A small mistake in hand-seals led to Naruto becoming Shinigami's vessel. But what will it change in Naruto's life? How will others react to it and what effect will it have on the prophecy? Not even Naruto himself knows the answer to it.
Disclaimer: All rights belong to Kishimoto - yeah, that guy that created an amazing story and some pretty cool and believable characters but then decided that leaving a whole clan's genocide unresolved and creating some cheesy-ass & unbelievable ending is a good way to go around. I mean, I'm still gonna buy the rest of the Naruto volumes so it's like whatever. [Purely platonic SasuNaruSaku cos I freaking love team 7 and the ending was supposed to be about friendship and reaching goals, not romance]
Oh, and before you begin reading: I don't like Hinata. As in, I used to like her in Part 1, but a little bit into Part 2 and I just couldn't stand her guts. Thus, if I do include Hinata in the future, expect her to be OOC whereby she sees Naruto as her inspiration and, instead of stalking on him, etc., etc., she trains with her cousin and aims to become a great shinobi and a future head of her clan. Yep, these small (or big?) changes would make me love Hinata in no time, but Kishi ruined all of this potential. Ah well. Then again, Hinata's character wasn't the only thing that he ruined.
xxxx
Chapter One
Sarutobi got there just as Minato was finishing the formation of seals. Hiruzen himself knew those seals better than anyone, for he was the one who taught them to Jiraiya and the latter one taught them to his student, but it seemed like Minato was the last one in this line: Sandaime knew that Shinigami won't allow him to live after this, and looking at the state Kushina was in, they were going to die together.
Hiruzen hurried towards them, telling his back-up team to stay back. The demon chakra was out of control and it looked like it kept hitting and crushing everything around it, but the Third Hokage avoided every single slash: he didn't become a Hokage for no reason, after all! The waves that these hits caused, however, were strong enough to make his fill rather dizzy and even shudder a few times as he was coming closer to Minato and Kushina; it was clear that the Nine-Tails was feeling that it was nearing its end and didn't pay attention to the surroundings. Now would be a perfect time to perform an attack from behind, but there was little to be done about this beast, and Minato was about to sacrifice himself to keep the village safe.
But then something happened; something that would later change shinobi's world and make Naruto Uzumaki someone very, very different from what the prophecy has had for him in store. Because as his father was about to form last two seals, he performed the wrong seals, which would later be blamed on stress and shock, and these two seals meant that the part of the Nine-Tails won't be sealed off inside Naruto. Sarutobi clearly saw the mistake that Namikaze did and the utter terror on his face. Was it the end? Did his small mistake result in Konoha's end?
Before Hiruzen had time to call out Minato's name and help him and his family to get somewhere safe, the Shinigami in front of them began shrinking. Sarutobi and the Namikaze could only look up at it in confusion: Minato didn't finish the seal correctly, but it was likely that Shinigami was still going to ask for the 'payment', in other words Minato's soul, so something was definitely wrong.
Along with Shinigami, the Nine-Tails began getting smaller and smaller, too, though it happened in a smoke of red and orange and it only took a few minutes for its Yin part to be sealed off inside Minato with the latter one violently coughing at the unexpected results. At least they managed to get rid of this half...
"Minato, I think it's working - the other half is getting sucked into the markings on Naruto's stomach!" shouted Kushina to her husband, for Kyuubi's chakra made it impossible for everyone to hear each other without shouting. She was, in fact, right: pretty much following the example of its Yin part, the Yang part began to shrink, but Kyuubi still had enough time to attack Naruto. Kushina followed her motherly instinct when she jumped forward, thus preventing him from killing the baby, but so did Minato. So the two of them stood, covered in blood and swear, and the Yang part was soon fully placed into Naruto with the markings on Naruto's stomach cooling down.
"Minato, Kushina, don't move - I will get help!" announced Hiruzen loudly and was just turning around when he saw it. Shinigami, who was steadily getting smaller for the last couple of seconds, didn't back out of his previous task and sliced his sword through Minato's soul like one would cut a slice of meat for dinner: mercilessly and quickly. It made Minato cough with blood even harder and he would have fallen down if it wasn't for Kushina: she helped them to lay down as gently as possible.
"Minato," she whispered with a sob but couldn't avert her eyes from the picture in front of her. "Hiruzen, get Naruto away from it!"
Her words were uttered too late. Little did she know that Minato accidentally sealed off the said Shinigami inside his son with those last two seals, and when the ground became to shake even harder and the moon was gone from the skies for a matter of a second, Shinigami was sucked right into that seal, along with the Yang part of the Nine-Tails. Minato and Kushina saw it all but were only able to utter their son's name before the blood loss was too great and their eyes closed - this time, for the last time.
Hiruzen stood there for a few seconds, gears in his heard working full-on but not quickly enough to figure out what has just occurred and what to do with the baby. He could faintly hear people talking a few meters behind him - probably the squad that kept his back covered - but they weren't brave enough to approach him, and perhaps it was for the better. In fact, it would be much better to leave this scene as it is, because Sarutobi couldn't find it in himself to approach Kushina and Minato's lifeless bodies and take that poor baby away. No one yet knew what happened, only it seemed that Shinigami was placed inside the boy along with the Nine-Tails, for some unfathomable reason.
The silence didn't last for long because people seemed tired of waiting and Sarutobi could sense how Konoha was picking itself up: people were leaving their houses and began helping others by treating wounds and getting them to the only hospital in Konohagakure. The Nine-Tails was gone as quickly as it appeared, though the remains of his chakra were still dancing on what remained from the big forest near Konoha's outskirts. He will have to call up Danzo and ANBU to get rid of this chakra before it hurt too many people, Sarutobi thought to himself solemnly and finally began walking towards the baby.
