Dedicated To Bruce and David Banner, The Original 'Lonely Man'
Disclaimer: The Naruto Pilot © Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto © Shonen Jump. I do not own either, and this is written well within fair use guidelines.
About this idea: A uncommonly known fact is that Naruto originally had a manga which acted as a pilot, Kishimoto's attempt to sell his new idea, and protagonist, to a publisher. In that, Naruto was a lonely orphan in a village hidden away from civilization, who is banished with the simple goal of making friends and proving an old man wrong. When it was seen by the people working for Viz Comics, they found Naruto to be a good fit for a similar concept, turning it into a world lost in the feudal era, and the latest generation of a centuries old feud, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.
This changed the dynamic of the series, for the worst, changing it from a fish-out-of-water story of a young kitsune boy dealing with the modern world's problems, and his own, to a world seemingly teetering constantly on the brink of all-out war, with a narrative that focused on combat, in a parallel to Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball. Focus was drawn away from Kishimoto's own slate of characters towards the other two main characters, Sasuke and Sakura, created by editorial mandate rather than Kishimoto's plan.
Over time, there was undue emphasis placed on Sasuke and Sakura, with whole arcs being dedicated to Sasuke and the Uchiha, and an early idea planted in many reader's heads that Naruto had feelings for Sakura, and very quickly, the fanbase heavily favoured Naruto with Sakura, which was never Kishimoto's intention, having created in his pitch documents the character of Hinata Hyuga, who had been planned as Naruto's girlfriend, but both Naruto and Hinata were portrayed in a way that ensured very few fans expected it to work.
During the Chunin Exams, there was a rather blatant attempt to put on a bus Hinata, as well as Kishimoto's favourite girl, Tenten, Kishimoto writing them to survive while writing out Sasuke, but the damage had been done, and was irrecoverable for the manga as is. Kishimoto's idea may never be known fully, and what little there is of it is persistently considered omake territory and an alternate universe, Word Of God being ignored. This story, however, tries to reconcile what Kishimoto was thinking of way back at the beginning of Naruto, without Sasuke or Sakura, and the only references to the Uchiha being as antagonists.
I will admit to using personal preferences at times, but again, I can't exactly pick Kishimoto's brain for what was and wasn't his idea. At the start of some chapters, I will put a Canon References Note, which explains what I am planning with this arc, without going into specifics. Oh yes, and the dedication – If you don't understand it, you don't know your anti-heroes. And if you do, You know exactly what it means.
Canon References Note: The first storyline arc, Race Across The Waves, obviously, is based on the Wave Country arc, reimagined as a biker's paradise created by Gato to profit off the gambling rights to the near-endless races, with anyone who tries to topple his empire just ending up with them disabled for life, if not worse. I use this concept to give something that Naruto could get involved in, that is also exciting and interesting to write about. Most other options would not be half as intriguing.
Naruto Zero Plus 1: The Race Across The Waves
Chapter 1: The Longest Journey...
Name: Gato, No other aliases known.
A former race promoter, he was disgraced when it was found only racers he sponsored were guaranteed to 'podium finish', with extortion and death threats used to make sure that independent racers accepted the 'generous' terms of Gato's sponsorship contracts, not noticing that almost everything they spent their winnings on, right down to the 'recommended' tools and parts suppliers, was a shell company for Gato. It was claimed, quite rightly, that Gato never lost a single yen that he used to bankroll his promotions, getting them back with interest instead.
Within weeks of arriving in Wave Country, he set up one of his biggest racing promotions ever, creating a motorcycle racing mecca. At first, it was hugely successful, with the only dubious aspect being that Gato quietly bought out most of the businesses that the riders would regularly use. Then the Black Riders arrived, all of them racers who thrived under his sponsorship, and carried out many of his encouragement of other racers, and quickly Gato was earning back as much as he spent, with only the Black Riders keeping any money they made.
A police investigation was began, which found was that Gato was back to his old tricks, even profiting immensely from one of his shell companies taking over everything from the repair garages to the gas pumps. There was an estimate that Gato owned over two thirds of Wave Country's economy. Shortly before they were able to take it to court, the officers who did the investigation were caught in a suspicious crash, with their car's engine catching fire and immolating everything inside. The supposedly independent investigation found no issues.
As of then, the police have discreetly observed from outside an invisible boundary, not wanting to chance more fatalities just to confirm if anything of the investigation remained. The local police chief however posted a 25,000 yen reward for anything that could bring Gato down, and a 1,000 yen reward for every Black Rider brought to justice, which increased as time passed. So far, none of the money has been paid out, and it's generally accepted that it never will, but the threat remained to keep Gato within Wave.
Naruto looked up as he arrived at the turning for Wave Country, having been suggested to go there by a local motorcycle rider. He wasn't to know about the history of the area, or the fact his bike's registration plate was photographed by an undercover police car, or the pretty chinese girl inside who checked a list, added it to the bottom in pencil, then went back to listening to the car radio. He was too busy thinking about how badly his first few weeks outside of his home village had gone.
