A/N: This is a story concept that I have had for a while called 'Rejection'. There will be some changes in the Naruto universe and the story is a well put together piece of art if I say so myself. So enjoy the first chapter in my story titled 'Rejection'. Read and review, tell me how you think it is. Hope you enjoy it.
I first want to share how this story came about and where I have been in my absence of about one year. I am now in college and it is great where I am, this will slow down my writing a bit but I will consistently try to put at least two chapters out a month. There have been a lot of bad events that have happened to me since I last wrote the author's note that I was discontinuing my other story for another one (that will not be produced because I scrapped the idea).
Anyway I went back and started reading my old story and smiled at what I had produced. While I did not think it was completely great, I thought it was good and if I had the beginning of Naruto as we know at my disposal then I would be able to get a lot more details where I wanted to. This is not the same story and plot events (including Naruto's behavior) are completely different from the other story. While there might be some similar correlations between the two, they are not symmetrical. Anyway, now that you know I am back on , please enjoy my latest Naruto creation called 'Rejection'.
Ten years ago, the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked Konohagakure and decimated the village. The village could be repaired but the lives of many were unable to be repaired due to death in the families of many. The civilians lost many of their loved ones during the rampage of Kyuubi but even the great clans of Konoha such as the Hyuuga, Akamichi and the Nara lost their loved ones during this event, or as the clan heads would say "able bodies". The fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato was also lost during the war against Kyuubi as he sealed half of the Kyuubi's chakra into his only son Uzumaki Naruto. Or at least he thought he did.
In actuality, Uzumaki Naruto still obtained a little under half of the other chakra not meant to be in his body. Uzumaki Naruto was a special creature with four chakras (yin and yang from Kyuubi, Minato and Kushina's) sealed within him and would be looked upon as a special child by the village, in a negative connotation. Currently, the twelve-year-old child is residing within an apartment in some of the slums of Konoha. Naruto is currently sleeping at midnight, just like any other adolescent of his age around the city of Konoha is doing. However, Naruto has the burden of never being able to have any sort of rest no matter what state he is in. Any time that he goes to meditate or even sleep he is always affected by disturbed memories of the past. He can remember everything that has happened before when he was younger.
Naruto suffered abuse at the hands of the villagers. Every child at some point in their life should be able to go to a dream as a place of solace and happiness but the burdens and tribulations of the past are too vivid for Naruto's fragile mind to ever forget. When Naruto sleeps he feels the pain of skin being ripped from the surface as kunai's are used to scrape his body to pieces and shurikens projected at targets on his body. Villagers heard about the third Hokage's decree that Naruto will be trained to be a shinobi and took it to heart with gusto to make sure that Naruto never made genin. Shurikens would be propelled at vital muscles in the arms and legs, valuable tendons and muscles for shinobi would be pierced and bruised as steel met flesh. Somehow Naruto would heal the next day and be normal again, living the same cycle everyday in his life. Some would label this his blessing as he lives to see another day and the rest labeling it his curse to live through the insurmountable pain every single day of his life.
Naruto rolls around on his bed trying to dodge the kunai, shuriken, wire and the occasional smoke bomb that was aimed at hitting its target, Uzumaki Naruto.
(The Next Day)
Naruto woke up to see the sun shining knowing that he would have to go through the same cycle everyday. Long ago Naruto abandoned his happy-go-lucky attitude that only brought more attention to himself. Naruto also through observational learning realized that the color orange put a giant target on his back. He left both of these childish thoughts behind, switched to the color black (as it was his second favorite color before and now his favorite) and changed his demeanor. His new attitude bordered on brooding but was more avoidant than any other term that anybody else knew.
The day became so predictable that Naruto could be labeled a psychic if he was paid ryo to declare what would happen in his life and when it would happen. He knew that walking to the shinobi academy was one of the hardest parts of the day because he would be stared at as he walked there. Unfortunately he did not know any major shinobi arts yet but could run away from people with great ease. For Naruto, this was a problem as he was always running from people instead of having people comfort him and by giving him the perception of being in a group.
Naruto was walking to school when he saw the dangerous looks of chunin level shinobi and the hateful glares of the civilians that despised him. Little did Naruto know, it was because the monster inside of him took the lives of their precious loved ones. Naruto wanted to desperately sprint in order to separate himself from the hateful glares and implied death threats that were aimed at him. However, a voice inside of Naruto's head plus his gut feeling was contradicting this thought and told him to walk slowly and not acknowledge these things. This could be described as a psychological war between the pariah of the strongest village in the land and the denizens of it.
(Konoha Shinobi Academy)
Naruto entered the room just as many of the other students did, quietly taking his seat and waiting for class to begin. Naruto was appreciating this year of shinobi training because he did not have a corrupted teacher wanting to teach him 'special techniques' that ended up being nothing more than a farce. Umino Iruka was the first teacher he could even label as caring about the well being and the academic life of Uzumaki Naruto. Under Iruka, Naruto had seen his grades soar to top of the scholastic year beside Uchiha Sasuke. The new rookie of the year scale had changed and was now graded cumulatively from the beginning of their academy years instead of the last year. Under this new system, Sasuke was already the rookie of the year and nobody could prevent him from reaching the pinnacle of success among fresh genin. Naruto would have to settle for second and the only obtainable goal for him. Naruto was currently in fourth in the rookie of the year standings behind a civilian named Gin (book smart only) and Shino Aburame (lacked some of the basic taijutsu skills).
Iruka arrived in the room just after all the students had entered and was ready to teach on the subject of today's lecture. Naruto had learned to pay attention to the lectures as well, just for the important material instead of listening to the full thing, as some students were able to. Naruto wished that every ticking moment could be a field test in the wilderness instead of boring and monotonous lectures inside of a closed off classroom.
