His name was Naruto Uzumaki, and this was the worst day of his life. Here he was, laying in a dark alley, his limbs were broken, one of his eyes had swollen over and he had lost a lot of blood. The worst part was, it was his birthday. Of course, this meant nothing to him. Shortly after his birth, he was made an orphan. He had only one friend and no other family, and therefore hardly anyone to celebrate with. The people responsible had made the beating extra painful today. For him, getting beaten up was a regular occurrence, but this one had hurt so much.
He had been saving up for months to get himself something nice. However, most stores refused to sell to him and the ones that did doubled the prices. This did not stop Naruto, though. He had gone into a store called Hoki's Clothing Emporium. It was the only store in the whole village that charged him regular prices, and where people did not look at him in hatred. He ran down to the little store and was greeted by the owner.
After returning his greeting, Naruto surveyed the store to see what he had to work with. The store had clothing of various types. It contained casual, shinobi, and formal wear. On the side, it had various accessories, such as hats, armbands, and the like. Naruto looked around for a while before something caught his eye. It was a pair of green goggles. He quickly grabbed them and paid for them.
Satisfied with his purchase, he thanked the owner and left. Naruto was almost home until six people stepped in front of him. Each had a gruesome looking clubs and grins to match. "Hey, demon boy." One of them said as he chuckled darkly. The man was of average height and weight. In fact, the only thing that was not average about him was the large scar that covered most of his left eye. "We've gotta present for ya."
Naruto backed away in fear. Not for himself, however, but for his goggles. There was nothing a ten year old boy could do against six adults with weapons, and both parties knew it.
'Just my luck.' Naruto thought bitterly. 'This is why I hate the Hidden Leaf.'
Naruto covered his goggles as best as he could, and braced himself for the beating he knew was coming. After they were done, they dragged his broken body and through him in an alleyway. What had hurt so much was that all of this had happened in broad daylight and right in the village's center for kami's sake! Not one person stopped to help him. His ANBU 'protectors', supposedly given to him by his village's leader, the Hokage, actually told people to not help him. Then they came over and spit on him before he was dragged away.
This was it. The final straw. He was used to beatings, but this one was especially brutal. He just wanted to die. For some reason, he could not. Every time he tried, all of his wounds would heal almost instantly. This time though, something felt different. 'Maybe this time,' he thought hopefully. He was a little sad, as Hinata would really miss him. He sight began to grow dim and he smiled as he closed his eyes for what he thought was the last time.
When he awakened, he found himself in a dark sewer. 'This doesn't look like heaven.'' Oh well' He shrugged and began walking. Naruto soon found himself in front of a large gate. Knocking on it he yelled, "Hey, Kami!" he yelled. "Can I get my wings in orange?"
Hearing no response, Naruto began banging on the gate. "Hey, can you hear me?!
A deep rumbling came within. "Shut UP brat!" A deep voice said from behind the gate.
Then, Naruto saw a giant orange fox with nine tails billowing behind it. Naruto looked up at it and said,
"So you're kami, eh? Like I was saying I want my wings-"
"Silence!" The fox said. "You are not dead, and I'm definitely not Kami!
Naruto scratched his head in confusion. "Well, where am I then, and who are you? "
"I am the Nine-Tailed Fox!" The beast declared." "As for where we are, this your mindscape." The fox continued.
Naruto looked at him in confusion. "If this is my mind, what are you doing here?"
"I have been sealed inside of you, brat. When I attacked the village ten years ago, the fourth Hokage sealed me inside of you." The fox revealed.
Naruto chuckled. "So you're the reason everyone hates me, eh?" "Ah well, it's not your fault."
The Nine-Tails looked at him in surprise. He had been thinking about aiding the boy to help get what he wanted. Unlike most humans, Naruto was pure. Even if he had some dark thoughts about the village and its inhabitants, all he really wanted was peace. "I'm going to teach you brat." He said. His mind made up, the fox then transformed.
His new form shocked Naruto. He was tall man of about seven feet. He had spiky red hair and red eyes that had slits instead of pupils. To top it off, he had fox ears and nine tails.
Naruto just stood there with his head down. "You ok brat?" The Kyuubi asked.
Naruto looked up at him in awe. "Sugoi! You are so cool fur ball-san!" He shouted.
Said fur ball face faulted at this. Not only did Naruto's reaction surprise him, but the brat had call him, the most powerful of the tailed beasts, 'fur ball.' He quickly recovered, however, and then performed the infamous giant-head jutsu. "You brat!" He yelled. "Show some respect!" He then hit Naruto on the top of his head.
"Ow!" Naruto yelled as he held the rather large bump on his head. "Sorry fur ball-sensei."
"That's better." The fox grumbled.
The Kyuubi then allowed a kind expression form over his features, the one that was usually reserved for his family. "Brat…" He began. "Thank you."
"For what?" Naruto asked, clearly confused.
"For not hating me, and for just being a decent kid, ok?" The red haired demon said.
"I could never hate you, fur ball-sensei." I cannot blame you for your actions any more than I can blame the sun for rising each day."
The Kyuubi was truly touched now. He was now completely resolved to make Naruto the most powerful individual that this world had ever seen. He smirked at Naruto. "Hey kid, how about some training?"
Naruto instantly became wary. "At what cost?" He asked.
"All you have to do is experience one minute of excruciating pain so that you can be powerful for the rest of your life."
