A/N :

First of, this is my first Naruto Fanfiction so please be indulgent!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Invisible, the movie I got the idea from.

Additional info: The story sets off somewhere between the beginning of the kids being genin and the chūnin exam (which hasn't happened yet). If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Now let's start this in hope you will enjoy!

Prologue

Yet another ordinary day started for the golden-haired boy. Hardly stirring is way out of bed, a glance at the clock ensured him that it was time to go out and train. Excitedly, he poured some boiling water in a cup of instant ramen while clumsily putting on his bright orange suit. As soon as the meal was ready to eat, he engulfed it and drowned it with a large glass of milk. Setting it down on the table, he hopped out of his seat and ran for the door. He wouldn't want to be late now, would he?

As if he could not get tired, he ran through the busy streets of Konoha. Merchants and shop-owners where then setting their stands for the day. With his ever brilliant smile, he greeted them all on his way to practice. Most of them smiled and waved back to that kid they were so used to see. Soon, the kid crossed other ninja teams. He sent excited 'hi's to three kids his age, one of them a little plump, the other guy wearing his dark hair in a ponytail and a beautiful blonde girl. A little farther down the road, another kid his age played with a small dog while a purple-eyed brunette just blushed and fainted when he passed and saluted her by. Near the training fields, he crossed two guys in green spandex doing push-ups. He looked at them perplexed and went on.

The shinobi made a pause when he saw he had reached his final destination. Not so far from him stood a cute pink-haired kunoichi. The boy grinned. No one else was around to stop him from making his way to the girl he crushed on. She finally noticed his presence and rolled her eyes at the anticipation of the boy's next moves.

"Hey, Sakura!" he greeted her playfully. She just crossed her arms and stood impassive.

"What do you want, Naruto?" she asked through gritted teeth. His smile still didn't fade.

"I was just thinking that we could go out for dinner after practice!" he proposed. Sakura turned her face away, haughtily.

"Yeah right! Of course, I would go with you, Naruto!" she said sarcastically.

"Really?" Naruto's grin shone brighter. It quickly faded away when a heavy fist connected with the back of his head. The girl was now red in anger.

"No way! Get this into this head of yours, you idiot! There is no way a girl like me would go out with an idiot like you!" she snapped. Naruto massaged his head where it hurt and retrieved, sulking.

Not too long after, a raven-haired teenager joined his brooding team. Seeing no difference than the usual, the boy just stayed in his corner, thinking. Sakura noticed the newcomer and ran over to him with pink cheeks.

"Hey, Sasuke!" she giggled. He looked at her with disdain. Naruto turned to see them and rolled his eyes at how pathetic this scene was getting.

"What do you want, Sakura?", the blue-haired boy asked. She chuckled lightly.

"Well, I was thinking that you and I could go out together after training!" she proposed. He just looked away, arms crossed. "Hn. No way!" he spat. Her smile faded away.

"But why, Sasuke?" she almost cried. He looked at her haughtily.

"Because you're annoying!" he replied. The girl bit her bottom lip to keep the emotion from pouring out. Sasuke stayed indifferent and Naruto giggled in his spot.

"Well, well, I hope I ain't interrupting anything", a voice spoke. The three teammates spun to see their sensei perched on a tree branch. Before anyone could lend the usual blame on him, he spoke first.

"Sorry I'm late, I got lost on the path of life…" he started.

"Cut it, Kakashi-sensei! We know all about your lame excuses!", Naruto spat. Kakashi sighed and got down the tree with the slightest thump when his feet hit the ground.

"I see you're all there. Are you guys ready to go on some training?" he inquired. The teens nodded with excitement. Except maybe for Sasuke who didn't display so much of his emotions but that did not make a remarkable distinction from every other time.

Team 7 hurriedly followed its sensei into the forest. They finally settled to a point and Kakashi attracted the attention over himself.

"Alright kids, listen up. Today's training will consist in developing your senses. If one thing is important to be a shinobi, it's to learn to use your senses when nothing else seems fit for the situation. Now you guys will have to rely on other things than your chakra. It might make you feel powerful and confident but what would you do without it? You need to be prepared!" the teacher explained.

"And how do we do that?" Sasuke asked, eagerly. Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"You will learn to track without using chakra" he replied. Naruto scratched his brow.

"Ok…But what does that mean?" he asked. The teacher's exasperation was visible, even through his mask. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Idiot" he let out, just loud enough for everyone to hear it.

"Shut up, you bastard!" Naruto spat. Sasuke just gave him a condescending glare, to which the blonde glared back. Their teacher sighed.

