A thirteen-year-old Naruto stared at his mentor and teacher in wonder, his surprise and awe were easily noticeable as he stared at the man after having seen him summon a toad.
"How'd you do that!" the orange-wearing child shouted, his exuberance infectious as Jiraiya gave the boy a big smile.
"I used the summoning jutsu!" he cried, his hands spread out in wild gestures as the toad under him grumbled before disappearing in a puff of smoke, drawing a cry from Jiraiya as he fell to the ground, landing on his feet ever so slightly.
Naruto let out a string of laughs at the man as the Sannin grumbled, a frown on his face at being betrayed by his own summons. "Teach me that jutsu!" the boy cried as he practically jumped in place, his excitement uncontainable.
The silver-haired Sannin made an appeasing motion with his hands as he stood straight, no doubt about to go into a lengthy lecture about the dangers of the jutsu amongst other things. Before he could start though, an ANBU appeared at his side, leaning over to whisper hurriedly into his ear. Jiraiya's eyes before they narrowed in distaste and after a few moments the ANBU left as quickly as he'd come, leaving the small boy confused as he stared up at Jiraiya who plastered a grin on his face.
"We'll continue this lesson later, you're free for the day gaki!" he cried and before Naruto could even say a word of protest he was gone, falling leaves being the only remainder of the man. The boy let out a scream of frustration at not being able to find out more about the jutsu nor being taught it.
Jiraiya arrived in the Hokage's office, standing in front of a serious-looking Hiruzen who gave a nod to his former student. "Jiraiya-kun," the man greeted as another came from the corner, a seemingly innocent enough man who looked rather plain.
"Jiraiya-sama, we've discovered something about Orochimaru." the man said, his next words changing the world as we know it.
Meanwhile, Naruto sat in the Ichiraku ramen stand, a frown on his usually smiling face as he picked at his ramen; not really eating any. Ayame leaned over the counter, her brown orbs staring down at him in curiosity as she tilted her head slightly.
"Naruto-kun, what's the matter?" she asked as he shrugged and continued picking at the food, causing the girl to roll her eyes before grabbing a strand of his hair and tugging, causing the boy to yelp in pain at the unexpected tug as he turned to look up at the smiling brunette.
He sighed with displeasure as he stared down at his lap. "My sensei started teaching me a really cool jutsu," the boy's eyes sparkled at the thought of it. "It's this super cool jutsu that summons these super awesome animals to fight with you!" he cried with starry eyes before they suddenly dimmed again and his head dropped, "But he got summoned and now I don't know when he'll be back." the boy mumbled with a frown.
Ayame blinked at him.
"Why not just go to the library? They probably have it there since like all the information in the village is there," she added with a pointed finger as if reciting it from a passage. Naruto's eyes widened in happiness and joy as he bound from his stool, giving Ayame a peck on the cheek before running out of the stand, forgetting to pay as he shouted thanks over his shoulder to the blushing Ayame who shook her head before heading back to the kitchen, slightly miffed at not being paid.
Jiraiya arrived at the hot springs where they had been, his mind still not fully over the fact he'd have to go all the way to Country of Rice to find Orochimaru. He blinked slightly at not finding his apprentice where he'd left him before shrugging, going off to the Ichiraku ramen stand to try and find him.
Naruto dashed into the library, blitzing past the librarian who sneered at him as he passed; something he ignored. The boy's eyes scanned the numerous shelves and started getting panicked at not finding it before his eyes widened in satisfaction and he crossed his fingers, summoning roughly thirty Kage Bunshin; definitely overkill for something as mundane as this. "You know what to do!" the boy shouted as he scanned a tall bookcase as his clones did the same on numerous random bookcases.
They had torn the library up and numerous scrolls and books were on the floor, the boys not caring about the mess they were making. A few odd minutes later a shout caught the real Naruto's eyes, ignoring the shushing from the librarian as he dashed across the library, looking at a clone who held a short scroll in his hand; a beaming smile on his face. "Got it Boss!" the clone shouted.