'I have enough time being closed off to the world. I live my whole life closed off to the world and unable to even set foot outside at most hours of the night and sometimes even during the day.' Thought Naruto as Iruka was droning on about some principal in shinobi lifestyle.
The rest of the class had varied reactions to Iruka's lectures. People such as Shino Aburame and Gin were listening intently to the lecture while others such as Shikamaru Nara were sleeping. Iruka finally reached the limit of lecture time and dismissed the students for lunch. Naruto was one of the final students to leave the classroom. As he left the classroom, he saw Shikamaru still sleeping while Chouji Akamichi was trying to wake him up, and Sakura Haruno trying to get Sasuke Uchiha to eat lunch with her.
'They all live their respective happy lives, and I am unable to live with these things. I cannot be a normal part of society for some reason. Every friend I try to make is carried away from me in a whirlwind of hate and abhorrence.' Thought Naruto grimly as he exited the classroom in search of a quiet place to go spend time.
Naruto did not have money to eat lunch so for one hour he would be able to train or do as he pleased. Often he would attempt to meditate or learn basic jutsu in order to advance in his class ranking. Naruto was still puzzled at his problem with meditating and why some force was distorting his chakra flow as he meditated, making a peaceful process turn into chaos and despair. Naruto walked into a grass opening and decided that he wanted to train a bit today instead of attempting to relive his childhood with painful memories by meditating. While all of this sounds bad, Naruto had made some progress with meditating, as the intensity of the nightmares and reenactments were becoming more dimmed than when he first started.
Naruto started with the basic training exercises after stretching and making sure his body was able to do physical activity. Naruto took out some old kunai and shuriken and planted invisible targets ingrained in his mind on where he would need to hit. He began throwing at the targets one by one, he only missed one target but he hit every other spot with near perfection. Naruto was getting better slowly at the ninja arts but he was not the only person who had seen his development.
Up in a small tree nearby was one pale-eyed girl who had her lunch and was eating it while watching Naruto go through his practice routine. Hyuuga Hinata had started this habit a long time ago, watching Naruto until about ten minutes were left to get to the classroom and then left before Naruto could sense, see or even know she was previously there.
However, one thing was for certain. Naruto knew that Hinata was watching.
Hinata had committed the fatal sin that every shinobi had begun to do to Naruto lately; underestimate him.
Hinata still believed Naruto was bad at sensing chakra but in reality he had improved dramatically with fundamental skills. He knew where she was in the trees but did not acknowledge that she knew he was there.
Underestimation was one of Naruto's favorite things to use as an advantage because was psychological. One could say it provided a bigger psychological advantage than a Nara or Yamanaka special clan technique. Naruto continued to leave Hinata to her devices because it could come into effect later in his life where he could use it as an advantage.
And besides, Naruto would like to communicate with as little of people as possible because of what has happened to him in the past. There is a reason he has become avoidant over the past few years.
'It is not like she likes me anyway, she just acts weird around me so I see her as somebody different than anybody else. She is the heiress for one of the most powerful clans in Konoha, it would bring the heiress even more popularity to be able to crush me and make fun of me for some reason. That is how Sakura got so popular and that is how Hinata is seeking popularity. She probably is watching for something to make fun of behind my back. If I don't pay attention to her I can master this jutsu' Thought Naruto as he was deciding on what he would do for the remander of the period of free time he had left.
Naruto focused back in on his training as he only had 35 minutes left until class began again. In a hasty decision he decided to try the technique he had started to work as part of his preparation for being a shinobi.
Naruto began searching for chopped logs he could use for his experiment with a jutsu. He found 5 pieces of logs and he stacked them 3 on the bottom and 2 on the top. This formed a miniature pyramid so that he could practice his technique. He jumped away from the logs and backed up a sizable distance before flipping through seals.
Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)
A gust of wind ripped from behind Naruto and sped its way towards the logs. The wind impacted with the logs knocking the top 2 logs over with one of the bottom side logs.
"It's still not completely great, but it will work for now. I can use this in close combat but its not going to be a great technique from a distance until I master the technique more" said Naruto to himself as he went over to pick up the logs and try the jutsu again.
One observer was not pleased at what just happened. The wind had startled a daydreaming Hinata so much that she nearly fell off her perch in the small tree, which she was watching Naruto through. Hinata had to pull herself back up onto the tree after Naruto started using the wind release technique in order to maintain her position or else risk being seen by Naruto.
'I can't let that happen again. It would be so embarrassing if Naruto-kun caught me watching him doing his training that nobody knows about. He might never like me again' thought Hinata worriedly as she was now back on top of her perch on the tree watching Naruto train.
Naruto continued with his wind technique, as the training wore on he began to lose stamina and the technique began to get weaker and weaker and not before long the jutsu stopped knocking down the logs and simply brushed up against it. Hinata disappeared back to class as Naruto stopped knocking the logs down.
'Naruto stopped using the technique effectively. I am so happy that Naruto is able to use a technique like that but he needs to conserve his stamina better. Hopefully he is not that tired when we get back to class' she thought as she began walking back to class now a safe distance away from where Naruto was training.
'Good Hinata is gone, now I can really try this' thought Naruto as he felt her presence leave.
Futon: Daitoppa
Naruto felt a surge of wind from behind him come across and knock all the logs over and even sweeping the logs a further distance before they all came to a halt on the soft grass.
"I had a feeling that would work, all the training has paid off. While it is not fully complete, it is mostly complete." Said Naruto to nobody but himself.
