Author's note: Hey everyone. After being a part of the fandom for several years and having read nearly all the quality fanfics present, I finally decided to try writing my own story. Hope you like it! Ja ne ;)

What Could Have Been

Chapter 1

"Naruto… don't be a picky eater, eat lots and grow big and strong, just like your father. Make sure to bathe everyday and to stay warm during winters. Don't stay up late; a growing boy needs plenty of sleep." She smiled down at him, her eyes taking in every detail of his face, hoping to burn it into her memory.

"Try to make friends. You don't need to have lots, just a few that you can really trust is fine. Your mom was bad at this, but study hard and regularly practice your ninjutsu. Remember that everyone is good at something and not so good at others, so even if things don't go well… don't get depressed, okay? At the academy, respect your teachers and your seniors, but if anyone tries to bully you, you better be the one who comes out on top," she said mock-sternly.

"Oh, and regarding the three prohibitions for a shinobi, be careful while borrowing and lending money and always make sure to have enough savings from your mission pay. Drink in moderation, though I would much prefer if you didn't drink at all. The third and the most problematic, is girls… though being a girl myself I don't know much about it. At some point, you'll notice girls or boys in a special way, and that's normal… Just, be careful not to fall for the wrong person, find someone like me ya know!" she said with a small laugh.

"Naruto, you will face a lot of hardships in your life as you grow up. Take care of yourself, make sure to have dreams for the future and the confidence to make those dreams come true. So much, there's so so much that I want to tell you! I want to watch you grow up, to see you fall in love, to watch you realize your dreams. I want to be with you longer!" she had tears streaming down her face, but she was still smiling despite her pain, content to spend her last moments gazing at her son's face.

"Know that whatever happens, your parents will be proud of you and always remember that I love you."

Naruto woke up with a start, and dimly registered that he was crying as well. He took a deep breath and wiped his face with his sleeve.

Yugao-nee was lookin at him with a concerned expression, the worry clear on her face. "Was it the same dream?" she asked in a gentle tone.

He nodded back, not trusting himself to speak. He had been having the dreams for a week now and they showed no signs of stopping any time soon. They always started the same way, with the village in flames and bodies of dying shinobi everywhere and ended with his mother telling him that she loved him.

He still couldn't decide whether he wanted these dreams to stop or not.

He gratefully drank the water which she handed him and after reassuring her that he was fine and did not need her help to go to the bathroom, began to get ready for the day.

Yugao had been concerned when he had started having nightmares and insisted that he should go talk to the Hokage about them but while Naruto respected her a lot and generally listened to her he didn't want to bother Hokage-jiji with something like this.

She had finally relented and said that if the dreams didn't stop within a week then she would drag him to the Hokage tower herself if she had to. Naruto had known her since he was a child, she was like an elder sister to him and so he didn't doubt it for a moment that she would carry out the threat if required.

He glanced at the clock on the wall and after seeing that he was going to be late if he didn't hurry, quickly threw on his beloved orange jacket and headed outside with Yugao-nee following behind.

He had to meet with Hokage-jiji today to see the new house he would be living in from now on, his very own house, how cool was that!

The hokage had told him that his parents had left him a house for when he was old enough to look after himself and now that he was going to start training to become a super awesome shinobi just like his mom, It was time that he learned to live on his own.

He had said something about how it would teach him responsibility, important life skills, how to manage his finances and several other things but by then Naruto had already tuned him out and was practically jumping with joy.

Naruto had never really liked the orphanage very much, first of all, It was very crowded. The Kyuubi attack five years ago had left behind several orphans so they had to make do with what little space they had. But mostly because he felt incredibly lonely there despite a large number of people surrounding him.

Sure Neko-chan was really nice and visited him every day but nobody else seemed to like him at all! The matron didn't let him play with the other kids at the orphanage and all the adults in the village always avoided him and told their kids to stay away from him. Only his jiji willingly spent time with him.

Once when he was younger Naruto had asked jiji why everyone smiled and waved at him every time they went to Ichiraku's for ramen. He had smiled at him and said that it was because he was the Hokage, whose duty was to carry on the will of fire and to care for and protect the village with his life.

It would be several years before Naruto would realize that the old Hokage had subtly manipulated him to set him on the path to becoming a shinobi.