Jiraiya ducked under the tarps of the Ramen stand as he scanned the stools, no boy. The man briefly frowned but tucked it away upon seeing the young waitress, his job was information-gathering after all. The girl seemed surprised at his sudden appearance but smiled at him regardless.
"Hello, Jiraiya-sama! If you're looking for Naruto-kun, he's already left." the girl commented helpfully, Jiraiya blinking at how easy the girl had figured out his reason for being there before giving a sheepish smile while rubbing the back of his head.
"Where'd he go to if you don't mind me asking?" the silver-haired man enquired, his eyes staring at the brown-haired waitress in apology for not being here to actually purchase anything.
"Oh, I think he was going to the library; something about a jutsu you were going to-" she didn't even finish her sentence as a look of horror came over Jiraiya's face before he shunshin'd away, not saying another word to the girl.
Naruto was standing in front of the open scroll in the back of the library, his hands going through the hand seals for practice without putting any chakra into it just yet. Once he got it right, except for the shedding of blood, the boy did it for real, slamming his now cut hand on the floor as Jiraiya appeared a few feet in front of him.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" the boy cried and disappeared in a puff of smoke, just as Jiraiya's hand reached through the smoke as he stared absently at the spot the boy stood before standing, rubbing his jaw as his mind raced with all of the possible ways this could end.
Naruto stood in a plain, his eyes blinking as he took in the dry and dusty land. Suddenly, he heard a growling behind him, startling the young boy as he turned around and faced a lion, or in this case, a pride of lions. There were several lions on the near him, males and females not even three feet from him and there were two lions on an elevated area on top of a rock, all of them staring down at him with their honey-golden eyes.
Naruto had ignored a lot of class, included in this were the rare and exotic animals that Konoha did not have; so he'd never even heard of these types of animals before and to the boy, they looked awesome. He walked up to the closest male and pet it's large fluffy mane and the large beasts were not only confused but also satisfied.
"Your fur sure is nice isn't it boy?" the teen talked to the lion as he would a dog, the closest thing Naruto had seen to a lion.
"Of course it is, we have the best fur around!" the lion in front of him spoke, causing the boy to jump into the air with a yelp as he stared at the lion who'd spoken; the other lions chuckling at the boy's reaction to the speaking lion.
"Y-you can talk!" he squeaked as the lion nodded, a grin appearing on its large face.
"Of course we can, after all, us, lions are the best of all creatures!" the lion boomed confidently, his pride evident as the blonde boy stared at the creature in awe.
"That's enough Shinsen." the lion on top of the rock spoke, his deep voice strong and commanding. If Naruto had thought the other lines were huge, they were nothing compared to this lion. This lion was as tall as Naruto is now, on all fours as well. The lion's mane was bigger and longer than all of the other lions' and above all; this lion exuded an air of such confidence and pride that he seemed as if an otherworldly being.
On top of all this, the larger lion was even taller than Naruto because he was on a raised platform, putting him head and shoulders above the rest. "Why do you not fear us Ningen?" asked the tall lion, it's golden eyes peering into Naruto's own blue ones.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders, a big smile on his face. "I dunno, you guys seemed kinda cool so I didn't really think you were that scary," the boy said with a closed eye smile which quickly turned into a look of apprehension and fear. "Should I?" The large lion smirked at his look and strode forward, coming to a position a few feet from the boy himself, staring down at him with his large eyes as his mouth opened and his long canines appeared for the child to see.
Naruto understood a challenge and threat when he saw one, he wasn't that dumb and stared up at the lion and held his eye as if he wasn't facing one of the deadliest creatures on the planet. The lion roared as he struck, throwing his massive paw at Naruto's head at speeds that animals shouldn't possess.
Naruto luckily dodged the powerful strike that swept through the air his head had just possessed, shock lacing his features as he dashed back while the lion charged after him. "Why're you attacking me! I thought we were cool!" the boy shouted, his childish voice ringing through the plains as the lion pursued after him, the large creature was surely intimidating as it chased after him, swiping and biting at his form as Naruto continued to make sharp turns to try and avoid him.
