Five years old little blond boy with three whisker-like marks in each his cheek ducked into one of the smaller alleys behind the market place. Behind him there were four ANBU ninja, who were throwing small jutsu – not to damage the village – kunai and shuriken at the blond, and only his heightened senses and speed with agility saved Naruto, that was blond's name, from being killed.
"Stay still, demon!" Oh, yes, Naruto was the hated container of the mighty Kyuubi no Yoko... One of the ANBU threw another kunai at the boy, who almost dodged, getting only a scratch on his shoulder, that healed several seconds later... The chase exited the alley and approached the hot springs. When they ran just past the fence, another ANBU, without stopping running flashed trough handseals.
"Suiton: suiryuudan!" A dragon head attached to a long neck made from water rose from behind the fence, accompanied by loud screams of girls that were at the hot springs. The dragon homed at its target and, no matter how much Naruto tried to evade it, the water jutsu hit him on his back, knocking the little blond into the tree.
"Good work, Osprey." Another ANBU, the one with a tiger mask, said. "Now we can have our revenge for what this demon did to the village!"
"Tiger-taicho!" The third ANBU, this one with a lizard mask, called. "I have a new fire jutsu I wanted to test. Can we take this scum out of the village and burn him there?" 'Tiger' thought about it. He too, after all, had a couple of jutsu he wanted to try on an alive subject.
"Let's do it." He said finally. "We will show this demon what Konoha is made of!" Naruto, who regained conscious by now, tried to run away again, but before he could make it even a meter away from the tree, he got a roundhouse kick to his back, that pretty much broke his spine. 'Lizard' picked the downed blond and tied him with a thin wire than would cut the boy if he tried to move.
"Let's go, taicho." The four ANBU made through the village, parading their catch to the people and getting cheered at every step. Naruto, who was conscious, would have cried at this injustice of the world, but he ran out of tears years ago with the way Konoha populace, except for the old man Hokage, a couple of ANBU, 'Itachi' and 'Cat',who were out of the village on their missions today and Teuchi and Ayame at the ramen stand, treated him...
The four ANBU with their captive entered a small clearing about four miles away from the village walls. 'Lizard' shoved Naruto into the tree roughly, while 'Osprey' and 'Baboon' pushed kunai through little blond's hands, nailing him to the tree, making the boy cry in pain. Then they did the same to his feet, crucifying the boy, before the three of them backed into the line at which 'Tiger' was standing.
"Any last words, demon?" The tiger-masked ANBU asked. Naruto remained silent: he learned it hard way that if he adjured for the torture to stop or even asked why they were doing to him, it only got longer and more painful. "Oh, well. Let's start, guys. Why don't you go first, Lizard?" The said ANBU nodded and and performed a sequence of handseals.
"Katon: kasumi engo!" Then he exhaled a gray mist that enveloped Naruto, making the blond cough when he accidentally breathed it in. "I think it works..." The ANBU mumbled to himself, while doing handseals for another jutsu. "Katon: karyuu endan!" And now he exhaled a stream of fire. When the fire touched the mist, there was a powerful explosion. When he smoke cleared, the ANBU smiled seeing that Naruto was burnt badly and was bleeding from his ears, nose and mouth.
"Did you like that, demon?" 'Tiger' asked. Naruto, who had his ears damage, couldn't even hear him. "Now it's my turn. Everyone, step back!" The tiger-masked ANBU flashed through handseals. "Doton: tetsu otome!" Two halves of hollow metallic statue rose on the sides of Naruto. Then the halves closed up around the blond. Then there was a sound of metal piercing flesh coming from inside the statue. For several next seconds there was silence, before the statue disappeared back into the ground, leaving wounded and bleeding Naruto still crucified on the tree. "What do you say guys, shall we finish the Kyuubi?"
"Wait a moment, tiger-taicho." 'Baboon' said. He came up to the blond boy and stuck his kunai between Naruto's legs, making him let out a silent scream. "Now we can continue." 'Baboon' said, returning to his comrades.
"We were going to kill it anyway, why did you do this?" 'Osprey' asked. 'Baboon' shrugged.
"I just wanted the demon to suffer as much as it can." The osprey-masked ANBU nodded. "Now, let's finish it." He flashed through handseals. "Raiton: moyasu denkou!" A powerful surge of electricity flowed from his hands and into Naruto's body, slowly frying blond's nerves. Then Naruto's heart faulted and the boy succumbed to the darkness... When the jutsu ended, 'Tiger' checked the boy.
"It's heart stopped." He said. "We killed it! We are the heroes of Konoha!" And four ANBU left the clearing.