"Well then I'll become the greatest hokage ever and then everyone will acknowledge me, just you wait, I'll be stronger than you in no time at all," Naruto loudly proclaimed with all the confidence of a 3-year-old.

"I am sure you will," the Hokage chuckled, ruffling the boy's hair.

"But tell me Naruto, do you even know what it takes to be hokage?" seeing the boy's sheepish face, Hiruzen told him, "You see, a hokage is not only the strongest shinobi in the village but he also has to know how about many different things required to run the village effectively. If you truly want to become bokage, you need to become strong in both body and mind."

"There's an old saying which my sensei, the Nidaime Hokage used to tell me, 'If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. If you do not possess Earth, run through the field and seek strength. If you possess both, dangerous paths turn into safe ones' I have followed his advice diligently and so far it has not let me down," Hiruzen looked at Naruto who was eating up every word he spoke.

On seeing the awed look on his face Hiruzen knew that he had successfully convinced the boy to become a shinobi, as such he was fully prepared for what the boy said next.

"Please teach me how to be a ninja!" Naruto nearly begged, looking at him with wide pleading eyes.

"I am afraid I can't do that right now, being the hokage is a busy job Naruto-kun." he chuckled at the boy's dismayed face.

"No need to be so down, I'll send someone tomorrow who will begin to teach you and if you pass my test when you are older. I'll teach you myself," Hiruzen said with a smile.

"Yes!" Naruto fist pumped with joy. "I'll train really hard and pass your test in no time jiji, believe it." That night he went to sleep, dreaming of strong Jutsu and great battles.

The next morning he found himself being woken up by a beautiful woman with long violet hair who for some strange reason felt really familiar to him. As he shook the sleep from his eyes and looked closely, he let out a startled yelp and fell down from his bed. "Ne...Ne-ko chan, is that you?" He asked.

"Good morning Naruto. Yes it's me, though from now on you may call me Yugao," She was a bit amused by his reaction, ever since he was a baby she had been his caretaker as well as his guard and as such he had only known her as 'Neko-chan'. It must have come as a shock to the 3-year-old boy to see her without her mask.

"What happened to your mask Neko-ch… I mean Yugao-chan?" the blond asked her.

"The Hokage informed me yesterday that you were interested in learning to be a shinobi and so I requested to be your teacher. The Hokage agreed to my request and has relieved me from my position as your Anbu guard which means that I am no longer required to wear my mask around you and well I would like to be able to talk with you face to face," she explained to the small boy who was staring at her intently.

"You know, you are really pretty Yugao-nee," Naruto blurted out without thinking.

"Why thank you Naruto-kun," Yugao said before she registered what Naruto had called her. "W...Wait, what did you call me Naruto-kun?" Yugao asked slowly, not sure if she heard him correctly or had just imagined it.

Naruto realized that he had offended her and quickly tried to correct his mistake, "Ah, I am sorry, I must still be sleepy, I didn't mean to offend you—" Yugao cut him before he started rambling.

"I am not offended at all Naruto-kun, I am honored that you would consider me worthy of being like a sister to you and I would be proud to be a part of your family," Yugao said, making sure to put as much sincerity as she could in her words.

Suddenly she found small arms wrapping themselves in a hug tightly and Naruto mumbled something which she couldn't hear. "Could you please say that again," she asked him softly.

"I said that I heard some of the older boys saying that an older sister takes care of her younger brother and and that she teaches them things and stuff and so I… I thought that maybe you could be my Nii-chan as you always take care of me and teach me things." He let all of that in one quick breath and then glanced at her with tears in his eyes.

She tightened the hug and said, "Of course Naruto. That is what an elder sister is supposed to do and don't worry I will always be there for you no matter what happens, little brother." Naruto gave her a smile at that, not one of his usual fake ones. This, this was his real smile, the one he gave only when he was truly happy and she felt that if only he smiled like that more often then the villagers would probably change their minds about him.

As for Naruto, he was over the moon, he had a family now, he wasn't alone anymore!

"Ah, I am sorry for crying like that Yugao-nee, it's just that I'm really really happy. So what were you going to teach me nee-san, are you going to teach me super-cool jutsu or maybe how to use a sword like you do—"

I am going to teach you taijutsu first, Naruto," Naruto's face fell at that, he had been hoping to learn some cool Jutsu's but he didn't complain, he didn't want his new sister to be angry at him.

