Disclaimer: Naruto and all associated pieces of merchandise are property of Masashi Kishimoto.

This story is a retelling of Naruto, from beginning to whatever end I design for it; while there will be many similarities, there will also be many differences. It begins very much the same as the classic, but as it goes it will diverge on its own path. So buckle up, grab a snack, and have fun.

WARNING: The plot is very progressive. Please be patient.

Prologue:

The Ninja Academy

Naruto yawned loudly as he sat up from his mat, rubbing at both of his foggy eyes with his knuckles. A stream of golden sunlight cascaded through the cracked, glass window, boring straight into the room from over the top of nearby buildings and a distant wall. His eyes couldn't see much, he sputtered and cursed as he nearly tripped over an empty, discarded paper bowl. It had been what he had eaten out of before passing out the night before. Reaching down to retrieve it from the floor, he noticed it was permanently ruined by a very large gash down the side; it was promptly tossed into a nearby trash can. That was another one gone, he would need to buy some more soon.

If only he had the money to pay for it.

Naruto was a poor boy, barely six years old, and yet still he lived predominantly on his own. His blond hair was shaggy and untamed, tussled over his head. At its longest, it would sometimes fall down to cover his cerulean blue eyes and blond eyebrows. Dressed in worn, dirty tan shorts and a black tee, with green sandals on his peachy skinned feet, he matched the ragged appearance of the surrounding apartment room: cluttered and messy. The most peculiar trait of the child, however, were the whiskers on his cheeks; long and thin like a cat's, three on each side. He didn't mind them, half the time he barely noticed.

Kicking aside fallen cups and forgotten pieces of trash, Naruto groggily shuffled from the thin mattress on the floor by the window, to an attached bathroom on the other side. This was in much the same shape as the small bedroom. The mirrors were spotted with dried watermarks, the short tile counter was notched with spilled toothpaste, and the faucet and drain were horribly stained. It was a nightmare when he had once awoken only to find a pool of water draining out of his sink, spilling out onto the floor and flowing out into the carpet. He had only barely escaped contracting pneumonia that night.

The water was turned on, scooped into a puddle between his cupped palms, and then splashed against his face - and only then did he realize how cold it was. He coughed and winced, tossing his head left and right in an effort to fling the icy water off of him; blindly grabbing for a nearby beige towel. How had he forgotten? The water heater for the apartment complex had been shut off last week. Every morning since then it had been the same story; a freezing surprise waiting to slap his sleepy head. At least he was awake, now.

After drying himself off he headed for the kitchen. It was even more cluttered there than in his bedroom and bathroom combined, if that was even possible. Bowls and cups and forks and all manner of other oddities lied on the tiled floor, brown and icky from many months of negligence. There was a table in the center, square and brown to look like wood, but on feeling it was made only of plastic. A single, hard chair sat nearby, crooked.

He pulled open the refrigerator door, ignoring the dust coating the handle (not to mention the rest of it), and retrieved a half-empty quart of milk. A loaf of bread from a nearby package, itself nearly empty, followed, along with a single slice of ham - the last one. He would have to go shopping later to restock with what little money he had, otherwise he'd go hungry the next morning. The window, above a tall (by his standards) counter over the sink was opened, allowing the morning song of the birds to slip into the otherwise quiet of his apartment, and he sat nibbling his bread and sipping from the carton, enjoying the fresh air as it seeped into the stuffy room.

Then there was a knock at the door. Who could that be, this early in the morning? He shoved the ham into his mouth and quickly trotted out the kitchen, and to the door, not bothering to look before opening. The one standing on the other side was an old man, short in stature and hunched, wearing a white and red robe and a large red hat that hid his hair and shadowed his forehead with a protruded lip; with thin 'curtains' of sorts along the sides and back. His darkened (still white in overall complexion) face was dotted with age marks and wrinkles, his wise, brown eyes peered down at Naruto under grey eyebrows, and he had a scrappy goatee.

