Naruto: Dark Beginnings
A/N: Finally got around to re-writing this (After some f&^%er hacked my account and deleted the original) … In this version Naruto is considerably less dark. There will also be quite a few changes although some things won't change. There will be a few non-canon changes as well as a bit of OOC behaviour… okay a lot of OOC behaviour but if you read the original that shouldn't surprise you. If you think this story is worth continuing drop a review or PM.
"This looks nothing like the original," Speech
'That's because I can't remember much about the original besides the key points in the notes I managed to find' Thoughts
"WELL WHOSE FAULT IS IT THAT YOU DON'T KEEP YOUR NOTES TIDY?" Demonic/ Possessed Voice
'… I suppose mine' Bijuu/demonic thoughts.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Prologue: When it rains it pours.
Konoha was practically abandoned. No one was outside, no one foolish enough to stay outside when such a ferocious reminder of Mother Nature's strength was on display. The rain lashed down like walls of water, the streets were already beginning to look like small rivers and the water slowly flowed from the village. Of course everyone was inside next to the fires and family. Well almost everybody.
A small young boy sat watching the weather with disinterest as he hid from the weather underneath the small area of cover next to the main gate. He had just failed his Genin Exam, through no fault of his own. He did everything he was told but for some reason he just seemed unable to perform even the simplest of exercises. His Bunshin were pathetic, not capable of even looking slightly human. His Substitution Jutsu worked, but for some reason whenever it came to tests he always messed up. The only ability that he could successfully perform was his henge, or at least his own special brand of henge, the Sexy Jutsu.
There was a flash of lightning and the boy jumped at the sudden noise and span around looking for the cause. He relaxed slightly when he saw a familiar face stood behind him, one of his teachers who actually seemed a little nicer than the rest.
"I didn't see you there Mizuki-sensei," the youth smiled weakly at the chuunin.
"I was worried where you had gotten to Naruto," Mizuki lied.
"Hehe," Naruto smiled weakly, "I was just… thinking."
"Thinking?" Mizuki tilted his head.
"Yeah… maybe I wasn't built for this kind of work? If it can't even do the basics how am I to be a kickass Hokage?"
"I'll admit it would be quite a challenge," Mizuki admitted.
"Do you think I should call it quits?" Naruto turned to the adult.
"Hmm…" Mizuki looked thoughtful. If the boy received no Ninja training he would be all the easier to kill, although he wasn't aware whether his real employer had any plans regarding the Kyuubi brat. "I suppose it is entirely your decision."
"The old man always made it seem that being a Ninja was so cool," The young boy pouted slightly, "I really wish I wasn't so useless."
Mizuki smiled as a plan occurred to him. His employer had wanted the forbidden scroll of sealing and he knew the Hokage's attachment to the young boy stood before him. "Maybe you just need to leave the village and gain some experience?"
"You think?" Naruto looked deep in thought.
"Yeah, I mean have you heard of the Sannin?" Mizuki smiled.
"Er…" Naruto frowned, "Aren't they super strong ninja?"
"Yes." Mizuki nodded, "And one of them, Jiraiya, is always travelling and learning new ways to be stronger. Maybe there is another way of learning that would help you. All you have to do is go out and find it."
The young Naruto looked thoughtful. "I'd have to ask the old man."
"To be honest the Hokage was going to suggest this to you anyway." Mizuki lied. "He saw your results and was surprised. He says you have so much potential."
"He does?" Naruto smiled to himself. "If the old man thinks it's a good idea then I see no reason why I shouldn't go on one of these training journeys."
"That's the spirit," Mizuki nodded. "I'll tell you what," he looked around before leaning over to whisper to Naruto, "I'll leave you some supplies in your room so you can go on a long journey. I'll bet when you return you will ace this exam!"
"Yeah!" Naruto beamed at his sensei. "I'd best go home and rest to prepare."
"Good idea," Mizuki nodded, "But you can't tell anyone."
"Why not?" Naruto frowned.
"Because the village wouldn't like the Hokage showing you special treatment by allowing this." Mizuki placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "That means you've got to try and avoid Konoha ninja whilst escaping."
