A/N: Well I finally got my ass around to writing this (no annoying friends were involved in getting me to do this I swear). For those of you who actually read the first version, I hope you find this to be an improvement. And to those of you who are first reading it I hope you enjoy it. Now here I'll insert the cliché author's note phrases. I hope for you to review, no flames please, but criticizism always accepted. I don't care whether you like/review this or not I'll still write it. I don't own Naruto or any of the other characters from the manga/anime, but any OCs are mine or I have permission to use them. Now read.

"Talking"

"Thinking"

"Jutsu"

Note – Talking and Thinking are reversed in flashbacks


K

The curtain draws back to reveal a room. Like most rooms it had four walls, a ceiling, and a floor. The room itself was lit by a bulb hanging from the ceiling, uncovered and flickering every so often. Along one of the walls was a mirror, which was in fact a two-way mirror, the kind found usually in police stations or movie productions. In the center of the room was a worn wooden table that looked as if it had been sitting in that same position for years, which it most likely had. There was currently only one occupant in the room, and he was seated at the worn table. His wrists were strapped to the arms of his chair. The person strapped to the chair had blonde hair, so blonde that it could only be compared to the color of the sun, and his eyes were the color of the sky. His skin was very pale, and was splotched with dried blood. What made this situation different from most though was the age of the occupant. He appeared to be no more then five and his face and eyes were devoid of any emotions. There were currently two men behind the mirror. One was a man wore a brown cloak, and had a mask that resembled animal's face. The other was a man who appeared very old. One who has led a harsh life and seen almost all life is willing to show someone. His eyes held wisdom only gained by those who have lived there lives noticing all the details of life. Both were currently standing facing forward looking through the mirror at the boy strapped to the chair.

"So tell me exactly what happened. What was he like when you first encountered him?" asked the aged man.

"Well Hokage-sama, after you asked me to check on Naruto-san…"

FLASHBACK

The rain was pouring down from the dark clouds in the sky above. Most people knew to stay inside during these dreary storms, but there was one man who was quickly making his way along the rooftop of the villages. His body was adorned by a cloak, which was completely soaked through by the rain, and an animal mask. The man stopped on a non-descript rooftop and jumped over the street to an apartment complex, proceeding to make his way quickly to the right door. After finding the door to be locked, he forced his way into the apartment by kicking the door in. The man drew his katana, which hung from his waist, previously hidden by his soaked cloak, and made his way slowly through the apartment. After finding nothing in the kitchen, bathroom, or living room he was left with only one more room, the bedroom.

The man tried the door knob; it was open. He slowly opened the door so as not to startle anyone inside the room. The stench of blood hit the man's nose almost immediately upon opening the door. The scene before him was something usually reserved for psychopathic killers or S-Ranked missions. Every wall was lined with what looked like all the blood a body could hold, which it might in fact have been. A woman's corpse lay on the ground, it was so disfigured that it was amazing that he could tell that it was even once human let alone female. And in the middle of the bloody scene was a small child, his head bowed down towards the ground, hair casting a shadow over his eyes. He had blond hair that could only be rivaled by the sun; the man knew his eyes to look like they had captured the sky within them; and what looked like three black whisker marks adorned each cheek. His hands had nails that extended into extremely sharp claws, which seemed to be what caused all of this mess if the slash marks on the body had anything to say. Blood slowly dripped from the child's clawed hands, and pooled in a small puddle by his feet.

"Naruto-san?" the man with the animal mask asked. The child raised his head and looked at the man. His eyes were not focused on the man, so the child appeared to be looking straight through him. "Naruto-san, can you hear me?"

The child's eyes began to focus, and he looked at the man in front of him, the realization of who he was dawned on him. His eyes then began to dart back and forth taking in the entire scene. They finally rested on his blood covered hands. His entire body began to shake and tears began to leak from his eyes.

"Why? What did I ever do to you," the child clenched his fists, a trickle of blood leaking out from one, a few sobs escaped from his lips.

The man stood still watching the child's internal struggle with himself. He walked forward and placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Naruto-san I must take you to the Hokage's tower and report on tonight's occurrences." The boys face shot up to look at the man, his face held a mask of panic.

"I-I had no choice," the child responded desperately.

"I didn't say you had a choice, but I still have to take you to see him."

The child fell to his knees and choked sobs began to erupt from the child's throat. The man approached the child and picked him up. Naruto clung to the man still crying, and after the man made sure that Naruto was secure on his body he left the apartment and jumped onto the roof of building across the street. He made his way back to the tower and into his superior's office.

"I have brought the child as you asked," said the masked man.

"Follow me, I'll show you where to put him for the moment," replied the Hokage.

END FLASHBACK

"I see… you are dismissed then."

After the masked man had left the Hokage turned back towards the mirror, and continued to watch the child. After a few minutes he had worked up the nerve to enter the room and talk to the child.

"Naruto?" asked the old man. Naruto looked up at the Hokage, but didn't say anything. "Naruto I'd like to ask you a few questions, is that alright with you?"

Naruto nodded his head slowly, and the Hokage took a seat across from him. "First off, how are you feeling? Are you a little nervous? Scared?"

Naruto's nodding head was the Hokage's only answer. "Well don't be, I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to clarify a few things."

Naruto visibly relaxed after the Hokage's statement. "Now I'd like to know what happened, from your point of view. Can you do that?"

"H-Hai…"

FLASHBACK

Naruto sat on a couch in his new apartment. The room was completely devoid of any furniture besides the couch and a table with a few chairs. The vast emptiness of the apartment had been weighing down upon him recently. It seemed to remind him of just how completely devoid of any compassion his life had contained so far. He had only met one person in the whole village so far that had displayed any sort of positive emotion towards him, and that was the Hokage. It hurt him a little when the Hokage had replied to Naruto's question of why he cared about him, that it was his job to look after and care for everyone in the village including him. It made him seem like he was nothing special compared to anyone else and that it was the Hokage's job to be nice to him, but at least it was better than the way the rest of the village treated him. Earlier that week the Hokage had said that he would be coming by today with a surprise for the boy, and he couldn't wait to find out what it was.

Right after the completion of that train of thought a knock was heard from the front door. Naruto jumped from the couch and ran towards the door. He was greeted by the Hokage as he opened it.

"Hello Naruto, how have you been lately? Are you enjoying your new apartment?"

Naruto nodded his head, "Hai, Hokage-jiji and thank you for the apartment. It's been pretty quiet lately, but much more comfortable then sleeping on the streets."

The Hokage smiled before responding, "So Naruto how about we take a seat before I reveal your surprise."

Naruto's eyes grew a little wider as he remembered the surprise. He grabbed the Hokage's hand and pulled him towards his only table, before pulling a chair out for him.

"You can sit here," said an excited Naruto.

"Why thank you Naruto." The Hokage took a seat and waited for Naruto to follow before continuing, "Now Naruto I know that it's been a little lonely when you're by yourself, so I decided I'd do something about it. That's why I took it into my own hands to find you a caretaker." Naruto looked up, a look of surprise clear on his face. The Hokage smiled at Naruto's expression, "Momo, could you come in please."

The door to Naruto's apartment opened once again and a middle aged woman entered the room. She was a very plain looking woman, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a slightly pale complexion.

"Naruto, this is Momo. She will be taking care of you from now on. Well that's if you want her to at least." The Hokage looked towards Naruto waiting for his answer.

Naruto nodded his head excitedly in response. "Well I'm sure you two can take it from here right?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," replied Momo.

"Goodbye then Momo, Naruto," said the Hokage as he left the apartment.

As the Hokage left Momo turned back towards Naruto and smiled, "Hello Naruto, it's nice to meet you." She held out her hand for Naruto to shake, which he did with a dazed look on his face.

"It's nice to meet you to Momo-chan."

After a few seconds of silence Momo began to speak again. "Well, now those introductions are out of the way, how about the grand tour? Hmm?"

Naruto snapped out of his daze at Momo's request. "Sure." Naruto grabbed Momo's hand and began to show her all the rooms in the apartment and where he kept everything.

After the tour was done the two returned to the living room and Momo turned to Naruto. "Well Naruto, I'll be back tomorrow morning to start my job, but until then I have to go and finish a few chores at my house. Goodbye Naruto."

"Goodbye Momo-chan," said Naruto as he waved to the departing form of Momo.

