Chapter I

Hello readers! Yes, it's yet another new story. But don't worry, this is just something that popped into my head randomly after doing so many chapters of Wagtail Shinobi. Basically, this is a "what-if" story if I had taken most of the story and plot elements from the Naruto side of Wagtail Shinobi's (WS for short) plot and removed the Sekirei aspect. Not sure how far I will go with this, I could go all the way or just leave it at this chapter. If you're expecting a 100% new story you'll be disappointed as the majority of the story will be the same as WS without the Sekirei being involved, which does mean there are changes along the way but some that happen later won't change. In addition, instead of starting this story en medias res like WS, I'm starting it from the very beginning, Kurama's attack on the village. Or directly after anyway. So the story will take place before WS for a while, should I continue it. I haven't left it completely unaltered though. There are some new elements, which will be very obvious in this first chapter. I imagine some of you won't mind them and some of you will hate them. I'm also certain I'll get the usual complaints of the story using ideas that have already been used. Well think of this as my dream Naruto story, taking ideas and plot changes from other stories and combining them into what would be my ultimate Naruto story, so this is purely a selfish endeavor. I would love your guys' feedback of course, specifically of whether you would like to see more of it or not. I mainly wanted to get this first chapter out so the idea stopped bugging my mind. And, if some of my comments in other stories haven't made it obvious, this will involve NaruHina, but it will also be NaruHarem. Though not nearly as large as WS. I'd say I'm expecting it to be about five people at most, again, if I continue it. Anyway, I'm just going to put this out there and see what you guys think.

UPDATE: A few reviewers got me thinking about something. I have posted a poll on my profile about who Anko should be paired up with. I'd like to see your guys' opinions on the matter.


On the edges of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, three figures, two adults, one child, lay in a clearing in what used to be a forest.

One was a man with spiky, dark blonde hair and blue eyes who was wearing a Leaf village Jonin uniform, black shirt and pants, dark green flak jacket, bands around his forearms and a white, short-sleeved jacket with red flames on the bottom and sleeves, text on the back reading "Fourth Hokage" going down the middle.

The other adult was a young woman with fair skin, violet eyes and long, fiery red hair with strands framing both sides of her face and a black clip that parted it to the left and was wearing a high-collared, white, sleeveless blouse under a loose-fitting green dress.

Between them lay a baby wrapped in a blanket with spiky, bright blonde hair, brilliant blue eyes and three whisker-marks down the sides of his face.

However, this was not the scene of a happy family. The two adults were Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, their son, Naruto Uzumaki, between them. They had just finished a fierce battle with an unknown man and the Nine-Tailed Fox, it having pierced them both through the abdomen, sentencing them to death. Minato had managed to defeat the beast, by sealing half of it inside himself, and the other half inside Naruto, despite both he and Kushina knowing the pain this would cause Naruto as he grew. However, they also knew they would not be there to help him.

The two of them lay on the ground, Naruto's blanket soaking up the blood from their bodies, Kushina wishing she could help their son, Minato doing the same. Although, one last thought entered his mind before he finally entered the afterlife. 'Sorry…Dad.'


Naruto had in fact been sentenced to a hard life. Without his parents he was forced into an orphanage where the adults knew about his secret, about the Nine-Tails being stuck inside of his body. To the young child's fear and confusion, the people treated him as though he were the beast itself, forcing him into a solitary room often designated for punishment only, on the slightest provocation, sometimes because they could. They only provided him with the basics enough that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had retaken the mantle after Minato's death despite his advanced age, would not be able to prove in a court that Naruto was being abused. The old man knew he was, but due to old age and the amount of sway and power the council, which was composed of clan heads and certain civilians elected to the position, had, he was relatively useless in helping the boy. The most he could do were his usual, and often fruitless, threats of what should occur should Naruto come to any harm while under their care.

Naruto himself was just scared. He did not know why the grownups wouldn't feed him or often called him a monster. He didn't know why they kept him from the other kids or always locked him in the dark room. The only thing he did know is he felt alone.


A feeling that was only intensified at the age of four. In the Leaf-run orphanage, the caretakers were only required by law to care for children up to the age of four. They were supposedly supposed to be adopted by that age, and for most children, that wasn't a problem. However, to the caretakers, Naruto was certainly not just any child. He was a demon, and he would kill them and the other kids the moment he got the chance. So, they abandoned him to the curb. And due to rising tensions with other nations, most specifically the Land of Earth and their Hidden Stone Village, Hiruzen had lost the time to go out and visit the orphanage, and the few times he did, he was just told Naruto was in the detention room for bad behavior. He did not have proper evidence to demand proof otherwise and simply hoped the child was alive.


Which he was, and continued to be. Naruto was confused, sad and scared all in one that the orphanage had kicked him out like it did. He didn't know why the people hated and glared at him like they did, and they still called him a monster, and he didn't know why. However, he did learn a few things after leaving.


Naruto spent most of his time after being kicked out just trying to find some form of shelter and sustenance. A cardboard box under a streetlamp, a few old scraps of food in a waste basket. These things were his analogues for shelter and food. He found acquiring even these base items was a mile-high task. The few times he was able to find a few moldy bits of food or a sopping box in the rain, the ex-owners of said objects would immediately force him to leave, shouting "Monster!" as they did.

To Naruto's minute pleasure, that was the worst he ever received, angry or cold stares, ignoring the fact he exists or dispassionate loathing. That all changed, however, on the day he had come to learn was his birthday, October Tenth.

He did not know why, but on that day, whatever inhibitions held the people back from trying to inflict physical harm onto him broke, and he found himself running mad through the streets of the village, simply hoping to make his way to safety, a safety which had never shown itself, until he found a small stand in the middle of the village. He couldn't read and thus didn't know what it said, but it smelled good and so he could only stop momentarily to enjoy it, until he noticed a pair of familiar legs on one of the stools, the Hokage. He acquired a mildly hopeful expression when he saw this.

He bolted for the stand and clamored up one of the seats.


Hiruzen was at his favorite ramen stand, owned by Teuchi Ichiraku and his daughter Ayame. He was busily slurping up the ramen in his dish, trying to decipher what the ruckus all over the city was, when he noticed something, or someone, attempting to climb the stool. To his shock, confusion and dismay, it was Naruto.

He somehow looked even smaller than he had almost a year ago when he last saw the boy, shriveled and malnourished.

The boy looked up at the old man with pleading eyes. "Please Gramps! Help!"

Hiruzen didn't know what the problem was but had learned that Naruto wasn't one to shout like that unless he was truly in trouble. Putting on his best façade of calmness, despite how his insides were churning with fear and anger, he nodded with a light smile and patted the seat next to him then signaled Teuchi.

An older man with grey hair and wearing the uniform of a ramen chef stepped out, a young girl next to him. "So, want seconds Lord Hokage?"

Hiruzen shook his head. "No. Actually I want a bowl for my friend here."

Teuchi glanced at Naruto in recognition.

Naruto bent down and tried to curl up as small as he could, expecting the usual angry glares or mean words.

Instead, Teuchi just smiled and answered, "So what'll it be?"

Naruto was so caught off guard by the kindness he had no idea what to say, simply sitting there with a confused, dead-eyed stare.

That few seconds in and of itself gave Hiruzen an idea of what was happening, and he wasn't happy about it. After Naruto spent a couple more seconds dumbfounded, Hiruzen just chuckled and ordered for him. "Miso ramen with grilled pork and fishcakes."