"YOU MUST PROVE YOURSELF NINGEN!" the lion boomed, his paw striking for Naruto's side and actually cutting him slightly with his elongated claws. "Prove yourself worthy of the mightiest summons!" The lion roared as it continued to pursue the boy who had stayed on the offensive this whole time.
Naruto's eyes steeled as he realized what he must do; fight for his life. The boy flicked out a kunai as he dodged another paw strike, stabbing for the lion with his kunai right for the lion's gut and Naruto was certain he'd won the fight. But to his shock, the kunai didn't pierce the lion at all,
It snapped in half.
Naruto stared at the handle in his hand in shock, the blade of the kunai resting on the ground, splintered and cracked as if it was wood. Naruto was so caught up in his shock that he wasn't paying attention to his opponent. With a roar, the boss summons of the lions brought his paw down on Naruto's face, his claws scratching over the teen's headband and eye as he howled in pain and lept back, his hands clutching his bleeding face as the lion stared him down with a stern glare.
"You can't possibly hope to stand a chance against me with such weak resolve!" the summon boomed as Naruto looked to the ground, shock and slight fear in his features along with pure rage, rage at the lion talking down to him. "If you think we'll let you join us when you're so weak then leave! Leave until you've got the will to become the strongest!" The lion roared, his golden eyes staring down at the child who still had his head to the ground.
After a few moments of pregnant silence, red chakra started bubbling around the boy, the foul chakra tainting the air as the other lions watched in slight fear of the demon inside the boy. The boss summons himself was more impressed than anything, glad that the boy had chosen to stay and fight rather than run. "Why do you stay and fight? Why stay, knowing you are weaker than your opponent?" The lion questioned, his mane rustling as wind flew around the boy as a single red tail flowed behind him.
The boy finally turned his head up, the three long gashes in his face had turned into light silver lines running down over his eye and down his cheek. Red eyes met golden as Naruto growled and gnashed his teeth together. "I'm not weak!" the boy yelled as his arms crossed, his claws elongating as he faced down the large summon; standing his ground. "AND I WILL BE THE STRONGEST!" he screamed, "I'M GOING TO BECOME HOKAGE AND MAKE THEM ALL SEE MY STRENGTH!" the boy yelled, his voice deep and dark; darker than the lions own.
"COME THEN! SHOW ME YOUR STRENGTH!" the lion boomed as the boy let out a cry of rage and jumped high into the sky, coming down on the lion as if he were a demon. With a roar of his own, the lion got on his hind legs, his front paws reaching up to strike at the blonde-haired shinobi as both fought for their pride.
Naruto was on his hands and knees, panting as he stared down at the dirt after fighting the lion for the past two hours, exhaustion finally having taken over the blonde and he'd collapsed to the dirt with the lion standing a few feet in front of him with three long red gashed in his side as he stared down at the boy.
Naruto knew he was dead, a goner because he'd lost but he wouldn't take it laying down. His hands formed fists in the dirt and he brought one leg up, trying to stand on it as he stared up at the lion in front of him, it's magnificent mane was long and wide, giving him an intimidating presence as he stared down at the teen. "You fought well Ningen, but you've lost." the lion spoke, it's deep amber eyes staring down at the blonde's defiant blues.
"But why, why do you stare death in the face. Even when you know you've lost?" the lion asked, his tone curious and his head leaned forward in curiosity.
"Because if I'm gonna die, I wanna die standing!" the boy grunted as he attempted to stand on his own, the lion watching in curiosity as the boy slowly stood with great effort and it took him roughly a minute but the boy did it, he got to both feet and was hunched over with his knees buckled but he did it, he was standing.
The boy was still a solid foot and a half shorter than the lion but met his eyes with his own blue ones and despite his exhausted and tired form, his eyes held a determination and strength that rivaled the lion's own, causing the lion to give a laugh. A deep, booming laugh that shook the boy's heart.