Naruto looked at him dumbly. "Ok."
The Kyuubi sweat-dropped. "That was way too easy." He mumbled.
"Ok. Just sign this with your blood, and we are good to-"
"Stop, Naruto!" A voice cried out.
Suddenly a man who looked to be in mid-twenties with blond hair stood in front of the pair. Naruto looked up in shock. Standing in front of him was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
The Hokage looked at him sternly. "Son, I'm disappointed in you."
Naruto looked at him in confusion. "Did you just call me son?" He asked.
The Hokage looked at him in surprise. "You mean Hiruzen didn't tell you?"
"Hiruzen abandoned me when I was one years old." Naruto said darkly.
"How could he do this to me? I gave that old coot ONE task! All I asked is that you be treated well!" The Hokage shouted angrily.
"So, you're really my dad?" Naruto asked meekly.
Minato's face then became one of gentleness. "Yes, son." He said confirming Naruto's hope.
While Naruto was happy to know his father, he was still very upset knowing that his own father was the source of all his pain.
"Dad…"he said. "Do you know how much I've suffered?"
"You mean the rest of the village has treated you bad as well? Curse them! What have they done to you!?"
"I've been beaten, cheated, hated, and starved. I live in the forest, and have to scavenge there for food. I have but one friend, thanks to the adults telling their kids to stay away from me. It hurts…it hurts so much! Naruto yelled, almost screaming.
The Kyuubi chose this moment to interject. "Hokage, I have comprised all of this boy's painful memories into this ball. Come, see the suffering that this village has inflicted upon your son. "
Minato stepped into the offered ball. When he came out his face was pale and his expression grim.
"Naruto…I'm so sorry!" he said as he broke down. "I had…no idea!"
Naruto smiled at him. "It's no big deal, dad."
"Get rid of the fake smile, Naruto. I hate it." Minato said as he calmed himself.
"Now do you see why I am accepting fur ball's offer?" Naruto said.
Minato nodded. "Naruto, do whatever you have to."
"Dad." Naruto said. "I will free you."
Minato looked at him in surprise. "Why would you want to free me?"
"Because you're my dad." Naruto said. "I'll bring back mom too, whoever she is."
"Her name was Kushina." Minato said. "Thank you son."
Naruto nodded as he prepared to start the ritual.
"One more thing, Naruto." Minato said. "What are you going to do with your power?" "Not that I care what happens to this village anymore. I'm just curious."
"I'm going to bring about world peace, dad." Naruto declared confidently.
Minato smiled at him. "I have to go now, but I want you to know that I'm proud of you, Naruto. I love you." Minato then vanished.
"Thanks dad." Naruto whispered.
Naruto then turned to the Kyuubi. "Hey fur ball-sensei, you ready?"
"Whenever you are, brat." Was his the Kyuubi's response. "All you need to do is sit down, and I'll do the rest."
After Naruto was seated, the Kyuubi then made a few hand signs that Naruto did not recognize and then placed his hand on Naruto's head. At first, nothing happened. Then, Naruto was hit with excruciating pain. He screamed, wanting it to stop. It seemed like an eternity, but only a minute had passed before it stopped. When it had, Naruto collapsed. "Get some rest brat, you've earned it." The Kyuubi said as he too collapsed.
While all this was happening, a young girl around Naruto's age ran for her life, or rather Naruto's life. Her name was Hinata Hyuuga, and she was Naruto's one and only friend. One year ago, he had saved her from some bullies, and ever since then, Hinata had admired him. The two had become friends shortly after the incident.
Hinata had been sitting in her room when she felt a chill pass over her. She instinctively knew it was Naruto and she had been desperately running over the village searching for him. When she finally found him, she broke down over his broken form, tears running down her face. "Naruto!" she cried.
She was ruined. Naruto, her friend and the one she…admired was lying here broken, beaten. The worst thing was, he wasn't breathing. She cried over him, begging for him to come back to her. She continued this behavior for a while. Just when she was about to give up, she felt his him breathe.
"Naruto!" she exclaimed as she hugged him tightly."
"Hey Hinata!" answered a voice that was Naruto's but at the same time not. For starters, it was a bit deeper than she remembered. It also had a hint of…something. She was not sure what this something was however.
Hinata then got off of Naruto to get a good look at him. His wounds had healed and he looked a bit taller than he was. He also seemed more…confident than he did before.
"Naruto?" Hinata asked a little confused. Just a second ago, he was lying on the ground badly injured, and now, he was grinning at her like everything was ok.
"Naruto…what happened?" Hinata asked softly.
Naruto's grin instantly vanished and a shadow fell over his face. "A bunch of guys cut me off and beat me up." "Normally, that wouldn't have been so bad, but it was in the middle of the village and the ANBU kept anyone from helping, not that anyone but you would bother anyways."
"How could they!" Hinata shouted. "They have no right to treat you like this! "Come on Naruto, we're fixing this now!"
Hinata then grabbed Naruto by the arm as they dashed off to the Hokage tower.
Hey guys. How is it? This is my first story so I hope it's not too bad. Also, I watch the English dub, so I will be using the English names for most jutsu. If you like this story, feel free to leave a review to let me know how I did. Don't expect too many updates from me though. I'm a freshman in high school, so I'm pretty busy. Well, that's it for now. Thank you very much for reading. Until next time!