Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters in the story. Also this story is an AU where canon events happened but on a skewed timeline, so the Invasion of the sand has already happened and failed. I will include most canon events but probably not in the same order. Also some ages may be fudged, Anko for example will be only one year older than Naruto, and Hanabi will be one year younger. Other than that all the other ages should be canon for now.

(Konoha Hokage Office)

A young boy sat in the Hokage's office opposite the extremely tenured leader. The boy was average height for a nine-year-old possibly a little small for is age. He had cerulean blue eyes, golden blonde hair, and most notably three whisker-like scars on each cheek. His clothing consisted of an orange T-shirt with a Red swirl in the center over his stomach, black shinobi pants that led into black shinobi sandals. However he did have one curious trinket, rather 5, his left arm held bands consisting of the sybols of the other 4 Great Nations and the former land of Eddys.

"So Naruto, how does it feel to be back in Konoha?" asked Hiruzen Saurtobi

"Well…to be honest I don't really remember much, sir, so it kinda feels like its my first time here" replied the young boy.

"I guess that is to be expected" said the stoic old man. "You were moved at young age. However I assume that you were told by Pakura that you would be living with a Konoha Jonin when you arrived?"

"Um… yes, sir Pakura-sensei told me I was living with the "White Fang"? said a nervous Naruto. While Naruto knew that he had interacted with the old Hokage when he was younger, being in the man who is considered a God of Shinobi is still daunting for someone who by all accounts other than blood is an outsider. Hell Naruto spent more years outside of the village than in, so his readjustment would take time.

"Naruto please don't be so nervous, despite your past you are a shinobi and citizen of the leaf" said the old man reassuringly. "The sand's transgression against us wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been due to their jinjuriki being restrained by one of our ANBU with wood style. And even so we aren't going to hold any of that against you as you weren't responsible for it and didn't even take part in the invasion. But Naruto I must ask you something before I bring in your new guardian," the old man stated while his voice changed from his previously conversational tone to one of grave importance. "In all of the places you have lived has anyone told you exactly what makes you so special?"

"Of course, sir, I have all 5 elemental releases as well as a large chakra reserve." Naurto replied finally confident in an answer.

"While that is incredibly rare that isn't quite makes you so special. And to say you have just a large chakra reserve is very humble of you" the old man stated as he was still in shock of just how much chakra this boy had, without even considering that he still had the Kyubi's reserves as well. "But is that all they told you?" inquired the elderly kage.

"Is there something else?" Naruto asked reassuming his briefly lost nervousness.

"Naruto the reason we sent you to the Land of Eddys was for your safety and anonymity. You were a target due to you being the host or Jinuriki or the nine-tailed fox." Explained the stone faced kage.

"No, s-sir, that must be a mistake, I mean Ay-sensei once told me I reminded him of his brother Bee due to my chakra, but he would have known if I was a Jinjuriki and he wouldn't have given me to Pakura-sensei if I was. Besides wouldn't I know if I had a demon inside me?" asked a now shaken Naruto.

"I'm sorry to tell you but due to the attack from that fox our Fourth Hokage sealed the beast inside you and thankfully due to his mastery of seals you have thus far been protected from the fox's influence as well as from the other great nations who would use that power inside you for their own gain…or worse" said the aged shinobi, referring to rumors of an organization that had a deadly interest in the bijuu, as Naruto nervously swallowed at those last words. "But Naruto let's forget about the fox for a moment while you fill us in on your past and after that you can ask both me and Kakashi here all the questions you want about the fox and the village you once again can call home"

"That sounds fair well fir- wait Kakashi?!" said Naruto as he know saw a man he didn't even see arrive standing next to the Hokage giving him a small wave. The man was tall wearing standard Konoha Jonin attire except on his head, where he wore a mask that covered everything belong his nose down to his neck and wore his forehead protector in a manner that covered one of his eyes. This not to mention his spiky silver hair that somehow defied the law of gravity.