"You fought well and you never lost your pride," the lion seemed to stand even straighter as it gained an even more serious posture. "You will be our summoner and you WILL bring the lion clan eternal pride!" the lion boomed as he tilted his head up, letting out a long and lengthy roar that seemed to shake the stars, his mighty lungs making the roar last for several seconds before he brought his head back down, the roar done and his gaze penetrative.
"I am Ō(1) and this is Ōhi(2)," he said as the female lion who'd been up on the rock with him came down and stood beside Ō. "She will heal you and now this will be your home for a long time."
3 years later...
Naruto appeared in a puff of smoke in the Hokage's office, coming to a stand in front of a blonde busty woman sitting behind the desk. The woman was very alarmed at seeing the stranger appear in her office, so were the ANBU in her office as well as four ANBU appeared from the shadows, pointing their blades at the teen with the body of a man in her office.
Naruto had gone under quite the transformation in the summoning realm, the shinobi who'd gone has been a twelve-year-old at a measly height of one-hundred and forty-seven centimeters, had come back as a sixteen-year-old at a staggering height of one-hundred and ninety centimeters, putting him even taller than Jiraiya. Due to him being surrounded constantly by nature chakra the boy's body had formed three times faster and stronger than usual.
His hair had also grown long, the spiky blonde hair now reached his upper back with two long bangs framing down the sides of his face. The teen also wore very little clothing, only a pair of light beige trousers with a single string holding them to his lean muscular body.
"Who are you?" the blonde woman enquired, a certain air of authority to her tone as she asked the boy who he was in his own village. The boy narrowed his eyes and with a shout, a blast of chakra exploded from him, sending the ANBU flying back as they impacted with the walls from the unexpected attack.
"Naruto Uzumaki, now who are you?" the teen asked as he planted his fists on the desk and stared down the woman. Her eyes widened in slight shock at his name.
"Jiraiya's apprentice?" she asked as Naruto growled, a deep rumbling noise from the core of his throat.
"Who. Are. You? And where's the old man?" the blonde asked with every word enunciated as he leaned even farther in her direction as his large canines came into appearance. "Tell me, or I'll make you splatter on the wall!" he roared as the woman's own eyes narrowed up at him and just as they were about to tear at each other Jiraiya appeared in the window, seeing the ANBU crawling out of the walls and a tall blonde man about to tear into Tsunade.
"Naruto?" asked the silver-haired man as the blonde turned to him, his gaze settling on the Sannin as his dark blue eyes stared him down.
"Ero-Sennin." the teen acknowledged before sticking a finger right in the woman's face as Tsunade's glare became absolutely feral. "Who's she and where's Jiji?" the teen asked as Jiraiya sighed, stepping into the room fully and was very perturbed at the blonde being taller than him but didn't comment on it. "Sit down, you've been gone a while and we all need to explain things," he said as he took a seat and so did Naruto begrudgingly as both parties went into a lengthy explanation.
Naruto eyes were hard and his form was leaned forward with a frown on his face. "So your teammate came during the Chunnin Exams, killed Jiji, got away, then Satsuki-chan ran to Orochimaru for power, and now there's a band of Missing Nin that want what's inside me?" he questioned as Jiraiya nodded grimly with Tsunade's head leaning against her folded hands.
"Well then I've got the solution," the teen stood up as he turned to them with a grin, "I will go and kill Orochimaru and drag Satsuki-chan back, kicking and screaming." Both of the Sannin glared at him, their faces hard at his words.
"Not a good joke Naruto," said Jiraiya as Naruto turned to him with a raised brow as he stared into the Sannin's eyes.
"Who said it was a joke? I wouldn't joke about the safety of my teammate." Jiraiya stood and stared Naruto in the eyes, at that moment Naruto saw the man who'd been through two world wars and lived to tell the tale as well as become a legend as a result.
"You aren't strong enough to defeat them gaki." the woman said, her tone dark and condescending. Naruto turned to her and saw she was dead-serious so he laughed. He let out a string of deep and strong laughs. His long hair shook with every body-shaking laugh as he finally stared her down with a strong and prideful look in his eyes.
