Phantom of the Leaf

by Hyperguy

A boy born without chakra finds the attention of a certain outsider. Distraught over his lack of ability, the child walks a different path than his twin sister who's shining personality changes anyone she meets. With a different power at his fingertips he must go about removing the tumors that have grown within his village and the shinobi world without forgetting who he once was.

2. Touch of the Void

XxXxX

My head began hurting as a cold wind washed over my body. Groaning, I lifted myself from my bed and looked around my bedroom. Everything seemed in place, but there was this… feeling. I couldn't place it, but there was certainly something amiss. Standing up, I moved towards the door cautiously. Each step made the floor creak beneath me as my hand slowly hovered the doorknob. I grabbed onto the door and went to open it, only for it to be locked. "What the?" Pulling once more for good measure I took a step back in confusion. How was my door locked from the hallway?

Turning around, I fell back onto the ground in shock to see that half of my room had been torn out into the black emptiness of space. A walkway led out into the darkness with the only light coming from somewhere in the vast space that made up the void beyond. Unsure of what to do, I simply stared out into the anomaly before me. "Am I… dreaming?" A pulling sensation suddenly grappled onto my mind, as if calling me into the darkness beyond.

I moved towards the void until I finally took my first step into this endless darkness. With one last look backwards at the half of my room that wasn't torn out into this thing, I found that it too was gone. Without anywhere to return to I walked across the little ground that was available to me. It spiked out into various areas, but a single path could be made out within the rubble and debris. All of which seemed to be made of the buildings in and around our house at the center of the village.

Coming up onto a mannequin sculpture of myself reading a book at our kitchen table, I began to become concerned. "Such a sad hand fate has dealt you." A voice said, making me look up to see a tall man with brown hair and brown jacket. His eyes were completely inked black. "Born into this world with nothing more than your wits, you've studied as hard as you could. All for the praise of your father." The man then disappeared, back into this endless void that I could never hope to understand. Continuing my trek, I came upon another scene of Minato and Yui smiling brightly as they practiced ninjutsu. "But although you try and try you'll never be able to make him smile like your sister." It was then I could see another being that looked like me peering at them with a sad expression on his face from the shadows of a nearby tree. "It feels like you are looking at their world through a window that could not be broken. A place that you can never touch because your world is so cruel." The man then disappeared once more, making me move along the designated path. The next scene was of me being bullied by several people with several books in my hand. Books that only made me sadder than I already was. "Yet you continued to search for a way to slip into their world. To become a ninja and join your family in their happiness, but nothing came. In all your endless research, you learned that it was simply not possible." He walked around the people that bullied me relentlessly, and it wasn't just Toshi, Ken, and Michi. "And through it all you endured the pain of being the 'useless' son. The 'parasite' that was feeding off Konoha's perfect family. All so you would avoid giving your family a bad name." Knowing the routine, I moved along the path once the man had disappeared. Finally coming upon a scene that made tears come to my eyes, the sculptures depicted me kicking Toshi out the window with Ken and Michi at my side in shock. "Finally you decide to defend yourself. To show the bullies that you had a backbone all along, but it all goes wrong."

"…" My eyes looked into the pitch black eyes of the person talking in complete sadness. "Why are you showing me this?"

"A very good question from a very smart boy. If you would follow me." The man disappeared once more, making me move along the path of broken buildings and torn up trees. Finally arriving at the destination, ten darkened figures appeared before me. All of which had cloaks over their bodies. On the other side of the landing three more dark figures stood ominously. "You see, there's a darkness growing in the corners of your world, and death is sure to follow if nothing is done about it." The man said as he walked behind the ten dark figures before moving towards the three separate figures. "Even in your own village several tumors grow beyond the reaches of your father. Truly an interesting world you live in."

Looking between the figures before me, I turned to the man in confusion. "Even if this is true how does it concern me?"

"Because your sister is at the heart of it all." I sighed as my eyes moved to the figures once again. Even by just looking at the mannequins I could tell each of them were powerful. Maybe even more powerful than my father.

"Even if that's true I can't do anything about it. I can't form jutsu. I'm not a ninja like my father and my sister. I'm just a… nobody."

"Then let me give you something. A gift if you will. From me…" A burning sensation erupted from the back of my hand, making me look down to see a mark appear across it. "To you."

"What is it?" I asked. The power that radiated from the mark was massive, but what it was and how to use it remained a mystery.

"Allow me to help you young one. Some information that will make mastering my gift easier." He then tapped the mark on my hand, but when he did memories that weren't my own swarmed into my mind. Eager to store itself were it needed to be. "I only gave you enough power that I feel you can handle at the moment. In time I may give you more, but at present you are still too young to handle the more… advanced techniques." He looked down at me with a grin as the information was stored and processed faster than he thought it would. "You may stay here for a time to practice your new found abilities, but you will have to return to your world soon."