"Enough boys. We don't have time to waste. When I'll give the signal, you will all be heading in different directions and track your comrades down. Once you find them, you are only allowed to disarm your partner to be the winner. Let's call these gentle fights. I'm not planning on you guys killing each other today. Understand?"

"Ossu!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Roger!" Sakura replied.

"Sure" Sasuke moaned.

"Besides, if you use chakra, I'll know it!" he threatened. After getting no answer, he grinned.

"Let's go then!" the silver-haired Jōnin ordered.

The three nodded and all went in different directions. Kakashi sighed and pulled out Icha Icha Tactics before sitting comfortably at the foot of a giant tree. "Ah! Nothing beats a good rendezvous under the sun with a good book and some fresh air!" he jubilated.

Meanwhile, the split up comrades all went into their own things. Sakura found a spot hiding in a giant tree and started to ponder. Using our senses? Hmm, that would be like using our ears and our nose. I'll most definitely lose! All I am good at is chakra control! Besides, Sasuke is good. I don't fear Naruto even the slightest bit but Sasuke…what if he comes at me? If he does, I'm done for!

Sasuke wouldn't stop moving. He feared that if he stopped, he would give an easy opening for the two others to attack. What's more, he had to focus really hard not to use his sharingan. By doing so, he would be disqualified and, in other words, lose to Naruto. No way, I will not lose to the likes of that idiot! I will find a way. Let's try to focus my energy to my nose! Maybe then I can get a scent of those two! If not, I'll use my ears. Naruto's so loud anyway! I'm sure he will give his position away! Hm! Loser!

Naruto was jumping from a branch to the other, not really thinking. That wasn't his thing anyway. Oh well, he was thinking but it was only the echo of his own voice…nothing like real reasoning anyway. He finally ended up sitting in a tree to try and find a plan to bring the others down. After all, he couldn't lose to Sasuke! Ok, so Kakashi sensei wants us to develop our senses. I'm not too sure of what he meant by that! Does he want me to use my sense of smell? Yeah, that may be what he meant by that. But how do I do that? I've never done this before! Ah! That's one more reason to do it! I'll get good at this and beat Sasuke! Yeah that's it! I'll focus and try to smell the two! I can do that! Dattebayo!

Naruto tried to force his memory of his comrades' smell. I think I can remember the smell of Sakura's shampoo. He focused hard on that memorized odor and tried to feel it. He was about to give in when he felt something faint. A breeze of shampoo perfume brushed his nostrils gently. I knew it! Without further thoughts, he ran towards the flagrance.

Sakura was keeping down on the ground, almost too scared to move because she knew her senses were bad when she didn't use chakra. Her fighting skills were off. She was more of a brain type of girl. As she thought that, her ears gave her a first alert that something was off. Maybe my senses aren't too bad after all. As she thought that, a flash of orange appeared to her. She took out her kunai and clung to it tightly. The flash wrapped around her and she screamed while hitting the air with her weapon.

Sasuke froze in his course after hearing a shriek. He smiled. Hm. Who needs a nose when you've got someone like Sakura on your team? But then he thought again and his smile faded. Naruto.

Sakura held her arms above her head when the spinning stopped to loud moaning. She looked up to see Naruto clutching his shoulder with a pained look on his face.

"What the heck was that for?" he shouted, sporting his injured shoulder. Sakura put her hands on her hips in frustration.

"You deserved it, you idiot! You scared me!" she jerked. He glared at her. Before she knew it, her kunai flew the other way and Naruto gave her a cold glare.

"There. You lose. Who's the idiot now?" he asked, eyeing the kunai he just removed from the girl's hand.

"You are" came another voice. Naruto spun around quickly enough to see Sasuke coming down at him. Sasuke blinked and when he opened his eyes, the golden-haired boy had vanished. Sasuke's eyes snapped wide-open. What? Where did he…

Before he could seek his opponent out, a foot connected with his back, pushing him to the ground. As soon as he hit it, the foot that kicked him seconds ago stomped on his right hand, letting his kunai go loose. Sasuke blinked a couple of times to try and register what just happened. Sakura stood there, frozen. Naruto...

Naruto was grinning proudly but he was also pissed and Sakura could tell. "You see Sasuke, you take so much time thinking that you are so good that you forget Sakura and I even exist! You were so confident when you jumped on me that you were wide open. Unfortunately for you, my senses are seemingly better than yours! I knew you were coming from behind long before you even arrived! That smell of yours is unmistakable! You reek of narcissism!", Naruto lectured. Sasuke gave Naruto a push and rolled from under his rival to face him.