The murder of the painter had ruined what he'd felt was a good start, as he'd been forced to leave the area fairly quickly in case he was investigated for other things. What he'd learned in the interim period was that he'd likely miscalculated on what old man Sarutobi was looking for, as he noticed groups of people in a very distinct and obvious pattern. A young man and a young woman, sometimes with children nearby. When he'd started his journey, he'd just looked for a friend who would be similar to him, but maybe it wasn't that which he needed...
However, there were very few couples on the coastal road he was driving down. Instead, there were bikes. Lots of bikes. Bikes that cost several times the implied price of his little scooter, in outfits that were much better designed for riding. He took a break at a roadside store, picking up some supplies, accepting the offer of a bed and some earplugs, bikes heading down towards the bridge to the nearby islands. However, the following morning, he looked out of the window to see the smashed and still burning remains of his scooter.
"What the hell?!" Naruto exclaimed, for the shop owner to walk up to him.
"Don't expect to catch the guy who torched your bike," The old man offered, "I called the police observation post, let them know to cross it off, but that's all they can do. The last police officer to come handle law around here left with a broken arm and a very low opinion on the local riders,"
"So, Why exactly did someone come torch my scooter?" Naruto asked, "It's nearly a day's walk back to the last town..."
"To discourage you from continuing," The old man stated, "About two thirds of those bikes that went past earlier, before the week's out, will have been destroyed and/or their riders will have an accident that has an ambulance take them back out through another route, also known locally as the Road Of Shame... Sometimes, they even live..."
"You seem to know a lot about it for a shopkeeper..." Naruto observed.
"This here is the Last Chance General Store, and acts as an unofficial, of course, admissions centre for the Race Across The Waves..." The old man declared with a hollow laugh, "I got the name since, a couple of hundred metres that-a-way is where those riders get into a race with the local 'Highway Patrol'. You finish that race by parking up in a garage spot, you lose by crashing. The bike is picked up, crushed then you turn up a day or two later back where you started, tossed in a dumpster, or maybe, if you do really well, they might admit you into a hospital..."
He then paused, wiping down the counter, considering something.
"That's just the start. You hit the road on your bike, well, if the lights go red against you, best be ready for a race," He sighed, looking down at a picture of a young man stood next to a motorbike, "My son learned about it the hard way. He got himself a brand new Kawasaki, tuned it to what he felt was perfection. Was one of the few times the ambulance went down the entrance road… He barely made it,"
"So, he told you about how it is in Wave?" Naruto asked.
"Yup, sat there with a couple of police officers, Iruka Umino and Ibiki Morino, and told them everything. Was all he could do, since he was on borrowed time," The old man offered, "Was lucid enough into his last days that he actually was the one who gave them authorisation to pull the plug on his life support… His bike was fine, but well..."
He then took two items out from under the counter, one being a stack of bank notes, the other being a set of keys.
"You've got two choices, kid, neither of them acceptable. You can take some money, get into town and forget this sorry mess..." The man stated, pausing before he added, "Or you can take his old bike, and go make those son-of-a-bitches pay,"
"I don't plan to run. Look, I don't think what's going on is exactly legal. Yeah, Sure, a racer's town might be a good place for people like your son to meet like-minded people, and sounds like I'd have fun in one, but when you have people like the punk that trashed my ride just because it's not some beast tuned till the engine screams..." Naruto sighed, picking up the keys, then, after a pause, the bank notes as well, since he'd need money, "What else can you tell me about how it is in there?"
"OK, It's your funeral..." The old man offered, getting a bundle of leather out from under the counter, "These used to belong to my son, They should fit you… He gave me two things. A really battered 8-ball, and some information, when he was conscious enough to talk. Told me to 'look for the snow queen', and that she was 'for the riders'. Guy also said something about a strange guy with weird eyes and a sharp suit meeting with Gato. I don't have a clue what he's getting at. Ain't nothing except people in biker leathers gone down that road for a while now…"
"Thanks..." Naruto replied, heading towards the bathroom, studying the 8-ball he'd found in the pocket, "Wonder what this is about?"
Shedding his trashed clothes, he dressed in the biker's leathers, pocketing the ball, before heading out to meet with the old man.
"I'm going to make a bet with you right now, old man..." Naruto stated, "I bet you the value of what's in that bundle of ryo, that next time you see me, I'll be riding out of Wave, my job done..."
"I'll raise ya… You come out of there with proof the Snow Queen and all that other crap my son said was genuine… You can name your price," The man stated, watching him leave, as a dark-haired figure on a lavender and purple motorbike drove up, the rider getting off, the man noticing her toss a set of fake plates in a nearby bin. Cuing up his own security camera, he snapped the plates, planning to send them to the monitoring post later. No-one honest went by the monitoring post on fakes.
