My fourth story, and I had to get this off my mind before continuing MangaFox. Just to let you know Naruto is once again a little older as preference. Ryo equal dollars in value. There won't be the lemony goodness of MangaFox but I do want to make this story very romantically interesting and unpredictable. I like Naruto Sakura pairing but I'm considering others top. Probably won't be harem but who knows. Enjoy.

I don't own Naruto. I do own a Haku mask replica.

"Hahaha you bakas will never catch me, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Dattebayo!"

Running through the narrow alleys of the village hidden in leaves at top speed was a shirt orange clad blonde that was laughing like a mad man at his masked pursuers. Truth be told he should have went to the academy earlier today to rectify his horrible grades, but getting his revenge with his elaborate prank was so much better. Soooo much! He had not only spray painted a giant penis on the storefront that had refused him clothing when he had tried to buy some new threads, but he had even managed a little surprise involving ninja wire and a large grocery bag filled with fire ants. Needless to say that bastard shop owner would need some new pants himself, since he had ants in them now!

Laughing but quickly quieting himself as the Anbu black ops shinobi passed his concealed position, Naruto Uzumaki waited patiently until the last of the leafs elite ran past the large dumpster he was inside of. He had just finished his tagging when he had been spotted, and after an entire ten minute high speed chase he had managed to shake them all. He'd definitely be Hokage if he could already beat the Anbu!

After a couple minutes of lying low to be sure his escape was complete, Naruto finally exited th smelly trash container and began heading back the way he had come at a slightly hurried pace. He knew he could still be easily spotted with his orange jumpsuit being so infamous, and his blonde hair definitely didn't help either. He was just about to exit the alley when he happened upon a small book that definitely wasn't lying there before. It wasn't very large at all, and despite hating books because of his constant criticism for his slow reading at the academy Naruto's curiosity quickly won out. Picking up the titleless black book, he opened to the first page and read the Neely identified title out in his head

"Bingo book. Huh this must be full of board games or something..."

Naruto's eyes widened as his preconception was proven false, and he now lay eyes upon an unknown shinobi that was apparently wanted for raping a young girl and killing her in cold blood. Naruto's eyes widened exponentially as he kept turning pages slowly skimming them as more and more wanted shinobi were shown, along with their respective skill sets and last known whereabouts. The fugitive shinobi also were seemingly getting more powerful and famous as he continued on, until he finally reached the back when the ninja were labeled "S rank."

There weren't many entries listed at all, but considering the various crimes he saw were committed Naruto figured that there couldn't be too many shinobi like these guys. One guy had even been a freaking terrorist bomber by profession. That's just messed up! As he kept reading his new favorite thing Naruto also began thinking about himself in regards to his future life as a ninja. He was currently the dead last of his class in terms of both skill and written assignments, and his constant skipping didn't really help either. He definitely didn't want to be an average shinobi, just another genin to sit around and do mundane tasks that wouldn't give him the recognition he desired. No he wanted to be Hokage, and even more than that he wanted to be the strongest to ever live. As he continued skimming through page after page, Naruto felt the inner warmth of hope blossom within bingo book would be the first true step toward his journey to Hokage, and he'd learn everything he could possibly gather from his study of it.

After quite a while of slowly strolling trying to find a starting point to build off of, Naruto unconsciously had come to one of his favorite hang out spots in Konoha. The small park never really had many visitors because of the lack of slides and jungle gyms, but the nice swing set had always managed to calm his mind after he received the villagers hatred and scorn. He heard what sounded like sobbing coming from the isolated playground and even though he knew people needed space when they were sad he decided to investigate anyway. He saw that it was in fact the familiar form of the gorgeous pink haired girl from the academy, Sakura Haruno. He hadn't yet told the 12 year old girl of his secret infatuation with her, but he had been working up the guts to do it ever since he had first laid eyes on her. She was absolutely perfect, and Naruto had never seen such a beauty even when he had spied at the hot springs to perfect his recently crafted sexy jutsu. Walking up to the oblivious girl, Naruto seeing that she didn't notice him decided to make himself known and find out why she was crying so much.

"Hey there, ya know you're sitting in my favorite spot Dattebayo!"

Looking up with surprise at the sudden presence Sakura recognising Naruto wiped her eyes quickly and replied." I..was just leaving anyway."

As she rose from the swing set Naruto swallowed down his nervousness and before she could get away he asked her." What's wrong!? You're way too beautiful to be crying like this Dattebayo!"

Sakura halting her swift exit turned around with wide eyes at what Naruto had just said. It was the first time anyone besides her mother had complimented her appearance, and it was because of her appearance that she was crying in the first place. Her look of surprise changed into a small smile and then a Freon before she replied." Thanks...but..I'm not beautiful. I'm not even cute.. I'm just..plain."

Instantly Naruto was in front of her with blazing eyes answering her." No you're the most beautiful girl in the whole world and don't you forget it! Your hair is so different and perfect and long! Your eyes are the prettiest green Sakura chan! Believe it!"

She couldn't help but blush at the intensity in Naruto's words and expression as she stood gobsmacked for what seemed like minutes. After a few seconds of silence she finally told him with a sad voice." You're wrong.. My forehead is big and my hair isn't as beautiful as other girls. I even heard them say it's mousy. I don't have a great figure like other girls and I don't think I ever will. I.. "

Having heard enough if the bull she was spouting Naruto grabbed her hands and coldly said." Screw whoever said that Shit about you! I've seen a ton of pretty girls but you're the most beautiful of them all Dattebayo! Believe it! You're forehead is just right and your figure will blossom just like your name! Your hair is so amazing Sakura chan, don't listen to what those assholes said! You're perfect!"