The baby was smaller - far smaller than he remembered his own son, Asuma and consequently Konohamaru to be. The markings on his stomach, now completely cold, looked like some religious tattoos that his own father and grandfather would get back in the days, when God was looked up to and everything was done, according to religion. There was just something that felt rather off about 'Naruto' - that's what Kushina named him, right? He couldn't hold back a chuckle because he knew all too well where this name came from, and that it wasn't simply a type of ramen. He felt cruel about chuckling in a time and place like this - sickening, even - but he knew that the tears will come later. They always did.
When Sarutobi bent down to pick up Naruto and get him out of here, he saw a bit of grey in the roots of Naruto's blond hair. It was highly unusual because, as far as he knew, no one in Namikaze clan had grey hair, and neither did Uzumaki - not with their flaming red hair. He carefully stretched his arm and touched the grey roots with his fingertips and suddenly it began spreading on the rest of his hair. It kept spreading and spreading until all of Naruto's hair was grey like that of an old man and...
Were those horns?
Sandaime couldn't believe his eyes, so he picked him up and he even touched these horns with his fingers, but nothing happened. Again and again, but they felt and looked like horns that belong to goats or some other livestock, but slightly longer with a slight curve at the end. It took Sarutobi a few minutes to finally figure out what was wrong, and that's when Naruto decided to wake up and open his eyes.
And although his eyes were blue - much like Minato's, in fact - it didn't change the fact that the boy seemed to have no chakra whatsoever.
He couldn't believe it at first because every living thing emitted some sort of chakra and he would have felt even its faintest note, but there was none. It was like he was holding a black hole in his hands - or a dead body, to be more accurate, but the boy simply couldn't be dead because here he was, blinking and breathing like any ordinary baby. Was it because of the Nine-Tails and Shinigami? Did both of them actually enter his body?
Sarutobi put the baby down on the rock and performed a streak of simple hand seals - a simple jutsu that would allow him to talk to someone a few miles away.
'Hyuuga Hiashi, I need your help.'
'Sandaime-sama, of course! How can Hyuuga help you?'
'I need you to send here one of your finest men - I need to check something. I am at the spot where the Nine-Tails was raging just a few minutes ago, but I'm sure he will be able to find me regardless if I tell you or not.'
'Yes, I don't want you to doubt our abilities. Someone will arrive in a few minutes - it's simply too hard to find anyone in this mess.'
'I see. Are there many victims?'
'I cannot say for sure, but there are at least dozens of injured shinobi that are being brought to the hospital, regardless of whether they have pulse or not. I will report when everyone will be brought to the hospital and we will be able to see the damage.'
'Understood. Thank you for cooperation, Hiashi.'
'I was born to serve this village, Sarutobi-sama.'
Sarutobi put his hands down, thus dissolving the jutsu, and called up the squad that came along. "Satoshi, Hotaru, I trust you... with burying Minato and Kushina's bodies."
The two exchanged glances, though it wasn't clear whether they were surprised, sad or indifferent due to their faces being hidden by masks. But when they spoke up, Hotaru and Satoshi kept their voices professional. "Sandaime-sama, wouldn't that be impractical? We understand that those bodies belong to Hokage and his wife, but there are plenty more people who need our help out there."
The silence that took place after that said it all, and Satoshi nodded at Hotaru with the latter one bowing in front of Sarutobi. "Consider it done, Sandaime-sama. Would you prefer a closed coffin or..?"
He frowned and scratched his forehead because he didn't think there was a need to discuss this sort of thing and make arrangements. In fact, he never expected that his student's student would die right in front of his eyes, but destiny was a cruel thing and it liked throwing surprises at him whenever he felt like his life was at ease.
"A closed coffin. Show a little of respect to your Hokage," he said at last and dismissed them with a swift hand gesture. Without wasting any time, they approached Minato and Kushina. Satoshi coughed and muttered a soft apology, after which he quickly took off his cloak and put it over Kushina's body. He looked down at the body of the ex-Jinchuriki for a moment and then carefully picked her up, minding her long hair even though it no longer mattered if he was tugging too hard on it or not.
For Hotaru, the task was a bit different: picking up someone who was the head of the village, even if for a short time, and gave out your every single order was life-shattering. Unlike his partner, he only bent down to close Minato's eyes which made him look like he was sleeping. He then put his arms under his back and legs and lifted Minato Namikaze in the similar manner as he picked the lifeless bodies of his comrades so many times before.
Sarutobi watched the scene with a frown, his thoughts running at one thousand miles per hour. He instructed the rest of his squad to avoid touching Naruto because he had some suspicions regarding him on his own. If both Nine-Tails and Shinigami got sucked into his body, what on Earth was happening to him and his chakra? It wasn't some ordinary fluctuation or whatnot - that much Sarutobi knew - so there was a slim, but a possibility nevertheless that the Kyuubi and the Death God 'cancelled each other out' and the fact that they both existed in one body made the whole chakra production thing impossible.
He only waited for another ten or so minutes when he felt someone else's present - the rest of his squad already left with Kushina and Minato, so now it was only him standing over the baby who was unnaturally quiet. He knew who came even before turning around, "Good to see you, Hyuuga. I asked for the best and they sent you."
"And I'm glad I can serve you, Sandaime-sama," the younger man replied with a bow, and Sarutobi could only think of annoying it should get to always act respectfully towards someone who was no longer your Hokage, but still held some power over you. "What would you like me to do?"