The Kyuubi was woken from its sleep in the cage that was its prison from the feeling of it's container dying. Of course, nothing could really kill the demon of such level: it will reform after a decade or so. But still, the Kyuubi didn't fancy meeting the Shinigami again this soon. So, it decided to save its container. With the small amount of its yoki, the bijuu checked the damage its prison got. It wasn't happy with what it learned: almost entire skin of the boy had second and third degree burns and multiple pierced wounds; his lungs too were burnt; eardrums were destroyed as were middle ears; boy's nerves were fried and his spine was damaged heavily; boy's reproductive system was severed and, finally, the boy's heart stopped.
"Stupid ningens." The Kyuubi seeped more of its yoki into boy's body, restarting his heart and diaphragm and forcing the wounds on his lungs close up. After that was done, the nine-tailed fox started healing other, less dangerous wounds... Finally, after several hours of hard work, the Kyuubi managed to heal everything but the less significant burns and wounds. It was time for the boy to return to the conscious: all this healing took a lot out of his body and without food and water, Naruto would die soon.
"A-a-a-ah..." The blond moaned as he opened his eyes. He felt that his body was mostly healed, like it happened with all his wounds before. He was still crucified on the tree, with his clothes completely burnt away, and he could feel strange energy flowing through his body, making him believe that he could free himself.
"You, bag of flesh, free yourself and find food and water." Low demonic voice boomed in his head, making the little boy freak out. "Do as I say, you, hairless monkey, or you will die!" Naruto felt the energy in his body spike, and ripped his left hand free. Using it, he ripped other kunai from his body, starting with those that were in his feet and between his legs, crying in pain each time the blade moved through his flesh. "Now, take these knives with you. You will need them." Naruto, who could feel his wounds close, nodded.
'Who are you?' He asked, wanting to know, who was helping him.
"I'm great and powerful Kyuubi the nine-tailed demon!" The voice in his head boomed. "Do not be mistaken, you, bag of flesh, I don't care about you, but I'm stuck in your gut, and I don't want to meet Shinigami yet." The blond boy freaked out again: he had the strongest demon inside him! But the Kyuubi cut this line of thoughts from him. "You will need to find water and catch something to eat, monkey. You body needs food to continue living, something I'm interested in right now." With his hands shaking, Naruto picked five bloodied kunai from the ground.
'T-Thank you, anyway.' He thought, making the demon laugh, but it did no further comments, till Naruto came across a rabbit who was drinking a water from a small stream. With the instructions from the Kyuubi, Naruto managed to kill the critter.
"Skin it and eat it as it is. I will heal you from illnesses you may catch. You need food right now." The Kyuubi told to its container. "Then drink water." Eating raw meat wasn't good, but Naruto had no choice, so he ate the whole rabbit. Then he drank as much water from the stream as he could. "Now find yourself a safe place to sleep and rest. I will finish healing you, flesh bag!" Naruto did as the Kyuubi said, settling for the night in a big hollow in an old tree...
Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of the Konohagakure no Sato was distracted from his fight with the most evil enemy of every leader, paperwork, by a fireworks all over the village. The aged Hokage looked at the calendar, but today wasn't any holiday, so he couldn't see the reason for the fireworks. So he called his secretary. He noticed that the woman seemed to be very happy for some reason, much happier than she was in the morning.
"Masako-san, can you tell, what is the reason for all these fireworks?" The Hokage asked.
"Hokage-sama, you haven't heard? The Kyuubi was finally killed today!" The secretary said happily, but her words didn't have the reaction on the aged leader she expected: Sarutobi's face darkened, and started radiating killing intent so powerful that it made everyone within a mile from the Hokage tower feel it.
"Naruto-kun..." The man whispered, before upping his KI even more. "Bring the heroes here." His words were cold and promising those who were responsible for his loss a slow painful death. "I will personally deal with them." ...That evening Konoha ANBU forces lost four its men to the Hokage's wrath... And civilian part of the council got smaller too...
Naruto spent about a month in the forest, slowly walking away form Konoha as he didn't want to return to that place, even if all five of his precious people we there. He was feeding on different small critters he was killing with kunai he had or wild fruits and berries, and drinking water from various lakes, rivers and water streams he came across. Finally he exited the forest and reached a small village. Deciding that he could get some food and clothes – his old were irreparably ruined the day he was 'killed'. He cautiously approached the village, in case these people will try to kill him too.
"Oh dear, what a poor boy!" An old woman who was tending a herd of sheep exclaimed as she saw Naruto. The boy immediately froze, but moment later hid in the small ravine. The woman sighed and slowly approached the place where he was hiding. The boy tried to hide deeper, but quickly found himself in the corner.
"Don't hurt me! I did nothing back!" He cried in fear. The woman even did a step back, raising her eyebrows.
"Why would I hurt you, dear? Sure, you are dirty and naked and wounded..." She was referring to a fresh bruises the Kyuubi hasn't taken care of yet. "...but to hurt you for that? No." Naruto relaxed a little maybe they didn't know about him here. "Come out, dear." The blond boy shook his head. "Fine. I will bring you food and some clothes I have from my grandson here." And she disappeared from Naruto's field of view. Twenty minutes later she returned with simple bread and old woolen clothes. Naruto accepted them, carefully looking for any traps.