"Escaping?" Naruto frowned.
"I meant leaving of course." Mizuki smiled. "I will provide you with a map showing the routes that the patrols take. I'd advise you to avoid them. If you get found and people find out I helped you, they will find out the Sandaime had something to do with it and he may get arrested or worse."
"What!" Naruto's concerns about Mizuki were replaced by the fact he could put the old man in trouble. "Maybe I shouldn't…."
"Don't worry," Mizuki comforted the boy, "Just make sure if you're caught that you say you left on your own, alright?"
"Yeah!" Naruto clenched his fists. "I'll do this for the old man! I won't disappoint him."
"Then go home and rest." Mizuki waved the young boy off with a smile. 'Too easy.'
Meanwhile, The Hokage Tower
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the unnatural rain with a great deal of concern. It had been decades since such a storm had struck the village. He looked from his room with concern as he noticed some of the poorer housing appeared to be struggling with the downpour.
Sighing he returned his attention to the paper work he had to deal with. The notes on the graduating class were pretty concerning. Out of the entire class, only one of them should have had the potential to be a ninja, the rest were simply civilians who had dreams of glory. Most of them had had failed but those that had passed were probably destined to die as faceless cannon fodder. The one student who had what it takes to be a ninja had failed, his surrogate grandson Naruto. He had personally watched Naruto's training. The boy gave his heart and soul to it and it was showing. He was fairly competent and substitution and henge, only suffering with the basic Bunshin which was not a surprise considering the boys immense chakra capacity. Still he was easily smart enough to pass the written test (Sarutobi had made sure as an apology for not helping him with his Bunshin) so should have graduated with fairly good marks. Clearly something wasn't right.
The old man lit his tobacco pipe and ignored the howling of the wind and furious splashes as the rain continued to fall. It was almost as if it were a sign of impending peril. Shaking the morbid thought the old man signed the forms and began to assign the teams half-heartedly.
For half an hour only the sound of the rain could be heard until there was a knock at the door.
"Enter," Sarutobi called out as he put down the quill he was using to sign the paperwork.
"Frightful weather isn't it?" A white haired man walked in. His usually spiky hair was currently flat earning a laugh from his sensei.
"No doubt your research has taken a blow," Sarutobi remarked.
"Don't remind me," Jiraiya sighed heavily. "So how is Konoha's newest Genin?"
"He failed," Sarutobi stated.
"Impossible," Jiraiya scowled. "I've seen the kid. He may not be able to use a basic Bunshin but can pull off everything else well enough. Not to mention I checked his revision for the paper exam and he should have no problem scoring the top marks."
"I know," Sarutobi nodded as Jiraiya sat down opposite him. "You forget that I actually marked some of his revision attempts. I suppose it's possible that he got nervous with it being a test but… "
"From my interactions with the kid, he seemed almost eager to take the tests." Jiraiya tilted his head.
"I know," Sarutobi repeated. "I will bring Naruto in tomorrow to ask him what he thinks went wrong."
"Maybe you should give him a few days," Jiraiya advised, "If he is anything like his father this set back could lead to him being… uncooperative for a few days."
"But if he is like his mother no doubt he will bounce back with more energy," Sarutobi countered. "And I can safely say he seems more like her at times. " The old man rooted in his desk before handing the sheet to Jiraiya. "But what do you think of this?"
"Let's see," Jiraiya scowled as he read the paper. 'Who is the first Hokage? Uchiha Madara… that's wrong… These answers are all wrong but you can easily see where the person would have made the mistakes… Wait this handwriting is Naruto's… and I know for a fact Naruto knows the Yondaime isn't Orochimaru! '"This makes no sense… it's almost as if the boy was answering different questions…"
"Questions that gave answers similar enough to the actual test answers that someone reading his answers would think he was answering the actual test questions but was making some mistakes," Sarutobi voiced his opinions.
"Someone tried to make Naruto fail then?" Jiraiya growled.
"It's a possibility. I hope to have the recordings of all the other tests shortly." Sarutobi nodded. "I wouldn't usually ask such a trivial thing of you but… "
"You want me to look into this?" Jiraiya asked.