Teuchi nodded with a smile and turned around to prepare the dish.

Hiruzen turned back to Naruto and asked, "So, what is it you needed Naruto?"

Naruto didn't respond for a moment but then broke out of his shock and turned to the old man in confusion. "Uhm…what?"

Hiruzen frowned and then pressed. "I asked what it is you needed."

Naruto nodded and attempted to find the words to speak. "Well…I'm…I'm being chased."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "By who?"

Naruto made a frantic motion. "I don't know! They just started chasing me, trying to hurt me! I…I…I'm…so scared…I don't have anywhere to hide…and…and…" Naruto's voice began to fall as his words turned to tears.

Hiruzen sighed heavily, in both frustration and solemnity. He reached over and lightly rubbed his hand over Naruto's head, noting the heavy flinch when he did so. He smiled warmly at the boy. "It's alright Naruto. I can help you. Unfortunately I can't do a lot. But, tell me what your troubles are."

Naruto began to speak when Teuchi approached.

"Here ya go! One order of miso ramen ready to go!" He placed the dish down in front of Naruto.

The boy studied it suspiciously and fearfully. Despite all of the anger he had received, a few people had been nice to him. Unfortunately those people had all been liars, who had tried to kill or poison Naruto. So he was intimately familiar with dangerous food.

After watching Naruto sit for several seconds, Hiruzen chuckled and handed him a set of chopsticks. "Don't worry Naruto, Teuchi would never hurt you."

Naruto looked to the old man curiously then to Teuchi.

Teuchi just smiled happily. "After all, I wouldn't do well to turn away a customer. I don't care who you are. If you have an empty stomach or ryo, I'll give you ramen."

Naruto's eyes suddenly began to widen before tears began to collect on the edges.

Hiruzen gripped his chopsticks tightly, attempting to not let Naruto see his anger, knowing children often find ways to blame themselves for problems.

Teuchi just chuckled. "Come on now, quit cryin' and eat. The food'll get cold."

Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes and clumsily used his chopsticks to get a portion of the noodles out. After slurping down the bite he froze and his eyes widened. He then smiled a mile-wide grin at Teuchi. "This stuff's great mister!" He then slapped a worried hand over his mouth.

"Don't worry Naruto, you've got nothing to worry about, so just eat," Hiruzen reassured him.

Naruto nodded tentatively and began to scarf down the noodles.


It was very slow for Naruto to eat, partly due to him not being dexterous enough to use the chopsticks well enough to eat quickly, and partly due to his guard never being let down while he ate.

Hiruzen sighed yet again. Children shouldn't feel so guarded while they ate, or did anything.

After finishing his meal Naruto looked up at Teuchi weakly. "I…I have nothing to…"

"Nah, don't sweat it!" Teuchi remarked joyously. "All first time customers eat free. Which means, you better order as much as you can possibly eat, because you won't pay for a bit of it."

Naruto's eyes yet again widened.

Needless to say, Hiruzen, Teuchi and Naruto spent a good part of the night merely sitting there as the latter ate. And ate. And ate.


It was early the next morning, and Teuchi had decided to let Naruto momentarily stay inside his little cottage, while Hiruzen was busy in his office. He was making out special documents and orders for the young boy. Not for him to be followed, but to be followed about him.

Naruto had told Hiruzen what people had said and done to him, calling him a monster, stopping just short of attacking him, chasing him all that night. So, he came up with a two-part solution to the problem. The first part was direct. Naruto was to be provided a home to stay in, some form of shedding, apartment or house. Second, Naruto was to be guarded. He would have a guard in the shadows around him at all times. Composed of ANBU. That way, whenever things did go too far. There were skilled ninja at the ready to deal with the situation properly.


Unfortunately, getting these mandates into practice was proving harder than the old Hokage had expected. Partly because of the entire council. But also because of his direct "advisors." He used that term loosely because Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane and Danzo Shimura made up his direct advisory board, all three of them combined having almost as much influence as he did within the village's laws. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, he wasn't ever sure with his scarred ex-teammate, Danzo hadn't opposed Hiruzen's ideas. And it wasn't until after agreeing that Hiruzen stipulated that he, and he alone, would elect the ANBU to guard Naruto.

The Third Hokage, also once known as the Legendary Professor, was able to tell by the conniving man's reactions that he was not so approving of that part. Although having agreed to it Danzo could do little else after that.


Hiruzen had managed to get both mandates passed by a slight majority vote, again partly thanks to someone he hadn't expected. Although not in the perfect ways he had imagined.

Naruto had been given a small dingy apartment in the Leaf's red-light district. The lowest income, and lowest safety rated section of the village. The apartment itself was nothing spectacular, and, had it been a normal tenant, they would have refused immediately.

Though, to Hiruzen's surprise and dismay, Naruto seemed overjoyed at the new steading. The fact that a rundown apartment with peeling paint, no furniture and no hot water was a step up enough for Naruto worth celebration, was sickening to the old man.

As to the second part of the mandate, Hiruzen had managed to get the choice of ANBU left up to his own decision, but was forced to leave the scheduling of said guard to the council. The ones Hiruzen trusted most with the task, Weasel, Crow and Cat M, were given an almost insignificant amount of time to watch over Naruto. Weasel and Cat M were actually forced to restrain Crow when he nearly lost upon hearing of the new mandates.

Though Hiruzen had managed to talk him down to accepting the mere fact of being able to watch over Naruto, regardless of how scant.


Naruto had found great pleasure in his new home. While it was true it had only two shoddy chairs and a wide tray for dining, a small pallet with a ratty blanket and no pillow, peeling wallpaper, barely functioning appliances and a shower and sink that spewed out cold, dingy water, to Naruto, it was a place he could finally call home. He had been given a key thanks to Hiruzen and was even told he would receive a stipend, small monthly payments, to help him live off of. The old man had also told him that this money would continue until he either turned eighteen or until he became a ninja.

The powerful hug Naruto offered in return for these few services, though he did not tell Naruto of his guard, gave Hiruzen just as much pleasure as it did pain. He had decided to focus on the happiness instead.


After receiving his first payment, Naruto's first course of action was to try and acquire clothing.

He found, however, that would be just as hard as always. The first payment he had received was stolen by several adults, until a man with a crow mask and gravity-defying hair beat the adult senseless and returned Naruto's money to him. Even then it got harder.

Most of the shops in town kicked him out, some literally doing so. And those that didn't would either sell him only the worst products they had to offer, extreme markups or sometimes both. Naruto had managed to buy a few outfits, expensive as they may have been. These included an orange hoodie with short blue sleeves, a white shirt with an orange flame symbol on it, a black shirt with the same symbol on it and a navy-blue shirt with a swirl pattern on it along with several pairs of shorts, green, blue and grey. He didn't know why but the navy blue shirt was his favorite.

Finding food was also another issue since he couldn't find any food he could afford that wasn't rotten. He had managed to find a few pieces of mostly edible food that had extreme markups. He had also attempted to buy some furniture but most of it cost him an entire month's payment, so he kept what furniture he had and returned to his house.

Naruto found very little reason to leave his apartment most days, and for good reason. None of the other children could or would play with him, aside from a boy with a pineapple on his head and one who was fat, and nearly killed Naruto for saying so.