"Goofmornif." Naruto greeted over the mouthful, smiling as best he could before turning around and heading back towards the kitchen. He knew the man well, he would help himself in. Hiruzen Sarutobi was a man he considered to be something of a grandfather, despite him not actually being such. Despite his age, he was an immensely powerful man; leader of the entire village of Konoha, and the one responsible for insuring Naruto was paid an allowance each month. It was that allowance that had kept Naruto fed over the years.

"Good morning, Naruto." Hiruzen smiled as he stepped into the beaten apartment, shutting the door quietly behind him. "I see you're in just as much of a mess as always."

Naruto laughed just after he swallowed another gulp of milk. It was true; he never was good at keeping the place clean. Though he didn't know what anyone expected otherwise of a six year old orphan. "Sorry, gramps." Was all he was willing to offer in apology. Hiruzen sighed, shaking his head and chuckling softly as he stepped into the kitchen. Naruto pretended to ignore him as he ate more of the piece of bread, gradually tearing it down to the crust. The old man had turned away and was looking out the window, hands folded behind his back. There was silence once more, save for Naruto's chewing and the bird's chirping, until finally, after he had finished his light breakfast he grew uncomfortable in the absence of a conversation. "So, why're you here again?" He asked with a quirk of his brow.

Hiruzen hesitated, or seemed to, for a moment, before turning his head and fixing Naruto with what seemed to be a confused stare. "Why, to see you off, of course, and make sure you got there safely." There was another moment of quiet. He was confused. What did Hiruzen mean by that? See him off?

"Uh," Naruto started, blinking, "Get where?"

Then Hiruzen's eyes widened, and his eyebrows raised. "Naruto! Have you forgotten what day it is?"

"Monday?" He answered with a perplexed frown.

"Yes!" Confirmed the old man as he stepped away from the window and towards the table. "But do you know what's supposed to happen on this Monday?!"

"On this-" He started to answer, but then it finally clicked. His eyes darted to the calendar against the refrigerator. Circled in red marker was a date, and a scribbled word was written next to it. It was today's date. Today was Monday. A very special day Naruto had waited for for months after Hiruzen had told him about it. The day when the Ninja Academy was accepting admissions from the general public, to enroll their children. "It's today!"

"Yes!" Hiruzen said again, now with a thoroughly baffled expression. "You forgot?!"

"Err..." The answer was yes, but Naruto was hesitant to admit it, as obvious as he knew it was. He shuffled his feet and fiddled with the corner of the table.

The old man sighed, and nudged Naruto towards the door with a hand. "Well, no time to think about it now. Classes are filling up quickly. You'll need to hurry."

"Okay!" Before Naruto knew it, they were both outside the apartment and briskly walking down a narrow, bustling street. Konoha was a busy city, with lots of people going to and fro on business or recreation. It was a major hub of commerce and industry. The roads weren't paved, but they were flattened by the continuous passage of carts and wagons being pulled through. The buildings were well-kept and clean, even the alleyways between them were devoid of overflowing garbage - unlike Naruto's apartment room. They were headed towards the center of the large city, and as they got closer and closer to it, the buildings became bigger and bigger.

All the while they went, people stopped and smiled at Hiruzen, greeting him with a "Lord Hokage", or a "Goodmorning lord Third". Hokage was his title, the fire shadow, and he was the third man in all the history of Konohagakure to hold it. It was the position all the leaders of the village held during their rule.

Eventually they came to an opening in the infrastructure, as a wide path circled around a large red building lined by a gate, guarding its outer courtyard. Parents and children flocked to the entrance, set up in a large line as they awaited entry. The building was tall and cylindrical in build, with a red paint covering its entirety, broken briefly by an orange, sloped roof, before resuming above that until the very top. On the tip of the building were five, tall, rectangular pillars; and just above the first row of roofing was a round sign holding the kanji for Fire on it. Other buildings were connected to and around the main one, yet it was the only one of importance.

Also, there was a tree waiting out front by a wooden wall, and on the tree was a little wooden swing. One Naruto had sat on many times as he watched the building from afar, dreaming of the day when he would be able to go inside.