My voice eluded me as I thought over everything that was happening. "Why…?" I questioned as I finally gained a grip on reality.

"Why help, you ask?" He leaned against one of the dark figures as he thought about the question. "I don't very much care about what happens to your world, but by giving you something 'out of this world' I think it should make things more… interesting." A grin a spread across his lips as the thought of what this change will do in the future. "If that is all I will take my leave. Enjoy your stay here, and good luck in the future. I'm curious to see what you will do with my powers. Whether they be good, or evil."

With that the man disappeared, leaving me with the dark figurines, the memories that were shoved into my head, and the three powers of Blink, Dark Vision, and Windblast. Along with these powers came other, less flashy, abilities that may or may not prove useful in the future.

XxXxX

Shooting up in my bed, a cold sweat covered my body from head to toe. 'W-Was all that real?' Quickly looking down at the back of my left hand, the symbol remained etched onto where the mysterious man had placed it. "So it actually happened." Sighing, I stood up and looked out the window. The street lights poured into my second floor room, giving me a source of light that wasn't the overhead light. 'What time is it?' Looking at the clock by my bed, the red numbers said that it was thirty minutes until midnight. With nothing to do, and certainly not being tired, I stood up and grabbed a fresh pair of clothes before moving to the washroom across the hall. The hallway was silent, which meant that everyone had long since gone to sleep. Once I was in the wet room, I let the warm water pour over me in an attempt to help calm my rampaging mind. I was in that void for what felt like days, but when I woke up it had only been six hours. Did time work differently within that place?

Once done, I put on the clothes that I had prepared. Gray pants, shoes, and a black shirt; I finally put on the jacket that I normally wore underneath my uniform and walked to the door leading to the streets. "Naruto?" I quickly placed my left hand into my pants pocket and looked at the source of the voice.

"Hey." It was Minato.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing fine. Just need some fresh air."

"Do you need to talk?"

"No… just need to walk around a little." I grabbed the doorknob, but stopped when something came to mind. "Does Yui…?"

"I haven't told her. Figured it would be something you'd want to tell her yourself." Opening the door, I felt Minato not move from his spot. "Don't stay out too late…" Not responding, I closed the door and walked out into the summer night of Konoha. People walked about, minding their own business as they went about their night. I saw a weapons shop as I mindlessly wandered the streets of my home, and decided to enter it. 'I need something to cover up my hand. Maybe they'll have something?' The bell above the door rang as I entered the store that was completely empty, save for the clerk. He had thick brown hair and eyes with tanning skin. He was shorter, but that didn't take away from his built upper body. Bored out of his mind, the man was reading a magazine while leaning against the counter.

"We close in fifteen minutes so make it quick. I'm ready to go to bed." The man said without even looking at me. They must close at midnight or something. Not wanting to disobey the man, I went towards the clothing section and began looking through their selection of clothes.

"Did you just speak to a customer like that, Aki?" A voice asked from the back room. "You know you shouldn't speak to customers like that!" The man grumbled as he finally looked up and saw my hooded appearance while looking through his selection of fingerless gloves, seemingly ignoring their interaction entirely.

"It's fine! He seems like the type that likes to be left alone anyways!" Aki responded as he went back to his magazine.

"You don't know that dad!" The girl responded before walking out from the back room, wiping the sweat from her brow as she appeared. She wore a pink tunic with a heavy brown leather apron that went to her knees. Two brown buns sat atop her head with a Konoha headband wrapping itself around her forehead. Over her hands were thick leather gloves that had obvious wear and tear on them. Was she a blacksmith and a kunoichi? "Just because he's quiet doesn't mean he won't enjoy being shown our stuff." She looked at her father with an annoyed look, who simply shrugged his shoulders and went back to reading. Sighing, the girl took off the apron and gloves before making her way over to me. "Hello! My name is Tenten. Do you need help with anything?"

I looked at her for a moment, before looking at the clothes in front of me. "I… uh… need some gloves."

"Anything in particular you need? We have special gloves that when chakra is applied they can-."

"No… just normal gloves is fine." I replied as I placed the pair I was holding back onto the shelf.

"Oh, well normally you wouldn't come to a ninja shop for something like that, but I can grab you a pair if you'd like." Tenten said, curiosity in her voice as she looked into my eyes.

"That would be great." She nodded her head and went to the back room as I made my way to the counter at the front of the store. Aki looked at me before returning his gaze to the magazine. A few minutes later Tenten returned with a pair of black fingerless gloves. Nothing special. Just… gloves.

"Can you ring him up dad? I'm putting the final touches on a weapon before going to bed. I've got to get up bright and early for a mission." Tenten asked.

"Yeah, go ahead." Aki responded, making his daughter smile as she turned to me.

