Chapter One: a new mindset

His body was broken and his mind was torn, blood dropped from his chest brought from the hand of one whom he had called his brother.

The village that he loved, the place that he would do anything for. All he had ever wanted was the love and respect that was taken from him.

Sasuke has everything he had ever wanted, the love of the people, the respect of their peers and yet he threw it all away for what? Power.

Perhaps it wasn't worth it, perhaps the emptiness in his heart would never be filled by that which he had so much desired for. Perhaps the smiles of the villagers was indeed an empty gesture and their kind word a hollow necessity, he wouldn't know.

Perhaps instead of living for the sake of others who had no love for him he should start living for himself. He was alone in the world, he always had been so why would anything he did change that fact.

He turned on his side and stared at the now calm waters of the broken valley. He saw something looking back at him that made him smile.

He had committed now, no turning back and no regrets.

His entire life so far had been a farce, a mask of personality and emotion built to hide his anguish and loneliness. Now though when he had no need for such a charade his true being could come to light.

Inside the deep recesses of the boys mind the blonde haired blue eyed child appeared as broken and battered as he was in the real world.

Surrounded by dark waters and stone walls, in front of him stood the tall cage that housed his greatest curse and unlikely gift.

He felt the kyuubi's gaze drift towards him like a spotlight on a stage, yet he just remained there sitting down with his blonde spikes covering his eyes.

The great beast looked inquisitive, where there was once a boy who would scream to the heavens and stand against mountains there now be a sad and defeated child that looked like a old man on his deathbed.

"Why are you here boy?" The beast asked

Said boy lifted his gazed slightly to look upon the great beast, his eyes still hidden from view yet from seeing his expression the Fox grew more curious as to what caused his change. He looked pale as if the blood was drawn from his face and the fresh wound on his chest i still bleed.

"How old are you?" Naruto asked ignoring the foxes own question.

The Kyuubi again looked puzzled and decided to indulge the broken child "I have lived since the dawn of the Shinobi era, I have lived for almost a Millenia"

And in that Millenia the beast could not think of any time that he had made an extended conversation with anyone other than his siblings.

"How many people have you known in that time?"

"I have known many humans in my time, many greater then you yet all die just the same" perhaps reminding the boy of his mortality would spark a reaction.

"Did you know the Rikudō Sennin?" Now that was a question the beast was not expecting.

Walking up to the bars so his entire frame could be seen the Kyuubi looked down his muzzle at the boy.

"Why have you come here boy, who are you to ask anything of me?!" It's great booming voice did nothing to the child's composure.

"I just thought you could use some company, and I was curious, you said you've been around since the beginning of the Shinobi era so maybe you knew the first Shinobi?"

"He was not a Shinobi! Do not compare him to those squabbling monkeys, you would not compare to the ground he walked upon!"

"So you did know him." The boy said, a small smile growing on his face.

The Kyuubi growled heavily, this boy was really getting on his nerves.

"Listen boy, I may be locked behind this cage but if you keep this up I will tear you limb from limb." Any lesser person would wet themselves at a threat from the nine tailed fox, yet he was no ordinary person.

"I'm leaving the village…" the boy said "... and seeing as I'm leaving everything and everyone I know behind I may as well get to know the one living thing that I can't escape" he smiled again, that same smile.

"We are not meant to get along boy!" It's deep booming voice shook the mindscape "I'm locked up in this god forsaken seal and you just so happen to be the bearer of that seal, one day I will escape and no amount of worthless talk will stop me from killing you!" flaring it's tails for good measure the beast tried it's best to look as intimidating as possible, if only to wipe away that smirk which reminded so much him of a certain man.

"Still though I'm curious, how did you know the Rikudō Sennin?" The way this boys voice remained calm was quite annoying, perhaps if his curiously was satisfied then the blonde would leave the beast alone.

"He was my father" there he said it, now go away and get along with whatever it was you petty humans did.

"Wow…" Naruto said quietly "...I guess it's not really a coincidence, although who could have guessed it" his face turned back down to the dark waters of his own mind.

The room went silent as the Kyuubi felt a change in the boy, as if a small candle had been lit. Although his slotted eyes saw a broken and beaten up little boy with ripped clothes and bloody hair the aura he gave off reminded him once again of a certain man. The feeling was uncanny with that charming smile of his and the calm voice.

"I've never really believed in fate, but perhaps something's do happen on purpose…" he looked up and instead of those deep blue eyes there stood the purple ringed eyes of a man long since passed "...if you don't mind I'd like to hear about your father, I think I could learn a lot from him"

The great nine tailed fox was frozen in shock, where was the loud mouth knucklehead, who was this boy before him. Those eyes, that smile, that feeling, what the fuck was happening.

Naruto's smile grew wider, he could feel the confusion and disbelief inside the Bijuu. This was understandable but perhaps well overdue. He himself had his own questions that needed answering and if the fox was in shock he'd have to wait. Oh well.

'I guess I could make my way out of the valley before someone turns up, there's gonna be search parties for sure but the village is undermanned so it won't be too hard to slip out of the country'

And with that Naruto left his mind to allow for the dumbfounded fox to come to its own terms. He'f come back tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after until he got the answers he wanted.

He had all the time in the world as long as the world thought he was dead.


5 years later

A young man with blonde hair and a white robe could be seen walking down a small dirt trail in the middle of the forest, in his hand was a small wooden pipe that he was currently smoking and in his mind an intense conversation was taking place.

'And I'm telling you there is no way the boiling mountain frog could beat the grand wizard, it just doesn't make sense!"

'The fact that you even asking proves that you don't understand plotlines'

'But he's the grand wizard, THE grand wizard, what's the frog gonna do, poke him in the eye with his tounge?'

