AN: This is a story that just came to me as I sat up at night, the plot is that Naruto is shaken at the fact he was almost killed by the Kyuubi's chakra and wises up after his close brush with death from his fight with Uchiha Sasuke and seeks to become better than he was in order to ensure that he could properly keep the malevolent Kitsune held back. In this fic Jiraiya is going to be more serious and hands on about Naruto's training. Also there will be only these women in his love life Karin, Samui, Temari, Shion, Guren, and possibly and this isn't 100% at this point but Hinata so don't ask for any others or trying to fill my inbox about her being added. On a final note Naruto was promoted to chuunin by Tsunade due to his field service during the Invasion of Konoha.
"Naruto"- Normal speech
"Naruto" - Normal Thoughts
"Naruto" - Demon speech
"Naruto" - Demon thoughts
Naruto- Locations
Naruto- Jutsu/ Ougi
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any characters affiliated with the series, so step back before I let chibi Xeno loose.
Chapter 1: Failed Mission & Departure
"The retrieval mission was an utter disaster." that was all Nara Shikamaru could think as he sat outside Chouji's operating room waiting to hear news of his friend's survival. He wore a mesh net shirt with a short sleeved gray jacket with brown pants, over top of the jacket he wore a tan green vest indicating he was a chuunin in Konohagakure's forces and his hitai-ate tied to his left bicep. His hair was pulled into a short top knot ponytail and his narrow brown eyes usually bored or irritated, were downcast in sadness.
"I told you already it's useless to just sit around moping about what went wrong, act like a chuunin sheesh." Came from a female voice belonging to Sabaku no Temari, she was a genin of Sunagakure and wore a long sleeved purple blouse with a gray top over it, she also wore a blue skirt with a long red sash tied into a bow around her waist. Around her neck proudly sat the hitai-ate of her village.
"That's just it, my teammates were counting on me to lead them. Hell even Naruto stepped aside to let me lead because he knew that I could plan out the mission best, but in the end I failed them. Maybe I should just give up being a shinobi." Shikamaru sighed as he got up and began to walk away.
"Now that's the attitude of a coward and certainly not of a shinobi." Came a voice from around the corner, it was Shikamaru's father and leader of their clan Nara Shikaku. He looked like a carbon copy of Shikamaru with the exception of two prominent scars on the right side of his face and his goatee, he wore a meshed shirt underneath his flak jacket, a deer skin coat over that and hand guards.
"Tou-san what do you mean?" Shikamaru asked as he turned to look at his father who had a scowl on his face.
"Quitting just because your first mission as a chuunin wasn't a success is just pathetic both to your village and your squad-mates who risked their lives for the sake of the mission. If you were to quit time would move forward and they could get a squad leader that couldn't properly lead them through their mission and they would end up dead, and all it would do is make you feel even worse about having deserting them." Shikaku pointed out as he walked over and placed a comforting hand on Shikamaru's shoulder.
"Quit being a coward and focusing on the negatives, use this failure as a learning experience to grow into the shinobi and leader your friends hope you to be!." Shikaku encouraged as he gave his son a brief smile, while Temari looked on from her seat.
The overhead light indicating surgery was going on, then went off signaling that the procedure had been completed. One of the double doors opened and a figure walked out into the hall.
"It took some doing but we managed to pull Akimichi Chouji out of the red zone." Senju Tsunade said as she emerged from the O.R. She was a woman who looked to be in her twenties with long blonde hair pulled back into two ponytails tied with purple hairbands that fell to the small of her back.
Tsunae's outfit consisted of a gray, kimono-style blouse with no sleeves, held closed by a broad, dark bluish-grey obi that matches her pants. Her blouse was closed quite low, revealing her sizeable cleavage, she wore open-toed sandals with high heels. A prominent feature other than her generous bust that could give Sakaki a run for her money was a violet rhombus on her forehead.
"It's due in large part to your clan's medical manual that we were able to counter the effects of the Sanshoku no Gan'yaku(Three Colored Pills).Thank you for that Shikaku." Tsunade said as she took the bench opposite of Temari.
"Of course Hokage-sama." Shikaku said as he sent a small smile in receiving her praise.
"Tsunade-sama! I have news!" Came a voice rushing up the hall, Kato Shizune was a woman in her twenties with shoulder length black hair with bangs and dark eyes, she wore a long blueish-black kimono with white trimmings, held closed by a white obi, and open-toed sandals with low heels it gave her an simple but beautiful look. She stopped in front of Shikamaru to catch her breath for a moment.
"Hyuuga Neji's operation was a success, and Inuzuka Kiba has a serious injury but it's not life threatening also Hatake Kakahsi and Uzumaki Naruto have just returned to the village. Uzumaki- san has a critical injury that needs to be address right away!" Shizune said which prompted her mentor to her feet as Tsunade rushed over.
"What's his current condition?" Tsuande demanded as they began rushing up the hallway with Shikamaru, Temari and Shikaku on their heels.
"The two iryo-nin(medical ninja) units you sent out performed an emergency on site procedure to stabilize him for transport. He has two large holes in his torso, one in the right shoulder and..." Shizune started as she lead the group up two flights of stairs.
"What is it Shizune?" Tsunade asked while getting the impression that she wouldn't like the answer.
"The second hole is on the left side and managed to miss his heart by a few centimeters, anymore and we could have lost him." Shizune replied as she watched her mentor freeze up mid-stride before picking up the pace double time.
"I want you to send for Jiraiya, tell him that if he isn't here in the next ten minutes I will be most displeased with him." Tsunade said as she snapped her amber orbs to her apprentice.
