"Hi" – Normal speech
'Hi' – Thoughts
"Hi" – Kyuubi
'Hi' – Kyuubi's thoughts
CHAPTER 1: Rise of a legend
As the storm roared through the night above the village of Konohagakure, a young boy only 5 years of age was running from a mob of villagers, such as sight anywhere else would have been cause for concern but on this day and in this village those who saw merely cheered and encouraged the violence that was about to occur. The boy himself was small and malnourished with a shock of blonde hair standing up in spikes upon his head as if he had just got out of bed, apart from his hair the only distinguishing features were his bright blue eyes and three whisker marks on either cheek eerily similar to the whiskers of a fox.
This boy's name was Uzumaki Naruto and like every other year he had attempted to attend the festival celebrating the defeat of the Kyuubi no Yoko (Nine-tailed demon fox) at the hands of the Yondaime Hokage. But like every other year he had been seen by the villagers and chased away with threats of violence and insults that soon escalated into physical violence as the villagers soon were consumed with hatred and anger.
Uzumaki Naruto could only stand there as he realised he had been cornered in a dead end while the mob of angry villagers blocked the entrance to the alley and soon the insults began to build as the anticipation of what was about to happen set in;
"Ha, theres no escaping this year you demon brat!"
"We're gonna finish what the Yondaime started once and for all!"
"This is revenge for our families you monster!"
'Monster? How can i be a monster I've never hurt anyone!' Naruto had never understood why he was so hated by the villagers and shinobi alike, they called him names like monster and demon brat for reasons he did not know, it had been the same everywhere in the village, during the first 4 years of his life he had lived in the orphanage suffering at the hands of his fellow orphans and the staff who beat and punished him for anything that went on in the orphanage, he was always last to eat and only received the scraps of what was left over and many nights he went to bed hungry sometimes for days on end. Only last year he had been kicked out of the orphanage by the matron who was only too happy to finally be rid of the demon brat forcing Naruto live on the streets for the last year.
"Why? Why do you hate me?" Naruto sobbed as despair overwhelmed him as he knew what was coming once the insults and threats stopped, "You killed our families and took our precious Yondaime Hokage away from us!" screeched one particular loud pink banshee who was a firm supporter of these regular beatings and organised more than a few herself "We all see you for what you are demon! You merely hide in the body of a young boy to put us off guard waiting for the day you can kill us again!" came the cry of anger from a chuunin in the crowd "We must kill the monster before he strikes us down like he did our families!" came the agreement from other members of the crowd. As one they advanced on the cowering boy they began to punch, kick and stab him with various instruments from kunai to swords from the shinobi present while stones and pieces of metal and wood were passed around the villagers all eager to deal damage to the innocent child.
(2 hours later)
As the crowd began to disperse they left behind the small blood covered body behind them, they had found over the years that the demon brat healed remarkably quickly with most wounds healing in minutes allowing them to exact their revenge on the boy without fear that he would die quickly knowing he would suffer, after all the villagers felt it was only right that he be conscious for his beating and whenever he lost consciousness he was quickly bought round again by the medic nin who took particular pleasure in tormenting Naruto in such a way.
'Why me? Is it really true, am I really a monster?' Naruto thought as his vision swam hazily before him 'Maybe I should die after all, its not as if anyone wants me to live anyway' was his last thought as he succumbed to the darkness.
'Am I dead?' Naruto thought as he lay on his back feeling numb all over, the strangest thing that struck him however was the fact that he was wet 'that's strange I didn't think heaven looked like this, or is this hell? The villagers did always say that's where I'd end up' as he looked around his surroundings. His first conclusion was that somehow the villagers had thrown him into the sewers underneath Konoha as he could see rusty pipes lining the walls and dark, murky water everywhere he looked 'at least it can't get much worse than this' Naruto thought with a chuckle although the sound came out more sinister than normal 'Perhaps I've gone mad finally, maybe Hokage-jiji will end up sending me to Ibiki for counselling' Naruto laughed at the thought of Ibiki's version of counselling where the tortute and interrogation expert would ask him questions whilst wearing a white coat and wielding a clipboard instead of a kunai. The laughter echoed around the dark, murky chamber taking on a sinister vibe as it travelled further into the depths of the sewer, "Oi Gaki, if you don't stop making a racket ill tear you apart, some of us are trying to sleep down here" came a menacing growl from further in causing Naruto to jump up in alarm at the demonic sounding voice.
'Wh-o, Who are y-ou?' Naruto stuttered cursing himself after for sounding weak "come closer and find out gaki I'm not doing all the work for you!" came the demonic reply, 'Lets see my options, go closer to the strange voice with anger issues that's already threatened to tear me apart once or go back to a village filled with people who hate me and have tried to kill me multiple times' Naruto mused to himself 'well might as well go get myself killed out of curiosity' as he started walking to where the voice had come from.