This was the Ninja Academy. The place where all ninja who served Konoha went to learn the tricks of their trade. The ninja were the soldiers, the police, and the guardians of Konoha. These were not the kind who hid in the shadows, although many still preferred that tactic. On the contrary, these were ones who held power of magic, to perform amazing spells like breathing fire from their mouths, or teleport from place to place. To climb walls and stand on water. To create illusions, of any sort they desired. Naruto knew it wasn't actually magic per say, yet the applications of their abilities seemed along the lines of it. The Ninja Academy was where children went to learn the basics.

Today was a special day; because today Naruto would begin his first step to becoming a ninja.

Hiruzen put a hand on his shoulder. "We might already be too late, but we should still try and see." Naruto nodded, and the two walked through the rows of waiting parents and their charges. It helped to be escorted by the Hokage. Their path was made clear by everyone who saw the venerable man walking by, few even noticed the child he was guiding. Naruto snickered under his breath. Even the others his age didn't seem to see him there. All of them, from the youngest to the oldest, were held captive in open awe at the legend walking among them. Though the question lingered as to why. It wasn't like Hiruzen was never seen walking with the regular people. He wasn't an elitist snob.

The question was buried after they stepped through the door frame leading into the building. Naruto grimaced, it was even more crowded inside than it was on the outside! They could barely get through the door, even with the people in the way struggling to retreat from the Hokage's path. It was a lobby of sorts, with chairs lining the back and side walls; none of which were sat in. Somewhere beyond the horde was a man, Naruto could hear him shout "Next!" in periodic intervals.

Eventually they pushed through the crowds, reaching a tall and wide brown desk, with a tower lamp on the left side and a box computer desktop on the right, papers piled together in between. Naruto had to look up high to see the face of the man who stood behind it; the desk itself was taller than him, and the one behind it was taller still. He was tanned in skin, had a round face, and had short brown shaggy hair and a squared, short goatee. "L-Lord Hokage!" He gasped as soon as he saw Hiruzen.

"I'm here to see Naruto Uzumaki is registered for classes here." He said, and even he had to peer upwards towards the man. He really was short, in comparison.

"Naruto...?" The man started, looking down passed Hiruzen's hat to see the blond-headed child. Naruto smiled brightly. "Ah, I didn't think he'd be coming here, what on account of the-" He paused, briefly pressing his lips together and wincing. Naruto could feel Hiruzen's grip on his shoulder tighten slightly. "-The erm, that he's an orphan, and all." Naruto frowned; what was that about? He was about to say something else, he was sure of it. The man looked away. "He'll need a sponsor."

"I am he." The Hokage replied with a cold ring to his normally friendly tone. "I will sign as his guardian, and pay for the required fees."

"Uh, yes, sir." Replied the man as he fiddled with his thumb. He dug through the pile of folders and papers and finally pulled out a bundle, paper clipped together. He flipped several pages over, scanning each in turn. "Well, your timing is perfect. We have three more openings." He paused and eyed the Hokage, subtly wiping away a short trail of sweat by scratching just above it. "I trust you've got everything you need?"

Hiruzen pulled three cards from underneath his robe, holding them outwards towards the man, held like a deck of cards. One was a personal identification, the other a proof of residential status, and the third a license of guardian eligibility. Why he needed any of those, Naruto couldn't say. He was the Hokage, it was pretty obvious he met any and every requirement that could ever be set. He shrugged his shoulders, chalked it up to boring regulations, and moved on. For a moment the other looked over them, and nodded; Hiruzen put them away and pulled out a bag of ryo; thin strips of paper that counted for the money in the known world. He pulled several bills out and handed them over.

"Okay." Said the official as he took the payment, adding them to a stockpile hidden in the desk drawer, then handing over a paper and a pen. "Sign here, please."