Naruto had bluffed Hinata the whole time; he did not put as much chakra as he needed to in the technique in order for it to be as powerful as possible. Naruto knew that Hinata better than all of the other academy students saw how powerful he actually was and did not underestimate him at all. The more the other students underestimated him then the better of an advantage he had and the easier the better Naruto knew. So with Hinata watching him everyday it allowed him to put less chakra into the jutsu in order for him to master the technique on a small scale and then increased the chakra output to perform the jutsu on a larger scale. This had now worked and was an effective method for learning new jutsus.
Naruto began walking back to class satisfied, the looks from the other students did not affect him as much as they usually would. Naruto would often get angry at the prospect of both younger students and older adults glaring at him like he did something in the past to them. Naruto began just to live with it although he was not happy how the villagers treated him. He just began avoiding the villagers in order to avoid the glares and whispers that always seemed to shadow him when he walked through a sector of the village.
After Naruto had been walking for a little bit, he finally arrived at the academy where he entered with about five minutes left and took his seat in the back, with nobody around him.
Naruto began thinking to himself how he discovered his affinity for the wind element. When Iruka began teaching about the five different elements Naruto became fascinated with the elements and how they interacted with each other. He began wondering about the strengths, weaknesses and how they could be used with each other for combo attacks.
This type of thinking extinguished another common stereotype about Naruto, that he was a complete dumbass. Naruto was far from that but due to his previous hyperactive nature he was not able to completely grasp what being a shinobi was about. The people of Konoha helped Naruto as the more hyperactive he became, the more he was despised by them. So Naruto one day acted a lot more quiet and avoidant as an experiment and it worked out for the better. Ever since that day Naruto's personality completely changed and his awareness became better because he was able to observe and pay attention instead of trying to crave attention, thus giving it to him.
Back to the original story, Naruto asked Iruka how to find out which element was the right one for him. Iruka said that once he graduated from the academy he would find that out. Naruto then used his prowess for stealing materials and stealth in order to steal a basic technique from all the different elements. He then tested his results.
Naruto found out that two of the elements worked rather successful while the other three were completely blunders. Wind was the strongest of the jutsu and water was the other element that he had somewhat of an affinity with. The water jutsu was decent but it would need a lot of practice to master where the wind jutsu worked out better and would not need as much time to master as the water jutsu. Naruto was pleased at this result as wind was a long-range combat style element but could virtually be used for anything.
Naruto awoke from his thoughts as every person had now assimilated back into the classroom. Naruto was still alone in the back of the classroom, just how he wanted it. He would be able to pay attention without having someone glare at him and him being uncomfortable with it. Iruka began walking into the classroom and right to the center of his teaching space with the middle of the chalkboard behind him.
"Well the year is almost over and this is the last year of academy learning for most of you. This means you will either be dumped from the shinobi system or becoming fresh genin" Iruka began his lecture.
Many yelps of excitement could be heard across the classroom. Many overactive imaginations were now working on picturing on how it would be like to be a shinobi of Konohagakure. All the students were now interested in what Iruka was going to say, something that was now a rarity with Iruka's lectures as the students had grown of age.
"Before you can do this, you must pass a test. This test will involve two portions of it; a written test and a field examination. Both of which are going to place on the last day of school in two days."
Now the students had all hushed down and some even groaned (led by Kiba Inuzuka) because of the word 'test'.
"The field examination will consist of portions that will test your abilities in the field of taijutsu and ninjutsu. This will cover what we have learned in class but if you have learned extra-curricular material now would be the time to show it for you to pass" stated Iruka.
Some students were beginning to become nervous because of extracurricular activities. Each student had some knowledge but outside of Sasuke Uchiha, no one had extra-curricular knowledge that they knew of. One blonde haired boy in the back smirked though at this, it might be time that his C-ranked wind ninjutsu became usable in battle for him.
"After that you will be placed in teams by the Hokage and the high ranked shinobi of the village based on overall team mechanics. This will be the last chance for some time for you to work with some of your peers. You might not see some of your peers for the rest of your life because either of death in battle or because they drop out of the ninja system" Iruka continued lecturing.
One civilian student turned around and glared at Naruto when Iruka mentioned the fact that some people might never have to see others again. Naruto began panicking because he might become the focal point of attention with this if other students caught on.
'What should I do? I think I am just going to be calm and pretend I do not notice that kid trying to stare me down. Hopefully none of the other students catch onto what he is trying to do and they do not join in like sheep in a flock' thought Naruto worriedly.
Luckily for Naruto, the civilian student turned around when nobody went with his intentions and Naruto took a deep sigh of relief.
'That could not have gone better for me. The less attention the students pay towards me the better off I am' Naruto surmised to himself. Convincing him self to continue being avoidant towards others.
"As one last opportunity to mingle and socialize with others in this scholastic atmosphere I'm calling today's class as over and decided to just have a time for socializing with your friends and peers right now." Iruka finished his speech and the students gave a collective roar of appreciation as Iruka smiled at the young adolescents happiness at the event that was taking place now. Mizuki arrived at that moment to give Iruka somebody to talk to within that time period.
Many of the youngsters were happy at what was taking place under the usually strict Iruka-sensei but not all was pleasant in the classroom. Two similar yet completely different students were not very happy at this for two completely different reasons.
The students who were not all enthusiastic about this time were Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, two of the brightest young shinobi in the classroom.
Although their reasons were different, both just did not like to talk to other people and were more introverted and kept to them selves at this age. While the girls marked it as charming and attractive to act this way, they hated Naruto still and thought he was trying to act like Sasuke to attract attention to make him look better. Naruto never got to hear this however, as he was usually gone by the time these comments were made.