"Hai, Tsunade-sama. By the way Naruto is in O.R. 3! I'll be along as soon as I can!" Shizune said before she broke off to contact the Gama sennin.
"Damn Uchiha Sasuke better hope that the Kyuubi's seal holds, and Naruto-kun can pull through. Otherwise I will hunt him down myself before leaving Uchiha Itachi the only living Uchiha left on the face of the planet." Tsunade thought as she rounded the corner to O.R.3 only to see a shocking site.
Sabaku no Gaara stood in front of the doors leading to the surgery taking place with a scowl on his face as his sand slithered ominously within the large gourd on his back as he keep the other medics at bay. Gaara wore a beige colored pair of overalls with a large strap and sash worn across his body with his hitai-ate sewn across the strap as well. He had short brick-red hair that hung in a mop fashion over top of a tattoo on the left side of his forehead that read 'Ai' or love in kanji, his seafoam green eyes were narrowed in focus as he watched the Godaime's approach.
"What is going on here? We have a critical patient in need of surgery!" Tsunade ordered as she approached the door.
"Thank Kami Hokage-sama, this suna-nin is preventing us from entering the surgery room." One of the iryo-nin declared as he pointed a finger at Gaara who stood in defense of his fellow jinchuuriki.
"Gaara-san please step aside so I can help Naruto." Tsunade said with a firm demand as she stared Gaara in the eyes firmly.
After a few seconds of deeming Tsunade trustworthy enough to help his kin, Gaara stepped aside and allowed the Namekuji-hime to pass but not before leaving her with some parting words.
"Tsunade-sama...do all that you can for him." Gaara said as he hesitated in an effort to form the right words.
"Of course." Tsunade replied as she spun around to watch Gaara walk off with a smile before setting her face into a serious expression and stepped through the doors.
Once she got inside with the rest of her staff, Tsunade could see just how sever Naruto's condition was, he had a large fist sized hole in his chest and it looked very ragged. To top it all off she could see the wisps of red chakra every now and again as they licked his body in an effort to keep Naruto alive.
"So the Kyuubi isn't ready to die just yet, good it can give us that extra chance to save him." Tsunade thought as she then began instructing the surgery as she stood over Naruto's body and began to work.
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Naruto's Minscape
The Kyuubi no Kitsune looked down from behind it's prison at its jailer, it couldn't hold in the grimace of disgust that graced its large maw as it revealed its teeth which were as large as an adult male's leg.
"You nearly cost us both our lives this day ningen, were it not for me you would be dead and I would be within that blasted Shinigami's grasp." Kyuubi mused as he looked down at the unconscious form of Naruto as he floated in the water that had risen to waist level since the mission drew to a close.
"As I said before and shall say again, you should be grateful to both I and that damnedable Yondaime Hokage who sealed me into you." Kyuubi continued with a small smile even thought Naruto couldn't hear him, before he lapsed into silence.
The sounds of watery footsteps had the Kyuubi snapping its head up to the direction of the sound, whatever was moving closer wasni't appreciated by the chakra mass of malice. It didn't like things coming into its domain within it's jailer's mindscape uninvited. Soon a figure could be made out somewhat in the dime crimson lighting.
"Tell me something Kyuubi, why should I be grateful to the being that's made my personal life a living hell from behind a sutra paper and fuinjutsu kanji?" A voice similar to the gaki's asked as the figure stepped into the light fully.
"Gaki, how is this possible?" Kyuubi said in a moment of shock as it was looking down at another copy of Uzumaki Naruto. The one striding forward with even steps was dressed just as the annoyingly cheerful version would be except with different colors, he was wearing an black tracksuit with purple on the upper shoulders area as well as around the waist, a gray swirl with a tassel on the left side, a red swirl on the back, a large white collar, black pants, blue sandals, he even wore the iconic hitai-ate of Konohagakure atop his forehead although in black.
"It's very much possible Kyuubi considering the Naruto floating before you is just a persona create by my mind. Unfortunately it grew to believe it was really me up until this retrival mission." 'Shin Naruto' replied gesturing to the fake Naruto.
Kyuubi looked down only to blink in surprise at finding 'Shin Naruto' kneeling over the fake, the Kitsune did a double take to the entrance of the room and back to the two Narutos three different times before shrugging and lashing out with its enormous paw in an effort to kill his jailer and escape his prison. The act kicked up a good amount of water before Kyuubi lifted his paw to watch the blood stain the water underneath.
Sadly there was no blood, there wasn't even a broken body to speak of. Glancing around again Kyuubi spotted by Naruto's by the entrance to the cage room.
"Damned brat, get back here so I can kill you and escape!" Kyuubi demanded with a growl as his crimson orbs tried killing both Narutos on the spot with a smoldering glare.
"I'll return once you've grown civil enough to actually have a conversation with, until then you can just enjoy your own company for a while. Good-bye Kyuubi." 'Shin' Naruto said he hoisted his created self onto his shoulders and walked out of the cage room with Kyuubi's bellows of revenge and subjugation beating at his back.
Shin Naruto didn't even spare the kitsune an over the shoulder glance as he headed for the exit to his mind, as they walked along the fake Naruto began to regress in age until there was a young five year old on Shin's back.
"You did such a good job of seeing us through all these years, even if it almost cost us our life and career numerous times. Sadly its time I return to the land of the living but that doesn't mean that a portion of you won't be coming with me, I'm sure I can use your sense of humor and morality to help see me through this..." Shin thought as he glanced at the younger Naruto on his back who was fading away with each step taken.
