Naruto Legacy of the Hokages

By Lysander45

Disclaimer: I do not and never will own Naruto, no matter how much I want too. Any and all characters, jutsu and places that I create are mine; if you want to use them please ask permission.

" Speech

' Thoughts

() Jutsu translations/authors voice/usual use for brackets that I cannot be bothered to describe

Italic memories/writing/Spirit voice

Bold emphasis on word

… Pause during speech

Chapter 1 – A Legend is born

Konohagakure no Sato, the village hidden in the leaves. A large peaceful place hidden within a vast forest in Hi no Kuni, backed by a large mountain that overlooks it and surrounded by an impenetrable wall of wood and stone. Like most shinobi villages over the years Konoha has evolved its own unique aesthetic style. Its buildings are an eclectic mix of traditional eastern manors housing clans and wealthy families, and contemporary apartments and building for the poorer population. It appears as a jumbled mess of oddly designed architecture built quiet literally into mighty trees around them. Pipes burst from the walls like metal serpents supplying water among other things to the more modern places, where metal and stone fuse together into a patchwork style. Through Konoha there are rivers, small but varied in size that meander through the streets; and on the outskirts where inhabited dwellings are thin many large training grounds exist for the village's military forces to train.

I say military because Konohagakure no Sato is a military outpost, a shinobi village supplying elite warriors to the Daimyo and all of the feudal lords of Hi no Kuni for protection, military support and other services. What's more, Konohagakure is ranked as one of the five great ninja villages; its shinobi forces are feared by all but its allies for their skill. It is one of the villages that has an officially recognised Kage, unlike some other the smaller villages that claim to have a leader bearing such a title. A Kage is a mighty fighter who stands equal with the rulers of the country where their village is based, they oversee the actions of the village and are the leaders of their respective shinobi society. In Konohagakure these noble people have the honour of having their faces carved into the sacred mountain overlooking the village, as a silent memorial to their very existence. At the time when out story begins there are four faces carved into the mountain, those of the Shodaime, the Nidaime, the Sandaime and finally the Yondaime.

When the village was under the protection and security of the Yondaime Hokage one Namikaze Minato, tragedy struck. Konoha was attacked by the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Nine-tailed demon fox of myth that comes and goes like a natural disaster. The brave shinobi of Konoha fought and died to stall the bijuu's approach of the village, buying their leader precious time to prepare his one of his many ninjutsu masterpieces. In a bold move the Yondaime sacrificed himself to seal away the beast within the body of an infant, saving the village and the world from an evil age's old menace. He left the retired Sandaime, Sarutobi Mizaru to take care of the village and restore it to peace. And he did, through experience and wisdom he rebuilt Konohagakure into an edifice of strength the Yondaime and his predecessors would have been proud of, surpassing the effects of his previous influence during his previous tenure as Hokage.

The man in question was currently sat in his office, thinking to himself as he smoked his old pipe. He had just finished negotiations with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire for a slight increase in funding for the Ninja Academy, who had been getting more and more students as of late. This got him thinking to the students currently attending; those in the graduating classes who would soon be fully fledged shinobi in the next few weeks. A particularly interesting punch, with many promising young members of Konoha's shinobi clans amongst them. The elite Hyuga, the stoic Aburame, the wild Inuzuka, three names amongst several that had sent their latest generation for training as their parents had been sent, and each of these youngsters was poised to begin their own epic journeys through life. This in turn brought his mind to one person in particular, a very special young boy with blonde hair and bright aquamarine eyes, and a very tragic incident twelve years ago.

Swivelling in his seat from looking at the window to the office interior, Sarutobi swept his view over the assembled portraits of his forebears and sensei's the first two Hokages. They had taught him many important lessons and he was glad to have known them as well as he did. His gaze lingered momentarily on his own younger looking image, causing a chuckle to emerge from his now aged exterior. He eventually settled on the picture of his short lived successor and good friend the Yondaime Hokage.

Sarutobi's brows knitted in thought as he took a deep breath of tobacco, blowing the smoke from his mouth in a slow exhale. "Minato-san, I have tried to fulfil your wishes. The village has been restored and the plans you originally drew up are starting to come into motion. But there are some things…some things even your will cannot accomplish. You wanted him to be seen as a hero, but instead they see only the monster he contains."

Sarutobi turned back to face the window, gazing out into the village. "I wonder how he is doing…" he muttered, his eyes inexorably being drawn to the Hokage Mountain. 'By the looks of it just fine…' he thought with a chuckle '…now if only I can finish that scroll painting'.

