Chapter 1 Steps towards Greatness

Before starting the fic, let me clear something first.

Kyuubi cannot and will not be controlled by some fancy pink monkey eye. It will be whole not split by the fourth Hokage

Naruto will be strong, very strong, but it's going to be gradual, not godlike power overnight. Although, HE'LL be GODLIKE after the three trip which in this fic will be Six years

Naruto will be friendly only around people he trusts; he will be indifferent and cold to others. He will be quiet, reserved and distant.

This is my first fic, so there will be some mistakes, so kindly overlook them and read forward because it gets good along the upcoming chapters.

Chapter 1 Steps towards Greatness

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The balance of power between good and evil has always been the same. If there was evil then there was good. One could not exist without the other. Both are the two sides of the same coin. Yet good is always hard to acknowledge then evil. Evil is evil. The name is more than enough to make you understand its true meaning. Let's take an assassin for example. He kills for a living, killing others to earn money to either sustain his life or if married, his family's. He may justify his reasons by saying that he too has a life to live.

Now this person may look like a great father from his children point of view, but what about the life he just took. The victim didn't just pop out thin air, he must have a family. He may be a brother to a sister, a son to a mother and father. From the aforementioned victim's family point of view, the murderer is the most evil and vile person on the face of the earth. The family could care less about the life of neither the murderer nor his reasons for killing their son.

An abnormally tall seven year old boy with shocking blond hair and clear sapphire eyes named Naruto, gazed at the full moon looming over the great village known as Konoha. A cool breeze blowing the leaves of the many trees, birds silently slept in their nests. All in all the full moon combined with the cool breeze made for a very breathtaking environment, yet he couldn't enjoy it. The young blond had his reasons for not enjoying the cool breeze, too lost in his own thoughts.

His still childish mind could not get around a certain problem.

Almost 99 percent of the population hated his guts for some reason. He was shunned and avoided like a plague but for the life of him, he could not figure out why. From his innocent child like point of view, he thought that either his parent had been traitors or had committed a heinous crime, but that couldn't be true because the old man Hokage said that his parents were the greatest ninjas of their time.

He trusted the old man too much to believe him to be a liar, yet he couldn't deny the tiny bit suspicion he had about the Hokage that he knew the answer to his two questions. Why was he hated? and who were his parents. The answers he received were disappointing to say the least. The old man had said that the people did not understand and were merely the victims of fear and hurt and to give them time.

Victims? Yeah right

He was the victim, he was the one who was hurt and yet the old man tried to justify their contempt and hatred towards him as misunderstanding. The old man said they didn't understand, understand what? He said that they were victims of fear and hurt, fear from what? Even his childish mind found that little tidbit to be incredibly stupid and laughable. He couldn't remember doing something to earn this much hatred!

Only three people really cared for him, the father and daughter duo of the Ichiraku Ramen stand and the old man with the funny hat, whom he had later found out was the leader of the village, known as the Hokage. He had met the father named Teuchi and daughter named Ayame when he had been running away from a mob hell bent on giving him his "birthday gift" in the form of a one way trip to the hospital.

The nice ramen stand owner had given him refugee to escape the mob and a bowl of ramen for free, for free! Can you believe it? Since then, he had started to take shelter there when he was chased by his monthly mob members or when he needed to eat something.

He didn't particularly liked ramen that much, but since the rest of the store owners refused to let him buy anything, he ate ramen whenever he was hungry. The owners were nice enough to give him a free bowl when he didn't have any cash on him, which was another factor for him to place them in his * help as much as I can* list.

He would help Ayame wash dishes before they closed their stand for the day. He would help the old man by sorting his paperwork and piling them in an orderly manner. This had the added benefit of giving him the knowledge about the layout of the village ranking system - the old man had already taught him basic reading and writing skill during his various visits to his office - and their importance.

Reading of the reports delivered by the numerous Ninjas of village further improved his reading.