"So what do I need to do Yugao-nee?" Naruto asked.

"Well since we are just starting today why don't you just run 5 laps of the garden outside and then I'll show you some stretching exercises," Yugao suggested.

To her surprise Naruto was not even slightly winded by the end of his laps and then she remembered that he was an Uzumaki and had much higher stamina than normal, so she had him run a few more rounds before making him stretch.

"Now watch me closely, I'll demonstrate the different types of punches. kicks and blocks and after that, we will start practicing them one by one okay?"

Naruto nodded and then managed to keep up with her as she kept on correcting his stances, telling him how to maximize the strength behind his blows and how to move and strike efficiently and by the end of an hour Naruto despite his amazing stamina was tired, he was still only 3 years old after all.

After Naruto was well rested, Yugao began to teach him how to read and write, something which proved to be much tougher for Naruto simply couldn't keep still. In the end, she decided to give him building blocks to keep his hands busy while she taught him the Kanji.

This schedule went on for the next two years, every morning Yugao would wake him and have him exercise as his stamina increased, the number of laps and exercises he did gradually increased as well. Yugao taught him how to grapple, how to use a kunai and shuriken (though he was only allowed to use wooden ones) and most importantly taught Naruto how to read and properly.

She even taught him how to write in calligraphy, something which would help him greatly when he learned Fuinjutsu, the art which the Uzumaki's were known for and after hearing how his mother was the best seal master of Konoha, Naruto put all his efforts into practicing his calligraphy skills in his free time.

By the time he was five Naruto was quite eager to advance to the academy. Taijutsu wasn't something he struggled with, even if he knew that he was too small right now to be able to do any significant damage in a real fight at least he knew the proper technique behind it.

The problem was the boring theory which he had to learn, who cared when some old battle took place or who was the Daimyo's of the different nations, but Yugao-nee had told him that it was important for a shinobi to learn from the past and so Naruto tried his best to study as hard as he could. Even then he was confident in his abilities and felt that he could pass whatever test his jiji gave him.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice that he had arrived at his destination. The Uzumaki clan house was located near the western part of Konoha in between the Nara clan to its north and the Uchiha clan to its south. Naruto could hear the sound of the Naka river flowing behind his house.

The Uzumaki clan grounds were much smaller than most of the other clans which made sense seeing as there weren't many Uzumaki left but it didn't really matter to Naruto. He was just happy that he belonged to a clan, even if currently he was the only member of his clan.

The house itself was a traditional 2 story house with a wooden engawa veranda and a small garden surrounding it. Despite not being very fancy or huge it took Naruto's breath away, this was the place where his parents had lived, where he was going to live from now on.

He could easily imagine his mother tending to the garden singing softly. It was a bittersweet thought but Naruto could not help but think how much better it would have been to live in this house with his parents instead. He stopped that line of thought firmly, thinking of what-ifs would only serve to make him sadder.

Naruto ventured inside the garden where his jiji was talking with a Large white-haired man with a scroll tied to his back.

Despite having never seen the man before, for some reason he felt familiar to him. Both of them looked up to see him approaching and stopped their conversation to greet him.

"Hello, Naruto-kun. This is my pupil Jiraiya, one of the legendary Densetsu no Sannin," the Sandaime gestured to Jiraiya who was quickly running through a set of hand seals.

In a poof, Jiraiya was standing upon a giant toad that had appeared from nowhere and then proceeded to do some sort of strange dance. "Known to all as the legendary toad sage, charmer of women, Bane of my enemies, look upon me and be amazed," he finished his dance, grinning, and the toad disappeared in another poof.

Naruto's jaw dropped and for a moment Jiraiya thought that the boy didn't like his performance. But then Naruto grinned widely, "Wow that was so cool Oji-san, how did you make that toad appear just like that?

Jiraiya smiled at his godson. "That was a summoning jutsu kid. As the toad sage, I have a contract with them and so I can summon them when I need their help, maybe when you are older I'll teach you how to summon them too, would you like that?"

"Really you'll teach me how to summon toads," Naruto asked eagerly.

