The Thousand Ninja: Chapter One: Prologue


From One to More Than One

For the Sake of Family


~ Forenote ~

I know this chapter is a little confusing because of all the Flashbacks and disorder, so I placed a chronological List of Events in the ~Note~ at the end of the chapter.


A ten year old Iruka sat in the interrogation room. He wasn't alone, but he might have been happier if he had been. He was certain they were discussing whether or not to remove his mind! The boy just knew it!

He had been there. He had seen where the fox had come from. He saw who she had kissed and knew who the baby's father really was. He had gotten over his crush on her, but it still hurt. To know she had been happy with someone else. But worse, was the pain of seeing her ripped open as the monster fox was torn from her belly.

He had been rookie of the year, and that was why he was given that mission... out of all the D-ranks the academy students got to perform, he was assigned the mission that would change everything! His parents were gone... his dream girl, his hero, and most of his friends had died too. Maybe... if they did remove his mind, he wouldn't feel so broken.

His entire world had collapsed. And the only thing he had left was the book in his hands and a secret, and both The Lord Third and his Frog-Sage Student, were debating whether or not to even let him keep that! The only thing he knew was that the baby was alive, and was the child of his biggest crush and his greatest hero. And that the masked man would come for him before long.

Outside of that one shred of purpose, Iruka had lost any other reason to live. He couldn't let them take it too.

0o0o0

Umino Iruka looked at the six-year-old child he had been given almost four years ago. The boy was his son for all the reasons that mattered. It was their first day at the academy. He was going to be an instructor and Naruto a student.

The bundle of energy bounced as he walked. His mind was full of thoughts of adventure and glory. The little guy had wanted to be a 'hero ninja' since the day he learned what ninja were. Going so far as to shout to the world that he was going to be the Hokage! Iruka couldn't be prouder.

Naruto was in a black Jumpsuit, red vest, and orange leg warmers. Why the boy had been so insistent about the orange was an oddity to Iruka. But at least he didn't color his whole jumpsuit. Not that the boy hadn't wanted to, Iruka nearly had to deal with one of the boy's rare temper tantrums and had only been saved by once again telling him his mother was a redhead, and offering the red vest instead.

He was so cheerful and happy to finally be going to the academy. It was as if he was just a normal child, like any other. It was how he was meant to be. How Iruka had always wanted him to grow up.

For a moment Iruka saw himself five years ago. When the decision had been made final.

0o0o0

It had been a year since the Kyuubi had attacked and he had just made Genin. He had asked the Sandaime for Naruto months ago. But, with who the boy was... Which was a secret that Iruka had to prove to The Hokage and his primary student both that he would take to the grave. The Genin wouldn't be allowed to care for the baby until the Hokage thought he was ready. That meant he had to make Chunin, and fast. Having just graduated from the academy, Iruka knew he had a long road ahead of him.

The Hokage and several others in the office had appointed him to be the guardian of the host Naruto. Due to him already knowing about that and having been there when it happened. They believed that Iruka, the only one to have ever visited the boy and cared for him, having bought him several toys, would be able to give him the proper upbringing he needed.

The family he deserved.

It was when he had brought his outrage at the infant's treatment to the Hokage and literally demanded to care for the boy that the village leader had been convinced. It had taken these months of him training to become a Genin for the Lord Third to get the others to agree that the boy simply couldn't be sent to the orphanage at age two as planned.

They had decided to prepare him for a permanent guard duty of the village's great asset. With Chunin level training by the Famous copycat ninja. The fourth Hokage's own student! The boy who had made Jonin at thirteen, was taking his first Genin student today.

And in one year, if Iruka had made Chunin, the two-year old would leave the medical facility and go home with him.

0o0o0

The morning had passed by quickly, and for the most part uneventfully, but after the lunch break they headed outside for taijutsu.

It was the first day so they wouldn't actually train but they would be evaluated, laps, jumps, things like that. Iruka had already realized how much more active Naruto was, but the others shouldn't be too far behind.