"But of course I am, I am the strongest in this village and could easily defeat any and all who dare oppose me." His attention returned to Jiraiya who stood in front of him and Naruto smirked. "Do you wish to be defeated, Ero-Sennin?" asked the boy as Jiraiya and Tsunade glared at him, still thinking he was just being overconfident and arrogant.
"Nah, I'm ready to beat you into the dirt though!" he boomed with a smirk as he clapped Naruto's shoulder and disappeared into a shunshin as the two appeared at training ground 7, the place of Naruto's old team. Tsunade appeared a distance away and Naruto smirked, staring into Jiraiya's brown eyes.
"You can start whenever you want." the teen said as he stepped away, his eyes lingering on Jiraiya as he walked backward. Jiraiya shook his head with a booming laugh as he got serious, a slight smile on his face.
"That damn pride of yours will be your downfall!" the older shinobi boomed as he blurred from sight, appearing at Naruto's side with a kick next to his face which Naruto leaned away from, surprising Jiraiya even though he'd been going low-jonnin speeds. As a result, Jiraiya was stuck in a very vulnerable position.
Naruto sent a strong haymaker for Jiraiya's side, something that hit the man right in the gut and would of most likely hurt quite a bit if Jiraiya hadn't substituted at the last second. The splinters of wood remained on the ground from the Kawarimi Jiraiya had pulled off with what had once been a log but was now reduced to nothing.
"You should probably use your full strength, you may as well give it your all as you lose!" the teen boomed before he disappeared in a boom of energy, appearing right in front of Jiraiya and punching him straight in the chest, something Jiraiya hurriedly blocked with a crossguard which kept the strike from shattering his ribs but still left his arms rattling as he skidded back several feet.
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes before leaping high into the air, running through hand seals. "Katon: Endan!" The man shot out a large bullet of fire right at Naruto's position at speeds gennin could not dodge. Naruto did it with ease, however, his body leaping to the right and Jiraiya was standing there, sending a strong fist right at Naruto's head which the boy ducked by the skin of his teeth, his blue eyes staring up at the Sannin in joy.
"You should really start coming at me with the intent to kill Ero-Sennin!" the teen cried as he reached up, grabbing the man's extended arm and flipping him over his back; causing the man to hit the ground with a mighty thud that caused cracks to spread on the ground. Jiraiya coughed and hacked but wasn't the self-proclaimed strongest Sannin for nothing and spun on his back, catching the teen with a wild foot that sent Naruto skidding back several feet, catching him in the lip that bled.
Naruto got back his bearings and stared at Jiraiya who now stood across from him, the man had a stony gaze and a rather serious air about him. Naruto let out a loud laugh, it seemed he had a different sense of humor than when he was thirteen. "Good! Now watch as you face the power of a true-" he was cut off as a woman appeared in the clearing, she had dark hair kept short and seemed rather peaceful and he'd think she was a civilian if not for the speed she came in.
"Tsunade-shishou!" the woman cried as she met Tsunade's eyes. "Suna's Jinchuuriki has been taken by Akatsuki!" Naruto raised a brow, turning away from Jiraiya and acknowledging the new woman who turned to the shirtless blonde man, a light blush on her cheeks as she looked at the positively feral man.
"Where?" asked the blonde as the woman blinked rapidly at the question.
"He was taken in Suna, they didn't say where they had taken him," she said, not knowing why she was replying to the man who seemed to have such an air of authority that she was compelled to the answer him.
"I wish to go there," Naruto said, his head turned to Tsunade with his eyes peering at her around his bangs.
Tsunade furrowed her brow in anger. "Absolutely not! The Akatsuki are there and last I checked you are one of their prime directives!" she boomed as he frowned but she sighed, a slight frown on her face. "But, we do need to respond since we're allies, I will send you but you won't be going alone. Go get dressed and meet at the North Gate in thirty, I'll have a team go with you and you will listen to the commands of your superiors!" she said sternly, her hard honey eyes staring him down drawing a raised brow from him before he shrugged and dashed away.