"Of course I will brat, you may not remember me right now but your parents named me your Godfather, it's my duty to teach you everything I know."

Naruto was stunned, never in his life had he imagined that he had a godfather and now suddenly this man appeared claiming to have known his parents. If Jiraiya was telling the truth then where the hell had he been his entire life.

Suddenly he was struck with a sinking feeling, had Jiraiya abandoned him because he, just like the villagers disliked him and didn't want to be seen with him?

Hiruzen must have seen the boy's expression and deduced what he was thinking for he quickly said, "Naruto, Jiraiya had a very good reason for not taking care of you when you were a child. He is Konoha's spymaster and as such had to stay from the village in wake of the Kyuubi's attack to protect the village in its moment of weakness."

Naruto looked to Jiraiya for confirmation, feeling a small flare of hope rising in him.

"It's true kid, I had to make sure that Konoha was well protected and that the other Nations did not try to attack us when we had just lost our Hokage, I am really sorry for not being there for you but believe me when I say that it wasn't because I don't want to be with you but because I had no other choice," Jiraiya said, hoping that Naruto would understand his situation.

"I… I guess it's alright." Naruto finally said. "You were just doing your job and I can understand that." Jiraiya sighed with relief upon hearing that.

"But don't think that I have forgiven you completely, you owe me a lot of Ramen old man!" despite his words Naruto was smiling now, he may not have forgiven his godfather completely but he was willing to give a chance.

Naruto wasn't one to hold grudges over past wrongs and besides Jiraiya seriously seemed sorry for leaving him alone and was ready to make it up to him so who was he to complain.

A very small part of his brain whispered that the only reason he forgave him so easily was that he was terrified of losing one of the few people who cared but Naruto shoved that thought far away for now.

"Heh, I can do that brat. You know, your mother was very fond of ramen as well." Jiraiya said with a fond smile.

"Really! I knew my mother was awesome, Ramen is the food of gods believe it!" Naruto was happy to know that he shared something with his mother even if it was something as insignificant as having the taste in food, it made him feel as if a part of her still lived with him.

As Naruto stepped inside the house with Jiraiya and Hiruzen close behind him, he couldn't suppress the pang of loss he felt at seeing the empty house. It was obvious that while the house was constructed with love and care and attention was paid to every detail it had never been lived in before.

There were 2 bedrooms, along with a hall, kitchen and a bathroom. All the rooms had sliding doors and were covered with the traditional tatami mat flooring. The master bedroom was attached to the veranda by a sliding door and Naruto decided that he will be making it his room. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the backdoor opened to a small enclosure meant for outdoor training something which he realized on seeing the wooden posts probably meant for taijutsu and shurikenjutsu practice.

The first floor was similarly furnished with a single bedroom, a bathroom and a storage room along with a study room (which Naruto planned on converting to a small Dojo). All in all, it was a very beautiful house if a bit small which suited Naruto just fine.

"So what do you think kid, you like it?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah, it's perfect," Naruto said with a soft smile. "I love it. When can I move in jiji?"

"I have already asked Yugao to pack all your things and move them here later today but before that, there is a very important matter we need to discuss," the Hokage said in a serious tone.

"What do you mean jiji, why can't I just move in now," Naruto said petulantly. He knew what the Hokage meant and didn't look forward to the coming conversation at all.

"Don't pretend you don't know what I mean Naruto. Yugao has already informed me about the dreams you have been having and I believe it will be best for you to consult an expert as it's obvious you haven't fully recovered from the incident last week," Hiruzen said in a kind but firm tone which left no room for any argument.

"Alright, alright I'll go see the person you want me too, where does he live?"

"That won't be necessary," A new voice said from behind him. Naruto turned around to see the newcomer. He was a well-built man with blond hair tied in a ponytail and wearing the standard Jonin flak jacket.

"Hello Naruto-kun, My name is Inoichi Yamanaka, I'll be talking with you today," Inoichi said with a pleasant smile. "Hokage-sama thought it would be easier for you to have the examination take place here and I agree with him, we can begin whenever you are ready," Inoichi asked.

"Wait a minute Inoichi, I think it would be better if put a seal on Naruto to make the process of your mind walk jutsu painless for him." the Hokage said, motioning for Jiraiya to come forward.