As Shin's footsteps grew closer to the exit, younger Naruto seemed to fade a bit more each time. Just before Shin passed through the door of light younger Naruto mumbled something that would stay for the rest of Shin's days.
"Thank you for the chance at living..." The child like voice said sleepily as he was absorbed into Shin who walked through the door and woke up...
Real World sometime later, Konoha Hospital
Naruto awoke slowly to his body feeling like lead wrapped in pain with a dose of fog for good measure, that was to be expected seeing as he did come a battle that nearly cost him his life. Gingerly pulling himself into a sitting position, Naruto found himself surrounded by the white walls of the Konoha Hospital. If it was one place Naruto hated to find himself it was the hospital but, right now he could care less as he gave his room a glance over before spotting something shining out the corner of his right eye.
Looking fully he spotted the hitai-ate that belonged to Uchiha Sasuke, he could even remember when his clawed hand put the scratch across the surface ironically marking Sasuke as a nuke-nin. Watching as his bandaged arm grabbed the headband, Naruto was pulled from his thoughts by the door to his room opening.
"Ah you're awake?" It was Shikamaru leaning against the doorframe with first a shocked expression then a small smirk.
"Yeah...I'm awake." Naruto replied after testing his voice a bit.
"Think you could walk as well?" Shikamaru continued as he walked into the room and over to the bed as Naruto began shifting as if to get up.
"With your help, I think I can manage. Where are we going?" Naruto said as Shikamaru helped the blonde to his feet and they began to slowly walk out the room.
"To sit with the others for a bit." Shikamaru replied as they shuffled off to where the rest of the squad was.
After about five minutes of walking, Shikamaru opened the door to a large room with four beds two of each which were against opposite walls. Currently three of the four beds held the rest of the retrieval squad, Chouji was currently eating some food on the order to start regaining some of the protein and fat storage he lost from using the Sanshoku no Gan'yaku, Hyuuga Neji was currently resting against his propped up pillows as was Inuzuka Kiba as they watched Chouji eating at a shockingly slow pace. Akamaru laid in a small bed beside Kiba's whimpering softly from the injuries he received during the mission as well.
"Yo, look who I found." Shikamaru greeted as he guided Naruto into the room which attracted the attention of the other rooms occupants.
"Hey man good to see you made it, did you complete the mission?" Kiba said weakly as his stomach injury was still very painful.
"No I didn't, he managed to overpower me and escape across the border." Naruto replied softly as he was helped into the last bed, as Chouji, Neji, and Kiba grew solemn at this news.
"Hey, come on guys think positively. We did great for our first joint A-ranked mission, sure we didn't complete the objective but we all managed to come out of it alive and a bit stronger mentally and emotionally right?" Shikamaru said as he tried to steer the rest of his teammates away from thinking about the failure of the mission while grabbing one of the empty chairs in the room.
"Shika's right, besides we just have to get stronger and try again right?" Chouji replied as his sprits returned as he sided with his best friend.
"Definitely." Kiba said with a restrained laugh,
"I suppose, someone has to watch your backs." Neji replied with a small smirk that was oddly enough become normal to the other four boys having spent close to four days out in the field with him.
"...No." This came surprisingly from Naruto who sat back on the bed he was in.
"No? Why not; you were the most vocal about retrieving Sasuke." Kiba asked astonished at what he was hearing.
"That was before he tried to kill me, no the way I see it I'm not risking my life to haul his ass back here." Naruto explained just as the sound of a gasp reached all their ears.
Looking to where the sound originated, the five boys were looking at a shocked Sakura who looked absolutely devastated at the what she just heard. Next to her stood Tsunade wearing her green jacket with the kanji for 'gamble' sitting across the back and Ino and Chouza chouji's father.
"How can you say that when you promised that you would bring him back?" Sakura asked after she regained her voice after realizing that Sasuke wasn't amongst their group meaning the mission had ended in failure.
Two minutes prior
Sakura stood outside of Naruto's room as she steeled herself to see how the mission went, she was about to grasp the handle when a voice broke her thoughts and the silence.
"Ah here to visit your teammate?" Tsunade asked as she walked up the hall at a sedate pace.
"Tsunade-sama, h-hai. What are you doing here?" Sakura replied with a catch in her voice at standing before her leader.
"I was just making rounds and decided to check in Naruto since he got out of surgery an hour ago, I'll come in with you he should be just waking up." Tsunade answered as she stopped at the door and pulled it open to reveal an empty room.
"He's gone? Is this the right room?" Sakura asked as she stepped back out to confirm it was indeed the right room number.
"It is I'm the one who place him here myself." Tsunade replied as she went to check the bathroom and came up empty.
"Tsunade-sama! It's urgent, Chouji's gone missing." Chouza proclaimed as his large stature filled the door to the room as he stopped to catch his breath as if he ran the entire way there with Ino hot on his heels as she stumbled into the room panting as well.
"I think we should try to find them as quick as possible." Tsunade said as she brought her hands up into the handsign Tatsu(Dragon) and sent out a small pulse of chakra to find Naruto's chakra signature.
She found his alongside Shikamaru's, Chouji's, Neji's, and Kiba's, so they were all in the same room conversing, the thought of them growing closer after such a dangerous experience brought a smile to her face even if the medic in her disapproved of freshly healed patients being moved from their rooms.
"It's all right, I know where they are exactly. Follow me." Tsunade said as she dropped her hands and brushed by Chouza out the room with the other three following the busty fire shadow.
After a leisure five minute walk they found themselves outside one of the large rooms used for multiple patients, even with the door closed they could hear the sounds of talking coming from the room right before Tsunade opened the door and they caught the end of the conversation.
