Corruption Of Blood: Rebirth

Chapter 1

Migraine

BY NEXUSOFPAIN

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the other literary works I may reference in this story.

Smoke.

The smoke was everywhere.

It choked him, his lungs burning in his chest, looking around as best he could, his neck stiff, the bones cracking with every little movement. All around him the bodies were piled up while none where immediately recognizable, somewhere in the pit of his stomach he knew that his precious people were also in those decaying piles.

Standing slowly he made his way around the war torn battlefield, the bodies of strangers and friends alike scattered at his feet. Craters from the many powerful jutsu that had been cast dotting the landscape. His memory was hazy, he was unable to remember what had happened why he was here, even his own name was currently beyond his grasp.

The one thing that he could think of was moving forward, sure that just ahead were the answers to his questions, of who he was and what was going on. He stopped as a boy with short brown hair caught his eye a kunai sticking out from the side of his neck, he was laying on top of a large white dog easily the same size as the dead man laying on top of him. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes though he was unsure why.

He continued along the trail of corpses. People that he recognized but could not remember all around him. Eventually he caught sight of a figure in the distance, a man in a mask and cloak. Laughing among the corpses, as he got closer the figures body started to shrink until he was just barely the size of a child, all the corpses had burst into flame filling the air with more smoke as well as the smell of burning flesh.

"Who are you?" He felt the words leave his mouth but couldn't be certain they were his.

The laughing child stopped at the question, reaching up to remove his mask. Pulling it slowly from his face the boys blonde locks became visible then his cerulean blue eyes, slit like that of a feral beast, and finally the three whisker marks on each side of his face. He wore a large grin clashing with the hell fire and brimstone type background.

"I'm you." The answer sent a shiver down his spine, his stomach wrenched as he took a step back unable to believe his eyes.

"Who did this!?" He asked starting to panic afraid of the answer.

"Don't you remember... you did." He took another step back a strange sensation engulfing his hands, covered in what felt like a warm sticky liquid, looking down he was shocked to find them covered in a deep red liquid, clenching his stomach again he fell to his knees emptying it's contents onto the cold blood-soaked ground.

Naruto awoke covered in a cold sweat, the nightmare still vividly fresh in his mind, for awhile he just stayed in his bed surrounded by the blank white walls of his small bedroom, looking to the side he examined the small clock on his nightstand,

"four o clock" He sighed rolling over onto his side pulling his old ratty blanket over his head, hoping against hope that the sweet bliss of sleep would consume him once again.

After another thirty minutes he gave up on this his young mind racing to fast to rest any longer, trying his best to make sense of the strange dream. He had been having the same nightmare for a little over a week. At one point he had debated going to the old man Hokage, however he banished that thought just as quickly, he'd only just started the academy last month and he didn't want the old man thinking that he didn't have what it took to be the greatest ninja ever. After all what kind of master ninja started having nightmares about war and death so soon after starting, he hadn't even gotten to fight anybody yet.

Sighing again he forced his small body out of his old bed. Rubbing the little bit of sleep from his eyes he stood up to his full height of three foot two inches. He was the second shortest academy student in his class but he wasn't worried after all he was only seven, and he had more important things to worry about than being short, such as becoming the greatest Hokage in the history of ever.

Navigating his way through the multitude of clothes and garbage that littered the floor of his bedroom. He quickly gathered some of his less worn clothes picking through for a usable outfit for the day, deciding on a mostly clean pair a tan cargo shorts and a black shirt with the hidden leaf symbol adorning the front. Taking his choice he continued navigating his way towards his modest bathroom, that consisted of a shower, sink, and toilet, there was no tub, of course there was no room for one anyway.

Starting up his shower he waited a few minutes to let the temperature get warm enough so that he wouldn't freeze. After ten minutes he started to worry as the water was still as cold as ice, taking an experimental sniff of himself he wrinkled his nose. Deciding to suck it up he quickly jumped underneath the ice cold torrent of water, the last thing he needed was to be the only kid in the academy who didn't shower Kami knew he had enough trouble making friends already.

Trying to take as quick a shower as possible he was in and out in less than five minutes. That of course didn't stop him from shivering from the combination of the cold water and his own lack of a heater. For a moment he found himself wishing that he lived in an old fashion home with a kotatsu instead of a modern apartment.

Still shivering he walked out into his living room/kitchen. Grabbing the kettle on the stove he filled it with water before starting up his gas burner and placing the now full water kettle over the flame. Looking over to the analog clock hanging on the wall in his living room he took note that he still had plenty of time before he had to be at the academy.

Five minutes later a loud whistling noise alerted him to the fact his water was ready. Pulling down a small cup of instant pork ramen he slowly filled it to the inner line. While waiting for his noodles to cook he decided to get the rest of his ninja equipment together starting with his signature goggles placing them gingerly over his head, the fit was perfect allowing him to keep his spiky blonde hair out of his eyes.

