Warning about the content of this Fanfic : Due to 's Notice of the 4th June 2012 and after checking a few forums, I have decided to add this notice to the first chapter to warn you, my dear readers, about content that will (or may appear) in the future chapters. First of all, I'd like to give a little explanation of mine due to not being precise enough on the content that is supposed to be in the different age groups : What I consider to be a M-rated story is one that may include a few moments of not too detailed moments of sexual intercourse (I hope that mentioning Vanilla explains it a bit more) that do not have any big effect on the plot development and moments of controlled gore such as moments similar to the Travis Touchdown beheading in No more Heroes 2. What I consider to be MA-content when it comes to sexual content would be JPMod's exellently (plot-wise) written ''Unexpected Love'' which contains quite *ahem* ''descriptive'' passages of the sexual act. What I consider to be M-class content would be for example : IchaIcha Paradise : Spiraling Love by JackOfBladesX. I hope that with this, I have given you an approximative idea of the content that will be in this fanfiction and hope that it will not scare you off and that this fanfiction will still be a pleasure to read. (Don't worry there won't be lot of sex-scenes in this story. Only three to four or even less.) Key : ''Talking''

''Thinking''

''Roaring/Demon Talk''/Loud noise ''Demon thought'' Jutsu/Technique

Disclaimer: People, if I live in Luxemburg, then I can't really own Naruto can I ?

AN: The original idea for this story came from KingofthePhantomDragon and his story Iron Guardian. So you may find a few elements from it, but aside from that, this story will be completely mine. I do not intend to do any idea-stealing, but the thing is that KingofthePhantomDragon is in the army and is unreachable, so basically, this is more of an homage than anything else. I do not plan to steal anybodys ideas. If something appears too similiar to one of your stories, then please PM me as soon as possible.

By the way, since I'm living in Europe, I'll be using the metric system.

For those who are not familiar with the Naruto manga, I recommend you using the Naruto Wikia if you want to know what the techniques (jutsu) are about, just google ''Naruto Wikia'' and click the first link.

Naruto : Geared Up

Chapter 1 : An unwanted but necessary revelation and two new mysteries to solve !

It was a peaceful night in Konoha, well, peaceful if you could ignore the ninjas that were jumping around the rooftops, searching for the village's number one prankster, the blonde, azure-eyed, orange wearing eyesore Uzumaki Naruto. Well he was an eyesore in most of the villager's eyes, but that's beside the point.

The ninjas were making so much ruckus jumping around, that an old man even opened his window and yelled : « God damnit you ninjas, can"t we simple civilians get one night of rest without you raving on the rooftops for once ! »

Now of course, you might wonder why so many ninjas were actively searching for a simple academy student. Well, that ''simple'' academy student had sneaked past several ANBU into the Hokage tower, had stolen the compendium of all of Konoha's forbidden jutsu, the scroll of seals, and had knocked the Hokage out due to massive bloodloss after seeing the boy's infamous Oiroke no Jutsu. And people still called him a dead-last at the academy ?

What nobody had thought of doing was to search outside of the village, since Naruto, after having had to find places to hide from mobs that were after his life, had found that the best place to hide was in the thick forest that covered the Hokage mountain's back. Deciding to join the useful to the pleasant, the boy had built himself a little shack that he went to when the village was becoming too dangerous. Now, the sad fact is that most of the villagers regularly organized mobs to kill the poor boy, the intensity and number increasing drastically on his birthday, the same day on which the festival of the Kyuubi's death took place.

But right now, Naruto was sitting in a small clearing two kilometers away from his little shack, opening the one meter long forbidden scroll to learn one of it's secrets.

''Let's see, the first technique written down here is … Kage Bunshin no Jutsu ? ! Oh crud, not another clone technique, those are my worst ones!''

As he kept rambling on about it, a small glimmer catched his eye, interrupting him in the middle of his phrase. As he looked at it's source, he discovered a small pocket sewn into the scroll with a 15 centimeter long glass tube in it.

'' Hmm ? What's that, a tube vial ? And what the hell is that grey stuff in it ? '', he muttered as he took the vial out and started swirling it lightly. The substance had a goo-like consistence and somehow gave the impression to be ... alive ?

'' Hm, weird. Well, I'd better place it back, don"t want to break anything important.I gotta bring this scroll back after all ! ''

After the vial was placed back, Naruto started reading the scroll again.