After she left Naruto made himself a quick dinner before cleaning himself up for the night, and heading off to bed. As he lay in bed he realized that today had been one of the best days of his life. The only other day that could compete was the day that he had first met the Hokage, and the day that the Hokage had given him this very apartment. Naruto believed that he had finally found another person that didn't hate him, and was even willing to look after him.


The next morning Naruto woke early and got out of his bed. He took a quick shower and began his other daily hygiene rituals. After finishing getting cleaned up he walked into his kitchen, his mind still slightly asleep, and made himself some breakfast. After the first few bites his mind started to come back to life, and with that he realized that Momo-chan was supposed to be coming that morning. He quickly devoured the rest of his breakfast and went about cleaning up any small messes he had left in the apartment. Today was a day to set a good impression he thought. After he was done cleaning he sat himself down on his couch to begin the wait for his caretaker. After a few minutes of waiting on the couch his foot began to tap slightly, getting more rapid with each passing minute, and after a few more minutes of waiting he rose from the couch and began to pace.

After thirty minutes of tapping, pacing, and waiting he sunk back onto the couch and tears began to gather in his eyes. "I knew she wouldn't be any different then everybody else." A few moments later Naruto heard a knock on the door. He quickly rose, wiping the tears out of his eyes, and opened the door swiftly. Standing in front of him was Momo smiling joyfully towards him.

"Good morning, Naruto. May I come in?"

Naruto stepped aside to allow her passage into his apartment, and shut the door after she was inside.

"So Naruto, what would you like to do today?"

"Uhh… well would you go with me to the park?"

"Sure sounds like a plan."

The two left the apartment and began their short trek to the park. Along the way Naruto received the hating and disrespectful glares he usually got, but he also noticed that some were directed at Momo. When he looked at her to see how she to see how she'd take it, she just smiled back to him and pulled him along.

When they got to the park Naruto rushed off to his favorite piece of playground equipment, the swings. As he jumped onto one he began to pump his legs back and forth, propelling him higher and higher. Momo walked over to a bench and took a seat. As Naruto was swinging all the children on the playground, along with the few parents that accompanied their children, began to give him the same dirty looks that all the other villagers had given him. Momo noticed that as Naruto swung he looked to be so happy, as if he had no care in the world.

"Momo, come push me!" shouted Naruto.

Momo stifled a chuckle as she rose from the bench. "I'll be right there Naruto."

As Momo began to push Naruto, more of the glares turned from him towards her, but both of them just ignored them as they continued swinging. After an hour or so of swinging along with other little games the two played around the playground, Momo returned to the bench she had first sat on.

"Come here Naruto, I'm too tired to keep chasing you."

"Aww, but I've still got tons of energy!"

"Get your butt over here now mister," said Momo playfully.

Naruto slowly walked towards Momo, his head down in resignation. "Oh 'kay."

Momo turned to Naruto as he sat down on the bench beside her. "So what would you like to do for the few hours left in the day, hmm?"

"Let's go to Ichiraku's!" proclaimed Naruto as he jumped up from the bench.

Momo cocked her head and smiled at the small child's outburst. "Sure, why not."

Naruto pumped his arms in the direction of Ichiraku's. "TO ICHIRAKU'S!" Naruto started running out of the playground, slowing down as he noticed Momo wasn't following him. "Come on Momo, let's go!"

Momo lightly giggled before standing up from the bench. "Sure Naruto lets go."

After a few minutes the two found themselves in front of Naruto's favorite ramen stand, Ichiraku's.

"Ojisan!"

"Well Ayame, if it isn't our favorite customer."

"Miso-ramen Naruto?" asked Ayame.

"Hai!"

As Ayame went in the back to prepare Naruto's ramen, Ichiraku turned towards Momo.

"So who is your friend Naruto?"

"Konichiwa, my name is Momo."

"Yeah Ichiraku, she's my caretaker."

"Well isn't that great. So, have you two been having fun today?"

"Hai, ojisan"

Ayame walked out of the back, and placed a bowl in front of Naruto. "Here's your miso ramen Naruto. Would your friend like anything Naruto?"

"No thank you, I'm good right now."

"Your loss Momo-chan." With that said Naruto began to dig into his freshly made ramen.

"So have you been well recently, Naruto?" asked Ayame.

Naruto nodded his head swiftly, still eating his ramen while he answered.

After asking a few more questions, Ayame and Ichiraku went to the back of the stand to continue the few chores that the job required of them. Momo watched Naruto as he finished his large bowl of ramen, and could only smile at the enthusiasm he took in eating that bowl ramen.

"Done!"

"Well then Naruto are you ready to go?"

"Hai."

Momo put the necessary money for Naruto's dinner on the counter, and then walked out of the stand with Naruto. Naruto was swinging his arms back and forth as they walked, obviously enjoying himself.

"So Naruto, did you enjoy yourself today?"

"Uh-huh, it was so much fun. Can we do this again tomorrow?"

"If that's what you want then sure. We could do this everyday if you want Naruto."

"Yay!" Naruto began to jump around in joy at Momo's idea.

Momo turned to Naruto once they reached his apartment, "Well Naruto, it's about time that I leave. I'll be back in the morning to see you again. You gonna be okay?"

Naruto nodded in response. "Goodbye Momo-chan."

Momo waved at Naruto as she left the apartment complex.

As Naruto lay in bed he sifted through the events of the day. Today had been one of the best days of his lives. He had finally found another person he believed liked him. The only one so far besides her was the Hokage. He couldn't wait until tomorrow to do it all again.

Everyday of the next week was much like the first. Momo and Naruto would do something together for the day, and finish it all off with Ichiraku's. It was the best week Naruto had ever experienced, but like all good things it had to come to an end.

The first day of the next week had been like the week before. Naruto enjoyed himself immensely with the company of Momo. Unlike usual though, when Naruto had entered his apartment Momo had followed him. Momo tucked Naruto in, when he went to bed.

"I'll just let myself out after you fall asleep," said Momo with a cheery grin on her face.

"Tomorrow will be just as fun as today was. Won't that be great?"

Naruto tiredly nodded his head as he got comfortable in his bed.

"Well, I'll be going now Naruto." Momo closed the door as she left the room and quietly walked down the hall.

Naruto slowly drifted to sleep, hoping for dreams of the coming day.

Unfortunately, Naruto didn't get his wish that night. He had his first nightmare in over week. Naruto was drifting in a body of water staring up into nothing. He suddenly felt something grab his leg and pull him into the water. Naruto's body was thrashing around at the lack of air, as he was slowly being pulled further and further down.

He suddenly woke from his nightmare to realize that the lack of air was no nightmare, he actually couldn't breathe. Someone had their hands wrapped tightly around his throat cutting off his air supply and any means of calling for help. As his eyes slowly become accustomed to the dark he could finally see his assailant. Standing over him, with her hands wrapped around his throat, was Momo. He was sure that his breath would have been caught in his throat if it wasn't for him being strangled.

"Why," Naruto mouthed.

"Because you killed everyone I ever loved! My parents, my siblings, and even my lover. Your hands are soaked in they're blood. So now, I will avenge their deaths. I will kill you with my own hands!" Momo began putting even more force into her strangling of Naruto.

"What does she mean I killed her loved ones? I don't understand what is going on. And I don't want to die. Someone help me. I don't want to die," thought Naruto to himself as he closed his eyes to try to escape some of the pain.

"How much are you willing to sacrifice to survive?"asked a mysterious voice.

"What do you mean?"

"How much are you willing to give up escaping death?"

"A—anything."

"Are you willing to give up your innocence?"

"Sure, if it helps." Naruto felt a flux of strange power enter his body.

"Then relinquish control, and I shall grant your wish, young one."

Naruto threw himself into the strange power.

Momo gasped and redoubled her efforts as Naruto opened his eyes. Naruto stared straight into Momo's eyes, his glowed a piercing blood red. Naruto grabbed Momo's hands and began to ply them off of his neck.

Momo slowly backed away from Naruto as he stood from his bed, a look of horror appearing on her face. Naruto moved menacingly forwards toward Momo backing her into a wall. As her back touched the wall she quickly looked from side to side looking for some means of escape. Finding none, she sank to her knees and began to plead.

"Please, please, don't kill me! I'll do anything, just don't kill me!"

Naruto just kept walking towards Momo, until he was standing right in front of her. As he stopped he pulled his arm back, and held it in mid air.

"Anything you want, I'll try to get it for you, just don't kill me!"