"That was before he tried to kill me, no the way I see it I'm not risking my life to haul his ass back here." This statement from her teammate caused Sakura to gasp in surprise.
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
In the room, presently
"How can you say that he's our teammate!" Sakura asked after she regained her voice after realizing that Sasuke wasn't amongst their group meaning the mission had ended in failure.
"Correction, was our teammate. He's already in Orochimaru's clutches or could you not tell by the fact Sasuke isn't here with us?" Naruto replied as he looked up from his lap to stare at Sakura with his dulled blue orbs.
"But what about bringing Sasuke back to the village? You even swore on your nindo, and you'd never go back on your word." Sakura tried again while everyone else in the room looked on silently.
"And I don't dishonor my nindo but, you can believe any hope of me bringing the Uchiha back to the village in a whole state died when he plunged two Chidori into my chest." Naruto snapped slightly after giving a hollow chuckle that was devoid of any real feeling.
"Sasuke-kun wouldn't do that? You know the curse seal was influencing him." Sakura replied as she tried to defend her crush.
"So I just did this to myself then! Wake the hell up Sakura, he left of his own free will! I tried talking to him and he didn't want to hear a damn thing I had to say, instead he shoved two fucking Chidori's into my chest without any hesitation and dropped me on my head in a piledriver move from off a cliff!" Naruto snarled as he lifted his shirt and pulled back the bandages to show his still healing chest injuries.
The sight of Naruto's two newly added fist sized holes still healing on his chest brought looks of horror and anger to everyone's face bar Tsunade who already seen the Uchiha's work first hand. Sakura unconsciously took a step back from what she was seeing when Naruto got to unsteady feet not wishing to be around the pinkette much longer.
"Now if your 'precious' Sasuke-kun was willing to do all that to me in order to reach Orochimaru, what do you think he would have done to you if he didn't have to worry about being caught by anyone the night he defected and you attempted to stop him?" Naruto spat in a moment of mounting fury as Sakura looked ready to have a breakdown as he approached his remaining teammate.
"Naruto, that's enough!" Tsunade snapped as she watched Naruto take uneasy steps past Sakura and stopped at the door.
"Tch, it just goes to show you the scene may be different but, the damned situation stays the same. I guess somethings will never change for me." Naruto muttered as he shook his head before walking out the room. (1)
For a while no one said anything as they looked at the doorway where Naruto disappeared from, Sakura couldn't even move as she was just looking straight ahead while Ino snapped from her bout of shock and went to try and consul her friend/rival.
"Hey, Sakura. You okay?" Ino asked gently as she tapped Sakura lightly, it was all the girl needed before she just crumpled to the floor in a sea of tears.
"Look...Sakura, while what Naruto said was a bit out of line, it doesn't mean that he meant all of it." Tsunade said as she tested out the pink haired girl's name, she didn't really have a chance to meet with anyone under Jounin in terms of the active roster so she just used the name as she heard from Ino's mouth.
"Actually, Hokage-sama Naruto has never said anything he didn't mean." Shikamaru said as he felt the blonde Senju needed to know.
"Explain this to me then Shikamaru." Tsunade said as she grabbed a chair and got comfortable while Ino pulled Sakura from the floor to sit on the bed while Chouza moved to sit on the end of his son's bed.
"Well I don't know if you knew but back before we were genin, Naruto wasn't particularly liked during our days as academy students. It didn't help that Sasuke was in our graduating year and that every girl was taken for him." Shikamaru started before Tsunade became ridged at the last part and mumbled something to herself that sounded like 'fangirls' while glancing briefly in Sakura and Ino's direction before telling Shikamaru to continue.
"Well it didn't matter what day it was, whenever Naruto opened his mouth anytime whether it was to ask a question or to answer one he was cut off and told he was a nuisance and disruptive. This even extended so far as that if anyone that wasn't Sasuke got told they weren't up to his cool level or whatever, but it was worse for Naruto who was always told what was it Ino and Sakura? Oh yeah 'Stop trying to be as cool as Sasuke-kun, you're just a dobe and an orphan." Shikamaru said as he looked to the two genin kunoichi in the room for confirmation only to watch them sort of shrink into themselves.
"Yeah and it only got worse overtime especially after Squad 7 was created, Sakura would lash out at anything that seemed to put Sasuke in an unfavorable light this included Naruto trying to do anything team related. It was horrible to watch especially in the Forest of Death during the chuunin exams." Chouji said adding his two cents which seemed to make the two girls shrink in even further as their less than spectacular behavior was being aired to the Hokage who was pinning them with a icy glare.
"So can you really blame Naruto for reacting the way he did? Being told off every time I tried to speak all the time would get me angry at people after a point even someone who's suppose to be my teammate." Kiba asked as he too stuck up for his blonde comrade who always tried to stand by him when they were younger.
"I see,... well I will look into all of that later and speak with Naruto. Right now I believe it best that you boys get some rest, no sense in having you all moved again so I'll just tell the nurses that you've all swapped rooms." Tsunade said after she got up and held out a hand to stop any of the boys protests.
"You four can stay for a little bit longer but I will be sending a nurse in about ten minutes to ensure you leave so these patients rest." Tsunade said as she turned on her heal and left the room with voices of agreement following her out.