"What do ya want?" He asked, for her to smile.
"To make you an offer..." She stated, "No-one really uses this store any more..."
"So, You're going to deal with Gato..." She stated, smiling, before she headed off after him. Oh. she expected to see the boy who had just left to come back the king of Wave, She wouldn't even be here if she didn't. But she knew that the punks who trashed the scooter would be back here when they traced Naruto's first bike's origins, to remind the old man to stop poking his nose where it didn't belong.
A few hours later, a police car arrived at the store, the driver cursing.
"So, Is your wayward target still there?" Sgt Might asked on their radio, the driver cursing.
"We just missed her, and taking a car into Wave costs too much... and that's if the car gets back out in a usable state," She muttered, "Dammit! If it wasn't for the old man sending us the right plates, we'd have been here earlier! I said those plates were dodgy!"
"Don't ask me..." The other person in the car stated, "We'll just wait for her, and hopefully will catch her coming back out… Last cops to go past this store, their brakes got cut and they were almost killed..."
The girl, Tenten, entered the store, noticing a napkin tucked under a broken lottery machine, a very odd place to put it, especially when it had a series of numbers on it. Checking the numbers on it, she made a phone call, getting a call a few days later stating that she had to tell them where she got her numbers from, since they were clearly the latest set the station's syndicate used.
She now knew why their target, one Hinata Hyuga, the cousin of her partner, had gone into an area with active police surveillance. She wanted Tenten and Neji to be there. Just that one fact made her shut off the engine for their car, drain the fuel tank and take out the battery. Until they needed to go in, they had to make sure the car was not destroyed. Hinata was paranoid, yes, but she was almost always right...
Naruto noted the looks he got as he entered town. He'd avoided the punks who had destroyed his scooter by only travelling at night, guessing quite rightly that even they needed to sleep. He noticed what the old man meant as he observed several black bikes heading through the entrance after he'd already hidden his bike, for them to come back a short time later, giving each other high fives.
"Another idiot bites the dust..." One of them gloated, "Like the boss says… 'We have enough idiots, don't let anyone else in...', so, what do we do?"
"Trash them and bag them!" The others cheered. Ignoring them, realising the real reason why his scooter was trashed. They'd hit quota. Naruto watched a nearby large video screen, where a woman was reading something built into her desk.
"In Southern Wave, Zabuza's Kamen Rider is looking at his fourth straight win as he comes in with another record lap time. In the Coastal Sea Run, Greased Lightning has managed to get a respectable third in an incredibly close run race, while the Spinning Pinwheel may well take the top spot in the Northern circuit!"
"So, When do you bet the Momochi boy is gonna lose? I'm thinking he won't manage a fifth win..." A man muttered nearby.
"I don't know… He's one of the few pro riders who hasn't had a bike fall apart due to bad maintenance, since Zabuza owns that big freaking truck… Admittedly, Anyone who tries to use mechanics who live in town is asking for it..." The other man replied, "Hell, I don't think he's actually permanently lost a single bike..."
Naruto sighed. He didn't expect it to be that bad, that the mechanics were crooked as much as the man who had turned an industrialised island chain into a racing nirvana, but it was a corrupt town, and he was here to fix it. And maybe find someone who could come with him back to the village, after a very generous detour.
"So, Where do you think I'm going to find a reputable garage?" He asked the two men, who laughed.
"Tell ya what… I'll sponsor you, and keep whatever piece of junk you slipped past the guards on the road, don't tell me you didn't, maybe even help upgrade it," The man who had been talking about the mechanics offered, "Penalty is, every rank below 1st you get, I take 5% of your winnings, so, you end up at the back, well… You don't get jack. You win, I take what the league gives me… It's the rules, kid. I have to pay the rent, same as anyone else..."
"So, If I do shit at the racing, I get nothing, but if I win, I take the pot?" Naruto asked.
"Course, keep yourself away from anything black, if you catch my drift, or we'll both be losing money… If I hadn't got caught out by that, I'd be doing more than just sponsoring some fool..." The man grumbled, getting up as he retrieved a walking cane from beside himself, "First things first is we head for the Western Reaches, it's a good newbie run, other than the Garage Run, which you're good to have skipped out on considering, and it only has one major Black Rider..."
"And Zabuza congratulates his protege as he wins another race, narrowly avoiding a crash at the last minute!" The announcer declared, His new sponsor wincing as they replayed the moment, Naruto noting one of the bikes that was totalled had been black.
Whoever this Kamen Rider was, he'd clearly been about to have a 'career-ending' incident, but they'd avoided it completely. Clearly, the talk of how people didn't win very many races was because almost every race had someone there to make sure they lost. This was not racing. This was a blood sport, and Naruto now knew that he had to take part to solve all of this... because otherwise, it would only get worse...