'Great, now I have to stick around and listen to all these girls tell me these stories about how much they love me and what they did yesterday. I could be using this time training, plotting and becoming a better shinobi rather than sitting here and socializing. What good is this anyway in the ninja field? This kind of stuff is what gets you killed, exactly like my clan that I must avenge' Thought Sasuke, brooding about how he could get his hands on his older brother and murderer of the Uchiha clan, Itachi Uchiha.
'I have nobody to talk to but some group will get together and try to laugh at me the whole time while I am sitting here waiting to get out. The good thing about this is that I have time to do more activities if I am able to get out of here before school usually ends.' Thought Naruto to himself as he was plotting to get his way out of the classroom.
Many of the students were thoroughly invested into conversations and even the teachers were distracted. The biggest group of students was mostly girls and it was centered around the desk of Sasuke Uchiha, who was not listening to the conversation that took place around him. Naruto felt that it was time to leave and then he would try to make an escape. While nobody was looking, Naruto was able to henge into one of the male students that was shadowed by his male friends. He made his way to the center of the classroom and nearly made it out of the door when Mizuki caught him.
"Hey, where are you going?" asked Mizuki with curiosity. Iruka was so generous in allowing the students to have this time, how dare this kid leave like that.
"I am just going to the bathroom" replied Naruto with a henged voice.
Mizuki just smiled and let a henged Naruto go to the 'bathroom'. Naruto took the back exit out of the building and began running home to his apartment where he would be away from the callous glances of the villagers and in a safe haven where he could rest for a while.
Whie running home Naruto remembered how useful the henge is when used properly.
*Flashback*
A young boy with black hair entered the shinobi equipmemt store. The boy had a pale complexion with black hair that was short. He went to the manager and asked him a question.
"Do you know if you have any type of shinobi gear my size?" Asked the young boy.
"Where is your parents youngster?" The manager asked with a smile on his face.
"My mother is out buying the food and my father is up at the Hokage's office making sure his one month mission is still going to happen" said the young boy.
"Ok, youngster. Right this way we have some shinobi gear for you." Said the man, escorting the youngster back to where most of the genins got their clothing.
The boy took some time and picked out some shinobi gear that included a black long sleeved shirt with a fishnet shirt under it and grey shinobi pants. The boy paid for his gear and left.
The manager just had a feeling that something was off about the boy but was unable to put a finger on exactly what it was.
The boy walked home towards his apartment, he really had no father or mother but had to create a story in order for the manager to believe him. Naruto released the henge and was in his new clothing already with the old flashy shinobi gear at his house in case he ever needed to use it again.
'That is why you do not let civilians work a shinobi shop where I am not allowed. They will never realize even the most basic of shinobi techniques that can be used to distort reality.' Naruto concluded to himself, accomplishing his mission of getting new 'less attention grabbing' shinobi gear. Naruto now took the back roads to his apartment in order to avoid the rest of the civilians with his henge now dispelled.
*End Flashback*
(Meanwhile in the classroom)
Hinata Hyuuga was having a civilized chat with Shino Aburame and was talking about some different things including clan duties. When Shino was joined by Chouji and Shikamaru, she politely excused herself to find the one person that she really wanted to talk to more than anybody else.
'Where is Naruto-kun, he isn't in his seat like he usually is. I really wanted to talk to him for a little bit before he left and these exams start. I really do not want to be put on a different team than Naruto-kun' Hinata thought as she was searching the classroom for Naruto, going by the 'Sasuke Uchiha fanclub group' that was gathered around an annoyed Uchiha's desk.
While Hinata was searching, nobody noticed the escape of one Naruto Uzumaki. He did what he became known for, disappearing into thin air without any witnesses to see his escape.
(A few hours later at a training ground unknown)
Naruto was training for his final examination so he could get a good grade and get into a team that he would like to be in. He was no longer the dead last in the academy and he knew he had shinobi skills that were able to take out most of the classroom. Naruto was only unconfident about facing Sasuke in a fight, who he deemed an even match but Sasuke had the elemental advantage over him with that fire technique. Naruto could only do one thing about that; try to train the water technique that he learned from the scroll he stole from the Konoha shinobi library.
Dragon, Tiger, Hare symbols then
Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Release: Violent Water Wave)
With this Naruto pushed water out of his body into his mouth and then out his mouth. While the technique was clearly was not fully perfected, Naruto still shot it at a tree and made a small indent with the jutsu. This jutsu took a little bit out of Naruto as the quick stream of water came out and then Naruto had to rest for another five minutes before trying the jutsu again. Naruto was using water in his own body for the technique and needed to keep some water in his body for stasis. Naruto continued trying the technique for another hour and a half, improving it somewhat before heading back to his apartment.
(In the Hokage's Office)
Sarutobi was using his crystal ball to check on each of the fresh genin that were preparing for tomorrow's upcoming examinations. He was surprised to see Naruto in the training grounds, as most of the students spare one Uchiha were sleeping or having family time trying to relax for tomorrow. What had surprised the Hokage more is the fact that Naruto had learned two C-ranked jutsu. The academy jutsu that were taught were D-rank for a reason. Most genin would take months to master a C-ranked jutsu because of their chakra coils and control.
'I have no doubt about his chakra coils being able to sustain the technique but what is more impressive is that Naruto can effectively do all the academy jutsu and some minor jutsu as well even with all the Kyuubi chakra.' Thought the "God of Shinobi" to himself.
Sarutobi watched yesterday as Naruto had mostly learned the Futon: Daitoppa technique that one of his students had completely mastered. The certain snake used it in most of his battles as he felt it was a simple yet very powerful technique. The jutsu was a flashback to all the times that he saw Orochimaru use the jutsu to perfection. As he watched Naruto continue to use the jutsu he also noticed something completely different about Naruto after Hinata (who he had also spied on and got a chuckle out of when she almost fell off the tree because of Naruto's wind technique) left. Naruto then tried the jutsu with all the chakra he knew the jutsu could hold and it turned out successful. He noticed that even though he might be young, Naruto already knew what it meant to be a shinobi.