"Ah yes sorry about that Naruto, I've grown so accustomed to ANBU entrances that I sometimes forget the surprise it can leave others with. This is Kakashi Hatake, or as you may have heard from the various nations, The White Fang of the Leaf (although Suna is mistake as the White Fang was Kakashi's father), or Kakashi the Copy ninja." Said the old man with a renewed tone of benevolence.

Kakashi then responded to the boy's look of awe, "Is there something wrong Naruto? I hope not because I am very interested to hear what you have been doing in all of the villages you have lived in. I also look forwards to living with you," in a cool monotone voice, however ending it with an odd eye-smile that only added to Naruto's awe of this man.

"N-no s-sir, nothing is w-wrong I just have heard s-much about you from the other villages and I…well… I.." stammered a visibly shaking Naruto who was now scared stiff of the man he was supposed to live with upon realizing he was one of the most infamous ANBU that Konoha had ever trained and was responsible for many failed missions in Naruto's former homes.

The age kage now found it important to again ease the child's fear, "Naruto Kakashi isn't that man the legends make him out to be; he is a Jonin of the Leaf and is here to look after you. There is no reason to fear him, except possibly for his lack of punctuality which I'm sure in time you'll find endearing" said Hiruzen accusingly as Kakashi decided to scratch the back of his head sheepishly as to not further incriminate himself as his track record already had.

"Yes Naruto I am only here to look after you like my sen- like the Hokage here suggested I should" said Kakashi catching himself before accidentally revealing too much to the young boy, who was still trying to come to terms with his body being the container of the strongest Demon known to man. "…and besides I'm sure many of the stories were hyped up and in Suna they weren't even me, but rather my father since their elder Chiyo still holds a grudge," Kaksahi continued. "Anyway before we get further of track why don't you tell us about your time away so that we can further understand more about you, your personality, and your abilities" Now while both the god of shinobis and the seemingly benevolent cyclops staring down the boy, Naruto recounted his various adventures and at times horrifying experiences that made up his short life.

Time Skip

It had been about a week since Naruto arrived back in Konoha and he had spent almost all of his time at the home of Kakashi Hatake, getting to know his future guardian better, as well as getting know his girlfriend Yugao. The two had lived in a small two room apartment, as that's all two ANBU really needed since they were never there but rather always working. However, with the addition of a child they decided to use some of their enormous savings (since they both made ANBU salaries and never had time to spend it) to buy a nice 3 room house in the residential section of the village. They made sure it had a large yard so that they could train Naruto there without risk of damaging the neighbor's property. Naruto was taking to them well. Apparently in the other villages his only friends were his senseis and they were much older than him and hard for him to relate to. Upon hearing this Kakashi made sure that Naruto knew that he and Yugao were more like mother and father to him than senseis and he also told the boy that when he felt comfortable he would take him to the academy to meet his classmates and future teammates. During this week there was also an examination of his skills, to say the least the boy could easily be a high chunin possibly jonin with the amount of justsu he knew. This while shocking for a normal child actually made sense to Kakashi in Naruto's case. The child had done nothing gbut train and with his chakra reserves and 5 elemental releases almost no justsu was out of his reach. Even so Kakashi didn't want Naruto to show his true power as it could garner unwanted attention so he told the boy to remain in the middle or towards the back of class in performance.

"So, today's the big day, huh, Naruto?" asked Yugao as she gave him his breakfast.

"Yea, Yugi-kachan," replied the boy, who was still trying to figure out if he felt comfortable saying it. Although Yugao didn't seem to notice his apprehension as she had hearts for eyes and couldn't hold back a huge smile at the child's term of endearment.

"Well eat up Naruto it's almost time to go and we don't want to be late," said Kakashi as he entered the kitchen with a small gift for the boy.

"Sure thing Fang tou-san." Said Naruto as Kakashi sweat dropped at the misinformed new moniker he had earned.

"N-Naruto please remember that I am not the white Fang," said an exasperated

Kakashi. He had explained over 20 times to the boy in detail who the White fang was but the boy seemed to like the nickname and Kakashi couldn't get mad as the boy had accepted him as a father figure even if his moniker was 100%correct.

