The Sweetest Vengeance.
What would have happened, had the Kyubbi really wanted to get back at Minato?
If he wished to be able to rub his success in the Yondaime's face, and watch him break down, his work undone, and all he held dear taken from him?
If he had thought it through, and took the least thought-of path available. A path that few dare tread.
A path filled with pitfalls, and dangers, and at the end, a prize truly worth having.
The path of the Ultimate Revenge.
In Simple Words...... The Sweetest Vengeance.
Disclaimer: I don't own the work of Kishimoto or Naruto. If I met him, I'd congratulate him for making such a good series, and maybe warn him to tone down Duck-butt a bit. Otherwise, thumbs up. Don't sue me. I'll ignore it.
("Kyuubi Speak"/" Harsh and Pronounced speaking.")
(Naruto's thoughts)
(Kyuubi's thoughts)
Chapter 1: The Kyuubi's Epiphany.
In one of the orphanages of Konohagakure, the scene taking place is not a promising one. The boy Naruto is feared, and universally hated by the villagers, and some of the ninja. He is beaten and abused. Treated like inhuman scum by those who do not outright assault him. Table scraps, and expired milk are staples of his diet, and moth-eaten sheets his sole protection from the nightly cold.
Each day, more people grow bolder in their hatred. Poison coats his food like a spice, and his orange clothes mark him, so he cannot hide.
Returning to the orphanage, we find the manager of the orphanage, and three of his 'assistants' in the boy's room. His room is separated from the rooms of the other children, and soundproof walls, as well as a re-enforced door denote his room of the passing eye.
The sight that greets the Hokage's eye as he soundlessly slips open the door, for a surprise check on the young pariah, does not bode well for the future of those four men......
Another day, another beating.Thought of the Kyuubi, as it watched through the eyes of its container, idly taking note of the door silently being opened. And look who's here, a bit late, I think.
The Nine-tailed Fox watched the small boy of 3 toddle backwards, reeling from a blow that would have cracked the skull of a different child. The polished wood of the small club splintered from the force of the hit.
"Damn demon! Why won't you die?!" The man shouted as he swung, again, and again, blows raining down upon the child. Little Naruto clutched his hands and arms around his head. The arms took most of the force. The skin bruised, and underneath it, small cracks began to appear in the bones of the child.
Suddenly, the blows stopped. A massive weight seemed to appear on the chest of the occupants of the room. Heads slowly turned to the elderly man holding the wrist of the man with the club. A silent rictus of pain covered the man's face. The Hokage was squeezing his wrist, wet pops, and several loud cracks washed around the room. With a sharp twist, the Hokage tore the hand from the man's arm. "And if your hand should offend you, Remove It." He flung the hand to the wall, the wet smack of flesh and bone breaking the silence. The man fell to his knees, screams tearing from his mouth, before they were silenced by the glare sent to him by the Third Hokage. His heart almost stopped at the fear the gaze invoked.
"Your hand offended me, and so I removed it. You offend me, so I shall remove you." The Hokage backhanded the man, sending him to the floor. He flicked a finger on his right hand, and four ANBU were in the room, each behind one of the men. The ANBU restrained the men, and at a nod from the Hokage, sent them spiraling into a sleeping oblivion.
The now-handless man stayed awake long enough for the words of the Hokage to reach him. A quiet fury filled his voice. "Take them all to Ibiki. Make them regret their actions, then feed them to the worms. Save the one without a hand for me." The ANBU shivered at the tone in the Hokage's voice. He was truly in a rage. The ANBU flickered and dissapeared with their burdens.
Except for the one which the Hokage stopped, reaching out a hand, and catching him by the scruff of his neck. He leaned down, and spoke into the ear of the ANBU. "Inu, I wish for you to find the ANBU team on duty for tonight. Subdue them, and bring them to Ibiki as well. Do this by any means necessary. Poison, direct combat, I care not. Have them all in the prison before the end of tommorow." He released the ANBU, and Inu dissapeared.
With a weary sigh, the Hokage released his anger, breathing deeply to assist the process. He turned back to the boy, and rage flared once again. Bruises were forming on the arms of the child, huge, purple and red bruises. Beneath the arms, a deep blow had broken his nose, and dented his cheekbone. It would take awhile to heal from this, despite the Fox's healing ability. One of the few blessings of his being a Jinchuriki.
Once again, he silently cursed his inablility to make the village change their view of the boy. What could they possibly see of the Nine-Tails in this small, and fragile child? His whiskers were so barely noticeable, no sane man could take them into account.
The boy quietly began sobbing, now that the bad men were gone. He had kept quiet, so no more bad men would come. But now, he could voice some his pain. The bruising was beginning to turn yellow. Why, he silently asked himself, tears dripping from his cheeks, why does this happen to me? Why do they hit me, why am I called demon? Why am I called Monster, when I walk around?
