I do not own Naruto.
Chapter - 01
The moon was shining its light brightly upon Konoha, the Hidden village of Leaves, and along with the many street lamps standing along the length of the various roads through the village it succeeded in decapitating the darkness of the night. Having done its job perfectly on yet another night, it was beaming with joy as it gazed upon the cheering faces of the village inhabitants.
It was 10th of October, the day of celebration for the villagers. On this auspicious day, four years ago, their leader, The Fourth Hokage, succeeded in subduing the greatest threat that Konoha had ever faced. The memory of that night was still etched clearly in the minds of the villagers who survived that Hell.
The roar of the monster echoed through the village shaking the core of everyone's being. Its blood-red eyes with a slit in the pupil scared the hell out of those who dared to stand in its way, and the flip of its tails sent wind slashes sharper than any blade ever conceived.
Houses were leveled to the ground every time it took a step closer to the heart of the village. Destruction danced on the soil of Konoha that night and those who survived the ravaging lived to tell the tale of how the Nine-Tailed Fox, The Kyubi destroyed their home and how their Hokage stood bravely in its path claiming its life at the end of the night while sacrificing his own in the event.
It was the day of mourning the deaths of their families while at the same time celebrate the sacrifice that their leader made to save the village and keep the Will of Fire ignited in the hearts of those who lived through the hell of that night.
The villagers had gathered at the cemetery, where laid the departed ones resting in peace forever. Once they offered their respect to them, they proceeded toward the campfire burning brightly at the heart of the village. They gathered around the fire and wrapped in its warmth they danced and sang with their loved ones.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who took the place of the Fourth after his death, stood by the window behind his desk in the Hokage office witnessing the joy of the villagers, whom he swore to protect the day he accepted the title. As he gazed upon them with a warm smile on his face his thoughts constantly drifted towards the event of that night from four years ago.
A chill went down his spine the moment Kyubi's eyes rose from the grave of his memories. Never had he felt as hopeless as he was on that night, and had it not been for Minato Namikaze, the entire village would have been burnt to ashes. He was one of the few who knew what greater sacrifices Minato had to make, other than his life, to save their village from the wrath of the most dangerous monster out there.
It took him a few seconds but he succeeded in suppressing the screams of the dying people that impaled his ears every time he thought about that night. Instead of dwelling in the past forever he, like his fellow villagers, decided to move forward, and this was one of the reasons for celebrating the night.
Happy faces of the children and their giggling took Hiruzen Sarotobi's mind off the loss they all had suffered and he once again resumed with the heck load of paperwork that he had to go through before he could take the night off. No rest for this old man. He thought as he picked up his ink pen once again and ran his eyes through the reports submitted by the ninjas, who have returned safely from the missions they were sent on.
The night was still young and there were hours of dancing and singing and eating for the villagers to do before they went back to their daily lives. Yet on such a gleaming night there was this four year old kid, who could not find a place for himself in the crowd gathered around the campfire.
Hidden behind a tree that was standing a few meters from the center of the village, he looked at the happy faces of the people celebrating like there was no tomorrow. When his eyes fell upon the children of his age, who were playing near the fire while being constantly warned by their parents against going so near to the fire, a simple yet so complicated thought took birth in his mind – Would I have been able to enjoy like them if my parents were alive?
Not a single soul took notice of the longing that flooded his eyes. Everybody was so lost in enjoying themselves that the thought – What would it fell like to have no one to celebrate with? – Never occurred to anyone.
But the ignorance of the crowd was more like a blessing for this child. If anyone did take notice of him gazing at them from behind a tree, the night could very well turn into a game of tag for him. Only the difference would be that if he were to be caught by the crowd his very life would be in danger. So, he was thankful that at least he had the opportunity to watch if not become a part of all the fun going on out there.
But alas, the Lady of Luck had decided something else for the boy.
When he was sure of the fact that no one was looking in his way, he decided to get a bit closer to the crowd.
Was his decision foolish?
Hell, yeah!
It was indeed one of the most foolish decisions he had ever made. But can you bring yourself to blame a child, who never once had the chance to spend some time with his family, to try and see what it is like to have a family?
