"Nii-san!"

A young boy, of about 5 years old, with blond hair, three whisker-like scars on each cheek, looked around frantically for his older brother. Ignoring the hate-filled glares he was receiving by the other villagers in the shopping center, he ran blindly in the direction where he last saw his brother.

"NII-SAN!" cried the poor boy. But it all for naught, it seemed. Stopping by a bench, he sat down and started crying. This wasn't supposed to happen! He and his brother was only going to buy more food at the nearby shopping center, but then he was captivated by the most amazing butterfly he ever saw, and started to chase after it, his brother too busy paying for their food to notice. When the boy came to his senses, he realized that he was too far away from the store where he and his brother went to. If only he had been more focused, none of this wouldn't ha –

"Hey, demon spawn!"

His train of thoughts interrupted, he looked up to see one of the nearby shoppers, glaring at him menacingly.

"You're in my seat," he snarled.

The boy frowned. "But, this is a public bench. It shouldn't belong to any – AGH!" the boy started then screamed in pain when the asshole punched him!

"Well I don't give a damn, you demon fuck! Get the hell off my bench!" yelled the man, about to punch the 'demon fuck' when a hand shot out of nowhere, caught his wrist and broke it with just a squeeze. Screaming, the man fell to his knees, cradling it his wrist.

The boy looked up at the one who broke the man's wrist, and suddenly grinned from ear to ear. With a cry of joy, he ran, jumped, and with a cry of "NII-SAN!" hugged his brother.

'Nii-san' smiled for a moment, then frowned upon seeing the bruise on his little brothers face when the shopper punched him. "Naruto," said blonde looked up to see the only person who loves him, looking at him in concern. "What did I say about going somewhere without me with you? How am I supposed to protect you if I don't know where you are?"

Naruto looked down in shame, tears flowing freely from his cerulean-blue eyes. Sighing, the elder sibling was about to say something when the shopper spoke again, "What the fuck man?! Why do you protect that demon fucker?! He's the one who nearly destroyed our entire fucking village! So why? WHY DO YOU PROTECT HIM?!"

Narrowing his eyes, the young man looked at his little brother, ignoring the shopper for a moment, said, "Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, look at me."

Sniffing, the blond boy looked up at his Nii-san, his dark-blue eyes somehow bringing a sense of comfort. "Remember that technique I showed you, the one where you disappear in leaves?"

Timidly, he replied, "Y-yeah. What 'bout it, Nii-san?"

Smiling softly, he slowly untangled Naruto's arms around his torso, and kneeled to he could be eye-to-eye with him, and said, "I want you to use it, got to Sarutobi-Jiji's office, and wait for me there. And while you're there, tell him what happened, okay?"

Naruto sniffed, and smiled back at his brother, "You got it, Shima-nii!"

'Shima-nii' smiled, and quietly urged Naruto to do so. Without hesitation, the boy quickly performed Shunshin, and disappeared in with only leaves indicating he was there. Standing, he glared at the man who dared attack his precious little brother. Said man was now wide-eyed as if he just realized who this imposing young man was.

" 'S-Shima-nii?!' You mean, y-you're Shimazaru Uzumaki Namikaze?! The eldest son of the Fourth Hokage and the Red Death themselves?!"

The man and the bystanders felt the temperature rise as the young man narrowed his eyes dangerously. Looking at the bystanders, he snarled, "If all of you are done staring at me, GO THE FUCK AWAY!"

Taking heed of his warning, they all bolted, leaving only the young man and the terrified man, who just shit his pants. Shimazaru then walked slowly to the downed man, and knelt before him, staring at him like a hunter would his prey. Softly, he said, "What did you say?"

"I-I-I said t-t-that you w-w-were the son of Minato Namikaze a-and K-Kushina Uzumaki."

Without warning, Shimazaru punched him in the jaw with enough force to dislocate his jaw and knocked a few bloody teeth out of his mouth. Ignoring the screams, Shimazaru took out four kunai out off his weapons pouch. A couple minutes later, we find Shimazaru standing next to the downed man with kunais stabbed through both pairs of hands and feet, pinning him to the ground. Kneeling next the man again, he said softly, "You're half right, by the way."

Blinking tears of pain away, the pinned man looked up at him weakly. Continuing, Shimazaru said, "I'm the son of Minato Namikaze, yes, but not that red-headed bitch. Do I look like I have blonde or red hair, dip-shit?"

Realization dawned on him. Raven-black hair that had resemblance to that of the Fourth Hokage but long enough that reached to his shoulder-blades tied in a pony-tail, sharp cheekbones, and a hint of arrogance, the man said, "Y-y-you're – "

"Now that you know, let me properly introduce myself. I am Shimazaru Uchiha Namikaze, and I'm your death."