Naruto couldn't help but shift his feet and sigh as the adults handled their business. It was a drawn out process, to be sure. It was even a wonder why Hiruzen had to pay at all; he was the Hokage. But Naruto didn't care enough to think heavily on it. What bothered him most was what had been said moments earlier; or, rather, what had started to be said but was quickly cut off before it could be finished. On account of the - what? If only the sentence had been finished! He was obviously hiding something, and if Hiruzen's tightening on his shoulder was anything to go by, the old man knew too. Maybe it was Hiruzen who stopped him from telling? He looked up towards his grandfather-figure. Was he hiding something?

"Thanks. You're good to go. Introductory classes begin at noon, so you might want to stick around until then." Said the man as he took the paper and handed Hiruzen another. Then, he shouted, "Next!"

They turned to leave, once more working their way through the crowd at a slow, steady pace. Looking around, it was clear how many of the children would miss out on the education. There were many. Most would be forced to move on to the regular school, where they would begin a very normal, very boring life working the system. Others would get lucky, and would only have to wait until next year. As they left, he stole a glance at the round clock high on the wall - it was five passed eleven in the morning. He would be waiting an hour.

In a short while they had left the building and stopped beside the tree with the swing, Naruto sitting on the swing itself while Hiruzen stood next to him. A few of the people had heard there were only a few spots remaining and left early, while the others stayed, hopeful there were more. While the adults talked among each other, the other children ran around, laughing and playing a game of tag. Naruto winced when one fell and gasped in pain, but the child was helped up by one of the adults, dusted off, and ran off laughing once again.

"That could be me..." Naruto sighed, clenching the rope holding the swing up. Hiruzen turned towards him with a quirked brow. Naruto guessed now was as good a time as ever to ask, and he assumed the issues were connected. "What's wrong with me, gramps?"

"Hm?" Hiruzen murmured, and Naruto could swear his eyes narrowed and his mouth twitched into a frown.

"I never knew my parents. I guess they died. But what about my other family? Where are they?" The boy asked, looking towards Hiruzen with pleading eyes. "Then the jerk in there thought there was a reason why I wouldn't join the school..." He clenched his teeth. He could feel the tears rising. His eyes stung, his throat felt like it had a lump. But he held it in. He wouldn't cry, he knew that. It had been so long since he had. "...And you can forget about me making friends."

For some while, there was silence. Naruto could see Hiruzen staring down at him from the corner of his eye, but he kept his gaze fixed on the children. He wanted to be with them, but he held himself back. It was the same result every time, no matter how many times he tried. A ball kicked towards him retrieved, or an enthusiastic request to play along to a game of tag; they always turned away. Over and over, Naruto had watched their backs, silently screaming 'why', as they walked further. Months upon months later, Naruto was done asking. Now, he would only watch; and wonder why whoever floated up in the great blue sky ever put him on this earth.

"It's a bit complicated." The old man's ragged voice broke the quiet. Naruto glanced towards him. Rather than illuminate anything he had only made it murkier.

"How?!" He snapped, glaring at his grandfather figure. "It's 'complicated'?! That's the best you can give me?!"

Hiruzen shot a scowl down at him, one that wordlessly silenced him just as easily as the Hokage had riled him up. "I mean that it is difficult to explain; and something that I do not believe you are old enough to know yet."

"What? Not old-" Naruto nearly snarled. That there was something in his past he wasn't allowed to know; for as old as he was, still he knew how unfair it all was. Or at least he felt that way. He would press further. "I don't get it, gramps! Why can't I know? What the fu-"

"Naruto!" Hiruzen's harsh gaze only hardened, halting any further outburst dead in its tracks. Naruto felt a tremor rush down his spine, unable to stop himself from gulping loudly. "Calm down. I told you, you're not old enough yet to understand everything. When you're older, I promise, I will tell you the whole story." That was all, then. He wouldn't get anything more out of him. There was nothing left to do but lower his head and focus on fighting the tears back down his throat. A hand clasped over his shoulder. Hiruzen bent down to his level and looked him in the eyes, his powerful, threatening gaze being replaced by what Naruto felt was a soft, kind one. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

It was a while before Naruto felt the inclination to forgive his grandfather, and even longer for him to forget. The hordes of hopeful parents and children had dispersed long before either happened, and so would days and weeks. But in the present, there still remained the matter of the Academy, and the first classes of the season. In what seemed like minutes (so in tune with his inward ranting, Naruto wasn't aware of how long it had actually been), the bell rang aloud in rapid hits, resonating for miles in every direction.