"Check if this child over here has flows of chakra running through him and tell me if anything is wrong or different with its pathways inside boy's body," Hiruzen voiced his basic instructions and stepped back, watching Hyuuga do his job. In turn, he stepped closer and activated his eyes, looking down at Naruto and squinting in the process.
A few seconds passed and then the Hyuuga prodigy deactivated his bloodline ability and blinked, his eyes no longer deep in concentration. He looked at Hiruzen in pure confusion and shook his head, "I saw something, but it can't be true."
Sarutobi resisted rolling his eyes at those words - yeah, that boy was definitely no ordinary boy. "If you should know, this is Naruto Namikaze - who you will from now on refer to as Naruto Uzumaki to avoid unnecessary attention - and he is the reason that there is no longer a raging Nine-Tails in the process of destroying Konoha. This small human being is the vessel of the Kyuubi and will continue to be one until the day that he dies, so any weirdness and uncertainty can be applied to this child."
The member of the Hyuuga clan looked shocked, but he quickly overcame it and coughed a few times, clearing his throat and getting rid of the awkward atmosphere. "I see. Sandaime-sama, this child... he has no chakra. Instead of chakra pathways, there is a big black hole that makes my eyes burn every time I look at it and makes everything inside me turn cold. It's like... as if I was looking into Death's eyes without knowing."
Sarutobi hummed at the unusual description and looked down at Naruto. "A black hole? I understand that the seal has just been placed on him, but it's not possible that all traits of the Nine-Tails' chakra are gone for the time being. Are you sure you don't see any red or orange chakra remains?"
"No, Sarutobi-sama, I'm positive that I only saw a big black hole. Perhaps... someone put a jutsu that erased the Nine-Tails completely, if it's possible?"
It was as Sarutobi feared: Shinigami got sealed off inside Naruto, because there was no other explanation to why the boy had a glaring black hole inside him. Perhaps Shinigami's power outshined that of the Nine-Tails, so even with Byakugan, Hyuuga wouldn't be able to see it, and only saw death instead, which would be what Shinigami would want in the first place.
There was also a possibility that Shinigami did something to the Nine-Tails, what with his godly powers and all - even tailed beasts wouldn't be able to do anything against Gods. But what were the chances, really? He just had to talk to someone who knew more about tailed beasts than others... and he knew exactly who to ask for help.
"I appreciate your effort. You are now dismissed," Hiruzen said without sparing Hyuuga another glance and, with a swift 'Hai', he was gone.
xxxx
Jiraiya didn't utter a word as his student's body was placed in a coffin, but not before it was thoroughly washed and cleaned. Why? To make him look better for himself? No one was going to see his face after this coffin was closed, so Jiraiya simply couldn't comprehend why were they doing it in the first place - it was an extremely odd thing to do.
When he got the letter two days ago, he was just in the process of crossing the Land of Wave and already heard a few rumours that Konoha was shaken with Kyuubi's attack. Back then, he didn't believe those rumours and laughed them off because they sounded too absurd to his ears. But when he got a letter from the village that he grew in, stating that Kyuubi is once again sealed but at a great cost, he left Wave in a hurry and spent the major part of last two days on his feet.
As he arrived, he was encountered by five ninjas who told him to follow them because Sandaime-sama - and now, a Hokage once again - wanted to see him. He complied and spent the whole walk thinking over why would Sarutobi want to see him. Did Kushina die? Most likely not, seeing as everyone from Uzumaki clan had strong genes and extracting Kyuubi from them wouldn't result in Jinchuriki's immediate death. Did Minato die? Just as unlikely, what with Konoha's strong ninjas who could have come up with a way to tame the beast and this, in turn, would allow Minato to take things into his own hands.
However, when he walked into Hokage's office and saw two coffins of the ground - still wide open for anyone to see who is inside - he found that, for a second, he couldn't breathe. The last time he saw Minato and Kushina was with Kushina being pregnant and both of them asking for his advice on parenting and sealing off the Kyuubi if he manages to leave Kushina's body when she gives birth. Now, however, he was presented with two dead bodies of people he cared so much about and even considered his family. It would take anyone's breath away, even for a moment.
A few minutes later, four civilians, judging by the way they were dressed, entered the room and, after receiving a nod from Hokage, closed the coffins and carried them out of the cabinet without another word. Jiraiya found it hard to look away, but when he did, his eyes were full of guilt and he had no idea what to say next.
Seeing his state, Sarutobi gently offered him to sit down and then proceeded to explain the events from the moment Kushina was about to give birth. Jiraiya listened carefully, and when Sarutobi was finishing off his story, he decided to ask the question that bothered him from the very moment that he left the Wave country.
"Sarutobi, so is the boy - Naruto - alive now?"
"Yes," he answered truthfully and clicked his fingers. Suddenly, every single window in Hokage's office was open and in came three ANBU ninjas with one carrying Naruto in his arms. "Jiraiya, this is Minato and Kushina's son... would you like to hold him?"
Jiraiya didn't say anything, only nodded, and stood up to take the baby in his own arms. Only after ANBU left and all windows were closed once again did Jiraiya decide to lift up the blanket and look at the boy's face. He held back his surprise, but his eyes widened and he had to blink a few times, to make sure he wasn't just imagining things.
Grey hair, which was actually more white than grey, looked very much like his own hair - or that brat's Kakashi. Small horns looked fake and Jiraiya had to nudge them, because it looked like a pair of fake horns that kids would wear on festivals, but no, they were very much real and growing out of boy's head. The whisker marks on boy's face were probably because of Kyuubi and were most likely going to stay on his face for the rest of his life, by the look of it. The colour of his eyes was, perhaps, the only normal thing about Naruto - it had the same shade of blue as Minato's eyes did. Only then did Jiraiya realise that the boy was awake, but he wasn't making any noises - he simply stared at Jiraiya and laid completely still.