Naruto thrust his arm forwards, impaling it through Momo's stomach. Followed quickly by his other slashing through her throat, barely missing the jugular, but rendering her incapable of speech. His next task was to make escape impossible, which was accomplished by tearing out a portion of her legs. He didn't want her fighting back, so he cut through her arms splashing even more blood against the walls. After he was done with the crippling tasks, it was time for dramatic effect, or for Naruto losing one's self further to the moment. It was then that he sliced open her stomach, spilling her intestines onto the floor of his bedroom. He widened the opening in her chest further, to spill even more of her organs.

He became an artist lost in his work. His claws the brushes, the walls the palette, and the blood the paint…

END FLASHBACK

The Hokage sat in silence as Naruto told his side of the story. After Naruto was finished with recounting the ordeal he still remained silent, but now it was to contemplate the repercussions of what Naruto had done.

"Well Naruto, I know that you never intended to…," the Hokage stopped as he saw Naruto's visible reaction to what he knew the Hokage's next statement was going to be. "Naruto, I know you didn't mean to do what you did, but what's done is done, and now we must figure out what happens next."

Naruto nodded his head, understanding the Hokage's words.

"Tonight's been a rough night for everyone. How about we put this off until tomorrow?" The Hokage sighed remembering that Naruto didn't have a place to sleep at the moment.

"Well Naruto, since you don't have a place to sleep tonight, how about I let you sleep here?"

Naruto seemed to brighten a little at the Hokage's statement, and then realized he was still strapped to his chair.

The Hokage watched as Naruto looked down to his arms and quickly realized the arm restraints were still in place.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I forgot to unstrap you."

The Hokage deftly unlatched Naruto's arms and helped him to stand.

"So how about that bed Naruto?"

"Hai."

Naruto followed the Hokage through the weaving hallways of the Hokage tower, until they reached his office. Once inside the Hokage showed Naruto to a side room that a bed and other basic necessities.

"Here's where you'll sleep tonight Naruto. Is this alright?"

"Hai."

The Hokage began to worry about Naruto's single syllable answers, but decide maybe a good night's rest would help him.

"Well, here's where I take my leave. Rest assured Naruto, no one will bother you tonight."

"Hai," responded Naruto again.

Naruto walked over to the bed, and after removing his jacket and pants, slipped into the large, soft bed. He didn't think he had ever felt such a soft bed. He slipped into a deep slumber right as his head had hit the pillow.

The Hokage looked at the small boy as he slept peacefully. The Hokage left the room soon after, closing the door so that no one would disturb the child's rest.

"What have you gotten yourself into Naruto?" the Hokage sighed.

As Naruto opened his eyes he saw nothing around him. His entire being was surrounded by a vast bleak void.

"Whe—where am I?"

A deep laughter was heard throughout the void.

"You truly don't know? Well I guess I can't blame such a weak creature."

"Sh—shut up!" Naruto screamed back at the empty void.

"Well it's true is it not? You weren't even able to stop a pathetic female villager without help."

Naruto flinched as if he'd been struck. "You don't know what you're talking about. She… she was my friend."

"Oh, really? So am I to assume that by strangling you, your Momo-chan was showing friendship?"The deep voice chuckled at its own sarcasm.

This time Naruto was so taken back by the voice's words that he couldn't even voice his defense of Momo.

"And now that I have your attention, I have some questions." Not waiting for Naruto to respond to the voices request it began to speak once again, "Do you want power? The power to protect those you love, and more importantly to take revenge on those that have done you harm?"

Naruto's brow creased in concentration as he thought over the voices words.

"I…I want to become stronger so I can be free…to show people they don't have to be afraid of me…so things like that don't ever have to happen again."

"You must find yourself a teacher. One that can teach you the arts of combat and the mind. Once you are stronger, we may speak directly again. Until then I will be watching."


M

Naruto opened his eyes, and looked around the room. It seemed alien and foreign, but not in a bad way. Now that there was a natural light in the room, Naruto felt more at peace. Sun-light had always made him feel more peaceful. Everyone had the same sun, no matter who they were: orphan, ninja, civilian, or even Hokage. That simple fact made it easier for Naruto to accept that on some primitive, unseen level, everyone was equal.

As he got out of bed he noticed a large, adult man's shirt laying on the chair. As opposed to his stained clothes, he decided to take the unspoken offer and change into it. Once he had, he took a long look out his window. Blood had been spilled the night before, but the sun still rose like it normally did. Not much stopped the sun from rising.

Wandering around the Hokage tower was easy. No one took a second look at the five year boy in a large shirt. At least not in front of him. Every time they walked past him, Naruto got a sharp feeling in his back, as if someone was watching him, or as if he was too paranoid. That feeling was starting to become more familiar as of late.

Finding the Hokage's office was even easier. As soon as the sharp looks in his back got more immense, he was nearing his destination. The Jonin that guarded, or in this situation, merely stood at the front of the tower, said nothing to Naruto, only stared. Naruto pushed the door open, with a large feeling of being unwanted in the air, and entered the room of the Hokage, a person he had only known as a nice old man.

"Ahh, Naruto, it's good to see you up." The old man smiled. Those words and the following smile washed away all of the negative feelings in the air.

Naruto fumbled for words. "Good morning, Hokage-sama." Was all he could put out? He knew he had something to say to him, but he had forgotten along the way, or hadn't known from the start.

"Your apartment is cleaned up now, Naruto, so whenever you want to go home, just let me know." The Hokage took a puff of his pipe after saying this.

"Thank you." He squeaked.

The door opened and a man entered. Naruto didn't recognize him, but noticed he didn't have the same negative feeling following him, like most everyone else did. He didn't have the good feeling that the Hokage and formerly Momo had. He just didn't carry one.

He felt empty.

Itachi bowed as he entered the room. After the formalities, he walked right past the child without giving him a second look and rested a folder on the Hokage's desk.

"This is the report that you requested of me, Hokage-sama." After he spoke, he stepped back.

"Thank you for getting this to me so quickly, Itachi-san, but I said this was due in a week. You didn't have to get it to me so soon."

Itachi didn't respond. The Hokage looked at the young boy, and Itachi now accepted him into his field of individuals: a personal spectrum of people around who are gaining recognition.

As the Hokage turned he spoke. "Naruto, why don't we go out of eat for breakfast and find you something better to change into." Sarutobi gave the traditional Hokage-smile. All previous Hokage had the same smile while they were in office.

The boy nodded, and Itachi looked into his eyes. He saw something.

It wasn't anything physically visible in the eye, but it was something behind it instead. It was Potential. Itachi instantly became curious with the level of Potential he sensed. It wasn't the type of thing that normal people could notice just by looking at someone. Instead, only someone else with great Potential, like Itachi, could recognize. This boy had a rare type of Potential, something that Itachi only saw in the mirror, and in the eyes of his little brother. However, without proper guidance, Potential could easily be wasted. He felt the immediate need to see how great this other's potential was. Itachi's own brother, who had shown great promise once, was starting to fall under Itachi's expectations. Perhaps it was time Itachi accepted that his brother wouldn't hold up to the same expectations Itachi had of himself.

Just as Potential can only be recognized by Potential, thus can it only be brought out by someone with the same great Potential. Itachi felt the need to return the favor for the one who had shown Itachi the way. This is why he struggled with his brother. Adults were too old; any Potential would already have been wasted. It could only be grown in a small child. This boy seemed to be about Sasuke's age.

A million things ran through Itachi's mind all at once. Finally, he came to a conclusion, all under a few second.

The boy's eye brightened. "Can we go for ramen!!?"

The Hokage chuckled. "Yes, Naruto, we can go for ramen. Now let's get going, I know the perfect place, and it opens soon."

The Hokage stood, ready to leave, with the excited boy following close behind him.

Itachi turned around to face the back of Sarutobi. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage turned to face him. "Yes, Itachi-san?"

"May I speak with you tonight, provided you have time?"

The Hokage paused as if to think. "Of course, just come by later." And he left with the boy.

Itachi stood alone in the empty room. Potential was a horrible thing to be wasted or ignored. People were not all born the same, as some, a select few, were made better then others. Potential is something that you need to be born with, and then trained. The knowledge and skills of all those previous were passed on to the next generation. This is simply the process of evolution. Itachi himself felt great things ahead of himself. No, in fact, he knew there were great things ahead of himself. The one who taught him had assured it of him. If Itachi had so much destiny in front of him, just imagine what the next generation could do. It was endless possibilities.