Naruto stepped back from his balcony into his bedroom to get some sleep, to restart his dull routine of ending one day and start another. Tomorrow he would ask the Hokage to direct him towards a Taijutsu user and if memory served him right, there was one by the name of Maito Gai. A Taijutsu master, quiet a formidable one In fact. He would take the address of team ten training ground by blackmailing the Hokage if he had to.

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Hokage's Office

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage was gazing out of the window of his office. It was a clear and peaceful morning and while he detested the blasted paperwork, he was excited to start the day.

'I get the feeling that today is going to be a great and wonderful day.' He thought with a serene smile on his face. Just then, the door to his office opened and a tall blond boy calmly entered without even bothering to knock first. The boy was dressed in black pants, a simple dark red shirt, standard black ninja sandal with bandages wrapped around his ankles and wrists.

'Great. I just had to open my big mouth' he lamented dryly. While he had to admit that the boy was the perfect example of how a ninja should be, he was awfully sarcastic with a dark sense of humor.

Naruto was what you would call unique, whether good or bad depended on the person's perspective. He was far from normal both physically and mentally. In case of physical terms, first off was his height. He was tall, taller than children his age, second were the whisker marks that adorned both his cheeks and third his abnormally keen senses, sight, sound, taste, smell and touch were similar to that of the Inuzuka clan,

But whereas the Inuzuka's only specialty was their sense of smell and their dog like behavior, Naruto's specialty was in all of the five senses. He could hear the tinniest of sound, smell the faintest of smells, see the smallest of objects and it was going to keep on advancing if the slight improvement and clarity was any indication.

As for his mental case, the boy was disturbingly intelligent, had unique perception that reminded the old Hokage of his deceased successor Minato Namikaze, the boy's father.

The young blond was always ready to learn more, the kind of questions he would ask and his curious nature always left the aging Hokage speechless. Children his age shouldn't ask the questions he asked, they shouldn't have the mind capacity or power to come up with such complex questions, yet he did.

Upon showing such great promise, the Hokage saw fit to teach him the basics of all the ninja arts but only in theory except Chakra control. That was to be expected since the boy was only seven years old. The Hokage refused to teach him anything advance since he wanted the boy to have a "normal" childhood and because he couldn't show favoritism. Besides, he was going to enter the Ninja academy in about two years anyway. The Chakra control would help him in the future since good control was needed to use a technique to its maximum potential.

"Naruto my boy, how are you doing on this fine morning?" Hiruzen asked with his best grandfatherly smile while inwardly, he was crying anime tears.' I don't want to listen to his witty remarks first thing in the morning!'

The boy didn't just come to his office for simple visit anymore and if he did came, it was either to take a scroll on seals or ask for advice on topics so complicated that it made his head ache just thinking about them. Though he would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy the discussion. It's not every day a seven year old boy debates with an ancient like him.

"I am feeling just wonderful" Naruto said sarcastically and stood in front of the old Hokage with his hands crossed over his chest "In fact it's so wonderful that I came here to see you and brighten up your day with a simple request".

The way he smiled was reminiscent of a mischievous fox about to prank someone.

The Hokage sweatdropped 'In others words, you are going to use blackmail to get something from me'.

"Oh. Care to enlighten me?"

The air of mirth around Naruto vanished as soon as the words left his mouth. This was one of the many traits of the blond he liked, serious when the time asked for it and friendly only around people he trusted.

"I want you to ….."

He stopped midsentence when the door to the office opened to reveal the Hokage secretary with a bundle of documents meant for the Hokage to sign. The secretary deposited the mountain of paperwork on the desk and directed a hateful glare towards Naruto who returned her glare with a blank look on his face before leaving.

The Hokage noticed the hate-filled glare and made a mental note to have a talk with the woman. If she couldn't get over some petty hate, then she needed to be fired! Upon her exit from the door, he realized with a dry look that she had brought that damn paperwork with her.