"Wow Naruto! Such big words for a pip-squeak like you!" he started, but Naruto was quick to take the upper hand again.

"You say that but in fact you're boiling right now because I win, which means I'm better than you! You can't accept that, for once, I can beat you at something! And that hurts your little ego because you know that you are weak!" he attacked, watching Sasuke's reaction and jubilating as the effect he wanted took over his friend. Sasuke was indeed boiling inside and his rage was making him twitch. Sakura noted it and tried to lay a hand on the raven-haired teen's shoulder but the boy shoved it away.

"Listen to me, you fool! I am not weak and I am not letting an imbecile like you win so easily! You smelled me right, good for you! How about we take it out in a one-on-one battle and decide who the real winner is? You don't honestly believe an idiot like you can beat me! You're so lousy and lame! You shouldn't even have graduated from the academy!" Sasuke snarled. He was clenching his fists so hard that his nails were digging his palm. Naruto was in the same position and the two were ready to rip each other's eyeballs out.

"Wanna take it out on me? I'll beat you to a bloody pulp!" Naruto threatened. If possible, Sasuke got even angrier. "Oh yeah? I would like to see that!" he challenged.

Sakura was almost in tears at how powerless she was in front of her two fighting comrades. "Stop it guys, let it go" she pleaded in a low, weeping voice.

"Oh yeah! Then let me show you! It will be me pleasure!" Naruto continued, ignoring Sakura's plea.

"Knock yourself out!" Sasuke growled.

Naruto raised his fist and plunged towards Sasuke. He was about to hit when he was stopped in motion. Someone held his wrist tightly. Naruto looked up to see an angered Kakashi, holding his forearm and pushing Sasuke back. The blonde shoved himself away from his sensei's grip. Sasuke didn't feel much like holding back though. As soon as Kakashi took a step backwards, he plunged forwards with the hopes of landing a fist in Naruto's face. Once again, the master put himself between his two angry students. This time though, he pushed them both so hard, they fell on their butts. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as Kakashi eyed both his pupils with a look of anger and disappointment.

"What did I say to you, uh? I didn't want you guys to fight! Now can't I even leave you alone for an hour without you battling each other? You guys are unbelievable! And you call yourselves genin? I would return you both to kindergarten right now!" the Jōnin squalled. Both boys looked down. Their sensei sighed. "I'm very disappointed. I don't even care to know who won. I'm calling this off. You can go home" he added on a sadder tone. Sasuke wasn't done though.

"If this is over, then nothing is stopping me from beating you down, Naruto!" he growled. Naruto jumped to his feet. "There's nothing I want more, you bastard!" he spat. "You're so weak, you won't even lay a scratch on me!" he added. Sasuke growled like an angry beast. He pushed his sensei out of the way and hurried towards his opponent. He grabbed the upper part of his coat and held him against a tree. Naruto smirked and gave a violent kick to Sasuke's guts. The latter fell on the ground.

"Now that's enough, guys!" Kakashi shouted. They both froze. The anger in his tone made their blood run cold. Even Sakura could hardly hold herself up in front of her teacher's stance. They both stopped coming at each other with fists but the glare war was on.

"There is no wonder why you're alone! You're so annoying, it's a pain! You'll live alone and you will surely die alone!" Sasuke spat to Naruto's intention.

"Oh yeah? Well at least I'm alone because I've always been! Looking at you, it's no wonder you are alone! You're such a stuck-up asshole, it's no wonder you lost your family! They probably died to avoid having you around!" Naruto snapped back with a cornered smile. He knew he'd hit a fragile point. A fatal one, even. Probably. Sasuke froze and glared at Naruto with such hatred and coldness that if looks could kill, the blonde would be long gone. It hit so hard, the raven-haired couldn't even find the words to reply to this.

"That's right," Naruto continued. ", your meanie-meanie brother took them all out! So what? Get over it, you sissy! You'll never be strong enough to beat him, anyway! You couldn't even take me down when I had my back turned on you! What are you going to do in front of him? He's just going to laugh at how pathetic you really are…Sasuke-chan!" he blurted out.

Sasuke's eye twitched. At some point, Kakashi feared that the teenager would jump on his rival and shred him to pieces with his bare hands. Sasuke was gone. The lone look in his eyes was enough to tell. He was beyond angry. The wrath was so strong, too strong to even get it out. And Naruto was so naïve, he didn't even see that. Or he did but it only fed his appetite for destruction. He had finally found a way to be stronger than Sasuke. He brought him down, ran him over and then beaten him down again to make sure he was lower than low.