Aside from venturing outside once in a while, Naruto rarely left his house, mainly because his life was endanger every time he did.

However, that all changed the day of his sixth birthday.


Five, soon to be six, year old Naruto wandered through the dimly lit morning streets of the Leaf's red-light district.

Running through the empty streets, the only time when he could due to the citizens, he made his way towards a small restaurant.

As he approached the front door, he looked inside.

Grinning he said, "Cool, no one's home."

Rather than attempt to break in, Naruto made his way around back.


Looking around he sought out his target. Upon discovering it he said, "Jackpot!"

His target…a large, dirty, old food filled trash can.

With his small body he moved over to the can and attempted to ascend it. After a series of unsuccessful hops he finally managed to grab ahold of the can's handle. "Yes!" he said proudly as he attempted to pull himself up. Sadly his strength was very little, so the only result he achieved was the can tipping and rocking before falling over with a loud crash.

"Shit!" he cursed as he began collecting what scraps he could.

The alley becoming filled with light confirmed his worst fear.

Standing at the back door was the rather plump store owner, bat in hand and a scowl on his face.


Naruto slumped to the ground in a mess as the man walked away. "Damned demon, that'll teach you."

Naruto sat for several seconds before looking around and releasing a heavy and pained sigh. "Gotta go home. They'll be out in force today."

Standing on shaky legs and clumsily he made his way home. "Why? Why are they always hitting me? What did I ever do to them?"

Unbeknownst to him, a shadow watched from the rooftop, following his every move.


Naruto eventually made his way home and closed and locked the door. He then sighed. "Well, I should at least be safe now."

A loud grumble caused him to frown. "Stupid trash can. Why did it have to go and fall over like that?"

Flopping himself on his bed, he curled up and looked up into the sky. 'Well, all I need to do is wait here until morning. Then they'll all go back to normal.' Assuring himself of that fact he drifted off to sleep.


He was awakened sharply by loud banging at his door. He turned slowly as his drowsiness wore off and he registered what was happening.

The door shook as the angry fists of the people outside slammed into it. They all shouted variations on the same idea.

"Come out demon!"

"Get your ass out here you demon brat!"

"Come on trash! We need to throw you out like the rest!"

Naruto curled himself up in a vain hope of defense. "Why? I thought I was safe in here."

The banging continued.

"They never bothered me before."

The wall began to creak as the door was hit further.

"Why won't they just go away?" Naruto's small voice asked to no one as a tear rolled down his face. His eyes shot wide and he straightened up as the door slammed open, the angry and drunk faces of the people pouring in.

Naruto acted quickly the only way he knew how. He opened the window and jumped out.

Hands reached and clawed out the window as he hit the fire escape and ran down the stairs quickly descending them.

"The demon's on the streets!"

"Let's go after him!"

The group clumsily made their way out the door, making sure to leave a path of destruction in their wake.


Naruto ran down the village roads, desperately trying to escape the pursuing mob.

He turned back and shrieked, the group had grown larger since he started running.

Desperate, he turned and ran down an alleyway that was nearby.


His breath hitched as he saw its end, a large stone wall that he had neither the strength nor skill to overcome.

He turned slowly and fearfully as he saw the pursuing mob of villagers and shinobi, most panting and some smirking. Two chunin stepped forward. They each had jet black hair and matching eyes with a red and white fan on their shoulders.

One of them grabbed Naruto by the arm and hoisted him up, the boy squirming and shrieking in fear and desperation.

The hardened bodies of the ninja were unphased by the weak flailing of his limbs.

The free-handed ninja turned with a smirk. "We've got this. You guys can get back to drinking, we'll slay the demon."

The mob smirked and nodded, then dispersed.

The man holding Naruto turned his head towards him and his eyes converted to red irises with three tomoe in each. "Sleep you little shit."

Naruto's eyes widened in fear, but then his body instantly became limp.

The man not holding Naruto chuckled. "Let's make sure to wake him before we kill him. Wouldn't want him to miss it." Just to add further insult to injury the man knocked Naruto in the stomach, the unconscious boy merely coughed up blood rather than food; his stomach having none.


As the two men walked away, a shadowed figure watched from above. Its fist clenched as it vanished in a burst of smoke.


The two men arrived at a small cottage on the western edge of the village, just outside the walls.

One strapped the unconscious boy to the table, securing the ropes around his wrists and ankles tightly.

The other smirked proudly. "Nice work. Wake him up, we may have done some damage already but we wouldn't want him to miss the best part."

The man that had held Naruto nodded and placed two fingers on Naruto's forehead and said, "Release!"

Naruto clenched his eyes before slowly opening them.

He looked around drowsily as he took in his surroundings. The night's events combined with the numbness in his hands and feet snapped him to and looked around, eventually seeing the two shinobi who had made off with him, smirking proudly.

"AAAAHHH!" Naruto screamed in fear as he writhed to break free.

The two men merely began to chuckle as he struggled. One then said, "Oh stop, it's pointless to resist; with how pathetically weak you are you're not going anywhere."

The words hitting Naruto he immediately froze, and then slowly turned his attention to the two men, tears streaming down his face as he begged with a weak voice, "Please. Let me go. Why are you doing this?"

One of the men punched him in the stomach angrily. "Don't play dumb you damned demon. You know exactly why. You killed out friends, you killed my brother. Plus, thanks to you my whole clan's in a pile of shit. Now we're going to repay you, by killing you."

"What? I haven't killed anyone, I don't know what you're talking about."

One of the chunin stepped forward, ignoring Naruto as he pulled out a kunai.


Naruto wasn't certain how much time had passed, but he knew it felt like an eternity. The men using everything from weapons like kunai and shuriken to different jutsu to injure him. His body managed to heal swiftly from each injury though. At this time, that wasn't a bonus, it merely gave the men more space to hurt. Although they noticed each time the injuries healed less and less, which must have meant they were getting close.

"That's enough," a calm voice soon said behind the two.

The men stopped their near endless torture and turned in surprise.

They saw an ANBU standing in the doorway. He wore a black, high collared, short-sleeved shirt with pale purple gauntlets that strapped on his forearms with black cloth underneath, black pants that were wrapped at the bottom with bandages leading into his sandals. He also had long black hair tied into a ponytail with two bangs on the side of his face, a chokuto with a handle wrapped in fabric on his back and a porcelain mask fashioned after a weasel with a triangular marking on top.

"Shit, ANBU!"

The ANBU walked in with a calm, but frustrated air. "You will release the boy now, and leave. Otherwise I will kill the both of you."

One of the men raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You? What're you doing here and why are you protecting this demon?"

The ANBU reached up to his sword. "You are mistaken. You are confusing that defenseless child with the fox. I will only say this once more. Leave and you will live."

The man glared and shouted as he charged. "Screw you!"

The ANBU reacted in a flash, drawing his sword and swinging in a downward arc, disarming his opponent.

The man reached for another kunai but the ANBU sliced in exactly the opposite angle upwards, slicing open the man's torso and killing him.

The other man widened his eyes and then glared. "Traitor! Wait 'til your father hears about this!" He then charged the ANBU.

A mistake as the ANBU effortlessly spun around the man, reversed his grip on his blade, placed his left hand on the butt of his sword, and stabbed backwards; impaling the man through the abdomen. He withdrew his sword, corrected his grip and flicked off the blood and then sheathed his blade.

The ANBU then turned his head towards Naruto, who sweat cold as the man approached, a kunai drawn.

