¤By Small Means¤

Sorry about that. Here is the complete prologue to the story. I will sometimes put some historical references in to better some peoples understanding of the story.

Also, the new pairing arrangements will be NaruHinaOC, which you will vote on. It won't be a full love triangle. Whoever loses will then be paired with someone else in a vote, the only limitations being no to some girls for various reasons (I will give out a list when it comes to that) and NO GUYS. Period.

Now on with the story.

"Ohayo" Speaking Normally

'Ohayo' Thinking Normally

"Oni" Bijuu/ Jinchuuriki in demon mode speaking

'Oni" Bijuu/ Jinchuuriki in demon mode speaking

Translations and explanations are at the bottom of the page.

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Konohagakure, the village hidden in the leaves, is one of the, if not the strongest shinobi nation out of the five, which consists of the Country of Fire (Konoha), the Country of Wind (Suna), the Country of Earth (Iwa), the Country of Lightning (Kumo), and the Country of Water (Kiri).

Its training is intense and it takes a lot to even start on the path of a shinobi. You must be totally determined and strong-willed. You have to work for countless hours, refining your technique, you must study scrolls under the light of the moon at night, you must learn the history behind all of the shinobi nations to an extent, and you also have to have survival tests (basically scout campouts on steroids, with the addition of weapons and almost no food given at the beginning). Yet, even though Konoha has seemingly harsh restrictions, there are worse.

In Kiri, you used to have to kill one of your fellow students to pass the exam, however, this practice was reported to have stopped when one of the past seven Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū, Momochi Zabuza, was reported to have killed every other student in the academy single-handedly, thus Kiri, not being able to get more possible shinobi that year, decided to prevent it from happening again.

No, the physical training isn't what makes Konoha so powerful.

Konoha has a lot of genin, chuunin, jounin, and ANBU (the equivalent of Special Forces) within its ranks. However, Iwa had way more shinobi within its ranks, outnumbering Konoha 3 to 1. No, the amount of shinobi isn't what makes Konoha powerful.

Konoha has very strong techniques and kekkei genkai, ranging from the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, to the Byakugan and its fighting style, the Jyuuken. However, the other shinobi nations also have techniques and bloodline limits that are as strong or unique. No, the techniques aren't what make Konoha so powerful.

What makes it so powerful is the peoples, shinobi and civilian alike, dedication, loyalty, and love of their homeland. Very rarely has a Konoha shinobi ever betrayed their countrymen. It is like a family with them. One of the things taught by one of the stronger shinobi in Konoha is "In the ninja world, those who don't follow the rules are considered trash, but those who don't protect their comrades are lower than trash." They protect their comrades-in-arms with their lives.

However, there are those that become the strongest people in the world. They are the ones that get all of their strength from the desire and need to protect those that are precious to them, willing to do anything to keep them safe, even at the cost of their own life.

Kazama Arashi. The fourth Hokage. The Yondaime. Konoha's yellow flash. He is one of these people. He trained to his limits and beyond to get the strength needed to protect his precious ones.

During the third Great Shinobi War, Iwa was attacking Konoha on all fronts. However, Konoha was being pushed back still, due to the fact that Iwa outnumbered them 3 to 1. However, in order to attempt to push back the army of Iwa, Arashi's squad was ordered to blow a bridge behind enemy lines to hamper supplies from reaching them, however, at a certain point in time, Arashi would have to leave his team to do his own mission. One of them was newly appointed jounin, Hatake Kakashi, who would become squad leader of the rest of the mission. Arashi's mission was to go to the front lines to reinforce and help push back if possible. He exceeded the expectations.

Single-handedly with his signature technique, Hirashin no Jutsu, which earned him the name of "Konoha's Yellow Flash", he took out a thousand ninja during the week he was there and made the rest retreat. This was the turning point of the war, which eventually led to the surrender of Iwa and the end of the war.

A little bit after the war, Arashi became the Yondaime Hokage. He was the strongest shinobi of Konoha, possibly the world, yet there was still danger…

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The Fourth looked out his study which offered a perfect view of Konoha. It looked peaceful in the darkness of night, calm. This brought a smile to his face. 'I finally did it. I accomplished my goal of Hokage.' However, the next thought made him frown. 'And not even a year after, we are already at risk of being destroyed... How could it have come to this… why is it even happening.' He sighed and glanced at the red glow to the north as he pondered this.