"Thanks for stopping by our shop! I hope to meet you again mister blue eyes!" Tenten said before disappearing back into the depths of their shop. Aki looked at the gloves before looking at me.

"You look familiar…" Aki said as he stared me down. I saw the price of the gloves and put the money on the table before grabbing the gloves. "Have we met?"

"No sir." I responded as I quickly placed the gloves over my hands, which made me feel safer for some reason.

"Well whatever. Come back if you need anything else. I'll give you a discount since my daughter seems to like you." Aki said as he took the money and placed in the drawer. His eyes returned to the magazine as I walked out of the store and back into the dark streets.

I decided to move towards the eastern part of town, where the crowds grew thin and buildings began to lower themselves from the sky. Why my father wanted to live in the center of the village was beyond me, but both he and Yui liked it there so who was I to say anything? The eastern part of the village was well known for being the home of many of Konoha's most prominent clans. The Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Nara clans to name a few. This place was cleaner and had far less people walking around its streets. Walls lined the edges of the roads, keeping people's peering eyes from seeing the clans private business. While this place was dull and lifeless, a certain charm could be seen from the various buildings and people that walked here.

I passed the Hyuga compound and looked at its large gate. 'I wonder if that girl I helped is doing okay?' Shaking my head, I continued on my way deeper into the clan district until finally I came upon a place that seemed deserted. The Uchiha compound. Not knowing what else to do, I entered through its gate and into the place where the Uchiha Massacre happened. Everyone has heard of what happened within these walls. That Itachi Uchiha killed everyone here, save for his sister Saya, for reasons that remained unknown. Saya said that her brother wanted to prove something, to test the limits of his power, and decided the best way of doing that was to kill their entire clan. This seemed… farfetched at best. There was another reason behind the massacre, I was sure of it, but I did not have the means to investigate these thoughts myself. The Uchiha symbol remained on the various buildings and signs around the compound. This place seemed frozen in time. Nothing's changed since that day because nobody wishes to dishonor the clan that helped forge the village they live in today.

'This place is perfect.' I thought as I looked around the dark compound. Nobody lives here since the massacre, and Saya has since moved out to avoid any unwanted memories from resurfacing. Because of this it would give me the perfect training ground to practice my new abilities in an urban setting. Nodding my head, I pulled energy into the mark and blinked onto a nearby roof. These abilities did not draw upon chakra like jutsu did. Instead, my abilities used a mixture of stamina and endurance, which was something I already had from my near constant training in martial arts. Just because I wasn't a ninja, I still felt the need to train so I could protect myself from thugs… or bullies that go too far.

Breathing in, then out, I opened my eyes to reveal glowing purple eyes with my pupils becoming slits much like a demon. Things, such as kunai and weapons, appeared to me through walls as well as possible items that could be of use. Food, water, weapons, all of these things revealed themselves in a quick fashion. If I remember correctly then it should also allow me to see people through walls and in complete darkness as well. 'Just like the information that man gave me portrayed, but how does this help me in combat?' In truth it probably doesn't, but that remains to be seen as I have yet to get into a fight with any of these abilities. Stretching my body I pulled more energy into the seal and then, in a swift motion like I was brushing someone off, a strong current of wind burst out in front of me. I could see each individual strand of wind as it cut through the air. Each strand searching for something to reflect, block, or cut before it pattered out. 'These winds act as though they are alive and wish to defend me. What are these powers?' Shaking my head, I got back to the situation at hand. I needed to train with these abilities even more before I set out to learn who these 'tumors' are, because if I had to guess then they were probably very powerful shinobi. Or, at the very least, a person that had a lot of influence over the village.

'But now is not the best time. I need to return home before Minato begins to worry.' Blinking down to the street below, I made my way home after turning off my visual power. Inside I was happy. Happy that I could use powers similar to my sister. This mark increased my natural vitality, agility, and reflexes. I'm not exactly sure how, but the images shown to me by that blacked eyed man depicted it so. In any case I have the power to fight toe to toe with a shinobi if I used this mark correctly. I just needed practice, and that required time. Something I was unsure that I had at the moment.

XxXxX

"Breakfast is ready!" A voice called out from down the stairs. I rolled over and looked at the clock. It was eight in the morning, and I was extremely tired for some reason. Was my body still adjusting to the mark on my hand? Groaning as I lifted the sheets from my body, I slowly got dressed while making sure my gloves were on my hands, and moved down the hallway towards the stairs.

"These D ranked missions are so boring!" I could hear Yui say from the kitchen.

"I know they are, but they're required by all new Genin's to complete after becoming a ninja." Minato responded as I entered the room. "Hello Naruto! How are you doing this morning?"

"Fine. What are you doing here? Normally you're at the office by now." I asked as I sat down at the end of the table, each of us taking a side of the table with Yui to my right and Minato directly across from me.