Meanwhile in Ta no Kuni
In a hidden underground base, three people were traveling through a hallway that had nothing but prisoners in cells on either side. None of the three walking paid any attention to the cries of misery, pleading, and even death as they walked along. At the front was a man with gray-white hair and bandages covering all of his face except for one lone eye in the form of a snakes, this was one of the Sannin the Hebi-master and leader of Otogakure: Usano Orochimaru. (2)
Next in the middle walked a young boy wearing a dark blue yukata, his onyx orbs were dark with thoughts of the training he would receive since he left his old village behind in the pursuit of power. His face was framed by two semi-long bangs that hung on either side of his face while the rest of his hair resembled a duck's ass while hanging somewhat low without a hitai-ate to hold it up. This was Uchiha Sasuke fresh nuke-nin of Konoha and newly appointed apprentice to Orochimaru.
Pulling up the rear was a bespectacled young man was wearing a purple tunic with matching pants and a white undershirt, he had silver-white hair that hung in a loose ponytail that fell towards his back. This was Yakushi Kabuto the right hand of his Hebi-sannin master.
"You are my chosen one Sasuke, unfortunately I apologize about meeting with you in such a state." Orochimaru hissed in a polite tone as they walked.
"I don't care about that, just give me power now." Sasuke said impatiently only for Orochimaru to gaze at the Uchiha out the corner of his eye.
"You should watch yourself Sasuke, if may not look like it but that is indeed Orochimaru-sama. You will do well to remember to respect him at all times." Kabuto whispered as he leaned down to Sasuke's ear.
Sasuke merely whipped his head to the side in order to glare heavily at Kabuto who froze up in surprise and fright, Orochimaru mean while was onlooking with delight shining heavily in his eye.
"This boy...will do fine as my future vessel." Orochimaru admitted to himself all the while walking.
Back in Konoha
Sunset had come will Naruto laid resting in his bed, he was contemplating on how he would go about getting stronger so he wouldn't have to rely on the Kyuubi's toxic chakra in the future. Moment's later a loud thud sounded just outside his window and by extension the hospital as well, getting up Naruto hobbled to the window and pulled back the curtains only to find a huge Gama just sitting on the ground contently. The toad wore a blue jacket not unlike Gamabunta, however that wasn't what Naruto was focusing in it was the rider atop the Gama's head. The figure wore brown shinobi pants with a green net shirt covered by a red vest and wooden geta rather than sandals, his white hair as long, spiky and hung low against the large scroll strapped to his back. He had two vertical red stripes running down both his cheeks, the only thing missing was a large hitai-ate with small horns on the corners with a kanji in the middle that said Abura(Oil) instead of the leaf insignia. The person Naruto knew very well for it was the Densetsu Gama Sennin no Okanei Jiraiya(Legendary Toad Sage Okanei Jiraiya). (2)
"Ero-sennin, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked calmly as he watched the sannin leap from the toad to the windowsill after giving a greeting himself.
"I heard about what happened and came to check on you." Jiraiya explained as he got comfortable on the sill while watching as Naruto got back in bed.
"I'm not dead if that's what you're wondering." Naruto muttered as he sat up looking at the Gama sennin.
"Right, well I've come to let you know that the Akatsuki has ceased their movements for the time being, you've got about three years before they come gunning for you. So with that in mind I've decided to take you on as an apprentice." Jiraiya revealed as he looked over his shoulder at Naruto.
"Does this mean that you will actually train me? Or are you just going to show me a jutsu and leave me to figure it out while you go running around brothels?" Naruto inquired as he regarded the Gama-sennin with scrutinizing eyes.
Jiraiya flinched ever so slightly at that remark, when he had heard about Naruto's condition due to the mission he was truly worried. After all the kid hardly knew any jutsu and it nearly cost him big time in the long run, sure Kakashi was suppose to teach the blond as a true sensei would do but all the Hatake heir did was focus on the Uchiha and look where it got Konoha. The kid defected to his ex-teammate all for the promise of power so he could kill his older brother.
Well, after he started training Naruto for the Chuunin Exams, the responsibility of teaching fell to Jiraiya but all he did was show Naruto the seals to use summoning and how to draw out the Kyuubi's chakra. Jiraiya could already see how Minato would be rolling in his grave at how his son turned out, not to mention the hurting that Kushina would put on him for neglecting her son. His mind made up Jiraiya decided to do the right thing.
"Kid, when I get through with you. There won't be a shinobi out there that could compete with with super soldier I'm going to turn you into!" Jiraiya admitted as he gave Naruto a reassuring smile.
"Really? Then I'll hold you to that." Naruto replied while the room settled into a brief silence as Jiraiya looked to the rustic burning sky and Naruto laid back to stare at his ceiling.
"Kid...I know you want to save Sasuke but, forget about him. It will do nothing but drag you down if you focus on him, not to mention I won't take you on as an apprentice" Jiraiya advised suddenly just in case he had to hammer the truth into Naruto's head.
"You won't hear any complaints from me, personally I'd like to remove the Uchiha from the face of existence." Naruto said rather darkly Naruto as he sat up in bed.
"That's out of character for you, what brought on this line of thought?" Jiraiya asked in shock that he hid well behind a simple mask of indifference.
"I'm pretty sure you'd change your outlook on life if you had an assassination jutsu shoved through your chest twice." Naruto replied as he looked at Jiraiya with a deadpan expression which caused the gama-nin to flinch once more.
"You are right, listen I've got somethings to do but I'll be back tomorrow to get you and we can set out. We'll be leaving around noon, so use the morning to get ready and say goodbye to whoever you need to cause you won't be seeing them for the next three years." Jiraiya said as he stood up on the windowsill.
"Yeah well, let me have some money to use for some new clothing, that orange eyesore won't cut it anymore." Naruto said as he got Jiraiya's attention before he could leave.