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Flashback

One month ago

11:00am

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Kazama Arashi, the semi-recently (The Hokage's usually stay in office for long periods of time) appointed Yondaime Hokage, was sitting behind his desk, battling an enemy that cursed every Kage, whether Hokage or Tsuchikage and usually won the battles. It was called paperwork. However, Arashi was nearly done with his, which was a feat unto itself, due to the amount that came in every morning, however, he did it.

He was hit not with a complex idea, like designing a jutsu that simply signed papers. No, he was hit with a simple idea that made him think about his belief in the other Kages supposed intelligence. He used shadow clones to check each piece of paper and accept or decline the requests, therefore cutting the time needed to finish the paperwork from nearly the full day to only an hour or two.

Just as the Yondaime dispelled his clones and put the processed papers in their proper areas, an ANBU rushed into the room. "Hokage-sama, one of the border villages has been destroyed!" Arashi stood up, instantly going into 'Hokage mode'. "What exactly happened?" Sunao, which was the ANBUs name, hastily replied "the chuunin team that you sent to the waterfront border two months ago returned. One of them is in critical condition. They are currently at the hospital under intensive care. The jounin instructor only said that the city was attacked and destroyed, however, he refused to reveal any more information until he spoke with you." Arashi instantly told Sunao to send the jounin in. The ANBU hastily said "Hai Hokage-Sama" and left, returning a few minutes later with a man of the age of around seventeen.

He had a green jounin flak jacket on over a black shirt and pants, both of them having bandages wrapped around both the shirts and his wrists and ankles. He seemed to have burn marks on his clothing. He also had a single katana strapped to his back. His hair was pure white and his eyes were red, the eyes showing that he was either of the Yuuhi clan or the Eremento clan, however, the hair finalizing that he was from the latter of the two. His demeanor said that he was calm, however, Arashi saw in his eyes anxiousness, sadness, and great fear.

Remembering that the Jounin only wanted to talk to him, he sent Sunao outside the doors to keep anyone from over hearing the report or entering, unless it was an emergency. After the said ANBU closed the door, the Yondaime gestured for the Jounin to sit down. "Now then" Arashi looked at the ninjas profile "Rihito, what exactly happened on the mission?"

Rihito sat down and started with "Hokage-sama, we started the mission as ordered…"

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Flashback

Seven weeks into the mission

8:00pm

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Dan was ecstatic when they first got the mission. It would be an easy mission with some good pay, and it would get him away from the cold feel of the Uchiha clan. The Hyuuga clan was the only other clan that was rumored to be even colder, save a few members in either. He also would be able to hang out with his best friend Kenma, and his third teammate/crush, Maina.

However, their free time was scarce and they had to do a lot of patrolling between the two water fronts, their base being the nearby village. They were nearly done with the mission, only a couple of days before they left to go back to Konoha. (By the way, they are all in the same clothing as Rihito, save it be that only Kenma had the sword on his back. Dan is of the Uchiha clan, Maina is of the Eremento clan, and Kenma is of the Yamanaka clan.)

"Man I'm bored… we have been patrolling this area for nearly two months and nothing interesting has happened." Kenma sighed. "Dan, you have been saying the same thing for the past two weeks. Give it a rest. Either way, we are going back soon, and then you can go back to training and being bored, away from our ears." Maina added in "and we have been able to learn some more techniques from Rihito-Sensei for each of us in nature manipulation. Also, when we get back, we can apply for the Jounin exams, they are only a few months away."

Rihito looked back at his team for a second and let out a small smile. His students relationships were very rare in teams, most either just accepting the others presence down to pure enmity between them until later on. They formed a bond between each other, and as a result, any one of them would give their life for the other in a heartbeat. They were a family. With the majority of the Uchiha clan being stuck up and Maina's parents having been murdered in a fire when she was six, they supported each other when any of them needed it.

Dan became quiet for the time being as he looked ahead. They were nearing the village and it was becoming dark. He thought of the short list of Uchiha that were kinder then the rest. Mikoto and her son Itachi were the first to come to mind. What set Itachi apart the most was that the majority of the kids his age (five) would already inherit their parent's coldness. However, Fugaku-Ojisan, the clan head, showed a little more emotion then the others and Mikoto-Obasan was a very gentle person. Itachi became like his little brother for this reason.