"NO! STAY AWAY!" Naruto shrieked in terror.

The ANBU raised a finger to his mouth. "Shhh, I'm not going to hurt you."

Naruto blinked in complete confusion, though he did not still his actions, adrenaline and fear still coursing through his body.

The ANBU looked at him from head to toe with a sigh. 'So, they already battered him a bit. His legs are probably useless until the fox heals them.' He looked Naruto in the eyes and then reached out his kunai, causing the boy to widen his own in horror, before cutting the straps that held him.

Naruto sat up slowly, still surprised by the kindness he was being shown. Even if it was little more than ambivalence.

The ANBU looked at Naruto. "Can you walk?"

Naruto looked at his legs and then hopped down to the ground, landing shakily and almost falling over, using the table for support.

The ANBU turned his back to Naruto and knelt down, reaching his hands out behind him.

Naruto looked at the man unsurely. Then conceded and gave a nod before weakly stumbling over to him and flopping onto his back.

The ANBU then stood up and secured Naruto's legs with his arms, frowning under his mask at the hitched breath the boy gave from the pain. "Put your arms on my shoulders, you don't want to fall off."

Naruto nodded and did so.


The ANBU walked through the forest towards the Leaf Village in the middle of the night for several hours until he returned to the village proper, the sun starting to peak over the horizon.

The man stopped for several seconds before turning and setting the boy down by a tree. Looking around before nodding he turned to leave but felt a tug on his pants leg. He looked down and saw the half-awake Naruto grabbing his leg.

Nodding the ANBU sat down next to him. As he sat there he looked at the weak emaciated form of the blonde. 'This won't do. If he remains like this he is certain to die. He must also carry on his blood. I suppose there's only one choice.' "Tell me something."

Naruto's head shot up and he turned towards the ANBU. "Y-yes?"

"Would you like me to train you in the art of the shinobi?"

Naruto's face was split by a big grin. "Hell yeah!"

The man nodded. "So be it. Then in that case, I am your sensei and you are my student."

Naruto nodded happily. He then raised an eyebrow and frowned. "Uhm, mister."

"Hm?"

"What's your name?"

The ANBU sat silently before reaching for his mask and removing it; revealing not the face of a man but of a young man with onyx eyes, center-parted bangs and pronounced tear-troughs under his eyes. His stoic features shifted into a small smile. "You can call me Itachi-sensei."

Naruto nodded happily. "Right, Itachi-sensei!"

Itachi then looked at Naruto sternly, the boy's eyes still closed from some pain. "Naruto."

He nodded.

"I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"I need you to open your eyes. I'm certain they still ache, but you still need to open them before they heal shut." While that was true, there was another reason Itachi made that command. A reason that was immediately confirmed.

Naruto's now opened eyes revealed a much different appearance. Rather than bright, deep blue, his eyes were now almost crimson red with a single marking in them, a tomoe.

Itachi narrowed his own eyes as he confirmed the thought in his mind. 'Sharingan. So, the musings my father was making about his legacy were true. I suppose then, Naruto must truly carry it on.' Itachi smiled at Naruto. "There. That feels better, does it not?"

Naruto squinted his eyes somewhat, unconsciously deactivating his immature Sharingan, and nodded weakly. "Yeah…but my eyes really hurt, and everything looks blue."

Itachi nodded as he stood. "That's merely a side-effect of having such trauma," he lied smoothly. "For now you should be out of danger. Return to your home. I will summon you for your training soon."

Naruto beamed before running off.

Itachi sighed, he knew there was an uphill battle ahead. However, he had a reason to fight it, several.


Hiruzen was busy with his usual paperwork in the morning when a familiar face popped into his room in a burst of smoke.

Itachi gave Hiruzen a stern look. Sterner than normal at least.

Hiruzen got the meaning instantly and waved his hand, the ANBU in the room appearing from the shadows and then disappearing in bursts of smoke. Hiruzen pulled out his smoke pipe, knowing what would come, but feigned ignorance for the sake of information. "So, what brings you to my office so early in the morning, Itachi?"

Itachi nodded and stepped forward. "I have information you may be interested in."

"Such as your new, would-be student?"

Itachi tensed. "I see you are already aware."

"Quite. Tell me, how exactly did you plan to handle this? You may not be ANBU captain but you are still vital to the village. You are also one of the more requested shinobi for messy missions. That would mean you would be cutting into our village's defenses and contracts by doing so. Many of these requests asking for you by name."

"I understand. But I have information that may sway your opinion, if you will permit a small genjutsu."

Hiruzen raised a curious eyebrow but nodded as Itachi activated his Sharingan, a fully matured version with three tomoe, and used a genjutsu to show Hiruzen a few images from the last few hours. Several specifically, his fellow clan members brutally attacking Naruto, and Naruto himself, with his Sharingan unintentionally.

Hiruzen's breath hitched when he saw this, before he let it out and held his head in his hands with an intensely heavy sigh. "Haaahhh…this is going to be quite troublesome. So, I assume you are suggesting that you are the most qualified to train him because of his Sharingan."

Itachi merely nodded.

Hiruzen held his head in one hand with a frustrated look. "Very well. Kakashi only has experience with a single eye and would not have enough distance to train Naruto properly, and I am certain anyone besides you or Shisui would kill Naruto. In this case, it is a special exception. Naruto, being both the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki and a Sharingan bearer, is far too important to allow him to be capture or killed by anyone. While I cannot say I have the slightest idea how it is he has the Sharingan, I can say you would be the most qualified to teach him given the circumstances. Understand this does not mean you can slack on your duties."

"I understand wholly Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen just dropped his shoulders with a defeated sigh. "Good…now leave me. I need time to bang my head into my desk until this starts making sense."

Itachi wasted no time teleporting out of the room.

Hiruzen sighed again and then slumped forward, his head slamming against his desk with an almost constipated expression. "I'm getting too old for this crap."


Naruto lay silently in his "bed" sleeping when he heard a muffled knocking on the window. The sound itself jolted him awake. He turned wearily towards the window, expecting to see an intruder and instead saw a simple piece of paper sticking through the middle.

He blinked in confusion and reached up to grab the piece of folded paper, on it being written, "Training Ground Six."

Again he blinked in confusion before realizing it was left by Itachi. He grinned and stuffed he piece of paper in his pocket, threw on his orange and blue hoodie, green shorts, and then left out the door, locking it before making his way to the training ground.


Naruto arrived at training ground six fast enough, but stopped dead when he saw Itachi merely standing in the center, his back to the entrance. He gulped heavily before looking around carefully. Young as he was, Naruto was no fool. Feigned kindness had tricked him many times before, the shock and suddenness of the situation preventing him from having been more cautious. He spent several seconds trying to find the signs of traps. But then sighed when he decided there either weren't any or he couldn't just find them, Itachi was an ANBU after all.


Itachi meanwhile, stood in the center of the field, not at all oblivious to Naruto's presence. He had expected Naruto to bolt straight into the training ground and that he would then need to scold him. He was both pleasantly surprised and slightly worried about Naruto's extreme caution. He pushed those thoughts from his mind as he activated his Sharingan and brought up a mirror, observing Naruto's actions in its reflection. Again, he was surprised by the amount of time Naruto took to examine the area for traps. The only trap Itachi had laid was a tripwire that would launch paintballs at the blonde. Itachi felt Naruto was off to a good start when he caught the trap instantly and threw a stick at it to disarm it before he walked through the area.

