A/N – I do not own Naruto, all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto the writer of Naruto.

Chapter 1 – Hero or Demon

It had been ten years since the Kyuubi incident, and Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but facepalm at the scene before him.

"Teme! Tachi is playing with me today!" shouted a rather irate Naruto.

"Tch, dobe, he's MY niisan!" refuting a rather clingy Sasuke.

Standing aside from these two young potential shinobi was an Anbu Captain, masking himself with the trademark weasel he had been known for. Calm and stoic as ever, Itachi decided to do the one and only thing he could to settle this dispute.

"Naruto. Sasuke."

Both children now stared idly at their older brother.

"Ja-ne."

With that, two gawk-eyed kids were left to stand, bickering in front of the most powerful shinobi of the village – the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

'If only Minato hadn't sacrificed himself… This damn work is going to be the end of me' thought a rather tired old man. To Hiruzen, being Hokage was no longer the same as when he first took over for the Nidaime Hokage. He was young, vibrant, and had dreams for the village at the time. Now, he sat patiently for two children to settle down after the apparent abandonment of their older brother.

"Hey Ojii-san! What are we doing here anyway!" shouted Naruto, curious as to why Tachi had left them with the old man.

"For once I agree with the dobe" replied a now smirking Sasuke.

Now, there was a subtle misconception between the two foster-brothers. To anyone outside of family, they were seen as two children that simply despised each other. To them, it was simply a rivalry, but respected each other equally.

FLASHBACK!

Itachi, now returning home with a young Naruto in his arms, couldn't help but smile, yet disheartened at the note he received from Minato.

Dear Itachi,

I don't have much time left, but I had to leave you a request as your mentor and friend. Although you are only 12 right now, I believe you have more wisdom and character than 90% of the village but more importantly, the only one I can trust to take care of Naruto. Attached is a set of scrolls meant for Naruto when he grows older – I want him to learn my Hiraishiin and Rasengan. For you, I leave half the Namikaze estate leaving the remaining half to Naruto. You must be wondering right now, who's Naruto? The only thing I can say is that he's my unborn child the Kyuubi ripped out of Kushina during my attempt to claim the fox's power. My reasoning for this is a precaution for humanity, not just Konoha. I fear Madaara is still alive and will take action one day. One final thing… Naruto is not human anymore. My ancestors devised a method to give Kyuubi's entire being to a newborn infant, but my preemptive strike against Kyuubi's power was foolish… costing Kushina her life. Yes, Kushina is dead and Naruto is now half demon, half human. Kyuubi no longer exists in our world. Do with this information as you see fit, you are Naruto's guardian. I am sorry for the burden, but I can't ask Jiraiya to lose his spy system or Kakashi because he's still recovering from the loss of Obito. I have faith in you Itachi.

Sincerely,

Namikaze Minato.

P.S – please use the surname Uzumaki until you deem him strong enough to fend off threats. There is no doubt in my mind Iwa would attempt assassinations should they find out he is a Namikaze.

As Itachi reached the entrance of his home, his thoughts were immediately halted at the trial ahead of him. 'What do I say to otou-san and kaa-san…'

Hesitantly, Itachi walked through the doors of his home to the site of Mikoto cooing Sasuke to sleep. At the sight of Itachi, Mikoto jumped up.

"Itachi! Thank goodness you're alright… I was so scared you'd be a casualty of the Kyuubi attack!"

Luckily, his father was most likely preparing for the Kyuubi attack along with the other shinobi, so he only had to affront his mother.

"Actually, Kaa-san, no one from the village died. Only the Yondaime."

A realization struck Mikoto after a brief wave of relief had enveloped her. "Minato is dead?"

"Hai, but he left with me, one last mission."

Hooked to what he was saying, Mikoto asked, "What is it..?"

Itachi revealed young Naruto just as Fugaku had come to give his family the good news. Two things happened.

"ITACHI! WHO'S CHILD IS THAT AND WHY DOES HE HAVE YELLOW HAIR. DON'T TELL ME… YOU… YOU BETTER NOT BE DATING A BIM…"

As Fugaku began ranting like a lunatic, Mikoto threw a senbon at her husband's neck, silencing him for the time being. "That's Kushina's baby…"

Thus Itachi showed her the letter the Yondaime had left with him and accepted Naruto into her family. Mikoto was Kushina's closest friend for the longest time, and she certainly wasn't going to let down her friend, demon child or not.

As time passed, and Naruto became integrated with the Uchiha family, Sasuke and Naruto had a rivalry with each other since the first day they could walk. Naruto, being half demon, was always able to overpower young Sasuke, but the constant fighting allowed Sasuke to get stronger in turn.

Itachi had always been the prodigy of the clan but was now in competition with the two children who both learned how to conjure up chakra by the age of 5. In spite of this, Itachi could care less and was proud of his imotous. He was, on the contrary, the idol of the quickly growing children rather than someone they wanted to 'beat' in prodigy status.

Fugaku couldn't be more proud of his sons and step-son – guiding them to one day become the elite of the elite in Konoha, hopeful that one of them would take the title of Kage.

Although not related by blood, Fugaku and Mikoto treated Naruto as their own with no bias. Fugaku, after waking up from his induced state of death, was shown Minato's letter – a close rival of his own and respected his wishes.

It was only a matter of time before their children would one day become genin, making Fugaku and Itachi train them to the brink of death. This caused a bit of tension between the two, both wanting to be better than the other, but in secret both cared deeply enough to die for the other, just the way they were taught.