"So you are saying that Shinigami got sealed off inside him as well?" Jiraiya asked carefully, looking up at his teacher.
"It seems so, but I have no idea why he is still placed inside Naruto," Sarutobi answered truthfully. "After all, he is a Death God - he can do almost anything he wants and I kept thinking that he will simply kill Naruto off and free himself, yet here he is, right inside this small child. I can only assume that he gained those thorns and this grey hair because of Shinigami and he might go back to looking like an ordinary child if we were to extract Shinigami from him."
Jiraiya nodded and wiggled his fingers before Naruto's face, but the latter didn't show any sign of acknowledgement and continued blinking in complete silence. It was kind of scary. "So when are you planning to extract him?"
"Excuse me?"
"Well, when are you planning to extract Shinigami from his body? He isn't going to stay inside his body for long, right?" Jiraiya asked and tentatively placed his other arm under the child's neck to keep his head from lolling to the side.
Tired sigh and Sarutobi scratched his forehead, "Jiraiya, you should understand the complexity of this situation..."
"Correct me if I'm wrong... but are you hesitating here?" Jiraiya couldn't believe his ears. How could someone as loving and caring as him even think over it? There was no way in hell letting Shinigami stay inside Naruto was a good idea.
"Jiraiya, I ask of you to listen to me." Hiruzen could see that Jiraiya was getting angrier with every moment - and this was completely understandable, but he had to think as a Hokage and act as one. As much as it hurt him to place this boy's life into the very hands of Death, he had no other choice; Sarutobi thought over what could be done again and again in the last two days and the only coherent thought, quite ironically, came from Danzo - the man he tried to avoid talking to at all costs.
"I don't care what you are about to say, Hiruzen-sensei, but you will get rid of him, right? This is Minato and Kushina's baby we are talking about - the two people who gave up their lives to save this village and its citizens."
"And so did many others - you weren't here to see all these people who laid down their lives for this village."
"I don't give a crap about other people - I'm asking you when you will remove Shinigami from Naruto's body, so he can live a more or less normal life with the Nine-Tails, sealed off inside him. I will stay here and make sure the seals never break and in return you ensure that no one gets to know the full truth about the boy."
"As I said, this matter is rather complicated, Jiraiya, and if we were to extract Shinigami from Naruto, this would inevitably lead to consequences much worse than those we can imagine. I ask of you to forget about removing Shinigami from Naruto's body for his own safety; this sort of thing has never happened before and he might very well die if we, indeed, remove Shinigami, or cause some other side-effects. You don't want this boy to go blind or deaf - or something even worse, do you?"
Without meaning to, Jiraiya clenched one of his hands into a fist and looked at Sarutobi, his face as serious as ever. He just couldn't phantom that his very teacher - the man that practically rose him, Tsunade... and Orochimaru - could say such things. Leaving Shinigami inside the boy? But it would mean hell for him! He will never live a normal life and Kami knows how many people will be after him after they find out that the Death God resided within some guy's body - and people will find out, there was no way to keep it secret until the boy died seventy or so years from now. And what if he died before them? Would Shinigami and the Nine-Tails be freed once again?
"Besides," Sarutobi continued, "we have never encountered case like this before. We don't know which seals have Minato changed in the last few moments, so it would be nearly impossible to find a counter-jutsu to it. If we try to find a way, it might take us months - years, even - and by that time you might start thinking that maybe, freeing Shinigami isn't the best idea, and Naruto might get used to him. Think about it from my point of view, Jiraiya, and think of those that will be harmed if not only Shinigami, but the Nine-Tails will be released due to our interference. But I have to warn you that we won't allow you to disappear with this child no matter what which, I'm sure you might attempt, though you can stay here, in Konoha. And you can help Naruto in keeping both the Nine-Tails and Shinigami at bay by raising him."
"Raising him?" Jiraiya repeated after his teacher. "How could I possible... I have never-"
"So what? You think Minato and Kushina would want someone else to raise their child, because think again - they wouldn't want anyone but the man who practically rose Minato and treated Kushina like a step-daughter." Sarutobi stood up and walked towards the window, looking over Konoha and thinking of the uncertain future. "I would ask my own wife to help in rising him, but she died on the day of the Kyuubi attack, and I can't possibly raise him on my own - as a Hokage, I have plenty of responsibilities and a high position to uphold. If you agree to stay and raise him, the ANBU will always be at your side and I will always be there to help."
A short pause passed between the two and Jiraiya stood next to his teacher, his mind full of thoughts and doubts and so many regrets he felt like suffocating, but by now he was used to it - he was used to this sorrow and sadness over losing someone precious. "Why me, though. You know that I hate staying at one place - I like to travel and train, and it would be accurate to refer to me as a perfect example of a hermit."
"No matter how much of a hermit you claim yourself to be, you aren't one - not with Tsunade, Minato and Kushina."
"Minato and Kushina are dead, and I have no idea where Tsunade is - it would take me a good few months to find her," Jiraiya answered truthfully and smirked at the look on Naruto's face - the boy seemed completely entranced with what was happening outside and he even stretched out his small chubby hand to touch the window. His expectant gaze was killing Jiraiya on the inside - it was as if the boy was waiting for someone to put a hand on the other side of the window; the boy obviously craved contact which, Jiraiya noted bitterly, was very unlikely in the next few years.
So what was better, abandoning all of it and leaving for one of his countless trips, or staying here and raising Kushina and Minato's son 'like they would want him to'? "If I leave, will this boy be placed in an orphanage?"