(Line Break)

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage of Konoha, also known as the Professor and the God of Shinobi, sighed tiredly. He spent the entire day doing the accursed paperwork that seemed to be mocking him by growing every time he thinks he finished it, and just a couple of minutes ago, a tired-looking Naruto appeared in his office. Upon seeing his jiji, Naruto told the old Hokage everything that happened at the shopping center. Just thinking about the paperwork that would come involving this newest incident make Hiruzen cringe.

Now at the moment, he was still comforting the poor boy, who was worried about his older brother. "Saru-jiji, we should help him! Send your ANBU, send the jonin, send somebody! Just help my brother!"

Despite the boy's distress, Hiruzen smiled warmly at the boy, "Naruto my boy, you underestimate your older brother. Did you forget that Shimazaru-kun is also in ANBU, a captain at that. And you know of his . . . power . . . so don't worry about it, okay?"

That cheered the boy up slightly, and with a small smile, nodded. Just then, the sound of static alerted the two of the new comer. Naruto's small smile turned into a Cheshire grin as he ran towards, "Shima-nii!"

With a small laugh, Shimazaru caught his little brother and spun him around, much to the younger Namikaze's delight. Sarutobi smiled a bit, before he frowned upon noticing the small spots of blood on the elder brother's clothes. After the two brothers had their little fun, Sarutobi decided it was time to get to business. "Naruto-kun, why don't you wait outside for a moment. I have to talk to your nii-san."

Naruto frowned. "But Jiji," he started, but his older brother cut him off. "Naruto, wait outside. I have to talk to Saru-jiji anyway."

Noticing his brother's serious look, he nodded, and walked out of the office, pouting slightly. When the door closed behind him, Hiruzen asked, "What happened this time?"

Shimazaru shrugged, and sat down on a chair that was in front of the Hokage desk. After a moment, he replied, "I'm sure Naruto told you what happened. You should know by now what happens when one of those fuckers you call 'villagers' do to my otouto, Sarutobi."

Hiruzen frowned a bit, "Shimazaru, that's the fourth death this month. The civilian council has had enough with your attitude and it's time to –" Sarutobi was interrupted when he felt a large amount of KI coming from the young man before him. Sarutobi sighed, and put up barriers around his office to prevent his ANBU from interfering and to prevent young Naruto get a taste of his brother's killing intent.

Tiredly, he looked into Shimazaru's eyes, still dark blue but instead of the normal pupil, it transformed to that of a black star with four circles around it(2). He glared at the Hokage, and with a snarl, said, "Don't you DARE use those fuckers at the civilian council to excuse the mistreatment of my younger brother, Hokage-sama. It's your fucking idiocy to let those . . . MONSTERS . . . know of Naruto's burden. You think that a law, that you yourself haven't upheld since his birth, would prevent them from treating him with hate and trying to kill him every fucking day the moment you announced to the whole village that he was the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi? You and your foolish ideals are going to kill my brother someday, Sarutobi!"

Looking ashamed for a moment, Sarutobi put on his 'Kage' face, looking at Shimazaru coldly. He said, "Boy, you will not talk to your leader like this. I know that I fucked up before, and you and your brother have suffered for it. For that, I'm truly, deeply sorry. But for once in your adolescent life, look at things from my point of view. As a Kage, I must do what I think is best for the village. However," here the 'Kage' face slipped off and instead, a look of grief and sorrow was on Hiruzen's face. Shimazaru lowered his KI at this, and Sarutobi continued, "you're right. I shouldn't have told them, I should've kept it a secret. So, you have every reason to hate me, to hate this village, to destroy it and reduce it to a big gaping hole. And you could, with your unique . . . power. But let me ask you; why didn't you?"

Shimazaru hesitated, and with his eyes slowly going to normal, replied in a tone of voice much too old for one of his age, "Because I would be the same as those fuckers. I don't want to live up to their expectations of me and Naruto. Plus, they really aren't worth my time and energy to destroy, anyway."

Chuckling, Sarutobi asked, "So, is all forgiven."

Shimazaru replied hesitantly, "Forgiven, but not forgotten. Know this, Sarutobi, if this happens again, I WILL take Naruto away from the village."

Sarutobi sighed, glad that he dodged that bullet, so to speak. "Fair enough. Now that that's taken care of, I have a assignment for you. It is S-classed, and –"

"Really, Sarutobi? After this discussion, you're giving me a job? I just got back and barely spent enough time with Naruto."

"Shimazaru, I know that you just got back. But if it wasn't important or involved Naruto's safety, I wouldn't – "

"What do you mean, it involves the safety of Naruto?"

Inwardly, Hiruzen smirked. "We have suspicion to believe that there is a organization, called Akatsuki, that will – "

"Wait, you mean Akatsuki, the mercenary group of missing-nins who basically do what we do? Take missions, ranging from assassinations to escorts? I don't see what this has to do with Naruto's safety."