The Hokage noticed this was a good decision because Naruto could use other people's over confidence to beat them at their own game with a simple C-ranked yet powerful if executed right ninjutsu.
'Another good thing that Naruto has going for him is that one water technique is able to negate any attempt that somebody could use a fire technique against his wind technique. He has one corner of the elemental diagram monopolized as he is able to beat both fire and lightning releases but will struggle for a solution for my element, the earth element' thought Sarutobi trying to examine Naruto's skill level and how he might progress in the near future.
The Hokage then started to look at the other genins and what they were doing, while he had already checked on most of them he still had a few genin left to check on. He began with Hinata Hyuuga who was in her room flower pressing, and then moved onto Sakura Haruno who was eating dinner with her mom and chatting about her day. The last person he viewed but already knew what he was doing was Shikamaru Nara, who was sleeping.
(At Naruto's apartment)
Naruto had trained so hard that he dozed off to sleep and did not even realize that he was tired. He fell asleep on the hard, unforgiving and uncomfortable bed that was provided for him by the Hokage. Naruto did not care about the structure or the comfort of the bed, as long as it was sturdy and provided a surface for Naruto to sleep on then it was fine with him. Naruto began rolling around on his bed as he was trying to escape something but could not find an exit or could not get away from the target.
(Naruto's dream)
"Now Naruto can you perform a henge" said Mizuki, a twitch of irritation on his face.
Naruto went to perform the henge of Iruka but formed some ugly and fat version of Iruka.
"Is this your idea of a joke Naruto. I knew you were always pathetic but I did not think you would stoop this low to try to make fun of the teacher that actually tried to help you.," yelled Iruka
"It is with pleasure that I tell you that you have failed. Don't even think about retaking this class again because you are over the age limit of the academy ranks. Meaning you cannot even become a shinobi." Stated Mizuki, as he was almost jumping up and down for joy.
"The demon can't even graduate!" yelled Sakura. She and Ino got up and high fived each other as Naruto stooped his head low so nobody could see his face. Naruto was crying as the only chance that he had of fulfilling his dream was completely dashed by a D-rank jutsu.
"The funny thing about this Naruto, is that it was all a genjutsu that I casted" stated Mizuki, even with Iruka in front of him.
Iruka looked appalled by this at first but then began smiling as he laughed at this but then straightened out into a serious face.
"I don't care if it was a genjutsu, I saw with my own eyes that Naruto could not do a henge technique, meaning that he can't graduate. The demon cannot graduate." stated Iruka.
With that the whole class got to its feet and surrounded 'The Demon' as he knelt down covering his face. All the students were there yelling at him, Ino, Sakura, Sasuke and even Hinata were yelling at him and chanting 'Demon'. All the sudden a red and black burst of chakra enveloped Naruto and he stood up to all the students.
Naruto awakened to find that his whole body was sweating and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"It was only a dream and it never happened" Naruto said to himself as he was rapidly breathing heavily and then laid back down to gain his composure. Naruto then got up several minutes later, took a few sips of some past expiration date milk and headed back to sleep. Naruto hoped that the hours could go by quick so his terrifying nightmares could finally evade him.
(7:00 AM, the next day)
All of the genins were rising up and waking up for what would be the most important day of their life to this point. They would all be taking a written and field examination in order for placement, deciding teams and ultimately deciding if they are fit to become genin under the jurisdiction of Konohagakure.
There were different thoughts that centered on the test and the ceremony that followed it.
'Troublesome'
'Today is the day that I beat my rival and prove to my true love that I am the better one for him'
'The is the start of the journey that leads to me killing my brother and avenging my clan'
'Forehead better stay out of my way because I will be the top kunoichi of the class'
'I just hope too many people aren't watching me or that dream from last night comes true'
'My bugs and knowledge will lead me to pass this test'
The different thoughts and motivations of the genin differed but all were looking forward on passing this test and becoming a genin of Konoha. Each had their dreams and ambitions but all of them started with this one small step that would lead to the shinobi lifestyle.
All of the genin prospects made their ways to the academy and arrived in the classroom. Iruka had been waiting for all of them and greeted each one of them as they entered the classroom. Students once greeting Iruka sat down in their chair and awaited instruction by Iruka on what each portion of the test would comprise of.
All students had entered the classroom; Iruka closed the door and moved to the center of the classroom.
"As all of you know, the test is today to determine whether you will be moving to genin rank or your shinobi career ends today. After today the genin ceremony will be held tomorrow and teams will be chosen in two days on Friday. During that day your teams will be revealed to you and you will function within the bounds of that team and with nobody else without permission from your team." Iruka began his speech.
Many of the students listened for the dates and tuned Iruka out until he got to the instructions of the test.
"These teams will be your shinobi future for the next several years. Once you graduate to a higher rank you will be in these teams." Continued Iruka.
Of all those who were listening, most of them were girls. At this comment the girls of the classroom instantly all tensed as most of them were looking to be on a team with a certain raven-haired brooding Uchiha but one of the young kunoichi in the classroom wanted to be on a team with a certain blonde haired boy. That team however comprised of just the two of them instead of with another person and a jounin-sensei.
"These tests today along with your individual grades will determine where you rank in the class, along with how your techniques work with each other will establish your teams. So the first part of the test begins as Mizuki (who had just entered the classroom) begins passing out your written examinations. Please turn in the tests at the front of the classroom to me when you finish them." Concluded Iruka as he sat down at his desk when Mizuki finished passing out the tests.