His and the boy's meeting the night before was fated to happen.


The dark haired boy was sure to be on time for his meeting with the Hokage that evening. He was even somewhat surprised that the man had said yes. It wasn't an official meeting, it was just a talk. Itachi and Sarutobi were both in the Hokage Tower's lounge. The old man took turns religiously smoking from his pipe and taking bites of a sandwich.

"What was it you wanted to talk about, Itachi-san? It isn't like you to speak your mind." The old man gave the Hokage smile again. This man had somehow gotten to know his entire village on a personal level. That's what over twenty years of being Hokage does to someone.

"That boy, Uzumaki Naruto. Who is he?" Itachi asked. His voice was calm and controlled, every syllable spoken with precision.

"What exactly is it about him that you wanted to know? You know about as much as any adult in this village."

"That isn't what I wanted to know about." To Itachi, the boy being the container of a demon was just extra. It wasn't what interested him in the first place. "Who is he, not what is he."

"He's an orphan. Both of his parents died when the Kyuubi attacked." Sarutobi put it the simple way. "He doesn't have a clan either and no family that would be interested in him. He says he wants to be a ninja, but I'm not sure he would know what else to do with himself. Is that what you wanted to know?"

Itachi was quiet. Though he was still young himself, he felt like he needed to do something. "Hokage-sama, with your permission, I would like to tutor Uzumaki Naruto." He said simply.

The Hokage looked a little surprised. He took a bite out of his sandwich, and responded while chewed. "Why? I mean, you have your own studies and trainings to attend to, especially if you intend on being able to join ANBU next year."

"I assure you that I won't fall behind with my own studies and trainings." Itachi said simply.

Sarutobi hesitated for another moment.

"You take B-Rank missions. They can take a while."

"I can also assure you that I won't fall behind in my missions, Hokage-sama."

The old man thought about it a little bit longer. The boy had just been traumatized by his own caretaker trying to kill him. Could he really let him be around someone like Itachi? He wasn't a bad boy…but he wasn't very good at socializing, though that described half the Uchiha clan.

Sarutobi sighed. "Monday next week, I'll let you tutor him. Be careful, Itachi."

The young Chuunin stood. "Why would I do have to? I have these eyes after all."

With that the boy strode out of the lounge.

The Hokage looked sadly at his sandwich, and then reluctantly put it down.

"Oh…he just had to go and ruin my appetite…"


"What is the Hokage thinking…?" Naruto pondered. First he gave him a nanny, and now he's sent a tutor? It…hasn't even been a week. Why does he want to watch me so bad?

"It's because he's afraid of you, just as everyone else is."

That was the other thing. Naruto had developed a sort of inner voice that helped him make decisions. He decided that the voice was his conscience, or the good part of him inside. Since he had done something so…evil, the voice naturally had to be his good side.

"But…that doesn't explain anything." Naruto simply thought to answer back.

"Humans are afraid of what they don't understand, and that fear becomes hate. They don't understand you, young one. Thus, in order for them not to hate, you have to help them understand."

See? That voice was obviously good. It was telling Naruto to let everyone know about him, that way they could all get along. It was definitely his conscience.

The doorbell rang and Naruto answered it, only to be greeted by a dark haired ninja boy. It only took a moment for Naruto to remember him as the young man who came to see the Hokage while he was meeting with Naruto. His appearance isn't what gave his identity away though. It was his vibe. He felt neutral. He didn't hate Naruto. He didn't particularly feel happy and accepting like the Hokage or Momo did, but he definitely didn't feel negative energy from him.

So this was his tutor? A ninja? Why would the Hokage send a ninja to watch out for him? Maybe it was because of what happened to Momo. They probably became even more afraid of him. Well, he'd have to do as his conscience said and try harder to make them understand.

He gave the boy a grand tour of his small apartment, though not saying anything unnecessary. Once they were done, Naruto plopped himself in the couch of his tiny living room.

"Do you have something against me, Naruto-kun?" Itachi spoke. Naruto hadn't been called 'kun' by anyone before.

Naruto didn't say anything, just crossed his arms and looked away. "You're just here 'cause no body thinks I can take care of myself."

Itachi didn't tell him he was wrong. Instead, he reached into his pocket and took out a small notebook and pencil.

"Tell me, Naruto-kun, do you know how to read and write?"

Naruto looked up surprised, and slowly shook his head.

Itachi sat down next to him and pulled open a blank page.

"I have the week off. I'm going to spend time teaching you how to read and write, as well as time management, exercise training, and life skills."

There was a long pause as Itachi began drawing out several characters.

"Why is the Hokage making me learn this stuff?" Naruto exclaimed standing and pointing accusingly at Itachi.

"He isn't. I volunteered."

Naruto froze. "Volen…teered?"

Itachi nodded.

"But why?!"

"Maybe I'll tell you someday. But I'm definitely not telling it to an illiterate five year old. Now sit."

And with that Itachi began showing Naruto letters and characters, first starting with his name.

After an hour of practice, Naruto was annoyed and just threw the pencil at the floor as he stood.

"This is too hard!" He exclaimed.

Itachi just sat calmly. "I think it's about time I left. I'll be back tomorrow to continue with you, Naruto-kun."

With that Itachi stood and excused himself from the rest of today's lessons. It went…not as well as he had hoped it would.

Naruto just stood with his arms crossed, glaring at the pencil and notebook as if it had been their fault.

"He sacrificed time out of his day to come and teach you, young one. You should be more respectful and not let his time have gone to waste."

Naruto shook his head, completely disagreeing with his conscience. However, the more he thought about it, the more the felt guilty, and the more he knew his conscience was right.

He reluctantly picked up the pencil and continued to write out his name with the letters that Itachi had shown him.


Itachi was surprised that Naruto had completely memorized all of the letters, the sounds they made, and how to write them in one night. The boy looked exhausted when he opened the door for his tutor.

Still, the little blonde wasn't happy when there was even more work to do. Besides, reading and writing, Itachi showed him what muscles he should train and methods to train them, along with how he could benefit from them at his young age, and more often then not, could use without damaging his young muscles.

After this the Uchiha took Naruto out to the park where he showed them some pictures. They seemed like vague images, ones that Itachi himself made, which was true. If the dark haired boy had any doubts about Naruto's Potential, they were easily dismissed with simple yet promising answers to the simple mental puzzles.

Naruto was beat when they started to head back to his apartment, to do even more reading and writing studies.

"Think we could stop by and get some ramen, Itachi-sen?" Naruto squeaked. The older boy shook his head.

"Ramen might be fun to eat, but you have to stick to a strict diet in order to grow strong as you should. We'll talk about that soon."

Soon happened to be the minute they stepped foot in the door. Naruto, now possessing the mildest of reading knowledge, would have to use it everyday as of now to see what was on his diet. Itachi, using a calendar bought to show Naruto what he'd need to be doing everyday. It was filled in with food schedules, mostly grown up food that Naruto knew he wouldn't enjoy but would eat none the less because Itachi had provided the food, and then times for reading and writing, exercise, free time and lunch, then back to the reading and writing. Naruto even got a book to read.

"Licentia?" Naruto asked as he received the thick book. It was followed by a dictionary, and then a description about how to use the later.

"What's this book about, Itachi-sen?"

"It's about strange creatures that once plagued the world, called the Bijuu. They are a very mysterious and powerful group of creatures, all unique, the last of their species."

"But…why is it called Licentia? What does that mean?"

"You'll find out Naruto. Just remember to follow the schedule I gave you. Now, I'll be back tomorrow.

Itachi turned and left the apartment. That concluded two of the five days that he would be around to show Naruto what he'd have to do. The rest would be up to the boy.


K

Itachi was surprised again to find that Naruto had read the entire book in one night. Still that was not the only purpose for giving him the book.

"So Naruto, what did you think of the book?"

"It was awesome! Those Bijuu things are so cool sounding! I mean the way they described it was so cool!"

"Did you get the hidden meaning though?"

"Uhh… hidden meaning? I thought it was just a cool book. Was I supposed to look for the hidden meaning Itachi-sensei?" asked Naruto innocently.

"Always look for a hidden meaning Naruto. There may not always be one, but its better to always look in case there is."

"Oh… okay then," said Naruto, his excitement drained noticeably. "So what am I gonna be reading next?"

"Well Naruto if you'd just look into my eyes I'll tell you."