"Sorry tou-san," said Naruto sheepishly realizing he did it again, before realizing his new father had something in his hands. "What's that tou-san?!" exclaimed the boy.

"Well it's a gift that is if you want it, I mean you don't have to wear it if it's not to your liking. I just thought since you were my son now that…" mumbled the silver haired Jonin as he was nervous to give a gift to the boy as he wasn't very good with emotions or dealing with children.

Naruto didn't wait to respond but hugged his father and assured him that he would like it no matter what. He opened the small box and immediately grew confused. "What do I do with it tou-san?" said the boy.

"Well you wear it over your face just like me" replied Kakashi as he placed the child's mask on his face for him. "What do you think do you like it? It's a Hatake tradition to wear masks." Said the boy's foster father hopefully.

"I…well I…" said Naruto as Yugao waited with bated breath praying the boy wouldn't crush her lover's heart. "I look really cool!" said the boy as he admired his new look. With the mask addition the boy now had a simple plain black shirt with a red swirl on the back, black ninja pants and blacks shinobi sandals. This outfit didn't include his former armband as all of those symbols could be misunderstood as treasonous by some and the boy with a mysterious past like Naruto didn't need any more attention lest someone should find out his Jinjuriki secret.

"Great, I'm glad to hear it. You now not only are a Hatake but you look the part too," said a relieved and proud Kakashi as he looked upon his son wearing his new mask. "Now lets get going I'll show you how to eat without anyone seeing your face on the way to school," offered the new father, as the boy got up to join him.

"Thanks tou-san!" said an excited boy on his way out the door.

'I just hope he remembers the story the Hokage and Kakashi created for him" thought Yugao, who was slightly apprehensive about the boy's first day.

Flashback

"Now remember Naruto no one can know of your true past as this would only put you in danger so, if anyone asks you are from the Land of Eddys and were living with civilian relatives. They recently noticed your chakra usage and decided it was best for you to live among shinobi, thus you moved here to live with your adoptive father Kakashi. Okay?" asked the old Hokage as he made sure to speak slowly and clearly to the boy.

"Got it I moved here from Suna caused granny is scared of fang-Tou-san," replied a gleeful and clueless Naruto.

'This is going to take a while…." Thought the silvered haired jonin and elderly kage as they both face palmed.

It only took two hours for the boy to be able to repeat the story and with that the two men hoped he would remain safe and under the radar of any ill-meaning villagers or shinobi.

Flasshback End

(Konoha Ninja Academy)

"Alright Naruto, I'm gonna leave you with Iruka-sensei ok? Yugao will be outside to pick you up as soon as school is over. If you study hard and make friends I'll teach you some special justu, deal?" said the man hoping this was how a father bribed their children to behave.

"You got it Fa-, I mean Tou-san," replied the excited boy as he walked into his new classroom.

"Hi there, Naruto, I'm Iruka Umino, but you can call me Iruka sensei, said the Chunin instructor with the scar across the bridge of his nose. "Now Naruto why don't we get to know each other while we wait for other kids to arrive," asked the young man to the boy.

The two of them talked for about 20 minutes before the rest of the class had come in. The class included about ten civilian children and 8 shinobi kids. Now was the moment of truth as Naruto grew more nervous, he was glad to have his mask on now so that everyone couldn't see he scared expression.

"Now class, today we have a new student joining us his name is Naruto Hatake and his is from the Land of Eddys. Everyone treat him nicely and make sure that you help him if he has any problems getting adjusted." Announced the chunnin to a class of intrigued shinobi-in-the-making.

"Oooo Sakura looks like Sasuke might have some competition," remarked a blonde girl who was wearing a purple shirt and matching skirt. She was talking to a Pink haired girl in a red dress who turned red at the comment.

"N-no way! There's no way he could compete with Sasuke for my heart!" said the pink haired girl a little too loudly as the surrounding students snickered at her state of embarrassment.

