Summary: Naruto and Kurama are reborn in the Avatar world with no memories, but their knowledge intact. PowerfulElementalManipulation!Naruto NoHandSeal! Naruto MultiElement!Naruto
Avatar: Shinobi of the Five Elements
'I don't know how long it has been since I entered this world. Kurama says it's been four years since I'm four, but it feels like longer. Then again, I've been too young to do anything more than learn this country's -world's- language. Kurama and I may have the knowledge, ideals, and thought processes of our previous lives, but we don't have our memories.'
'How long has it been since I entered this world? Four years? It feels like longer,' Naruto sighed, 'Well, Kurama says it's been four years, and I'm physically four as well. It's probably because I haven't been able to do anything other than learn this country's -world's- language. I may have my knowledge and thought process from my previous life intact, but no memories.'
'At least this time I have parents,' He thought. While he couldn't remember the fact he was an orphan, Kurama pointed out that he wouldn't act so starved for affection if he wasn't an orphan, abused, or neglected. He felt bad that he hoped for this first.
'At least you have a physical body, I'm stuck in your mindscape!' Kurama complained, 'Anyways, have you found anything about these 'benders' yet?'
Benders. The name of this world's military force. Or forces. You're either born a bender or not. Unlike Shinobi and Kunoichi, you can't just train harder because you lack talent, you have to become skill in Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, and/or Shurikenjutsu if you want to fight…
… Or at least that's what I assume from the snippets I've heard. I assume non-benders use Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, and/or Shurikenjutsu to fight if they can't bend, because I can't think of any other styles of fighting one can do without the ability to use Ninjutsu or this 'bending.'
And then there was the snippet he heard yesterday, 'The benders come in three variations, or at least three that I've heard so far. Fire benders, Water benders, and Earth benders. I don't know if these indicate country allegiance or if bending is a form of elemental manipulation.'
'Or both, you humans tend to discriminate against others for being 'different.'" Kurama added, clearly disgusted.
'We don't know any of this for sure," Naruto attempted to appease. After a few minutes, he asked, 'After we find out what this bending is, we should first see if we can use it, then find out if we can use Ninjutsu or Fuinjutsu to replicate it, or at least appear to replicate it.' Wouldn't want to be seen using powers completely foreign to the land like Shadow Clones and being executed for sacrilege.
'I agree. If we appear to be the same as them, they will think we have the same weaknesses. If we appear to have the same weaknesses, then they will try to use those weaknesses against us. If they attempt to use those weaknesses against us, then we can just pull out a different technique.' Kurama reasoned, 'I have knowledge of many Ninjutsu, and can teach you how to manipulate the elements without hand seals. With your clones it should be simple.'
'We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves,' Naruto said uncharacteristically.
A year later...
"Mama, Papa," Naruto started, looking up at his parents, "You always talk about these 'benders' but what are benders?"
His parents looked down on him with surprise on their face, "You mean we never told you?" Naruto shook his head, "Well, there are, or were, four variations of benders, one native to each nation. The Water nation, a tribe on both poles, both North and South, has waterbenders who can control water, snow, and ice. The Earth Nation has earthbenders who can control the dirt, rock, and sand. The Great Fire Nation, where we live, has control over fire and lightning, and has the smartest, strongest, and wisest people. The Air Nation once had a temple in the North, East, South, and West, but 100 years ago when our great nation started our divine conquest of the world, the Airbenders were all killed, trying to defy the divine will. They had control over the air and housed the last Avatar, the only person who could control each element, and was evil, trying to bring balance to the world," Papa explained, saying balance with disdain.
'Genocide!!" The pair thought, their rage barely concealed until Naruto's bright facade, "Thanks!" He then left the room, and snuck out of the house.
He ran to a nearby stream and looked into it, staring at the reflection.
'Ironic. The Fire Nation goes completely against the Will of Fire." Naruto thought while looking at the face -blonde hair, whiskers, and everything else- that once fought tooth and nail for this philosophy, concept, and way of life. 'Even if it means betraying my home, I will never go against the Will of Fire. I have and always will live under the Will of Fire, and I never give up, that is my nindo, my ninja way.'
'I'll support you in whatever decision you make,' Kurama spoke in his mind.
'Thanks buddy.'
Thus marked the beginning of Naruto's training with the Kyuubi no Kurama. He first practiced the fire element, that being the element of the country he currently resided, and managed to master it. Of course, then came Kurama telling him that if he used a little of his energy, he could turn it into fox fire. It was a bio-luminescent green, but it burned much hotter, though not quite as hot as Amaterasu. It was harder to control, so he could only use it without hand seals on the basics. After that he worked on wind, his elemental affinity. Having no way to know that airbenders couldn't cut with their techniques, he masted both blunt force and cutting techniques, not having to use hand seals for any of them. Then came Earth, then Water. And finally Lightning. While learning wind, his affinity, only took 3 years, each of the other elements took 4, plus the foxfire adding another year. This was, of course, without the use of shadow clones. Using 1000 clones each day, it took a little less than 2 years in total.