At the same moment in an appartment room in the eighth ninja residence district, a well-known black haired ninja academy teacher with a large scar across his nose reminded the night of the Kyuubi no Kitsune's attack on the village. The same night his parents died protecting him and the rest of the citizens. That dreadful night had left the ninja village crippled, the fox having killed an important part of the main shinobi force and thrashed a good part of the village, bringing death to one third of the civilian population. And as if destiny or any of the other heavenly powers hadn't had enough of this hecatomb, the fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had sacrificed himself to beat the demon fox and stop any further destruction.

A sudden knock on his door brought him out of his musing.

'' Wonder who that could be ? ''

The knocking took up in intensity.

'' Yeah, yeah, I'm coming, calm down geez ! '', Iruka yelled as he got up from bed, then reaching the door in a light jogging pace.

Then opening the door he asked :'' So, what is it ? ''.

Mizuki, his white haired assistant, stood before him, his hands resting on his upper legs. It was quite clear that the white-haired man had just covered an enormous distance in an extremely short amount of time, an exercise he wasn't used to anymore, since he was sitting the biggest part of the year in a chair and teaching kids the ropes of being a shinobi.

'' It… haa… haa… It's Naruto, he… Oh god, I feel like I"m going to puke… he stole the scroll of seals! I don't know if it"s supposed to be a joke or an act of defiance, but we have to find him before the others do, Kami knows what they'll do to him ! ''

One hour later, Iruka, after having searched for possible hiding places for Naruto, decided to go search where nobody had thought of until now, the woods behind the Hokage mountain.

As he sped through the trees, he heard a distant '' Yeah, I finally did it ! ''.

That little shout clearly bore Naruto's voice, and as Iruka finally arrived, Naruto was sitting on the ground, bruised up, panting and sweating heavily with the scroll attached to his back.

Slightly crouching, with an annoyed smile, Iruka brought Naruto's attention to himself by calling his name, only to be interrupted with a loud : ''Aha ! I found the nosebleeder ! ''

'' You little idiot, I"m the one who found you here, not the contrary ! ''

Naruto scratched his head at that : « Meh, I guess you"re right about that one. »

'' But anyway, why did you steal the scroll Naruto, do you realise the trouble you got yourself in ? ''

'' What, don't you know ? I did it for the alternative exam ! ''

'' The alternative exam ? Naruto,what exactly are you talking about ? There isn't anything of the likes of an alternative exam. ''

'' Huh ? That's weird, Mizuki-sensei told me that I would pass the ninja exam if I learned one of the scroll"s jutsu. ''

'' Mizuki did… ! ''

Listening to his instincts, Iruka jumped to the ground, taking Naruto with him as several kunai flew over them hitting into a tree.

Iruka jumped back to his feet and turned around to see Mizuki standing on a branch, three large shuriken attached to his back, a smirk marring his face.

Before Iruka could say anything, Mizuki looked towards Naruto with a proud smile.

'' Well Naruto, I have to say, you sure did a good job there. Now hand the scroll over so that I can pass you. ''

Right now, Naruto didn't really know what to do :Sure, Mizuki had promised to pass him if he succesfully stole the scroll, but why had he just thrown those kunai at both him and Iruka ? Something didn't add up here and Naruto sure didn't like it.

Iruka, seeing that Naruto was hesitating, took the chance : '' Naruto, don't give him the scroll ! There has never been any kind of alternative exam ! All Mizuki did was use you to get the scroll without taking the blame himself ! ''

Naruto looked at Mizuki, still hoping to see that the man didn't lie to him, that he would hold his promise.

'' I… I don't understand Iruka-sensei. ''

Iruka looked saddened at how the boy had been played for a fool and quickly explained : '' Naruto, that scroll you"re carrying is the scroll of seals, it cointains several Kinjutsu that were forbidden to be used by the first Hokage himself. All of the Jutsu written down in there have a high mortality rate for the one that uses them incorrectly. ''

Naruto looked back at Mizuki, hurt written across his face, one word escaping his lips : '' Why ?… ''

Mizuki's smirk had turned into a cold stare during the conversation, the moon's light giving him a slight inhuman appearance. He then started chuckling, which quickly turned into bellowing laughter.

'' Why ? Well, I guess I could tell you, nothing will change since you won't survive this. You see, the reason I did that is the same reason why you've been hated by the village until now… ''

Iruka's eyes widened at what was happening. If this kept going on, they'd run into a catastrophy !

'' Mizuki, don't tell him ! You know it's forbidden to… ''

A volley of kunai interrupted him, only hitting his arms thanks to his evasive reflexes. Still hurt like a bitch though.

'' So, like I was saying before being interrupted, my reason was the same as the villager's. You know about the Kyuubi being sealed twelve years ago, right ? ''

Naruto nodded affirmatively.