After a few more moments, Naruto approached the ANBU-turned sensei.

Itachi glanced behind him, as if he was unaware of Naruto's presence, and remarked plainly. "So you've arrived."

Naruto nodded with a small smile. "Yup. So…are we going to begin now?"

Itachi shook his head. "Not quite. There are a few matters I wish to get a hold on, most of them testing your ideas or knowledge."

Naruto nodded and plopped down seiza style.

Itachi also nodded and asked his first question. "What do shinobi do?"

"They kill and steal."

Itachi narrowed his eyes at the oddly realistic answer. "Good. What is a shinobi's main way to fight?"

"Ninjutsu."

Itachi nodded. "You are close. The best answer is chakra. The fuel behind ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu."

Naruto nodded in recognition.

"Do you know what charka is?"

"Catra?"

Itachi sighed. "This is going to take longer than I thought?"

"What?"

"Nothing." Itachi sighed and began to explain chakra. "Chakra is the energy that flows through the body of every living thing. It is also the source of energy for the different techniques used by ninja. It is not a standalone entity however. It is composed of two other forms of energy, physical energy, ki. The energy used to power, move and feed the body. It is the energy that is used in your body's metabolic processes." Itachi paused to look at Naruto curiously. While his expression showed he wasn't understanding of everything, Naruto was grasping the overall concepts which Itachi could expand on later. Nodding to himself he continued. "The other is spiritual energy, mana. This is the energy that supposedly makes up your soul and your mind. When these two forms of energy, ki and mana, combine, they form chakra. Now, before we go further, you will need to find your chakra."

Naruto blinked. "How?"

"You are close already. Sitting as you are, close your eyes and imagine the chakra network in your mind."

"Chakra…what?"

"Haah, chakra network. It is a network that runs through your body transporting chakra to all parts of your body, it is intertwined with each and every part of your body, down to the individual cells. While there is no defined shape for it, it can be best visualized as starting in the center of your abdomen, before spiraling out, then expanding outward into vessels that reach the furthest parts of your body, head, fingers, toes and everything in between, before circling back to the spiral and moving back to the center where everything starts over. Close your eyes and imagine that network in your mind as it fills and flows through your body."

Naruto was slightly overcome by the information but did as he was told, closing his eyes and imagine the chakra network flowing through his body.

Itachi activated his Sharingan and watched as Naruto did the act.

Naruto sat for several seconds before he was suddenly overcome by a sensation of being warm, light and full of energy.

"I see you've found it," Itachi said simply. "Now, let the feeling subside."

Naruto quietly did so, feeling the heat and energy dissipate to the point where he felt normal again.

"Do it again."

"Ack! What?!" Naruto was confused.

"You will do it again. Before I begin training you in anything else you will learn to access your chakra to the point where it requires no concentration at all. I will continue to hone that until you can do so without any thought in a strenuous situation."

"Aaahhh…"

Itachi narrowed his eyes.

Naruto curled back in fear and nodded hurriedly, performing the act again.


Naruto and Itachi sat in the field for several hours as Naruto continuously accessed his chakra, then let it die down until he could no longer feel it, and then pulled it out again.

They continued this until the sun was high in the sky, noon.

"That's enough."

Naruto sighed as he released his chakra again. "I think I'm getting better."

Itachi nodded and moved over to grab a small basket of food he had brought with him. "You are. But it is unwise to think of yourself as a great shinobi, otherwise you are likely to make more mistakes than normal."

Naruto ignored every word he said as he stood over the basket drooling.

Itachi could've sworn that had Naruto had a tail, it would be wagging. He patted the spot next to him and he and Naruto ate their meal for the day.


After finishing they resumed their training, Naruto continuing to access his chakra for a few more hours.

Itachi put up a hand slightly. "That's enough, you have improved enough to move on."

Naruto grinned happily.

"I'll start with the basics of chakra control."

"Chakra control?"

"Yes. It's as simple as it sounds. It means to manipulate the flow of chakra in your body for your own purposes. There are advanced skills for chakra control but for now we will focus on the basics." Sitting down in seiza himself, he began to explain how to train chakra control. "The easiest method is through meditation."

Naruto looked at him annoyed. "Isn't that just a lot of sitting around doing nothing?"

"It is. But it's important."

Naruto studied Itachi's face, finding no sense of lies, and sighed heavily. "Fine."

Itachi cupped his hands, then brought them close together, fingertips not quite touching. "Put your hands like this, then imagine the chakra flowing through your body and out holes in your fingers and into the space between your fingers, collecting into a ball in the center."

Naruto raised an eyebrow but shrugged and did so, closing his eyes for further concentration.

Itachi activated his Sharingan and watched as Naruto's chakra flowed from his fingertips, and then just flowed out in a mess, not even trying to coalesce in the center. 'The fact that he is able to move that much chakra at once is a good sign.' "Tighten the ball, imagine it forming into a smaller space."

Naruto nodded weakly and clenched his eyes as he imagined the chakra collecting into a slightly smaller space than before.

Itachi watched as the chakra slowly began to change directions. It began to flow in a more inward facing pattern rather than just flush outwards into the abyss. Still none of it was collecting between Naruto's hands, it was merely going a little further in the right direction. Itachi thought that was a great state of affairs for Naruto's very first day. He deactivated his Sharingan and stood up. "That's enough for today."

Naruto sighed as he released his concentration on his chakra. "That was tough, and I barely moved."

Itachi nodded. "Even meditation can be strenuous. Now return to your house and eat a good meal."

Naruto frowned at that command. "I can't buy good food though, they won't let me."

Itachi nodded as he said that. "For now just return home, I will help you with food."

Naruto nodded unsurely and ran back to his house.

Itachi sighed and then raised a half hand sign. "Teleportation Jutsu." He vanished in a burst of smoke.


The next day Naruto awoke excitedly and went over to his door and opened it. He shrieked at the imposing shadow in his doorway before realizing it was Itachi. "O-oh…s…sensei…"

Itachi handed him a bag.

Naruto blinked and took the bag, putting it on the floor where there should be a table.

Itachi looked around the room and noticed the dreadful conditions. 'I wouldn't want a rat living here.'

Naruto examined the contents of the bag happily, seeing that it was filled with good selections of vegetables and meats for meals. "So, how do I cook this stuff?"

Itachi nodded and pointed to the stove. That's part of today's lesson.

"Woow…you can cook?"

Itachi nodded plainly. "My mother refused to let me go into the ANBU without learning how to cook."

Naruto nodded and Itachi then began to show him how to prepare basic meals. Skillet cooked beef in olive oil, mixed vegetables with store bought seasoning. Naruto ate the simple breakfast with glee, happy at eating something that wasn't rotten or past expiration.

Itachi then investigated the fridge and noticed the food that was in there. Very little, most of it barely edible and the fridge itself not very powerful. He sighed heavily and turned to Naruto as he ate his meal. "After you're finished with that we will go to the training grounds. Unfortunately Team Six has returned from their mission, but there is currently no active Team Seven, so we are able to use that training area."

Naruto nodded as he ate his food. "Founf foob. PHHHOOOGGGHHH!" Naruto spat as Itachi wacked him in the back of the neck.

"Don't talk with food in your mouth."