For the next five days Naruto lived in the ravine next to the village. The old woman brought him food every day, and he was thankful for that, but in the end, the little blond decided to leave this place – who knows, someone from Konoha may come here and try to kill him again... In these five days he learned that he was in about seventy miles away from the eastern coast of the Fire country and one of the port cities. Naruto headed there, hoping to infiltrate one of the merchant ships and get as far away from Konoha on it as he could... It took Naruto a week to reach the city, but now, that he had some clothes, he could move around other people more safely, passing as another local orphan. Slipping past samurai guard into the merchant section of the port was quite easy with his skill, and now little Naruto was walking in the warehouse with large crates of canned food.
"To... the... wa-ter co-u-nrty." He read slowly as reading was something he taught himself to survive in Konoha. Deciding that anything was better that the Hidden Leaf, he crawled into one of the crates which had one of planks missing and fell asleep.
When Naruto woke up, he was already in the hold of the ship and in the open sea, judging by the tossing. Not wanting to be thrown into the sea, Naruto spent day after day in the hold, eating the food from the crate, opening cans with kunai he still had with him, and drinking water that was in glass bottles in the other crate... The ship sailed for a couple of weeks – not that Naruto could tell that in the dark hold he was in – before it finally reached the Water country...
Again on the solid ground, Naruto ran away from the town where the port was into the local forest. He was walking through the forests for weeks, again eating critters he killed and wild berries and fruits and drinking any water he could find. As he arrived in the country he started going through the mist but as he was not used to the country, he fell into a river and since he could not swim he started sinking
"Cold... It's... So cold." said the five year old with blonde hair and blue eyes as his body failed to move without causing him great amounts of pain. He didn't know where he was but he felt the chilling water surrounding him making contact with his wounded skin. "Jii-san… Inu-nii… Neko-nee… Weasle-nii… help…" the raven haired boy pleaded in tears as his body continued to flow down the ice-cold river.
He didn't know what happened or how he got here. The last thing the boy remembered was the old man with funny robes-his "Jiji", telling him to stay safe and out of trouble. The old man told him something about having to leave the village for a while to go meet up with another man with funny robes from the land of the winds or was it clouds? A day after the old man told him that the boy watched as the old man left the village accompanied by Inu-nii and Neko-nee.
Remembering that scene brought tears to the boys eyes. He remembered them the three figures telling him to stay safe and take care. Their retreating figure as the sun shined on them, three of the only people among a village of thousands who cared for him and protected him. As he saw the figures back he reached out extending his arm as if to get a hold of them only for his world to turn dark.
"Help….." the boy said weakly as he opened his eyes only to close it immediately as the warm light of the sun was too much for the boy who spent god knows how long in the darkness.
The boy opened his eyes once more this time weakly and slowly as he adjusted to the bright light that was the sun. He looked at it staring at the bright star the raven-haired boy was captivated by he tried to lift his arm only to wince in pain. He really wanted to reach out, reach out for the bright light amidst the darkness of his life. He ignored the pain as he finally lifted his arm away from the cold waters and reached out for the sun. So near yet so far, so warm yet so cold, he yearned for its heat as tears began flowing from his eyes once more.
He was a kid he didn't know what to do or how to react to the situation, he was cold, he was hurt, he was lost, and he didn't have jiji with him. He could not do anything except cry. He cried to the retreating figures of his guardians, cried for the pain he was experiencing, cried for the loneliness, cried for the sorrow, cried for the hunger creeping up within him, cried for the cold that was enveloping him.
The boy continued to cry until tears stopped flowing, his body although healing was already too numb. The boy felt sleepy, he felt tired, and he felt the need to close his eyes.
The blonde haired boy looked up to the now flickering view of the sun as he slowly closed his eyes.
A girl around the same age as the boy was out with her mother picking herbs by the river. They were going to collect these herbs and make some medicine which her dad would later sell for some ryo. She was wearing a small white kimono, patterned with white lilies, with a yellow obi. The girl was holding a small basket filled to the brim with a bunch of herbs she already picked up. The girl got closer to the river as she picked up some more herbs. She suddenly stopped when she saw a mop of black her in the side of her eye. She turned her head and gasped as she saw a boy her age, flowing down the river, he looked injured and was really pale.
The girl dropped the basket as she went to the river. The river wasn't that deep, the water was only going up to her stomach it was cold but she has no problem with it. She held to the boy's arm and with all her strength began pulling him out of the river. The girl eventually managed to drag the cold wet body out to off the river as she began thinking about what her mother thought her. She placed her ear near the boys chest and was trying to find any signs if the boy was alive. Silence she wasn't hearing anything she continued trying to listen further *Lub-Dub* the girl finally heard after a few more minutes of searching.
