UPDATE 30/11/2012: combined chapter 1, 2, 3 into chapter 1. I really hope I didn't mess anything up. Also, I will update this chapter after some time, to check and improve my writing here. I REALLY hope reviews so far won't disappear Q.Q
UPDATE 31/12/2012: re-read this chapter:
*Gave it a title, *Corrected some spelling mistakes and some grammar (which I could spot), *Changed some sentences, *Changed some words in some sentences. Nothing major, but hopefully it will be more pleasant to read. I plan to change the battle scene at the end so it would look more epic.
UPDATE 14/03/2013 : the chapter has been beta'ed. All thanks to the beta ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and I guess I never will.
CHAPTER 1
Origins
8 years after the attack of the Kyuubi
It was a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon in Konohagakure. It was quite hot this time of day as well, but that wasn't such a surprise considering that Konoha is in Hi no Kuni. The birds were chirping and a warm breeze could be felt. The villagers were busy going about their business. Standing atop Hokage tower was Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was the current Hokage. He was looking at his village when a sad smile crept on his face.
"Minato, thank you for saving our village… if only I could've helped to prevent such a sacrifice. If only people would've honored your last wish." He thought.
He didn't have much time to think about the past when he heard someone's steps behind him. When he turned around, he saw his secretary, Yumi. She was an attractive woman in her mid twenties. She had shoulder length brown hair which she kept in a ponytail and she also had narrow dark purple eyes. She wore a white, sleeveless blouse, navy skirt which went to her knees, and pair of simple civilian boots.
"Hokage-sama, Iruka-san requests an audience with you." she said.
Hiruzen looked at the village for one last time and sighed "Send him to my office and tell him I will be there in 5 minutes."
"Very well, Hokage-sama." she replied respectfully, bowed, and left.
"I wonder what he wants. It's very rare that he comes to see me." The old hokage thought and after a minute, left.
-Hokage's office-
"Hello Iruka," welcomed the old Hokage "So, tell me, why did you want to see me?"
"Well, umm... I wanted you to sign this." Iruka stuttered, then gave the Hokage a sheet of paper. When the Hokage read through everything, he raised an eyebrow.
"Field trip, huh? Why so sudden?" the old Hokage asked. To be honest, he was quite surprised because he didn't expect the first year academy students to go outside of the village. Usually this kind of field trip only happened in the third or fourth year.
"I decided to do it this year because my class is quite promising. We will be alright: Mizuki will help me watch the kids. And it's not like it will happen tomorrow; I planned to do it after 3 weeks so I can prepare them." Iruka replied calmly. He really believed that his students were the most promising and gifted students in all academy history after the Yondaime.
The old Hokage thought about it for a while. "Very well then, I'll sign this form and allow you to take kids on a field trip. In 3 days time I'll inform the guards about this."
Iruka smiled and thanked the old man "Thank you. I shall go now and inform the kids." Iruka bowed and walked slowly towards the doors.
Before Iruka could exit the office, the Hokage asked, "Tell me, Iruka, how is Naruto?"
"Naruto? Well, Naruto is being Naruto – doing pranks, being a loud-mouth and missing classes. His grades are not high as well." Iruka stopped for a second and thought about something. "But I feel that he is hiding something, like he is acting or it's some kind of facade."
"What do you mean?" the Hokage asked curiously.
"Well, sometimes during lessons when I ask him a question, I can see in his eyes that he knows the correct answer but for some reason he gives me an incorrect one instead. Also, in sparring matches I can see that he has good taijutsu stances, but he never shows how good he is for some unknown reason. If he keeps this up, he will be the dead last. It's still the first year, though." Iruka replied with a sad expression. He knew that Naruto didn't have any family and that he lived alone. That's why Iruka befriended Naruto and acted like an older brother figure to him, but he never helped him in any academy subjects because it would look like favouritism. But it was not like Naruto ever asked anyone to help him. The academy teacher knew what his students were capable of and Naruto WAS capable enough to get good grades.
"Have you talked to him about that? Maybe if you talk to him, he won't act like that and will actually try... Anyway, thanks for telling me this. You may go now." the old Hokage replied with a kind smile.
"Hai, Hokage-sama" the teacher answered and left the room.
Hiruzen looked out the window for a minute and then returned to the nightmare of all Kages – paperwork.
One thought slipped through his mind, "Be safe."
-Next day in the academy-
Iruka stood in front of the class, ready to announce the news about the field trip to everyone. He didn't have many students: there were some kids from shinobi clans and some civilian kids. Everyone was talented though, and everyone was ready to go on the field trip. At least, he thought so.
"Okay class, calm down and listen." Iruka called out, hoping everyone would listen. But that wasn't the case. It looked like no one even heard him.
"SHUT UP!" Iruka shouted while he thought "This happens every single day ..." The class went dead silent and turned their attention to the teacher. "Ahem... I talked to the Hokage yesterday and-"
He couldn't finish, because Naruto, who sat next to Sasuke, interrupted him "Did he allow you to teach us some kind of cool jutsu?"
"No-..."once again he couldn't finish the sentence.
"Aww… Maybe he will take us on some cool mission?" Naruto asked curiously.
Shikamaru had enough of Naruto's shouting. "Oi, Naruto. We're not even Genin so no one will take us on any kind of mission. And we will not learn any jutsu until next year because we haven't started to learn how to mold and use chakra. So calm down and listen what Iruka-sensei wants to say and let me sleep. Geez."
"Fine! But just because YOU don't know how to mold and use chakra doesn't mean everyone else here doesn't know how to!" Naruto replied angrily.
Shikamaru glanced at Naruto in curiosity, "I'm sure that no one here knows how to use chakra even for a simple Bunshin. Maybe he meant that HE can do that… I doubt it, though." After that, he decided not to bother himself with this topic.
But he wasn't the only one who shared his thoughts. Ino, who had overheard Naruto's conversation with Shikamaru said, "Naruto, I'm sure that no one here knows how to properly use chakra, even for simple Bunshin. The academy starts teaching it in the second year and those who are from a shinobi clan start learning it from their parents when they turn 9 years old. So don't say such stupid things, baka."
"Tch, whatever…" the blonde muttered.
But Iruka knew better - if Naruto said something like that, then Naruto really meant it.
And true to Iruka's thoughts, Naruto started to do tree climbing exercises in his free time. He could stand on a tree for an hour, but he kept improving.
Weeks ago, Naruto snuck into the shinobi section of the library and read a scroll about chakra control. Well, that had been the first scroll he could get to before the librarian noticed him.
The librarian (whose name was Akihiro) wasn't a bad person and didn't treat Naruto like other civilians; he had read books about Fuuinjutsu and knew some basics of the art of sealing. But still, he followed the rules and didn't allow civilians to go into the shinobi section, which was why he just asked Naruto to not ever go there until he become a ninja or he (Akihiro) would have to watch Naruto's every step in library. Naruto didn't want to lose Akihiro's trust and apologized. Akihiro allowed Naruto to keep the chakra control exercise scroll with one condition – to return it when Naruto mastered all the exercises. Seeing Naruto's joyful smile, the librarian smiled as well.
Back to the classroom.
Iruka decided not to think about Naruto at that particular moment. Instead he said, "As I tried to say before," He then sternly looked at Naruto and continued, "I talked to the Hokage yesterday and he has given me permission to take you on a 2 day field trip."
Immediately he mentioned the word 'field trip' everyone started shouting and discussing it with others. Well, not everyone was happy.
Some random civilian girl, whose name was Aiko, started to protest "Eew, but there are those disgusting bugs," when Shino heard this, his eyebrows twitched. The girl didn't notice it and continued, "And where will we sleep? And what about food? And where will we wash ourselves and-..."
Naruto interrupted her "Oi, Aiko, shut up! Bugs are very useful allies in battle!" he then looked at Shino, who was a bit surprised that Naruto defended him, and nodded to him in silent thanks. Then Naruto turned back to Aiko "And you are soon to become ninja. When ninjas go out on missions, they will have to sleep outside in almost every mission and find food in the forest if they want to survive."
Iruka nodded in agreement. "Yes, Naruto has a point there. And it's not like you have to go. If you don't want to, no one will insist."
"Maybe he's not such an idiot like he acts… troublesome…" Shikamaru thought. Maybe he will talk to Naruto later to find out for sure whether he is an idiot or not. He wasn't the only one with similar thoughts.
"So he isn't such an idiot like he wants everyone to believe. I knew something was not right about him." Sasuke thought, then looked at the shouting Naruto and smirked.
"SHUT UP!" Iruka yelled and received attention from students "There are still some things about this field trip you need to know. First, you have to ask your parents to sign this form if you want to go," he then gave everyone their forms and continued, "You have until the end of this week to hand it in. Secondly, the field trip will be 3 weeks from today, on Wednesday, and we will be back on Thursday afternoon. So don't forget to take supplies for a 2 day trip. Now, you are all dismissed for today."