Naruto was eagerly awaiting his test. He was praying that none of his nightmares would come true. That he would get the right test without any genjutsu he couldn't detect on it, that it did not already come with a 'F' on it or that it contained some of the hardest questions that he had ever seen in his life.
Luckily for the blonde protagonist, there was nothing wrong about the test and he went through it quickly. He remembered every part about elemental nature, Konoha's history and some basic shinobi tactics. He felt that he made close to one hundred percent on the written portion of the test. He warily walked to the front of the classroom noting all the evil glances that he would get and the civilian students leering at him, including Mizuki and handed in his test. He walked backwards to make sure that Iruka did not quickly switch the paper into a different pile for failure or to make sure did not pass. Instead Iruka simply dropped the written test into the same pile with the rest of the students and smiled at Naruto as he walked back to the cold and silent sector of the room where he sat.
The test took a half an hour for the rest of the people to finish. Some students were taking a while because they were painstakingly checking every last answer to ensure that they all had a chance to get everything they could right. Once the last student finished a rush of excitement filled the room, as everybody was anxious about the next portion of the exam.
"The first portion of your tests have been completed, Mizuki will remain inside of the classroom to grade the written portion of the test while I will take you guys outside to training ground three in order to complete the other half of the exam. Now follow me and do not get left behind because the test will start without you there and not attending this means automatic failure" Iruka stated as he then about-faced and began marching out the door with many students quickly following his stride to training ground three.
Mizuki had a smile on his face as every student left the classroom, some waved and said goodbye to him while others completely ignored him. Mizuki was now left to grade papers and completely left to his own devices.
(15 minutes later at training ground three)
All of the students had arrived at the training ground and many of them had butterflies as they were mentally preparing for their test that was to be administered here.
"Now for this portion of the test you will be fighting against one of my bushins (clones) that has been weakened to a low genin level. You can use anything during this exam that you feel necessary. That means clan techniques; taijutsu and ninjutsu are all legal during this fight, just like in real life. That means come at my clone with everything you have."
Many of the students just could not get this idea in their head. They did not want to hurt their teacher and forgot that it was a clone. However, many of the students actually did well.
Even those who were doubted to do well such as Ino Yamanka, Kiba Inuzuka and Sakura Haruno gave the Iruka clone some competition.
Then there were others who completely overpowered the clone. The students in this category were Shikamaru Nara (through his Shadow Imitation Technique), Shino Aburame (The use of his insects, many students nearly had a panic attack when seeing the insects coming out of his body) and Sasuke Uchiha (leveled the clone with one Great Fireball Technique).
Finally after Chouji Akamichi defeated the clone in a hard fought battle, it was time for Naruto Uzumaki to step up to the plate and battle a clone.
"Come at me with everything you have Naruto" stated the clone Iruka.
Naruto took these words to heart as he opened up in a basic academy taijutsu set. Many of the students began to snicker as many of them believed that Naruto was about to be massacred by the Iruka clone. Some of the civilian adults that came to watch their children were hoping that it was the perfect opportunity for Iruka to finally kill the demon.
Naruto lunged at the Iruka clone with a flurry of punches and kicks that were all blocked by the clone. The clone saw an opening and went for a quick strike on Naruto's open chest.
Unfortunately for the clone, Naruto had prepared for this and swept the clone off its feet in one smooth move. Naruto jumped back and flipped through hand signs before the clone got back to its feet.
Futon: Daitoppa
The gust of wind behind Naruto grew and shot at the clone with high velocity. The wind slammed against the clone sending it backwards onto the ground. Naruto seized the opportunity and jumped towards Iruka next to him raising a kunai and sliced a part of the clone's arm open dispelling it.
Iruka began clapping on the sidelines as Naruto turned to him and smiled. The rest of the students and adults were stunned that the once dead-last student had effortlessly defeated their teacher in the same way that the top students like Shino and Sasuke did.
There was a stunned silence as Naruto and the rest of the students saw Iruka smiled and clapped as Naruto had passed the field examination with flying colors. Iruka knew that this would cement Naruto as a top student unless he absolutely bombed on the written portion of the test.
The remaining students had their individual collected thoughts about the matter at hand that just took place.
'How did the dobe get so strong quickly? He still is a dobe but that was impressive, even using a jutsu that I did not even know about.' Thought the rookie of the year.
'Even Akamaru and me could not defeat Iruka that fast' Thought what some people considered the incarnate of Naruto with his hyper attitude and playful spirit.
'Naruto-kun has improved so much from where he used to be. I hope that he is one of the top students and he ends up on my team' thought the one girl in the class who would appreciate him for who he was
'Hmm, it seems that my insects were correct and Naruto is indeed more powerful than everybody suggests. Maybe I should look into this matter further and ask my father what he knows about this enigma' thought the quiet and analytical shinobi that was full of mystery.
The rest of the students waited patiently as the others finished their matches and everybody completed the field examination.
"Now that everybody has completed the field examination, we will make our way back to the classroom in order to receive the results of the written portion of the test and have them graded with the field examination. Also the top three shinobi and kunoichi of the class will be announced." Said Iruka, now turned around to the group and leading the way back to the academy. He paused and then faced the class again.
"I thank the parents for attending the field examination but the results will be read in private to the students only. I am sure that you will find out the results from your excited children tonight."
With that all of the parents went up to their student and wished them goodbye. For Naruto this was a big relief as many of the parents were glaring at him and nearly gave him a nervous breakdown because of the negative attention that he was receiving via the stares and leering.
The students all then walked back to the academy and the classroom in order to hear the results.
(Back in the classroom 30 minutes later)
Iruka had the results in. He and Mizuki had been grading the exams and had come up with a cumulative grade for all the prospective genin. The rankings were formed on their papers in front of Iruka.
