So uh, new story, 'nuff said.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But I do own Fortnite on my Xbox, so that's something, right? Right?
Chapter 1: The Make-up Exam
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"Iruka, wake up!"
Umino Iruka jolted out of bed and stood immediately at attention. All traces of sleep were wiped from his eyes and he stood in a position ready to fight, having only heard a loud noise in the middle of his sleep, not knowing if it was an enemy.
He had been asleep in his bed at the dead of night. That was until he had found his door being quite literally ripped open, his fellow chunin not bothering to knock and wait for permission to enter, the situation seeming urgent.
"What is it Zaji, what happened?"
"It's Uzumaki, he's stolen the Forbidden Scroll!"
Iruka's heart dropped. The Forbidden Scroll had techniques in it so dangerous that the scroll was sealed away by the Shodaime Hokage. If someone caught Naruto with it, considering how people in the village felt about him they'd have no problem with eliminating him with extreme prejudice.
"What! No way, he would never do that!"
"You know how he is Iruka, maybe he's turned against the village."
An angry look in his eyes, he rushed out of his apartment door, almost knocking over his fellow chunin, and feeling all the better for it.
He had to find Naruto before anyone else. Or the consequences could be dire for the young jinchuriki who he'd just starting finding a bond with.
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"There you are Naruto! I was starting to think I'd never find you!"
Naruto walked into the designated clearing, the heavy scroll tied to his back weighing him down.
"Sorry Mizuki-sensei. I had to knock out the Hokage with my super cool ninja powers." He spoke while rubbing the back of his head. Naruto looked at Mizuki, an average enough man, with long white hair and his headband tied like a cap around his forehead, he wore a standard chunin vest, ninja pants, and sandals.
"It's alright, now hand me the scroll."
Naruto untied the scroll from his back and reached out to give it to Mizuki when the man raised his hand, notifying him to stop.
Mizuki looked at Naruto long and hard. 'I could take the scroll to Orochimaru-sama, but what would I get in return? Power, yes, but what if I brought him the jinchuriki? I'd receive respect and strength I couldn't even dream of.'
"Come on Naruto, let's get going."
"Get going? I thought the mission was just to take this scroll from Jiji's office and I could graduate even if I didn't pass the academy test?"
"I did say that Naruto, but after checking with my superiors, I've decided to take you with me on a mission, for you to gain shinobi experience and get to know what us ninja do."
Naruto was ecstatic; "A mission! I get to go on a mission and I didn't even graduate! Take that Sasuke!"
Mizuki turned around and starting moving into the forest, for Naruto to follow.
"Hurry up, unless you want to be late on your first mission." Mizuki called out behind him.
Naruto charged forward with no qualms. He just couldn't understand why Iruka wouldn't let him graduate even though he knew that being a ninja meant everything to him. Mizuki-sensei really understood his dream.
The only thing he didn't understand is why Mizuki gave him looks of loathing when he thought he wasn't looking.
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After almost an hour of tree hopping, Naruto raised the question.
"Hey Mizuki-sensei, where are we going?"
Mizuki thought for a moment and spoke. "We moving towards our client in the Land of Rice. Once we get there they'll give us our mission."
"But didn't you say that I have to learn a technique from the scroll in order to graduate? I haven't learned anything yet."
Putting on a friendly smile, Mizuki answered; "Oh, I almost forgot. Since we don't have to reach our client until tomorrow, we can set camp here and you can practice at your technique while I go get wood for a fire."
Mizuki knew that Naruto would never be able to learn a technique from the scroll, and the most he'd end up doing was exhausting his chakra anyways, and Mizuki was fine with that. It would make it all the easier if Naruto tried to struggle when the time came.
They stopped at a clearing in between the many trees that they had been jumping through.
Naruto spread out the scroll, and looked for techniques of any interest.
"Fuinjutsu: Eight Trigrams Sealing? Sounds lame, and what are all those squiggly lines? Suiton: Great Waterfall Jutsu, Space Time Ninjutsu: Flying Raijin Jutsu? Argh! These don't make any sense!"