With this, everyone nodded and ran out from the classroom. It was not every day the instructor allowed them to go home early, so they didn't need to be told twice. But there was one person who didn't go with everyone else. One Naruto Uzumaki. He sat in his seat with a sad expression on his face.
"What's the matter, Naruto?" Iruka asked with a small, warm smile. He already had an idea what was bothering the blonde student.
Naruto looked at the teacher and said "Well, no one's waiting for me anyway so I don't have to hurry. Besides…" he then looked back at the desk "…I don't have parents who can sign this form."
Iruka saw how sad Naruto was and he didn't like to see him like that. And he knew what could brighten Naruto's mood. Although he was sure his purse wouldn't like what he was going to do.
"Come, Naruto. I will treat you to Ichiraku ramen and once your mood lifts, we can discuss what we can do about this form."
"YAYY! RAMEN!" Naruto shouted and ran out of class "Come on, Iruka-sensei!"
Iruka chuckled and watched with amusement and wondered how just a single bowl of ramen can change Naruto's mood. Or two bowls… or three… or … Oh Kami.
-Later at Ichiraku Ramen stand-
As Naruto ate, he and Iruka had a light talk about various things. When Naruto finished his last bowl for today, which was the 6th, he turned to Iruka with some kind of sad expression.
"So, what about this form? I can't go with everyone, right?"
"Well, that's not a problem. I can ask Hokage-sama to sign the form for you. I don't think he will mind. He will understand your situation." Iruka answered with a smile.
"Really? Oh man, Hokage-jiji is awesome." Naruto was very happy. The Hokage always took care of him when he could, and the Hokage was one of the first persons who acknowledged him. "I will be become as cool a Hokage as the Sandaime is and I will surpass the Yondaime! Believe it!"
Iruka sighed "And just a while ago you were all sad and depressed. This ramen is like a cure to you..."
"That's quite a dream you have there, Naruto." said Teuchi, the stand owner, as he came out from the kitchen.
"Yeah! When I become stronger and become Hokage, everyone will acknowledge me!"
"Naruto… being Hokage is not just about being acknowledged, but about protecting the village and your loved ones with your life and making it better for everyone. And you can become even more powerful if you have precious people to protect." Iruka said. Really, he was amused by his dream. Naruto still had a lot of growing up to do if he wanted to accomplish this dream.
"Huh?" was all the answer Naruto could give to what Iruka said.
Iruka sighed "Never mind… You will understand it later. But if you want to be a Hokage, you must train really hard. If you continue to do pranks, skipping lessons and not paying attention in class, you won't get far in your ninja career."
"I know, Iruka-sensei…" Naruto had a thoughtful expression. He then decided to ask "Is it true that no one my class can use chakra properly?"
"Yeah, we start to teach kids how to use chakra in the second academy year. Why are you asking?" Iruka asked curiously.
"Well… to tell you the truth, I'm doing chakra control exercises now. I can climb the tree now, but I still need to master it. I can stay on the tree without using arms for 3 minutes. It is not enough in case if I need to fight while using tree climbing. And before I start doing water walking, I need to master tree climbing. But for some reason my chakra control is so poor. Also, the librarian told me to meditate to find out what my chakra flow is and I found out that my chakra reserves are too big for an academy student. In the beginning, I thought it was normal, but when I read some books, I was quite surprised… for now, I have reserves for an average Chunin. I don't know how that's possible, but I'm more than happy for it."
Iruka was very surprised. He didn't expect to hear those words from Naruto. To hear that he had been doing tree climbing exercises and was doing very well. He had always thought Naruto was only doing pranks in his free time.
Naruto saw the look on Iruka's and grinned "I'm not stupid, Iruka-sensei. Yes, in my free time I do pranks so people would notice me, but I also use my free time to go to library and read some books there. It is VERY boring, but I have to do it if I want to become a good ninja, right?".
"Naruto, I didn't expect this from you.. Heh, you surprised me a little bit." Iruka said.
"Are you sure I surprised only for 'a little bit'?" he replied with a wide smile.
"Okay, okay, you got me. You surprised me a lot. But why do you act like a idiot in class?"
Iruka knew he asked it in the rough way, but he wanted to just know why Naruto acted that way.
"Well, most of the things you teach in calss I already know from the books. And it's just so fun to prank you and make you angry in the front of whole class. And besides, I don't want to look better than anyone else. I could even become arrogant at the end of the academy if I felt I was better than the rest of the class." He honestly answered. In public he always seems to be dumb and a loud-mouth while in reality he was quite focused and determined. "Thank you for your treat, Iruka-sensei, but it's already late. See you tomorrow in academy. Oh, and please don't tell anyone about what we talked about today."
Before Iruka could say or ask anything else, Naruto was already gone.
"Oh well, at least I know he is alright on his own. At least now I know some of the reasons for his acting… if those can be called reasonable." Iruka thought. He then finished his bowl and headed home in order to prepare for tomorrow's lessons.
-3 days later, in the forest near Konoha-
In the forest near Konoha, a small camp was set up which was well hidden between brushes and trees so it wouldn't be too easy to find it. It was night now. There was a small campfire – big enough to cook and small enough to stay hidden. From the faint light of the campfire, you could see two small tents which were big enough for one person in each. Also, there were three figures standing near the campfire. It was too dark and the campfire didn't give much light to see their faces or what they were dressed in.
One of the figures asked "Are you sure about this?".
The figure was apparently male. He had a rough voice and he looked muscular. It was too dark to see more details.
The second figure then spoke "Of course I'm sure. The Hokage himself allowed it. Old fool, he should know better than do something so foolish."
It didn't have as rough voice as the first figure, but it also belonged to a male. In a dark night you could see that he wasn't as muscular as the first one and he had shoulder length hair.
"It was indeed foolish to allow this… 'trip' when the class has so many promising students. Especially those heirs from the clans. If your information is correct, we will get a nice amount of money once we capture some of them, although our priority is the Hyuuga heir. What was her name? Honata… no… Hunata… no that's not it… Hinata… yeah, Hinata, that was her name, right?"
The third and a final member of the band was a female. She had a beautiful voice, that kind of voice which singers usually would have. She had long hair which reached her shoulder blades and which she kept in a ponytail. Although it was dark, you could see a large bust she had. It wasn't as big as one of the sannin member had, but still in some years...
The first one nodded and turned to the second figure "What if there will be more ninja guarding them?"
"What, you scared, Shigeru? My, I thought you're tougher than that.." the female of the band laughed at her team mate.
"Shut up, Ryoko! Think with your head, not with those watermelons of yours," he then pointed at Ryoko's large bust and continued, "What if more ninjas appear? While we are strong, we can't take on a lot of ninjas at once. We need to find out how many ninjas will be there with the kids."
The female frowned when Shigeru pointed at her bust. She really didn't like when someone noticed these… "globes" and made comment about them.
She wouldn't admit it, but her team mate had a point. They couldn't face many ninjas at once, because while they were fighting, the kids could escape or someone might call for reinforcements.
"Whatever…" was the only thing she could say in reply.
Then the second figure spoke. "Don't worry. There will be only two ninjas with them. One is Iruka Umino. And the second is…" he then grinned evilly, "Well, tell you the truth, the second ninja who will lead them is me."
He then took out a map of a nearby area around Konoha and pointed at one place in the forest, near the river. "This is where me and Iruka will lead them, you just have to set up the traps here. Once the fighting starts, don't worry. Iruka isn't much of a fighter – being an academy instructor for so long, he lost some skills over the years."
The three then discussed the plan and agreed to it.
"It looks perfect. And those kids won't fight back – they don't teach them a lot in the first year after all." Shigeru answered, while he held his chin in his palm.
"Yeah. Well then, you should return to Konoha so no one notices your absence. In the meantime we will rest and prepare for this 'operation' " Ryoko said and with that she stood up, and gracefully walked to her tent.
"Very well then." Said the second figure and he too left the scene.
While he was heading back to the village, only one thought slipped through his mind "Well, soon enough I will get the Byakugan and hand it over to Orochimaru who will reward me with that power he promised. And I should also kidnap that demon brat and sell it to another major village. Hehe, I will be rich and powerful in no time."
With that, he had very malicious smile as he walked towards the village. For now, everything was perfect.
-2 days before the trip-
Today wasn't as sunny and hot day as it usually was in Konoha. Dark clouds covered the usually bright sky. It didn't start raining yet, but it looked like it will start any minute now. Also, it seemed the weather affected the villagers - there weren't as many smiles as usual and everyone tried to finish their business as quickly as possible in order to get back home earlier. No one wanted to stay out for too long.
Things weren't better in the Academy. The class was unusually silent and the students listened to Iruka's lessons. Although one couldn't say 'unusually silent' about one Nara kid - he always sleeps. Even the usual loudmouth, Naruto, didn't do any pranks or disrupt the lesson. Iruka wasn't complaining. Although he liked that his students paid more attention to him and he didn't need to shout to silence them, still, the eerie mood unnerved him a bit. He was used to the loud class and seeing them like this was a bit scary. Well, as scary as it could get with class full of 8 year olds.