'' Well, since that day, a new rule had been introduced into the village, a rule that everybody except you and the children of your generation knew about. ''

'' A rule ? What kind of rule is it ? Tell me ! ''

Mizuki started chuckling again, while Naruto stared at him, panicked.

'' What does this rule say ? Tell me damn it ! ''

Mizuki then answered with a disgusting grin : '' That rule says that no one is supposed to tell you that the fox was sealed into a human form by the fourth Hokage twelve years ago. That human form being you Naruto ! You were lied to by everyone during all these years ! ''

Shock froze Naruto in place as his thoughts started to run wild.

'' Everybody lied to me ? I am the demon fox ? I am the one who killed all these people years ago ? I am the one who destroyed half of the village ?That's why everybody hates me and tries to kill me ? ''

Tears started to stream down his cheeks as hopelessness overtook him, while his chakra, the fusion of his physical and mental energies, started oozing out.

'' Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it ! Damn it ! Damn it ! DAMN IT ! ''

At each of his words, the chakra took on intensity , a large burst coming out at the end.

Meanwhile, Mizuki had started to spin one of his large shuriken, readying himself to throw it at the boy.

He then hurled it at the boy who still stood there, unmoving, looking at the approaching shuriken, desperation filling him to the brim.

'' I guess it's alright if I die then. I never had parents, my whole life was a lie. Nobody ever truly cared about me, so what's the point in going on ? ''

Before the shuriken could hit him, a blur shot inbetween, covering Naruto and taking the throwing star instead of the boy. That blur was Iruka, clearly in pain now, the shuriken stuck into his upper back. Naruto looked in confusion at his teacher, as a teardrop fell on his cheek. Seeing the boy in this state had reminded him of how the Hokage told him about the hidden suffering Naruto had been experiencing since his birth.

'' It must've been hard Naruto, all these years, suffering silently, without having anybody's shoulder to cry on, right. *sob * I know how it feels : after my parents died, I was all alone, having to survive by myself, without anybody to help me. To hide that, I started acting just like you did, pulling of pranks and making a fool out of myself. But that made things even harder for me. I'm so sorry for being so hard on you, I just wanted to be sure that you"d make it properly and pass without problems. ''

Naruto said nothing at that and, with an unreadable look on his face, started to run off deeper into the forest, having to push himself from the ground to gain his balance again. Mizuki, trying to stop him, threw a few kunai at him again but only managed to nick his right arm on a few places. Annoyed at that, Mizuki jumped after him, keeping the deadly game of tag going on.

Iruka, for his part, was still crouched, trying to pull the shuriken out of his back. As soon as he managed that, he shot after the two, intent on saving his student from the rogue shuriken wielding chunin.

Some time after that, Iruka reached Naruto, the two still jumping through the trees, to make it harder for Mizuki to retrieve them.

'' Naruto ! There you are ! Hand me the scroll over, it'll be safer like that and we can go back to the village after that to… ''

Before he could finish his phrase, Naruto shot at him, kicking Iruka in the gut, actually sending the man flying against a tree behind him and leaving a small crack in the wood. After he had fallen to the ground, a small cloud surrounded Iruka, soon dissipating to reveal that Mizuki's transformation had weared off.

'' How the hell did you know that I wasn't Iruka ? ''

Naruto looked at him with a cocky grin and answered : '' Because I am Iruka. '', another cloud dissipating to reveal his true bloody and messy form, having actually used a log to play the role of the scroll.

Naruto, the real one this time, was sitting a few meters away, hiding behind one of the numerous trees that surrounded them, holding the scroll of seals tightly.

'' Now tell me Iruka, why do you care so much about that demon brat ? He's the one who killed your parents after all. Shouldn't you rather be resenting him ? Hmm ? ''

'' It's true that he may be seen as a demon… ''

Naruto looked down to the ground at that, sad grief written on his face.

'' So Iruka-sensei sees me like all of the others do huh ? ''

'' But what I see in front of my eyes isn't a demon. No, what I see is Naruto Uzumaki, proud citizen of Konoha no Sato and future ninja extraordinaire ! ''

Naruto couldn't believe his ears at what he just had heard. Slowly, a feeling he hadn't ever known before in his life started to spread across his entire being.

After Iruka's speech, a soft smile had appeared on Mizuki's face, only to turn into an ugly scowl in less than a second. He then started spinning his last large shuriken, roaring :'' WELL THEN, IT'LL BE A PLEASURE FOR ME TO SEND THE BOTH OF YOU TO THE AFTERLIFE TO BE HAPPY TOGETHER ! ''

But before he could send his weapon towards the wounded man, Naruto, appearing in a blur of speed, kicked him with adrenalin-enhanced force into the jaw, sending him spinning backwards. Mizuki, after landing flat on the gound, sent a glare towards the blond, a small trickle of blood flowing out of his mouth.

