Puppeteer Naruto.
Naruto watched people go about their day with a bored and disinterested look on his face. Naruto Uzumaki was a six-year-old orphan with surprising circumstances that led to him living alone in an apartment paid for by the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The man treated the boy like a grandfather would his own kin and would meet with the boy as often as possible while also giving him a stipend that all orphans would receive. The man could be seen in the streets interacting with the boy occasionally as well as eating with him in the Ramen stand Ichiraku Ramen.
The boy had a close relationship with the Sandaime and it was one of few. The boy knew close to no one else other than the Sandaime and the Ichiraku's. He was hated by most as a result of him hosting the Kyuubi no Kitsune due to the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze sealing it in him.
As opposed to how the younger generation thought it was defeated, it was actually sealed inside of young Naruto at birth. The boy was Minato's own son as well as the son of Uzumaki Kushina, the only remaining Uzumaki in Konoha. Because of her dense chakra and Uzumaki longevity, Naruto had the capability to actually contain the fox inside of him thanks to the Shiki Fuujin Minato had cast which resulted in him summoning the Shinigami and having it seal the Fox into Naruto with the cost being Minato's life.
The boy was unaware of these things though and was treated terribly by the village he resided in while also currently adoring said village, despite the spite and hatred from the locals. The boy was lonely like most six-year-old children would be when having no family. The boy would mostly sit in his apartment, not leaving unless he absolutely has to due to the cruelness of the people in the village he did not want to interact with them.
He had been called antisocial by everyone who was close enough to him for it to matter. He heard them, he simply didn't care if he was or wasn't.
His only female friend Ayame tried to get him to interact with people his own age but he would always respond with the fact that the parents wouldn't let him near them and she would sometimes drop the subject but also sometimes keep the borderline daily argument up. Due to him almost never really being outside he did not have the same complexion that most Konoha residents did and his complexion was closer to an Uchiha's with his pale skin and shaggy ash blonde hair.
He remembered it being sunny blonde once upon a time but it seemed to lighten over the years, he added it up to his staying indoors so often. Due to him staying indoors so often he had taken to the past time of carving and reading. He would read close to anything he could get his hands on and he would carve wood if he couldn't read. Carving wood was a simple thing but the only problem was he sometimes did not have the tools to carve things.
Purchasing things had been a problem for the longest time before he had finally convinced the Sandaime to teach the henge. The old man had been reluctant but after hearing Naruto's reasoning complied with the justification he wouldn't use it for wrong. Naruto would now henge himself into a brown-haired boy with a cheery attitude and tan skin, a bright contrast to Naruto himself if he needed to purchase anything he would become 'Doji' he had dubbed the boy.
Currently, he was sitting in his room with a bored expression as he watched either adults and families go on with their day, children run around like nothing is wrong with the world, or people do their job. Today was the day the Sandaime would come and give him his Stipend and books. He did not have any carving tools since his makeshift chisel had broken three days ago. He had a hatchet that would make the rough cut but he needed the chisel for polishing off the cut.
He had found a broom in the street months ago and had taken it before all of the wood off leaving the straw at the end. He had then cut that straw into three sections before attaching one section to a block of wood with a handle on it. That had become his sanding utensil and was able to carve and do many different types of things with wood. He may be six but due to him doing nothing but reading for most of his days he had a rather vast knowledge of words and was quite mature.
He was broken from his thoughts by a knocking on his door. He stood from his position on his bed and padded to the front door before opening it and revealing the Sandaime Hokage in his robes with a kind smile on his face. Naruto could never understand how even through all three World War's the man could still find it in himself to smile, despite the hundreds lost and the countless he had killed he still smiled like a normal old man who hadn't seen a single battle.
"Hello Hokage-sama." the boy said as he bowed slightly before being smacked on the back of the head lightly. "Does this count as private?" asked the boy as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I would assume your own home counts as privacy Naruto-kun." replied the man, voice filled with mirth as he walked into the apartment with Naruto shutting the door behind him.
"I dunno, you always got those ANBU with you so it's never really private." the young boy said with a shrug, noticing how the Hokage almost tripped over his robes when the boy said that.
"How do you know about my ANBU?" the man's voice had lost all mirth and now it was the voice of a man who had been Kage longer than most had lived.
"I can see their chakra, well feel is a better word for it." the boy said as he seemingly pointed to an empty corner. "A woman ANBU is there," he pointed to another corner. "A male," he pointed to behind his living room chair. "A male," he pointed again to right above them. "Another male," he said as he put down his hand, not noticing the shock on everyone's face. For one to be able to sense at such a young age was almost unheard of, not even the Nidaime's sensing had been that strong when he was that young.