"It's a slow day today so I decided to sleep in a little bit." Minato responded as he put some rice into a bowl and slid it over to me. "How about you, Yui? Long day?"

"Of course!" My sister responded as she shoved food into her mouth. Minato slid me a slice of fish as she did so. "Two more D rank missions! I swear they will be the end of me!" Then she stopped, as if remembering something she had heard. "Oh yeah, your school took the next couple of days off, right Naruto? You lucky dog you, I wonder what that's about?" I frowned slightly at her words before glancing at our father, who also shared a discouraged look.

"Who knows…" I responded as I took a bite of the food as well. Sooner or later the rumor will spread, and she will learn of what happened, but I'm assuming exactly who was involved will remain a mystery until Minato decides it will be released to the public. Or if the parents of the killed child begins spreading these rumors…

"Oh no! I need to meet the rest of Team Seven in ten minutes! I'll see you two later!" With that Yui dashed out the front door, making Minato and I stare at the open door in confusion.

"She's never short on energy, is she?" I asked, making Minato sigh with a smile.

"Yui is like you mother in that regard. Hot headed and always full of energy."

"So what's the real reason you're not at your office?"

"And you're more like me in this regard. Always seeing underneath the underneath."

"…" I furrowed a brow at this, making Minato laugh as he took Yui's empty plate to the sink.

"Anyway, I decided to go in late because of what happened yesterday, but you seem to be fine." Minato began washing the dishes as he talked. "I'm surprised. It didn't take long for you recover from a fairly traumatizing experience."

"I guess not." It's actually been a couple of days for me, but it didn't matter. I had killed Toshi, whether by accident or on purpose the result remained the same in my eyes. A little part of me died when the explosion rocked the building and his insides were sprayed across the walls of my school.

We stayed silent for a while, the only noise coming from the faucet water hitting the dirty plates. I could tell that he was having a hard time trying to find the right words to say, but he was always better at talking to Yui than he was with me. Once the dishes were complete, he turned the water off and turned to me. "What are your plans for the day?"

"Well… I was wondering… can I go with you to the Hokage Tower?" Minato looked at me in surprise.

"If you want, but it's kind of a boring today. Just a few meetings then paperwork." Minato replied.

"That's fine. Just want to be with someone at the moment." I lied.

"It's certainly been a while since you've came with me to my office, but sure!" Minato said with a bright smile on his face. In truth, I wanted to investigate these 'tumors' that I was forewarned about, and if it's actually true or not. The politics of the Hidden Leaf Village are very open compared to other hidden villages. Councils and other offices are often allowed when concerning the wellness of the village as a whole. Things like sewage, electricity, and agriculture all had separate offices that are ran by people appointed by the Hokage. This allows the village to be ran like a well-oiled machine, but this also displaces power away from the leader, in this case the Hokage, to people that could be corrupted. In a sense, I was surprised that nothing has gone wrong since the opening of political power with the appointment of the third Hokage years ago. Even now pressure on my father to give away military power to a joint council of clan heads and other political chair holders has only increased since he took office.

Once we finished cleaning the dishes, we left the house and began walking down the street towards the Hokage Tower. Not much was said between the two of us. He couldn't ask how my missions were going, or question how far along I was to mastering some jutsu or another. He couldn't relate to who I was or what I was going through, and I couldn't relate to his position either. We were just too far apart, him and I. I doubt he ever wanted a son that couldn't use chakra. If it was just Yui I wonder how happy he would have been… at least I know I have a little secret that makes me more powerful than many believe.

"And here we are, my home away from home." Minato said as we entered his office. It was just like I remembered it from years ago. A desk, chair, couch in the corner, two more chairs in front of the desk, several bookcases, and windows that wrapped around the curvature of the walls giving us a fantastic view of the village. "The view never gets old." He breathed in and out slowly before sitting down at the desk, where a massive stack of papers sat ominously. "But this certainly does…"

"You said you had a meeting today?" I asked as I watched the leader of the village begrudgingly go through the stack of paperwork.

"Yes. The Konoha Council are going to be coming by in an hour so we can discuss some of the finer points of the Chunin Exams that are to be held in the coming months." Minato explained as he watched me walk up to some pictures on the side of the wall. The village founder, and each of the following Hokage could be seen depicted on the pictures. On the other side of the wall the newly founded Konoha Council could be seen with pictures as well.

'Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, Danzo Shimura, and Sarutobi Hiruzen. All wise people that have much influence over the direction of the village. Whether that be directly… or indirectly.' I thought as I stared at the pictures of the elderly people known as the 'Konoha Council'.