"Finally decided to wise up huh? Well I can definitely support that, here get whatever your need." Jiraiya said as he tossed a bag of money on Naruto's bed before taking off on his gama summons.
Once left alone Naruto reached forward and grabbed the bag of money before putting it in his bedside drawer and laying down to rest.
"Say goodbye to people huh? I know who to see before I go." Naruto thought before turning over and drifting off to sleep.
Sometime later in the night while Naruto slept soundly, Tsunade stood outside his door with a couple of scrolls and a note clutched to her chest. The busty blonde was silently questioning if she should leave him the scrolls but, then a moral voice spoke up saying that Naruto had a right to learn of his past like anyone else. Besides he did make the requirement of chuunin in order to learn about it so why the hell not?
Opening the door to his room, Tsunade could see that he was getting a true good nights rest if from what his medical file said about him having nightmares from when he was younger. Using her stealth as a shinobi she moved to his bedside and left the two scrolls in the drawer next to the money pouch and the note on top, then she crept back to the door but not before ruffling Naruto's hair slightly.
"Good Luck, gaki" Tsunade projected mentally with a small smile as she closed the door and left Naruto in peace for the night.
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
The next day Naruto awoke feeling like his old self as he stretched high and relaxed until the nurse came in and checked him out before declaring him fit to leave the hospital. After getting dressed Naruto went to grab the money from his bedside draw before noticing a note on top with the Hokage's personal seal on it.
"I wonder what this is about?" Naruto thought as he picked up the note and broke the seal before opening it up and begin reading it.
(Hey gaki,
I know you're going to be set to leave with Jiraiya today, and since I can't see you off I felt I should give you something that you've rightly earned: The truth of who your parents were. Everything you'll need to know are inside two storage scrolls, one from each of them. You're probably wondering why you are just now getting something pertaining to your parents, but you've got to understand.
It was kept from you for three reasons: the first is that because of who your parents were exactly they had made a lot of enemies who would have loved to kill you as a form of vengeance against your parents, the second reason was because they request that if anything were to happen to them you were to receive their scrolls when you've made chuunin or higher. And the last reason was that my sensei didn't want you to know so young an age because you were most likely to go around shouting who your parents were to the world which would have brought us back to reason number one.
Naruto stopped reading to blink owlishly at the fact that as a child, who wouldn't want people to know who their parents were. Naruto wasn't excluded from that harmless accusation, getting back to the task at hand he continued with the note.
Anyway the scrolls will answer most of your questions regarding your parents but know this, even though they died the day of the Kyuubi attack never doubt their love for you. It was that which allowed them to keep you safe that day. So that's it, I'll see you in three years and don't let that old lech teammate of mine corrupt you with his perverted ways.
Love,
Senju Tsunade,
P.S.: Don't open the scrolls until you and Jiraiya are outside the village and by yourselves.)
Naruto folded up the paper and shoved it into his field pouch before opening the drawer to get his money, only to see that the two scrolls Tsunade spoke of were sitting there as well. Taking up everything and putting it into his field pouch Naruto walked out the room and down the hall to where the rest of the retrieval team was still at after asking the nurse about them.
Opening the door Naruto could see that his friends were looking a bit better today, Chouji was steadily gaining the fat and weight that he lost, also Neji and Kiba were actually able to eat a bit even if it was only something as light as pudding. Shikamaru was there as well which made it much easier instead of having to track the Nara down.
"Ohaiyo, guys." Naruto said as he walked in the room and closed the door, the other gave their greetings as he pulled up a chair and sat in it slowly his body was still a bit tender from the mission.
"Hey man you're looking better." Kiba said from his bed.
"Yeah the nurse said she was kicking me out, something about me being blessed with a higher healing rate." Naruto replied.
"Man you're lucky, the rest of us are stuck here for another three days at most." Kiba said with a small pout as he flopped back on his pillows.
Naruto shrugged a bit before going completely quiet for a moment, taking a deep breath he launched into his tale about leaving the village for the next three years under Jiraiya's tutalage as his apprentice during which Kiba groaned out that he was lucky once more.
"Kiba would you quit being so troublesome? I think it's a good opportunity for you Naruto." Shikamaru said with a smile as he looked upon his second blonde friend.
"Yeah I guess he's going to need all the help he can get. When you get back Uzumaki I want a rematch for that defeat in the Chuunin Exams." Kiba added as he too gave Naruto a smile.
"I too would like a rematch Naruto-kun when we are both stronger in three years." Neji said as he too agreed with the idea.
"You can count on me and Shika getting strong too, right Shikamaru?" Chouji said as he gave a warm smile while looking at his best friend and teammate.
"Troublesome but yeah, while you get strong we'll all do the same. So get on out of here and get ready so you can leave." Shikamaru said as he too smiled.
"I will do that and I can't wait to see you guys again. Take care." Naruto replied as he gave a thumbs up which all four of them returned before he got up and left the room.
After taking the shinobi highway across the village to his apartment building, Naruto shuffled up to the second floor and to his apartment door. Unlocking the door and stepping inside Naruto was bathed in darkness, slowly he moved about his apartment and began to clean the place up no need to come back to a dirty apartment in three years. When he was done with that he grabbed his travel bag and began to pack it with weapons, scrolls, and provisions, he then took out all of the orange tracksuits and began to stuff them into a bag to deposit in the trash.
Once he was done and heading out the door with his trash load, Naruto stopped by his door and took one last look at his apartment when he noticed something. It was a framed photo of squad 7, walking over Naruto picked up the picture and took a closer look at it. Kakashi stood in the background with a nervous look about him while he had a hand on the heads of Sasuke and Naruto who were scowling at each other like it was going out of style, lastly was Sakura in the middle with a naive yet happy smile as she was the only one really focused on the camera.