Now when the lesson came to an end, he decided to brighten up the mood a bit. What he was going to say would definitely bring joy to his student's faces, "It is almost the end of the lesson," he then stopped, looked at his students and saw some smiles. He then continued, "But before you go I wanted to announce two things... It's about the trip, so listen carefully."
"The first thing is... there is too many of us and I don't want to scatter you all around the forest in your own tents. So you will need to share with others. Let's see... those who have bigger tents will need share with those who have smaller ones. It will also help you to look out for each other, almost like an experienced Genin team. I would say one 'team' should consist of 2 to 4 members. Also, there will be some team games while on the trip with a prize to winners."
The moment he finished speaking, the class's mood was far better than it was - everyone started chatting and making 'teams'. Iruka didn't mind it and allowed them to sort out the teams after which he said, "Listen up! I will give you 20 minutes to sort out the teams. After you're done, you need to choose a leader of the team and come to me so I can write down the names."
'It will be so much fun! They could sleep in one tent and do so many things together; they won't have to be by themselves. They could share the food!' That was the summary of everyone's thoughts. But Naruto wasn't one of them. He had a somewhat sad and disappointed expression on his face. "Oh man, this is just great... I don't have a tent at all and nobody will want to share with me. Hell, I don't even have normal friends here. At least no one here is glaring at me like the others in the village do..."
And he wasn't the only one with those thoughts. Sasuke, who sat next to Naruto, was thinking almost the same. "Great. Although I have a tent, I don't want to stay by myself. And I don't have any friends here either so no one will invite me." Well, except for his fan-girls, if they could ever be considered friends. And he would never go to them. Never. Ever. Even if it was the end of the world.
The Uchiha clan were a very arrogant clan. As far as Sasuke could remember, he was always taught that the Uchiha was the most powerful clan in Konoha, as well as their Sharingan, their kekkei genkai, is the most powerful dojutsu(2) and most powerful bloodline. His father, Fugaku, always said "Don't pay attention to the lower class people. They are not worth our time. We are elite, so we will associate ourselves only with elites". Although he didn't like what he heard, he knew better than to argue with his father, so he just agreed with him. He thought people should treat each other equally and that kind of attitude will only make enemies. At least he had his brother with him, Itachi, who had the same thoughts as Sasuke.
Itachi was a very loving brother and always helped Sasuke with his training whenever he could. He didn't like his clan either, he actually despised them, although he didn't show it. The only thing the Uchiha (except him) were interested in was power. Any and everything for more power. Itachi tried to ensure that Sasuke knew that it was alright to be friends with classmates, but Sasuke was still afraid of his father. What if he found out somehow and then punished him for associating with 'lower class' people? Itachi could understand the feeling. After all, Fugaku was the head of the Uchiha clan. That's why Sasuke acted unfriendly towards everyone. If someone asked him something, he would answer, but he would never start a conversation on his own. Itachi vowed to Sasuke that someday he could enjoy his life and make friends just like everyone else.
Sasuke then put those thoughts aside and tried to find a solution to his problem. He turned his head to the right and saw Naruto's gloomy facial expression "Oh, that's right... Naruto doesn't have much friends either. Maybe-..." Before he could finish his thoughts, he heard someone call out to the blonde.
"Oi, Naruto!" someone shouted.
Naruto turned to find who had called him. After some seconds he saw Shikamaru's intent gaze. He (Naruto) then figured out it was him (Shika) who called.
"What is it, Shikamaru?" He asked.
"Well... me and Choji decided to ask if you would like to be on our 'team'." He simply answered, still looking at Naruto.
The blonde was surprised. He didn't expect to actually be invited to a team. He thought he would be left out like he usually was. But Naruto knew better than to blindly trust anyone, even his classmates. His life at the orphanage taught him that.
"Why me? I'm sure there are many others who would like to be on your team. Besides, I will just slow you down when we will set up a camp and I probably will embarrass you with my behavior." he replied carefully.
Choji, who stayed silent the whole time, finally spoke. "You're not so bad Naruto. It's actually funny to see all those pranks and your jokes."
"But-"
"Oh shut up, Naruto. Stop acting. I know you're not as stupid like you want everyone to think. And words you just spoke prove it."
Now, this caught Sasuke's attention.
"Huh?" Naruto muttered. "Did I say something wrong which was out of my academy character?" he wondered.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Did he really need to explain it him? "Troublesome..." "The loudmouth Naruto which you usually pretend to be would have accepted this offer immediately and he would be confident about his abilities. He also wouldn't say that 'behavior' crap as well. And it's not like you have any choice anyway - I don't think anyone else will invite you."
"Argh... I knew it! If someone could figure out I was acting, it would be the Nara and their brains. Thank Kami no one's paying attention to our conversation..." Naruto thought with some worry in his eyes, oblivious to the fact that Sasuke was also listening. "Fine, I really don't have much choice, right?"
"Right. Also, we want you to be our team leader." Choji said.
When his ears caught the words 'you' and 'team leader' in one sentence, he was shocked. He was surprised at first when he was invited to a team, and now said team wants him to be their leader?! It was too much for his poor brain. "What? Why me? I'm not sure if I'll be good enough for you guys." he asked with surprise.
"So he puts others in first and doesn't care about himself... interesting." Shikamaru thought and then answered. "Yes, we want you to be our team leader. Firstly, I'm too lazy to be one, Choji doesn't fit for this role either. Secondly, it's not some kind of dangerous mission or anything - just a field trip with some team games. And I'm sure it will be fun with your attitude." With that, he smiled, bringing out his ace. "And finally, you need to practice some leadership skills if you want to be Hokage, right?" Now Shikimaru was grinning like madman."Checkmate."
"Ugh, fine. As you said, it's not some kind of mission so I can do it. Nothing will happen to us anyway. But using my dream against me was unfair." He then looked at the smiling Shikamaru and asked "But don't say anything to anyone about my acting. Please." He really didn't want to show his true personality to others. He wanted it to be a surprise when they actually became ninja. And although shouting about how he was going to become the strongest Hokage ever was part of his acting, part of his 'mask', it was also his sincere dream.
"Sure. Besides, I would like to know you better. For now, you're one big, blonde mystery and I hate mysteries. Want to be our friend?" Shikamaru asked and Choji just nodded, showing that he didn't mind having another friend.
Naruto was VERY happy."Finally! I can have some friends!" he thought. For as long as he could remember, for some reason, other kids always stayed away from him and didn't let him play with them.
But before he could answer, they heard someone screaming. When they turned their heads to see who screamed, they saw a group of Sasuke's fan-girls arguing about something. Then all the girls looked at Sasuke, and to his utter horror, they started to run towards him and shouting "SASUKE-KUN! Join my team!" and "Sasuukee-kuun! Don't listen to her, join me!". The leader of fan-girls was none other than Ino. And right beside her was Sakura, her rival.
If there was something Sasuke really didn't like, it was fan-girls. Why? First, they only cared about their looks and couldn't make interesting conversation. Secondly, for some unknown reason, they were always shouting; it brought headaches. And Sasuke somehow always knew what they were planning to do.
Before the girls could reach Sasuke and 'claim' him, he set his escape plan in motion.
"Shikamaru! Can I join your team?" he urgently asked while shedding anime tears.
Shikamaru was a bit surprised, because Sasuke had never showed so many emotions - fear, hope and desperation all at the same time. But he understood his situation, he would have done the same thing in his place.
"Troublesome... Ask Naruto, he's team leader. I don't mind though, I know how dangerous fan-girls sometimes are. But my tent is only for 3 people so somebody will have to bring a bigger one." he answered with small smile.
"Don't worry about the tent - I have one big enough for 4 people." Sasuke urgently answered and looked at Naruto with pleading eyes.
Naruto wanted to agree - the more the merrier. But at the same, he didn't want to, because as far as he knew, Sasuke wasn't very friendly. But as we all know, he was not the kind of a person who said 'no' if someone needed his help.
"Fine, I don't mind. But be friendly at least and don't ignore us when we speak to you." Naruto answered.
Sasuke just nodded. "Maybe now I could make some friends on this trip and my father wouldn't know about it." he thought with a smile. "Thanks, guys. You really saved me from those... banshees."
Right after he finished that sentence, the just mentioned 'banshees' finally reached 'their Sasuke-kun'. Before they could start to shout and scream, Naruto said "Sorry, girls, but Sasuke is already on my team."
The girls looked at Naruto with confusion and one civilian family girl frowned and said "Oh, please. Who would like to be on your' team? Ha, even if you could be in a team, no one would allow you to be a team leader," and then she laughed and continued with a sweet voice "So, Sasuke-kun, would you-"
But before she could finish, Sasuke angrily interrupted, "Shut up. It's true, I'm on his team already and he IS the team leader." He really hated when someone sounded superior to someone else.