However, when Naruto came out for their instruction Iruka could already see trouble. He had been careful of the people around Naruto, and could almost sense the ill-intentions of those who disliked him. So he followed them out to watch. And the taijutsu instructor Mizuki, informed him that he refused to train him. Iruka argued with him about it, Wasn't Mizuki his friend, didn't he trust the fourth? That was locked away and wouldn't affect anything! He tried, but it was all in vain and finally he gave up.

His once friend, was too full of hate to accept his adoptive son.

There was another special case, in the year ahead of them. One that looked as if he'd be stuck to only taijutsu already. The boy's chakra coils had been severely underdeveloped. They had already tried therapies to develop the boy's coils over the last year, but no progress had been made. The Chunin had heard that the sublime green beast, Maito Gai, the village's extreme taijutsu expert had his eye on that one.

That was it! Iruka decided to ask him. If the Sublime Green beast would train both of them, then it would ease many of the issues Naruto would face. It would give the boy his first friend, Iruka hadn't been deaf when the parents of his students told their children to avoid his son. And it would ensure that he got the best training. Fair training, without bias.

0o0o0

It had been relatively easy to find the Green Jonin, but once he had, the teen had second thoughts. At least now he knew why the man was called a green beast.

It took almost half an hour before the Jonin let him get to the point of discussion, however Gai was exceptionally enthusiastic about the situation. And they agreed that when he did not have a mission he would train the two boys in taijutsu before the academy started. Iruka could commission it as an academy expense for the special cases.

Once the deal was struck Iruka excused himself to start the paperwork. A quick trip to the Hokage would ensure they all went through smoothly. He still wasn't sure if Gai had been making fun of him for having a son when he'd never even once gotten a date. Or if that had been a subtle hint that he needed a life, or girlfriend.

0o0o0

After the first morning of Naruto's new taijutsu training, Iruka carried Naruto home to get ready for the academy. The poor little Genin-to-be was exhausted, and it wasn't even eight in the morning.

Iruka's worries about how Naruto's study habits would be affected were interrupted when his little charge made a declaration.

"You know what? I'm going to be Hokage!"

"Yes, I know, you've told me that several times"

"Right! But this time, when I become Hokage, I'm gonna make the giant green jerk go on missions that make him run, the whole way too, and he won't even get a break when he gets there cause I'll put a time limit on him."

Iruka could only chuckle at that, but it did seem he would be great in taijutsu. And tomorrow little Lee-chan would be joining them.

0o0o0

The years at the academy went by and Naruto got stronger. But, instead of going for top of the class, he took a low C. Iruka knew he could do it. And since his taijutsu was coming from elsewhere, he never got evaluated in that area. So he passed as an average student for most of the years.

Unlike his father who had hoped to impress a certain redhead, Naruto had no real reason to excel, and treated the classes like a mission. That was mostly Iruka's own fault. The boy had at one time, considered making top of the class to make him proud, but Iruka was just as happy that he didn't draw attention to himself. And when it became apparent that Naruto was leagues ahead of the class anyway, Iruka had to convince him to treat it like infiltration to get him to continue paying attention.

His ninjutsu was a problem though. The fox or the seal or his own bloodline gave him a massive reservoir of chakra.

Explaining it was easy, he had overdeveloped coils. It worked and with Lee-chan there to relate to him, Naruto wasn't alone in his deformity. They worked to control his excessive chakra for months after it was introduced, but finally he was able to do the henge.

Although, its result was rather embarrassing. The first time he shouted sex change jutsu during training Iruka had passed out. The teacher was only thankful it hadn't been in class, or he would have never been able to recover the boy's image.

When he came to, he gave Naruto the worst ass kicking he'd ever get from his dad.

He did this by having his perverted little son, show his new skill to their local anbu, Neko-chan.

Neko-chan wasn't simply a local anbu, though that's how he passed the woman off to Naruto, in fact she had been assigned to them both in case anything ever happened to them.

When she saw what the boy had invented she was pissed, as all woman should be. Naturally she was angry at him too because it was his raising that would cause the boy to do such things.