The girl lifted herself of the boy's chest and was quite surprised to see the boy's eyes opened a bit looking at her.
"Tenshi?" the boy asked weakly looking at the one light in a world of darkness.
The girl blushed shaking her head rapidly before she looked down and thought that the boy lost consciousness again. She immediately stood up as she called for her mother not noticing those blue eyes from those half-lidded eyes still staring at her retreating figure before his world turned dark once more.
"Jiji" the boy yelled out as he looked for his Jiji only to see the same scene once more. The old man's retreating back and his shadow as he left Konoha sealing him to his fate.
The voice continued drowning out the screams of the boy.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" the boy screamed out as he opened his eyes and shot out of his bed hyperventilating. He looked around and found himself in an unfamiliar room; he looked down on himself and saw that he was bandaged all over his body.
"Good to see that you're awake" a voice said getting the boy's attention as he looked at the person standing beside the door. She was probably in her late twenties; she had long black hair and was wearing a simple loose-fitting brown kimono.
Naruto stared at her she looked somewhat familiar but before he could think about it his conditioning kicked in and made him run into the corner of the room and held his hands defensively protecting his chest and head "I'm sorry… I'm sorry don't hurt me please don't hurt me…" the boy said as he was shaking and crying.
The woman frowned at the boy's reaction, a boy that young shouldn't act like that. She looked at the mop of black hair in the corner. The woman took a step forward making the boy shake even more. She slowly approached the corner only a few steps away as she lowered herself sitting in the seiza position and looked at the boy.
"My name is Kuroyuki may ask what your name is boy?" the woman asked in a gentle tone.
"Uzu…. Uzumaki Naruto" the boy said hesitantly.
The woman raised an eye brow at this. If this boy was an Uzumaki that would explain the condition he was in when her daughter found him. Since the Uzumaki's rejuvenating blood and extended life span is one of the more known kekkei genkai holders out there, she was pretty sure that the boy was beaten and left half dead by the "Blood Haters" or was about to be sent to one of those camps to be used for labor. She shivered; she should know this since she was secretly a Yuki and knew what happens to those who are caught.
"Would you mind telling me how you ended up in the river?" she asked still using that gentle tone.
"I…. I… don't know…." The boy said still acting defensively in the corner.
The woman decided not to ask anymore as she could see that the boy wasn't stable at the moment. "It's okay for you to stay here for a while, we won't hurt you here; my daughter has really been worried ever since she found you." The woman stood up and turned her back seeing the boy finally calm down the moment she began to retreat.
*Stomach Grumbling*
There was one moment of awkward silence before Kuroyuki turned around and looked at the Naruto.
"Would you like something to eat?" she asked.
The boy looked up at her "You… you… would… give me food?"
The woman smiled sadly "Yes, now come along" she said as the boy slowly stood up and approached her. She led the boy to the dining room there was no one in it.
"Would you like anything specific to eat?" she asked as the boy only shook his head in response.
The woman thought about what to cook for a second before she decided to make some Miso Ramen. She served the hot bowl in front of the boy, getting him to stare at it for a few seconds.
"Is.. it really okay for me to eat this…." He asked getting a confused look from Kuroyuki.
"Why do you ask that?"
"Because people tell me…. Demon's don't deserve to eat…." The boy replied.
The woman's eyes widened it was worse than she thought. She immediately approached the boy even though she saw him tense and enveloped him in a warm hug.
The raven-head's eyes widened as he felt the warm arms around him.
"There there Naruto, You're going to be okay here, no one will call you a monster, no one will hurt you, you will be loved here so everything would be alright" she said soothingly making the boy tear up a bit.
"Thank you" the boy said as he returned the hug.
"I'm back Okaa-san!" a new voice said as she came into the room.
"Ah! He's awake" the girl said getting Naruto's attention, he looked to the voice and saw the familiar looking person; she looked exactly like her mother and was wearing a plain-looking green shirt and black shorts.
"Tenshi?" the boy asked as he looked at the girl getting a strange look from Kuroyuki.
"Haku!" she said smiling she added "My name is Haku!"
"umm… hello Haku-san" the boy said as he looked at the pretty girl in front of him making his cheeks blush up a bit.
"Haku would you like to eat something to? I just made some ramen" Koroyuki said getting a cheerful nod from her daughter in response.
The girl sat beside Naruto as she looked at him "You should eat your ramen" she said in a cheerful tone.
"It tastes better while it's hot" she said making the boy nod.
Kuroyuki came back to the room another bowl of hot ramen in hand, she paused for a bit and smiled as she saw her daughter talking to the boy excitedly and she swore for a second she saw the boy smile.
"Here's your bowl Haku" the older Yuki said as she placed the bowl in front of the girl.
Haku noded and took her chopsticks as she started eating the ramen.
Naruto stared at her for a second before taking his own chopsticks and started eating the ramen.
It was the best thing he tasted his whole life.
