Naruto: Another Side
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't have to insert stupid disclaimers at the top of my chapters :)
A few minutes ago, a monster known as the Nine Tailed Fox appeared in arguably the most powerful of the Hidden Villages; Konoha, the village hidden in the leaves. In the midst of the chaos it created, a masked man took on the leader of Konoha; the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. During this fierce battle, the fearless leader's wife, Kushina Uzumaki, was lying in her newborn son's crib, half dead.
Facing the baby, Kushina caressed his face as he let out a small whimper, sensing the fear in the air.
"Hey, Naruto, it'll all be okay..." She spoke softly as any mother would, "Daddy will fix this r-right up."
Naruto gave a small breath through his lips. "He'll be right back and we can g-get some food, okay?" A tear jumped off her eyelid, making its way to the mattress to join the puddle of its kind. Kushina wasn't naïve. She knew what having a bijū extracted from you meant. The only reason she was still breathing was thanks to her Uzumaki heritage granting her powerful longevity. She opened her mouth to speak once more to comfort her son when she felt the immense presence of the Kyūbi.
'That could only mean-'The thought was cut short by a loud crash echoing throughout the house. Kushina grabbed the blonde haired boy and ran outside to see what was going on.
She was immediately greeted by the vision of her husband and the infamous fox. Without a second thought, she laid Naruto on the ground vowed to protect him with her life. She flashed through hand signs as a seasoned shinobi.
"Fūinjutsu: Adamantine Sealing Chains!" Yellow chakra chains rapidly shot out of the redhead and constricted the Kyūbi, earning a roar of anger from the beast.
"Minato, what do we plan on doing with this thing?" She yelled, panting and sweating from exhaustion.
"I... I'm not completely sure yet! I just needed to get it away from my village." The blonde-haired Kage responded in a hurry. He was currently thinking of any way he could solve this problem without anyone getting hurt.
A scowl developed on Kushina's face as a realization hit her. "I... I think I know what to do, honey.." She spoke softly, her eyes turning into a sorrowful acceptance. "I won't survive this night anyways."
Minato's eyes widened just before the fox broke one of the chains holding him down. "Kushina, no! That will only speed things up! Listen… the man I fought, he will return. When he does, there must be someone strong enough to fight him." He cast a glance at his son. 'Naruto.. I can not imagine the suffering this will bring you.. I'm truly sorry, but this is the only way. I know you will be strong enough o handle this. You are my son, after all!'
Kushina nodded in agreement. "What kind of seal do you plan on using? We're trying to hold a tailed beast, M-Minato." Her breathing was getting more and more erratic.
"I know of one strong enough… but you won't like it." Kushina narrowed her eyes, focusing on her husband's words. "It's a version of the Reaper Death Seal. It will merge some of the Kyūbi's essence into Naruto over time, making him stronger… faster. We can seal some of our chakra into him too, if you'd like to meet him one day…" He said with a wink.
Kushina, realizing what using the Reaper Death Seal would mean for Minato, felt tears well up in her eye once more. She nodded with a frown forming on her face. "Let's do it…" She went over to Naruto, ignoring the protests and struggles of the Kyūbi, and prepared him for the sealing.
Naruto, now lying on an altar, was surrounded by dim lit candles, was crying at the top of his lungs, as if he knew the struggles this would bring him in the future. Minato spoke up as a father, "son, I need you to be strong, okay? You will be a hero one da-"His words were cut short as a colossal claw flew through the air, impaling both him and his wife. They both let out a unison cry of pain before Kushina yelled for him to continue with the sealing. Upon doing so, he noticed his wife reinforce her chakra chained hold on the Kyūbi, buying him a little more time.
'Ox, Bird, Boar, Monkey… TIGER!' The blond man flashed the last of the signs as the Reaper himself materialized in front of him, sword in mouth. The purple demon began extracting the essence of the entire Kyūbi, and sent it into baby Naruto.
The light was fading from the eyes of the Kage and his wife as they said their final goodbyes to their son. After a moment of silence, the shell of the Kyūbi disappeared along with the claw holding the corpses in place, leaving them to fall to the ground as Sarutobi, the third Hokage, along with some ANBU, arrived at the scene.
Sarutobi approached the two, feeling a tear run down his face, ad his heart splitting in two. 'Both… so young. You've done a magnificent thing here, Minato-san…" He quickly caught the tear with his sleeve. Then, he heard something; A small movement. No, two small movements. He looked over to Kushina slowly inching towards her baby. His eyes widened as he flickered to her.