"And how long have you had this... ability?" asked the Hokage as he looked down at the boy in front of him. Naruto shrugged.
"Awhile I guess," he said as he went to his kitchen. "Tea Jiji?" asked the boy as he started boiling some water and prepared a cup.
The man took a little while to digest the words Naruto had just told him. He seemed to come back down to reality and looked in the direction of the kitchen. "Yes, please," he said as he sat down in a wooden chair Naruto had made a month ago. It was truly a good chair since the Sandaime could sit in it comfortably and it spoke levels of Naruto's ability as a wood carver. He would compliment the boy on his handiwork but the boy had already heard it from him.
This chair was actually laminated which was very rare for Naruto to do. He had done it since he was lacking on things to sit on in his apartment and the chair would work, no one wanted to sit down and get splinters. The man sat there in comfortable silence as he waited for Naruto to return with his tea. He took this time to inspect the apartment and it's differences since he last came here. It wasn't very different despite the unfinished wooden mannequin on the table next to Hiruzen.
It was rather large, as big as Naruto if he was right and it seemed like the boy got halfway done before stopping. It almost looked like a puppet that a Suna puppeteer would use. If it had a face and hair and weapons it would look a lot like one. "Jiji?" asked a bored voice next to him as Naruto held the tea in front of his face. Hiruzen's eyes slightly widened at being caught off-guard before taking the tea with a grateful smile.
"Why make such a large one Naruto-kun?" asked the old man as Naruto shrugged.
"Wanted to try somethin' new," he said as he stared down at the model on the table with his arms crossed. "Couldn't finish cuz my chisel broke." the boy said as he looked at the Sandaime out of the corner of his eye. The man made an understanding hum as he set down his tea before fishing a scroll out of his robes. Naruto hastily took it before unsealing it, revealing three books and an envelope of Ryo. He pocketed the envelope and inspected the books, handing the scroll back to Hiruzen.
The old man stuffed it back into his robes and sipped tea as he watched Naruto inspect the book names. "Third Shinobi War History?" asked the young blonde as he held the thick book with both hands.
"I thought you may like to know more about ways people fought, you still haven't chosen what kind of fighter you will be yet, have you?" asked the old man as the young boy shook his head before inspecting the other two books. One was on Sealing and the other was on the Clan Wars state with history. He didn't understand the sealing but the other two he could get.
Hiruzen had actually given him the sealing book because Minato had written it for beginners and he believed that if anyone could progress in the sealing arts it would be the son of two Seal Masters. "Thank you for the books Jiji." the boy said as he went into his room, setting those books next to his others but in a different pile. He put the money in his wallet and discarded the envelope. The apartment was very clean for a young boy who lived alone.
The wood floor was swept clean and the counters were not dirty, there was not a speck of trash outside of trash bins and it spoke volumes of the kind of person he was. "Thank you for the tea Naruto," the old man said as he slowly rose from the chair. "I would usually stay longer but I have a meeting in a few minutes that I have to attend. You are always welcome to come and ask me questions at my office if you have them." the man said as he started walking from the door.
"Actually Jiji," the teen started as the old man turned all the way around to listen. "I was following Kakashi-san the previous day," the boy started and Hiruzen bit back a sigh. The young boy had been obsessed with the man since he was three. The man had been his ANBU guard at that time and now that he thought about it, it made sense since the boy probably recognized his chakra signature and followed him occasionally as a result.
"He went to do his...daily ritual," the boy did not want to expose how Kakashi would grieve his old team at the Shrine. "Well, when he got there I looked at the stone too," the boy looked into Hiruzen's eyes. "My mother's Uzumaki Kushina wasn't she?" Hiruzen's eyes almost flew out of their sockets, confirming Naruto's theory.
"H-how did you find out?" asked the man as Naruto's gaze grew cold as he looked at the man.
"Why did you lie?" asked the young boy and Hiruzen let out a long sigh as he rubbed his temples, this was very bad for him. If Naruto could find out his mother by his surname, then he prayed the boy didn't try and figure out where he got the blue eyes and blonde hair from. "You told me you had no idea who my parents were and I believed you if you hid who my mother was then you probably know who my father is as well." the thinning of Hiruzen's lips answered his statement.
"So you knew both of my parents yet refused to tell me who they were." the boy whispered as he looked down, his hair shadowing his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried, he hadn't even cried when he'd gotten thrown out of the orphanage but the stinging sensation in his eyes told him he was crying. He had always thought those that cried were weak, they would try and get people to feel sorry for them to make them and give them things out of pity.
"Naruto-kun I did not tell you who your parents were because I did not think you were ready. There are people who would hurt you if they discovered who your parents were." the old man tried to explain himself.