Scene change
In konoha things were not doing great, after executing the anbu who tortured Naruto, Sarutobi ordered a travers team to search for Naruto, believing that the kyubi will save his host. But after two weeks without results, the old hokage had to come to accept that his surrogate grandson was dead. After the two weeks he was being confronted by the three anbu, who like him loved the blonde like family, the first was hatake kakashi or Inu as his codename in ANBU, the ANBU is a fit and relatively tall shinobi, with spiky silver hair and dark grey eyes. Since his first jōnin mission, he obtained a small vertical scar running over his left eye (which was soon replaced by a Sharingan). While unknown why, since early childhood, Kakashi has worn a mask over the nose and lower-half of his face. He is revealed, however, to have a narrow jaw-line with a beauty mark under the left corner of his mouth. He is also considered very handsome. He is often mistaken for his father, whom he greatly resembles, despite most of his face being obscured. Usually the man had an easy going vibe about him but now, he looked ready to kill his commander.
Next to him, was Uzuki Yugao, or Neko as her codename in ANBU. Yūgao is a young woman with straight, purple hair reaching down to her waist, warm brown eyes, and a shade of red lipstick. As an Anbu member, Yūgao wears a porcelain mask resembling a cat with three red stripes — one vertical stripe on the forehead and two horizontal stripes, one on each cheek. She also wears the standard Anbu uniform, consisting of black and grey armour, metal arm guards and a katana strapped to her back. She has the signature Anbu tattoo on her right shoulder. She was flooding the office with her KI.
The last member of the trio was Uchiha Itachi, or Itachi in anbu. Itachi had onyx eyes under which were long, pronounced tear-troughs. He had jet-black hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail and his face was framed with centre-parted bangs that extended to his chin; the ponytail and bangs grow longer over the years. His overall appearance is very similar to Sasuke's, his brother. When he lived in Konoha, his casual clothes consisted of a black shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back, bandages around his ankles, and black sandals. He wore tan pants with a weapons pouch strapped to his back. When on duty, he would wear the standard Anbu uniform complete with arm guards, a flak jacket, and a porcelain mask which was fashioned to resemble a weasel with a red, triangular marking on top. He usually had his stoic face on but, you could see the anger in his eyes.
"I told you this would happen Hiruzen, but you were too stubborn and now my little brother, sensei's son is dead, tell me why shouldn't I rip to pieces before feeding you to my dogs!" snarled the hatake. And Hiruzen did not try to defend himself.
"You will take a turn hatake, I am first, I told you to let me addopt him and train him, he was sensei's son, but no you said, he must live a normal life you said, and now my sensei's son is dead, and it's all on you you old fool!" added Yugao with Hiruzen hanging his head in shame.
As for Itachi, he was remembering how he met the blonde, he found him one day training in the forest, and he was training extremely for a four year old, when he approached the child and asked him why he was training, Naruto answered him that he was training so that he becomes a shinobi to protect his old man, his drive impressed the Uchiha and so he made a habit to watch the blonde train and sometimes help him, the Uzumaki was everything he wanted in his brother, hardworking and dedicated. And after a while he started feeling a brotherly love and pride for the jinchuriki, he knew the boy had the will of fire in spades, and now a child who would have led Konohagakure to greatness was killed by the very village he loved.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed as he thought through everything that had happened over the past few years. "Agreed, Hatake, Yugao and even you Itachi, agreed. I do need to reveal some things to you however, and for me to do that, I need to look you in the eyes, so please remove your masks." While waiting for three of his top ANBU to comply, the old man activated the privacy seals in the office and sat back in his chair.
Waving his hand at one of the chairs in his office, Hiruzen ran his hand down his face and sighed. "Please take a seat, because this is an SS-ranked secret, and I am afraid you are NOT going to like what I have to tell you."
Sitting down heavily in the offered chair, Hatake removed the Dog mask and turned his full attention to the Hokage. "What is it that you would risk so much over to tell me Hokage-sama?"
Slowly looking up at the much younger man in front of him, Hiruzen gathered his thoughts for a moment. "Namikaze Minato, Namikaze Uzumaki Kushina, and Naruto twin sister, Naruko are still alive…" and it was then that Hiruzen knew that he was in deep shit
Timeskip
Hatake Kakashi was a person who didn't get angry easily, this was something that just about everyone knew. However at that particular moment in time he was seething in rage, most of that directed at the man in front of him, since the source of his ire was nowhere around. The same could be said about Uchiha Itachi.
"So what you're telling me Hokage-sama is that my sensei and his wife came up with this cockamamie plan to save Sensei from dying because of the shiki fuin by separating the Yin and Yang chakra of the kyubi and seal one into each of their children?" Kakashi glared at the older man until he responded.