Sighing, he kept flipping the pages until he found something that caught his eye.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu? Eh?! A clone Jutsu! If I can master this and show Iruka-sensei that I can perform a clone technique, then I'll graduate no matter what!"
And so he set off to mastering the technique from the scroll, away from home and headed towards an uncertain future.
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A figure sat shrouded in darkness, two other kneeling before him. The kneeling figure to the left spoke.
"The Kyuubi jinchuriki has stolen the Forbidden Scroll of Seals. He has left the village with the academy teacher suspected to be working with Orochimaru, Mizuki."
The figure sitting in front of them replied; "No doubt a plan of Orochimaru's design to obtain the scroll, but to take the jinchuriki? I had thought him smarter than to believe we would let him escape with Konoha's weapon. Even Hiruzen's ninja would have eventually caught up to the boy."
The kneeling figure on the right threw himself in the conversation, "What should we do about this development?"
"Track them down. Being the jinchuriki and the scroll back to Konoha. Eliminate Orochimaru's pawn. If it were just the scroll I'd leave Hiruzen's ninja to take care of it. However, I cannot take the chance that Uzumaki Naruto will end up in the hands of Orochimaru."
The two voices exclaimed in unison, "Understood."
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Mizuki returned with his arms full of firewood and a keen eye to check out Naruto's progress.
He entered the clearing to find at least 1,000 Naruto clones staring down at him from the canopy.
He dropped his firewood.
"Kai!"
No genjutsu was broken, and he tried his hardest to contain his surprise.
'Kami, did he use the Kyuubi to increase his learning curve? There's no way he would've been able to learn such a high level technique without using the demon.'
"You're right Mizuki-sensei, it really isn't that hard to graduate after all."
On the inside, Mizuki was seething at Naruto being able to master a technique that was too advanced for him to use, but on the outside he showed happiness for the young shinobi.
"Maybe I'll even learn a second technique tomorrow, hehe."
"Maybe you will Naruto, maybe you will."
'That is, if he's still breathing by tomorrow afternoon.'
They called it a night, with Mizuki taking the first watch over their camp. When the time finally came to get moving again, it wasn't long before they were less than two miles out from the border, and they could see the tall traditional buildings and hear the bustling city commerce.
They were less than half an hour away from the "client rendezvous point" when Mizuki started to feel an itch on his left arm. It was merely a fly, prompting him to swat at it, only to find another one on his left calf, and his right arm, and his neck.
It was then that he realized that they weren't flies, they were the parasitic insects of the Aburame clan. He released a pulse of chakra to get any of them left off his body, and came to an abrupt stop.
"Naruto! Stop moving, we're under attack."
'It seems Konoha has finally caught up to us.'
"Under attack Mizuki-sensei? By who?"
"This is a part of the graduation exam, these people are here to ambush us on our mission! If we get defeated here, you'll never graduate!"
Naruto was astonished, until a hard glint came in his eyes. "Then I'll defeat everyone here with my new jutsu, no sweat!"
As he said that, a kunai flew towards Mizuki, which he blocked with his own. Naruto saw him leap into the trees, presumably towards the attacker, and followed since he couldn't find where the enemies were himself.
He followed Mizuki into a clearing where Mizuki was locked in a fierce taijutsu battle with a man with orange hair and amber eyes, but he seemed to be losing. The other man's speed and positioning were far superior to his.
He was about to rush in to help Mizuki, until he noticed out of the corner of his eye a man with short black hair and a mask covering the top half of his face subtly sending what looked like insects towards Mizuki.
Knowing that it couldn't be good, Naruto rushed at the man and threw forth his fiercest kick which was promptly dodged. It was like the man wasn't even paying attention to him, and continued sending out the insects to Mizuki, accelerating his already losing battle.
Naruto punched at his face, and the man tilted his head and sent Naruto back with a powerful palm strike to the chest, leaving him sprawled out on the ground.