Elsewhere

Naruto was having the time of his life. After two months of scrimping and saving his money, his latest prank had finally reached fruition. Now all eyes were on him, they were recognising his existence. Of course it was recognition followed by disdain and some really foul language, but still they were noticing his accomplishments...sort of. These were the moments that Naruto had come to live for since he began his hobby of pranks. The thrill that came from a good prank, having people look at him with annoyance (and he hoped admiration) other than pure hatred. They would shout at him words no child should really have to hear, and he would simply shout back "You're just jealous because you guys don't have the guts to stir things up!"

This was his latest and greatest prank yet, painting graffiti on the faces of the Hokage. Vivid spirals and lines adorned the stone visages of the villages greatest, some were made to look they were crying or had nosebleeds, and he loved it. It was perfectly harmless, the paint easily came off when scrubbed with cold water, and he made sure of that. Permanent pranks meant permanent punishments, a small motto he had created to hold himself back from genuine anarchy. Just a finishing touch on the Fourth's nosebleed and he would be done. Then his danger radar went into overdrive and he heard and ominous booming voice.

"Naruto! Get down here and back to class!"

'Crap, its Iruka-sensei, now I'm really gonna get it. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted' he thought to himself, hanging his head in defeat.

Ninja Academy

Iruka Umino was a young man in his early twenties. He had tanned skin, brown hair and a large horizontal scar running across his face over his nose. A shinobi of the Chuunin rank, he was a qualified instructor at the renowned Konoha Shinobi Academy, and a man feared by the student population for his hard disciplinary tactics. A prime example of such harsh discipline would be the young boy in front of him, swearing and shouting and struggling in vain. Naruto was his most prominent truant, always escaping from the classroom to perform Kami knows what trickery. But luckily the crafty youth was tied up tight with strong rope in a special knot reserved only for him, since he had previously displayed an uncanny knack for escape.

'Honestly, if the kid could only put as much energy into his studies as he did his pranks, he'd be a grade 'A' genius…oh well, time to engage discipline mode. I hate to punish these kids like this, but it's the only way they can learn from their mistakes' Iruka thought to himself, hoisting the struggling Naruto by the scruff of his neck before throwing him to his seat. The boy landed facedown on his desk in a highly comic fashion earning roars of laughter from his classmates.

"SILENCE!!" Iruka shouted with his patented authoritative voice number 5, causing instant silence to descend like a calming blanket. "Okay class, because a certain someone missed today's lesson, you shall now review the Henge no Jutsu…" there was a small uproar of moans and complaints, but they were silenced by a quick and loud cough "…I'll call out your name in no particular order, and one by one you shall come down and transform into an exact image of me. Okay, first up is Haruno Sakura."

A young pink haired girl walked to the front of the class. Her hair is long, past her shoulders and tied up with a red ribbon. She pauses briefly to look and blush at a stoic raven-haired boy sitting by the nearby window. With slow deliberate steps she moved towards the front of the class, trying to appear as ladylike and appealli8ng as she could, like she was walking a catwalk and not a flight of steps. When she got to the front of the class, her attention once again focused on a very specific spot. She quickly shouted "Watch this Sasuke-kun" in the boys general direction, before putting her hands into a seal and calling out "Henge no jutsu!" with a studious determination.

There is a poof of smoke and in her place is a perfect copy of Iruka. Another poof of smoke and a jumping Sakura is seen. "Did you see Sasuke? Did you?" she cried before running back to her seat. The boy just looks aside; oozing arrogance so thick it was palpable.

"Uchiha Sasuke" sounded Iruka's voice.

The boy in question stood up and slowly walked to the front of the class, his body language screaming 'This isn't worth my time'. With little or no effort whatsoever he lazily put his hands together in the standard seal and drawled "Henge no Jutsu", and a poof of smoke later revealed another perfect Iruka copy. The second poof of smoke showed the boy with his hands in his pockets, clearly not bothered at all by the task. And so the names were called out one by one, each student coming to the front of the class and performing a perfect transformation.

"Uzumaki Naruto"

Naruto, who by now had managed to cut himself free with a concealed kunai knife, huffed in irritation and walked to the front of the class. A smile flicked across his face as an idea formed in his head. 'This'll pay Iruka-sensei back for tying me up' he thought, and with gritted teeth he gathered his chakra and formed the seal. Like the others there is a poof of smoke and sound slightly exaggerated for dramatic effect, but unlike the others, his transformation revealed a buxom naked blonde girl blowing a kiss in a revealing position.

Iruka's eyes bugged and he shot back as his nostrils fired out a large fountain of blood, flying in a comical fashion in the direction of his desk. Naruto laughed as he released the jutsu "Hahahahahaha, I call that one my Oiroke no jutsu. Pretty cool huh?" This led to Iruka shouting at him for making a stupid technique with his nose plugged with tissue, and Naruto yelling back. Needless to say the foxy youth was subsequently tied up once again and chained down to an iron ring in the corner labelled 'For Naruto'.