Allowing her to take a belt to his son hadn't been as hard as he thought, especially when she had flattened him with her gauntleted fist. The masked Jonin had explained to Naruto exactly why she was going to beat him, and exactly how she would do it too. The seven year old had accepted his punishment with dignity before it was even delivered. Not that he had any of his dignity when it was over.

Once that was cleared up, Iruka said goodbye to Neko and gave Naruto "the talk."

0o0o0

The next day they were summoned to the Hokage's office, and both of them were sporting blushes. Naruto's from learning what he had the day before. And Iruka's... well from that too, but also from his son's invention having to be covered up.

As they entered, He introduced his son to the Third Hokage, the old man knew him, but the boy hadn't seen the Hokage since he was too young to remember. Naruto was ecstatic to meet the man.

And Iruka got the impression that the old man had been just as excited to see his son.

For a moment, Iruka remembered how he had stormed into the the Hokage's office, and eventually told the Hokage he wanted to raise Naruto.

0o0o0

He had carried that book with him ever since that day, and he visited baby Naruto as often as he could. The boy was going to be taken care of within the Konoha shinobi medical building. It had one of the highest security protocols in the village.

The Genin to be had been given clearance to see his infant charge after several weeks of being scrutinized by the most powerful shinobi in the village. As far as he knew the only other teen allowed to visit was the fourth's student, but he was a Jonin so it didn't really count.

But, the boy began to notice the general discontent among Naruto's caretakers. And that the only things the baby had were those that he brought. Often the baby would go unfed or unchanged. It seemed that everybody else just hated the little guy.

He couldn't stay there very much longer. It was bad for his health. So Iruka requested to see the Hokage, and was taken to him instantly. Almost as if he had been expected. He told him how Naruto was being treated, like he had a disease and how it seemed the caretakers had just been there to fill their orders.

Then he got out the book and told him that he wanted to be the one who would teach Naruto to be the ninja Kushina-Hime had always wanted him to be. He had to be the best, like his dad was, and stubborn like his mom. If that was ever going to happen, he had to have a better childhood than he was being provided. Things at the care center had to change! And they would only be worse at the orphanage.

The Sandaime listened and nodded in agreement, once he had finished the old man spoke, as if he had practiced this speech in front of a mirror.

"Hehem. Well Iruka-kun, I am greatly relieved that someone care so much about little Naruto-chan. However so far you are the only one to bring this concern to me, and I have very limited options as to who I can trust with the child."

There it was, the line that changed his path in life. "I'll do it! He needs some—"

He was going to continue and argue the reason that he should be given the chance but lost all of his words when the Hokage's aged face lit up in a smile that hadn't been seen since the last war.

The old Hokage gave him his own speech and told him he would have to prove himself in the eyes of many in order for it to pass, but the village leader would do his utmost to ensure the path was cleared for him.

0o0o0

In the office with the Hokage was also someone both Iruka and his son were a little scared of, and more than embarrassed to see. Anbu officer Neko dubbed by the blonde, 'The angry cat lady'. She was silent and gorgeous, to Iruka, but Little Naruto didn't see it. He was too busy hiding from her in his floor colored blanket. It looked as if the floor had a lump in it. And the lump was shaking in fear.

"Naruto-kun if you don't mind we must discuss the unique jutsu you created the other day." This was it, Iruka had been so worried about how this would reflect on his ability to raise Naruto. But it did seem that taking his son to see Neko had been an effective plan.

"I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I promise! Just don't let the angry cat lady get me!"

"Naruto I don't think you're in trouble or she would have already gotten you." Iruka pulled the blanket off of the boy and yanked him to a standing position.

"Well Naruto-kun, it was brought to my attention that as an act of discipline, one of my anbu assaulted you, with the permission of your father of course. And during the assault you were able to maintain a gender altering henge."

He waited for a confirming nod, before continuing.

"Now Naruto-kun, as … ill-mannered as your jutsu was, Neko-chan here, did find something interesting about it."