END OF FLASHBACK

Hiruzen knew he was going to regret the next few sentences that were going to come out of his mouth, but readied his ears. "Now Sasuke, Naruto. I know you both have worked very hard alongside your father and Itachi, but I am going to send you both to the academy.

"WHAT!" Shouted both Sasuke/Naruto.

'Agh, I knew their voices would be loud…' sighed Hiruzen. "Now now, you kids shouldn't be in such a hurry to grow older."

"Hah! Of course you would say that OLD MAN! I'm never going to be as old as you!" shrieked a now smiling Naruto, earning a quick chuckle from Sasuke.

Twitching, Hiruzen couldn't help but be happy at the chipper attitude of Naruto. 'Kami only knows what would have happened if Minato hadn't had Itachi adopt the boy…'

Yes, the villagers knew what happened to the Kyuubi and were eager to kill the boy; however, with the Uchiha's backing, no one dared to try a thing. Sure, the occasional assassination attempt occurred, but because the Kyuubi never really managed to get to Konoha, most of the assassins were from the skeptics who believed Naruto was the Kyuubi. The remaining realized Naruto wasn't a demon, but a hero. After realizing this fact, they were ashamed at the thought of ever wanting to kill the boy.

"Regardless… I think it would be best for the two of you to get to know your peers, and besides, even Itachi agreed to this."

At the mere mention of Itachi wishing this for them, the two boys perked up and nodded frivolously to the old man. 'Sheesh, I thought I was supposed to be the respected one.'

Motioning the two away, Hiruzen went back to his thoughts, only to be interrupted by his oh-so-lovable mommy, Iruka.

"Hokage-sama! These documents MUST be read and signed!" exclaimed Iruka. Hiruzen sighed and motioned Iruka to go away, only to sink down in his chair as he glared at the pile before him.

'I need to find a successor… I'm getting too old for this shit. I bet no one else has to deal with an assistant like Iruka.'

In a casino nearby, Shizune and Tsunade sneezed.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu were having their usual secretive meeting.

"I must say, the Kyuubi is developing steadily alongside the Uchiha." stated a satisfied Danzo.

"Yes, but the Kyuubi-brat shouldn't have the honor of such a position." Homura replied, getting a nod in agreement from Koharu.

Danzo inwardly cursed at the ignorance of the two, and cursed Hiruzen for playing favorites in the council, electing his old teammates to have the highest position in the council. Danzo, although not the most liked person in Konoha, was always looking out for the safety and prosperity of Konoha. He trusted the Yondaime more than anybody, even showing support for when the Yondaime was being chosen. Danzo was no fool. He was old, whithered, and slowly regressing in form, so he didn't bother even trying to become Hokage at this point. His organization, Root was approved by the Yondaime after the Sandaime had ousted him from power. Danzo had a goal, and by the way Homura and Koharu showed malice towards the Uzuma… Namikaze child was plain stupid. He had to get rid of the two for the safety of Konoha he decided.

"I'm sure the Uchiha will be able to control the child, worst comes to worst, they do have their sharingan after all." Danzo replied coolly.

"We still believe the Kyuubi should be killed for the safety of Konoha, although the stupid Sandaime would never allow it!" shouted an exasperated Koharu.

'Fools, I have recordings of every meeting we have, it's only a matter of time before I can get rid of you both swifty.' Danzo inwardly smirked.

Homura and Koharu had always believed Danzo was on their side. What they didn't realize was Danzo had plans of his own. After all, how could they have known the Yondaime had secretly been supporting Danzo under the books? Blinded by hatred for a demon that could potentially destroy Konoha led to numerous assassination attempts hired through their means. Each of them failed miserably however, as Itachi alone could handle anything they threw. They were hoping, at this meeting, they could get Danzo to personally rid of their problem once and for all.

A/N – Danzo doesn't have any bandages in my fic – he didn't farm sharingans. He is a normal, veteran shinobi with his own ANBU ROOT organization with the approval of the Yondaime, not the Sandaime.

"Danzo, we were thinking of an ultimatum if you will." Stated Homura.

'Interesting, I didn't expect this at all. Might as well listen, perhaps they'll be stupid enough to give me enough evidence to execute them on the spot' thought Danzo, receiving a quick sneeze by Homura and Koharu.

"We want to personally hire you and your Anbu to assassinate the Kyuubi and in return, we will get ROOT established once again." Koharu stated with an as-a-matter-of-fact attitude.

'Thank you Kami.' And with that, Homura and Koharu were no more as the seats they were sitting on dispersed into thousands of bugs, sucking away their chakra until they were no more.

"Good work Torune, your duties are now complete." Stated Danzo.

"Hai, Danzo-sama!" With that, Aburame Torune shunshined away.

'Great, now to explain to Sandaime what happened.' Begrudgingly, Danzo walked towards Hokage tower, ready to get his ear raped with verbal assaults.

Itachi looked over Konoha on top of Minato's head (Hokage monument). Itachi took apprenticeship with Minato after Obito had died, Kakashi went to lead his own Anbu squad, and Rin learned to become a medic. He had learned everything on composure and integrity from Minato, and decided through Minato's teachings not to use his sharingan all that often. As Itachi thought of what to do next, he took notice of two young boys sparring each other in front of the Hokage tower.

By the look of things, they were dead even.

Itachi couldn't help but wonder, as he had seen their rivalry thus far, what would happen when Naruto and Sasuke both developed their kekkei genkai?

A/N END OF CHAPTER 1. Hopefully this isn't crap and you enjoyed it to some degree. Will update once in a while, not too long in between, depending on school work and whatnot. I like hearing criticism so bash me all you want! I CAN TAKE IT!