"If you wouldn't mind," Sarutobi bowed his head.
"Of course I don't." Jiraiya cracked his knuckles, "If some punk has been trying to mess with my god-son's future I will be forced to make my displeasure clear to them."
"I'm glad I could count on you Jiraiya." The old man smiled as his pupil left with a wave.
Later that day, Naruto's House
Naruto closed the door behind him and shivered as he took of his wet clothes and threw them over a chair to drip dry. He then walked to the bathroom and tried his shower, which for once was actually spraying out hot water.
'It's almost as if the world is telling me I'm doing the right thing,' Naruto mused as he quickly showered. Grabbing a towel he dried himself off and changed into a pair of frog pyjamas and clambered into his bed smiling to himself. He would become stronger. He couldn't let the old man down, or that strange pervy guy who gave him birthday presents and apparently knew the old man. Not to mention Mizuki-sensei, the only instructor who seemed to like him. There was that Iruka-sensei who was just insanely strict, but Naruto supposed it was for his own good so he could over look that. But that didn't redeem the rest of the staff who just went out of their way to antagonise him.
Naruto drifted into a dreamless sleep only to wake in the early hours by a strange presence in his room.
"Who's there?" He called out sleepily.
"It's me," Mizuki whispered. "I've got your supplies here. If you leave quickly then you should be able to get a good few hours from Konoha before you have any chance of running into any patrols."
"Right," Naruto smiled as he got out of bed and knocked a small book off of his bed. "What's this?" He picked up the book; it was clearly old and well-read judging by the book's spine. The title was slightly faded but still legible, "The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja," Naruto muttered and opened the cover.
I heard you failed your exam but don't worry. Just keep trying and you'll eventually succeed just like the main character in this story – White Haired Toad Sage
Naruto smiled as he read this first lines in the story. A true hero is not born, he is made. A true hero will not back down from a challenge, if he faces an impossible task he will find a solution, if he fails, he will try again after gaining more experience. There is a fine line between a hero and a corpse and the dividing line is usually experience and the will to excel. The first can be earned but a precious few are born with the second. This is the tale of one of those precious few and how he changed the dark world in which he was born into. This is the story of Naruto, the Gutsy Ninja.
This was clearly a sign from the heavens. This boy had the same name as him and the book did say 'if he fails, he will try again after gaining more experience'. Naruto quickly got dressed and picked up the supplies that Mizuki left him, which included a full camouflaged waterproof all in one (which Mizuki helped him put on) and gave his instructor a fond farewell before he set off.
Mizuki watched the boy stealthily leave the house with a grin. The boy was surprisingly good at stealth for someone so young and wearing such a horrible outfit. There was a flicker of leaves and Mizuki turned to the newcomer.
"So the demon brat is leaving?" A masked ANBU soldier grunted.
"Yes… if something were to happen to him in the forest then no-one would be none the wiser," Mizuki commented.
"Indeed," The ANBU vanished.
'What luck that I convinced the boy to escape when the ANBU assigned to monitor traffic in and out of Konoha were all anti-Kyuubi.' Mizuki smiled to himself. 'Now I wait for a few hours then sound the alarm and while everyone is running around looking for the boy I will sneak in and steal the scroll that Orochimaru-sama so desires. '
With Naruto
Naruto cautiously peered around the street corner, making sure the street was empty. The rain had calmed somewhat but it was still there, for which Naruto was grateful for. His footsteps were largely covered by the rain and it allowed him a bit of speed without having to worry about making a noise. Also the rain was falling like a fine mist and considerably hampering the vision of anyone who happened to be looking. 'Another sign this is the right path.' Naruto smiled to himself.
He was able to sneak past the two chuunin on gate duty that was busy making sure no-one broke in, not that someone inside escaped. As such they completely missed Naruto creeping out and dashing into the undergrowth, where he continued to crawl until he reached the forest. Snapping to his feet, Naruto peered back towards the main gate with a smile.