"Do you remember them? Sarutobi took a liking to your sister." Minato said as he stood next to me, looking at the pictures as well. "Danzo seemed to enjoy your company as well. You two would talk for hours about how the village was ran, and the inner workings of the market district." Danzo did indeed like talking to me about how this village worked when I was younger. He knew that I would never be able to use chakra, but still felt the need to tell me how the shinobi of the village lived and operated. Why did Danzo want to get close to me? It's been a while since I've talked to the older man for reasons that eluded me, but I feel that my father may have played a part in that.

"Not very much. It's been years since I've talked to Danzo." I responded as I eyed my father. He seemed somewhat relieved at my words, even if he tried to hide it.

"Not surprising. Danzo is a very busy man." Minato said, but then a knock at the door made us move away from the pictures and towards our positions. Minato taking a seat behind his desk while I sat on the couch in the corner. "Enter!" The doors opened to reveal the Konoha Council. "Early, are we?"

"Not by much. It's good to be early rather than late." Koharu responded as they entered the room.

"Nearly an hour early, actually." Danzo said, clearly annoyed at how early they were. Danzo always liked being right on time. Never early, never late.

"All the same. Better to finish early rather than later." Minato said with a wave of his hand.

"And who do we have here?" Sarutobi said as he looked over to me with a great smile. "Well if it isn't Naruto! How are we doing today?"

"Fine." I responded with a slight smile of my own. It was getting harder and harder to make these nowadays… Danzo looked to me and smiled. Something about him felt… off?

"The Chunin Exams are fast approaching and they are to be held here this year." Koharu said as he took a seat in one of the chairs. Two more chairs were brought into the room by people outside before they closed the door behind them.

"Indeed they are, and we must put the finishing touches on each of the challenges that the Genin must go through." Minato replied as he opened a file that had information on the specifics of the exam.

"Before we continue…" Homura said as he gave me a sideways glance. "Should we discuss the exact details of the Chunin Exam with your son in the room?"

"Why would you say that?" Minato asked.

"He could very well go and tell others what to expect when entering the exams."

"I feel that won't be an issue." Danzo said as he leaned back into his chair. "Naruto knows that this is an A-Class secret and won't reveal this information to some random passerby."

"Even if it was his sister?" Homura countered.

"Don't worry." I said, making everyone turn to me. "Whatever you say within this room will remain a secret. I promise."

"You see? Nothing to worry about." Sarutobi said, reassuring the sceptic elder of my presence.

"If you say so…" Homura replied as Minato looked down at the folder before him.

"Right, with that out of the way I would like to go over the testing portion of the exam." Minato began as the meeting was underway.

XxXxX

"I like who you appointed to each portion of the test. Should make for a very intense exam." Sarutobi said as he thought over the entirety of the exam.

"Although Anko can be sort of a loose cannon. Are you sure it is wise to leave the second portion of the exam to her?" Homura questioned.

"I'm sure everything will be fine. Anko is a Jonin, and a fine one at that." Sarutobi reassured.

"Right, is there anything else?" Minato asked.

"I believe that we ironed out all the finer points of the exam, and it's nearly time for lunch!" Sarutobi said with a wide smile. Before they could leave, however, a knock at the door resonated through the room.

"You may enter. We were just finishing the meeting anyway." Minato said as everyone began standing up. The door slowly opened to reveal Ibiki. "Ah, Ibiki. Nice to see you."

"Likewise." Ibiki said with a bow as the Konoha Council exited the room and closing the door behind them.

"What brings you here? We were just about to go to lunch." Minato said, but his cheery composure slowly whittled away when Ibiki remained unreadable. "Is something the matter?"

"I would like a word…" Ibiki then looked to me before returning his eyes to his leader. "In private."

Getting the memo, I stood from my position on the couch and moved towards the door. "I'll see you later." Minato said as I closed the door behind me. With me gone, Minato looked to Ibiki. "What is it you wanted to speak about?"

"It involves your son, and what happened yesterday…" Ibiki replied.

XxXxX

I sighed as I walked down the street towards my home. I was hoping to find some information on this 'tumor' that I was eluded to, but there was nothing to be found. All doors leading to the records of the village remained barred off from someone like me. Even though I was the son of the Hokage, the working staff within the tower was steadfast in not allowing me access. "Are you Naruto Namikaze?" A voice asked, making me stop in my tracks. Looking over my shoulder, three people stood in the center of the street. One was a tall woman with black hair and a white mask over her face, while the other two had black hair with masks as well.

My hood was currently down, making it easy to find me if they were looking for me. Why were the ANBU doing looking for me anyways? "Did you even have to ask?" I responded, my eyes staying firmly on the black haired woman that spoke.

She scoffed as she placed her hands on her hips. "I'll take that as a yes then." People were beginning to stop and look at the scene that was being made. It wasn't everyday ANBU made themselves visible to the general public, but they looked and sounded different from the ANBU that I met the other day. "You are to come with us."

"On what grounds?" I questioned.