Naruto looked up at Itachi in confusion, but looked into his eyes none the less. "What do your eyes have to do with…" Naruto stopped speaking as he saw Itachi's eyes turn red and sprout three black dots around the pupil. He watched as the dots spun around the pupil, and couldn't help but forget everything he was doing and just stare at Itachi's eyes.

"Naruto, forget what you read in that book, but don't forget the skills you practiced."

"Hai."

Naruto's body relaxed as Itachi's eye's stopped spinning and returned to their normal appearance.

"So what book am I gonna be reading Itachi-sensei?"

Itachi pulled a thick book from behind his back and handed it to Naruto.

"Licentia?" asked Naruto as he received the book. "What's this book about, Itachi-sen?"

"It's about strange creatures that once plagued the world, called the Bijuu. They are a very mysterious and powerful group of creatures, all unique, the last of their species."

"But…why is it called Licentia? What does that mean?"

"You'll find out Naruto. Now let's get started on your schedule."

Naruto did all the required tasks on the calender and Itachi helped him whenever he had trouble, whether with some exercise's or during reading and writing.

"Well Naruto, you did well today. We'll be continueing where we left off tomorrow, but I must be going now," said Naruto as he stood to leave.

"Aw, and I was just getting into it. Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow Itachi-sensei."


The next two days were almost exactly the same as the previous. Naruto would read Licentia the night before Itachi returned, and Itachi would question him on the hidden meaning. The answers progressively more intelligent, but wrong none the less. At which point Itachi would hypnotise Naruto and make him forget he read the book.

At the end of the fifth day Itachi turned to Naruto during their writing lesson.

"Naruto, I won't be able to see you again for almost a week. I want you to continue your schedule however, and read Licentia."

Naruto was saddened to learn that he wouldn't get to see Itachi for a week, but he put a smile on for Itachi. "Alright Itachi-sensei."

Itachi stood and left the apartment. That concluded the first five days of Naruto learning from Itachi.


Intermission

Take a break, you just read a ton. Get some fresh air, hit the bathroom, grab a drink, whatever you have to do, but make sure you take a breather.

K: So have you been working on Licentai? God that sounds so weird coming out of my mouth.

M: No, I haven't, I had the flu, you insensitive jerk. And yeah, it does.

K: You're a loser, how do you get the flu in March? You should be spending your time writing my story.

M: Why am I writing parts of your story? Why don't you start writing parts of my story for me?

K: You didn't ask.

M: Would you write parts of my story for me?

K: No


Three years later:

Naruto's body stood rooted to the ground in the exact spot where Itachi had asked him to leave. His mind kept turing the situation over in his mind, and he wondered if he had done the right thing. After many minutes of painful silence, Naruto turned and began walking back to his apartment.

The decision of whether to stay or go had been the hardest thing he had ever to do. Here was the one person who had proved over and over again to Naruto that he wasn't like the others. He had helped him grow, and become stronger. And yet, at the end he left like everyone else had so far. Itachi may have given him the choice to follow, but it just felt like a false choice.

As Naruto entered his apartment, he decided to forgo turning the lights on and walked blindly to his bedroom. After closing the door and removing his jacket, Naruto fell into his bed hoping for a dreamless slumber. Naruto's wish would be filled in a way.


Naruto opened his eyes to the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling. He also noticed that he was lying in a pool of shallow water. As he picked himself up from the pool he noticed that it wasn't in fact a pool of water, but an entire hallway. The hallway was a dreary brown and had pipes running along the ceilings.

"Where am I?" Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto began to make his way down the hallway in search for some answers. He noticed small intersecting passageways during his trek through the hallway, but decided it was better to just stick with the main passage.

As Naruto turned a corner he found himself in a rather large opening. On the opposite side of the wall was a huge gate. The gate and the opening beyond were large enough to fit Naruto's entire apartment in, and then some.

"Where the hell am I?"

"Do you still not know?" answered a familiar voice from the depths of the cage, which chuckled lightly.

'Where have I heard this voice? It's on the tip of my tongue' thought Naruto.

"I notice confusion on your face. Do you not remember when we last spoke? Do you not remember your past sins?"

That's when it hit Naruto. This was the voice that had spoken to him after the incident with the one he thought was his friend. This was the voice that had told him to find someone to teach him, and he had. He had done what this voice had asked. Now it was time to see what was the next step.

"From the look of realization plastered on your face I'm guessing you realize when we last spoke."

"Yes," replied Naruto. "I have done what you asked. I have found myself a teacher, one that has taught me the basics of being a ninja and the powers of the mind and body."

"A teacher that has also left you, if I'm not mistaken."

Naruto visibly winced at the voices statement. "Yes, it is true that he has left. That is why I ask what is the next step?"

"The next step, huh? The next step is to continue training. Though you may have learned the powers of the mind and body, you have not perfected them. You are but a dull knife when it comes to these matters. You must sharpen your mind, so that you may outwit any opponent. And you must sharpen your combat skills, so that you may not be overthrown in battle."

Naruto took in the voices speech, commiting it to memory so that he would never have to ask for it again. He was slightly dissapointed that there wasn't anything more to the next step then more training, but he understood the reasoning.

"I understand what you have said… sensei. I will continue with my training, arigatou," replied Naruto with a deep bow towards the cage. Naruto's image faded away as his body woke from his slumber.

"Hmm… I guess that first teacher wasn't so bad. He did manage to teach the boy some manners, something I thought impossible. I should come up with some training methods for the kid. After all, I am his sensei." The voice let a deep and demonic laugh, that echoed throughtout the corriders of the childs mind.


Naruto awoke to the blaring of his alarm clock. Even though last night had been rather strenous on his emotions, he still had to go to school.

As he rose from bed he grabbed a set of clothes that he'd where for the day. The thought of non-orange clothes had taken some getting used to, but when they're all you have left to wear you get used to them fast.

'Damn Itachi-sensei, and his evil katon jutsu.'

Naruto took a shower to clean away anything that had attached itself to him the previous day. After his shower performed his daily ritual of hygienical tasks and put on the choosen clothes. Today he had choosen his usual navy blue cargo pants and a black T-shirt with and orange swirl on the front. This was his favorite outfit and he had many sets of them. He slipped on his pair of black toeless ninja sandles, and made his bed. Afterwards he made his way to the kitchen and began to eat his breakfast, which consisted of plain corn flake cereal and a glass of orange juice. Naruto placed his dishes in the sink, to wash later, and left his apartment, locking the door behind him.

Naruto noticed, as he made his way to the academy, that everyone was rushing to wherever it was that they were going.

'What's gotten into everyone?'

Minutes later Naruto found himself in front of the academy. As he entered the classroom, he noticed the general look of similar confusion on each of his peer's faces. He aslo noticed that Sasuke was not present, which was odd because Sasuke was usually one of the first to arrive.

The class quieted as Iruka entered the classroom, a worried look displayed on his face.

"Everyone, you may have noticed the urgent way at which people went about their business throughout the village. I am not at privalege to tell you, seeing as I'm only your teacher. I'm sure you parents will tell you of the current situation when you get home. The only other announcement I have is that there will be no school today, so you can pack up and return home."

The class forgot completely about Iruka's earlier statement, and cheered for the cancelation of school. After their initial joy faded a roar of whispered convesations could be heard as each student began to speculate at the cause of no school.

Naruto just sat in his chair, a slight look of sadness on his face. He had no parents which to return home to, or tell him of what was going on. He decided that he would go and ask the hokage.

Naruto didn't notice the pair of eyes watching him as he left the classroom.

Iruka's worried look returned as he saw Naruto's reaction to the announcement.

"I hope he'll be alright."


Naruto had walked to the hokage's tower immediately after class. He wanted to find out just what was going on.

As Naruto walked up the stairs and through the halls on his way to the hokage's office, he sensed the steady increase in the glares people directed towards his back.

"Well at least some things never change."

Naruto knocked on the door of the hokage's office, not wishing to interupt anything important.

"Come on in," loudly answered the hokage.

Naruto pushed the door open and walked into the office, shutting the door behind him.

"Hokage-sama, I was wondering if you could tell me what's stirred up the village so much. Seeing as I have no parents, I thought to come to you."

The hokage sat quietly mulled over Naruto's request.

"Well Naruto, a very grave thing just occurred last night." The hokage paused to think over how to word his next statement. "Last night, the entire Uchiha clan was massacred."

Naruto's face showed surprise and worry, as he asked his next question. "W—who was responsible for this?"