With a flicker of some unknown emotion dancing across his face, Naruto deposited the frame in the drawer and went back to the door and left without an over the shoulder glance as the apartment became still once more.
Seeing that he still had about a good hour until Jiraiya came to collect him, Naruto decided to go and buy his new outfits before going to get a parting meal at Ichiraku's. So with that Naruto took off in search of a decent clothing store, after about five minutes he landed outside of a store that looked new and held a lot of promise it was called 'The Lone Claw'.
As he walked in, Naruto could see weapons piled high in barrels and stacked neatly on shelves lining the walls. Everything else like clothing, scrolls, ink and brushes, paper, pencils and pens, and just about anything a shinobi could need in the field was here, clothing racks and shelves dotted the middle of the store filled with shirts, jackets, pants, shoes, and other accessories.
"Welcome to my shop, can I help you young man?" An elderly voice called out from the back causing Naruto to look to that spot.
A moment later an old man slowly walked out from the back, he looked to be well over 100 years old. The elder wore a simple gray gi that was held closed by a simple obi belt tied in the front, on his head rested a white bandana with large kanji written on them. Nothing of the man's eyes could be seen underneath his rather thick eyebrows, he had a well kept goatee that was as white as his age showed.
"No, thank you I can manage." Naruto said as he began walking around the clothing section and picked up some dark blue and black pants, he went on to get a couple pairs of shirts in gray, red, and black. As he neared the clerk, Naruto placed all his clothing on the counter while the old man seemed to view him interestingly.
"Something wrong?" Naruto asked calmly but was prepared for anything.
"No...nothing at all my boy." The old man said as he slowly began to ring up the clothing before baggin it and handing it back to Naruto.
"One second." Naruto stepped away to get some extra items he might have needed and coming back to the counter where the elder rang it up as well.
"That will be 150,000 ryou." The old man said as he tallied the total.
Naruto reached into the money pouch and pulled out the required amount and handed it to the clerk, who took the money willingly.
"Please come again." The clerk said as he handed Naruto his recipe along with something else that was heavier in his palm as well.
"What is this?" Naruto asked as he looked down at his hand to find an object sitting there, it was a small metal bird of prey with its talons extended while it's wings beat against an imaginary air.
"A talisman, a falcon talisman to be precise. They say that the great lord of the skies protects those that carry that talisman, think of it as a good luck charm." The old man replied with a warm chuckle.
"Thank you for this,...gomen but I don't know your name." Naruto said as he looked up from the small pendant in gratitude for the small gesture.
"Oh...I'm called Muramasa and think nothing of it." Muramasa replied as he even gave Naruto a cord to hang the talisman from.
"Well I'm Naruto by the way and I can't at the moment but, I'd like to repay you for this kind gesture when I return." Naruto said as he very few things given to him out of kindness rather then obligation, The Ichiraku's and the late Sandaime aside.
"As I said think nothing of it, just remember to indulge an old man in some company over tea when you do return and that will be enough." Muramasa replied as he watched Naruto slip the talisman around his neck.
After sending Naruto out the store with a warm smile, Muramasa picked up a sword from below the counter along with some oil and a rag. As he began to clean the newly crafted katana the old swordsmith couldn't keep the smile from spreading across his face.
"My my, seems like only yesterday I watched Ryu ascend to the realm of great power with his skill, time will tell if you will bring honor to your clan as well little hatchling." Muramasa chuckled to himself as he continued to work in relaxing silence.
X-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Naruto was walking down the street with his new clothing sealed and stored away in his back pack for the trip, he was now heading to Ichiraku's for a parting bowl of ramen and to say goodbye to the two people that treated him like a normal person and family over the years. As he walked Naruto heard his name being called softly and turned only catch the quick movement of a cream tan jacket that he knew instantly belonged to Hyuuga Hinata, first cousin to Neji and heiress to the prestigious Hyuuga clan.
"Hello Hinata, what can I do for you?" Naruto asked as he turned to where Hinata was trying to make herself smaller around the corner of a building she was standing next to. Thinking back Naruto could see that she was naturally a shy person but during the Chuunin Exams she really gave her all and showed everyone that she wasn't just a fragile icon for her clan.
"Hello Naruto-kun,...I heard about the failed mission." Hinata said softly as she shuffled from her hiding space to face her secret crush fully while poking her fingers together. (Pretend she's stuttering, I don't feel like actually typing it.)
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Failed missions will happen throughout our careers, its a part of the path we walk as shinobi, besides I'll just use this as a growing experience and move forward." Naruto shrugged nonchalantly.
"I just wanted to say thank you for what you did for both me and Neji."Hinata started but she was on the verge of passing out but struggled to remain strong and see this through.
"What during the Chuunin Exams?" Naruto asked and watched the young heiress nod her head.
"No problem, your cousin is actually an all right guy. Hinata I have to go and do some things before I leave but, I want to tell you something." Naurto said as he walked close enough so he was standing right in front of her.
"What could he possibly have to say to me? Could it be that he finally profess his feelings to me?" Hinata questioned as she began to mentally hyperventilate at scenarios that started flashing through her imagination.
"I know that ever since the Chuunin Exams, you've been trying to draw strength from my presence and way of thinking but the truth is you shouldn't." Naruto replied and watched as Hinata hung her head in shame as if she had done something wrong.