'You need to look at it from another perspective, the wizard has never lost a fight so imagine how great it would be if he lost to a frog?'

'I guess your right, we'll just have to wait till the next film then'

The same blond man who just so happened to be discussing mentally with a twenty story nine tailed fox that was sealed inside of his navel and about a childrens movie series of all things.

'This is the last stop before the land of grass, big payday too, i hear there's a few village nearby that being harassed'

'Perhaps they will be grateful?'

'Perhaps the will' a perverted smile adorned his face.

'Deviant'

His smile only grew, he was young and every young man had needs.

Making his way down the dirt path the man came across a half hazardly made campsite, complete with all sorts of tents and swags and even a bomb fire to finish it off.

He spotted the group of Mercenaries and bandits he was tasked with eliminating crowding around a pile of loot sorting and sharing as only their kind did.

'What do you think Kurama? Quick and easy or should I make them suffer?'

'Make the hairless monkeys suffer!'

He could only roll his eyes and the antics of his partner. Oh well, it had been a while since he had completed a contract in a hands on approach.

One can say that a bandits life is an honest one, not honest in their actions but honest for the fact that live as naturally human and simple as possible.

They take what the want, kill whoever stands in their way and enjoy life to the fullest with all the lust and carnage the have. While their victims are none the better who can say that the bandit lifestyle is complicated.

As such after a recent raid on a nearby settlement, a bloodless one as the group had long ago gotten rid of any resistance among the townsfolk, the thirty something men had begun to celebrate and divide their spoils around the bomb fire as the sun began to set.

To the poor souls dancing and drinking, life could not be any better… if only they knew.


"AAAAAAAH-*bang*"

"What the fu-*slice"

"What the hell is-*crash*"

Desperate cries and the sounds of battle echoed through the trees as one by one the men of the group fell to the ground either in prices or in pain.

Upturned earth and blazes of fire dotted the campsite along with the blood of the fallen sprayed across the ground.

A man holding his katana with long braided black hair rushed out of the largest tent in the camp, inside a women wearing nothing but torn clothes and chains around her extremities poked her head out.

The site they came across was terrifying with the women frozen in shock and the man growing stiff. The blood, bodies, boulders and ashes surrounded the warrior as he looked in every direction for whatever had caused this.

"I thought samurai were meant to be honourable warriors who lived above the vices of the common man, now what is honourable about holding a poor women against her will and having her without her consent" the blonde said aloud as he appeared before the man, pipe in hand with his coat billowing in the subtle breeze.

The man in turn struck with his sword, sending a wave of chakra at the calm intruder.

The whiskered teen in turn puffed on his pipe whilst going through a few quick one handed seals "Doton: Bedrock barrier!" a thick wall of hardened earth grew from the ground between them, intercepting the attack with not even a scratch to show for it.

The swordsman rushed forward, anger evident on his features, jumping the wall and swinging his sword to split the white clothed man in two, only too meet empty air.

"Again I thought samurai fight honourable and aren't meant to attack an opponent who doesn't their weapon drawn" the blonde said again this time standing in front of the swordsmans tent with the bound women staring at his back in shock.

"I am no samurai boy, now who the hell are you?What the hell did you do to my men?"

"Oh so you the leader then, Gensui I presume, rogue samurai from the land of iron. One such as you should know what I did, I wiped them out. As for who I am, none of your business." With a smile that drew the ire of his opponent the blonde raised his hand

"Bansho Ten'in" with those words the samurai was pulled off the ground and threw the earthen wall towards the blonde, his bones blacking from the impact and his body only stopping as his throat landed in his opponents outstretched hand with a sickening thud.

Gensui tried to pry the mans grip off his throat, if only to loosen it enough to breath yet he felt himself grow weaker with every second as if his energy was being sapped out of his body.

Blood dripped from his lips as his arms fell beside him. His legs lost strength with the only thing holding up being the enemies grip. His throat convulsed in a mixed effort to breathe air into his lungs and cough the blood out of his windpipe.

As darkness took him the lone samurai looked into the eyes of his killer and saw the bright purple orbs and ripple pattern of legend, his last thought before his mind faded was just a single word.

'Rinnegan'

Holding his pipe in his mouth the blonde victor held his right hand over the man's head before raising it. What looked like an ethereal ghost rose out of his victims body before being absorbed into the hand that held it.

He closed his eyes as an entire lifetime fluttered through his mind, he had always hated this part but it served him well for now he knew that he had killed the right man.

Dropping the dead man's corpse the blonde turned to the stunned girl hiding behind the drapes of the tent, without pause he strode inside to where she knelt and touched the girls chains with his a finger before the metal split in two with a flicker of energy.

"Go now, your free, go home or wherever just don't stay around here" the girl only nodded, her wide eyes never leaving his purple orbs. Despite her evident shock and fear, or perhaps for reason why, the now free women bolted out of the camp heading someplace he knew not where nor did he really care.

Making his way out the victor of the short confrontation puffed on his pipe again before going through a few one handed seals

"W-Wait!" He pause, looking over his shoulder to the women he just freed.

"W-Who a-are you" her voice was weak, she had been through a lot the poor thing.

He gave a warm smile showing long canines that gave him a wild look.

"Just your friendly neighbourhood wandering sage" and with that he turned back, breathing a stream of flames that burned the bloody scene to ashes.

'Seriously, that line again' the voice of one Kurama no Kyuubi sounded inside the blondes mind.

'Oh come on it's a great line, she will never forget it and it will only spread my fame across the land'

'You really are such a show off… Uzumaki Naruto' the beast said witha beastly grin.

And with that one Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, bearer of the Rinnegan and the famous wandering sage left the scene a field of ashes and one shocked yet relieved young women as he made his way east for the night.

He had collect his pay before getting a drink, being awesome was hard work you know.

Chapter end.