"Most likely, yes, even though I will try to look after him. And the occasional ANBU, just to make sure the seal doesn't waver."
At that moment, Jiraiya hated his own teacher more than he hated Kyuubi and everyone who were involved in capturing him to use him against Konoha. It wasn't a surprise to him that Sarutobi would choose something like this, not really - Jiraiya himself was raised in times of war and most people he knew didn't have parents and were raised in orphanages or some very distant relatives. What did he have to lose, really? Minato and Kushina themselves called him Naruto's godfather.
Perhaps, just before they died, they really did want him to raise Naruto; to see his first steps, hear his first words. The quiet voice inside his head chanted 'He might be the hero in the prophecy' but he was tired; so tired of being disappointed every time potential hero turned out to be just an ordinary ninja. He was absolutely certain that Minato was the chosen one, and look what happened: he died to save the village. Yeah, maybe he changed the history of Konoha by saving it, but saving a village in the Fire country wasn't going to have a big impact on the rest of the world.
But then again, what did he have to lose by staying here? He would still be able to continue writing, and looking after Minato's child was probably beneficial for everyone.
"Alright, Hokage-sama, I will stay in Konoha. And raise Naruto."
xxxx
Naruto, now four-and-a-half years old, skipped down the street with a balloon in his hands. He whistled a song under his nose and tried to think of what he and Jiraiya were going to do tonight, instead of paying attention to the hateful looks that were thrown his way. He never understood them, not really, and both Jiraiya and the Hokage refused to tell him why people hated him so much. Was it because of his white hair? But many people he knew had white hair, like his old man and the jonin that occasionally dropped by at their place - Hatake Kakashi. Or maybe it was because of his horns because normal people didn't have horns, right? Normal people had ordinary head and ordinary hair, and they weren't stared at whenever they walked down the street.
He shook his head and thought of how good today was going to be. He and old man were going to see fireworks tonight and then go out for ramen in his favourite place - Ichiraku. Well, he called it 'going out' but he was the only one enjoying Ichiraku's ramen; meanwhile, his old man kept staring at women with big... chests and, giving out that weird giggle of his, wrote something in the small book that he always carried around. Naruto told him to stop doing it - on many occasions, actually - but never did, and Naruto began noticing that people gave his old man some weird looks and some ladies even hit him whenever he was acting particularly weird around women.
He ran past a playground and, not listening his inner voice, decided to look who was playing there anyway. He didn't know the names of most of those kids, but he managed to find some familiar faces: Shikamaru and Choji. And that arrogant Uchiha kid.
Before he was able to look away, Sasuke turned around and their gazes met, a pair of blue staring into a pair of black eyes. Neither said a word, and even if they did it there was a good twenty meters between them, so they would have to shout to be heard. And words weren't need in any case - just their postures said it all. Naruto disliked Sasuke because he was a know-it-all genius and Sasuke probably disliked Naruto because Naruto was one of the few people who didn't care which sort of family Sasuke came from. In his opinion, being an Uchiha or Hyuuga didn't mean anything, and neither did coming from some big and strong clan - what mattered was the sort of person you were.
Naruto aimed to be as strong as his old man was when he grew up; he had a dream and was ready to give it his all to achieve it. What did Uchiha brat dream of? Becoming stronger than his brother? Succeeding as an Uchiha and making his parents proud? Whatever it was, Naruto didn't see it as being worthwhile - Sasuke couldn't possibly understand what it was like to have a big dream because everything was given to him on a saucer with a golden platter.
He once told Jiji about what he really thought about Uchiha Sasuke, and he laughed for three straight minutes. After he stopped and took a breath, Jiraiya explained to him that hating anyone is wrong; hating anyone didn't make you a better person - in fact, it made you look like someone weak who isn't able to live his life without being dependant on a low emotion that was titled 'hate'. Jiraiya also claimed that, being a complete child, Naruto knew nothing about hate and had better things to do in the meantime than hating on the Uchiha heir.
Still, Naruto couldn't resist sticking his tongue out at Sasuke and quickly running away before he was seen by any of the parents who, he had no doubt, would give him some bad glances once again. He ran for the rest of the way and only stopped when he reached his destination - Yamanaka flowers. Its owners - Inoichi and his wife, Noriko - were one of the few who didn't look at him like he was a demon, clad in human flesh. Sometimes he was particularly lucky as Inoichi has some spare dango and shared it with Naruto. He hoped that today was one of those days.
"Inoichi-san, Noriko-san!" he shouted out and opened the main door, the bell over it ringing to alert the shop owners that someone just came in. He didn't want the balloon in his hand to get in the way, so he tied it to a nearby chair. However, neither Noriko nor Inoichi came out to meet him - in fact, he heard someone talking in the back room, but they didn't seem to have heard his arrival.
He smiled and skipped towards it, looking into the small crack in the wall. He was surprised to see Yamanaka Noriko talking to some girl with pink hair. That girl didn't look older than himself and Naruto leaned on the wall, listening in and trying to see as much as he could from his current position.
"... won't like it?" asked the little girl.
"Why won't she like it? She is your Mum, after all - I'm sure that she will feel incredibly happy and thankful for receiving a beautiful bouquet from her daughter," said Noriko and patted pinkette on the head. She lowered her head and nervously intertwined her fingers, looking down.
"W-what if she will think that it's too much? Dad doesn't buy her many bouquets - it's usually jewellery and sweets."
"In this case, she will be more than happy to get some flowers from you. And if you are feeling uncertain, why won't you ask one of your friends for advice? I'm sure a beautiful girl like you has many friends, dear."