"Kushina! You're alive! What happened here?"
The dying mother grabbed a hold of her child and cradled him in her arms, pressing her forehead against his. She was quietly sobbing now. After a few seconds to compose herself, she looked up at the old man.
"His… name i-is Naruto…" She said with a weak yet proud smile. As Sarutobi grabbed him from her, she crumpled over.
"Kushina!" The old man cried, only to be met with nothing but Naruto's near silent whimpers. 'She's gone…'
He took another look at the child, noticing the seal on his stomach piecing together the situation relatively quickly. This kid, Naruto, is the new Jinchūriki of the Nine Tailed Fox…
12 Years later…
Thump…
Thump…
Thump…
"Perfect score as always, Naruto… If only you'd put the same effort into taijutsu as you do kunai training." Iruka, teacher of the fifth and final year of the Konoha Shinobi Academy students, said with a deadpan expression.
"I'm tellin' ya', it just comes natural, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said with a wide grin. It wasn't often he was praised on his skill, which is why he liked kunai practice so much. It was really the only thing he was good at. It really did come natural to him for some reason. For as long as he could remember, he had near perfect aim. Naturally, this meant he had abnormally good reflexes too. What he didn't have, however, was any real form of taijutsu technique or chakra control in the slightest.
"Alright, Naruto. Go stand next to the others in the top three." This was a part Naruto both hated and loved. He loved it because he got to show off and stand in a special spot designated for bragging, yet he hated it because he had to stand next to Sasuke. This guy was always quiet and subtly condescending, which always upset Naruto. 'I mean, who does he think he is? It's like he thinks he's better than everyone else!' The blond thought distastefully. After a few moments, he noticed the last contestant step up, Ino Yamanaka. She was a part of the 'Sasuke Fan Club' yet was never really mean to Naruto. She may have respected his ability with kunai to some extent. That and he never bothered her. Naruto wasn't shy by any means, but he typically found himself preferring to be alone. With the way most villagers looked at him, he didn't like being around them. He figured the looks were just because of the pranks he occasionally played. At first he did it for fun, since he loved the looks on a Shinobi's face upon finding out they were bested by a kid, but that soon evolved into a sort of training. Early on, Naruto discovered he could sort of feel when people were around him, making it easier for him to get away from his pursuers. To take advantage of his pranks, he used them to train his odd sense to the point where he could now easily play a prank and no one would ever find him, yet he knew they knew it was him.
Ino frowned at her results. She always had subpar accuracy, most likely due to her neglect to training. Most of her time was spent thinking about Sasuke, after all. She was the heiress to one of the largest clans of Konoha and she couldn't even hit a target with a kunai. What was up with that? 'I need to do something about this,' She though with a determination.
After class was over, Naruto began walking home to his apartment paid for by the Hokage, or as he calls him, his Jiji. A few steps into his walk, ne tried not to notice the swing set he spent many hours sitting on, shrouded in loneliness. Preferring to be alone wasn't always how he felt. Only after years of forced solitude did he finally concede to it. Parents would tell their kids not to talk to him for fear of him being the demon that was sealed inside of him; The demon that ravaged the village and ripped the lives from his parents. Of course Naruto didn't know of any of this, he still felt the pangs of sorrow.
"Naruto!" A voice called out to him. He jerked forward, preparing to run out of instinct, before stopping and turning around. He noticed his fellow blonde, Ino, jogging his way.
"Uh… Yeah?" His eyes showed a distrust. It usually never meant anything good when people wanted to talk to him.
"Hey… this is kinda weird to me, but, do you think you could-"
"Ino! What are you doing talking to that freak?" One of the lesser-known academy girls yelled out to the blonde girl. Ino was visibly taken back by the words as she shot a mean and confused look at her. She looked back at Naruto, noticing him simply looking at the ground as if waiting for her to get on with what she wanted to say.
Against her better judgement, Ino's need of acceptance forced her to do something she knew she would regret. She just had to uphold her reputation, and talking to Naruto wouldn't help that.
"Just telling him how stupid his clothes are!" Ino said with a forced smile which only seemed to hurt her as she noticed Naruto flinch slightly. Normally he wouldn't let words get to him, but he really was kind of excited that someone actually wanted to talk to him.
As the girl finally left, Ino was left alone with the whiskered boy. Or at least she thought she was. She failed to notice the hateful glares a young lavender-haired girl was shooting her from behind a tree.