'Damn you to hell paperwork! Damn you Minato for taking the secrets of the paperwork with you to the grave!' he glumly thought while crying anime tears and banging his head on his desk 'I'm too old for this shit'

Naruto and the hidden Anbu's in the office could only sweatdrop at the antics of the old man.

"Old man, if you are finished with paying your respects to the fourth, I'd like to finish my sentence?" Naruto interjected sarcastically.

"Oh yeah, you are still here" he retorted dryly, his eyes twitched when Naruto muttered something about 'old coots with memory problems' "Continue"

"As I was saying, my physical training is lacking. If I'm to start my classes in the Academy in two years, I need a Taijutsu Style suitable for me. And don't even say that its favoritism because the other kids have parents to teach them basics or if they have clan, then the clan's own style. Now I'm not saying to ditch your work and train me, no. what I'm saying is to direct me towards someone who is a Taijutsu master."

The Hokage leaned in his chair and hummed in thought. He had to admit the boy made a valid point, all the major and minor Clans trained their kids as soon as they were able to handle it. At the same time, it brought home the fact that Naruto would never know the warmth and love of his parents. Sometimes fate was just cruel.

Naruto was waiting for the wizened Hokage to make up his mind and dismiss him, and unfortunately for him, the old man was too lost in his thoughts. Well he was soon to be a ninja and ninjas use anything to ensure their victory. Fortunately for him, he knew the old man's hidden hobby.

"Oi old man, I heard something about a new Icha Icha Novel for free by a white haired man."

"Where?" the old pervert asked, a trickle of blood leaking from his nostrils as he shot up from his chair. He could almost taste and smell the deliciousness that was Icha Icha. As soon as he noticed the massive sweat drops on the back of his Anbu and Naruto's head, he coughed nervously to regain what little dignity he had left, glaring daggers at the cheeky blond and the quietly snickering Anbu in the corner of the room.

"Very funny Naruto, now I think you make a valid point and so I'm going to help you. I'm sure you have heard and read about Maito Gai in the reports you helped me with. He trains solo but I am sure once he sees your… youthfulness" he paused as a shiver went up his spine at the word youthful "he will agree to at least give you a few pointers about Taijutsu"

"Thanks old man" Naruto stated gratefully "Where can I find him?"

"He mostly trains in the training ground 10"

He almost had the mind to tell him to watch out for the Jonin's rather … eccentric behavior, but after the stunt he had pulled on him and the blow to his dignity, he wanted the cheeky bastard to suffer as much.

'Oh I'm going to love the look on your face when you meet him, you blond son of a…'

His train of thoughts came to a screeching halt when he realized that he had almost insulted the nasty tempered redhead, known as Naruto's mother. If she found out he had called her a bitch, she would tear ribbons out of his old wrinkly hide with a wide and sweet smile on her face.

Naruto looked on as the Hokage's expression changed from embarrassed to smug to horror. He had no idea what was going on in the old timer's mind and frankly he was neither in the mood nor in the right state of mind to care.

"Old man, I don't know what is going on in that ancient head of yours, but I thought I would let you know that I may have a solution to your paperwork problem" Naruto blinked in surprise when he saw the old man on his knees, with both hands pressed in a begging gesture in front of him.

"I beg of you to tell me the solution oh great Master! I will do anything to get it. Anything!" he cried out desperately.

The blond Jinchuriki sweat dropped at the old man antics. This was the Third Hokage of Konoha, the man known as the Professor?! Well he could use this to his advantage.

"Anything?" he asked skeptically and raised an eyebrow.

"Absolutely anything within my power!" the old Hokage cried.

'He must be pretty desperate' he thought with a sweatdrop, however soon his deadpan expression turned to absolutely evil 'I am going to enjoy torturing you. You will regret your decision by the time I'm done with you'

An evil looking version of Naruto inside his mind, dressed in a satanic custom with a long evil looking staff in his hand, chuckled manically and rubbed his hands together while his eyes gleamed demonically.

The Professor didn't like the blond's look one bit.