"I'm not saying this as if you've done something bad, what I mean is that you should grow stronger for your own reasons and not anyone else. And one more thing, hold your head high. If you can't show that your confident to others how can you believe that your confident in yourself. See you in a few years Hinata-chan." Naruto continued as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder which caused Hinata's head to snap up and look at him with wide eyes.
The young heiress watched as the person she admired most after her mother turned on his heel and started down the street at a moderate pace, Hinata remained rooted on the spot as she replayed Naruto's words in her head. She couldn't even say anything as she watched Naruto vanish into the daily crowds moving through the streets, turning around after realizing that she had practice Hinata walked off with her head held higher than she ever did before.
"Arigatou...Naruto-kun." Hinata thought as she glanced back before rushing off to make it to practice on time. (3)
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Naruto made it to the small ramen stand with time to spare, pulling back the flap and sitting down he came face to face with the waitress Ichiraku Ayame. She was the daughter of the stands owner Ichiraku Teuchi, Ayame had a plain natural beauty about her with simple brown hair, matching eyes and fair skin. She wore a white robe with the sleeves folded, a dark blue apron with ribbon ties at the top and a bright white bandanna.
"Hey Naruto-kun, what can I get you?" Ayame asked as she took out a pad and pen.
"Let me get three Tonkotsu(Pork Bone)Ramen bowls and that will be it." Naruto replied which caused Ayame to look at the young man she considered her adopted nii-san with worry.
"Is everything all right Naruto-kun? Three bowls that a lot less than what you would usually order." Ayame asked with a bit of shake in her voice.
"I'm perfectly fine, it's just that I'll be leaving the village soon enough and won't have a lot of time to gorge on ramen." Naruto replied calmly.
"O-okay, so you wanted three tonkotsu ramen bowls I'll get my father started on them." Ayame said with a warm smile after she settled down from the shock.
As Ayame walked into the back to give her father the order, Naruto closed his eyes tiredly as he slumped forward on his arms for a bit to think. Naruto was so deep in thought that he didn't hear the soft chime from the flap signaling a customer but he did sense when the person sate beside him.
"Thinking of backing out all ready kid?" Came Jiraiya's upbeat voice from left of Naruto who opened his eyes half way and looked to his newest sensei.
"No, I'm just still a bit tired. Besides that all the running around I did this morning contributed as well." Naruto replied as he sat up a bit.
"Well soon enough we'll be on the road and you'll have plenty of time to rest once we cover some ground." Jiraiya said just as Ayame returned from the back with all three bowls of ramen and sat them before Naruto.
"Okay Naruto-kun, here is your order. Oh Jiraiya-sama, what can I get you today?" Ayame said as she gave a small gasp at seeing Jiraiya sitting next to Naruto.
"I'll have a simple miso ramen please." Jiraiya replied as he watched Ayame take down his order and pass it off to her father before coming back to the counter.
"So what brings you here Jiraiya-sama?" Ayame asked as she began to wipe the countertop.
"Why I came to collect Naruto-kun here, cause he's going to be leaving the village with me for the next three years for training." Jiraiya said as he looked at Ayame with a bright smile.
"Really, that's great Naruto-kun. Now you can get even stronger like you wanted." Ayame said with a bright smile of her own as she turned her gaze to Naruto who began to dig into his meal.
"Yeah, but it won't be just a training trip but a learning one as well." Jiraiya said as Ayame went and quickly grabbed his order for him.
After that the ramen stand lapsed into a comfortable silence that had small chatter every now and again, soon enough though both Jiraiya and Naruto finished their meals and were each reaching for their wallets when Ayame spoke up.
"It's all right, that order was on the house,...you take care of yourself out there Naruto-kun." Ayame said as she made her way around the counter to give Naruto a warm hug before he left.
"I will and thank you Ayame-chan." Naruto said as he returned the hug before stepping away and grabbing his bag.
"Oi, Naruto time we get going." Jiraiya pointed out as he hefted his own bag to his shoulders.
"I know." Naruto said as he gave Ayame a brief but warm smile before both shinobi walked out of the little stand and headed for the main gate.
Naruto stood in front of the great gates with a bit of trepidation at the fact that he would be leaving Konoha for the next three years, however that trepidation was squashed by his desire to get stronger not only for himself but his friends that he made a promise to. Slowly the large doors groaned as they opened to the forest beyond the village walls.
"Ready for this Naruto, cause you won't be seeing these gates again for three years." Jiraiya said as he looked down at his new apprentice with a proud smile.
"As ready as I'll be sensei." Naruto replied as master and student began their journey out into the world beyond...
AN: That was the first chapter, like I said at the beginning this was just a story that popped into my head one night and I said why not to writing it. To explain Naruto will be loyal to the village of Konoha itself and certain groups of people within it but he won't be loyal to a fault like his canon persona, naturally like any soldier he will question if fighting for the sake of Konoha's people is worth it but, he won't outright defect from it or become a madman hell bent on destroying people for his life.
1- What Naruto is saying here is that no matter what he did or said someone always berated or questioned his actions, even if they were indeed right or deserved.
2- If filler characters can have last names they why not two of the Sannin who are major characters integral to the plot.
3- I didn't do that as a means to start a relationship between them just yet, think of it as a helping hand from one shinobi to another on their career.
For those of you also wondering about Naruto the persona thing will be explained next chapter when we begin the three year long training. I know that people also want to see Naruto just swamp all opponents but that isn't my writing style, he will be able to have actual respectable battles not that crap Kishimoto passes off. Also look to my profile for a new poll that will be used for this story it will be open up to chapter 3, and one last thing Chibi Xeno eagerly awaits reviews from all that read this story so please do so. Or I may come visit you at home. This is Xeno signing off. r/r!