Sighing as he nodded, Hiruzen couldn't help but feel partially responsible for what had happened considering the fact that he had argued against their entire plan. "Hai that is an accurate summation of what they had planned. However, far worse is what else they had planned. They would act as if the remainder of their family had perished in the attack so that they could train their daughter to use Kyuubi's chakra as well as to train them in their clan's ways. They planed on having both Jiraya and Tsunade raised and protect Naruto and train him as well, that way they could maximize the amount of things thought to their children. I argued with them for hours after they had accomplished the sealing, telling them that their plans to have the villagers see their son as a hero would never work, but unfortunately for Naruto and myself, Jiraiya and Tsunade sided with Minato and Kushina and promised to take care of Naruto ."
Gritting his teeth, Kakashi growled deep in his throat. "So just when were they supposed to return and what did they plan on doing to get him to accept them as his family when they just abandoned him?"
Bowing his head in regret, Hiruzen shook his head. "They had planned on returning in two of three years and take over Naruto's training then. I cannot be held blameless in this, no matter how much I argued with them, they were stubbornly set on this course of action, and we just saw the result of my inactions."
All three operatives looked down, remembering the golden sunshine that was Naruto before the Sandaime decided to talk again.
"in two weeks, I will anounce Naruto's funeral and I will anounce his heritage as well, in those two weeks you three will go and bring Minato and his family back, I have a few leads about his whereabouts." said the sandaime with all three anbu Nodding.
Scene change
After a couple of days following false leads, the three Anbu had finally tracked the Namikaze family to the ruins of Uzushio. They had quickly followed Pakkun, one of Kakashi's summons, as he led them to what looked to be a recently rebuilt house. Hearing the laughter and merriment coming from inside, the three ANBU looked at each other and scowled, despising them for having abandoned their own flesh and blood. Slipping their masks on, they approached the house while Kakashi flared his chakra twice to signal their approach.
Standing in front of the building, they waited until the door opened and they saw Namikaze Uzumaki Kushina answer. Both of them bowed in greeting, while both Itachi and Yuugao allowed Kakashi to take the lead in speaking as she was almost overcome with rage at seeing her former sensei standing there in front of her with a smile on her face. "Namikaze-sama, we have come with a message from the Hokage for Minato-sama. Is he here as this message is most urgent?"
Nodding, she stepped aside from doorway allowed them inside. Motioning to them to follow her, she led them inside to the dining area. Moving over to sit beside her husband, Kushina got her husband's attention and motioned to the ANBU. Looking over at the three ANBU, Minato's face lit up with recognition as he saw the Dog mask on the one that did nothing to hide his gravity-defying silver hair. "Kakashi-kun, how have you been? It's been forever since we've spoken and I assume that Sarutobi let you in on the plan since you don't seem surprised to see me alive."
Shaking his head in response, Kakashi inwardly seethed. How could they abandon their own son and live what appeared to be a fairly good life, showering love and affection on each other and his sisters, and leave their son and brother to think that he was alone and an orphan? In a cold emotionless tone he replied. "It would have been better if you hadn't faked your death for many people, Namikaze-sama, me being the least of them. There is something important we need to discuss."
Frowning slightly at the tone of his voice, he nodded and stood. Turning so that he could head to the study, he moved so that he could look at his old student and motion for him to follow. Yuugao was right on his heels as left, abruptly turning her back on Kushina, and was unable to see the look of shock on her face at being dismissed and ignored like she was.
After the whole Namikaze family was assembled in the study, Kakashi started
"Namikaze san we are sorry to inform you that your son, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto has perished, and that his funeral has been anounce in nine days." said Kakashi shocking both parents
"is this as joke, kakashi... I mean how... Did Iwa or Kumo find out somehow." asked Minato emotionally numbed by the news.
"No it was not Iwa nor was it Kumo, It was just a few drunk anbu who wanted to kill the 'demon' you defeated sensei." he said and both Minato and Kushina realised what that meant, and Kushina fell to the ground crying. As for Minato he had tears flowing out of his eyes but he remained strong.
"But... But what about jiraya what about tsunade, they promised to take care of my son, where the hell were they?!" he screamed at the end. Not one of the ANBU conforted him or his wife they all turned around and started leaving but not before Kakashi gave the bastards a piece of his mind.
Kakashi's voice was like ice as he spoke this time, and his words cut their intended recipients to the core. "Minato-san, Kushina-san, we consider the both of you dead to us, as you have betrayed the very teachings that you instilled in us. We do not consider you family, as the both of you are not the people we thought and believed you to be. All we desire from you is that you no longer be familiar with us in speaking to us, as you have lost that privilege. With that said, we bid you farewell."
They then shunshined away, as far as they could go, before rapidly moving towards their rendezvous point to link up with their ride and make their way home to prepare for the funeral. As for the Namikaze family they started making their bagages and started making their way towards Konoha.
Scene change time skip 2 years.