'Piece of cake,' Naruto took off running through the forest for several minutes before he pulled out the map that had been given to him by Mizuki-sensei. He remembered the basic lecture on map reading he had attended in the academy and tried to figure out which way was which. After a few moments he looked to see the route Mizuki-sensei had recommended. It seemed to head towards a small village.
Nodding to himself Naruto started out from the forest. This journey would be tough, but he would get stronger from it. He would become a good ninja and make the old man proud. Continuing onwards Naruto saw the sun as it slowly began its ascent in the sky, filling Naruto with a sense of peace.
Hokage Tower
Sarutobi sat back content. There was minimal damage from the storm and everything was looking good. Jiraiya had willingly looked into Naruto's strange performance at the Genin exam and the village had a generally happy feel to it. Clearly his worries about the storm being an Omen were wrong. He watched with a fond gaze when he saw the small crown of new recruits walking past his tower on the way to the academy. He couldn't see a certain blond haired ninja but thought nothing of it. Naruto would probably be upset about his failure. He would personally check on the boy later in the day, paperwork be damned.
Speaking of paperwork, Sarutobi sighed sadly as he picked up the next sheet. While the civilian council seemed to want to make Naruto's life a misery, the shinobi side simply wanted him to either be a breeding tool or use him to improve their own clan's forces. There had been another wave of adoption applications after the Genin exams. It made Sarutobi wonder how they got hold of the knowledge of his failure so quickly.
The first application was from the Inuzuka clan. The matriarch, Tsume Inuzuka had laid a good case for adopting Naruto, stating her son would develop a good rivalry with the boy and strengthen his loyalty to the village. Naruto would learn the meaning of loyalty and would also have a long standing Ninja clan to guide him. There clan had its application rejected on the grounds that the clan would have no defence if the Kyuubi were to break free and would have no way of telling if such an event was about to happen or not.
The second application was from the Hyuuga. The head of the main branch, Hiashi Hyuuga had stated that the boy could be fitted with a branch member seal to ensure his loyalty and in the event of the Kyuubi looking likely to escape; they could quickly kill the host and doom the demon. He would receive training and the Byukagan would allow the Hyuuga to see if the seal was weakening. Their application was rejected on the grounds there was no way of telling if killing Naruto's brain via the caged bird seal would prevent the Kyuubi's escape and there was no telling what effect the seal would have on the jinchuuriki's existing seal.
The third application was from the current head of the Sarutobi clan, Asuma Sarutobi (as Hokage Hiruzen had to pass the leadership of his clan onto the heir). His arguments were similar to the Inuzuka clan's but so were the reasons his claim was rejected.
Several minor clans such as the Yuuhi, who with a Genjutsu prodigy Jounin were all too eager to add another legend to their growing wealth of strong ninja, there was even the once great Mitarashi clan who had cast aside Anko after the Orochimaru incident. All were rejected. Hiruzen was also surprised to see an application from the Shimura clan. No doubt Danzo's doing. As an elder he had to give up his clan head status but his younger brother was incapable of picking his nose without the old warhawk's instruction.
"Why do they all try and claim Naruto but none of them actually try to improve his life…" Sarutobi sighed when there were the sounds of a commotion outside.
The doors burst open and a worried looking Mizuki raced inside.
"Mizuki?" Sarutobi's eyes narrowed. "There had better be a good reason for this."
"It's Naruto!" The man panted heavily.
"What?" Sarutobi stood up, "What happened?"
"I can't find him. He seemed depressed after the exam and I was worried when he didn't show up to class. I visited his house but it was empty, as if he packed all his things and left."
"Oh gods…" Sarutobi clicked his fingers and summoned his ANBU. "I want every spare man searching for him!"
"Sir!" The ANBU vanished in a flicker of leaves.
"What are my orders?" Mizuki continued breathing heavily.
"You have done enough," Sarutobi nodded at the Chuunin. "Go home and rest."
"Of course Hokage-sama," Mizuki bowed his head and left the building, smiling to himself. He waited in his house for several hours before heading to the Hokage's secret scroll chamber. As expected it was unguarded, the elite ANBU that were usually stationed here would be searching for Naruto. The man cautiously entered the room and was suddenly swallowed by darkness, leaving nothing but a headband. The Hokage was not stupid and had set up a great many traps and the Chuunin never stood a chance.