"Who was my father?" the young boy asked with a pleading tone that matched his crying face which he had tilted up to look at the Hokage. The boy now had tears streaming out of his eyes and dripping onto the dry wood floor and it broke Hiruzen's heart but he couldn't tell him.
"I-I'm afraid I can't answer that Naruto." Hiruzen had done a lot of things in his life that he regretted. He had let Orochimaru live, he hadn't been there for Tsunade, he didn't save Minato and Kushina by performing Shiki Fuujin himself, but he thought this took the cake. The look of utter betrayal and pain on the blondes face hurt him so badly and made him feel every single year of age he was.
The blonde turned from the Hokage in his apartment. "P-Please show yourself o-out, Hokage-sama." the young boy choked out the words but they still managed to twist a knife in his gut from the hate and pain behind the words. The grief-stricken six-year-old then walked into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Hiruzen left that apartment with his head hung in sadness as he made his way to the Hokage tower.
Naruto was curled up on his bed, silently crying as he stared at the wall in front of him. He sniffled as he rubbed his nose and sat up. He couldn't sit here, crying like a stupid child when he could be doing much more productive things. He stood up with a frozen visage, tears leaking from his eyes. It would be so helpful if he was a perfect being, someone who couldn't show emotion or cry about stupid things like this. He grabbed one of his new books and started reading.
Dawn light shone through Naruto's window causing the boy to squint to his maximum ability to try and keep the light from invading his eyes. It was for not though and he reluctantly opened them, showing a book on his chest that was open. Due to how it had fallen on him, one of the pages of the book had folded. Naruto's brow furrowed in questioning as he wondered when he got this book, then he remembered the way he had left things off with the Hokage the previous day, almost causing him to flinch.
His face became emotionless as he thought of how his mother was indeed Kushina Uzumaki. He picked the book off of him and unfolded the page, pausing as he did so as he looked down at the book. It was about how Suna'd had puppeteers, people who attached their chakra to a wooden puppet they had and used them for combat. Naruto's eyes widened as he read on, fascinated with these puppeteers. he ended up reading for close to three more hours, learning everything he could from the book about puppeteers.
He learned that they were a rare type of fighter and only Suna had them. Puppeteers usually needed the same level of chakra control that Med-nins needed due to them needing to literally solidify their chakra and make it solid, controlling the puppet with the chakra they expel through the line as they did so. The book did not say anything about any famous puppeteers though and that disappointed him slightly. He was sure that the ability to control basically an army of warriors that could take a lethal blow and also dish one out at the same time.
He knew there was a book filled with powerful ninja and if there were any powerful puppeteers they would be in that book. Kakashi was always reading a book, it may not be the book he needed but it was a start. He knew just where to find him as well, he then left for the Memorial Stone which Kakashi would hopefully be at.
He arrived at the stone a few minutes later, wearing the usual attire that he wore upon leaving the apartment. He wore a dark brown hoodie that obscured most of his face and body from view as well as long black pants and he was able to make his way through the village unseen thanks to the attire. He arrived at the Stone, pulling off his hood as he did so. Kakashi was not there, much to his ire but he knew the man would come here eventually so he could just wait.
He walked up to the stone, scanning it with his finger before it finally rested on one name, Kushina Uzumaki. He knew nothing about her except her name and the fact she was his mother. He didn't know her face, didn't know her voice, didn't know her hair, didn't know her clothes, he didn't even know his own mother's smell. He had heard that water is sweet but blood runs thicker. He later discovered that the water was people you aren't related too and while they may look good, nothing beats blood.
He wouldn't know the difference between blood and water if he looked at a picture of his mother. He wondered if his mother loved him. She may have asked the Sandaime to keep her identity secret so she wouldn't be related to him. Was she so ashamed of him? "Never thought I'd find my little follower here." said a lazy voice from behind Naruto, instantly causing him to stiffen. He couldn't remember the last time he hadn't been able to sense someone approaching him, was he really that caught up in his thoughts?
"I came to talk to you Kakashi-san." said the boy as he raised to his full height and turned his dull blue eyes on the man. They, like his hair, had once been bright and full of life but now was a more light sky blue as opposed to the old navy blue they had been.
"Oh? And what would little stalker-kun like to talk about?" asked the silver-haired man never raising his eyes from his book.
"I wish to get a certain book." the six-year-old started. "The book that holds the name and bounty of powerful Ninja, I assume you have one?" asked the boy as Kakashi finally dragged his one visible eye to meet Naruto's own eyes.
"You mean a BINGO book?" he received a nod in reply. "Why would you need such a book hmm?" inquired the man as he went back down to his Icha Icha.