Inoichi, while initially confused, as he knew that his jutsu caused no pain to the subject, caught on quickly. The Hokage wanted to make sure the Kyuubi could not interfere during the process.

Jiraiya came forward and applied the seal he had prepared beforehand to completely cut off the flow of Kyuubi's chakra to Naruto. Naruto stumbled a bit, feeling the drain on his body due to his chakra being suddenly cut off but recovered quickly.

"Well then off you go Naruto. We will be waiting for you here when you are done and will be happy to answer any questions you may have after your talk with Inoichi," the Hokage said encouragingly. Naruto nodded uneasily and followed Inoichi inside the house.

Once they were inside the house, Hiruzen turned to his pupil who had taken a seat in the garden. As he started to speak Jiraiya raised his hand in a gesture for him to halt.

"This is not a place to discuss confidential information. It will be some time before Naruto is finished. let us take this to your office," with that both of them disappeared in a body flicker.

(Hokage office)

"There have been rumors of an organization made up entirely of S-class missing-nin. They are calling themselves the Akatsuki and as of yet their motives are unknown." Jiraiya knew his sensei was not going to like what he said next. "It appears as if Orochimaru has joined them," the Sandaime Hokage seemed to age a decade more before his eyes on hearing about his traitorous pupil's actions.

"I'll assume you learned about the organization through your spies keeping tabs on Orochimaru," Hiruzen asked.

"Yes. It worries me that they were able to remain undetected for so long and that the only reason I even heard about their existence is because of Orochimaru," said Jiraiya with a frown.

"Do you think that the masked man Minato had mentioned could be a part of this organization?"

"It is too soon to say anything just yet. But seeing as that man was definitely S-class from what Minato told us, it is likely that he may have some connection with the Akatsuki. After all, it's not as if there are many S-class nuke-nins roaming around the elemental nations. I would have liked to leave immediately to gather more information but for now, taking care of Naruto is more important. As soon as I have spent some time with him I'll meet up with all my contacts and tell them to keep their ears open for any news on Akatsuki." Jiraiya said, gazing at the portrait of his former student.

"It would have been nice to have Minato back with us, then an old man like me wouldn't have to deal with all this shit," Hiruzen sighed.

"You already know my answer sensei, I won't take the hat from you. I am not Hokage material." Jiraiya said frowning at Hiruzen.

"I am old Jiraiya, and tired. Already I have made so many mistakes. I was unable to protect Naruto's secret from the village, the Uchiha clan feels that I have wronged them and relations between them are growing tenser and on top of that Danzo is becoming bolder with his actions, I fear that we cannot let him unchecked for long. Promise me this Jiraiya, if something were to happen to me in the near future then you will take the hat. Think of it as an old man's last request to you."

Jiraiya was speechless. He had always thought of his sensei as something akin to a God and rightly so, after all, he was not called the God of shinobi without reason. But it seemed that the years had taken its toll on his sensei. He had never seen him look so frail and weak before in his entire life.

"I can't promise to take the hat from you but I can promise you this: if something were to happen to you, I won't let Konoha fall. If the need arises I will drag Tsunade back myself and make her take the hat. So you don't need to worry about the village old man, just focus on spending your time with your family. I'll take care of the rest for now. Jiraiya assured his teacher.

"Thank you Jiraiya, you have lifted a huge burden from my shoulders. Thank you" Hiruzen said, looking at peace with himself.

The old man may not have been the best teacher to him in the past, but Jiraiya was man enough to admit that he felt inordinately pleased for making his teacher proud of him.

"We should leave now Jiraiya, it's nearing noon now and Naruto is probably done by now," said Hiruzen, getting up from his seat and donning his hat. Jiraiya also stood up and both of took off towards the Uzumaki clan house.

(with Naruto)

"So Inoichi-san, what are we going to do now?" Naruto asked.

They were sitting inside his bedroom, Naruto was sitting on his bed while Inoichi took a chair to sit in front of him.

"I'll be using one of my clan's technique to view your memories and then we can talk about it if you want to. Tell me whenever you're ready," said Inoichi.

Naruto took a deep steadying breath.

"I'm ready, let's begin."

AN: the starting was inspired by the canon scene between Kushina and Naruto.