Reaper: Sup guys. Here's my new version of Uzumaki's New Friend.

Shada: TheReaper0115 owns nothing. Enjoy.

-o-

Shada Aru was a child prodigy. From the Aru clan, known for its kekkei genkai, and trained by the Hyuga, he was far more powerful than most children his age.

However, he hadn't left the compound since he had first entered it, so very few people even knew of his existence. In fact, the only non-Hyuga who knew of Shada was Hiruzen Sarutobi as Shada was considered to be a village secret.

Shada's clan had strange kekkei genkai. First was the Arugan; this doujutsu was constantly active once it awakened, and while it didn't change the looks of the user's eye to make it look flashier, it was very powerful, with a better copy ability than the Sharingan. It could copy any jutsu, including kekkei genkai, causing the user's DNA to actually shift in order to perform any jutsu. It wouldn't allow the user to predict one's movements like the Sharingan, but it would allow the user to copy the Sharingan itself.

The second kekkei genkai was the Arukra. This ability was a second chakra network consisting of black chakra. This chakra was difficult for the user to control as it was unstable and difficult to manipulate. It often destroyed any other chakra it touched besides the user's own chakra.

Shada often wondered how his clan was killed with such powerful jutsu at their disposal, but then again, the Nine-Tails was not a foe to be taken lightly.

The Aru clan lived just outside of the village in a compound in the forest. They were one of the last clans in the land of fire that hadn't officially joined the Leaf Village, despite being a close ally. When the Nine-Tails appeared, they faced it first. All were slaughtered except for Shada, who had been merely a year old.

This also made Shada the protector and host of the clan's greatest secret; the ten-tailed beast, Bakuda the Wolf.

Bakuda was passed down from generation to generation in a seal that he and the founder of the Aru clan had made together. He had chosen to take on a Jinchuriki as a way to suppress a world which he had deemed himself too strong to roam freely through.

Bakuda's power had changed the first Aru's DNA enough to create the kekkei genkai that Shada now possessed. The seal allowed this, however, accessing the demon's chakra was a whole different story. Without a proper seal release, which Shada couldn't perform, he couldn't use Bakuda's power, merely take his advice through their mental connection.

Hiashi Hyuga had been entrusted with Shada after the Nine-Tails had been killed as he had been friends with Shada's father. This had allowed Shada to grow up with two adoptive siblings, both of whom he cared for just as much as if they were blood. One of them, Hinata, was about to take her academy exam, and Shada could only wish that he could take it with her, but he was still being kept secret from the outside world by the Hyuga clan and the Hokage.

As Shada sat in his simple room, filled with shelves of scrolls and a large bed, he thought about all of this.

I wish they'd let me out. The only time I've ever even seen an outsider is when that guy tried to kidnap Hinata and I told Hiashi.

Well, you need to stay safe. You're the last of the clan, meaning that you're my last available Jinchuriki and the last one alive who can protect the tailed beasts.

How can I protect them when I can't even go find them?

Sigh. Just be patient.

Whatever, you old mutt.

Shada cut off his conversation with Bakuda with a smile as he heard the demon growl. He then walked over to his bed, looked under it, and pulled out a giant scroll with the kanji for wolf on it. He unrolled it and read his name on the end. It was a summoning scroll of the Aru clan Shade had signed in blood when he was six.

Shada's name was right behind his older cousin's, another ninja who hadn't died in the Nine-Tails attack, but rather in another incident. Shada didn't know the specifics as it was apparently classified, but he did know that it had saddened his father, as stated in his father's journal.

Suddenly, Shada's door slid open and two figures stepped in. One was the short, wrinkled form of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wearing his Hokage robes and hat. The other was the tall and stoic Hiashi Hyuga, head of the Hyuga clan, clad in his formal white robes.

"Shada, Lord Hokage wishes to speak with you," Hiashi said.

"Yeah?" Shada asked, looking curiously at the Hokage. "What do you want, Old Man?"

Shada often spoke with the Hokage as he would often visit Shada. So, Shada viewed him as a grandfather and often acted informal with him.

Hiruzen smiled at Shada's teasing and removed the tobacco pipe from his mouth before blowing some smoke and then speaking.

"I've come to make you an offer, Shada," he said. "I would like to give you the chance to take the the Genin exams and try to become a ninja. From what Hiashi tells me, your training has put you at a level where you're more than capable of passing."

Shada began grinning from ear to ear.

"Hell yes!" he shouted.

Hiashi sighed at Shade's outburst while the Hokage chuckled.

"Excellent," Hiruzen said. "You'll be placed in the same class as your sister Hinata until the exam takes place in a short while. I want you to look out for a young boy named Naruto Uzumaki, because you'll be paired with him closely."

"What? Why?" Shada asked.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find out eventually," Hiruzen said as he turned around. "Make sure you make it to the academy tomorrow on time."

And with that, the Hokage left.

"You know, you should really have a bit more respect when speaking to Lord Hokage," Hiashi said with a strict look.

"I know, but I can't help it," Shada said while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I think of him as family, not as Hokage."

Hiashi simply sighed again and walked out shaking his head.

See? I told you.

Shut up!

-o-

Reaper: So, here's the new beginning. Hope you guys enjoyed it.

Shada: Don't forget to follow and favorite the author and book.