She couldn't believe what she was hearing from the trouble making boy that stood before her and bombarded her with compliments. Even though they had only recently begun their term in the academy, she had barley recognized the blonde from the few times he had actually shown up to class. He seemed to always be singled out and ridiculed for his constant blunders and failure, but despite all of that he always determinedly declared he'd be the greatest shinobi alive. He was definitely determined if nothing else. Examining him closer, she could easily see the tears and stains that marred his already hideous and undersized orange jumpsuit, and she had to stop herself from frowning in distaste at its smell. This Naruto had just been very very kind to her, and he had even managed to cheer her hi and break her out of her depression. Looking into his eyes which she thought were actually very pretty she eventually replied." Thanks...um..Naruto. Right?"

Flashing her his trademark foxy smile he immediately answered." Yep! Naruto Uzumaki future Hokage! That you can believe!"

The boy's grin seemed to be infectious and Sakura couldn't help but to smile herself at his bright mood. She honestly didn't understand how he could stay so happy go lucky all the time. She had heard how others talked about him in open disdain, and a couple times she had even heard the word demon tossed around from some drunken villagers. She didn't really know what he had done to earn such hatred, but he seemed like a very likable guy to her. All talk other girls would tease her about her odd features, but Naruto had not only praised her but said she was perfect. Perfect!? She was very much flattered, and seeking to make a new friend she told him." Naruto..is it..alright If we hang out a bit before I gets late? I understand if you want to be alone in your spot if you-"

Cutting her off with a desperate face that he forced himself to school, Naruto laughed and said." I was just about ta ask you that Sakura chan! Come on! Sit on the swing and I'll push K!?"

And just like that Naruto Uzumaki had finally made a friend his age.

~Later that Day~

Practically skipping through the village with glee because of his newfound friendship with his crush Sakura Haruno, not even kami himself could bring th blonde down right now. They had talked about a lot of different things as they got to know each other more bit by bit, with the main topics of discussion being Hokage and surprisingly Sasuke Uchiha. While Naruto had been extremely jealous at how she fawned over the talented boy, he had still listened to her nonetheless. Sakura had loved everything about him from his clothes, to his skill in ninjutsu, to his perfect scores in academics that even surpassed her own top notch grades. What he needed to do was improve himself and best his new rival for her love, and holding the bingo book firmly he knew he had a way. He was Naruto fucking Uzumaki, king of pranks and future Hokage! He would show her just who was really the best and he'd do it before the bastard could steal her away!

Naruto was so immersed in his thoughts that after eating a few bowls of pork ramen at Ichirakus he didn't even return home. Instead he had chosen to wander around the village, contemplating which shinobi he would use as motivation for the skills he would pursue. There was that Zabuza guy with the cool headband and awesome sword. Then there was Deidara who used explosives almost exclusively and he could even fly with his jutsu! Orichimaru used snakes and while Naruto thought it was a bit creepy it was still pretty cool. There were also a few others that interested him to no end, and after an hour of walking Naruto eventually realized he was a ways outside of the village and walking along a dirt road. Turning around to head back he saw something out the corner of his eye, and turning toward the small hut looking moss covered object he went to see what it was. There were vines all over it, but as he got closer he could see that while it looked to be old and brittle there was an entrance even though it was closed.

Pulling out a worn kunai he began to cut away at the thick vegetation that was blocking him from entering, and as he cut more and more he eventually got impatient and used his bare hands to pull the remaining vines from the stone slab that was apparently the way inside.

"Ah Shit!" He cursed as he knicked his finger on a thorn while hurriedly pulling and tossing away the annoying weeds. Finally reaching the slab, his eyes widened as he pressed his hand to it expecting a lot more effort to move it. Instead of having to push or try moving it with force however, a bright light shined and it simply just disappeared. Weird but cool. Now very excited and feeling like some sort of tomb raider Naruto didn't hesitate to cross the threshold and explore the small dust covered interior in anticipation. Maybe he'd found some buried treasure or something or the entrance to some hidden city or something! His imagination running wild, he saw that it was mostly empty except for the large assortment of dusty masked that decorated the wall all the way in the back. As he drew nearer and observed all of them, he saw that there were about 25 or so, and nine of them looked exactly the same. He couldn't resist grabbing one with a shout if "COOL" and as his bloody finger touched its smooth surface he began wiping it off on his already dirty jumpsuit and after it was clean inside and out he lifted it up to his face. Pressing the awesome white mask with a black spiral design to his face while wondering what all the weird markings inside of it meant, he began mock swinging an imaginary sword as if he were an Anbu or super cool masked shinobi or something. After a little while he decided he wanted to try on the other ones too and even take them all back home so he tried to take the mask off. And he tried. And tried. And tried! The damn thing just wouldn't come off no matter what he did, and he started to panic a little thinking he had somehow stumbled upon some sort of cursed thing like that cool mummy movie he had snuck into the theatre to watch before.

Naruto nearly screamed in fear and frustration, and then he remembered his failed leaf floating exercises and how it would always blow away from him whenever he channeled his chakra. Hoping to kami that his last resort would work, Naruto channeled as much chakra to his head as possible using all the concentration he could muster. Then, everything went black as he slumped to the ground.

"Where...am I!?"

There was nothing but white all around Naruto, as if all color had been taken away and everything was as blank as a piece of unused paper. His question was quickly answered when an elderly man suddenly appeared in front of him with an unreadable expression on his face. He held himself with pure confidence that belied great strength and dignity, and he spoke with a tone that commanded respect." You are within a seal that I have created young one. Now tell me, what is your name?"

"I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki future Hokage! Believe it! Uhh..Who are you!?" And what's a seal!?"

The old man smiled brightly and then frowned deeply confusing Naruto before answering." I am Ashina Uzumaki, the leader of the Uzumaki clan."