papers an unblemished yellow, evident of their decrepit. Naruto quickly rifled through the opened scrolls and a lone sheet fell to the ground. The boy bent down to grab it and turning it, he gasped. A lone tear escaped his eyes and fell on the picture in his hands. A tall, blond man with sparkling blue eyes smiled alongside his gorgeous red-haired wife, who was holding a baby with the most inquisitive look in his equally sparkling, blue eyes.