"First up will be the top three kunoichi of the class."
All the girls visibly tensed and awaited the results of the grading.
"In third place for this class is Ino Yamanaka"
Ino stood up and screeched as she cheered for herself. Many students had to quickly cover their ears in fear of losing a vital sense for shinobi.
"In second place for this class is Sakura Haruno"
"True love triumphs every time" Sakura yelled after she found out that she had defeated her precious rival in love for Sasuke. She was very satisfied with the result and quickly sat back down and began blushing as she was having a hallucination that Sasuke actually looked at her. In contraire, Sasuke was looking out the window waiting for him to get the rookie of the year award.
"In first place for this class is Hinata Hyuuga"
Hinata gave a small smile as all the attention in the class, including Naruto was focused on her. She nearly fainted when she saw Naruto looking at her but she maintained her composure and took some deep breaths. She sat back down quickly and made sure she was not going to faint.
"For the rookie of the year, we are going to do this in reverse order since we already know who the rookie of the year is. Now Sasuke Uchiha could you come get your rookie of the year trophy"
Sasuke walked towards the front of the room and accepted his trophy. Never once did he smile but he did acknowledge the clapping that many of the fan-girls were doing for him. This 'nicer' act of Sasuke proved to be a mistake as he heard the cheering go up to a new level. He sat back down and prayed to Kami that the noise would stop.
Kami answered the Uchiha heir's prayer as Iruka cleared his throat and continued on with the standings.
"In second place for the shinobi in this class is Shino Aburame"
Shino acknowledged everybody but did not take off his glasses or hood.
"Lastly, in third place for the shinobi in this class is Naruto Uzumaki"
A stunned silence entered the room as all of the young boys in the class realized that Naruto had beaten them all, both academically and applying his skills. Naruto stood up and smiled as everybody in the class was in shock that nobody reacted.
'This is better than expected, nobody reacted. I'm free of judgment for once!' thought Naruto to himself as this caused his smile to go back to the goofy grin that he once wore daily as a youth.
Hinata was smiling at Naruto and one of the only one's who processed the info quickly along with Sasuke and Shikamaru, who already knew this was coming and fell back asleep.
'Why is Hinata trying to fake being happy for me' Naruto thought to himself as he noticed the Hyuuga heiress with a smile on her face looking at him.
'Kami, Naruto-kun is looking at me, I might faint. Hold together Hinata, you can do it. Just turn back around and forget that ever happened but know that Naruto acknowledged you.' Hinata tried to tell herself and she did just that, not fainting.
"I will now announce the rest of the new genins, remember the ceremony is tomorrow." Continued Iruka.
Naruto began zoning out and relished the fact that he placed third in the class. Meaning he would be the top dog on the team, the one that the jounin-sensei could rely on.
Naruto awoke from his daydream when people were leaving, some with disappointed looks of failure on their face and others with ecstatic joy on their faces that they were becoming genin. All the young people of the village parted their ways as they headed back to their establishments in order to prepare for the next day of ceremonies or begin their new lives.
(Later that Night)
Naruto decided tonight was a cause for celebration and to celebrate the feat of becoming a genin he would go to his favorite place to eat, Ichiraku's ramen. Using the money he had saved up, he went and feasted on ramen of all different types.
"Naruto don't you think you have had too much yet?" Asked Ayame, the closest thing to a sister figure ever had in his life.
"One more Ayame, I'm almost full" Naruto said and then burped. Having completed his sixth bowl of ramen.
"Coming right up Naruto, just make sure you are able to eat it and not puke it all back up" stated Ayame and she began preparing the last bowl of ramen for Naruto.
Naruto stayed true to his word and did not regurgitate the ramen, keeping it down and eating the seventh bowl completely. Naruto then paid for every bowl he ate and said his goodbyes to both Ayame and Teuchi. Halfway to his house, he thought he felt a disturbance in the pitch black of the night. Suddenly a shinobi appeared behind Naruto and chopped him in the neck, knocking him unconscious.
The person then scooped up Naruto and gave him to another individual. Here is the person you requested, now pay me the money you requested. The individual holding Naruto gave Naruto to another person who dumped him on the ground because they could not support his weight. The taller of the people gave the shinobi the money and the shinobi sped off in the opposite direction, hoping nobody noticed the downed Anbu that was supposed to be watching Naruto.
The taller of the two people picked up Naruto and spoke to the other.
"We have him now, let us go to the field and get back what was originally yours."
The smaller person nodded and followed the taller person with Naruto Uzumaki on their shoulder. They were heading towards the shinobi training grounds.
(Unknown Shinobi training ground, 1 AM)
Naruto awakened to find himself bound in ropes to a tree. Naruto was not pleased but suddenly became alert at two presences that came his way. One was taller than the other; the second was about his size.
"Do you know where you are right now Naruto Uzumaki" The taller man stated as Naruto tried to identify anything that would help him out of this situation.
"You are at the same training ground where you beat Iruka-sensei and unjustly took my position as third best in the class" stated the younger figure with apparent rage in his voice.
Naruto's mind finally started turning the gears that needed to be made in order to identify who his kidnappers were.
"You're that kid that I replaced as the third best in the class." Stated Naruto
The kid reached down and punched Naruto in the face; the blow did not do much although it did a lot to make Naruto angry.
"That's right, you don't even remember my name because I am so unimportant to you." The boy stated still in a completely rage filled voice that could kill people if voices could kill.
"Now we are going to recify this situation before it gets out of hand here. You are going to die while my son is able to get back his shinobi career which is rightfully deserved while you die like the demon you are." Stated the taller figure, the father of his son.