"Naruto…" Ino started.
"Look, Ino, you already got your point across… Can I just go home now?" Naruto quickly cut her off with a downcast expression.
"Naruto that's not-" Ino's eyes widened and her hands shot up.
"I get it! Okay? I look stupid! At least I can throw a kunai!" Naruto felt guilty upon saying that for some reason.
Ino waited a moment before speaking. "Whatever… I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto. I'm sorry." Those last two words stunned Naruto. No one had ever apologized to the boy, not even his Jiji. He watched Ino walk away in confusion. 'Why did she even come talk to me…'
Hinata watched the scene in interest. It was obvious Ino didn't just talk to Naruto to insult him. She wanted something, but what? She couldn't have feelings for him, right? 'No, I'm just being paranoid.' She dismissed the thought. There must be a reason Ino wanted to talk to the boy. For now, however, Hinata had to get home for her clan training. If she was late, it would only make her father more disappointed in her. If she could even call him a father anymore. After he mother passed, the man became cold and reserved, only barely ever acknowledging Hinata as his daughter. He began caring only about power and political influence. He knew he needed to choose the next heir to the clan head, and she could tell he was leaning towards her little sister, Hanabi. Her sister was everything her father wanted. She was smart, reasonable, confident, and full of potential. Hinata, however, was shy, weak, and unsure of herself. It's not like she cared about being the clan head too much, she just wanted to change the traditions of her family. She wanted to get rid of a certain seal which condemned certain members of her clan to a lifetime of servitude.
Naruto stood looking in front of his mirror. 'Are my clothes really that stupid?' He remembered Ino's words. They didn't really affect him much since people have told him about his outfit so many times before, but he felt like taking a look at himself once more upon returning to his apartment. 'I've dressed like this for years… There's no point in changing now.' He thought as he rubbed a hand down his torso. 'Maybe once I make Genin I'll try something new!'
He took off his jacket and left his house once more, running in the direction of his favorite spot in the forest to 'train'. His idea of training usually meant punching and kicking a tree stump until he collapsed. He always woke up the next morning completely healed, so this was something he liked to do. While it helped build his strength, resistance, and stamina, it absolutely ruined his taijutsu technique.
After a short run, he stood in front of his favorite stump, clothed in his orange pants and a white tee. He felt the presence of his ANBU guardians, though he didn't know who they really were, the Hokage simply told him they were there for his protection. From what, he did not know.
From the two ANBU operatives' points of view, his training was unnerving. Not just because of how bad his Taijutsu was, but also because of how he treated himself. The boy had an unnatural amount of durability, though that was most likely because of his tenant. One of the ANBU was one of the two who accompanied Sarutobi in recovering Naruto the day he was born, and the other, Bear, was a relatively new recruit who was assigned to Naruto with the older man as a sort of training.
Smoke rises from the end of the crutch stuck inside a single shinobi's mouth. It's been too long since he has gotten a break like this. Being the son of a Kage wasn't all it was cracked up to be. After all it only meant you had more responsibility. Missions were accounted for nearly every day and the breaks you did get were short lived, as Asuma would soon learn. He was now kneeling in front of his father, the Sandaime Hokage. Of course, the head bowing was merely a formality, as he grew up with this man, he was still his leader.
"You can stand up, Asuma. I can't believe you don't know why I called you here today."
"Well you usually send a bird with my missions. This one super secret or something?" Asuma said, standing up in a more lax position.
Hiruzen chuckled, "Well, not exactly. I wouldn't even call it a mission, really, unless you call it long term."
Asuma gulped and adopted a frown. "C'mon old man, haven't you worked me enough the past few years? I mean I know I did sort of run away from the village for a while, but you gotta admit, being one of the Twelve Ninja Guardians and getting a forty-million ryo bounty is pretty impressive!" He gave a hearty yet nervous laugh.
"Relax, Asuma, this isn't a punishment. I was just thinking it's time for you to take on a Genin team again. It's been far too long."
At that, Asuma relaxed. He didn't even notice he was tensed up. "Oh… I see. Well, I suppose I could do that. D-ranks aren't too bad, after all. I could just get the brats to do it. But isn't graduation still a couple weeks away? Why are you telling me this now?"
"Well you said it yourself, I have been working you hard. I think it is time you have a lengthy break."
"Wh-wha-" Asuma began with a huge smile.