Curiosity or rather desires came over him, and acting on thoughts, he should have never let take birth inside his mind to begin with, he left the safest spot and moved a couple of feet closer to the campfire. But before he could find a safe place and ensure that he was hidden from the view of the villagers once again, he was spotted by a pink-haired, six years old girl.
"Hey, look the Demon!" she shouted attracting the attention of the people nearby.
At once they turned in the direction she was pointing in and found the blonde, who was still trying to figure out a place from where he could look at the celebration without exposing himself to the crowd. Little did he know that his cover was already blown and what he dreaded the most had come to pass yet again.
Soon the cheerful faces were painted with anger and hatred. All the singing and dancing ceased at once. Murmuring sound filled the surrounding atmosphere. When the blonde kid turned around to investigate the reason for a sudden change in the mood of the night he found everyone staring at him with eyes filled with anger, disgust, cruelty and despise, and the moment he peeked into them, he knew that once again the chase was to begin and he was going to be pulled into a game of tag in which he had to run for his life.
He hardened his heart, got rid of all the unwanted warmth he felt for a second while gazing at the joyous mood of the night and prepared himself to endure the beating in case he got caught.
"What the hell are you doing here monster?"
Before he could react a stone came flying at him and hit him on the forehead. A small wound opened up and gave way for the blood to drip out of his veins.
He rubbed the back of his hand against his temple to prevent the blood from entering his eyes. Even though he knew it was pointless, he decided to word his thoughts for the first time in his life in front of the crowd that was ready to chew upon his flesh the moment they got a chance.
"What did I ever do to deserve any of this?"
"Don't try to act all ignorant, you wench!"
This time a piece of wood was thrown at him, but the last hit had pushed his senses to the limit and he was prepared to react the moment his lizard brain sensed any danger. So, he ducked immediately when he saw the wood flying towards him.
"Just stand there and get punished for what you did to us."
A man cried with rage and sprinted towards him. When the sound of boots hitting the ground fiercely entered his ears he knew that it was time for him to run for his life.
"Ah, damn it all!" cursing, he turned around and jolted away from the crowd.
Soon, the man was joined by a few more furious villagers and together they hunted for the kid, who did not even have clue as to why he was being chased around like an animal for the most part of his life.
Why do they hate me so much?
This one thought had kept the blonde awake for countless number of nights, and no matter how many times he asked Sarutobi, the only person who cared for him, he did not get any answer.
So, without any idea about the reason why he was despised by everyone he kept on running and evading countless near death experiences. Life had never been merciful for him. Every time he had a mob on his tail chasing him around, it ended with him in their clutches accepting their kicks and punches on his body. So, he knew that this time was not going to be any different, but there was this unsettling feeling in his heart.
There was this scream in his ears that was constantly warning him against stopping even for a second. Threatened by this fear, whose origin and nature both were unknown to him, he kept on running till his lungs gave away.
There is a limit to how far a four year kid could get on his feet. He did his best, but unfortunately that was not enough to save his life, not this time. Loss of breath made him dizzy and before he could recover from severe panting he was on the ground, and was soon surrounded by the mob.
"There is nowhere to run for you demon." Said a man before digging his feet into his stomach.
No matter how frequently he was in these situations, he never got used to the beating. Besides the man did not hold back when he launched his feet towards him. So, coughing blood, the blonde tried to get up. But the tip of someone's sandal hit the back of his lower right leg and he fell on the ground once again.
Then, came a series of kicks and punches.
Yes, the crazy people were so adamant on getting their anger out on him that they even kneelt to get their punches to find a spot on his body.
"I am sorry…. I am so sorry… Please, forgive me… Please….." The child begged for mercy, but the heartless mob did not flinch for a second before dismissing his pleadings and continued to torture the kid.
Blood dripped from the cuts and scratches on his hands. His legs were trembling with pain and the constant twitching his body went through because of the beating. His eyes swell because of the punches that hit him right above the eyelids. His whole body was covered in bruises. He was barely holding onto his consciousness. But the suffering did not stop. No one came for the poor soul's rescue.
The girl, who was in a way responsible for the blonde's misfortune for the night, was standing a couple of meters away from the crowd and witnessing them beat him brutally. Though she was feeling awful for attracting everyone's attention towards him, other than feel sorry for him and curse herself for doing what she did there was nothing she could do to help him.