Somewhere outside Konoha
Naruto paused to catch his breath. He had been travelling for at least six hours and his body was starting to feel the burn. According the map he had another few hours and he would be at the small city. The notes left by Mizuki suggested visiting a bar to listen for rumours of people seeking recruits and to join up with them.
He had set up a small camp next to a stream; fortunately Mizuki-sensei had left him notes to increase the amount of time he would be able to survive without being captured, which Naruto found heart-warming. It was nice to have someone looking out for him, like a kind of big brother or parent. Shaking his head Naruto pulled out the book he was given and started to read. After a few minutes Naruto became aware of someone watching him.
He put the book in a pocket and stared where he thought the person was.
"Who's there?" Naruto called out.
"Not bad," there was a flicker of leaves and a plain masked ANBU stood before him.
"You found me," Naruto growled, "You're not going to take me back to Konoha."
"No… no I'm not," The ANBU struck before Naruto could even blink. There was a sudden searing pain and Naruto watched as a splatter of his blood seemed to burst from a slash from his throat.
Naruto fell backwards into the stream with a confused look on his face as he slowly sank below the water, being dragged away from the ANBU who watched dispassionately (as far as Naruto could tell through the mask) and as he felt his consciousness fade all he could think of was how much he was letting down the old man and Mizuki-sensei.
'Pathetic…' A voice called from the depths of Naruto's consciousness. 'You are lucky I am bonded to you, else I would let you die.'
The next thing Naruto saw was a concerned looking face staring at him.
"You are alive…" A young girl smiled at him.
"What…" The boy fingered where he had recently been cut. There was the feeling of slightly raised skin.
"You have an interesting scar," The girl politely commented.
"I do?" Naruto's voice was hoarse.
"So he's alive then?" Another voice sounded. A tall man walked into Naruto's view.
"Where are your eyebrows?" Naruto croaked.
"I don't like him," The man growled and pointed a ridiculously large sword at the small boy. "But you shouldn't be alive. Your throat was slit when we found you. There was then a burst of red chakra and you healed. Explain."
"Zabuza-sama!" The girl pushed the sword away from the young boy.
"Er…" Naruto shook his head. "I don't know… I thought I was dead."
"Must be a bloodline," Zabuza remarked. 'Could be useful but a regenerative ability is not worth the hassle of Konoha hunting me down for taking the boy.
"I just remember hearing a voice…"
"A voice?" Zabuza interrupted. "Describe this voice."
"Err… it was deep and kind of scary." Naruto withered under the intense gaze of the eyebrow less man.
"Would you say demonic?" The man asked.
"Er… I guess." Naruto turned to the girl who gave him a friendly smile.
'A demonic voice in his head that gives him special powers… could he be… a Jinchuuriki?' Zabuza stroked his chin. 'The only Bijuu that's been near Konoha is the Kyuubi so it isn't impossible that the boy is its holder. However why this boy would be killed by Konoha… unless it was a political assassination in which case there will be no fall out from me taking him seeing as they expect him to be dead… But if he is the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki then he will be invaluable to my cause.'
"Er… Mr?" Naruto cleared his throat. "You look strong."
"Zabuza-sama is the strongest person I know." The girl confirmed.
"Please train me!" Naruto called out.
"What?" Zabuza snapped out of his train of thought. "I don't need a runt getting in my way."
"I won't! I'll do whatever you ask of me!" Naruto fell to his knees and bowed.
'Well if it turns out he is a Jinchuuriki he will make a great tool. If not I can always kill him off or use him as cannon fodder.' Zabuza sighed. "Fine… I'm sure I'll find some use for you. Haku you're in charge of keeping him alive."
"Yes Zabuza-sama." Haku bowed.
"Now let's go." Zabuza growled.
"Yes Zabuza-sama." Haku repeated.
"Yes no eyebrows!" Naruto responded.
"It's Zabuza-sama to you!" The man growled, "If you want to live."
Okay… good or not? Worth re-writing the rest/ continuing this story? Let me know.