Two years later
The past two years has been a god sent for the blonde-haired Uzumaki, the family was kind to him even the father Jiro who met later that day two years ago. Naruto now seven years old was wearing a short black loose-fitted kimono lined with red on its sleeves and cuffs on top a white turtle neck shirt, and blue pants, plus dark navy blue sandals. Naruto is extremely different from what he was like two years ago. He was happy, cheerful, and had a generally positive outlook in life. He was also smart for his age surprising both Jirou and Kuroyuki when he managed to learn about all the different type of herbs in a week. The boy was sponge for knowledge and Kuroyuki adamantly decided the he should use it for something. At first she directed the boy towards the medical field but the boy said something about wanting to become a ninja earning an immediate no from Kuroyuki. However, as he kept begging Kuroyuki eventually gave in and brought Naruto a book called "Chakra Usage for Dummies" which is now the boy's favorite book. He even showed it to Haku a few times and was surprised when she managed to form a snow flake using her chakra. Having heard about how people could do that are killed by people here in Mizu no Kuni the two decided to keep it a secret. Another secret he kept from the family, was his training with the kyubi, and the bijuu was a task master, he trained Naruto in his chakra control which surprisingly he had an easy time with. He also thought him the basic nature manipulation for his elements, wind and fire.
Naruto was playing with Haku in a clearing near their house. Haku hasn't changed that much. She was still bright, beautiful and cheerful. The two have gotten close over the past two years to a point that Naruto called her "Haku-chan" while she called him "Naru-kun" they pretty much considered themselves as brother and sister at this point since it was Haku who managed to break Naruto out of his defensive shivering compulsion that he got when there was adults around or when someone touches him. The two even made an innocent and childish vow to be there with for the other forever and ever making Kuroyuki and Jirou chuckle as the two unknowingly proposed to each other.
"Neh, Haku-chan?" said to Haku as the two were playing ninjas.
"Yah Naru-kun?"
"Don't you think ninja's are cool!" the blonde-haired boy said while throwing punches still pretending to be a ninja.
"Hnn… they're cool but I don't really like them…. I heard from Okaa-san… they kill people for a living…." Haku replied making Naruto around and look at the young yuki.
"Hmm… I know they kill people… but they're strong! One day I'll become a ninja the best ninja in the world so I can protect you, okaa-san, and oto-san, I'll protect you all until the last of my breath dattebayo!" he declared proudly making the girl blush slightly before chuckling at his weird verbal tick.
"Plus if I can become a ninja I'll be able to free Kiri and become the Mizukage! After that I'll become a hero known throughout the elemental Nations!"
"Umm… Naruto-kun what does it mean to be a hero"? she asked innocently making the boy suddenly pause for a moent and give it some thought.
"I don't know… but I'll swear I'll find out in the future!" the boy said as he smiled at Haku "But I do know we'll be heroes one day!" he said earning a surprised look from Haku.
"We'll be bigger than any of the Kages in the Nations we'll do our best to bring peace to the world and prevent any more wars from happening dattebayo!"
"I'm sure we will Naru-kun" the girl replied happily earning a wide smile from the Naruto.
The boy looked up in the sky it was strangely cloudy today. "Neh Haku-chan, I think it's about time we go home Okaa-sama might be worried about us now"
"Hai! Race you there" Haku said as she began running towards their house with Naruto trailing her from behind.
After a few minutes of running the two came to a stop in front of the house as they heard some arguing from the living room. The blonde-haired boy and Haku entered as they decided to make themselves scarce. Recently the two noticed that their parents were arguing a lot more than before. Once they saw Jirou leave the house looking angry the two decide to ask Kuroyuki what was going on.
"What happened Okaa-san?" Haku asked only getting a sad look from her mom
"It's nothing Musume" she said before telling the two of them to go to their room.
The two nodded and was about to leave before Kuroyuki called Naruto and asked him to stay in the room.
"Naru-chan" she said while looking sadly at the boy.
"If anything ever happens to me I want you to promise me something" she said looking at the boy intently.
"Hai Okaa-san" Naruto replied making the woman smile sadly.
"Protect Haku Naru-chan, protect her, love her, and look after her… be there for her" she said.
"You don't need to ask Kaa-san! I was planning to do that even if you didn't tell me" he replied brightly.
"Wait here Naru-kun" she said as she got up taking out a bag and putting some stuff like ryo, clothes, and scrolls in it before handing it to Naruto.
"You know how to use chakra right Naru-kun?" the woman asked earning a nod from the boy.
She pulled out a scroll opened it and showed it to Naruto "These scrolls has some preserved food, herbs, and some more money" just apply chakra to it to unseal them she said demonstrating it to the boy making his eyes widened as he didn't know Haku's mom could use chakra.
She pulled out another scroll this one was pure white "This one has some books on jutsus, taijutsu, and simple chakra control excersices, as well as some jutsus of the Yuki-clan" she said surprising the boy. He heard of the Yuki clan before they were one of the clans who had the tainted blood as the other villagers said it and were called monsters just because of their blood.