"Not to relax and play Shogi, Asuma. I want you to be training. You haven't taught in a long time, you need to be ready for this. You're going to take the next two weeks training and getting in optimal condition, and for the love of Kami, put down those cigarettes once in a while. You're an active Jōnin for goodness' sake." He lightly teased.
Upon dismissal by his father, Asuma couldn't help but smile all the way back home. Training wasn't bad at all, especially if it was what he was able to do for the next two weeks. He would make sure to improve as much as he could. With as many C-ranks as he has been getting, he's been feeling a bit rusty.
The Yamanaka residence was fairly relaxed. It was a peaceful clan who dabbled in interrogation because of their many mind jutsu. Unlike the Hyūga compound, it had a homely feel to it, which was why a certain blonde girl found it very easy to fall asleep after a hard day of training. Of course the stress was mostly mental, as her father was trying to help her perfect the basic Mind Transfer Jutsu, it was stress nonetheless.
The sleeping wasn't the odd part of this scene. The odd part was what was going on in her head. She would typically dream of Sasuke performing some sort of romantic act for her, usually confessing his love for her. This time was different however. This time she was reliving what has happened a few days ago. She was going to ask Naruto to train her with kunai, yet peer pressure ended up making her hurt him. She didn't like him too much, but she could see the pain in his eyes, which were usually filled with so much glee. Something about his expression haunted her. It was as if she caught a glimpse into another side of Naruto that she hasn't seen before. Why he showed it in that moment was unknown to her.
She jolted awake from her sleep, eyes flipping open. 'I really need to talk to him again… I need to apologize.' The soft glow of the moon crept through the window, signaling her to go to sleep once more and push the problems away until the next day.
Morning came rather quickly to a day that would prove to be imperative to the future. Something truly historical would happen today that puts all other events to shame. Today is the day that Ino Yamanaka formally apologizes to the dead last, Naruto Uzumaki.
The blond boy in question was approaching the doors to the school as he noticed Ino leaning against a wall seemingly waiting for him. He tried his best not to look her in the eye as he just wanted to go sit down to see his latest prank come to fruition.
"Naruto! I see you trying to avoid me!" She called out, making it impossible to avert contact.
He rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Uh.. No way! I was going to class."
"Oh come on, I'm obviously waiting to talk to you, and you obviously looked at me before trying to creep past me!" She started to get a little heated. 'Okay Ino calm down.. I'm here to apologize, not to make things worse.' "Uh.. Sorry, I mean I wanted to talk to you. There's something I need to tell you." She took on her own sheepish smile this time.
Naruto just stared blankly at her, waiting for her to continue. 'Why does she keep apologizing to me? This is the second time in the past few days.'
"Well… I just wanted to really apologize for what I said a few days ago, about your clothes. That wasn't what I wanted to say to you that day.." she said sincerely.
Naruto's eyes widened, "So… You don't think my outfit is stupid?" He asked cheerfully.
"Uh, well…" She stopped, noticing Naruto's eyes drop. "Look, Naruto, I actually wanted to know if you could help me with my kunai technique." At those words, she could tell the blond boy was taken back.
'She apologized three times and now she wants me to train her? What the hell…' He thought. "Uh, sure, I guess. But why me? What about Sasuke, or your f-family?" That last word was a bit tough to get out for painfully obvious reasons.
"Oh please, Sasuke would never do something like that. I like him, but I'm not too blind to notice he wants nothing to do with me. And my family? Well, my dad really just trains me on my clan techniques." Ino said, a bit saddened by the first part.
"Oh… well then yeah, of course Ino! Anything for a friend!" Naruto exclaimed happily.
'F-friend? Even after the way I treated him the past few years..?' The Yamanaka took those words hard as it made her feel guilty for being so rude to him always. She never directly insulted him or anything, but she always pushed him away to get to Sasuke. She never really saw him as a friend. Maybe she could start making it up to him. "Th-thank you, Naruto. Hey, what do you say we get to class now? We might be a bit late… and how about I sit by you? You always look so bored up at the top of the class, you need someone to keep you awake." She said with a smile.
Naruto's eyes widened considerably. His stomach was feeling weird and tingly since she asked that. No one had ever asked to sit next to him before, let alone a girl. Not that it made any difference. Ino was probably just trying to repay him for accepting to help her. Regardless, he was happy at the offer.
"Oh, sure! Definitely, Ino-chan." He said softly with a small smile.
'Ino… chan?' the girl pondered over the thought for a moment before the two blondes walked into the classroom. As they entered together they almost immediately regretted it as they noticed everyone in the room go silent and stare at them. They stood frozen until Iruka broke the silence.