"… Uchiha Itachi."

Naruto fell to his knees, a hand gripping his forehead, as if it make the revelation any easier.

"S—so this is why he was leaving."

Naruto slowly got to his knees, both arms falling to his side.

"Are there no survivors?"

"Only one. He is the brother of Itachi, Uchiha Sasuke."


Sasuke was restrained in a hospital bed. He was rushed to the hospital when ANBU had stumbled upon the scene. He was checked over for injuries, but when none were found he was left by himself. He was restrained due to the intense convulsions that had racked his body coupled with banshee like cries.

His voice had given out after an hour, and his convulsions had quit soon after. For the rest of the night he lay in complete silence. The hospital orderlies had left after his convulsion had stopped. His eyes were open wide and staring at the ceiling above. A single thought was running through his mind as he stared.

"How could he?"

This continued on through the week, small convulsions occuring every so often resulting in his extended stay at the hospital. Finaly a week after the Uchiha massacre, as it was now reffered to, Sasuke's mind reached a simple solution.

"I'll kill him."


The past week had been strange, and Naruto didn't like it one bit. He was used to the natural order. Iruka would give his boring lectures, and chuck erasers at those who tried to sleep through them. When a question was asked Sakura's hand would shoot up, along with those that knew the answer. And Sasuke's arrogant attitude during physical education. Naruto knew that Sasuke was the root of the disturbance.

Thus everyone was surprised to see the root of the anomalys walk through the classroom door. Everyone watched with baited breath as he walked over to his usual seat and sat down. Only when Sasuke threw them all a dark scowl did they turn back to their previous engagements.

Naruto watched all this from the back of the classroom. He noticed that Sasuke seemed darker, compared to his normal cheery disposition. The dark scowl he had flashed at everyone earlier still graced his face. Whenever he was asked how he was he'd just grunt in reply or ignore the person, otherwise he'd stare out the window next to his seat silently thinking about something. In essence, Sasuke was brooding.

Now Naruto had nothing against Sasuke, and he could understand Sasuke's general demeanor. Afterall, his entire family had just been massacred by his only brother. However, Naruto just didn't like the feel of the situation. Naruto decided that he'd try to appease this anxiety.

"So what are you going to do?" asked Naruto as he approached Sasuke.

Sasuke continued staring out the window, appearing to ignore Naruto's question entirely, until he tilted his head in Naruto's direction and looked up at his face.

"I'll kill him," he whispered.

Naruto's remained expressionless, though he was experiencing many emotions. It was perfectly understandable that Sasuke would want to kill his brother. He had after all murdered his entire clan. But Itachi had still tutored Naruto at a time when no one cared that he existed, thought not much had changed since then.

"Hn," grunted Naruto as he turned and walked away.

"So how's he taking it?" quietly asked Shikamaru as Naruto sat behind him.

"Not sure, but definetely not well. He may look alright, but I guarentee he'll eventually lose it. The only question is how long will it take," whispered Naruto.

"Troublesome," said Shikamaru as he turned back around.

Iruka chose that moment to walk into the class, and end all discussions.

"Alright class, nothing new to the schedule today, so lets get started on the lecture."

Iruka was met with several moans of displeasure from the class.

"Well at least the class is starting to act more normal."


Naruto headed to his usual training area after class had ended. He performed his usual warm-ups and then sat in the middle of the clearing, waiting for his instructions of the day.

"I see you have finished your warm-ups," said the voice that had now become Naruto's sensei.

"Hai, sensei."

The wind blew some leaves past Naruto, as the voice thought of what to do today.

"Today we shall practice your chakra control. I want you to climb a tree using only your feet and chakra."

"Hai, sensei."

Naruto stood from his sitting position and walked to the largest tree he could find. He began to circulate chakra through his feet, and was about to place his first foot on the trunk when something snapped in his mind. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as a forgotten memory began playing in his mind.

Flashback

"We are going to climb trees today Naruto. You'll do this by circulating a specific amount of chakra through your feet at a constant rate," stated Itachi.

End Flashback

Naruto used the exact amount of chakra his mind told him to use, and he climbed the tree perfectly in his first go.

Naruto's eyes returned to their normal position, and he shook his head to clear his head. Along with the memory came the knowlegde of exactly how to do the exercise.

"W—what was that?" asked Naruto as he stared at his shaking hands.

"That was a memory that your old sensei had locked away in your mind."

"W—what? But Itachi-sensei only taught me scholastic material. He didn't teach me any ninja material."

"Actually he did, but he hypnotized you to forget them."

Naruto's eye's widened at this new information. "So what else did he teach me?"

"You'll find out if your placed in a situation that calls on the locked memories."

Naruto's face fell in obvious disappointment. "Well so much for that. So now that I have tree climbing down, what next?"

"Lets see if you were taught water walking. It's similar to the tree climbing, but you have to keep a varying amount of chakra in your feet to stay balanced. Now go find yourself a stream."

Lucky for Naruto there was a stream not to far from his current training ground. Naruto pushed chakra into his feet and slowly lowered his foot to the water, scrunching his face up as his foot neared the water. As his foot touched the water and nothing happened he let out a sigh of dissappointment.

"Well I guess I have to actually do this one."

Naruto placed one foot on the top of the water and then the other, and promptly sunk to the bottom.

"Not enough."

Naruto began to concentrate more chakra to his feet. His feet began to slowly rise from the bed of the stream.

"Alright! I'm doing it."

However in Naruto's lapse of concentration he shoved to much chakra to his feet and blew them out from under him, forcing him to land face first in the water.

"And that's what happens when you have too much."

"Shut it," replied Naruto as he pushed himself up from the stream.

By the end of the day Naruto could keep himself up and not sink, but only if he concentrated the whole time.

"Alright, I want you to keep doing that every time you train until its almost second nature to you. After that I'll give you antoher task."

"Hai, sensei."

Naruto walked wearly walked home, tired from all his training. He received the usual glares from all the villagers.

Naruto dropped face first onto his bed after he had made it home. After slipping out of his pants and jacket he immediately fell asleep.


It took Naruto three months to master water walking. He would now instinctively push chakra to his feet right before he walked onto the water. He would also keep the current of chakra steady and change the necessary amount without thinking no matter what he was doing.

"Now that I have mastered that sensei, what next?" thought Naruto.

"I do not have your next training method fully worked out, so you should continue your normal routine while standing in the middle of the water."

"Hai, sensei."


Four years later:

It was nearing the end of the academy, which signaled the genin exams. Many of the students in the class were nervous and getting antsy.

Unlike most students, Naruto wasn't worried at all. In fact he was sleeping at the back of the class with Shikamaru.

The two had become fast friends once realizing that neither was as dumb as they pretended to be. They were often seen playing shogi together, though Naruto would almost always lose.

The four years of training with his sensei had improved Naruto's skill exponentially. If he choose to Naruto could've made a run for rookie of the year. But seeing as how it would be an uphill battle with Sasuke, and Itachi had told him that it is better to be thought weak then for everyone to know your strengths. So Naruto did the minimum to pass and hung out with Shikamaru and his friend Chouji when he got the chance.

"Alright class settle down," announced Iruka as he entered the class. "Today we'll be reviewing for the genin exams."

"That's the signal for me to put my head down," thought Naruto as began to fall asleep.

Naruto's sleeping form went unnoticed as Iruka lectured to the class of the importance of hard work and studying. It was only when they were practicing the henge and Naruto's name had been called out that Iruka noticed his sleeping form.

"Naruto!" shouted Iruka as he chucked an eraser at Naruto's head. "Wake up!"

Naruto practically leapt from his chair in fright when the eraser came in contact with his head along with the shouting. The class broke out into laughter at the slight of him being so scared.

"Get up here now!"

Naruto walked up to the front of class and lazily brought his hands up in the right seals.

"Henge," said Naruto lazily, as he pumped chakra through the hand seals.

A cloud of smoke covered Naruto as the jutse took effect. When it cleared, an clone of Iruka remained.

"Lets see, missing my scar, too short, all the equipment is on the wrong side, and the skin color is off," announced Iruka as he looked over Naruto's jutsu. "But it's good enough to allow you to pass, so go sit back down."

Naruto dispelled the jutsu and lazily made his way up the stairs and back to his desk.

Shikimaru just rolled his eyes as Naruto sat down, uttering his famous catch phrase, "Troublesome."

After Iruka had finished calling out names he walked back to the front of the class.