Naruto hacked for a few seconds before turning to him angrily. He then sighed. "Fine, sensei."

Itachi nodded and then waited for Naruto to finish, continuing to look at the conditions of his house. Narrowing his eyes he began formulating ideas.


Itachi and Naruto arrived in Training Ground Seven early in the morning. Naruto looked around amazed, it was much more diverse than Training Ground Six. It had a forest on one side, a field covering the other half along with a grassless spot and a wide river running down the middle through both the plain and forest sections.

Itachi motioned Naruto forward as he turned to him. "Did you do any of the training I suggested last night?"

Naruto froze and sweat-dropped. "Eheheh…"

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I see. Then I suppose we'll begin where we left off. Return to seiza and continue meditating. We're going to switch to a scheduled day so we will only do each activity for a certain amount of time. We'll move on to the next afterwards regardless of your progress. The first item is chakra control."

Naruto sighed and nodded, sitting down on the ground and returning to his meditative pose.

Itachi activated his Sharingan and watched as Naruto began his meditations, his chakra taking a short time to begin flowing. Again, the chakra was merely flowing in the right direction, none of it was collecting in the center. "Tighten the size."

Naruto nodded and pictured an even smaller ball of chakra in his hand.

Itachi watched as the chakra between Naruto's hands began to have small sections that separated from the rest and began to swirl loosely in his hands. This continued as more and more amounts of chakra did so, still forming a loose ball of chakra in between his hands. His control improving greatly.


After an hour of training Itachi signaled Naruto to move on to the next item, which turned out to be taijutsu. To start things off, Itachi began with the academy's basic taijutsu style.

It took some time to get Naruto into the proper stances for the style, Itachi often having to personally adjust Naruto's posture. But once he succeeded at that he began showing Naruto the basic punches and kicks from the style.

Naruto took most of that session of training to get the moves correct but he managed to do it by the end as Itachi showed him how to string several of the moves together into a sequence.


Next was strength training, something Naruto desperately needed due to his small frame. Naruto was started with push up, sit ups and chin ups. To Itachi's amusement, Naruto had elected to use Itachi's arm as the chin up bar. He found it quite amusing to watch the young boy lift himself up on his forearm. Though he found it less amusing when said boy lost his grip and hit the ground with a thud. Again, they continued doing so for about an hour.


After that was kunai and shuriken training, using ringed targets. Naruto did as poorly as Itachi expected. Mainly not having the strength to throw the kunai far enough to reach the target. The few that did reach the targets didn't have enough force to stick and just bounced off.


Then was ninjutsu. Although Itachi couldn't start off with any actual ninjutsu. Instead he began by showing Naruto all of the basic hand signs, saru, tatsu, ne, tori, mi, ushi, inu, uma, tora, i, hitsuji and u. As expected for a novice, Naruto had trouble remembering all of the signs, how to form them and which was which.

By the end of that hour's training, Naruto did seem to moderately understand the basics of hand signs.


The next few hours were focused on something more basic, and something Naruto found deathly boring. Basic schooling. Reading, writing, math, history. The last three hours of their training was spent with Itachi teaching all of the very basics to Naruto.

It was also spent with Naruto preventing himself from working in any way possible. When Itachi showed Naruto a genjutsu of a giant snake that would eat him if he didn't follow his rules, Naruto didn't display another argument.


After finishing up for the day, Itachi gave Naruto a backpack and several books detailing the basics of all the things he had taught him that day so he could practice on his own.


And this is how it remained for several weeks. Naruto doing his daily training with Itachi and increasing in skill and ability. It was a slow going process as Naruto, along with every other child in the world, was not completely willing to learn the less exciting items, but as Itachi began to explain the importance of those subjects Naruto began to argue less and less in their training.


They eventually fell into a comfortable pattern for this training, Naruto having to either take the day off or train by himself during the periods that Itachi had to go on missions.

Fortunately for the situation, and beyond Naruto's knowledge, most of the missions Itachi was given were normally assassination missions. Those types rarely exceeded a length of a few days unless they were hunting an elusive target. Most of the time they weren't.


This happy schedule was disrupted when one day Naruto was by himself while Itachi was on a mission.

Naruto's room had been furnished with Itachi's help. He now had a small, four-person dining table with wooden chairs, a small twin bed with basic sheets and a blanket and an acceptable stockpile of food. Naruto had paid for it all with his stipend but Itachi had been the one to purchase it all.

Along with those new furnishings was a mirror in his bathroom.

Naruto stood in front of it holding a book in his hands. "So…if I condense chakra in my eyes I can see better." Grinning he concentrated as he tried condensing chakra in his eyes. His vision did improve, but something else also happened. His fledgling Sharingan activated. Upon seeing the sudden and extreme change in his eyes, Naruto fell backwards onto the floor behind him. He sat on the floor in shock for several seconds before getting the fortitude to stand back up and look in the mirror. He was agape. He was actually staring at a pair of Sharingan in his own eyes, the same as Itachi-sensei. He couldn't decide if he should be overjoyed, frightened, sad, or confused. He settled on confused and tried to deactivate it by pulling the chakra from his eyes. Unfortunately for the blonde he pulled too much and spent several minutes stumbling around blind as he attempted to return charka flow to his eyes, he eventually managed to do so and calmed down.

He then settled down for a meal and ate quietly.


The next day Itachi returned from his mission and found Naruto waiting in Training Ground Seven, far earlier than normal. Seeing this for as odd as it was, along with seeing the puzzled and dismayed look on his student's face, Itachi approached with caution.

Naruto sat huddled up against a tree, holding his legs to his body waiting for Itachi to show up.

"You're early."

Naruto perked up and looked at Itachi with a worried expression.

Itachi noted this but decided that if Naruto wanted to talk he would and began to set the instructions for the day.

"Sensei," Naruto interrupted.

'So he wants to talk now.' "Yes?"

"Am I…a freak?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were beginning to ignore the villagers."

Naruto shook his head. "Not them. It's…my eyes."

Itachi narrowed his own, knowing where this was going. "Care to explain?" he asked, wanting to see how much the boy knew.

"I have…the same eyes as you. Though you have more of those little marks than I do."

Itachi nodded. "You do. It's called the Sharingan. It's one of the three main visual jutsu I mentioned before."

Naruto looked at Itachi confused and pleading. "But how? How do I have it?"

Itachi put up a hand. "Unfortunately, that discussion is for another time. But I will tell you this, normally only those of the Uchiha can obtain the Sharingan. Your case is special."

Naruto looked down in defeat. "So I am a freak."

Itachi knelt down to the boy. "Naruto."

Naruto looked at him weakly, only for Itachi to poke him in the forehead with two fingers. "Don't worry about it so much. You'll learn the answers soon," he reassured with a smile.

Naruto looked at Itachi slightly miffed that he had done that but then smiled at his kind words, nodding in response.

Itachi then stood up with a sigh. "Well, I suppose that means I need to alter your training somewhat. I will need to teach you how to use your Sharingan. Along with its special fighting style, the Intercepting Fist."

Naruto smiled and then grinned. "Cool! So we're like brothers!"

Itachi looked at Naruto surprised and then nodded with a small smile. "Yes. I suppose you are."


Itachi had added training Naruto's Sharingan into the end of the daily training, replacing one of the hours of scholarly studies. This first started with Itachi getting Naruto comfortable with turning his Sharingan on and off. Getting to the point Naruto could do it without needing to concentrate, though that took several sessions over several days along with Naruto's own nightly training.