Hiruzen bade Naruto a quick farewell and a good luck, given only an angry grunt in reply, and the blond stepped through the doorway and back into the lobby from before - which had now been crowded not with adults, but with children. They stood in a cluster of disorganization; it was hard to imagine the teachers in the building intended to turn them into an army in the following years. Naruto squeezed into the group, catching glances at the instructor at the front but being eager to avoid catching their eye all the same. It was not the same man who stood behind the desk, yet Naruto could not bring himself to trust them. One had already stated his suspicion, it was easy to assume others knew the secret as well. All except Naruto, it seemed.

There was a quick introductory speech, in essence giving an account, in brief, of the various classes the children would be undergoing, what they would learn, where the rooms were (a map was produced for this), who the teachers would be (there were five), and other pieces of information; Naruto forgot most of it later. There was another matter that distracted him: the appearances and physiques of those around him. For months Naruto had wandered the streets of Konoha, and knew that although the city's more noble denizens prided themselves on a crime-less society, that did not mean crime didn't exist. He had learned to pay attention to how those around him looked by necessity.

This group was varied, to be sure. Some were more intimidating, with black or dark brown hair, obvious or (in a rare case) subtle confident posture. Others were less so, theirs was a more reserved or shady; it was them Naruto thought to look out for. The prideful ones would, if they chose, attack him from the front. It was the shady of the group who would strike him in the back.

Some part of him knew he was just being paranoid. Just because he had never had an entire friend in his entire life, that the other kids shied away from him when he approached, did not mean they were out for his blood. Nor that they knew whatever secret supposedly barred him from a normal existence in society. If he was too young, according to Hiruzen, likely so were they. But it didn't hurt to be cautious, to know who to look out for. It even allowed him to notice a strange girl who had long, pink hair. If that wasn't weird, Naruto didn't know what was.

Granted, it made him a hypocrite - he had six whiskers and bright blond hair, so he was a touch weird himself, by his own admittance.

Eventually, after the teacher had finished going over the basics, they were led to the precise locations of each individual class. They were shown the lockers where they would put their things, they were shown the cafeteria, the offices, and the sparring yard. The last of these had Naruto grinning. Even then, he could see himself training as a shinobi along with the others. Nothing more happened for that day, and in fact they were told they had the rest of the week off - official classes would begin the following day. They were all handed a sheet with the planned schedule on it for them to take home, and were sent on their way. So ended day one.

Naruto plopped down on his mattress, later that night. His stomach was filled with the hot juice of a warmed up cup of soup. Nothing else seemed to be really appetizing. While on his return trip home, he had noticed a rather annoying sniffle had overtaken his nose. The chilly surprise he'd received from the bathroom faucet had decided to come back around and bite him, hard. Hopefully it would subside after a night of rest. He opted to close the windows to stop whatever breeze there might have been from coming through and making life even more miserable than he wanted; hopefully that would help stave off the cold. Eventually, after wrapping himself up in a thin, green blanket and letting his golden hair get bunched up even more against the deflated pillow, Naruto drifted off into slumber.

Morning came swiftly, and silent. Naruto wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep, but for a long while after he awoke, he wished he was back there. His head ached and his throat revolted against every action made, and his nose was stuffed to the brim with unmentionable goop. Of course, he should have expected this. There must have been something in the water, or he got it from one of the kids at the school. The room was stuffy, he couldn't tell if that was from the cold or from the window being closed throughout the night. The building's heater and air conditioning had been shut off for maintenance - that was a month ago. There was a definite need to get a new apartment, but he hadn't saved up enough from allowance with having to pay for food and the general utilities.

It dawned on him he wasn't getting his money's worth.