"I don't know Sakura his mask makes him look pretty cool," whispered the blonde. "And from the blush on some of the other girls I'm not the only one who thinks so," she said smiling at her new classmate.

"Now Naruto, introduce yourself to the class, tell them somethings about yourself, and then take the empty seat Between Ino and Kiba," said the instructor as his voice shook Ino and Sakura from their conversation as they realized the mysterious class mate was soon approaching them.

"I'm Naruto U-…Hatake" said Naruto trying to hide his nerves and trying to continue without revealing who he was. "I am nine years old and I like my senseis, I like to train, and I LOVE ramen. I don't like breaking promises or feeling lonely. I hope to make friends with all of you," announced the boy doing a good job of maintaining his composure in spite of his initial slip-up. He slowly found his way to his seat as he noticed the boy with a dog on his head signaling him to come that way and the girl with a blonde ponytail smiling at him with a slight wave.

Time Skip

The school day had ended and Naruto was surrounded by kids asking him about his mask and his hometown, trying to figure out who he was and why he started school so late. But luckily Naruto held it together before leaving promptly in order to meet Yugao out front.

"So how was it Naru-kun?" asked the purple haired kunoichi, as the other kids in class stared mouths agape at the women. The boys lustfully due to her beauty and the girls jealously due to the stares she warranted from the boys.

"It was fun, I made friends with a bunch of kids, at least six, maybe seven but I don't know the bug kid just sat there while the bugs responded to my questions, so he might not count, also there was an Uchiha boy but he ignored me so I definitely can't count him," replied Natuo to his mother. "Although it's so easy, I learned all this stuff years ago, are you sure I have to attend Yugi ka-chan," asked the boy as his mother was too overwhelmed by his cuteness to respond right away.

After letting the boy out of a backbreaking hug, she said "Well, I'm glad to hear you're making so many friends so quickly, but as to why it's so easy, Naru-kun, you aren't attending because you need to, heck the Hokage was thinking of assigning you to a team right away but we thought it best to keep you with those your age so that you can grow up normally, make friends, and also so you don't arouse suspicion. It would seem weird if a small child from a destroyed village became a ninja immediately after arriving," said the women thoughtfully.

"I understand. Well at least I can make friends this way," said the boy happily. The boy then had a excited look appear on his face "So I was good does that mean tou-san will teach me jutsu today?!" questioned the now ecstatic boy.

"No not today, he had to work late on a mission," said the women as the boys head drooped downward. "However I am still here and I can teach some good Kenjutsu moves that will even put your Kiri training to shame," said the boy's mother as a confident smile spread across her face.

"Yay! Thank you ka-chan you're the best" screamed the boy as her latched onto his mother who was over the moon with happiness at the boy's embrace. As they walked home Yugao noticed many predatory stares from Naruto's female classmates and knew she would have to keep an eye out for the boy as she glared at them with venom in her eyes. She just got the boy and wasn't about to lose her child already.

Time skip

Things continued this way for the next 3 years as Naruto attended the academy by day, pretending to be a middle of the pack ninja student, hiding his true skills. While in the afternoon he trained with either Yugao in Kenjustsu and stealth or with Kakashi in ninjutsu and tracking. Kakashi enlisted his friends help to complete Naruto's training in the three main ninja arts. He had Kurenai help him with Genjustu, Gai helped Nartuo in taijutsu, Asuma helped with Wind release justsu, and Shisui Uchiha (Kakashi's former ANBU subordinate) helped Naruto with Chakra control and fire release jutsu when any of them had time to spare. Kakashi also found an old Uzumaki scroll for Naruto to study Fuinjutsu when he was ready.

Author notes:

This is my first story so please take it easy on me; I wrote a short chapter because it's an intro and didn't want to reveal all of his abilities yet. Also I am in the middle of a grad semester and need to focus on school I just wanted to get this out so that I could see what people thought of it and see if I should continue writing this story over the summer when I will have time to do it right. Also if this story is to be written I will probably write Omake sections at the end of chapters that cover Naruto's time abroad. Please review and let me know how I did, thanks!