"B-b-bu-but why? W-Why would YOU like to be on a team with t-t-that... t-that... d-demon. My mum always says he is a d-demon." she stuttered. She was shocked to see such a reaction from 'her Sasuke-kun'.
"And here it starts again..." Naruto muttered.
But Shikamaru heard him. "Demon? Is that the reason why he doesn't have any friends? Why would parents say such things?" Shikimaru thought curiously. But today wasn't the day he could ask them any question in the matter.
"Demon? Is that why you show your superiority over him?" Sasuke asked angrily. He wasn't in the mood to argue with fan-girls. Besides, it was pointless anyway, because they would agree with anything Sasuke said (and that was one more reason why he didn't like them). "Listen, I really don't like girls like you, so I wouldn't have joined you anyway. I mean, all you care about is how you look and your obsession over me. If you're going to continue like this, then I suggest you quit the 'ninja' academy, because IF you become a ninja, you will be dead-weight on a team and you will die quickly on a mission."
"B-But-"
"Begone. You annoy me." He turned away from them and didn't say anything else.
"Wow, that was rough, but I can't disagree with him. And it's also is the first time I've seen him saying so many sentences in one day." Naruto thought and chuckled. Others were a bit surprised as well - it's the first time they saw this side of Sasuke.
The girls went to their seats with aura of depression over them. They had never expected this reaction from 'their Sasuke-kun'.
Just after this little scene was finished, Iruka called the team leaders to write down the names. He was very surprised about Naruto, but at the same time he was happy for him. He deserved to have some friends.
"Okay, listen up now! Before you go, there is something else I wanted to announce. Those who are going on the trip don't have to come to the academy tomorrow, in order to prepare. But those who are not going to the trip will have to attend academy tomorrow, Wednesday and on Thursday."
Half of the class was happy and the other half was not happy for obvious reasons.
"Why do we have to attend the academy while everyone else will is relaxing?" someone asked.
"This field trip is not about relaxation. It will be a real field experience for them. Also, they will have lectures, too. Me and Mizuki will not be in the academy for the next 3 days, so those of you who are not going on the field trip, listen carefully. Your lessons will be held in room 213. The teacher there already knows about this. Oh, and for those who are going on the trip - don't forget to be be here on Wednesday at 9.00 am or we will leave without you and you will have to attend the academy. That's all. See you on Wednesday. Class dismissed."
As everyone started to head out of the class, Naruto nervously asked his companions "H-Hey guys. D-Do you want to meet tomorrow so we could buy supplies for a trip and hang out a bit?" It was the first time in some years he had asked someone to hang out with him. He thought they wouldn't come, but this time, it wasn't the case.
"Sure, why not? Tomorrow we don't have academy so I don't have anything else to do, anyway. I could stay home but my mum would force me to do more troublesome things." Shikamaru answered.
"Yeah, why not? I don't have anything to do tomorrow, either." Chouji said.
Naruto was VERY happy. For the first time in his life, someone accepted his invitation. He then turned to look at Sasuke and asked him, "What about you, Sasuke? Wanna come?"
Sasuke looked at Naruto, but then turned away so no one could see his sad expression. "Sorry... but I can't. My... father will need my help tomorrow in some matters." He lied sadly. His father didn't need any help. Ever. He just wouldn't be allowed to hang out with 'low class people'. And the only clan they didn't consider 'low class' was the Hyuuga clan. But the Uchiha hated the Hyuuga clan more than anything, because the Hyuuga were their so called 'eternal rivals' or something.
Naruto and Shikamaru noticed the scowl on Sasuke's face when he mentioned his father and decided not to push the matter.
"Okay then. Let's meet tomorrow in the nearby park at 11.00 am. See ya, guys." Naruto said happily and went home.
"Yeah, bye." Choji and Shikamaru answered and went in the other direction.
-Same day, Uchiha compound-
"What do you mean you're on a team in this field trip?" Fugaku, Sasuke's father, asked his son after hearing about everything Iruka had said.
Fugaku had long, dark brown hair that reached down to his shoulders and onyx-colored eyes, with visible creases below them (like Itachi has). He wore a black shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the shoulders, grey pants and a black, open-front apron with white diamonds on the bottom.
Sasuke sighed and answered calmly. "Father, please answer me who is better? A group of civilian fan-girls or a group of kids from ninja families?"
"Why are you asking? Of course those from ninja families. Fan-girls are a pitiful excuse for female ninja, I bet they don't even know what a kunai is."
"There you go, father. When I saw a group of fan-girls heading in my direction, I demanded to be part of the most promising team." Sasuke calmly answered.
"You demanded to be part of the most 'promising'? Heh, I like that, son. Remember to show your team how grateful they should be that you're with them. Dismissed."
"Very well, father." Sasuke said and left the room.
"That went better than I imagined. Thank Kami he didn't ask who is on this team. I can't believe he is my father... If only mother was here." Sasuke sadly thought.
He then remembered the day he saw his mother for the last time.
(Flashback 3 years ago)
"Be a good boy and listen to your brother. Here, take this lunch box and share it with Itachi." Mikoto said while giving young Sasuke his lunch box.
Mikoto was a fair-skinned woman with long, black hair with bangs hanging on either side of her face to roughly frame her cheeks and black eyes. She wore a simple dark purple blouse with a red-plum skirt and a light-yellow apron over it.
Sasuke took the lunch box and said "Thanks, kaa-san. When will you return from your mission?"
"I don't know. Maybe after 2 days, maybe after 4 days. It depends on many circumstances." she answered.
"Okay then. Love you, kaa-san."
"Aww, love you too, sweetheart." she said with sweet voice and kissed her son on forehead, after which Sasuke and Itachi went outside.
-After 3 days-
It was late evening. After some light training, Sasuke and Itachi returned home. There, they saw a crowd of people talking to their father. It didn't look like anything important to them, so they just ignored the crowd and walked to their rooms. After a quick shower, Sasuke heard his father calling for him and his brother. He quickly dried himself, changed clothes and headed to the kitchen.
When he arrived in the kitchen, he sat next to Itachi. In front of him sat Fugaku. Sasuke wondered where his mother was.
"Sasuke... Itachi..." Fugaku started the conversation with an emotionless face.
"Where is mother? Did something happen to her?" Itachi asked, worry in his eyes.
"Your mother... is dead." Fugaku answered without any sadness in his eyes, but he sounded sad.
"What? NO! It can't be true. You're lying." Sasuke shouted, tears forming in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, but it is true. We found her dead this morning with a kunai stabbed into her heart. After we found her, we returned to the village. We presume she was killed during her night watch by enemy ninja."
"No... It can't be true..." Sasuke quietly said, his eyes full of tears. Itachi wasn't faring any better. He had tears in his eyes, though not as much as Sasuke had - he could control his emotions better.
"Mother... " Itachi thought, remembering all their happy times together. But then he realized something "Something is not right here. Even if one squad member was killed while on a mission, they wouldn't abandon the whole mission. They would have sealed the body in a scroll or waited for reinforcements to take body and then continue with their mission." He thought, but he decided not to speak his concerns. He will do his own investigation later.
"In 2 days time there will be funeral for her. Please, be ready." With that, Fugaku stood up and left the kitchen, leaving his two sons to mourn their mother's death.
(Flashback end)
A single tear fell from Sasuke's eyes when he remembered the painful memory.
"No, my mother wouldn't want me to cry. She wouldn't like me to mourn forever." Sasuke thought and wiped away the tear and headed to his room to get some sleep.
-Next day-
The next day was much warmer and brighter than the previous one. Shikamaru, Choji and Naruto were walking around the village and were having a light chat on various topics. The group was receiving hateful glares from the villagers. It wasn't the whole group who received them, though... It was the one blond kid in the group who received all the glares. And Shikamaru noticed it.
"Hey, Naruto. Why everyone is glaring at you? What did you do to them?" Shikamaru asked curiously.
Naruto put his hands behind his head showing that he was quite relaxed and answered the question of his new friend "I don't really know. As far as I can remember, I've always received them. I'm used to them now."
"Strange. If you didn't do anything, why would they look at you like that?" Chouji asked while munching his crisps.
"Is it about the demon thing that other girl talked about yesterday? I will need to ask dad later." Shikamaru thought.
As they continued to wander around the village and continued their chit chat, they decided to buy some supplies for tomorrow's trip. Now they stood in front of a grocery store and were ready to head in when Naruto stopped them.
"You guys go ahead and buy the stuff we about discussed before. I'lll wait for you here."
"Umm, Naruto. Don't you want to come in with us?" Choji asked and gave Naruto a confused look.
"Well, I want to go, but they will just throw me out. And if we will go to shops where I'm allowed in, they will just overprice everything for me. They say it's some kind of tax, but I don't quite believe them. But there's nothing I can do about it." Naruto answered without a care in the world.