"Hentai."

With that word Naruto had made all three adults slam their heads into the nearest hard surface. For the Hokage it was his desk, for Neko it was the wall, Iruka however planted his face in the floor.

"No Naruto, not that. She found out that your henge doesn't have the same qualities as a regular henge." The blushing Hokage replied.

"If you don't mind showing use the henge again?" He requested. And immediately Neko added, "With cloths on this time!"

After a moment of examining the henge, the Hokage ordered his secretary to "Send her in."

'Her' turned out to be a teenage girl, a Chunin, and probably a new one. Her dark hair was in a long tail behind her head and her cheeks bore the Inuzuka clan tattoo.

"This is Hana Inuzuka; she will be replacing your physician. Her clan has requested that she take a position as a clan veterinarian"

Both Naruto and Iruka shot him a glare.

"However she displayed an interest and talent for medical field jutsu. Therefore I have decided to assign her as your new doctor, you will be her only patient and she will take good care of any more… mishaps you have."

"This will begin with a physical, in your current state and in your normal one as well. I have also requested that she explain certain issues to you about your actions."

Hearing that Naruto flinched, he hoped she wouldn't be 'explaining' the same way the angry cat lady did.

0o0o0

As it turned out, the henge was just what the Hokage had thought… an actual sex change jutsu. Physically altering Naruto's body however he wanted, and undetectable by medical diagnostic. Simply put, he had really turned into a girl.

And the explanation hadn't been a punishment. Instead it was a repeat of his dad's lecture last night. As well as some information about the female form that hadn't been included.

Hana had assumed that this was to be used as an infiltration jutsu and began teaching him as such. She had told him so much about girls that he was beginning to wish he had never made the jutsu all over again.

With this knowledge, Naruto's life did become easier though. He decided to use it to go around town as a little girl. With deep red hair and a small form, she looked to be about two years younger than Naruto and she was nowhere near developed as Naruto's first form.

So far only seven people knew of it. The five of them were the firsts, but two others had caught him.

One was a tall one eyed Jonin with a mask. He saw it and told the kid he was a genius.

The second was one of Naruto's classmates, a little girl named by her pink hair; they had attended the same kunoichi only lesson together. And when she saw it, Naruto thought she'd tell everybody. But she never did.

0o0o0

The years went by and the day finally came when Naruto would graduate. Again. He had failed twice now. Because he couldn't get the stupid bunshin. The rest of his classmates were arriving now and he sat there waiting. He had been getting ready for this the whole last year. There was no way he'd fail it this time.

"Move it pervert!" Came a scream from the door, next thing he knew, he hit the floor.

"Sakura-chan, you're so mean…" Looking up at her he knew she didn't mean it, she had kept his secret for the last few years and never once did she treat him bad, as long as he didn't get in between her… and duckbutt.

That was the only kid he ever beat in a spar. He had been placed back into the regular taijutsu classes at the start of the year, when Lee graduated and became the beautiful blue beast. His normal routine was to push them to their absolute limits before letting them win, but this Teme was just too arrogant for his own good.

So Naruto took it upon himself to correct that and lower the kid's ego. Not that it was hard; he hadn't had a good fight since Lee became a Genin.

He held the record for longest matches and for least wins, of course there was the fact that he never won outside of his matches with Uchiha Sasuke. It hurt his grade but he didn't care.

0o0o0

Iruka stepped into the classroom to a great disorder. His son was on the floor and all but three of the girls were surrounding the young Uchiha. The Inuzuka heir was currently harassing one of the three sane girls. The Nara heir had actually brought a pillow and lay down on the desk to nap. Kami! That kid could sleep through anything! And above it all was a single thing that made him angrier than the rest. Mizuki was nowhere to be seen. He had been told not to leave them unattended but he did anyway.

"Everybody shut you mouths and get in a seat!"

That was all it took to clear the rest of the class's disorder, one simple voice amplification and a giant head genjutsu. What was Mizuki so afraid of?