"I don't have friends, Yamanaka-san..."
Noriko clapped her hands, "You know what? I'm sure that Ino and you will become great friends if you talk - I can help you by telling Ino that some girl with bubble-gum hair dropped by and said that the bouquets that Ino arranged look absolutely stunning."
"Oh, but you can't do that! That would be lying and I don't want to lie to anyone. And I'm sure that she will say the same thing as everyone else - that I have a big forehead..."
That was the moment Naruto's nose decide to itch and, not being able to stop himself, he sneezed - loudly enough so that people outside the shop could hear his sneeze. He quickly stepped back and tried to breathe as quietly as possible, but it was pointless and he knew that. A moment later, the door that led to the back room was wide open and Naruto was facing the annoyed Noriko; the pink-haired girl stuck her head out and was eyeing him in pure curiosity.
"Naruto, what did I tell you about sneaking around?"
"Ummm, that it's a stupid thing to do and that I should never do it again?" he asked cheekily and scratched the back of his head. "Anoo, Yamanaka-san, where is your husband?"
"Did you come here for dango?" Noriko asked with a soft chuckle and Naruto vigorously shook his head, his white hair hitting his face in the process.
"Nah, I was just wondering. Jiji asked me to pick up two bouquets, for..." he made an uncertain gesture, knowing that he can't say 'Mum and Dad' in front of the pink-haired girl - and anyone else who didn't already know about his real parents.
"Ah, I see. Well, then, let's go and pick up two best bouquets for you," she said cheerfully and clapped her hands, telling him to follow her. Naruto looked back at the girl with bubble-gum hair and raised his eyebrow - was she just going to stand there? Feeling his gaze on her, she jumped up and quickly left the back room, walking out of the shop as swiftly as she could. The door after her closed, but not before she uttered 'Goodbye, Yamanaka-san'. Naruto shrugged and followed Noriko, standing right next to the counter and patiently waiting for her to pick up the best flowers.
Naruto watched as she walked towards the front of the shop and elegantly picked up white chrysanthemum. The loving look on her face and her caring nature were something Naruto always admired and he liked to think that his deceased mother had a similar character to Noriko-san, at least when it came to flowers. Whenever Naruto asked Jiraiya about his parents, the latter only gave him some brief descriptions, like 'she was very lively' or 'he was calm most of the time'; Naruto didn't even hope to ever hear about their missions, how they met and other things that seemed so insignificant, yet meant so much to the boy.
It didn't take her too long to finally compose two bouquets, so when she returned to the counter and placed them in his hands, he took out a crumbled banknote from his pocket and gave it to her. "Thanks, Yamanaka-san!"
"It's not a problem, Naruto. Don't forget about your balloon on the way back."
He left the shop with balloon and flowers and to anyone else it would look like he was attending a friend's birthday, but they would be far from right. The fact that he and Jiji were about to go to cemetery didn't make him sad - it never did - because Naruto never saw it as something negative, hence he never understood why people cried whenever they visited cemetery. He didn't mourn the dead - he was happy that he could visit them and have a spiritual connection between them, even if it lasted for an hour or so. He could swear that he felt his parents presence every time he and Jiji paid their graves a visit, and it was getting stronger with each one of their visits; he hoped that one day it will be strong enough that he will be able to actually talk to them.
He didn't remember the exact day he was told that his real parents died when the village was under some monster's attack. Jiji just mentioned it during lunch and they continued eating like it wasn't a big thing. Later on Naruto asked Jiraiya more about his parents, but there wasn't any extreme need to know more about his deceased parents and he assumed it was because Jiji sort of replaced his parents for him. He did everything that Naruto expected an ordinary parent to do - taught him how to eat, talk and manners, among other things, like taking him out to play in a park or spend weekends outside Konoha. Both of them liked to travel, so weekends like this were a big treat to Naruto.
It didn't take him long to reach his house and as he was running up the stairs, he heard his old man shouting. "Gaki, Kakashi told me what you and Kiba did yesterday! Come here!"
Naruto yelped and almost let go of his balloon, but composed himself in time. Okay, so he had a choice: he could either leave these things behind and run far, far away from Konoha and the Fire country altogether, or he could face it like his imaginary cold and cool self. Out of the two, he chose the smartest option.
He took off in an unknown direction, his legs moving at incredible speed.
However, he simply overlooked the fact that his godfather wasn't just anyone - he was one of the three Sannin, and him running away wouldn't stop Jiraiya from capturing him. A few moments later, he appeared before Naruto with a simple 'poof'. Before Naruto was able to escape him by running back, Jiraiya grabbed him by his collar and lifted him from the ground.
"Gakiiiii!" he shouted with a mad smile. "I told you not to run away from me because it's absolutely pointless and a pure waste of my chakra!"
"Haaa let go of me, old man!" Naruto shouted and began wiggling out of Jiraiya's hold, although they both knew that it was a playful struggle.
"I told you not to be so arrogant and you knew of the consequences even before doing it, Naruto - both you and Kiba. I'm just wondering what made you think that filling Hokage's cabinet with a whole bunch of tadpoles will be funny for anyone but you two?!"
"Hey, we didn't harm them - we brought them inside Hokage's office in fish tanks and then left them there. It was a harmless prank, old geezer."
Jiraiya sighed, face-palming himself and shaking his head. Damned be the day he decided that parenting someone who had Kushina's genes was a good idea! "Now listen here, Gaki. I'm not asking you where you discovered these tadpoles and how you and Kiba managed to get them inside Hokage's tower without being noticed, although I have to admit that this was a well-thought plan... Khm, anyway, I only wanted to know why you did this. I know that Kiba did this because his older sister didn't' get the B-ranked mission she wanted last week, but you..?"