"Naruto! Regroup!"
Mizuki called him back towards the beginning of the clearing, and he rushed to meet with him.
"Alright listen up Naruto, you're gonna move forwards and give em everything you got, alright? That way, they won't be paying attention to me behind you, and I'll finish the battle. Got it?"
Naruto nodded vigorously. "Got it Mizuki sensei."
"Now go!"
Naruto ran ahead, towards the two in what seemed like ANBU uniforms who had also regrouped as they had. He yelled, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Instantly, around one-hundred Naruto clones appeared, attacking the two ninja with all he had.
They did absolutely nothing. An area attack with insects from the man in with the black hair combined with the insanely fast flurry of tanto strikes from the man with the amber eyes got rid of his clones in under thirty seconds.
When the real Naruto got within twenty feet of them, all backup clones having been dispelled, both of them pulled out multiple kunai, and threw them at an incredible speed Naruto knew he couldn't dodge. However, they flew past him and hit Mizuki, preparing his chakra for a Jutsu behind him.
Mizuki cried out in pain, and Naruto turned around and sprinted as fast as he could towards his direction, not even caring that they could strike him down while his back was turned. He reached his sensei and helped him up.
"Mizuki-sensei, what are we gonna do? I-I don't wanna graduate anymore, let's just go back."
Mizuki looked at him with fire in his eyes, "It's a little too late for that brat. We're gonna stick to this... to the end!"
Mizuki grabbed Naruto and put him in a chokehold with his kunai at his throat.
"Don't move! Don't draw your weapons, don't attack. If you take a step forward, the jinchuriki dies!"
Naruto felt his heart break into pieces. "Sensei, what are you doing! Why?"
He struggled to get out of his grip, but the chunin's grasp was too strong.
The two attackers looked at each other with a nod, before they threw their kunai at him.
Mizuki had a look of fear and surprise in his eyes, and thought, 'So be it. At least I got to kill the demon in the end.'
He slit Naruto's throat as he felt two kunai hit him on both sides of his chest, one just barely missing his heart.
He smiled in his final victory, and looked to find the body of Naruto only to find that he was not there.
Mizuki's bloodied fingers reached together in a hand seal and muttered, "Kai."
The world shimmered around him and Naruto was standing above him, unhurt. Tears formed in the young boy's eyes.
"Why? Why would you do that to me? I trusted you! You're just like everyone else aren't you?"
Mizuki chuckled, until it turned into a full blown laugh, cackling as the life faded out of him.
"I hate you for the same reason everyone else in the village hates you. The Yondaime Hokage never killed the tailed beast that attacked our village, The Nine-Tailed Fox. Instead, he was sealed inside of you. You killed loved ones of almost everyone in the village. You are the Kyuubi!"
Mizuki moves forward with his last action of life, drawing his Fūma shuriken off his back. He moved his arm back to release it, and from the proximity he was standing to Mizuki, it was impossible for him to dodge.
That was until one last kunai from the black haired man struck Mizuki straight in the forehead, ending his life before he could end Naruto's.
Naruto was in absolute shock, his world falling to pieces around him. He stared blankly at the trees in front of him, completely ignoring the enemies that ended his sensei's life.
They walked to him calmly, and spoke in a monotone voice.
"Uzumaki Naruto, you must come with us."
He stood and looked at the two men. If they killed Mizuki, he had no chance. He walked behind them, the two strange ninja leading the way.
His mind filled with the memories of heated glares and looks of disgust.
'They're right to hate me. I killed their precious people. I'm a monster.'
His feet shuffled forwards on their own, all thoughts of graduating wiped from his mind.
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There was an old building next to the academy. It was a former dojo that had fallen out of use due to the children sparring in the yard of the academy for the last couple generations.
Naruto followed the two ninja who had donned ANBU masks, under a henge they had put him on.
They claimed that they were taking him to someone that had all the answers to the questions he had.