Over the next several months, Naruto's training continued, his rate of progression increasing. In chakra control, Naruto had gotten to training with stones. This started with him sticking small pebbles to his forehead and attempting to use chakra to make them stick. The first few times Naruto used too much chakra and sent the stones flying into Itachi's own.

That was the only time Naruto had seen Itachi cry.

He had eventually progressed to making stones stick to the ends of his fingers, which proved infinitely harder as he had to make the pebbles stick to his fingertips with only chakra while holding his fingers facing down.


In taijutsu, Naruto had gotten to an acceptable level of understanding in the academy style and Itachi decided to replace it with the Uchiha's own taijutsu style custom-made for the Sharingan, the Intercepting Fist. To Naruto's surprise, it was rather similar to the academy style, the main differences being moves that capitalized on the Sharingan's ability to predict the opponent's movements and how the user experienced a slowed down rate of time flow.


With strength training, Naruto had progressed to being able to do fifty push-ups, fifty sit-ups, and thirty chin-ups without getting exhausted, though Itachi had decided to make that section the last for the day so Naruto had energy to experience the rest of the day.


In kunai and shuriken use, Naruto was able to throw with enough accuracy to hit the middle circle in a five circle target with some consistency, fluctuating in and out at times, and was able to throw with consistent amounts of strength to make each throw stick.


Following that was ninjutsu, and Naruto had actually progressed past the hand signs and was learning the basic academy jutsu, the Transformation Jutsu, the Clone Jutsu and the Substitution Jutsu. Naruto had mastered the Transformation Jutsu easily enough, as Naruto had an active imagination. The Substitution Jutsu had required more time, almost two whole months, but Naruto had managed to do it.

However, the Clone Jutsu gave Naruto endless trouble. Itachi had spent almost three months training Naruto in the technique and found Naruto simply seemed incapable of it.

Itachi had noticed Naruto was able to use the minute amounts of chakra required for the jutsu. As a result, the clones always came out looking deformed due to chakra overload, or exploded upon creation due to having too much chakra condensed within their bodies.

After a week of doing the same results over and over, Itachi suddenly had an idea. He narrowed his eyes in thought as he looked over the sullen form of Naruto. "Naruto."

Naruto looked up at him dismayed. "What?"

"I think I know a way around this."

Naruto looked at him hopefully, though with some apprehension due to past experience. "What is it?"

Itachi nodded and ordered, "Activate your Sharingan."

Naruto nodded and did so. Itachi had told him that another of the Sharingan's abilities was to visualize chakra in the world around him as well as see hand signs for a jutsu with crystal clarity, regardless of how many or how fast the user flashed through them. It made it easy for Itachi to teach Naruto the hand signs for the different jutsu.

Itachi formed a hand sign Naruto didn't recognize, his index and middle fingers of both hands extended, his right hand point up with his left hand horizontal and behind the right. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Suddenly, two clones of Itachi burst into existence beside him.

Naruto blinked curiously. "How're they any different?"

Itachi nodded and formed a few hand signs. "Clone Jutsu." Two more clones burst into existence.

One of those two walked over to Itachi and reached out a hand, passing right through him before vanishing.

One of the other clones reached out for Itachi and grabbed his shoulder, shuffling his shirt.

That gave Naruto cause for pause. These new clones were solid.

"The Shadow Clones are useful in many ways. Perform it yourself."

Naruto nodded and formed the hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" A Shadow Clone burst into existence, although Naruto stumbled from suddenly feeling so much chakra depletion.

"It's something you will need to get used to. The Shadow Clone Jutsu splits your chakra evenly among yourself and your clones, rather than using a minute amount to create an illusion. These clones are also solid and can be used for aid in combat."

Naruto tested this as he and the clone spent several minutes touching each other's fingers in curiosity.

"As a result, it's perfect for you."

Naruto, and his clone, turned to Itachi in confusion. "How?"

"Because, there's a reason you struggled with the Clone Jutsu."

"What is it?"

"Your chakra reserves are immense. As a result, the minute control required for the clones is near impossible for you to attain. The Shadow Clones, however, capitalize on your large reserves to create mass quantities of solid clones."

Naruto grinned proudly at hearing one of his oddities gave him an advantage.

The clone then suddenly dispelled and Naruto felt light-headed as strange images filled his head.

"Another advantage to the Shadow Clone Jutsu and another reason it takes time to learn. Whatever the Shadow Clone sees, hears, thinks and experiences is transferred to you as if you were actually there. It takes time to get used to the influx of information and be able to process it all effectively, but it is invaluable once you do. It also allows for much higher rates of training."

Naruto snapped out of his daze and looked at Itachi hopefully. "How!? How?!"

"Simple: every experience your clone has is transferred to you. That means all of the training it performs transfers the experience to you. That way you can cut down your training time by wide margins."

Naruto then began jumping for joy. "Can we do that!?"

Itachi couldn't help but smirk at the boy's enthusiasm. "Of course. It will allow you to section off groups of clones to spend the whole day on one subject at a time without needing to change focus."

Naruto couldn't help but brim at the idea of such expedited training.


A pair of curious and devious, light brown eyes watched the two of them.


Itachi had Naruto produce as many clones as he could at the time, which was a limit of eighteen. Itachi nodded in acceptance. He created six Shadow Clones of his own, and they went to go and train the other groups of three Narutos each while he focused on the real one.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "Shouldn't I join one of them?"

Itachi shook his head. "No. Of all the subjects and matters Shadow Clones can help you improve, they are all only mental. Your physical body, your strength and fitness must be attended to by you yourself."

Naruto paled. "So…does that mean…?"

Itachi smirked. "Yes. You will spend the rest of this day training your body."

Naruto gulped in worry.


Another few days passed with Naruto using his new training method and making massive strides in his skills as he effectively had three copies of himself studying the different skills for an entire day. Giving him the benefits of spending the whole day on each subject times three.

However, his usual regimen of training was slightly interrupted when somebody interjected themselves into it.


One day as Itachi was focusing on Naruto's physical training, Naruto suddenly stopped when he got several memories from his clones coming in.

Itachi narrowed his eyes at the same time for the same reason and then resisted the urge to face-palm at the reason.

"S-sensei!"

"I know," Itachi interrupted. With a sigh he thought, 'What's she doing here?'


Elsewhere, a group of Naruto's clones were working on kunai throwing when a group of three kunai suddenly shot out of the trees and impaled each clone in the head, dispelling them.

Itachi's clone narrowed its eyes and grabbed its sword as he turned swiftly, three snakes bursting from the bushes. The clone pulled out its chokuto and slashed the snakes, causing them to disappear in bursts of smoke.

A figure walked out from the brush with a playful and sadistic smile. "Still got it I see."


"Senseeeiii…" Naruto pleaded, more of his clones being dispelled.

Itachi put up a hand. "That's enough. You can recreate them later." Itachi paused as his clone's memories returned. He then spun quickly and slashed with his chokuto, sending several kunai that were flying at him and Naruto clinking to the ground.

"AAHH! We're under attack!" Naruto screamed.