"Naruto" Sasuke whiffed.

"You're nothing, Sasuke! Face it. You're nothing!" Naruto trailed off, just for the sake of it.

"Urusai, Naruto!" Kakashi barked. "You've said enough! Now just shut up, you idiot!" he finished. Naruto didn't wait to be told twice. He gave Sasuke a smirk before walking away. The Uchiha stood there, frozen.

Some time later, Naruto found himself behind the bar at Ichiraku ramen. He was still utterly pissed from the encounter he had had with Sasuke, but the pride of winning over the other teen was enough to cover up any hard feeling. The blonde had already eaten more than a normal human could take in and he still hadn't satisfied half of his hunger. And that new sense of smell he had. Where did that come from? Was it from the nine-tailed beast sealed within him? He certainly didn't know he had a gift for that but he knew for sure that it would help. Just as he thought that, a familiar smell filled his nostrils. He didn't have to turn to know who it was.

"Hn…Kakashi-sensei" he said without even looking up from his bowl. The elder scratched the back of his head.

"I see you really do have strong smelling senses…" the Jōnin admitted. Naruto didn't flinch.

"…but what happened with Sasuke…Naruto you went too far!" his sensei lectured. Naruto let out a nervous laugh.

"That bastard deserved it" he droned, mostly to himself. Kakashi shook his head.

"That is not the point. Think about how you would have reacted if someone said those things to you" Kakashi remarked. Naruto didn't even react. Feeling no cooperation from his pupil, Kakashi gave up.

"Honestly, Naruto I'm disappointed" he started but Naruto snapped faster.

"You already said that, old man!" he spat. Kakashi felt the coldness in the boy's voice and really couldn't wait for this to be over.

"I just wanted to say that you're the one who disappointed me the most! I didn't know you to be like that! You should be ashamed of yourself!" he blamed.

Naruto just turned his head the other side to avoid looking at his teacher. The latter sighed sadly and decided not to push it. He simply left. The ramen chef came to stare at Naruto, thinking maybe he would get an answer but the boy didn't speak. He clearly wasn't like himself tonight. His eyes then lay on something else.

"Hey kid, are you hurt?" he asked, eyeing the bloody gash on Naruto's shoulder. Honestly, with all the fuss, Naruto had completely forgotten about the cut Sakura's kunai left on him. He just gave it a quick peek and turned his eyes back down. "It's nothing, really" the boy whispered. The chef didn't push it and saw Naruto's bowl was almost empty.

"I'll tell you what, I'll make you my special recipe and it's totally on me!" he proposed. Naruto looked down at his bowl and at the few others lying next to it.

"No. Thank you but no. I'm not hungry anymore" he sighed. The man was puzzled. The kid really wasn't like himself tonight. He didn't push it though and Naruto paid for what he'd eaten and left.

Naruto walked alone in the dark streets of Konoha. He didn't know how long he'd been out there because his mind was clouded by a weird feeling. It was a mixture of anger and mostly, of guilt. Kakashi's last words had hit him and as he thought it over, he knew it was true. He hardly had enough time to react to the pink swirl that a hand connected hard with his cold cheek. He looked up to see a raging Sakura. She was about to tear him down but he could tell she was holding herself just enough to give him the couple of good slaps he deserved. When her frenzy was out, she started yelling at the blonde.

"How could you, you idiot? Do you even know what it's like to lose someone you love? How come you'd tease Sasuke with that! You're such an idiot!" she accused. When Naruto didn't reply, she got even angrier. "Don't ignore me! You screwed up! You laughed about the fact that Sasuke's family is gone but to tell you the truth, knowing you feel this way, I would probably do the same if it happened to you, Naruto!" she spat. Naruto finally looked up at her. His eyes were filled with pain. She felt her revenge was good and slapped him once more before storming off. Naruto stood there for several minutes before continuing his walk to nowhere. The cold gripped him but he kept going. Suddenly, a familiar smell came to him. It was getting closer and closer. A long shiver went down his spine. His whole body shuddered. Just as he was about to turn around, a sharp sting burned his back. He put his fingers to the aching point and felt the cold metal of shurikens. For a second, his vision blurred. He pulled back his fingers to stare at them. A warm and dark liquid ran thick on them. The smell of his own blood mixed with the cold smell of his assailant. It was so strong now that there was no doubt his enemy was right behind him. He swallowed hardly. He could feel the other's breath on his neck before the attacker spoke in a cold voice.

"Dobe…"