"Alright guys, this years bunch promises to be a good one. I expect most of you will pass, but don't let me saying that go to your head. You should all practice a bit more, and get a good nights rest tonight. I'll see you tomorrow for the genin exams."

Having finished his speech to the classroom, Iruka sat back down at his desk and started filling out some paperwork about the performance of the students today.


As Naruto walked out of the classroom he began to converse with his sensei.

"So sensei what shall I do today?" thought Naruto in an offhand manner.

"Just do the normal routine. Nothing too hard, after all you have the exam tomorrow."

Naruto made his way to the clearing that he normally trained in and walked out onto the pond and began his normal warm up excercises.

After he was done he sat down and began to meditate. As he meditated he gathered up all his chakra and held it in a ball inside his chest. He slowly siphened out chakra to parts of his body to make sure that they could still function, and to keep him afloat. This part of his traing took him five minutes to complete. In the past when he had first started this exercise it could take him up to an hour just to get the chakra into a ball. After a few years of practice however, he had finally mastered the training method and could do it fairly quickly now. The method helped him train chakra control and stamina. Once he could actually complete the exercise he began to gather the ball of chakra in vaious places in his body, thus helping him with passing chakra through the body. It also helped his stamina by forcing him to exercise in an exaushted state, but slowly syphon chakra to his muscles to keep him from passing out. And the crompressing of the chakra into a dense ball helped to mask his chakra. He'd normally have been doing the exercise throughout the day, but his sensei told him not to, so that he'd be refreshed for the exams.

Once he had finished setting up his first exercise, he started the next one that he had learned from his sensei. He took tendrils of chakra and began to push them out through various tenketsus and bring them back trough others. Although he couldn't recycle the chakra he had brought back into his body, he could keep pushing that tendril out through other tenketsu until it completely dissappated. This chakra exercise had helped build chakra capacity and control, though the control for this centered around forcing out proper amounts of chakra through many of the tenketsu on his body. He had learned at the start of this exercise that too little chakra and the tendril would instantly dissapate upon leaving the body, and too much and it would leave burns along his body and tenketsu.

After he finished his training Naruto returned home and made himself some dinner. After he had finished and cleaned his dishes, he prepared for bed and went to sleep early.


Naruto woke up as groggy as ever, and placed his feet on the cold hard wood floor. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he made his way to the bathroom. As he looked in the mirror, the importance of the day finally hit him.

"Today's the gening exam!" exclaimed Naruto in his mind.

"Really I hadn't noticed. And can you keep it down, it's way to early to be this loud," replied his sensei.

"Sorry about that sensei."

Naruto quickly jumped in the shower, and afterwards completed his daily hygene rituals. He made himself some breakfast after getting dressed. Naruto's manner of dress hadn't changed much over the years. He wore a loose fitting black, long-sleeved shirt with an orange swirl on the front. He wore dark brown cargo pants that had the lower legs taped down, so as to not get caught as he was running and trip him. He wore the average pair of black shinobi sandals, and had a shuriken holster on his right thigh and a kunai holster on his back waist.

As Naruto left his house he locked the door behind him. There had been a few times when the villagers had broken into his house and vandalized it, though the number of times they did it had gone down as he progressed through the academy.

"They must think of set up traps or something. If I only I had something improtant enough to protect that I'd need traps," thought Naruto as he was walking down the stairs to the street.

As he made his way to the academy he noticed the usual amount of guarded scowls, leers, and huddled whisperings.

"Nothing new there. Still I'd like to know why they keep looking at me like that," thought Naruto, though he didn't really expect an answer.

"Look, I'll make you a deal," replied Naruto's sensei.

"What do you mean sensei? Do you know why they hate me?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. The deal is if you can graduate from the academy and become a genin I will tell you the truth of why so many think so lowly of you."

"Then I'll do my best sensei."


Naruto found himself standing in front of the academy at the end of his conversation with his sensei. Naruto sat himself down in his normal seat after he had entered the academy. However he didn't immediately go to sleep this time. Shikamaru was already seated, and was also awake. To Shikamaru's right was Chouji, eating a bag of chips as usual, though this time he seemed to be eating faster due to nervousness.

"Hey Chouji, don't worry so much about the exam. I guarentee you'll pass," calmly said Shikamaru to his friend. Chouji visibly calmed down a bit and was back to his normal pace.

Naruto watched this happen and decided he'd also help, "And if as a little incentive Chouji, I'll take you out to Ichiraku's for lunch if you pass."

This didn't just stop Chouji from being nervous, it also served to excite him and get him pumped for the upcoming exam. "It's on Naruto, I'll take you up on that offer. Be prepared to buy me as much ramen as I can eat."

Shikamaru smiled at Naruto and began to chuckle at Naruto's pale expression at Chouji's announcement.

"I'm gonna have to dig deep to pay for his stomach," thought Naruto as he let out a sigh.

Iruka choose that moment to walk into the class, and catch the classes attention.

"Alright guys, today is the genin exam. Before we start everyone just take a deep breath and calm down. Nervousness never helped anyone pass."

Most of the class did as Iruka suggested, and the class grew a little calmer.

"Now today for the gening exam, we will grade you on a written test, accuracy with shurikan, and whether you can perform the buunshin no jutsu or not. To pass you only need to pass two of the three tests, but we suggest you try to pass all three as it may affect your team placement."

Iruka's announcement was met with a few groans, but an over all wave of relief from most at finding that the exam wasn't going to be too hard.

"We'll start off by everyone doing the written portion of the exam, before we move onto the more practical aspect. When you receive your test keep it face down on the desk until I say to begin."

Iruka walked to the front of each row and hand the first person at each individual table a stack of tests, which they passed back as they took one and placed it face down. Once everyone had a test Iruka returened to the front of the classroom.

"You may now begin," stated Iruka.

Everyone flipped their papers over, as Iruka sat back down at his desk.

"Hmm… This isn't to hard," thought Naruto, as he calculated the number of questions he'd need to get right to get the lowest passing grade.

Sakura finished first, and as time passed more and more students finished and turned in their tests. Naruto finished his a few minutes before Iruka announced the end of the written portion. This was also met with the few groans of people who hadn't finished.

"Now I want all the students to line up on this side of the room," said Iruka pointing to the right side of the classroom. After they had finished lining up he handed the first one in line five shuriken. "Now you may throw these in any order and however many you want at once. You must get at least three on any target on the dummy."

Iruka recorded the results of everyone as they took their turn. When it came to Naruto he took the five shuriken and carefully aimed each one before letting it loose. He got one bullseye, two in circles around two other bullseyes, and two on the outer edges of the dummy.

"Good enough Naruto, next," stated Iruka.

Naruto made his way back to his seat, pleased with his results.

"Sometimes faking one's skill is harder then it seems," thought Naruto.

When it was Sasuke's turn the whole class grew quiet to watch his performance. Not one to dissapoint Sasuke took all five, two in one hand and three in the other, and threw them all at once. The shuriken flew through the air and all imbedded themselves in targets. Four had hit a dead bullseye, and one had hit in the surrounding circle. All his fangirls cheered, and some of the guys clapped. Sasuke just grunted and returned to his seat disspleased with his performance.

"The arrogance of Sasuke still amazes me at times."

Once everyone had finished throwing the shuriken and returned to their seats Iruka returned to the front of the class.

"Good job for the most part. Now we've arrived at the jutsu portion of the exam. As I have stated before this years jutsu is the buunshin no jutsu. When your name is called please come to this back room and perform the jutsu."

Naruto waited paitently watching as people entered the back room and returned wearing a hitai-ate or in some cases a down trodden expression. Of course when Sasuke returned with his all his fangirls swooned and he just arrogantly smirked.

Finally it was Naruto's turn. Naruto walked to the back room as his name was called and stood before Iruka and Mizuki.

"Alright Naruto, you can go at any time," said Mizuki.

Naruto stood for a few seconds and gathered just the right amount of chakra through his body before stating, "Buunshin." Naruto's body divided into two clones, with the original standing in the middle.

"Good Naruto, you have passed the genin exam," said Iruka, as he tossed Naruto a forehead protector.

"Thank you Iruka-sensei, and you too Mizuki-sensei," replied Naruto as he tied the hitai-ate to his forehead.

Naruto exited the room and returned to his seat. Shikimaru and Chouji flashed grins at him, and Naruto returned one likewise. They only had to wait for one more person, and that was Yamanaka Ino. She returned squeling with delight holding onto a forehead protector.