Everyone stopped dead when they heard the fearsome roar of an animal. Not a second later, they felt a HUGE amount of chakra and killer intent wash over them. Maina fell to her knees and retched while Dan and Kenma looked ashen. 'What could make something so powerful so angry?' Was the thought running through Rihito's head as he trembled. He finally broke out of his fear when he felt a small rumbling through the tree he was standing on. He turned around and broke everyone out of their fear when he broke the deathly silence with "We need to get back to the village now!" Everyone then started jumping from tree to tree towards the village as they felt the vibrations increase in pace and strength.

Rihito looked ahead and saw a red glow increasing in intensity the closer they got to the village. When they were five minutes away, he noticed a smell becoming stronger. 'Smoke…' "Smoke up ahead. Kenma, when we get there, be ready to start extinguishing the fires. Maina and Dan, be prepared for instant combat. We need to protect the villagers we run across and Kenma as he puts out the fires." "Hai."

However, their plans were all abandoned as soon as they reached the clearing that the village was in. They were greeted with the sight of the village burned to the ground, bodies littering the ground in pieces. The few survivors were running into the woods when a massive fireball incinerated them. They turned their heads towards where it came from and saw a sight that would forever be burned into their memories. A giant red fox stood on the other side of the clearing, nine tails flailing in the air. It kept on looking to where it shot the fireball.

Rihito was about to give the order to go back to Konoha when Maina screamed, being reminded of her parents death. The nine-tailed fox suddenly did the last thing they wanted it to do. It turned its eyes right at them. Rihito looked into its eyes and instantly regretted it. Its eyes were blood red with slits as pupils, full of hate and a crazy gleam to them only made it all the more terrifying. When it turned its entire body towards then, Rihito yelled out "RUN! WE NEED TO GET TO KONOHA!" Kenma bolted off with Rihito, however, Dan stayed back, trying to get Maina to come as well. The fox shot a fireball at the pair without any extra power and instantly turned towards the next village and started running towards it.

As the fireball drew closer to Dan and Maina, Kenma noticed their absence and dashed back to them as he started forming hand-seals. Dan noticed the demonic chakra coming from behind him and instantly turned around and went to shield Maina's body when he heard a shout of "Doton: Doryuheki" from behind him. He turned his head and saw Kenma spewing out mud that formed into a large wall just as the fireball hit. Kenma turned around and grinned until he heard a crack from behind him. He then shouted "Run!" as the wall was destroyed. The greatly reduced fireball kept on coming towards the group. Dan noticed this and quickly threw Maina into Kenma's hands as he flashed through seals. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu" He said as he shot a large fireball out of his mouth at the quickly approaching fireball. He smiled as he finished the technique, however, his fireball was destroyed as the small one hit him in the chest and dissipated.

Maina was shocked back to reality at this. She jumped out of Kenma's hands towards the fallen Dan and whispered "Shosen Jutsu" as her hands started glowing blue. He put them on Dan as she had tears coming down her face. He opened his eyes and smiled when he saw her. "Don't cry Maina-Chan, I'll be ok." He said weakly. Rihito jumped next to the trio and announced that they needed to get back to Konoha and warn them of the danger. He then put Dan on his back and jumped off.

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End of Flashback

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Arashi was shocked at what happened. 'Kyuubi… What happened that made you do this…' He called in Sunao and told him to call all available shinobi to the Hokage tower.

During the month, Kyuubi just kept on coming towards Konoha, destroying any villages along the way. They tried ending shinobi to hold it off; however, they only barely kept it at bay. During this time, Arashi was slaving over seal scrolls…

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End of Flashback

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The Yondaime was awoken from his thoughts when someone knocked at the study door. He opened it to see Hyuuga Hiashi. "Hokage-sama" He said as he bowed. Arashi smiled at this and said "Hiashi, you know that you don't have to call me that, unless we around the boring council." Hiashi then did something that he wouldn't do much of in the next fifteen years, he smiled. (A/N: I don't think that I have ever seen Hiashi smile… Ever…) "Arashi then. How goes the research?" Arashi sighed. "I have found a way to seal the Kyuubi and keep Konoha, hopefully, safe. However, I need to seal it into a new born and it will cost me my life." "Since the child will be an orphan, let me adopt him. I would keep him safe from any assassins or the like and he would have a family." Arashi thought about this as he gestured for Hiashi to sit down. "Not yet. When he is around the age of nine, then adopt him. He needs to learn a couple things on his own and if he was adopted by the Hyuuga family and told who he really is, then he would grow to be spoiled and cold, like the elders. However, I plan on giving him the name of Uzumaki in the beginning, instead of his actual family name. When he is deemed to be ready, he will be told by Sarutobi-Jiisan his true family name, thus taking it up as well as the Hyuuga name." A siren called out to the town, signaling that the Kyuubi was only an hour away. "Time for me to seal up Kyuubi. Take care friend." Arashi said as he hugged Hiashi. "Good luck, Arashi." He took a look around his study one last time before he closed the door.