"Nice to see you two finally show up. Now take a seat." There were whispers occurring throughout the classroom which only got more intense when the two blondes sat right next to each other. Naruto could make out most of the whispers easily.
"What is she doing with that freak?"
"Did she finally give up on my Sasuke-kun?"
"I bet he's blackmailing her into sitting with him, that weirdo."
Naruto was only slightly hurt by these comments as he knew just what was about to happen. Ino, on the other hand, was appalled by what she was hearing. Why did everyone hate Naruto so much? Sure he plays some stupid pranks every now and then, but this is too far. She could feel herself getting riled up by these quiet comments as Iruka passed out scrolls to everyone before speaking up.
"Alright everyone, today we are going to do a bit of light reading. We are going to learn about the history of the conflict between Iwa and Konoha and why we have seen many small battles occur throughout time following the Third Great Shinobi War. You may now all open your scrolls and begin reading. We will discuss what you've read once everyone is done."
Ino went to open her scroll when Naruto put his hand on hers and nodded 'no' to her, silently. There's no point in letting his new friend be a part of his prank.
Everyone grabbed the edge of the scroll in preparation to open it.
'Three' Naruto began.
The class slowly pulled down the paper.
'Two'
The students all opened their scrolls.
'Boom'
In an instant, everyone in the room, save for Ino and Naruto were covered in blue paint that shot out of the scroll in an instant.
Iruka was fuming.
"NARUTO!"
"I can't believe Iruka-sensei thought I had something to do with it!" Ino said, chuckling. She and the blonde boy had exited the building together after school let out on Naruto's promise to tell her about some of his other pranks. She was partly trying to make up for the years she spent ignoring the boy, and partly enjoying his company.
"Haha, yeah well I don't blame him for thinking I'm too stupid to learn some basic sealing stuff." The Uzumaki grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head out of nerves.
Ino frowned, remembering something she wanted to ask him about, "Hey, Naruto?" She began.
"Yeah?" He let his grin fade away and gave her a confused look.
"What's up with the way people treat you? I mean, you're not such a bad guy…" She trailed off.
Naruto's eyes darkened noticeably. Ino saw this and was about to say something before the boy spoke up. "Honestly? I don't know… I've kinda always wondered that too… Maybe my parents were bad people, whoever they were…" He glared at the ground in thought.
Ino felt a shiver in her heart. She couldn't imagine what it was like not even knowing who your parents were. She had a family. People to come home to and tell about your day. People to pick you up when you get kicked down. Naruto had none of this. He never knew a mother's hug, or a father's advice. Thinking about it broke her heart. What she said next shocked the boy. Not because of the words, but the action that came with it.
"Naruto… I'm s-so sorry…" Ino said, pulling him into a hug, to which he did not return. Not that he didn't want to, his brain simply wasn't working Sure, she had apologized before, but the way she said it this time… the way she hugged him… 'What the hell is going on?' his mind raced, trying to figure out her motives for all of this.
"W-why? Why do you even care?" He said softly into her ear with the last word being a little more harsh than intended. Ino pulled away from the hug and looked at him confused.
"Why wouldn't I? I've been an ass to you! I mean, yeah, we haven't talked like ever, but maybe that's worse than making fun of you like the others! I have a heart, you know…" She said in defense.
"So you feel bad for me?" Naruto's eyes narrowed.
"N-no! That's not it, okay! I mean, I do, but that's not why I'm talking to you!" Her eyes showed a little desperation as her words shot out louder and louder.
"Hey, Ino, it's alright, y'know? I get it. I'm not gonna complain about you talking to me." He started with a chuckle. "I'm just happy you wanna be my friend! I'm getting a bit tired of Kiba and Shikamaru anyways." He said with a wide smile.
Ino sighed in relief. "I'm a little tired of Sakura, too. I'd be happy to be your friend, too, Naruto, just don't expect me to get any feelings for you." She said with a laugh.
Naruto feigned hurt. "Psh, same for me!" He said with a huff.
"Alrighty, well I should be getting home. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? We need to start planning these training sessions!" Ino said with a small smile.
"Of course, Ino-chan! See ya later!" On that note, the two blondes parted ways, one to her family, and one to his silence…
Alright, well there's my first chapter. I'm going to change a few small details throughout the story, including personalities and whatnot, so don't expect every character to be exactly like they are in canon. I'll try to stay as close as possible, but the plot comes first! I hope you guys enjoyed!