[In Hokage Tower]
Sarutobi Hiruzen known throughout the shinobi world as the 'Kami no Shinobi' (God of Shinobi) and Sandaime Hokage of the Hidden Leaf village was to put it simply: terrified. Less than 5 minutes ago he had received word that a mob had been seen chasing one Uzumaki Naruto over 2 hours ago and that the boy had not been seen since this encounter, upon hearing the news Hiruzen had summoned one of his most trusted Anbu "Kakashi, you are to discover with all haste the location of Uzumaki Naruto and bring him to me straight away, if he is injured take him straight the hospital and send one of your dogs to report to me, do you understand" "Hai, Hokage-sama i will find him with all haste" came Kakashi's reply as he shunshined away.
"Please be okay Naruto, I swear I'll tear Konoha apart to find you" the Sandaime murmured to himself before heading towards the meeting with the council 'strange how there's always a council meeting at the same time as these attacks, if I find any evidence on the ones behind this then I'll schedule them in for a little T&I with Ibiki and Anko, lets see who they're calling a demon then' the thought made him grin evilly whilst in the council room one loud pink-haired council member felt a shiver run down her spine and suddenly felt uneasy about the meeting with the Hokage.
(Meanwhile)
Kakashi Hatake was jumping from rooftop to rooftop hoping to catch a glimpse of anything that might give him a clue as to where his sensei's son might be, having already checked the obvious places such as Naruto's apartment which he realised should probably be deemed uninhabitable due to the current state that its landlord had allowed it to fall into once he had discovered that the so called demon-brat would be living there as well as checking on Ichiraku's in the vague hope that he might find Naruto in one piece scoffing down a seemingly unlimited supply of ramen.
"Damn civilian council and civilians unable to tell the difference between a demon and its container, even the acadamy brats know the difference between a kunai and the scroll it can be sealed into" Kakashi growled. Suddenly Kakashi overheard a conversation between two male civilians walking along the street, channeling chakra to his ears to improve his hearing he was able to piece together what they were saying.
"Ha, we taught that demon runt a lesson he won't soon forget" was the loud exclamation from the rather obese merchant.
"Too right, hopefully the demon will finally die and leave us in peace, it deserves it for everything its done to us!" was the reply from the merchants companion.
Neither of them seemed to care for how loud they were being or who might overhear them, if they had been paying attention they might have been able to sense the increasing killing intent radiating off of one particular Anbu in a dog mask, but caught up as they were in the excitement over that morning's activities it was only after a kunai sliced through the fat merchants neck that his companion whilst letting out a rather unmanly scream turned round to find himself staring into a glowing red sharingan promising pain.
"Well now I believe me and you need to have a little talk, don't we" Kakashi said rather politely although the tone of his voice gave away that a friendly conversation was certaintly not what Kakashi had planned for the man, the civilian had time to let out a little "eep" in desperation before he was shunshined away by the fury driven Anbu.
After only 10 minutes of Kakashi's Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell Technique the civilian had spilled everything he knew about one Uzumaki Naruto's whereabouts as well as spilling his bladder causing Kakashi's sensitive nose to wrinkle in disgust at the putrid smell emanating from the now blubbering mess that had been a civilian.
"If it wasn't for this stench I'd finish him off but I'd say he's been punished enough for now" Kakashi muttered before turning and jumping onto the nearest rooftop heading in the direction the civilian had told him, 'just hang on for a few more minutes Naruto, I'm almost there' was the only thought going through the elite Jonin's head.
[With Naruto]
Naruto's body stiffened as he regained consciousness, stifling a cry of pain he felt was certainly a result of broken ribs and with his whole body protesting he struggled into a sitting position as he took in his surroundings, "figures they'd dump me in a dumpster" Naruto sighed "hn, at least its softer than the ground I suppose".
Naruto decided it would probably be better for his health if he climbed out of the dumpster before he caught any nasty diseases, although thinking back on his short life he realised that he had never been sick a single day of his life, stretching his aching body he felt an itch between his shoulderblades and realised he was being watched, turning round he came face to face with a man who had bandages over one side of his face. "Uzumaki Naruto, correct?" the man questioned "Might be, whats it to you old man!" Naruto's reply was not exactly polite but given what he'd just gone through he felt he deserved to release a bit of anger.
"My name is Danzo and I have a proposition for you" Naruto scratched his head "A pre-po what?" Danzo came to the realisation this could take a while and could already feel a headache coming on, "walk with me Naruto and I will explain everything to you".