"WHAT?" both Choji and Shikamaru asked. They were completely shocked after hearing that.
"But how do you live? I mean, do you have enough money to feed yourself?" Choji asked. He couldn't help but to be a bit worried for his new friend.
"Hokage-jiji always gives me a monthly allowance. When I receive the money, I carefully plan on what I'm buying so I could survive the month."
"You don't have any parents, right?" Shikamaru asked. After he received a nod from Naruto, he continued "Why aren't you in the orphanage, then?"
Naruto didn't want to tell them, but they were his new friends after all. And it looked they were worried about him. "Well, when I was 5 they kicked me out."
Shikamaru widened his eyes and Choji stopped eating his crisps. But before they could ask anything else, Naruto continued "And I'm happy they did. I wasn't treated very well there anyway. Look... I don't want to talk about this, so please don't ask anymore. And please don't say anything to others."
Both Choji and Shikamaru nodded in agreement and decided to ask him later, when he will open up more to them.
"C'mon, Choji. Let's go and buy the supplies while Naruto is waiting here. Naruto, meet us here after 20 minutes, ok?"
"Sure. See ya later, guys" Naruto waved to friends and decided to walk around the village for a bit, ignoring all the glares.
-20 minutes later-
As Naruto came closer to the meeting spot, he saw Shikamaru and Choji already waiting. He greeted them and decided to browse through all the goods they bought.
"Okay... You bought everything we will need for tomorrow." Naruto said. After that, his stomach growled. indicating it was time for lunch. Naruto smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment "Right... Wanna come and grab a bite to eat before we go home?"
Choji smiled "Sure, why not?" he answered. "Where to?"
"Let's go to Ichiraku Ramen. It's the only place I'm treated with kindness." Naruto answered with a sad smile.
Both friends didn't want to argue, seeing Naruto's sad expression, so they just agreed. And they didn't mind ramen either.
-At ramen stand-
"Hi Teuchi-jiji, Ayame-san." Naruto greeted Ichiraku Ramen stand owner and his daughter who also worked there. Both of them were very kind to Naruto and didn't see him as the 'demon brat' as others did.
"Hey, Naruto." both of them greeted.
"How are you?" Ayame asked.
"I'm fine, thanks. I've got a field trip tomorrow, so me and my new friends bought some supplies. We're in one team for this trip." Naruto answered with happy face.
"New friends? Care to introduce them?" Ayame curiously asked the blonde.
"Yeah. The lazy looking one is Shikamaru Nara and the one who is eating crisps is Choji Akimichi."
"Nice to meet you. I'm very happy for you, Naruto. You finally made some friends." she said with a warm smile.
Then they took their seats with Choji sitting next to Naruto and Shikamaru next to Choji.
"So whatn are your orders?" Teuchi asked.
"One miso ramen please" Shikamaru said.
"The usual, five bowls of miso ramen." Naruto said with big smile. Ramen was his favorite food and today he could spent extra for it.
Choji was surprised at Naruto's large order and took it as an unspoken challenge and ordered six bowls of beef ramen. It was his pride as an Akimichi to out eat anyone no matter the circumstances.
After 20 minutes of eating and chatting, Choji couldn't take another bite.
"I can't believe it... someone ate more than I did." Choji said to Naruto with respect. Almost no one could out eat an Akimichi and just now Naruto did it like it was a piece of cake.
Shikamaru was surprised as well. "So Choji is not the only one with black hole for a stomach... troublesome."
"Well, ramen is my favorite food after all. Teuchi-jiji, one more bowl of miso ramen please. It will be the last for today." Naruto said.
Choji couldn't believe Naruto had ordered another bowl. He had eaten 10 bowls and Naruto is ordering 12th... "Naruto. It doesn't mean I will lose next time!" he said in a challenging tone.
Shikamaru cried anime tears and said "Why do all my friends have to eat so much? Why does no one else enjoy sleeping or watching the clouds as much as I do?"
Choji and Naruto laughed at their friend's antics "Someday, you will meet that kind of person, Shikamaru,"
They then paid for their food, said goodbye to each other and went home.
-Next day-
It was a sunny Wednesday morning. Although it was a bit cool, it was still pleasant. In front of the academy stood many student separated into groups of twos, threes and fours. Everyone had bags and backpacks and everyone was yawning.
"Good morning, class" Iruka greeted them.
"Morning, Iruka-sensei."
"Now, I will call your names and check who's here and who's not. I will start with team leaders. After I call your name, you have to step forward." After that was done, he continued "Now I will call others. When I call your names, you have to join your team leader." After 5 minutes of checking, "Okay, everyone's here. Let's move out. We're heading to the village gates."
After that was said, Iruka moved forward with students behind him, and behind the crowd of kids were Mizuki.
No one noticed the malicious smirk on his face.
-Near the village gates-
"So, when do you think we will reach our destination?" Naruto asked his companions, trying to make light conversation while they were walking.
"How should we know if we don't even know where our destination is? But I think in one or two hours we should be there." Shikamaru answered.
"Shikamaru has a point, Naruto. Iruka-sensei wouldn't select a place too far away from the village, because we are not ninja yet and most people here can't keep walking for more than 2 or 3 hours without rest." Sasuke answered with a smile. He was happy he could finally talk with someone and not have to be afraid of his father.
"Hey Sasuke *munch*, how come you're actually *munch* talking with us?" Choji asked curiously while eating his never ending bag of crisps.
"Yeah... and you're smiling too. Something's wrong here. Now who are you and what did you do to the brooding Uchiha?" Naruto added with a small chuckle.
Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance. "Just because I don't talk in class and act like 'brooding Uchiha' doesn't mean I'm one."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and sighed "Geez. My class is full of clowns and actors. I sometimes wonder if this really is a ninja academy and not some theatre school."
"Oh really? Then why do you act like 'brooding Uchiha' when you can easily make friends like everyone else?"
"..."
"There you go!" Naruto laughed.
"What about you? I'm sure if you didn't act like an idiot, you could make friends as well" Sasuke answered with a victorious grin as he saw how it silenced Naruto. But he failed to notice the sad expression on his face.
It didn't go unnoticed by Shikamaru and Choji.
"Shut up, idiot!" Shikamaru whispered so Naruto couldn't hear him. When he saw Sasuke's confusion, he decided to elaborate "Do you remember what that girl said to him yesterday in class?" After getting a nod from Sasuke, he continued, "Then it shouldn't be that hard to realize why exactly he didn't have friends. For some reason, parents tell their children to stay away him."
After hearing that, Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He then whispered back to him "I thought it was the way she showed her superiority over Naruto."
Choji shook his head "No. *munch* He told us yesterday *munch* he was treated that way *munch* ever since he can remember *munch*. But he *munch* doesn't know why."
"Yeah. And we saw how villagers were glaring at him yesterday when we met up."
"Why would anyone do that to him?" Sasuke asked.
Shikamaru shrugged. "No one knows. But this topic is a bit painful for that troublesome blonde."
When Sasuke looked at said blonde's face, he saw an expression of pain and sadness. Almost the same expression Sasuke sometimes sees in a mirror. He then realized, Naruto had it worse than he did.
Naruto, oblivious (as always) to the whispering, decided not to think about his past and changed the topic "Hey, guys, wanna pull some pranks on sensei or the other kids?" he asked while grinning like mad.
Sasuke smirked and was relieved at Naruto's sudden change of mood. Shikamaru and Choji just smirked, showing they agreed with him.
Unknown to them all, even for the two Chunin, they were followed and watched; They were followed by a man wearing a weasel mask, indicating he was an ANBU member. He was none other than Itachi Uchiha. He wore black pants, short-sleeved shirt and grey chest armor, metal arm guards and gloves. He also had a simple sword on his back.
He was happy seeing his brother laughing with his classmates. Sasuke would have been able to do that long ago if it weren't for their father. Just thinking about their father made Itachi frown.
He then remembered why he was there.
Flashback. 1 day before the trip.
"You summoned me, Hokage-sama?" Itachi asked the leader of their village.
Hiruzen looked at Itachi with tiredness present in his eyes. He then poofed out a cloud of smoke from his pipe and answered,"Yes, Itachi. I have a special mission for you. Well, it's more of a request than a mission."
Itachi raised an eyebrow, curious at what the Hokage would ask of him. "And what would it be?"
"As you may know, the kids in the academy have a field trip." When he received a nod from Itachi, he continued, "I want to ask you if you could keep an eye on them until the trip ends."
Now Itachi was curious why the Hokage would request such a task. After all, there would be two Chuunin with the kids. "But why, Hokage-sama? From what I've heard, this trip is not far from the village and there would be two Chuunin with the kids. Why should an ANBU watch them?"