Once he did arrive they began the tests and went through them pretty quickly. All of the students were able to pass the final Genin exam. It seemed too easy.

Iruka could only hope that this year Naruto found it as easy as the rest of them.

And speak of the Shinigami, it was his turn.

Naruto was now older and taller. He was second tallest in the class just under the Nara heir.

He wore a black suit, which consisted of high density fabric pants and a long sleeve, high collared, shirt made of many layered extremely dense chain mesh.

And a bright velvet red open vest that only went from his shoulders to his abdomen. On the back of the vest was the Uzumaki family crest, in honor of his mother's home village. It was a red swirl only visible due to the black outline.

To finish this look he wore a pair of orange leg warmers and forearm braces that hid his weights, and a sky blue belt. That, with his bright golden hair made it the most bizarre ninja outfit ever employed in the leaf village. Worse than even the green and blue taijutsu beasts, in their respectively colored spandex jumpsuits.

"Alright Naruto, you know what you have to do. Just concentrate and make three bunshin, and you'll be finished. You'll be a Ninja of the leaf. You can do this."

With a nod the Genin to be formed the symbols and began to mold chakra. They waited as he did this, willing to give him as much time as he needed. Unlike in the classes Naruto hadn't held back in any of his exams this time. If he could pull this, he would be rookie of the year.

The time had come for him to be a ninja! And so, with a shout and a large puff of smoke he created the three bunshin required for this test! And they … were less than acceptable. Two were on the ground sick. One was able to stand but he was pale and deformed.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I really thought you could get it this time."

"Oh cut him some slack! Iruka, he's your son!"

"All the more reason to only accept the best from him. I am sorry, but if you can make those three, then you won't be able to advance."

Watching Naruto flee the classroom cut into him like a knife, but he had to protect him.

0o0o0

That day, had been so much like this one. Iruka thought back, to when he had first met Naruto.

There was some big event for the village though no-one knew what it was, and to celebrate it the fourth Hokage had allowed all the graduating year academy students to perform actual missions for the day. In truth they were really only doing D-rank missions so that all the real ninja could be put on duty.

He hadn't found out until later that the event had been the birth of the Yondaime's son. They never publicly announced anything, and Iruka had been told more times than he could count, that if he revealed it to anyone, not only he, but whoever he told, would be killed.

They had all been taken to the mission hall. The Hokage himself was there! There they were given their first D-rank missions. Most of which turned out to be simple chores around the village. But they got to get out of class and they learned how to go through the mission protocol.

This was going to be an awesome day… then Iruka saw his mission. Catching a cat! He was the rookie of the year and they wanted him to catch a cat!

He decided to ask for something else he was polite about it but the basic message was still, "I want a real ninja mission!"

The Jonin who he would later meet as Kakashi, turned to the Yondaime, "Sensei this one wants a real Ninja mission. I don't think he's met Tora yet."

At the time Kakashi had been expecting the Hokage to explain the demon powers that resided in the wife of the daimyo's cat.

Instead he got the mission that began it all. "Ok, your skills look clean enough, how about guard duty?" The Hokage had given him a smile and tilted his head waiting for an answer, but all he could do was nod.

"Good, there's a young woman in the village who has requested a bodyguard, I'll escort you there myself." He placed his hand on Iruka's shoulder and in the next instant they were in front of a house and a woman was just locking the door. In the end his mission turned out to be helping out some pregnant lady! Even if it was Kushina-chan! Holding her groceries wasn't guard duty at all!

It wasn't the first time he had seen her, she had almost made Hokage. Almost everyone in the village knew her. She was the student of the Shodaime's wife. A direct relative of the woman, and sole survivor of their village. To be honest he had a massive crush on her before she became pregnant. When he found out his parents had to console him for weeks. They still laughed about it every now and then.

The day went on and he did everything she asked, finally she felt a contraction. And so, they followed an elderly woman through the village. He was a little jealous of whoever that father was but that was her private secret. Besides, while he still blushed when she looked at him, the longing had gone.