Sarutobi looked annoyed, "If you didn't interrupt me, you would've known that there is a rumor that their true motives is to collect all the bijuu."

"…by remove you mean – "

"Yes, as in beating the hosts within an inch of their lives, take them to their hideout, extract the bijuu, and leave them for dead."

"….Where did you get this information? Who was the informant?"

"Your godfather, Jiraiya, due to his vast spy network, has uncovered bits and pieces of it. And considering the credibility of such a network, these rumors are probably correct."

"….What are your orders, Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi paused, taking a moment to study the young Shinobi before him. Shimazaru Uchiha Namikaze is considered a prodigy that came every other generation, already on par with his father and Itachi Uchiha, who murdered his entire clan only six months ago, leaving only his little brother Sasuke alive. Sarutobi sighed. Both pairs of brothers are so alike, yet so different. The only difference is that one pair is born to the love of a family, while one of the other was born to hate and loneliness. If Shimazaru was to accept this mission Sarutobi was about to give him, there is a possibility that he wouldn't see his little brother again.

"Your mission, Konton, is to infiltrate the Akatsuki and report any valuable information you can regarding their plans, their motives, and how far along they've come to reach their true goal. Understood?"

Shimazaru stood up, and bowed to the Hokage, "Your will be done, Hokage-sama."

As he was about to leave, Sarutobi said, "Shimazaru, for what it's worth . . . good luck."

The ANBU captain paused for a moment, and left, the sound of static is the only proof that he was there in the first place.

Leaning back, Sarutobi took out his pipe, put some tobacco in it, lit it with a small fire from his fingers, and said quietly, "And the pieces are in motion."

(Line Break

"What do you mean you're leaving? You just got back! Surely Jiji could postpone your mission for another day or two. I can ask –"

"Naruto."

Said blonde kid looked at his brother with teary eyes. Shimazaru was putting on his outfit he wore during missions, a hooded black robe with standard ANBU armor over it, with black Shinobi pants, and a ninjato strapped to his left shoulder. He was bare-footed, Naruto idly noticed. Strapped across his right shoulder, was a black iron staff that had runes that ran down its length, for what purpose Naruto didn't know. His brother was very secretive about that staff.

Kneeling down to Naruto's level, Shimazaru sighed. "I have to go on this mission immediately. There's no excuses. This organization, it's dangerous. It's a threat to the village, to the Elemental Nations, and more importantly, it's a threat for your safety, otouto. All things considered, I should've been gone by now. But I wanted to say goodbye to you before you left. And to tell you to be strong. To look forward, and don't look back. You'll age if you pull back. You'll –"

"You'll die if you hesitate." Naruto heard his brother say this so many times when he's down that its practically engraved in his memory.

Shimazaru smiled, and pulled his brother in a hug, a few tears flowing down his cheeks. Naruto sobbed uncontrollably into his chest. After what seemed like hours, Naruto pulled away, looking up at his Shima-nii, tears flowing down his cerulean eyes. "Are we ever going to see each other again?"

At this, Shimazaru smirked a bit. "Of course. If it's one thing that is for sure common in our family is that we are hard-headed sons of bitches. Right?"

Naruto laughed. "Right!"

Standing, he went to his drawer, where a seal is. Channeling a bit of chakra to his hand, he touched the seal, and in a puff of smoke, a plain white mask appeared. The only symbols it had was kanji for 'wolf,' 'fire,' and 'death.' But what was unique about this mask was that the three kanji's was fading in and out, sometimes two would appear at the same time, while other times nothing would show up. When first asked about this mask, Shimazaru would shrug, smirk, and say, "It's like me; unpredictable and chaotic."

Taking his mask off the table, Shimazaru walked to the door, opened it, and as he was about to leave, he looked back to his little brother, smiling with more tears and said, "Naruto, I love you."

Tears freely flowing again, Naruto all but yelled, "I LOVE YOU TOO, NII-SAN!"

With that, the door closed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything else that may appear in this fanfic, except my own OC's.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

2: think Shukaku's eye, except the star is longer and a bit thinner.

3: means "Chaos"

Hey, so whoever is reading this story, and hopefully this author's notes, I'm Lord Night Angel, and this is my first story. Sorry if this chapter is a bit short, but trust me when I say that the length of chapters will increase as the story progresses. And if you haven't figured it out yet, this whole chapter is a flashback. Why? Well, that's how the story is written. And flashback's will actually be important in this story, unlike how some authors use them. Also, there will be references to other animes, like Zangetsu's quote from Bleach. But I have a reason for that! You'll find out later on why I do this.

One last thing; if you leave a review, please write something along the lines of constructive criticism, because when I look at reviews from other stories, its just all just "update faster" every fucking line. So please, write something that could actually help me improve my writing.

Thanks,

Lord Night Angel.