She was of a kind heart, no doubt, and when she shouted out demon the thought that things could get so bad never once occurred to her, but despite all her kindness, she did something unforgiveable. Something that would haunt her nights in the years to come.
But that's a story for some other time; for now, let's witness the fate of the four year blonde kid who is called demon by his fellow villagers.
Just when he was about to give up and accept death that was inching closer to him as each second passed by, he heard a loud crash. When he opened his eyes to look why the beating stopped all of a sudden, he saw a tall man with lightning around his fist that was dug into the ground in front of him.
The blonde lifted his head a little to burn the image of the man who came to his aid. His hair was silver-colored and his face was covered with a mask that resembled to the face of a dog. As the man stood up, the mob around them started to back off.
When he was sure that he had instilled the required amount of fear in the people surrounding them to prevent them from making any stupid moves, he turned around and bent forward in order to lift the beaten child off the ground.
"Agh!" The blonde clenched his teeth as the silver-haired man touched his chest.
"Bear for a while. Well will soon be at the hospital."
As he slid his arm down his chest tracing the lines of his ribs, he realized that a couple of them were broken. His right shoulder was dislocated. Blood dripped from the cuts on his face and hands. There were several trampling marks on his legs and his abdomen was painted reddish-black with several bruises.
How could they do something to a child of his age?
He was barely keeping his rage under control and if he did not have to get the blonde to the hospital immediately, he could have most probably unleashed his wrath upon the ugly bastards that stood around them.
Minato-sensei, was this village really worth saving?
He asked to God knows who before disappearing from there leaving a few leaves on the blood stained ground behind.
When he reached the hospital, he grabbed the first doctor he saw and ordered, much more like threatened him to save the life of the kid. Before the doctor could refuse, which he most certainly would have when he saw the face of the unconscious kid in the silver-haired man's arms, he was panting with an overwhelming pressure almost crushing his mind. So, without uttering a single word, he took the blonde into the operation theatre and along with a couple of nurses operated on him.
While the blonde was fighting for his life inside the operation theatre, the masked-man rushed out of the hospital and jumped on the roof of the nearest building before sprinting towards the Hokage building.
"Hokage-sama…." He said panting.
"What is it, Kakashi?" Sarutobi got out of his chair as a thread of worry stretched on his face when he saw a very unusual expression on Kakashi's face.
"It's Naruto. H…."
Before he could say anything further, Kakashi felt a gust of wind flow by his face. When he realized that the Hokage was not there anymore, he got out of his office and rushed towards the hospital.
Upon reaching there, he found the Hokage looking through the glass in the door of the operation theatre.
He was quiet and a threatening aura surrounded him. To Kakashi's eyes, it looked like he was about to explode in anger and when he did, whoever stood in his path would be devoured by him. Never before had Kakashi been afraid of his leader as much as he was now.
With slow and careful steps, he walked towards him and stood by his side glancing through the glass in the door.
"He will be alright, Hokage-sama." He said in a low voice.
There was no response. So, he took the hint and decided to not say anything more than what was needed.
For almost fifteen minutes, they stood without budging from their position. No words were exchanged either.
"We have failed Minato, Kakashi." He said in a sad voice.
"Yes, we have." Kakashi replied, and then silence engulfed their surrounding once again.
"Hey old man, how are you?" Naruto greeted the Kage when he woke up and saw him looking at him with a sad pair of eyes.
"I am fine, Naruto. How are you feeling?"
"Beside a bit of pain in my chest, I am alright." He said feeling his rib cage with the tip of his fingers.
"I am sorry Naruto I let that happen… I am so sorry." He looked into the kid's eyes.
"Nah, it's okay. Besides, it was my own fault to go out there. But you know, I couldn't stop myself, when I thought how wonderful it would have been if tou-san (father) and kaa-san (mother) would have been alive."
He was quiet for a while.
"Sometimes, I think why did they leave me behind? It would have been better if I too would have died alongside in the accident." His eyes were teary and his voice was trembling.
The old Sarutobi could barely bear the sight of his surrogate grandchild weeping in front of him. He walked closer to him and placing his hand on his fore head, he pulled him closer. Naruto wrapped his arms around him and wept like a lost child.
"It will be alright, my child… It will be alright." He said running his hand on his back.