"By order of the CCC, we have been tasked to bring you in for questioning." The woman said as the group took several steps towards me. The CCC, or the Collective Civilian's Council, are a recent addition to the village that was created to survey non-shinobi cases and take judicial action when necessary. My father was persuaded to create them to alleviate some pressure from his shoulders so he could concentrate on more important matters. If the CCC was here then that means… Two hands were placed firmly onto my shoulders, shaking me from my stupor. "You have the right to remain silent, son of the Hokage." With that we disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving behind a very confused crowd.

XxXxX

"What do you mean the CCC is investigating my son?!" Minato shouted as he stood from his desk.

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but since this is-." Ibiki went to say.

"No it's not! This is my son! How could they be investigating him?! Nobody should know about what happened yesterday besides us, and…"

"The parents of Toshi. They went to the CCC and claimed that their child was murdered by Naruto." Ibiki said, as Minato fumed at what was going on. "Since this is a case between two non-shinobi they have since taken custody over the case, which also means-."

"Danzo has some major influence over what happens to my son." Minato sighed as he sat down into his chair. "I had no idea that creating the CCC would backfire like this." The original idea of the CCC was pitched by non-other than Danzo, who thought that there was too much pressure riding on the Hokage's shoulders. He preached that by creating an organization that could watch over the non-shinobi and properly govern them that Minato would be free to work on more pressing issues both domestic and foreign. Danzo even said he would help them throughout the process, and with his guiding hand create a council similar to the Konoha Council. At the time Minato was still a young kage and thought this was a fantastic idea, but now that the CCC was firmly in place…

"…" Ibiki remained silent as he watched the Hokage think over his options. Minato held very little power within the CCC because Danzo has made sure that the only way Minato could gain entrance within its walls was through him and him alone.

"What are their plans?" Minato asked.

"I'm not sure, but they are probably going to bring him in for a more private screening session."

"Since I'm the father can I possibly refute their statements?"

"Not without going public. The CCC are going to keep this behind closed doors for the time being. They are keenly aware with who they're dealing with and don't want the public going ballistic any more than you do." Ibiki said, as he turned towards the door. "Remember, while the CCC may be a separate entity they are still people living here within Konoha and you are their beloved leader. Don't forget that." Ibiki then left the room, leaving Minato to his thoughts. His son was in danger from something he helped create. Raising his hand and making a signal, a female ANBU with purple hair appeared kneeling before him.

"Bring me every shred of information we have on the contracts I signed with the CCC over the past five years." Minato said as he crossed his fingers together. "And send a message to Danzo that I want to see him as soon as possible." The ANBU nodded her head before disappearing in a swirl of leaves, leaving a very worried father in her wake.

XxXxX

"What am I doing here?" I asked as I sat in a room very similar to the one I was in one day prior. Two ANBU with pure white masks stood in the room silently observing me, as if waiting for someone to arrive. In truth, I knew exactly why I was here. Toshi's parents must have went to the CCC to hopefully prosecute me for the death of their son. It was mixture of anger from their son's death, and hate for me is what drove them to do this. A hate that I knew was there. Where else could Toshi's deep rooted hatred for me spawn from?

The door to the room slowly opened to reveal a bandaged old man. "Hello Naruto." Danzo said as he entered the room, the two ANBU kneeling down before him. This action made me furrow my brows, but decided to disregard it for now.

"Hello Danzo-sama." I replied as I watched him take a seat in the metal chair across from me. He flicked his hand, making the ANBU in the room leave as quickly as possible.

"You must be very confused as to why you're here."

"No, not really." I replied, making him look at me in confusion. "What I am confused about is why you are here to greet me. Didn't you announce five months ago that you were going to decrease your activities within the CCC by order of the Hokage?"

"That I did." Danzo responded as he leaned back in his chair. 'This boy is much smarter than his sister. He must take after his father in that regard.'

"Then why are you here?"

"It's because of you." This made me sigh as I slunk into my chair. "Starting to finally grasp the situation?"

"So Toshi's parents came to the CCC to seek revenge for their son because they knew that my father wouldn't do such a thing."

"Correct you are." Danzo replied. "And since neither of you are shinobi they can get away with bringing the CCC into the mix."

"Is my father going to let that happen?"

"It's already too late. The case has been brought to them, and under their oath the CCC can't turn away."

"… Are you going to let this happen?" Danzo's eyes narrowed somewhat at my words.

"What are you suggesting?"

"Your sway within the CCC is strong, if you being here is any indication. So you should have the power to quell any thoughts of me purposely killing Toshi."

"I could have a word with each of the representatives, but their choices are still their own." Danzo said as he rubbed in chin in thought, but then he looked to me, greed in his eyes. "But what will I get in return?"

"What do I have? I'm just a normal kid that goes to school…" I lied as I rubbed my arm.