This was, surprisingly, not hard. There was a nearby unpopulated area, and he only needed to sneak away from his parents shortly to go there, make 1000 shadow clones, practice a little with them, and then return.
By the time he was six, Naruto had full control of each element, and could do many of the little things that true benders could do.
"Naru," His mother started, "Would you like to be signed up for the firebending academy?"
With false enthusiasm, hiding nauseating disgust at the very idea, Naruto nodded his head excitedly, "Awesome! I get to learn how to shoot fire from my fists and pow pow!" Maybe a little over enthusiastic, but this was how he acted.
His parents smiled kindly upon him, making his gut wrench in guilty. He'd be leaving them in a couple years for the other nations, betraying his own.
'Snap out of it!' Kurama shouted in his mind, then reminded him, 'This nation is sick. Even worse than we originally thought.' It was true, not only did they commit genocide upon a nation, they enslave earthbenders and mistreat their own citizens. He'd kill the Fire Lord himself if he couldn't find this mysterious Avatar person.
Next 4 years
Learning firebending was interesting at first, but he mastered it very quickly. It wouldn't have even taken much longer without clones than it did with. It was pretty much just a relatively simple and slow taijutsu style with some energy manipulation. After that he experimented with using ninjutsu with it, which made it stronger and easier for him to control, and foxfire (not in public), which made it much more powerful. After he mastered firebending, he learned Chi [A/N: Chi is just this world's name for Chakra, the only difference is that Chi is locked on one elemental affinity, with the exceptions of Naruto, Kurama, and the Avatars.] Blocking with a girl he met performing at a circus.
Following the two years it took to master both of those, he sent clones to fill in for him in classes, and physically trained and worked on non-elemental Ninjutsu, Fuinjutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and Taijutsu. He also occasionally sent a Henged Kage Bunshin to prank the firebender soldiers. While none were deadly, they were definitely harmful and malevolent in purpose, so the perpetrator had a bounty put up for them.
When he turned ten he left the nation, not bothering to falsify his death, knowing that he'd be found out as soon as a bounty for a 'sunshine yellow haired brat' was put up.
Following 2 Years
Over the next two years, Naruto learnt the bending styles of the Earthbenders. As it turned out, despite not being the Avatar (as the Avatar's previous incarnations were Avatars, not otherworlders) he could bend each element. 'Must be because I can convert my chakra to each element,' He dyed his hair brown while in the Earth nation, not wanting to be thought the Avatar until after he failed (assuming he did fail) to find him.
He then went to the Northern Water Tribe, this time with black hair. While there he mastered waterbending, and learnt about the spirits.
'That must be what you are,' Naruto thought. Neither of them were able to remember what Kurama was, except that he was the most powerful being from their home universe, and a nine tailed fox, 'A powerful fox spirit.'
'I guess,' Kurama shrugged noncommittally. 'It's at least the closest thing we got,'
A year later
Having mastered Fire, Earth, and Water, Naruto decided that after taking a trip to the Southern Water Tribe, he'd go back to the Fire Nation to learn how to bend Lightning. From what he'd heard, Lightning was the only bending element that was more dangerous with bending than with Ninjutsu. Bending lightning was true lightning, not chakra lightning.
So, it was with great surprise that a huge beam of energy should appear when he was finally approaching the Southern tribe.
'Better check it out, might be some spirit or something,' Naruto thought, hopping off his boat and running over the water to the spot in which the energy appeared.
There were two water tribe kids around his age, one female, one male, a monk with a blue arrow on his head, and a giant bison with a brownish arrow on his head. Not wanting to be seen walking on water, he leapt into the air and landed on the other side of the iceberg, shocking all three of the humans.
"Y'know, I thought the Avatar would be older. With a long gray beard. And the wise old sage look in his eyes. And a pervert, you can't be wise and old without being a pervert. But you don't look like a pervert. Nor do you look or wise. You don't even have a beard! What kind of old sage are you!" He complained.
[A/N: Should non-benders be able to learn to bend after increasing their chakra/chi reserves? If so should they all be benders of the element of their nation, or have random elemental affinities?]
[A/N: I'm thinking the pairing should either be NarutoxToph or NarutoxTy Lee. No harem or bigamy, and definitely no NarutoxAzula. She's batshit insane.]