Naruto finally wiggled out of Jiraiya's tight grip and took a few steps back, eyeing the Sannin with cautiousness. He crossed arms over his chest and frowned, "I had my reasons, Jiji. Hokage isn't as good as you think he is."
"Hmm, is that so... Are you sure you don't want to tell me?"
"Yeah!"
"Definitely?"
"Yeah!"
"Alright then... And here I thought you were going to tell me, we would visit you parents and we will get some ice-cream on the way back."
Jiraiya could almost feel the way Naruto perked up at the mere mention of word 'ice-cream'. This time of the year was particularly boiling in Konoha, so anything that was sweet and made the weather more bearable was a treat. If Hiruzen found out that he was feeding a young boy with only ramen and sweets, he was going to get one of the countless lectures on parenting, so they had to be careful.
Naruto licked his lips and wiped the sweat off his forehead, his mind buzzing with ideas and possibilities: to give in or to stand his grounds? To spill the beans and get a reward and keep silent and be left without sweets? As stubborn as he was, Naruto usually gave up when it came to sweets - or food in general, for that matter, which is why Jiraiya often compared him to Choji and others from Akimichi clan, though Naruto didn't see what was so bad with it. So he liked to eat - which sane person didn't?
"I will tell you, Jiji," Naruto said at last. "But you promise not to laugh or tell anyone - even that weirdo Kakashi, okay?"
Jiraiya raised his eyebrow, wondering what could possibly be so bad that Naruto told him not to talk about this with Kakashi, of all people - he wasn't the one to gossip to begin with. Besides, if Kakashi did find out and tell Sarutobi or anyone else, no one would believe him due to his shabby image.
"Okay, I promise," he said and proudly placed his palm over his heart. Naruto was at that age where Jiraiya simply had to give in from time to time, and now was one of those times where he had to allow Naruto to be the loudmouth and the idiot that he was.
"Fine," Naruto grumbled and shifted his weight from his right leg to his left, walking around like he was jumping from rock to rock and falling was equal to losing. "I overheard some guys talking about Sarutobi being stronger than you but I didn't get to kick them because Choji, Kiba and Shikamaru dragged me backwards. They said that it will get me into a big trouble and you will be sad. We usually don't go to see Mum and Dad when you are sad, so I had to step back. Kiba came up with a plan to show everyone that Hokage wasn't that strong and that he doesn't see everything that happens in the village."
Holding back his laughter, Jiraiya scratched his head - just one of the habits that he picked up from Naruto - and said with a straight face, "I see... so you decided to take a revenge on me?"
"Hell yeah, cause you are my old man!"
"Don't swear, boy - who even taught you swear words?!"
"I just heard someone saying it, so I figured you won't mind if I use it a few times. You won't tell anyone about it, remember?!"
Jiraiya nodded and pointed towards two bouquets, with the balloon being long gone somewhere in the skies. "Don't worry, Gaki, me and other ninjas don't usually sit in the kitchen with two cups of coffee, and neither do we talk about you and your pranks. Now pick those up, I don't want them getting too dirty, and let's go - I bet Kushina will be angry for waiting for you so long."
xxxx
White chrysanthemum that Noriko Yamanaka picked out for him looked incredibly good, lying next to Minato and Kushina's graves. If Naruto had a choice, he would have picked out orange or red flowers - just like his Mum's hair colour, from what he could see on the few photographs that he was given by Jiraiya. They were bright and practically screamed 'flamboyant', yes, but so did his mother's hair; in fact, even yellow would do - the same shade as his father's hair. He still didn't know why on Earth he had white hair instead of it being blond or red. Oh, how cool would it be to have red hair!
Either way, he didn't like the fact that the flowers just had to white or pale-yellow chrysanthemum. They were just too pure and too out of place. Why did they have to be white?
Naruto coughed before lowering himself and sitting down on his knees before his parents grave. Jiraiya left him alone, saying something about checking up on 'an old friend', whatever that meant, so Naruto didn't have to speak to his parents silently - he liked to speak to them like they were here, with him. He closed his eyes and put his vivid imagination to work, making the faces inside his head - the photos that he could recall at any time or the day or night without a fail.
"Mum, Dad," he said and paused, "I have caused Jiji a lot of problems lately. I heard some adults talking about some 'puberty' thing; at first I thought it was a sort of meat, but Jiji explained to me that it happens to everyone when they turn twelve - at the same age that they become genins. You know, I want to become a genin. I don't think about becoming a chuunin or jonin, because I just want to become like Jiji and he told me that having a high rank didn't mean anything. All I have to do is practice every day, go to a lot of missions and beat," he covered his mouth, "the crap out," he put his hands down, "out of bad guys. I will definitely find the guys who were responsible for demon's attack, Mum, Dad. I don't think much about it and it's okay if I never find them, if it means that Konoha is protected - you would want me to live a safe and peaceful life, right?
"So I will become one of the strong guys and find those that I need to protect, like both of you did. I will travel a lot - and try out lots of different food, seeing as you named me after ramen, dattebayo! - when I become a genin and go to missions. You'd like me to do it, right? Right?"
He stopped talking, his mind running all over the place as he simply didn't know what to talk about - there were too many things he wanted to say, but none of them would come out right. He nervously tugged on his white hair and took a deep breath. What would his parents want to hear?
"I don't have many friends, ya know. It's cause most adults don't like me for some reason and they tell their kids that they can't play with me. It's stupid, right? Just because I have horns and white hair... I'm sure there are some other people out there who have weirdnesses, too. And why is it weird for me to have horns and it's awesome for Uchihas and Hyuugas to have some strange eyes? I mean, that Sharingan is black spots on red that keep spinning - how is that cool? And what's with those white eyes that Hyuugas have? Bweh...