He spent the rest of his three minute wait idly busying himself with one of his practice kunai throwing it up into the air and catching it before it would hit the ground. He wasn't worried about accidentally cutting himself on account of them being completely blunt, just barely capable of piercing the straw dummies that academy students used for target practice. Sitting down at his kitchen table, in his sparsely decorated apartment, he took his time eating his usual breakfast of instant ramen.

Of course instant ramen was the only thing he could afford on the meager allowance given to him by the old man's secretary at the beginning of every month. As he started thinking about it he realized that the day of his allowance had already passed, making a mental note to drop by the Hokage's mansion after school. Finishing his breakfast he opened his small frog shaped coin wallet, a mysterious gift he'd received on his birthday the previous year, he was actually surprised to find he still had over 2,000 ryo.

Taking a final look at the clock he left his small broken down apartment ready for another day at the academy, and as such another day closer to becoming a real ninja.

Making sure to lock the door behind him he descended the staircase to the dirt road below, the sun had just began to rise casting a morning shadow over the empty streets before him. The wind blew slightly ruffling his blonde hair, a small chill in the fall air causing a shiver to run down his spine. The trek from his apartment to the academy was not a short one being almost ten miles from his current location.

Dust rising with each step he took along the unpaved road, the side of the village he lived on happened to be the poorer side. Naruto took a deep breath taking in his peaceful surroundings, this early in the morning no-one else was around so he didn't need to worry about the hateful glares the villagers always sent in his direction. While he had never been outright attacked by the hostile villagers, they had never tried to hide their disgust when he would walk by.

Naruto looked longingly at the Ichiraku ramen stand as he walked past it, wishing he had checked to see how much money he had left before eating breakfast. Teuchi the owner of the small stand, sent a smile and a wave Naruto's way, noticing as he passed by, Naruto sending a grin as wide as his face back at the man, him being one of the few people to treat Naruto like he was an actual person, and not just some piece of trash on the side of the street.

By the time Naruto was halfway to the academy the sun had already fully risen into the sky causing the shadows around him to grow longer. As he continued to walk Naruto started to see some of the familiar faces from his own class. One in particular catching his eye, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto mustered the best glare he could to send at the boy, who paid no attention what-so-ever not even seeming to notice the blonde boy staring daggers at him, once again the dark haired boy was accompanied by his older brother.

Naruto wasn't sure what the older boy's name was but he would walk Sasuke to school two or three times a week. Naruto couldn't help the small hint of jealousy in the back of his mind as he watched the two, every once in a while the older brother would say something that would cause Sasuke to laugh, an honest smile across his face, of course that wasn't the only thing that Naruto didn't like about his classmate, even though they had only been in the academy for barely a month, Sasuke had already aced every test they had been given, showing himself to be well above all the other students from the very beginning.

Naruto grit his teeth anger welling up as he thought about the boy, the one who had everything he didn't skill, family, and friends. A month and nobody had even spoken with Naruto, in fact they seemed to actively ignore his presence even the sensei wouldn't look at him most days. In opposition to that everyone was nice to Sasuke talking about how much of a prodigy he was already, the whole class practically lining up to be his friend.

Following slowly behind Sasuke and his brother, it wasn't much longer before Naruto reached the academy. A large crowd of students had already gathered outside the large three story building, kids of all ages hanging out in the courtyard talking amongst themselves. Naruto watched as Sasuke's brother bid him farewell and turned to leave, catching Naruto's gaze in the process. The older boy sent Naruto a small smile and a half-hearted wave when he noticed Naruto watching him and his brother, it took Naruto by surprise when he couldn't see any of the hatred the other villagers looked at him with reflected in the older boy's black eyes.

Hearing the bell ring in the distance the young blonde boy hurriedly followed his classmates into the large academy building. Walking through the not quite familiar halls of the academy Naruto quickly found his way to his classroom, picking a seat in the back by himself he sat quietly waiting for his sensei to start class. Normally he would have announced his grand entrance as he entered the room, but today he didn't feel like himself, a sudden sharp pain in the back of his mind, warning him of the approaching migraine.

"Okay class, today we're going to learn the basics of chakra, what it is and how we use it to our advantage as ninja." The brown haired sensei said as he walked through the classroom door, closing it tightly behind him.

The whole class broke out in animated chatter at this, most fantasizing about all the amazing jutsu they were going to learn. This ended rather quickly however when the sensei started passing out textbooks to everybody. Naruto looked at the large book reading the title to himself aloud. "Understanding Chakra Basics." he sighed letting his head bang down onto the desk in front of him, along with the other students in class he had assumed they were going to be doing practical application.

Naruto tuned out most of the lesson, same as he did most days. He knew that somehow all this book learning was important, but like most kids his age he just couldn't see it. Eventually boredom got the better of him and he pulled out a pencil, doodling on the notebook paper he was supposed to be taking notes on. It was a detailed picture of a chibi Naruto beating a chibi Sasuke with a wooden practice sword, ending with chibi Sasuke on the ground begging chibi Naruto to train him, Naruto chuckled quietly to himself.

"What's so funny Naruto?" Apparently not quietly enough, Naruto quickly hid his drawing underneath his arms, smiling up at his sensei who happened to be standing right over top of him.