The boy's eyes widened as he started making connections but he had to make sure. "Why are you telling this to me Kuroyuki-san? Don't tell me…" he didn't finish as the woman nodded.
"I need you to take Haku with you now and run…. I'm afraid my husband has found out about our blood."
"Then why aren't you going to come with us?" the boy asked.
"Because even thought I know he is going to kill… deed down inside I still love him" she finished.
"I'm sorry Naru-kun but please take care of Haku-chan"
The boy looked at her tears already forming in his eyes
"Are you sure?"
"Hai Naru-kun" she replied as the two of them began hearing a loud sound of yelling coming towards their house.
"Go Naru-kun" the woman said as Naruto took the bag with the supplies and ran towards Haku's room.
"HAKU!" he said surprising the girl.
"Hai Naru-kun?"
"We need to go now!" he said as he grabbed the girl's hand.
"What?" she asked as she was dragged by the boy into the living room only to see a sight that will be engraved into both of their minds forever.
Haku's father Jirou was standing there tears in his eyes as he held a bloody knife, in front of him lying on the ground was the bleeding and now dying form of one Kuroyuki.
The man turned around as he heard a gasp coming from Haku who was now behind Naruto.
"Get out of the way Naru-kun" he said as he approached the two of them "I'm sorry about this but I….*gulp* need to do this…. Their blood… its unclean… their monsters.. Sorry Haku…. But I need to kill you…" the man said making the raven-haired boy glare at him.
Haku was in shock her Otou-san killed her Okaa-san and now he was about to kill her as well.
"Now GET OUT OF THE WAY NARUTO OR I'LL KILL YOU AS WELL" the man screamed out as he brought his hand up knife held tightly about to take a swing at the boy. Time slowed for Haku, her Otou-san killed her Okaa-san and was now about to kill Naru-kun… she felt something snap inside her as she yelled out forming large icicles all over the place impaling her dad before he attacked Naruto.
Naruto's eyes widened as he saw Haku take her father's life. The boy gritted his teeth in anger something like this should never happen. They were a kind and loving family just yesterday and now all of this happened because one man said something that having a specific blood makes them a monster. It was like he was in Konoha all over again; the boy would have nothing like that. He tightened his grip on Haku's hand as he started running towards the back of the house. He opened a door and ran outside.
He briefly heard someone scream out "There! The monster and the monster lover are heading there!" Naruto said as he picked up his pace still dragging a shocked Haku trying his best to avoid and run away from the raging mob.
"Haku-chan" he said getting the attention of the girl.
"Don't worry about it… I won't let anyone hurt you…" he said confidently which managed to ease the girl up even by a bit.
The boy gritted his teeth as the mob continued chasing after them eventually managing to drive Haku and Naruto in a corner. Naruto immediately placed himself between the crowd and Haku as he glared at the ten adults all carrying varying tools ready to be used as weapons against kids.
"Get away kid were here after the monster not you!" one man said.
"Shut up let's just kill the kid as well, he's a monster lover" another man said earning a collective "Yeah" from the crowd.
Naruto glared daggers at them there was nothing he could do and he knew that. They were out matched and outnumbered. Although he knew how to use chakra he couldn't really do anything with it, he can probably strengthen his body to a small degree but he was still a seven-year old standing against ten fully grown men. He also knew one fire jutsu and one wind jutsu but he was sure it would not be enough. Naruto looked behind him to see a shaking Haku , he cursed internally he didn't want thing to end this way he promised to himself and Kuyoku-san that he will protect her.
" Kit, tag me in, I will teach those assholes about monsters." said the biju
'sure kyubi, just don't go overboard' answered Naruto. And his eyes turned red, Naruto/ kyubi took a deep breaths before he shaped his fire chakra into what he wanted it to do.
"ninpo: Endan! (Ninja art: Fire Bullet)" the boy screamed out as a huge ball of fire appeared on the palm of his hand before separating into a few smaller balls of fire. Naruto screamed out as he fired off the small fire ball hitting every person in the mob burning them to death almost immediately.
Naruto suddenly felt a bit faint, he thought it might have been because of using this power but he didn't bother to pry into right now. He looked back at a wide-eyed Haku as he grabbed her hand again and started running once more.
"What… was that Naru-kun?" Haku asked forgetting about the whole getting her parents are dead for a moment.
"I don't know…. But If it'll help me to protect you… I won't bother asking what it is." The boy lied as he looked back at the slightly blushing Haku.
"Don't worry Haku-chan, no matter what happens I'll protect you... no matter what that is a promise of a life time" the blonde-haired boy said as he looked away from Haku and back to the path that they were taking.
Haku just stared at his back. She didn't know why but she just knew Naruto was going to keep his promise in the end, he will really be there for her no matter what.
"Thank You Naru-kun" she said as she hanged on tightly and stared at the one light that was shining brightly in the midst of this dark day.