"Yes, this may be true, but you're not just a normal thirteen year old. You're the son of the Hokage, which means a lot in this village."

"Not to everyone…"

"True. Some people see you as a parasite. Someone who is only draining attention away from your sister." Danzo said as he continued to look at my ever saddened face. "But you are so much more than that. There are plenty of powerful people in this world that don't have the ability to weave chakra, and you happen to be one of them."

"What are you saying?" I asked as my eyes moved to the older man.

"If you become my student then I can teach you how to become powerful without the usage of chakra."

"And how is that possible? Chakra is everything in this world."

Danzo laughed at my words. "Well the answer is actually quite easy. You see, if you become my student, I will teach how to properly use the two most important resources any human can obtain." He then turned very serious as he looked at me, his power becoming very evident to me now. "Money, and fear."

"…" I remained silent as I stared back at him. I knew that my father didn't like this man, and now I knew why. He was dangerous, and was clearly powerful in his own way. "… I'll do it."

Danzo smiled at this. Finally… his trump card was within his grasp. "I'll have a talk with the CCC. I'm sure they'll listen to me after I have a few… choice words with them."

Was this a good idea? I hope so… because if not then I'm not sure of what will happen to this village.

XxXxX

Minato was furiously going through everything he has signed when it comes to the CCC. Trying his best to find any loophole that he could exploit so he could gain some leverage, but Danzo was very concise when he wrote each and every document. "Damn it! There's nothing here!" The Hokage threw several documents to the ground next to his chair. Just before the man was about to destroy the desk a knock at the door froze him in his tracks. Looking around at his desk, Minato shoved the papers into various drawers before collecting himself in his seat. "You may enter." To his endless surprise, Danzo entered the office just like he had asked.

"Hokage-sama, you have called for me?" Danzo said with a deep bow.

"Yes, I have." Minato responded, doing everything in his power to remain calm. "I assume you know why I called you here?"

"Is this about your son?" Danzo asked, to which Minato nodded his head. "As you know the CCC is their own-."

"Danzo…" Minato said, dangerous vibes radiating from his person. The older man sighed before shaking his head.

"Once I heard about your son's situation I talked to all five of the CCC representatives. Your son…" Danzo said as he moved out of the way to reveal me standing in the doorway, making Minato's eyes widen. "Is free to go. Toshi's parents have been compensated and everything is settled."

"That went… well?"

"The CCC isn't this massive corrupt business like you have been led to believe. They're Konoha citizens just like you and I." Danzo said as I entered the office. "Now that this little hiccup is out of the way I'm a very busy man and have much to do." Danzo said with a bow. "Have a good day Hokage-sama, Naruto."

I now stood in the office alone with my father, who just stared at the now closed door in confusion. "Was Danzo… happy?" It was the first time he has ever sensed anything close to happiness from the elder man. Once the astonishment wore off, Minato looked to his son who was staring back at him in confusion. "I heard they took you in. Did they do anything else?"

"No. Danzo was the only person I saw, and when he arrived he said that everything was taken care of." I lied as I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't really know what happened, but looks like everything's okay."

"I guess so…" Minato said, still in a confused state.

"With all that out of the way I guess I'm going to finally get some lunch. Bye dad." I said as I left the office, leaving a puzzled Hokage in my wake. Once out of the office, however, my demeanor darkened as I walked down the steps of the tower. I was to meet Danzo in an hour at a warehouse in the northwestern part of the village. My training would begin effective immediately, but I would keep my other powers a secret from everyone. It was my biggest trump card that I had if everything were to go wrong.

Finding my way out of the tower, the bright sun blinded me for a moment, but this subsided just as a group of four people approached the entrance. "Naruto?" Fixing my gaze on the approaching group, I found that it was my sister and her team. Team 7 if I recall their number correctly. "It is you!" Yui quickly approached and smiled brightly, but my face remained unmoving. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be at home since you have the day off from school."

"Just asking Minato a few questions is all." I responded in an even tone, making her smile falter somewhat.

"Well anyway this is perfect! I wanted to introduce you to my team!" Yui said.

"So this is your brother?" A pinked haired girl asked as she approached me.

"You must be Sakura." I said, making her blush somewhat.

"How did you know my name? You wouldn't be a stalker, would you?"

"My brother is not a stalker!" Yui defended.

"Yui has gone into great detail about all of you. Sakura has pink hair, Saya has black hair and is a real jerk." I said as I pointed towards the Uchiha, who scoffed and looked away. The Uchiha girl had shoulder length black hair with a blue shirt and white shorts. "And Kakashi wears something over one of his eyes and is always late to meetings."

"Shhhh! You can't tell them those things!" Yui said in embarrassment.

"Whatever. Have a good time with your D-Ranked missions." I said as I moved by her and towards the crowd of people walking by the Hokage Tower.