"Oh.. uh.. nothing Iruka-sensei, uh... just amazed at how awesome your lessons are." He lied through his teeth, trying his best to keep up his convincing smile.

"Really, well then since my lessons are so 'awesome' you should easily be able to tell me who it was that taught the first ninja how to use chakra." Iruka-sensei's own smile told Naruto that he knew he hadn't been paying attention.

Naruto looked around desperately at his classmates all of which turned to avoid his gaze. Another sudden pain in the back of his head made him hiss in pain. 'how troublesome its obviously the Rikudo Sennin' Naruto looked around for the source of the voice, his gaze landing on the boy sitting one row under him a boy with black hair in a pony-tail. Naruto was surprised that Iruka-sensei hadn't heard the boy but not about to complain.

"Um.. the Rikudo Sennin?" his voice was unsure, but the look on Iruka-sensei's face assuaged his worries, nodding slightly Iruka-sensei walked back to the front of the class.

Naruto sighed, deciding after such a close call it was better to play it safe, lest he face detention anyway, he payed closer attention for the rest of the class. After a little over an hour of the absolutely boring talk of the origins of chakra the lunch bell finally rang. Filling the school with what to Naruto could only be described as the sound of freedom.

As all the students stood to leave for the their thirty minute lunch break, Naruto purposefully walked over to the kid with the pony-tail. "Hey, thanks for the save, I woulda been in a lot of trouble if you hadn't helped me." Naruto held out his hand in a handshake gesture.

The other boy looked at him quizzically. "What are you talkin about man?" The other boy asked ignoring the proffered handshake all together, his hands jammed into his pants pockets.

Now it was Naruto's turn to look confused, the pony-tailed boy taking Naruto's silence as the end of whatever conversation they were about to have, turned leaving Naruto where he stood. "Hey Shikamaru, what was that about?" Naruto heard a slightly chubby brown haired boy ask the pony-tailed boy.

"You got me." Was the response Naruto heard before both boy's exited the classroom. Deciding not to try and figure out why the Shikamaru kid wouldn't except his thanks for helping him, Naruto started idly wondering if he would have enough time to eat at Ichiraku ramen before the bell rang again. Just as he was about to chance it Iruka-sensei appeared in front of him.

"Naruto, your going to need to stay after class today." Before Naruto could argue about the unfairness of life Iruka-sensei had already shooed him out the door towards the cafeteria.

"Man this is such bull!" Naruto angrily stomped around the playground, a half crushed melon bread package in his right hand caught in a death grip, "Argh!" he yelled kicking a large rock with his sandal clad feet, effectively bruising his toes, reflexively he threw his crushed pastry at a nearby tree. He spent the rest of the lunch break debating just skipping the second half of the day.

Eventually he decided against it and so he found himself back in the classroom, listening to Iruka-sensei's lecture, he spent most of his time leveling a glare at said sensei. Trying his best to cause him to burst into flame with his mind. Once again he felt that sharp pain in the back of his head.

"I wonder if Sasuke likes me?"

"Sasuke's gotta be the cutest guy in the whole academy."

"Man I'm hungry."

"Ugh why does school have to be so troublesome?"

Naruto clutched his head, attempting to ease the pain he began rubbing one of his temples. Finally getting fed up with all the talking Naruto shot to his feet. "Would you all just shut up!" He yelled slamming his tiny fist onto his desk. Everyone turned to stare at the blonde haired boy.

"What's his problem?"

"Why's he so weird."

"Mom and dad said he was strange."

"Just leave me alone!" He continued clutching his head shaking it side to side, the pain increasing every second.

"Uzumaki! I will not let you continue to disturb my class, now please stand out in the hall!" Iruka-sensei marched up to him grabbing him by his arm and beginning to drag him towards the door.

"Stupid brat, why does the Hokage even let you try to become a ninja?"

Naruto looked up into the eye's of his sensei, what he saw was the same cold stare everyone in the village gave him when he would walk the streets, like he was less than human like he didn't matter. Jerking his arm free of Iruka's grasp he turned towards him tears threatening to spill over the edge of his small blue eyes.

"Why... why do you all look at me like that!"

Iruka looked slightly taken aback at Naruto's outburst. "Naruto what are you talking about?"

"Everyone.. everyone looks at me with that same cold stare like... like I'm not even worth the time it would take to kick me outta their way." Naruto continued his voice going down to barely more than a whisper, the aching in his head finally subsiding.

Iruka's features softened just a little bit he slid the door closed separating the two of them from the rest of his class. "Naruto... Listen for a minute.. I'm" Iruka sighed "I'm sorry.. I didn't mean too make you feel that way." Iruka bent down looking directly into Naruto's eyes, his hands on Naruto's tiny shoulders. "I'm new to this whole teaching thing.. just like your new to being a student.. and just like with anything when you start something new your bound to make some mistakes.. so let's start over." Iruka rose to his feet extending a hand to the child. "Hello my name is Iruka Umino, and I'll be your sensei this year." Naruto gave a small forced smile to the older man grabbing his large hand with his smaller one. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm gonna be your Hokage someday." Was the young boys response.