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A flash of light broke the darkness of the night as The Yondaime sealed Kyuubi no Kitsune into a newborn baby that, for the first few years of his life would be known as Uzumaki Naruto…

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Here it is, the prologue. Someone I know brought up a valid point when writing long stories. Even if they are fan-fiction, they should be able to stand-alone. Therefore I decided to add this.

Translations

-Konoha- Leaf

-Suna- Sand

-Iwa- Rock

-Kumo- Cloud

-Kiri- Mist

-Shinobi- (Just in case someone doesn't know) just think of it as "Ninja".

-Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū- Seven Swordsmen of the Mist

-Kekkei Genkai- Bloodline Inheritance Limit (just called a bloodline limit usually). It is unknown how these abilities have come to pass, however, it is theorized that demons or other beings gave them to their loyal followers back in the time where they were worshipped like kings.

-Kage Bunshin no Jutsu- Shadow Clone Technique. This is one of Konoha's trademark jutsus. It is a Jounin level technique, requiring large chakra reserves to use properly and effectively. Unlike the Bunshin no Jutsu, this makes solid clones that can do actual damage, however, if they are hit once, then they dissipate. They also have the same knowledge and half the speed and strength of the original, making it an extremely effective jutsu. Also, when it dissipated, whether by being hit or self-released, all of the knowledge it got is returned to the original. However, if large numbers of clones have been out for extended periods of time, ranging from five minutes onward, then the original suffers mental backlash from the mind trying to sort out the memories, often resulting in being extremely fatigued and becoming knocked out.

-Byakugan- White Eye. It is a bloodline limit from the Hyuuga clan, one of the most powerful. It allows the user to have a near full 359° view of the area around them, only a small blind spot appearing from the last 1°, and as such, most genjutsus are seen through by the byakugan.

It also allows the user to see chakra pathways and tenketsu (basically chakra pressure points that regulate the flow of it, whether increasing or decreasing it when a specific one is hit), which allows the use of the jyuuken fighting style with chakra.

The byakugan is sought after by many other shinobi nations, some even going so far as to kidnap a main house member (the majority of the Hyuuga are very self-righteous and pompous, believing that they are superior to others. They therefore have two branches, the main branch, which is the ruling one, and the 'branch' family, which are the guardians. It is often seen as slavery due to the fact that all branch members are branded with a curse seal soon after birth that can be used to kill the person with one painfully and when the person dies, the ability is sealed forever by destroying the eyes. The majority of the branch family and a few members of the main family highly disagree with this and try to stop it), usually a child, and kill him or her after taking the eyes, a very painful method.

-Jyuuken- The Gentle fist fighting style. This is usually thought of as the Hyuuga fighting style; however, there are variants which use pressure points on the body instead. The Hyuuga method is used by focusing chakra into the users hand and releasing it as the person hits the other person, having a varying number of results, depending on where they are hit. If they are hit in a tenketsu, then their chakra can't reach that part of the body, therefore making it unmovable if it is a limb. If a person is hit somewhere else, then it causes internal damage, such as if they are hit near or at the heart or head directly, then it usually causes near-instant death.

In most instances when a person is hit with this form of strike, it causes a lot of pain in the area. However, hitting the tenketsu's is the main way of fighting with it. The main reason it is so deadly is that even a glancing hit, or touch even, can cause paralysis or death. There are many combinations and techniques used with this style.

-Hirashin no Jutsu- Flying Thunder God Technique. The fourth was the one who designed this technique and is so far the only one who can use it. It requires a three-tipped kunai with the proper seals on it to work. The technique allows the user to travel to within ten feet of the kunai, the user choosing where in that radius to go, near instantaneously. Arashi gave the kunai to the men to throw on his signal at the Iwa shinobi, therefore being able to travel in-between them all and push them back.

-Yondaime- The Fourth (usually means the Fourth Hokage, Arashi, however, it is the proper name for the fourth kage in any shinobi village)

-Hokage- Fire Shadow. The leader and (usually) the strongest shinobi of Konoha.

