I was sitting around doing nothing in particular when I suddenly decided, you know what I'm going to make Iruka a bad ass and make him a much greater influence in the Naruto story line however it will start from his early days in the academy and move on into the cannon later on.

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO

Chapter one: A change in views

STRORY START

'SPLASH' was a sound followed by laughter as Iruka once again acted the class clown in front of his fellow academy students as he scratched the back of his head in mock-embarrassment in order to gain attention as he once again acted the clown by purposely failing such an easy task, of course the other students didn't need to know that as he slowly got out of the easy flowing river and returned to the rest of his class who were still laughing and pointing at him as he continued to rub the back of his head as a fake smile appeared on his face as he laughed with them as he thought to himself

'It certainly isn't like before but at least they are paying attention to me this way'. That soon changed however as he saw his 'classmates' lose all interest in him as he was just a lonely orphan who was only made to be laughed at by the everyone else whenever he mucked up. Iruka's fake smile soon disappeared and was replaced with a heavy sigh as he noticed that everyone had turned their attention away from him once more. He wondered what he had done to deserve this as he was constantly alone by himself and all because his parents had died while protecting the village from the Kyuubi. His parents were heroes but at the same time they had left him alone in the world and he couldn't help but feel a little anger at that. Anger that could not be placed anywhere but a grave, but if there was one thing Iruka feared more than anything it was that he would be forgotten like a ghost in the wind and his constant loneliness didn't help with that. That fear would soon turn into determination after a visit from none other than the Sandaime Hokage at the stone where his parents as well as all the other heroes who died names were placed in recognition of their efforts in saving the village.

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Iruka had been standing there for some time now as he looked on at the names of his dead parents as silent tears streamed down his face before fall to the ground below him. He couldn't help but feel this way every time he came here as an overwhelming sadness seemed to take over as he remembered the utter helplessness he felt as he was dragged to safety and away from his parents as he looked at their determined faces for the last time. He was so into feeling sorry for himself that he didn't even notice an old man walk up behind him and it wasn't until said old man put a hand on his shoulder that he finally noticed that someone other than him was there. When he did notice however, he acted on instinct alone as he quickly leaped forward at a speed which surprised the old man before Iruka finally turned around with a serious look on his face as he pulled a blunted kunai from his pocket as even if it was blunted it could still do some damage. To his surprise however when he finally got a look at his assailant he saw none other than his village leader and was quick to bow his head and apologise to the man who you just had to respect as even he had heard some of the extraordinary stories of this man's achievements. The current village leader surprised him again though when all he did was laugh and before the boy could even respond said

"It is all right Iruka, you were surprised and acted on instinct but I would like to know why you act so differently here than you do anywhere else" this caused the boy to blank for a moment before he sighed and replied with a sadness in his voice

"Because acting like a clown grants me a little attention and at the moment that is all I wish for… attention" to which the old man simply replied by simply asking 'why' exactly did he even want or need this kind of attention.

"Because any kind of attention is better than none" replied the boy in a sad tone while telling the village leader what he truthfully felt. The Kage level shinobi just looked at the boy for a moment which only served to freak the kid out a little as he became uncomfortable being stared at by the most powerful man in the village. The old man suddenly let out a sigh before a smirk danced upon his lips which only served to confuse the boy more before the old man spoke

"You boy, have been deeply affected by your parents death and that is understandable… however it concerns me that it has hit you so bad that you would go so far as to fake happiness in front of others. The will of fire is very strong with but for you to become powerful you must show your true self as if you don't all you will be doing is cursing your future as you put friends in danger. You felt helplessness when your parents died; I know this because I too have also felt helplessness in my life time but instead of crying over spilt milk I suggest that you grow your strength as much as possible so that next time you won't be so helpless when one of your precious people is in trouble" he finished with an air of finality that practically begged for someone to even try defy his words. The boy was taken aback by the old man's speech as he began to seriously think over what his leader had said. The current Hokage waited patiently for a whole ten minutes before he got his reply from the younger boy and when he did the old man smirked as he had the kid hook, line and sinker.

"What is the 'will of fire'" the boy had asked while honestly not knowing what the man had meant by that.

"The will of fire lives on through everyone in this village and is what makes Konoha so strong. The will of fire is the will to do anything in order to save his brother or sister in arms. It is the will to protect what is most precious to us. For me this whole village is precious along with everyone in it and just like your parents did I would happily die for any one of those people" The Sandaime replied honestly and proudly as he looked at the awed boy in front of him before he asked the boy in front of him

"So, now that I have told you what is precious to me why don't you tell me what is precious to you". The boy quickly took on a thinking pose as he tried to think about who or what was truly precious to him before he realised that through his grief of losing his parents he hadn't even opened the chest which held what his parents had left for him. He realised what a fool he had been before he quickly looked up to the old man before he replied

"Thank you Hokage-sama, you have made me realise the error of my ways and I am eternally grateful for that however as of this moment I am not able to fully answer your question so it is with a heavy heart that I request a time length of exactly one month in order to find for myself what is truly precious to me" bowing in apologise for not being able to answer the Hokage's question at that moment before he heard chuckling as he looked up at the man in front of him only to see the old man smiling before he replied by stating

"That is acceptable, however in return for this hold on your answer you must promise to me that no matter what happens to you in life, you will always carry the will of fire" The boy smiled at being allowed a month to find his answer before a shocked look crossed his face at the proposition of his leader. However as the boy thought about he smiled and nodded to the old man before he made the promise that would change his views for life

"I promise to always carry with me, the will of fire" the boy said with a little bit of confidence seeping back into his voice. The old man's smile only grew at those words before the two said their good-byes as the Sandaime Hokage was left to wonder why the boy had told him to wait a month before he remembered with a smile

'Ah yes the academy graduation is a month from now if I'm not mistaken'

STORY END

The meeting changed and Mizuki did not make an entrance but that is mostly because he will only have a minor role in this fanfiction if any. Now there are a few things to work out such as:

Iruka's genin team and sensei however I was planning on putting him with the eternal gate keepers but not totally sure on the sensei quite yet.

What lies in Iruka's family trunk…. Who knows maybe a sword or weapon of some kind… or maybe a summoning contract?

Until next time

R&R