As they passed through the Uchiha district, the elder told her to rest on a bench. One of the women there made her way over. She held a newborn baby, and so they sat and talked. Having little to do he looked to the elder woman for a task and the elder told him to just relax and enjoy the peace.

This must have gotten the pregnant ladies attention because she exclaimed "Awe, you poor boy. I forgot, it must be horrible listening to us old ladies gabbing." She handed him a book out of her Purse

"Here, this book is a very special one. In fact," she looked down and rubbed her swollen belly "I'm naming my son after the hero. You go ahead and read. I'm sure one day you'll value this story."

The book was titled "Tales of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja"

0o0o0

"Hey Naruto," The depressed gaki didn't even look up. "What do you want sensei?"

"Naruto, your dad isn't trying to be mean, or to hold you back… It's just that, he lost everybody that day, his parents, his friends, your mom… He is just trying to protect you, He is terrified that something could happen to his baby boy. You know that right?"

"Yeah, but I was so sure! I got everything down perfect. And I still couldn't do it, I just can't perform that jutsu Mizuki-Sensei"

Sitting down next to him, Mizuki put his arm around the boy, "Look, you just need to prove that you can handle yourself without it. And I've already talked to the Hokage about it. We decided to give you a practical exam that will prove to your dad that you don't need that jutsu. Besides, you did everything else at a perfect score. This will be a walk in the park."

0o0o0

Iruka followed the trail, until he came upon his son. This time he had gone too far. How could he do this? His son had pulled many pranks over the years, and none of them had been malicious. The Hokage even enjoyed a good many of them. But this... this was no prank!

There he was! The pissed Chunin dropped to the ground behind his son.

"Naruto! What the hell do you think you're doing stealing the forbidden scroll? Don't you know how big a shit-heap you're going to be in!?"

After the little brat finished his heart attack act, he grinned. "Haha, hey dad! I passed! I was able to finish the practical exam!"

That made the storming Father draw up short. "What exam?"

"You know, the one Mizuki-Sensei and Hokage-Jiji gave me"

Oh… this was bad… this was very, very bad.

"Eh… dad, Is something wrong?" His son's face distorted into tears, "I thought you'd be proud of me."

"Naruto get down!" They both hit the ground and the blade headed for Naruto missed by several feet.

"Mizuki, I'm disappointed in you. I thought you realized how stupid you were being." Iruka stood and looked at the advancing Chunin.

After the first few years of the academy Mizuki stopped hating Naruto and admitted to him, that he had just been scared that the beast would get out. They became friends and ever worked together on some of the pranks Naruto would pull. But this was no prank, this was no Exam! This was treason!

"Naruto, Mizuki lied there is no exam," Iruka had used this voice to his son only during times of great threat, so Naruto knew he was serious. "He was just tricking you into committing a capital offence. I want you to take the scroll, and find the Hokage, if another shinobi stops you, surrender and request to be taken to the Hokage. But don't hand the scroll over to anybody."

Naruto wasn't sure what was going on but that his uncle Mizuki could use him like this was impossible to him. "O-okay" Nevertheless his dad would never lie to him.

As Naruto jumped up into the trees he heard Mizuki shout wait Naruto, "Iruka doesn't know. He wasn't told about the exam!"

That made sense, but since when did Mizuki refer to his dad as Iruka, when talking to him?

"Naruto I told you to go, he's telling you nothing but lies." Naruto knew that it would be handled and turned once more to leave but before landing on his next branch it exploded into pieces.

Seeing the boy leaving Mizuki had realized he'd lost the game and from here on he'd have to use force. And once Naruto pulled himself up from the ground he'd landed on he decided to get his revenge on Iruka for spoiling his plan.

"Well I suppose I have fibbed once or twice. But you know what Naruto, he's been lying to you your whole life." The traitor nodded at the other shinobi.

"Mizuki don't you dare!" Iruka shouted and lunged forward, his kunai drawn.

Mizuki leapt out of the way and brought out his own kunai, to block the next coming slash.