-Kazekage- Wind Shadow, Leader of Suna

-Mizukage- Water Shadow, Leader of Kiri

-Raikage- Lightning Shadow, Leader of Kumo

-Tsuchikage- Earth Shadow, Leader of Iwa

-Yuuhi Clan- A minor clan in Konoha, their most distinguishing trait being the red eye color. Only a few of this clan become shinobi, however, the ones that do usually specialize in genjutsu, the best example of this being Yuuhi Kurenai, a renowned genjutsu master.

-Eremento Clan- The Eremento was one of the major clans in Konoha, before the Kyuubi attack killed a large portion of their family. Their name comes from their bloodline, which allows them to naturally control their elemental affinity after only a couple of days of training, compared to the months or years it usually takes. The majority of their clan also inherited the red eye color.

-Uchiha Clan- The Uchiha clan was one of the most powerful clans in Konoha until the Uchiha massacre, which resulted in the death of the majority of the clan. They have the bloodline sharingan, which has many levels and abilities. They also were the commanders of the Konoha police force, which was taken over by the shinobi forces after its loss. The Uchiha don't act as cold as the Hyuuga, however, they were even more cold-hearted with their actions to gain power at the time. There clan was littered with crimes ranging from bribes to assassinations. Very few Uchiha weren't like that.

-Sharingan- Copy Wheel Eye. This is the bloodline to the Uchiha clan. It is thought to be descended from the Byakugan; however, it offers different abilities and also unlike the byakugan, it seems to only be unlocked in some individuals.

The first ability of it allows an increased perception of what they see, which, at later levels, allows a sharingan user to predict what a person will do next (including what they will say and what they are thinking to a limited extent), which is invaluable in fights. It also allows the person to see through most genjutsus, like the byakugan.

The second ability is being able to see the flow of chakra in a person's body, however, not nearly to the clarity or accuracy of the Byakugan.

The third ability of the sharingan is the ability to copy any ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu seen while it is being used, therefore being to learn jutsus at extreme paces. However, they can only be actually used if the person has the proper requirements for it, such as if a sharingan user copied the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, however, they had low chakra reserves, then they couldn't use it properly.

The fourth ability is being able to use a light form of hypnosis to 'suggest' to a persons mind to do something, like a specific technique in a fight. All that is required for this is eye contact.

Normally, there are three levels to the sharingan, signified by tomoe-shaped pupils appearing around the center one. However, there is an extremely rare fourth level called the Mangekyo Sharingan, or Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye. This level is said to be only obtained when you kill your best friend. The mangekyo sharingan has abilities that seem to differ from each holder of it, however, the most seen abilities are the Tsukuyomi, or moon reader, and the Amaterasu, or shining heaven.

The tsukuyomi is one of, if not the, most powerful genjutsu known. It traps the target in an imaginary world completely controlled by the user. While in the real world, the genjutsu lasts only a few seconds, the user can make it last for seventy-two hours on end in the other world, where the user can torture the target by either inflicting physical pain, which is felt as if it actually happens, or by having the target relive a traumatic event in their past or one created by the user countless times. The end result is having the target being exhausted (the brain takes up a lot of energy), if not suffering from a mental collapse. Tsukuyomi takes a ton of chakra to use.

The other ability, amaterasu, is legendary. The jet black flames created by it are said to be hotter then the sun and will burn for seven days and nights. However, like the tsukuyomi, it takes up a ton of chakra.

-Ojisan- Uncle (not to be confused with ojiisan or ojiichan, which means grandpa or old man. These can also be said with jiisan)

-Obasan- Aunt (not to be confused with obaasan or obaachan, which means grandma or old lady. These can also be called with baachan)

-Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu- Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique. This technique shoots a large fireball out of the user's mouth. Is a mid-chuunin level technique.

-Shosen Jutsu- Mystical palm technique. This jutsu can be used in one of three ways. The first, and primary way, is by using it to regenerate damaged cells on the body. The second is for surgery, where the user focuses the chakra into a blade, effectively making a chakra scalpel. This form of it does not cut the skin. The third way is in combat, where they use the principal of the chakra scalpel to cut tendons and muscles, without cutting the skin. However, in order to do this, one needs to be very precise in their attacks. The first way takes a lesser amount of chakra then the other two.

I will add chapter 2 later on. R&R and remember to suggest ideas on pairings and the like.

Until next time.

-Static