"Ok fine, but remember, . " Naruto announced firmly, hiding an evil smile "I'm going to collect it later. Now if I understand correctly, there are many types of clone like Simple clone, Earth style clone etc. there is also another clone technique called the Shadow Clone. I don't know the specifics of the Jutsu, but I know this much that it transfers its information to the original when it's dispelled"

He knew it was despicable of him but he took absolute joy from the look on the professor's face while the hidden Anbu face palmed. Why didn't they think of that?

The Third Hokage on the other hand was having a mental breakdown, his jaw on the floor, eyes wide open like saucers. He was the Professor, he knew all the Jutsus in the Konoha Library, a man who fought in three Great Ninja Wars, he led Konoha to victory for over 50 years with wisdom and courage. What was the point of knowing so many Jutsu when you are too dumb to use it?

"That's why that blond bastard finished his work so fast. He knew the solution to the bane of all kages and didn't tell me. Damn You Minato"

The Anbu and Naruto could only watch with perfect goldfish expressions on their faces while the Third started to throw every curse word he knew at the fourth Hokage's photo once again. After a few minutes, old man sat down from exhaustion while grumbling about 'blond bastards not sharing things'.

Without wasting another second, he quickly made two Shadow clones and ordered them to start working on the paperwork, rubbing his hands in glee as he threw back his head while laughing manically. Naruto stepped back just in case and slowly edged towards the door to get out of there.

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Training Ground 10

Naruto arrived at the training ground of team 10 only to be met with the most ridiculous and absurd sight he had ever seen in his short life. A man wearing a standard Jonin vast over a green spandex suit with bowl cut black hair was standing upside down on his fingers and doing pushups, sweat trailing down his body like a fountain.

"Hello, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. Might Guy, I presume?"

The spandex wearing man stopped his workout and jumped to stand straight on his feet, wiping away the torrent of sweat from his brows as he took deep breathes to calm himself down.

Naruto had to actually stop himself from shouting when he saw the giant eyebrows directed at him. Could those things even be called eyebrows? Wait, were they moving!

"Hello my youthful friend! Yes i am Might Guy, the noble and handsome Green Beast of Konoha!" Guy bellowed with a good guy pose and showcased sparkling teeth "What can I do for ya?"

'That image is going to haunt me for life. The old man is going to pay for not informing of this' Naruto thought with a shudder, already thinking of ways to torture the old man for not telling him of this… nightmare!

"I was informed that you were the most efficient Taijutsu user in Konoha. I request your permission to train here so..." The next few words were going to leave a very bad taste in his mouth "…that I may stroke my Flames of youth to be as bright as yours"

Schooling his features and taking control of the shivers, he looked up only to sweat drop when he saw tears flowing like a river from Guy's eyes. Guess, the eccentric Jonin was impressed by his ...ahem… youthfulness.

"Such passion, such youthful spirit, such determination, I couldn't be more proud!" the eccentric Jonin cried in his usual boisterous voice, anime tear streaming his face like a waterfall "I would be honored to train a person with as bright Flames of youth as you!"

Naruto smiled softly and bowed slightly "Thank you, Guy Sensei"

"No problem, Naruto. Now to begin our training, let us run around the village five hundred times as a warm up!" he stated loudly, before sprinting off to the distance with a visible cloud of dust following him.

Naruto was left standing in the middle of the ground with wide comical eyes and dropped jaws of shock. Seeing as he had been the one to request a training session with the eccentric Jonin, he had no choice but to accept the terms of his training methods. Before sprinting after the spandex wearing Jonin, Naruto couldn't help the feeling of foreboding from appearing in his head when he recalled his words that these laps around the village were supposed to be simple warm up.

'What have I gotten myself into?'

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Constructive criticism will be appreciated. It's my first story, so if a few clichés appear, kindly ignore them. The first few chapters may be a little small or even under developed but it gets better in later chapters, believe me!

Kindly leave a review!