"Naruto! Do want to…" Yui began to say, but he disappeared into the sea of people. "Have lunch with us?"

"Is your brother okay? He seems… sad." Sakura asked as they looked at where the twin blonde once was.

"I don't know. It feels like he's been growing further and further away each time I talk to him." Yui said, a frown gracing her features. Kakashi stared at the spot as well, but decided to keep to his own thoughts instead of talking.

"Well come on young ones. We have one more mission to complete before we're finished for the day." Kakashi said as he shepherded the three Genin into the tower.

XxXxX

"Good to see that you know your way around the village. Finding this place was half the challenge." Danzo said as he stood at the entrance of a massive warehouse.

"Why did we come all the way out here? There's nothing here besides a stray warehouse worker." I said as I looked around. We were indeed in the heart of the warehouse district, which meant that nearly nobody out here.

"You'll see. Follow me." Danzo said as he entered the warehouse with me following closely behind. The darkness overtook us as we walked deeper into the building. "When we spoke before, I said that there are two resources you need to become truly powerful. Can you tell me what those two things are?"

"Money and fear." I responded, the only light coming in from the door behind us.

"Correct. Now there are several ways to obtain these resources, but there is one primary solution to obtaining both at the same time." Danzo said as he stopped near the center of the building, the door closing behind us from an unknown source. "Would you like to know how?"

"Tell me." I responded, the darkness completely overtaking us. A single light appeared near us with a person strapped to a chair. A bag covered the man's head and a metal bucket sat beneath him.

"The subsequent death of people with power." Danzo said as we looked at the man in the chair. "You see, there is an underbelly in this village. A darkness that people like your father and the others on the Konoha Council refuse to acknowledge exist. Because of this there are plenty of people, like this one for example, that need to be done away with." The older man then turned to me, kunai in hand. "The people that do this aren't shinobi, or ANBU, but normal people being paid for their gruesome work. Yes, this world remains untouched by the shinobi of this village because it is beneath them. Their focus is on threats outside of the walls, not these people that stain it from the inside." Handing the kunai to me, he then pointed to the person strapped to the chair. "Kill him, and become my silent assassin."

"… How will this help me gain power?"

"Every assassin has a beginning. They are silent, deadly, and blend in with every normal person around them. In time your name will be on the tongue of every contractor in the elemental nations. The price for your services will increase as you refine your craft, and when finally the shinobi of this village take notice you will just be a shadow in the darkness." Danzo explained. I was to become an assassin and kill the corrupt individuals that plague this village? Looking over at the man in the chair, I pondered what would become of this action. Danzo believed that I, a person who couldn't harness chakra, could become a powerful assassin, or maybe a bounty hunter was a better term. I've heard of these types of people before. People without chakra that hunted and killed others for money, but I always found their stories drowned out by the exploits of their shinobi counterparts. "With me covering your tracks and helping you along the way, your name will quickly rise within the underbelly of this village and possibly other villages as well. Are you ready to take your first step?"

I looked down at the blade in my hand, then up at the man in the chair. Slowly moving towards the man, I stopping directly in front of him before staring at his bag covered head for a moment. Danzo, sensing my hesitation, moved to my side and kneeled down so he was eye level with me.

"I know it is hard to take the life of another. You are not alone in this endeavor, but take comfort in that it will only hurt in the beginning." Danzo said as he placed a hand onto my shoulder when he noticed my trembling hands. "Soon the death of the undeserving will give you peace of mind. These people spawn destruction in our village from the inside and must be cleansed." My hands have since stopped trembling as I listened to his words.

Looking to the man tied down to the chair, I watched as his chest rose and fell as if he was knocked out. The killing of another… it was something that I thought I'd never have to do because of my status as a normal civilian, but since gaining my powers I knew that I would probably have to kill someone eventually. I thought that I would be ready to kill someone since Toshi's death, but butterflies were still swarming my stomach. If this man was everything that Danzo described as the plague that tainted this village, however, then… "Have a nice long rest." I said before slamming the blade down onto the man with a grinning Danzo standing behind me.

XxXxX

A/N: So here is chapter two! Naruto has three abilities as of now and will gain more in the future. The gender swap is, of course, Sasuke into Saya, and this is not for pairing reasons. The reason I changed Sasuke's gender was because I wanted the descendants of Indra and Asura to be the same gender. Saya's personality remains largely the same as her male counterpart, but is simply female instead. Why is this you may ask? Well, I'm not entirely sure, but for some reason I felt like they needed to be so I did it. This shift won't change much in the terms of Team 7's adventures, but I felt like it needed to be addressed. Would you like Saya to end up with someone? Let me know, but please be reminded I didn't change the Uchiha's gender just for that.

Anyway thanks for reading. I hope you all enjoy it and I'll see you next time!