"You have a point there, Itachi, but my intuition tells me something is going to happen. Maybe I'm just being paranoid - 8 year old kids outside the village and most of them are clan heirs... a lot can happen." he poofed another cloud of smoke "Still I can't get rid from this feeling, that's why I want to give them some extra protection. Just in case if something happens." Hokage answered.
"I see. Very well, I accept your request. It will also be interesting to see how my brother interacts with others." Itachi said with a small smile. He really wanted to see if Sasuke could still make friends after so much time without normal socializing.
"Thank you. Make sure to stay hidden... Also, do not interfere unless it's a life and death situation. I feel something's going to change in this trip... Something very important is going to happen."
"What do you mean, Hokage-sama?"
"I do not know, Itachi. Interfere only if it is life and death situation, understood?" the old Hokage ordered with power behind his words, showing why he was still the village leader.
Despite Hokage's tone though, it didn't affect the young Uchiha genius. He was a professional and only few things could scare him. "Hai, Hokage-sama. I will leave now and prepare for the 2 day trip."
When Itachi received a nod from his leader, he left, still wondering what old Sarutobi meant.
"I still can't shake this feeling." the Hokage thought. And when he saw a pile of papers in front him, he frowned "Ugh... this paperwork will kill me one day."
Flashback end
"I still can't see what can go wrong here. But if Hokage-sama is right, then I better keep my eye on them."
Itachi then focused on his mission (if this could be a called a mission for an ANBU captain) and continued to watch the kids while he was trying to keep hidden. Well, he didn't need to try after all... They were only a bunch of kids and 2 Chuunin.
-Back with the kids-
An hour and a half had passed since they left the village. Now the kids and the two teachers were standing in a nice forest clearing surrounded by trees which was lit by sunlight. The shadows from the trees gave a mysterious and beautiful sight, One could hear various birds chirping and singing from the trees as well; you could even hear the bubbling of a stream or a small river nearby. The water gave off a nice and fresh smell in the clearing, while the sound of the rushing water also gave off a relaxing sensation. If one looked closely, one could also spot some forest animals between the bushes: rabbits, small foxes, squirrels and many more wild life. The kids widened their eyes when they saw the beautiful clearing, smelled the fresh air and saw the wild animals. Never in their lives had they seen something so beautiful - not even in Konoha. They were happy they went on this trip. The kids hoped this will be the place they will stay.
"Perfect spot!" Iruka thought, with a large smile while breathing the fresh forest air, free from village's various scents. "Okay, listen up! We'll make our camp here. I want each team to set up their tents in 30 minutes. Make sure you're not very far away from other teams. Then we will have a 1 hour break, where we will eat and relax. Then for 3 hours you will have a lecture with me and Mizuki-sensei here and some light activities. After that, we will have our first team game. Is that clear?"
"Hai, sensei." everyone said in unison.
Iruka smiled and continued "Do not wander too far away from the camp or you will have to spend the rest of the trip near me. Now, go prepare your tents."
With another 'Hai' in unison from everyone, the kids started to unpack their bags and start building their tents. The first team to complete this task was none other than Naruto's team. They did everything in 10 minutes in which Naruto showed great organization and leading skills (as great as an 8 year old could have), where he assigned his teammates various tasks: Sasuke and himself were setting up the tent, Choji went to gather some dry logs, or sticks or whatever ccould burn, while Shikamaru set up the fireplace and put food on table (if a wooden plate on two wooden logs, which Choji brought, could be considered a table). Their small 'camp' was not too far from forest, next to a large tree – the largest in the clearing. Naruto chose this place, because he knew his friend Shikamaru liked to watch clouds. It was more comfortable to lay on a tree branch and stare at the sky than lay on the ground. Anyway, they were quite happy they finished first, that meant they had more free time, which they used to chat and get to know each other better.
The second team, which finished in 14 minutes, was Shino's team, consisting of Shino, Kiba and Hinata (isn't it ironic). They were not far from Naruto's team. Kiba took care of finding something to burn, seeing he had the most energy, Shino was setting up the tent, while Hinata was busy doing her magic near the fireplace and preparing the food. After everything was done, they decided to explore the beautiful clearing. Shino was interested in bugs, obviously; Hinata was wondering if there would be any medical herbs in the forest. She had a book in her hand with various pictures with plants. Kiba... well Kiba was being Kiba - running around and trying to come up with something fun to do.
The third team, which finished in 19 minutes from the start was Sakura's team, consisting of Sakura, Ino and two random girls whose names were Sayu and Hinagiku. Naruto's team were impressed, especially Sasuke. They expected this team to finish the last and complain about whatever fan-girls could complain about in the forest. Well, Sayu and Hinagiku were complaining and didn't do much. Both of them got the food, setup the fireplace and just sat there, waiting for something, while Sakura was setting up a tent with a victorious smile and Ino was searching for wood with a frown. The reason for that was because Sakura and Ino were arguing about who will set up the tent. Why they were arguing, no one will ever know. But it seemed Sakura won. Now both girls were searching for 'Sasuke-kun' to spend more time with him (to Sasuke's horror), while the other two were just sitting near fireplace and waiting for something to happen. At least now Ino and Sakura didn't call Sasuke theirs. They agreed to spent more time becoming a ninja, hoping it will get Sasuke's attention, but they were still the fan-girls.
It's a good thing that Naruto's team were hiding in their tent so the girls wouldn't find them. To be more precise, wouldn't find Sasuke. The other kids managed to complete their task before 30 minutes had passed.
"Okay, time's up! Those who didn't manage to set up everything, you will do it later. Now everyone come here so we can begin our lesson." Iruka shouted so everyone could hear him.
Almost everyone frowned and then sighed. Even outside of the academy they would get their lessons. Someone even muttered 'troublesome'. You can try and guess who it was.
As the kids gathered in front of their teachers, Mizuki decided it was the time to set his plan in motion. He secretly made some hand signs behind his back so no one would notice them. After that was done, three figures behind the trees saw the signs and started their plan. They quickly did half dozen hand seals in complete sync, ended on the ram seal and muttered "Release". After that was done, the area in clearing where everyone was, slowly filled with invisible chakra. This chakra came from four seal tags that were placed around the clearing. Also, there was a well hidden fifth seal not far from kids. The fifth seal attracted chakra from the other seals, thus leading chakra to clearing. But it that wasn't the only purpose of the 5th seal. One of the figures did another set of hand seals and calmly said "Silent dream!". After that, the 5th seal glowed a bit and all the chakra in the area was filled with various drugs.
Everyone in the area suddenly felt tired and their eyelids became heavier. Most of the kids were already on the ground, sleeping. The only ones left standing were Naruto, Iruka, Mizuki, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Shino. Although the latter three were barely fighting back the sleep, after a moment they all collapsed, unable to continue. On the other hand, Iruka wasn't affected because he had some experience by being a Chuunin and felt the genjutsu, he dispelled it and Mizuki did the same. Naruto was feeling a bit tired but he also could fight back, thanks to demonic chakra mixed with his normal one, thus this kind of genjutsu didn't work on him*1*.
"So Hokage-sama was right after all. But I can't intervene now, I need to find out who attacked them and why." Itachi thought.
He reduced the distance between those who were still standing and suppressed his chakra as much as possible in order to stay hidden.
"What the hell?!" shouted Iruka. "Mizuki! Check the perimeter and send word to Hokage-sama, meanwhile I will check on kids!"
"That won't be necessary." Mizuki replied, grinning. Three figures then jumped from the forest side and stood next to Mizuki. After that, they took off their cloaks and showed themselves.
To the right of Mizuki stood a female (Ryoko). She had a round face, narrow, green eyes, and brown hair which reached her shoulder blades, which she kept in ponytail. She wore a long, green chinese style dress with slits on the either side for easy movement, which reached a bit past her knees. Under the dress she had a mesh armor and tight shorts. Also, she wore a simple pair shinobi sandals. She had a shuriken holster attached to her right thigh for easy reach.
To the left of Mizuki stood a muscular man(Shigeru). He wore a pair of shinobi sandals, ANBU pants which reached his ankles, grey shin pads, a muscle shirt and arm guards. He had a kunai holster attached to his left thigh. He had short, brown hair.
Both of them wore hitai-ate with a music note on their forehead.
"What's the meaning of it? Mizuki, who are they?" Iruka worriedly asked.
"Yeah, Mizuki, tell him who we are and why we're here." Ryoko said with a smirk.
"Don't be stupid, Ryoko. Why would we want to tell our plans to an enemy?" Shigeru said with annoyance. He wanted to finish as quickly as possible.
"He has a point, Ryoko. Now, Iruka, hand over Hinata and Naruto and we will leave you alive." Mizuki said with a grin.
"What? Iruka-sensei, what is Mizuki-sensei talking about?" Naruto asked. To say he was a bit confused would be a misunderstanding of the century.
"I don't know Naruto, but listen. Run to the village and inform Hokage about what happened here and request help." Iruka answered.
"Ahh, he is not going anywhere. You see, we need the demon brat for our plans." Mizuki answered, chuckling.