"That you are." Out of the forest walked a young woman with light brown, pupil-less eyes and violet hair which was styled in a short, fanned-out ponytail. She also wore a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam, with pockets on both sides, a mesh armor bodysuit that stretched her neck to her thighs, a dark-orange miniskirt, a dark blue belt around her waist that connected to her skirt with an appendage-like sash, a wrist-watch, pale-grey shin guards, a small pendant that resembled a snake fang on a thick cord and a Leaf headband that was mostly covered by her bangs.

Itachi sighed as she walked forward, the woman still not having the sense to put on a shirt, even around someone as young as Naruto. "Anko, why are you here?"

The now named Anko smirked in response. "Just curious." She then glanced at Naruto and smirked deviously.

Naruto, who had fallen back because of her entrance, backed up some with red on his face.

Anko chuckled. "So…this is the little punk you're training, huh?"

Naruto heard the words she said and narrowed his eyes.

"This little blonde kid is the one? The one who's the-"

Itachi waved a hand to stop her. "He is. He's my student, Naruto Uzumaki."

Anko looked back at Naruto. She noticed his flustered expression and knelt down to his level. "What's wrong? You scared of li'l ol' me?"

Naruto nodded.

Anko grinned. "Well don't worry, I ain't gonna hurt you. You're not worth the effort."

Naruto blinked before catching her meaning and shouting, "What the hell's that supposed to mean!?"

"A mouthy one huh?"

Naruto clammed up immediately.

Anko chuckled. "He's a funny one." She then noticed how his expression turned from fearful to slightly thoughtful. "Oh? Thinkin' 'bout something?"

Naruto looked at her surprised. "Er, yeah. You're scary," she grew a tic mark, "but you're also really pretty."

Anko blinked in thought as she processed his words. She then laughed heartily, wiping a tear from her eye when the fit stopped. "Is that so?! Look at this, Itachi! Only six years old and already a charmer! I'm pretty sure give him a few years and he'd be the next Jiraiya!"

Itachi sunk at that thought.

Naruto just laughed since she was too, not really knowing or caring who Jiraiya was.


Elsewhere, a man sat next to wall, peaking through a hole. When he began to sneeze. "A…a…achoo!" He then paled when the many sounds of angry women came from the inside. "Uh-oh…"


Naruto had learned soon after that Anko was also a ninja like Itachi. Not quite the same rank and placement but a jonin, the highest rank a ninja can achieve outside of Kage or ANBU.

He also learned she could teach him as well.

This was shown in one specific incident when Itachi was trying to teach Naruto some of the Leaf's politics.

"I'll ask it again. What are the names of the Leaf Village's main advisors?" Itachi asked.

Naruto grunted in response. "I don't know!"

Anko smirked. "Really? Well, maybe this will help you remember." She stuck out her arm and Naruto watched as three snakes slithered out of her sleeve.

Naruto paled as this occurred and stood up to back away.

"What are they names?" she persisted.

Naruto backed away shaking his head. "I don't know."

The snakes lunged forward and wrapped around Naruto, their heads reaching his neck.

Naruto then suddenly shouted, "Homura Mitokado, Danzo Shimura and Koharu Utatane!"

Anko dropped the boy with a thud. "Good boy."

Naruto just sat with anime tears.

Itachi rubbed his chin in thought. "Interesting. It seems quite effective."

"Gah! Traitor!"

Itachi merely continued to think.


Anko continued to "aid" Itachi in this way. Whenever Naruto would begin acting obstinate or was struggling to learn something, Anko would enforce the idea that retaining this information was vital to his continued survival. Ranging from threatening to strangle him with her snakes to almost injecting him with enough venom to kill the Nine-Tails.


The Nine-Tails. That was another subject Itachi was uncertain how to cover. If Naruto did know the truth behind it, which he didn't, he didn't show it. And Itachi couldn't figure out the best way to explain it to him. He also needed to decide how much of that information to share, specifically surrounding his parents.

Fortunately, Itachi was provided time to think when Naruto's strength training began to progress a little slower than normal, mainly because only Naruto himself could do it and he couldn't use Shadow Clones to help. He was getting much, much stronger thanks to an improved diet courtesy of Itachi's training and Anko's "motivations" and spending the entire day on strength training, but he also ended up hitting a plateau at one point.

Itachi told the real Naruto to take a break that day while the clones continued training so the real Itachi could figure out a new training regimen to continue his physical training. That and he had to decide how to break the information about the Nine-Tails to the boy.


Naruto had decided to take that time to go to the park, he hadn't been there in quite some time. However, as he made his way there, he realized he was being followed. Making his senses keen was part of what Itachi had taught him, being able to pulse small, unnoticeable bursts of chakra out from his body, acting as essentially radar. With that, he had noticed a small figure trailing behind him in short spurts as he walked. However, each time he turned to look at the person, there was no one there.

Eventually he saw a flash of dark blue ducking behind a sign and smirked. He continued walking forward slowly before immediately running down an alleyway.

He stopped and turned around to face his stalker, who turned the corner in a sprint and almost literally ran into Naruto, falling back onto the ground in surprise.

Naruto himself was surprised to see who it was.

A young girl with dark blue hair in a short, levelled hime-cut style just above her forehead, with chin-length strands framing her face as well as white irises with a hint of lavender and was wearing a simple beige kimono. She looked up at Naruto frightened and then turned to run.

"Wait!" Naruto pleaded.

The girl stopped and turned.

"Please…don't run."

She looked at him surprised to see him with such a pleading expression. She nodded but still kept her head down.

"Uhm…why were you following me?"

The girl squeaked lightly in surprise and embarrassment. "Y-you…you knew?"

Naruto nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I could sense you there."

She covered her mouth, an almost guilty expression.

Naruto then chuckled lightly. "You know, if you want to talk all you had to do was ask. Wait…I don't know your name."

She nodded. "I'm…Hinata. Hinata Hyuga."

Naruto smiled. "Nice to meetcha, I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki, ya know!"

Hinata blinked curiously at the little additive at the end of his sentence. She giggled in response.

Naruto just grinned. "So, aside from following me what were you planning on doing?"

Hinata sweat-dropped at how lightly he referenced her stalking. She shook her head.

"Then how about you come to the park with me? I was going there to play."

Hinata nodded in response as she followed Naruto to the Leaf's central park.


As Itachi and Anko sat up in the shadows watching Naruto play with the Hyuga girl, Itachi suddenly realized that his task had gotten a whole lot harder.


Naruto and Hinata arrived at the park after only a short walk and found it empty.

Hinata thought it was just a slow day but Naruto had witnessed some of the parents taking their children away when Naruto began to approach, like always.

The two of them spent the day playing. First on the swing set, with Naruto adding in some of his newfound strength to send himself lunging forward harder.

Too hard as he was launched by the swing straight into a bush.

Hinata immediately ran over to check on him.

Naruto just stood up with a grin, covered in dirt and leaves, as though nothing happened.

They then moved to the seesaw. That also went bust when Naruto accidentally put too much force into his push, sent himself up, springing the board back away from him before it swung back, smacked his ass and sent him slamming into a wall.

He sat for a moment in a daze before standing up and getting back to playing. Hinata joining him.


"Heheh, lookie. Seems he's already got a fan," Anko remarked.

Itachi couldn't hide his small, yet satisfied, smirk. "So it seems. Perhaps she can help keep his curse at bay."

"Curse?" Anko asked.

Itachi nodded. "Yes. The Uchiha Curse of Hatred."


Well, that's it for this chapter. It was just the first chapter but tell me what you guys think, and if you want to see more.