The tall teen reappeared at the gate, a blue long sleeve shirt and cargo pants on, a very casual attire but not by design; because the shinobi shop he went to didn't have anything in his size, he'd had to go to a civilian store, he hadn't had any money so he'd just left before the owners would notice. Naruto didn't even have anything on him that said he was a shinobi, he was dressed as casually and his giant size was probably the only thing that belayed the fact he was a normal civilian.
After a few minutes of simply standing there, the teen looked up suddenly, revealing Kakashi standing on a tree a short distance away; the man giving a short wave as he reappeared in front of the teen. The man was clearly caught off guard by the fact that the man was a solid five inches taller than him but the man didn't bring it up, merely giving the teen a closed eye smile.
"Yo Naruto! Been a while no?" the man said as the teen nodded. "Jiraiya-sama filled me in, so you went to a summoning realm and got a summon hm?" asked the man as Naruto nodded, smiling down at the man.
"Not just any summon Kaka-sensei, the summon." the teen said, drawing a single raised brow from the man who leaned back on one foot as he regarded the blonde teen in front of him.
"Oh? And what summon is it?" the man asked as Naruto seemed to swell with pride, his smile grew big and bright as he stared down the man.
"The mighty summoning clan of the lions!" the teen boomed as Kakashi's single eye opened fully in surprise but gave no other reaction.
"Sounds like your pretty proud of them no?" asked the man as Naruto let out a laugh as he pounded his chest with a closed fist.
"But of course, it's a great honor to be a part of the strongest summoning clan," Naruto spoke, his eyes shining with strength and confidence. Kakashi realized which way that conversation was going and picked up a different one.
"Has your dream changed?" asked the man as Naruto raised a brow but boomed out a deep laugh but shook his head, clapping Kakashi on the shoulder several times, his large hand catching the man slightly off-guard.
"Of course not! Being the strongest shinobi in the strongest village is, of course, my ultimate goal, after all I am the strongest!" the teen exclaimed, his eyes staring into Kakashi's single eye challengingly as Kakashi let out a hum from the back of his throat but didn't say anything to take the obvious bait.
They were broken from their conversation by an approaching party of people, clearly the rest of the group they'd be leaving with. It was six people, (3) the members of team Gai, and Sakura and a pale boy that Naruto did not know. Lee dashed right in front of him, the boy stared up at the blonde teen as he grinned brightly.
"Naruto-kun! Your youth shines brightly upon us in your presence! Clearly, you have been training hard since we last saw you and I would like to challenge you to a spar!" The teen boomed with a bow to even further show the difference in size.
Naruto barked out a laugh as he reached down and patted Lee on the back, sending the boy flying down to the dirt as he laughed even harder, his eyes holding mirth with a spark of arrogance. "If you wish to be beat that bad Lee I will gladly deliver a beating upon you!" the teen spoke with a dazzling smile as the others watched in confusion but Lee simply hopped up and gave a bright smile before dashing back to the side of his sensei.
"Naruto?" asked Sakura, her presence becoming apparent as she stepped within arms reach of him somewhat cautiously and the height difference was apparent, the pinkette was more than a foot shorter than him after all.
The teen gave a smirk to his former crush as he nodded in her direction. "Sakura." Before they could continue the reunion, Kakashi cleared his throat.
"As much as you all probably want to catch up with Naruto, we do have a rather urgent mission!" he exclaimed as they all grimly nodded except for Naruto who couldn't care that much other than the fact the person captured was another jinchuuriki.
"We are heading to Suna first so that we can be debriefed and let in on where the Akatsuki could've taken Gaara!" the Jonnin ordered as most nodded. "Let's go!" They all fell into a dash of tree-hopping speed, hoping to get to Suna in time to stop Akatsuki and save Gaara.
(1) King
(2) Queen
(3) I prefer having Team Gai go with them initially rather than joining them later on.
This is a Naruto story that is based on a rather prideful and arrogant Naruto with the strength to back it up.