"I would like to look up names of certain people and that book has names of all kinds of powerful people. I will pay you for the book if need be." the young man said as Kakashi hummed in thought. He put away his Icha Icha and retrieved another book roughly the same size before throwing it to Naruto who caught it. "That easily?" asked the young man as Kakashi shrugged.
"Meh, if you're going to be a ninja then you need to know about potential opponents, that book has info." the man shrugged off his reasoning for giving the book to Naruto as he went to the stone. "Who were you here for?" asked the Jonnin as he looked down at three names.
Naruto was somewhat reluctant to tell the man but eventually found no reason not to tell. "My mother." the blonde boy said before flipping up his hood and walking away, noticing the silver-haired man's eyes widen in shock.
Naruto shut the door to his apartment and shed his hoodie and sat down in his chair he had in front of his workbench before flipping through the pages. He discarded everyone who wasn't a puppeteer and continued reading. He found two C-rank threat puppeteers but they weren't even primary puppeteers, simply minor ones that mainly did Taijutsu but had learned puppetry once. He started to lose hope when he finally reached S-rank after finding next to no puppeteers.
BINGO books were arranged alphabetically and he almost lost hope when he reached the S letters and his hope blossomed as he looked down on the first S-rank person of the letter S, Sasori of the Red Sands. He had sloppy red hair that somehow still looked neat. His skin complexion was similar to Naruto's in the fact that he was pale and barely had any tan to him, despite being from Suna. His features were borderline perfect with the lack of anything really showing he is human.
His brown-almost amber eyes stared at Naruto through the picture and Naruto was awe-struck. The man had apparently gotten his name for spilling so much blood with his puppets in the Third Shinobi War that he had gotten the Moniker the Red Sands. He had created loads of amazing puppets but suddenly left Suna sixteen years ago and hadn't been seen since. Even despite him leaving his village Naruto felt a bit of stardom as he stared at Sasori's picture.
He would love to master the ability of puppets but it was a Suna art, he doubted they had the knowledge for it here. He knew one thing he could try and do, it would be risky but it could work. He stood and made himself a little breakfast before leaving the apartment for the Hokage tower.
He sighed as he waited in a chair outside the Hokage office. The attendant had just walked in to inform the Hokage he was here and Naruto closed his eyes and tried focusing on his breathing to calm himself. "He will see you now." said the lady as she sat back in her seat at her desk and resumed the work she does.
Naruto gave a grateful nod she didn't see as he stepped through and kept his hood on, not wanting to face the man. "Hello, Naruto-kun." said the old man as Naruto bowed.
"Hokage-sama." said the young boy as he maintained his bow for another two seconds before standing straight. "I know this probably seems strange but I have come to ask for a favor. I would forgive you if you were to grant me this favor." said the boy, gaining Hiruzen's complete attention. Seeing he had it he continued. "I wish to go to Suna." said the blonde making Hiruzen furrow his brow. "The reason is that they have books on Puppeteering and Konoha doesn't, I figured out how I want to fight.
"I was reading that history book you got me and I found a section on puppeteers. The ability to control an entire army of puppets to fight for you, I would love that ability! I know it would take me a long time to get to that level but Puppets are also good on their own, they don't need to be in numbers. So yeah, can I go to Suna?" asked the boy and Hiruzen blinked. This was the brightest he had seen the boy in years, Naruto did not smile this brightly nor was he this enthusiastic about anything.
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair as he mulled over this information. He would love to send Naruto there but he couldn't just send Konoha's jinchuuriki off by itself to a foreign country, despite his own feelings on the matter. He glanced down at the paper on his desk, he read the last three lines.
"...If possible could you come to Suna to confirm and sign the changes of the treaty in the next week."
"How about this," the man said as he leaned onto his forearms against the desk. "I have to go to Suna here in a week, you come with me, learn what you can and grab books on the subject and when we leave you keep those books and knowledge, sound like a deal?" said the old man as Naruto nodded with a megawatt smile.
"Thank you... Jiji." said the happy boy as he bound out of the room to go home, not noticing the smile that formed on the Hokage's face after hearing what he called him.
Naruto was still smiling as he walked into his house and sat down at his workbench before grabbing a kunai and getting to work. He soon had Sasori's BINGO book entry nailed to his wall next to his workbench and he grinned up at the picture. He went back to reading as much about Suna as possible from the history book on the Third Shinobi War so he wouldn't be entirely clueless upon arrival.
Puppeteer Naruto story... Yeah. Been wanting to do it for a while but never got around to it but I finally said fuck it and did it. This will be a grey Naruto story but he is still six, he gets greyer as he gets older. Sorry it's short, it's a prologue so it won't be as long as the other chapters.