Naruto glared back at him, the shadow cast by the goggles resting on his forehead giving him an even fiercer look than what was already possible.

Mizuki actually had to give a little gulp at that.

'' Don't you dare hurt Iruka-sensei anymore than you already have ! I've stood aside, doing nothing, for way too long. Now it's time for me to give you back the change money you've dealt out, you damn bastard ! ''

'' Well then, bring it on ! I"m waiting ! ''

Letting the scroll that he was still holding fall to the ground, Naruto then held the index and middle finger of his two hands against each other in a plus-shaped manner, resulting in the hand seal that would later become one of his trademark moves. His chakra soon reached the necessary level, resulting in him yelling the name of his future favorite technique : '' Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu ! ''

A second later, the place was filled to the brim with tangible clones, a good number of them having to stand on treebranches. Iruka and Mizuki both stared at them, slack-jawed.

'' Well then,… '' '' I guess it's time… '' '' …for you to get… '' '' … a little beating, right Mizuki-sensei ? '', each clone continuing at where the former had stopped in it's phrase, all of them clenching their fists.

Mizuki, simply stood there, eyes widened, not giving any sound.

Without a warning, the clones rushed towards Mizuki ready to knock the living daylights out of him.

Right before the first fist reached him, Mizuki gave a soft, proud smile and, loud enough for the nearest clones to hear, said : '' Naruto, keep the heaven's whirl spinning in the right direction, will you ? ''

Right after that, he was covered by the clones, raining punches and kicks on him.

Half an hour later, Mizuki was lying on the ground, battered, bruised, knocked out, with a few swollen places on his face. Naruto, after dispelling his clones, turned back towards Iruka, the instructor resting against a tree looking at him with a proud smile.

'' Are you alright Iruka-sensei ? I hope that he wounds don"t hurt too much ? ''

'' No, you don't have to worry, I'm feeling quite fine. But Naruto, come here and close your eyes until I tell you to open them. ''

Naruto walked towards Iruka with a curious look in his eyes and did as he was told. He felt his goggles being taken off, to soon be replaced with something else he couldn't recognize.

'' Now open them up Naruto. ''

Naruto saw then that Iruka was holding his goggles in his right hand, his forehead bare. Naruto, realizing what that meant, but unable to believe it, reached towards his own forehead that was now sporting Iruka's Hitai-ate.

'' Congratulations on passing the academy exam with flying colors Naruto. '', Iruka said, a shit eating grin plastered on his face.

Unable to contain himself, Naruto jumped at Iruka and gave him a crushing bear hug, tear of joy falling down his cheeks.

'' Ouch ! Naruto, not that hard, I'm still hurt you know ! ''

However, Iruka's plea didn't reach Naruto, the quantity of emotions and physical exertion he had experienced in one day finally taking their toll, making the blond boy fall asleep in his teachers arms. Iruka simply smiled at that.

Ten minutes later, an ANBU team sent by the Hokage had reached them, ready to take them to the hospital, arrest Mizuki and retrieve the scroll.

There was however one thing that everybody had failed to notice. During the attack of the clones, the scroll had unfurled itself a bit due to Naruto simply letting it fall on the ground. The goo-containg vial that was in it had slipped out of it's pocket and had rolled a bit to the side. One of the onrushing clones had stepped on it, breaking it and letting the goo free. Now, normally the goo should just have stayed where it was, not being able to sicker harmlessly into the ground. However, after Mizuki had been beaten up, the goo had disappeared.

AN : Whooey, over three thousand words for the first chapter I have ever written (even if you count the two author's notes out)!

I hope that you liked it. Now sadly, I won't be able to keep on writing till June 2012. The thing is that I'm in my last secondary schoolyear and thus have to concentrate on my studies if I want to get my diploma. But don't worry people, as soon as the holidays start, I'll try to bring out one chapter per week ! And I will not update this story only, but also other stories and one-shots that I have in mind right now. Here's a small description of one of my other stories : It happens in a medieval japan-like country, with a lot of fantasy-elements in it.

Constructive criticism, encouraging comments (at least two lines please, I know you can write better stuff than ''Your story rocks, keep going on with it.'') and reviews are welcome. Well-built flames will be accepted. Mindless flaming and other kinds of trolling will be blocked instantly.

Just a little reminder : This is a pure NarutoxFuu story. Other couples will be included, but Naruto will only have Fuu as his girl and nobody will join in on the two.

Well now, see ya soon.

Sore ja mata ne minna !