"Gin, would you like to administer the killing blow" stated the father to his son
"This would be your first kill and you would help Konoha so much by killing the demon and getting rid of it so that we are never haunted by the past again. This would be the first kill of many and give our family name the honor it always deserved." Continued the father, giving the kunai to his son.
Gin walked over and twirled the kunai in front of Naruto a few times, nearly dropping it half the time, as he wasn't good with shinobi techniques. Gin was one of the highest ranked students in terms of knowledge and paperwork but he was unable to even land a hit on the Iruka clone. This downgraded his score completely and Iruka deemed him unfit to be a shinobi from his battle skills.
"My first kill will be the greatest kill in the long history of Konoha. This kill will be greater than any of that by the first, second, third or even the fourth Hokage. With that Gin lowered the kunai dangerously close to Naruto's throat but was stopped suddenly.
Naruto forced chakra into the ropes and broke them. Unfortunately for Gin and his father, they bought normal civilian rope to tie Naruto with instead of chakra resistant rope that is immune to chakra pulses that a hostage may emit. Gin looked on in horror as Naruto now stood up. To say Naruto was different would be saying a half-truth, he was different but he just changed his ways in some aspects. Death brings the true form of people out so much more quickly.
"Rejected by all, do you know what that means? To be the one always standing on the sidelines who was never accepted by anybody. Do you know what that means?" Naruto asked rhetorically, now standing on his feet near Gin.
Gin was shaking so bad that he could not even know the answer. His father rushed over to his side and tried to attack Naruto with his bare fists. This proved to be a fatal mistake.
Naruto took Gin's father's hands and put them together. Naruto swiftly gave Gin's father 2 palm strikes to the midsection, one straight to the ribs and the other to the heart. The palm had some chakra out of spite in it and busted Gin's father's heart. Gin's father fell down in a pool of his own blood having breathed his last breath.
"NOOOOOOOOOO! Father, why did you do this" asked Gin shouting loudly.
Naruto smiled as he looked down at Gin who was now weeping uncontrollably.
"You wonder why Iruka-sensei did not accept you as a shinobi, look at you now. You are completely here crying like a newborn over the death of your father instead of taking action against your killer, who just murdered your father in cold blood." Naruto began laughing as Gin stood up and tried to attack. Naruto merely shoved him to the ground.
"Do you understand what rejection is yet Gin? You have a small dose of it because you were rejected by Iruka-sensei but not a full comprehensive definition so let me update you on how pain is."
"How would you like to be rejected everyday of your life as you walk around knowing you did nothing to anybody. No sins of omission or any evil deed committed against the shinobi, villagers or citizens of Konoha? That is my everyday life, to know I am laughed at by every shinobi in the village and hated by that same large group of people," continued Naruto
"Yes Naruto, I know how you feel, I used to laugh at you but now I won't" said a shocked Gin, trying to find a way to not become like his father.
"Silence brat, now is not the time for you to talk. I did not finish yet. So do you know what rejection brings about in people?" asked Naruto, but this time Gin replied.
"N-n-n-n-no, I d-d-d-don't know" answered Gin truthfully
"Rejection brings about suffering which brings True pain. You do not know what true pain is so you do not know what true pleasure is at the same time. Until you have suffered so much that everything can be taken from you, you do not know what true pain is. Being rejected by every person that I ever came across, either directly or by a sin of omission has made me realize this. I thank you for finally sending my path directly crashing into me, without this assassination attempt I never would have realized this" rambled Naruto, with Gin still shaking in fear.
"Why do you do this to people?" asked Gin, trying to find out something about this new version of Naruto.
"Why do I do that? That is a simple answer yet with a complex answer. I bring about my methods to show people what true pain is. If we as people do not understand what true pain is then we will never experience true pleasure. You see, the pleasure and pain you experience now are temporary. Your pain and pleasure pass by quickly and you forget that it was once there with the occasional event becoming a distant memory that you deem painful or pleasuring. My pain is that which is omnipresent and always exists. I never am able to escape my pain, which is true pain. If I am able to pass on my true pain to people then I will never have to be glared at or looked at wrongly in a perfect society that knows true pain."
"However, bringing true pain upon my enemies, which currently everybody will be pleasuring to me because I am going to see the oppressors become the oppressed and scream under my true pain. I will be able to get revenge for every little thing that you people in the past either directly or indirectly did to me. The chain will start with you and your father and work through generations of shinobi and kunoichi." Ended Naruto, Gin had nearly passed out by this time.
"So basically I want to bring despair on you because you do not know how it feels to suffer true pain and once you do I can build a utopian world where everybody is interconnected by the two dynamic worlds of suffering and happiness. There will be no pariahs and no upper class, we are all connected by pain."
"But w-w-why?" asked Gin but Naruto had enough of the quivering kid's questions so he kicked him in the chest effectively both knocking the wind out of him and rendering Gin unconscious.
"Because that is my ninja way"
A/N: The first chapter of 'Rejection' is complete and the baseline for Naruto's personality is complete. Yes it is dark but it is also reasonable considering how Naruto was treated throughout his childhood and during this chapter.
Questions for the Next Chapter:
Who are the teams? Is Naruto with Hinata? Is Kakashi still going to be Naruto's jounin-sensei?
Will Naruto be charged for the murder of Gin's father?
Will Kyuubi make an appearance anytime in the near future?
Also when you review, put in who you think should be paired with Naruto for the story. I am open to pairing anybody with Naruto since I can write that in and make it canon in this story, it will not be a harem only one girl will get Naruto. I will not be writing any romantic parts (unless Hinata/Sakura/Ino dreams something because look at Naruto and how he acts because he will not be going after anybody in the near future)
Thank you for reading my story and please review.