Although Mizuki wasn't as close to Naruto like Iruka was, it was still painful to hear your sensei call you what the rest of the village does. Now, Naruto was feeling sad and his anger was rising. He had had enough - first, the villagers called him demon brat, then he goes on athe trip, trying to have fun with his new friends. Then some random people appear, put a genjutsu on everyone and talk about taking Hinata and him for some plans. And then his own sensei calls him demon.
"Why, Mizuki! Why does everyone calls me demon? Why do you?" Naruto demanded, while having tears in his eyes.
"You really wanna know?" Mizuki smirked, "Fine."
"No, Mizuki, you can't. It's an S-class secret!" Iruka tried to reason with the traitor.
"Who cares about that? I'm no longer a ninja of this pathetic village. Ryoko, Shigeru, handle Iruka and then take the Hyuuga. I'll take care of this demon." Mizuki said. Both Ryoko and Shigeru nodded and were ready to engage Iruka.
"NO! I will not let you harm Naruto!" Iruka shouted and ran toward Naruto in order to protect him. But he couldn't reach him because he was kicked hard in the stomach and sent flying backwards. Iruka managed to land on his feet, then looked at his attacker.
"Sorry, but we are your opponents now." Shigeru said with a smirk.
"I need to finish it quickly, if I want to help Naruto. Please, stay safe, I'll be by your side shortly." Iruka thought.
"I see. They want kidnap Hinata and Naruto to sell them to other hidden villages. Hinata because of her Byakugan, and Naruto because he is a jinchuuriki." Itachi thought. "I think it's time to intervene."
He was about to jump from his hiding spot when he suddenly felt large chakra spike.
"What? Could it be Naruto? Maybe I should hide for a little while longer and see what happens."
-With Naruto-
"Iruka!" Naruto shouted after Iruka was kicked. He was about to run to his brother figure when he was kicked by Mizuki.
"You're not going anywhere."
"Why, Mizuki! Why?" Naruto cried.
"Well, I suppose I could tell you. Do you know why villagers hate you?" Mizuki asked. When Naruto shook his head, he continued. "8 years ago, Kyuubi attacked our village. Many ninjas and civilians died that night. No one could stop the mad beast, but then the Yondaime Hokage appeared and gave everyone hope-"
"I already know that. Yondaime killed the Kyuubi, so get to the point already." Naruto shouted, his anger building.
"Impatient, huh? Well, you see - Kyuubi can't be killed because it's a creature of pure chakra. It can only be sealed. And Yondaime did it - he chose an orphan and sealed the beast inside it. It was you, Naruto. By becoming the host of Kyuubi, you became its reincarnation." Mizuki finished with victorious smirk when he saw Naruto's shocked face.
Naruto's eyes widened. "That makes sense. 'Demon brat' and just 'demon', kicked out of the orphanage and stores and the hateful glares, parents telling their children to stay away from me. All because of Kyuubi?" He then looked at Iruka, who was barely standing. He gritted his teeth "Well I don't care what villagers think. It's not my nor Kyuubi's fault if they can't see the difference between a kunai and the scroll it's sealed in. I'll show them I'm no 'demon'. There are people who care about me. I can't allow Mizuki to manipulate me! I will continue to protect them as I did so far by keeping Kyuubi in prison! And I am not its reincarnation!" Then he remembered something what Iruka once told him.
Flashback.
"Naruto… being Hokage is not just about being acknowledged, but about protecting the village and your loved ones with your life and making life better for everyone. And you can become even more powerful if you have precious people to protect." Iruka said with a warm smile.
Flashback end.
"Do you want to protect them?"someone asked. Naruto wasn't dumb so he figured out that someone was speaking in his mind.
"Huh?" He mentally asked.
"Do you want to protect Iruka and those kids here?" the voice asked again.
From the corner of his eyes he saw how Iruka was being beaten. He didn't have a choice."I don't know who you are, but yes. 'Protect my precious people'. I don't know why I still love this village, but I will protect it with my last breath. I will become a Hokage and protect the village, and my precious people!" Naruto said with flames in his eyes, full of determination.
"Very well, I will give you the power to do so." the voice said, and chuckled evilly.
When Mizuki saw the determination in Naruto's eyes, he became confused. "It should have broken him." "So will you-" He couldn't finish when he was thrown back by a chakra wave from Naruto. He felt a malevolent chakra and energy coming from Naruto. A chakra well known to him. "No! Did I free the Kyuubi?"
-With Iruka, Shigeru and Ryoko-
Right after he landed, Iruka took 6 shuriken in each hand and threw them at Ryoko and Shigeru. He then did some handseals and shouted "Shuriken Kage bunshin no Jutsu" and then 6 shuriken became 50. Both Ryoko and Shigeru easily dodged them or deflected them with kunai, but they still received some scratches. But it was only for distraction, while both of them were evading shuriken, Iruka had already finished another set of hand seals and shouted "Doton: Rock Spike!"*2*. One large rock spike shot up from the earth, ready to impale Ryoko, but she managed to dodge at the last second, but still received a deep gash on her shoulder.
Shigeru saw that and quickly made handseals, put his fingers near his mouth and shouted "Katon: Fireball Jutsu!" he then exhaled a medium sized fireball at Iruka. Iruka quickly dodged it only to receive a sharp punch in his gut and kick in a face from Ryoko. He stumbled back and when he stopped, he was ready to defend himself. He then heard a nice voice singing after which large plants with mouthz started to grow from the ground. After that, said plants rushed at Iruka, trying to swallow him.
"What the fuck? Genjutsu?" He then dispelled the genjutsu, but it was too late, because he received a strong punch from Shigeru which sent him flying. "I think he broke my nose..."
Ryoko took out a kunai and went for the kill.
Suddenly, the whole clearing was filled with malicious chakra and a shockwave threw them back a little.
Naruto didn't know what was happening. First, he felt anger, a lot of anger. Secondly, he felt bloodlust... he wanted to kill somebody and quickly. He looked up and around and saw Mizuki, the reason for his anger. Mizuki, meanwhile, watched Naruto with horror.
Red chakra started oozing out from Naruto and bubbling. A second red chakra cloak started covering his body, fox-like ears grew, replacing his ears and a tail formed around Naruto. His nails grew out a bit and became sharper. His hair became spikier and wilder than before. His whisker marks became more pronounced. His eyes turned red and his pupils turned into slits.
Then something happened.
In a blur he disappeared and reappeared in front of Mizuki, his hand ready to strike. Mizuki was too shocked to even move. Naruto pierced Mizuki's chest and heart making a hole and killed him instantly. Mizuki didn't have time to even scream in pain.
Naruto then took out his hand from the hole and blood started to spray out, covering him in it. Naruto then turned around and glared with his slitted eyes at Ryoko and Shigeru, who were shaking with fear.
"You will not harm my precious people!" he roared and faster than a mere Genin could see, he launched himself at Shigeru.
Shigeru's shinobi senses kicked in and he managed to dodge a punch by jumping to the left and falling to the ground. Naruto was already on him, ready to pierce his heart like he did with Mizuki. Shigeru covered his head, ready to die.
Before Naruto could finish, he felt pain in his back. He turned around and saw Ryoko throwing shuriken at him from a safe distance. Naruto then let out a roar with another shockwave, knocking back all the shurikens which were already impaled in him and others that were alread sent flying towards him. Naruto then redirected his attention to Ryoko and started to run towards her. Meantime, Shigeru was trying to run away.
When Naruto reached Ryoko, he launched a punch at her face, which she quickly blocked with her arms. Thanks to Kyuubi's chakra cloak, Naruto burned Ryoko's arms, despite her blocking the punch. Naruto then quickly kicked her and she couldn't block it. She stumbled back and before she managed to push back the pain from the recent kick and burn, Naruto was already on her, impaling her chest. More blood spilled out from the hole and Ryoko fell down, lifeless.
Naruto then turned around for his last target, but couldn't find him.
"No! I must find him! I must find him and kill him or he will hurt more people! He will hurt more of my precious people if I do not KILL him!" Naruto nervously thought.
Then another large chakra wave erupted from Naruto. His eyes began to hurt. He started to scream. He didn't see his blue and silver chakra scome out of him and begin to swirl around, merging with the red one. He let out another painful scream.
"W-Wh-What's happening?" Iruka asked himself with fear in his eyes. Fear for Naruto.
"I have to intervene or this will turn ugly" Itachi thought worriedly and jumped out from his hiding spot.
"Are you alright, Iruka-san?" Itachi asked.
"A-ANBU? What are you doing here?"
"No time to explain. Can you wake up the kids and lead them to a safe location?
"Y-y-yes."
"Good. I'll take care of Naruto-kun." Itachi said, and when he saw the worry in Iruka's eyes, he smiled under his mask and said "Even in this state you're protective of him, right? Don't worry, I will not hurt him. I will just try to suppress the demon's chakra."