Once Ino had returned to her seat, Iruka began to speak once more. "Good work everyone. Even though you may have not passed this year, there is always next year. And for those of you who did, you are to return here in two days for your team assignments. That is all."

The class began to stand and leave at Iruka's dismissal.

"Naruto you owe me lunch at Ichiraku's," stated Chouji proudly displaying his hitai-ate.

"Hai, hai," gloomily replied Naruto.


Naruto was seated on his couch at home thinking of how to bring up his sensei's promise.

"Sensei…"

"Yes, I know Naruto, we made a deal. Now I'd like you to come here before I tell you."

Naruto remained sitting on his couch and began to meditate to enter his mindscape. Soon enough Naruto found himself standing ankle deep in water in front of a enormous cage.

"Sensei I am here. What is it that you know?"

"Do you know the tale of the Kyuubi no Kitsune Naruto?"

Naruto stood for a few seconds as he thought over all they had taught him in the academy.

"According to our books, he attacked Fire Country and Konoha twelve years ago. He was defeated by the Yondaime before he could destroy Konoha," replied Naruto.

"For the most part that is true. However there is one very large detail that has been left out of your books. The Yondaime Hokage did indeed defeat the Kyuubi no Kitsune, but he did not kill him. Instead he sealed the Kyuubi inside the stomach of a new born child…"

Silence permeated the room as Naruto took in this new information.

"It was me, wasn't it?" asked Naruto.

"Yes Naruto, the child that the Yondaime choose to seal the Kyuubi in was in fact you."

Naruto also took time to let this seep into his mind, before a look of shock spread across his face.

"You've firugred it out then have you?" asked his sensei.

"Y—you're the Kyuubi aren't you?"

Naruto heard padded footsteps and a large demonic fox head came into view from the shadows.

"Yes, I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune," stated the Kyuubi revealing his true voice.

Naruto stood quivering looking down at the water, as the surprising information was confirmed. After a few minutes of silence Naruto turned his head back up to the Kyuubi before speaking.

"I think I'm okay with this," said Naruto a small smirk on his face.

The Kyuubi let of a light chuckle, which soon turned into a roaring laugh.

"I knew there was a reason why I liked you. So have you decided about leaving yet?" asked the Kyuubi.

"My decision still stands. I have yet to find what I'm looking for," replied Naruto.

"Fine then, all I can hope for is that you get a good sensei."

"Hai… sensei," smirked Naruto.

A smirk graced the Kyuubi's face as Naruto left his mind scape.

When Naruto woke he found it to be morning. He spent the first part of the day getting his picture taken for his ninja license. At lunch he met up with Chouji and fufilled his end of the bargain, losing much money in the process. At the end of the day he trained to work off some of the excess energy and returned home sweaty and tired. After taking a quick shower to clean himself and eating dinner Naruto went to sleep.


The next day Naruto was sitting in the Academy wait for Iruka to arrive and announce the teams the new genin would be placed on. After ten more minutes of waiting Iruka finally arrived with a paper in his hands.

"I'm glad to see all your faces today. Before I announce the teams I'd like you all to know that a lot of you will go far. Some in here will get to chuunin, and some even jounin. We may even have the next hokage in this class," lightly stated Iruka.

"Now onto the team assignments."

Most of the class sat forward in their seats in expectation.

(A/N: Alright I'm sure you've heard this before, but I am not going to make up eighteen random names just for the sake of naming the first six teams. Now back to the story.)

"Next, Team 7 will consist of Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Narto, and Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura jumped from here chair and uttered a cheer, while a few desks back Ino along with all of Sasuke's other fangirls let out a cry of sadness.

"Team 8 will consist of Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Inuzuku Shino. And finally Team 10 will be Yamanka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akamichi Chouji."

Iruka cleared his throat to regain the attention of the class once the list was done.

"Now, I'll announce you sensei's after lunch," stated Iruka.

And with that Iruka left, leaving the class to degrad into orderly chaos.


Team 7 was the only remaining group in the academy. Every other team's senseis had already arrived and escorted them out of the academy. Even Iruka had finally left, leaving the three to themselves.

Naruto and Sasuke were both sitting at the front of the classroom, while Sakura was pacing back and forth. Sasuke was staring out the window brooding, and Naruto was sleeping. Finally after an hour and a half the door to the classroom opened and a head poked in.

"Are you guys Team 7?" asked the masked man.

Three different gazes met the masked man's question. One was of cold idifference, with only the slightest hint of annoyance, one was of barely controlled rage, and the other was of tired uncertainty.

"Hai, sensei," said Sakura with just the slightest twitch.

Team 7's sensei took in the looks of his possible students before speaking again.

"My first impression is… I don't like you guys," replied Team 7's sensei. After a few seconds the masked sensei turned, and stopped in front of the door. "Alright, follow me."


Team 7 found themselves ontop of the Hokage's tower. Sitting on one of the few benches available, staring at their new sensei.

"OK… Let's begin with some introductions," started the masked sensei.

"What do you want to know?" asked Naruto.

The man stopped and thought for a few seconds before he continued. "How about… Your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that," indifferently replied their sensei.

"Why don't you start sensei," said Naruto.

"Yeah, what's with the mask?" asked Sakura.

"Well… My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you about my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the furture…? Hmm… Well, I have lots of hobbies."

"So… All we learned was his name," said Naruto, as he and Sakura sighed in defeat.

"Now it's your turn, from the right."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like reading, the opposite sex…"

"Pervert," stated Sakura.

"You don't count," replied Naruto as he turned to Sakura.

"Now, where was I? Ah, yes. I also like air conditioning, and non-judgemental people. I dislike blonde jokes, training, cheap-ass wool sweaters, and hurting others. My dream is to find the reason for my existence and to become truly free. And my hobbies are reading and training," finished Naruto.

"Eh… I can handle him," thought Kakashi. "Next."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are tons of things I dislike, but I don't really like anything. And I don't want to use the word "dream", but I have an ambition. The ressurection of my clan, and… To kill a certain man."

Sakura looked suprisedly towards Sasuke, while Naruto just continued to stare forward.

"Cool"

"He still is intent on killing Itachi-sensei…"

"… I thought so."

"Ok… And lastly the girl."

"I'm Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is… Well… The person I like is… Umm… My dream from the future is to become a certain someone's bride. And I dislike Ino-pig. My hobbie is…"

"Girls of this age are more interested in love than ninjutsu…"

"Okay! We will start our duties tomorrow."

Everyone perked up at Kakashi's announcement

"First we are going to do something with just the four of us," continued Kakashi.

"What are we gonna do sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Survival training."

"What do you mean training sensei? We did that in the academy," asked Sakura.

"I'm your opponent, but this isn't normal training."

Everyone's undivided attention was now on Kakashi, hanging on his every word.

"What do you mean sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Heh. When you hear this your gonna flip. Of the twenty seven graduates, only nine will be choosen to be genin. The rest will be sent back to the academy. This training is extreemly difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66."

Naruto and Sasuke's glares increased in intensity, while Sakura began to panic.

"If I don't pass this, then how will I ever get Sasuke?"

"I have to pass. This is just one more step closer to freedom."

"I have to pass. This is just one more step closer to power."

"S—so what was the point of graduating?" asked Sakura.

"Oh that? That's just to select those that have the potential to become genin. Anyway, tomorrow you will be graded on the training field. Bring all your shinobi tools. And don't eat breakfast, you'll throw up."

Kakashi handed them all papers outlining the details of the exam before leaving. Everyone remained silent as two read the paper, and one just smashed it in his hands.

A/N: This chapter took me awhile to write. This was partly because it was hard write, but also because I have a rampant case of laziness and amazing at making excuses that get me out of writing. I have most of the story already planned out in my head, it was just hard to get this first chapter out of the way. I hope to get the proceeding chapters out much faster, but I can't make any promises. The proceeding chapters will also be shorter then this behemoth. Now onto personnal thoughts about my own chapter. I know most of this is cliché and already been done, but I'd like to think I at least did cliché well. That'll be up to you to decide. I have big plans for this story, and a lot of the ideas I have never seen done before. Now I'm glad for anyone who stuck through to the end of this chapter, and I gladly appreciate it if you reviewed. I would rather get productive reviews, but any will let me know that you care enough. I'd rather not get flames, but when has that ever stopped anyone. I'll also try to make upcoming author's notes shorter. Until next chapter…