They walked into the old dojo, ducking under spider webs and stepping over cockroaches. They entered the bathroom door of the dojo, before the man with orange hair dispelled a genjutsu, revealing a dark passageway leading underground.
He walked with them into a facility area, filled with men and women dressed like the two that he was following.
They looked at him and went back to their work, no looks of interest, neither looks of loathing. It was like they didn't have emotions at all.
Bland gray walls and tile surrounded him as he walked a hallway leading to a single room.
He walked in the room to find an old man, with stringy black hair that fell around the bandages he had over his forehead and right eye. He was dressed in a white kimono with a black robe acting as a sling for his right arm that he had in a brace.
As they approached the chair he sat on, the two ninja knelt before him.
They chorused in unison, "Danzo-sama."
He ignored them and looked straight at Naruto, "Hello young man, may I ask your name?"
Naruto looked him in the eye and spoke, "Uzumaki Naruto."
"A pleasure to meet you Naruto-kun. This is Fū, and this is Torune."
He pointed at the orange haired man and the black haired man respectively.
"You're dismissed."
They left the room and then it was only Naruto and Danzo. Naruto spoke first.
"Who are you?"
Danzo seemed like he was expecting the question.
"My name is Danzo. I am an elder of Konoha who has watched over it for many years."
"Why did you attack me?" He pointedly left Mizuki out.
"As you can see my boy, you are unharmed. I was merely attacking the foolish man who tried to kidnap you."
"Why would he kidnap me?"
"He was to deliver you to a very dangerous man because of what is sealed in your gut."
"So why did you save me? Why do you care? I'm the demon fox who almost destroyed the village!"
He stared calmly at Naruto, whose tears had silently started to roll down his face.
Danzo replied, "Observe."
He palmed a kunai in his left hand, and threw it, the knife flying right past Naruto and imbedding itself in the wall behind him. He then took out a scroll from his desk, and another kunai. With a quick hand seal, he sealed the kunai away into the scroll.
Faster than the eye could see, the left side of Naruto's chest got hit by the scroll, right where his heart was.
Naruto, while startled, realized he was in no mortal danger, and looked up at the old man.
The man exclaimed, "Why aren't you dead on my floor?"
"Because it was just a scroll."
That was the answer Danzo had been looking for because he smiled and said, "Exactly."
"You are no more the Kyuubi than that scroll is a kunai. Those that believe that you are the Kyuubi, such as that foolish teacher of yours are weeds on the great tree of Konoha."
Naruto had understood the explanation and seemed to brighten at the news.
"The great tree of Konoha?"
"Yes Naruto-kun. All of Konoha is a tree, and a tree needs strong roots to keep it standing. That is what we are."
He gestured grandly at the bland facility around him. "We keep Konoha safe from the shadows, so that the tree will stay strong, no matter the folly happening between the leaves."
Naruto nodded in understanding. "So what's my part in all of this? Why are you telling me all this?"
"Because you are the guardian of the great tree. There are eight others like you. Jinchuriki are those who have tailed beasts sealed away in them just like you. Jinchuriki in other nations are celebrated and hailed as heroes for protecting the village."
Naruto balked. 'Heroes? Other than this man, I could count the people that look at me without hatred on one hand!'
Danzo look into his eyes; "You are to be of guardian. A protector of Konoha. You must grow strong. For the jinchuriki of other nations have already earned power and prestige, while you are just starting your journey as a ninja."
Naruto's eyes were shadowed, "I haven't graduated the academy. I'm not a ninja. How can a dead last become the protector of the village? I say I want respect, but all I do is annoy the village with pranks."
"You train.
You train like never before. You are not like the young trainees you have seen on your way to this room. You are destined to shine in the light. You will be someone who will protect the village at all costs, someone the people will look up to."
Danzo continued, "I'll help you achieve that goal, if you'd like." He looked at the boy, waiting for his answer.
Naruto smiled.
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And that's a wrap!
Sorry for the short chapter, but I found this a good place to end off.
Love it? Hate it? Let me know!
Until Next Time,
Ace