Little did he know what was happening in Naruto's mind.
-Mindscape-
It looked like some kind of sewer or underground bunker with various tunnels and pipes along the wall and ceiling. There was also water which could reach a human's ankle. In front were LARGE cage-like doors with a simple paper, with the word "Seal" in kanji instead of a keyhole.
Behind the cage sat the Nine-Tailed Fox, who was grinning like mad, enjoying the feeling of killing. It*3* couldn't see, smell or feel anything outside of the cage because of the seal, but its chakra cloak on Naruto was allowing him to feel the outside world, even if it was for a little while.
So Kyuubi was laying there, enjoying the sensations, when suddenly blue and silver energy erupted at the end of the tunnel and rapidly went for a cage. Kyuubi saw that and started to feel a bit worried. The silver chakra felt familiar though, but it couldn't remember why.
"What the hell is happening? What is this chakra?" he thought angrily.
While the blue and silver chakra was heading towards the cage, both energies started to merge together. After a second, the two chakras became one. It became silver with a blue tint to it.
When the chakra reached the cage, it suddenly stopped and started to form a figure. After some seconds, a tall, human figure stood in front of the cage. It looked like he was made of silver and blue flames. And it seemed like the figure was looking directly at the Kyuubi. Before Kyuubi could say anything, the chakra figure opened its eyes. Well, to be more precise those eyes just appeared on the figure.
But what shocked Kyuubi the most was what those eyes looked like: a ripple-like pattern around the pupil, with a light purple iris and scalera. Something felt very familiar about it.
"What the fuck! Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" Kyuubi roared, demanding answers.
"You will get your answers. But it is time to cure your unstable mind and bring you back. Also, it's time for him to awaken." thefigure answered with a powerful yet calm voice. With that, he exploded and once again turned into a sea of silver chakra and tried to enclose Kyuubi.
Kyuubi fought back by producing as much chakra as possible, but because of the seal, it was limited in how much chakra it could create. Within a minute of chakra fighting, the silver one won and enclosed the Kyuubi. It(Kyuubi) was completely inside a large, filled in, silver chakra dome. After a minute, the silver chakra started to sink into the Kyuubi. Kyuubi let out a sharp roar of pain and tried to push back the silver chakra as much as possible, but to no avail. For a quick second, its eyes turned completely purple and then changed back. Now Kyuubi was radiating a orange-ish chakra. As quickly as everything started, it ended. Kyuubi panted heavily, exhausted.
"I... I now remember... everything. Oh Kami, what have I done? I need to speak to the kit as soon as possible. Thank Kami I was sealed inside him, or I would've never returned. So he is the one? So you were right after all, dad." Kyuubi thought while smiling. It wasn't one of those maniac grins, it was a sincere, warm smile. Something, one would never expect from the king of demons. "I still have some chakra left, so use it well and kill that bastard who dared to take away your precious people, kit."
As the 'Battle in the Mindscape' finished up, Naruto's chakra cloak became bright orange, instead of crimson red, it also looked much calmer. Naruto didn't feel any negative emotions anymore, instead he felt... peaceful... like he finally found something he had been searching for, for ages... he felt like he was in a sanctuary now. Also, he was radiating the same calm aura, chakra, sensation, call it whatever you like, all across the clearing. This chakra was also affecting everyone unconscious - slowly, very slowly, the genjutsu, which was cast on the kids, began dispelling.
Then he opened his eyes. He was surprised. He could see so much further now and so much clearer. He could see various chakra signatures which nearby people radiated. He didn't know it, but his eyes had changed. His bright blue eyes had been replaced by a ripple-like pattern around the blue pupil, with a yellow iris and purple scalera. Around his pupils were two thin slits (like the Sharingan tomoe)*4*.
He looked around and saw Shigeru running away. Unconsciously, he focused on the retreating figure and channeled chakra to his right eye. Unknown to him, the two slits in his right eye started to spin. After a second, he saw a kanji for 'Mark' appear on man's back. The kanji glowed a bit. Now, somehow, Naruto knew just how far Shigeru was. Naruto then ran towards Shigeru at incredible speeds, reaching him in 5 seconds. Before Shigeru could react, he was impaled through his chest from behind. The last thing he saw, was a bloody hand sticking out from his chest, blood dripping on ground. He then fell to the ground, lifeless.
After that was done, Naruto returned to Iruka. He stiffened when he saw a man near him, but relaxed when he realized it was Konoha ANBU.
"Iruka-sensei, are you alright?" Naruto asked.
Both Itachi and Iruka stared at Naruto in awe and shock. Awe, because of his chakra cloak which radiated calmness, instead of malicious bloodlust and was bright orange instead of crimson red. Shock because of his eyes.
"R-Rinnegan!" Itachi stuttered in his mind. "Impossible! He has the legendary Dojutsu? But it doesn't look like legends described. It should've been with a light purple iris and scalera and black pupil. Maybe it's evolved? Maybe that's what Hokage-sama meant..." he thought with awe.
Iruka had the same thoughts, but then he remembered his student asked him a question.
"Y-yeah, Naruto. I'm fine, thanks. You saved me here."
"Iruka-sensei... do you hate me? I mean... because of Kyuubi?" Naruto asked with worry.
"NO! Of course I don't hate you! You're like a little brother to me. And I can tell the difference between a beast and a human. You're completely human, Naruto, and I never hated you." Iruka said with a warm smile, forgetting about the changes in Naruto's eyes.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei! Thank you very much!" answered Naruto with a bright smile and a single tear falling from his eyes.
His eyes then turned back to his normal ocean blue and his orange chakra cloak disappeared. He then fell unconscious to the ground as the kids finally woke up.
When the kids woke up, the first thing they felt was calmness in the air and saw Naruto standing in an orange chakra cloak with fox-like ears and tail sticking out from it. Then they saw Naruto fall unconscious.
"Naruto!" Sasuke, Shikamaru and Choji shouted, worried for their friend. Little did they know said friend saved all of them from Kami knows what.
-2 minutes before 'Battle in Mindscape'-
-Somewhere in Amegakure-
"Shinra Tensei" shouted Nagato, throwing Hanzo back with an invisible force. Hanzo stopped when he hit the wall of a nearby building. This fight was lasting for too long, Hanzo was already exhausted, and can barely stand.
"Who the hell is this guy? And what's with those eyes? Any jutsu I throw at him, he just absorbs or repels." He thought with a scowl on his face. "How can I win. No... the right question is: CAN I win?"
He couldn't waste anymore time thinking because he had to dodge paper shuriken. He then heard Nagato speaking.
"Your time has come to an end, you're already exhausted and I can still fight. Be honored, for you will be the first step towards a greater good. Your pain will be the first of many." Nagato calmly said, his voice void of emotion.
Before Hanzo could answer Nagato, he raised up his hand and said "Bansho Ten'in" and the next thing Hanzo knew, he is pulled towards Nagato with an unknown force.
"So this is it."
When Hanzo finally reached Nagato, he was impaled by a black, long and sharp rod, piercing his heart and immediately killing him.
Just as Nagato did it, he quickly turned around and stared into the distance. Unknown to him, he was staring directly at Naruto as he awakened his Rinnengan.
A woman with blue hair and a paper flower in it approached Nagato and asked "Is something wrong?"
Nagato didn't answer for a minute, still staring. He then turned his eyes to Konan and said, "Nothing. I just felt something familiar. Let's go. We have to deal with those who were loyal to Hanzo. When that is done, I shall become a God and you will be my Angel."
"Yes, Nagato."
"From this moment onward, my name is Pein."
With that, both figures walked deeper in the town killing everyone in their path who were still loyal to Hanzo.
"Soon, I shall bring peace to this tainted world, because I was chosen to do so."
End!
I hope you liked it, although I admit, the short fighting scenes were a bit lame. I'm not good at writing them, but I will try my best. I've got some feedback that my next fighting scene is much better than this one . I hope you like the story so far.
*1*About why this genjutsu didn't work in the blonde: if the user would apply Genjutsu directly by using his/her own chakra, Naruto would have to dispel it manually. In this case genjutsu was used through the seal while not using caster's own chakra, thus changing a concept of said genjutsu so Naruto's potent chakra wasn't disrupted. This genjutsu is more powerful if opponent have low reserves and is effective in taking out a group of weak shinobi. But those with bigger reserves, are not affected by it.
*2* I've never seen Iruka using any jutsu, so I decided to give him Doton affinity. And yeah, I know. Lame jutsu name. You will see a lot something like that, although I will try to be more original and come up with more interesting jutsu names.
*3* In this story Kyuubi doesn't have a gender - it's pure chakra, that's why I will call him "it" in my story until said otherwise.
*4* To see how it looks like, visit my profile. I will put a link there.
Say what you liked, what disliked, how is story so far and leave some feedback, say what I could improve on. Your feedback can make my story better and more enjoyable for you.
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Thanks for reading.