"That's right Naruto, he's not even your real dad,"

It felt like he had been punched in the gut, "What?" he looked to his … father figure to see if it was true and all he saw was rage

"Naruto don't listen just run."

"Oh, but then he'd miss the best part!"

"If you say one more word Mizuki!" The Chunin didn't even flinch at the threat but instead slammed his body into Iruka, knocking them both to the ground.

"Naruto, what happened on the day you were born? I know you know."

Mizuki leapt over Iruka's strike, he was too angry to focus on him. The attacking Chunin took a breath and lunged for Mizuki again.

Naruto knew. Mizuki had drilled it into his head. That was the day His mother died, the day the Kyuubi attacked.

"The Yondaime couldn't kill it, so instead he used an orphan child that someone threw away, to seal it! Iruka was assigned to keep you from hurting anyone."

"It's your fault his parents are un-avenged, and he hates you for it! That's why he never passed you. You killed everyone he ever cared about!"

Naruto couldn't move, he felt like he would puke. He knew what that meant, he understood the concept. All he could do was watch as his so called father finally caught Mizuki and tore him to pieces.

Naruto couldn't take it, he couldn't watch as his best friend and second role model died, so he created a dozen clones and fled in every direction.

0o0o0

That day, the day he lost everything and found the one thing that meant everything to him now.

That day was the day he first met His son, the day he first read his favorite book; he had been half way through it when the three of them arrived at the birthing room. Lady Kushina and the Third Hokage's wife herself were the woman he had been following around all day. Even the 4th Hokage had come to see the mother... She had just kissed him! Hiding his eyes in the book Iruka realized, Lady Kushina had just stolen a kiss from the fourth Hokage! It made sense now, why she hid the identity of the baby's father!

So when it began, he sat out in the hall as he watched several others come and go.

Then as he turned the last page everything became chaos, he was hit by flying debris, as the wall behind him exploded and the beast appeared. Lady Kushina was in the hands of a Masked Shinobi, and the baby was in the air. The 4th appeared catching the child and vanished.

The fox continued to grow. It was a monster, which had soon ripped itself completely out of the flesh of Lady Kushina. The Yondaime teleported back and Kushina vanished with him this time. And then, he felt himself yanked backwards and was all the way on the other side of the village. He watched in horror as the beast, the Kyuubi, destroyed everything. Then it was simply gone. By the time he made it there, the third had already taken hold of the baby, and announced that the fourth was dead!

It was only hours later that he found out everyone else he cared about was too. He had nothing, no-one. And when they elders of the village asked him to explain what he'd seen he told them, and then in privacy with the third he told everything else, how she had kissed the yondaime when she thought he wasn't looking, about the masked shinobi, how he had seen the fox ripping itself out of her.

That was when things got scary. It took weeks before they let him out of his cell, and months before they believed him about keeping the secrets. But out of it, he found someone to live for, some little precious baby to hold onto. The Hokage and the Yamanaka guy had known how much he needed to help the child. To have something to live for.

0o0o0

Iruka ran, he chased after Naruto, even with so many shadow clones, his son couldn't fool him. He knew where the real one would be.

"It not true is it … D-Dad? Is it?" Naruto was crying, his knees held to his chest by his arms, on his favorite spot in the whole village. A spot that reminded Iruka just whose child Naruto was. The fourth's head.

"Naruto, I promised to keep you safe." It was over, there was no use trying to save his fatherhood, "When your father used you to seal away the demon, I swore to your mother, I would raise you to be the ninja she always wanted you to become."

His eyes grew wide at that "My father? Then it is true you're not – not…" He let out a sob and buried his face in his arms.

"No, I'm not. But I wanted to be. I love you, and I loved your mother. If not for you, I wouldn't have been able to go on after what happened."

"But, I – I hold IT! How could you not hate me?"

"Because you keep it at bay. You are the prison and every day you live, it is paying for its crimes. You are the son of the Fourth Hokage, you are the prison that saved the village from the Kyuubi, you are my hero and one day you'll be my Hokage as well. And until that day, even if not by blood, you will always be my son."