Then it dawned on him that he had school; and after a quick look at the clock, that it began in an hour. "There's gotta' be something that can wake me up earlier!" He growled as he yanked the covers away and stumbled off the mat. A quick shower; there was little water and it was as cold as ice, which didn't help whatever disease plagued his health. He threw on some warmer clothes that were older, grabbed a very nearly rotten banana from the counter, and darted out the door even faster than he had the day before.

It wasn't long at all before he made it there, with several minutes to spare. The alleyways and secret places of the village made for an excellent, if confusing, maze of shortcuts that one could use to get to their destination much faster than by taking the normal routes. It was more dangerous, and one had to know their way, but to Naruto it was as clear as following the road. The yard was empty, but the front door to the school was opened wide. The hallways were largely devoid of life as well, save for a lone man sweeping at some dust with a broom. Naruto brushed passed him and moved on. He knew where to go, but the clock was ticking.

Finally he reached the room he was to go to, and he could hear voices through the brown, closed door. The other children inside were chatting openly and loudly. For a moment Naruto hesitated; did he really want to go in there now? Class wouldn't begin for another few minutes yet. The instructor wasn't inside as far as he could tell. And he knew, if he showed himself, he would quickly be isolated to the corner. It had happened before, albeit not in a schoolroom environment. A sigh brisked through his lips, and he knew what he had to do. Maybe nothing would change, but at least he could try. He bit his lip and shoved the door open.

Like he had suspected, the class was packed to the brim. Children occupied just about all the seats available, and they barely acknowledged him at all as they talked to each other about one thing or another. Naruto didn't want to pry. The room resembled a climbing staircase; each desk was one level above the one in front of it, with the first being at the same height as the floor. There were long benches behind each of these where the children sat. He sniffled, slightly out of necessity but also to see if any would pay him any mind - they did not. Of course. He didn't expect any differently. He climbed the steps between the desks; there were three rows, with the farthest two being pushed up against the walls. There was one more seat available.

Naruto sat next to another boy, with black hair and equally dark eyes, who had his gaze set on the podium in the very front of the room. No words were exchanged between them, the other ignored him and Naruto returned the favor. He was rather used to it by this point. Most of the other children he recognized, they were among the group who lined up in front of the instructor the day before, while they were guided around the academy. He sighed. There was little chance if any of him making any friends from this bunch. They had already formed their cliques, save for a few who seemed just as isolated as he felt. One was even sleeping.

He didn't have any time to laugh about it. The door swung open as a man walked through, dressed in a blue undershirt and pants and protected by a green vest. His brown hair was tied back into a ponytail, and he had a long scar running over the bridge of his nose. He looked over the room; but his gaze lingered briefly on Naruto. The room had gone silent. "Hello everyone. My name's Iruka Umino. I'll be your teacher for the duration of your education. Nice to meet you all." What followed was a long string of introductions, as Iruka called out individual names and asked for them to reply when spoken too. Naruto drowned most of it out, snapping to attention briefly to respond with a curt "here" when his name was spoken, but otherwise remaining indifferent.

But then, Iruka made things a little more interesting. "Now, why don't you all turn to the one next to you. Get to know each other, introduce yourselves. They'll be your partner until you graduate." This caught Naruto by surprise. He assumed they would be left alone to complete whatever their teacher told them to, learn techniques, histories, and other such information. Not that they would be teamed up permanently. Slowly, he turned to glance over at the boy next to him, the one who he'd tossed aside as being just another boy who would treat him just as everyone else had.

'This'll be fun.' He idly thought to himself, knowing it would be just the opposite. He found the other boy was already looking back at him. Well, it couldn't hurt, right? "Hi. I'm Naruto Uzumaki." His voice felt flat, stiffened. He couldn't hide how he felt, like there was no point in any of this. The other boy sighed, and for a minute Naruto thought he felt the exact same way.

At the very least, his voice was just as dry as Naruto's. "Sasuke Uchiha."

Let me know what you think - leave a review with comments, suggestions, questions, or advice. I'm open to it. ...Some would argue I need it. xD Until next time!