"Anyway, I don't like other kids that much. I hang around with Choji and Kiba and sometimes Shikamaru, but only when he isn't being his usual self and just lays everywhere he sees, staring at skies and talking about clouds. There are some other guys that I see in the park, but they are nasty and they make fun of other girls - you wouldn't want me to make fun of girls, right, Mum? But after the time I got into a fight because I was defending girls, neither of the girls thanked me for doing so, can you imagine it?! They always ignore me and their parents always gossip about me, like I am not there or something..."
'Would you want me to make them look? To pay attention to you?'
Naruto opened his eyes and jumped up, his head spinning because he felt dizzy for getting up so quickly. He looked around, but there was no one - in fact, there seemed to be no one in the cemetery besides himself and Jiji who was gone somewhere. He blinked a few times and called out, "Who's that?"
'I'm not out there - I'm inside your head. Think, instead of speaking out.'
'Who are you?!'
'Guess - there aren't many who would prefer to sit inside your head and talk to you instead of having their own share of peace. I know you enough from all these years to be certain that you won't keep calm until I tell you.'
'I don't know - it can be anyone! I might be talking to myself without meaning to.'
'So you think that I'm your future self? Or your smarter self?'
'Yeah, maybe. Stop asking me and show yourself!'
'I would show myself but at this age it will kill you. We will have to wait until I can show myself. For now, you can only know my name. Human beings refer to me as Shinigami.'
'Shinigami? Is it some ghost from the past? I've never heard about Shinigami.'
Quiet chuckle. 'Silly human. Shinigami is a God of Death, the one that can take one's life to take away their opponent's life. I am a creature that not many are brave enough to summon, someone horrifying enough that some people would be scared to even utter my name. I am someone who consumes souls without giving anything in return, child.'
'Then why are you inside my head? What do you need from me?'
'This isn't something that you need to know, not yet. You only need to remember my name and that I am not here for long. I would have appeared much quicker but you child's mind was not able to comprehend my speaking until this very moment. Now that I am able to communicate with you, everything will be much easier. Many things that didn't make sense to you before will make sense now.'
'What, like... why people avoid me and even occasionally spit on me?'
'Yes, you just have to wait and all of your questions will be answered.'
'But... why are you still inside me? I mean, you are a God, can't you just teleport somewhere else or something?'
Sigh. 'You aren't very smart, are you? I told that for now, it is out of your understanding, and if you want to carry on with your ordinary life and become the strongest ninja to ever exist, all you have to do is listen to me. Why do I want to help you? Because there isn't anything else to do and I know you well enough to say that you have a pure soul - not like the trash I had to consume for the majority of my existence. Over time, it will begin changing, but I will be there to guide you and tell you how to avoid making mistakes. Now carry on with your life, Naruto, while I look after you. Think of me as your second godfather.'
Naruto stood still and tried to think if he should or shouldn't tell Jiraiya about what just happened. Maybe his old man will think that he is going crazy for hearing voices in his head? Even though he was certain that the voice that he heard belonged to a real demon. But then again, demon looking after him? What sort of crazy ideas was he getting?
He shook his head and rapidly blinked, head spinning from what just occurred. He tried calling Shinigami in his head ('Oi, Shinigami-saaan, where are you?') but he didn't receive any response even after a few attempts, so he gave up. He could go to the library and read about Shinigami, but, ugh, reading was never his forte. If he wasn't about to tell Jiji about it, he could ask someone else, though he only knew a handful of adults. Sarutobi? Kakashi? Yeah, Kakashi seemed like the best choice, what with his porn addiction and complete inability to pay attention to things whenever he was reading his favourite books.
"Sorry, Mum and Dad, but I have to do something," he addressed his parents' graves and bowed. A look around - Jiraiya was still 'visiting his friends', so Naruto had to shout. "Oi, Jiji, I'm going to see Kakashi! Do you know where he is?"
"He is probably in his favourite pub - I saw him return from his week-long mission yesterday, Gaki," came Jiraiya's reply and Naruto couldn't tell where the voice was coming from, but it didn't matter; for all he knew, his old man could have created a few dozens of Shadow clones and told them to look after him by hiding in the nearby trees. That's just the kind of person the infamous Sannin was.
"Okay, I will see you later on! And don't forget about the ice-cream - you still own me some!"
With these words, Naruto lowered his head, kissed the white chrysanthemum on their graves and whispered 'I love you' before running off, refreshing morning air hitting him right in the face and his mouth stretching into a wicked smile.
xxxx
A/N: What can I say... I doubt that there is anything that hasn't being interpreted in the Naruto-verse, so this story is probably far from being original. Anyway, I hope that Naruto being sorta OOC isn't a big surprise to you, seeing as he was raised by a loving {stepfather} godfather, but there are certain aspects about him that stayed the same (e.g. him being hated by the village, plus his boisterous character… that one is inherited lol)
I don't plan to stay true to canon from this point onwards, apart from some necessary key moments; this being said, don't expect Team 7's mission in the Wave country, or some other extremely overused premises (I'm sure that you are just as bored of it as I am). I also took it upon myself to change a lot of things regarding chakra and how it's used, characters' backgrounds, et cetera, et cetera.
Oh, and the bit about Naruto knowing about his true parents - it was necessary, ok. I doubt Jiraiya would want to keep it a secret from Naruto, or it's just my wishful thinking. Anyway, please post any questions and uncertainties you are having about this story, I'd love to hear more from you ;)