The boy felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up, to see the face of the Hokage. Small tears gathered at the corners of his face as well.
A tension that had gone unnoticed in the room broke as the Hokage sunk to his knees and hugged the child.
The boy's sobbing began to slowly cease the front of the Hokage's robes becoming slightly damp as the tears soaked into it.
The hard night sunk into the child, and his body's only recourse, was sleep. Sweet oblivion overcame the child's mind, and he grew still in the Hokage's arms. Calm, even breaths passed through his lips.
The Hokage rose, and cradled the sleeping child in his arms.
With one swift movement, he vanished from sight.
---In the Hokage's Office----
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at the child lying asleep in his office. He had nowhere else to put him.
He would find a someplace to place the boy. The Clans avoided him like disease, and no civilian family would take him, for fear of the hatred of the other villagers.
He would have to live on his own, without a family, until...... until he could get one of his own. The thought saddened the Third greatly.
All through the night, he searched Konoha for something the boy could live in, and found an abandoned apartment complex. He put in an order to fix it up, and transported the sleeping boy to his new home.....
---In the abandoned apartment complex-------
The boy slept fitfully on his new bed, the Hokage bringing said bed along with him. He pinned a note to the wall, the note explaining that the apartment was his, and indeed, the entire complex was his to live in. He would send a few people later to fix it up. Utilities and rent would be wished the boy to keep the fact to himself.
Looking down at the child, the man sighed once again at the whims of fate. A whim that had ruined this child as surely as a glass window was ruined when one threw a rock at it.
With this thought in his mind, his image blurred, and he was gone.
But sometimes, windows are made of reinforced glass, and pressure from the inside balances out the impact.
Fate had plans for this boy, and when a door is closed, sometimes a window opens.
Fate can be defied, but it would do its damnedest to keep to its schedule, if the villagers would nt support the boy, then it would turn to another pillar of support, hidden in the shadows, and with a careful nudge of its ghostly fingers, it reached out, and touched a mind more powerful than it usually did.....
It touched the mind of an ancient vulpine, a certain orange-furred, nine-tailed fox, and moved its mind, stuck in a well-worn rut of revenge, down a slightly different path.
------------The mind of Kyuubi--------------------
How do I get revenge? This thought was the most prominent in the fox's mind. Plans of how to break free, and how to either eat the boy, and the village, or kill the by, and destroy the village, abounded.
The nudge pushed the focus of the mind to a different set of thoughts. The fox began to speak to itself, an action it used to retain its sanity.
Y'know, seeing the boy beaten like that used to fun, but its getting old. Not to mention I have to repair the damage. Something must be done.
And seeing as how I want to make this pitiful village pay for this indignation, how should I accomplish this?
The great beast looked into its mind, and remembered.
Cycling past its memories of the world. Sorting through events is had seen and caused. Witnessed and participated in.
Books it had read, and written, stories it had heard, and re-told. It sought knowledge, and its tireless search was rewarded.
Drip, drip drip drip. The incessant dropping of the sewer water distracted him, and in that moment, Fate struck.
A lighting bolt hit Kyuubi's mind. Knowledge blossomed, and a plan was laid out. So skillfully, so well-planned, so devious, it could be nothing but his own work.
On the inside of its mind, it crowed in delight, and inside the cage in the mind of the boy, a deep sound came forth.
"Ku ku ku ku ku. !
Its so simple! How did I not think of this before? Its fulfilling, and kind, cruel, and just so...... Me!
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHH!"
The fox took a moment and voiced its plan. A plan so simple, so devious, so unthinkable, that no-one would expect it.
"I shall make the boy my son. Mine in body and soul. I shall bind him to me, and when he come of age, he shall destroy the village. And while he lives, he will willingly search for a way to release me. And when I take my next trip to the Ether, I shall rip his soul from the Shinigami's stomach, and point down to the mortal realm, and force him to watch as his son wreaks destruction upon the race of humanity, mock him, then I shall toss him back into its mouth.
For now I shall wait. When the opportunity ty present itself, I shall find a way to intrigue him. Children are naturally curious. I shall make him bridge our minds. And then I shall begin turning him to my point of view. With his experiences, it shall take little to convince him to accept me. I may not be his biological father, but I shall be even better. After all, I shall not leave him, no matter the case. I couldn't, even if I wished to. "
And so the Nine-tails waited for the moment in which it could advance its plan.
-------------------------------------------
Fate left its mind, secure in the knowledge that certain events would occur, and that its task was complete.
For now.
Authors note.
I'm fairly new here, and if you cared to look at my profile, you'd see what my goals are.
I intend to update this story every so often.
Some you might notice the Hokage is a bit more.... strong-willed in this fic. That's because he is. This is what he should have been. I intend to remake him as he should have been. Strong, Charismatic, and above all. Badass.
He is the stongest ninja in the village, he should damn well act like it.
Flame me if you must, but I'll probably ignore it.