Naruto looked up into the eyes of the first person to ever honestly say he would be Hokage. And he knew his father wasn't lying.

It took almost twenty minutes for Iruka to pry himself out of the hug his son had him in. And once he did he told him that he was going to be one hell of a Genin for the next year or so.


~ Note ~

Keep in mind that the Kyuubi attack happened differently, There were many more shinobi active and patrolling the village, and it was ripped out of Kushina inside the village and not summoned there like in canon, which means it appeared in a different location and the fourth beat it in the village. (Not cutting it in half or fighting Obito)

That means it fought different people and some who died are alive while some who lived are not. That makes a major opening for OC's And I plan on developing many of them in the story…


I know this chapter is a little confusing because of all the Flashbacks and disorder, so here is a more organized telling of the events.


~ Better List of Events! ~

Because of the danger that Kushina giving birth presented, the 4th Hokage placed all active duty shinobi on high alert when his wife was nearing her time. In order to cover this up with the civilians, he held a festival in which all academy students would get to perform a d-rank mission for the village. Missions were assigned by their performance in and out of the academy.

There is no information on how Iruka acted before his parents died During the kyuubi attack. However I decided he may have been pretty good. So he was assigned to hold the groceries of a pregnant woman, whom he has a major crush on! The 4th Hokage knows about his crush and placed him there so he wouldn't feel cheated by the boring D-rank. The 3rd's wife was with her.

They stop at Uchiha Mikoto's and talk, and that is when Kushina loaned Iruka The Book.

When she started feeling contractions they headed to the birth sight, In the village! In canon it was outside the village. Not here.

They hadn't dropped off the groceries, so Iruka followed them and the fourth arrived to see the birth. When Kushina thought Iruka wasn't looking, she stole a kiss from Minato. And Iruka figured out who the father was. Iruka waited outside the room as she went into labor. Then a masked man attacked the room inside, Iruka heard it and entered just as the kyuubi was being ripped out of Kushina and Minato took his child to a safe location, then Iruka found himself Hiraishin'd out of there. With his words that someone had purposely freed the fox there was an uproar of security added to Naruto. Instead of a minor caregiver they placed him in the village hospital in his own ward solely provided to care for him.

Iruka found out that everyone he cared about was dead and so in order to serve two purposes the 3rd ensured the boy was devoted to Naruto's well being. Pulling Iruka out of his dark despair and giving Naruto someone who cared about him as a person and not as an asset.

He then manipulated Iruka into demanding custody of Naruto, and Requested that Kakashi train him once he made Genin. this training lasted for a year before Iruka made Chunin and was given full custody of Naruto, as well as an Anbu shadow. AKA Neko-chan the friendly local Anbu or the Angry Cat Lady.

Naruto joined the academy but because of what he was Mizuki refused to teach him, and knowing that the green beast had his eye on another special case Iruka asked for supplemental training for both of them.

So Gai trained Lee and Naruto in Taijutsu for all their years at the academy (spoiler: Iruka explained Naruto chakra control issue off as Overdeveloped coils which appealed to Lee's own Situation with Underdeveloped coils.)

Naruto used his sex change jutsu and that resulted in him being placed in all the kunoichi lessons too. He is fully intelligent now.

After Lee graduated Naruto was put back into the taijutsu classes and Mizuki seemed to get over his hate and they became friends, even pulling some pranks together.


Most items in all my Naruto fan-fictions will be based off of T8: Retroversion's timeline. Many of these details will be universal across them all.

Meaning any mission or OC, or other major details will be included, based on their background and trigger events.

{This will not include Kurenai's conspiracy or Hinata's abuse}


While T8: Retroversion will be my main Fic, Five others are on my list to work on at the moment: LATE Naruto: Life After the Ends; Uzumaki: A Lone Fox; The Thousand Ninja; Village Hidden in Plain Sight; and Wisdom of Chance. Descriptions on profile.