Later that day

Naruto scrubbed at the rocky surface of the Yondaime's face, muttering curses at his sensei under his breath with every movement of his arm. Iruka was making him scrub off every last drop of paint that he had daubed on the faces of the Hokages, and in his mind Naruto thanked his foresight to use water based paint. "Were not leaving until its all gone Naruto," shouted Iruka from his perch above.

"Like I care…" Naruto shouted back "…it's not like I have anyone waiting for me at home you know!"

Iruka paused and looked down at the child, a myriad of emotions playing over his face. Sadness, guilt, loneliness and regret, all those negative emotions were present on his visage, there was no room this time for happier ones. "Um, Naruto…" he began, the words coming out slow and unsure "…once you've finished, I was wondering if you would like some ramen, my treat"

Naruto looked up at his sensei, a look of pure joy spreading over his face like wildfire. "Hell yeah! Now that's some real motivation" he yelled with joy, and with newfound energy began to scrub like crazy, working flat out to clear up quickly. If there was anything that could move Naruto quicker than ramen, it was yet to be discovered.

Later, at the Ichiraku Ramen stand

"Naruto, why did you paint graffiti on the faces of the Hokage? Don't you know who they are?" asked Iruka after finishing his mouthful of ramen. Naruto looked up at him, slurping up a large quantity of noodles into his mouth and finishing them with a large gulp.

"Yeah, sure I do. The Hokage were the most powerful and most respected ninja in the village, charged with the protection of all who inhabit its walls."

"If you know that, then why don't you treat them with respect like everyone else?"

"Because I'm going to surpass them all" this exclamation immediately grabbed Iruka's attention, leaving a noodle hanging comically from his lips as he stopped eating to listen. Naruto continued "Some day I'm gonna be Hokage, the greatest Hokage this village has ever seen. Then everyone will stop disrespecting me and acknowledge my existence, that is my dream".

Iruka looked at his student with a puzzled face, and then smiled knowingly. No matter how many times he heard Naruto say it, it still amazed him. No shinobi has ever used the statement so often and so boldly, most just muttered it quietly to their friends in an attempt to gain prestige.

"Oh, Iruka-sensei, I was wondering…" Naruto bowed his head and clapped his hands together "…could I borrow your leaf headband, just to try it on please pretty please"

"Oh this thing…" Iruka brought his hand to his headband "…sorry, but only academy graduates are allowed to wear one. Those are the rules"

Naruto looked down in disappointment. "Fine…" he paused "…sensei…can I have another bowl" he said with his usual grin, showing his teacher his empty bowl as evidence. Both of them laughed, and for the first time in awhile Naruto felt truly happy.

Next Day

"Okay class, today you will be tested on your ninjutsu to see is you can graduate from the academy," lectured Iruka as he stood in front of the class with his clipboard. "This years test will be on Bunshin no justu. You will come into the side room here one by one and perform the just before Mizuki-sensei…" he pointed to a young man with long white hair and a cheerful face "…and myself. You will then be graded, and if you warrant a pass will be given a leaf headband."

Naruto winced and cursed under his breath. 'Bunshin no Jutsu, crap that's my worst technique'. He watched as one by one his fellow students filed into the adjoining room, and one by one left grinning broadly with a shiny new leaf headband. Finally when it was his turn, he slowly walked into the room, every step adding to his nervousness. He took a deep cleansing breath and entered. Inside the room at the opposite end to him sat Iruka and Mizuki. "Alright Naruto, in your own time, create 3 bunshin for us" said Iruka, looking up from his clipboard.

'Okay, I gotta do this' Naruto thought. He gathered his chakra, made the seals and cried "Bunshin no Jutsu". Poof, smoke surrounded him, and it slowly cleared to reveal him and his one clone. It looked terrible, lying on the floor its tongue sticking out; no colour whatsoever in its face. "YOU FAIL"; the words blasted at him like an explosion.

"But Iruka-sensei, maybe we should cut him some slack. It is his third attempt, and he did create one clone," reasoned the white haired chuunin.

"No Mizuki-sensei. All of Naruto's classmates created at least three clones. Naruto made one, and a pretty pathetic one at that. It doesn't even warrant a passing grade."

Naruto gritted his teeth and left the room. After it all finished, he sat on a swing outside, watching the other kids get congratulated by their proud parents. "Good job…I'm so proud of you…you're getting your favourite meal tonight" the words of praise echoed hauntingly across to the sad blonde child. Two women turned and looked at him, disgust evident on their faces.

"Look over there, isn't that the…"

"Yeah, he's the only one who didn't pass"

"Imagine if something like him became a ninja"

"Sssshhhh, were not supposed to talk about that, you know the rules"

Later

Naruto walked slowly in the direction of Ichiraku Ramen. He needed cheering up, and old man Teuchi had just the right type of ramen for curing the blues. He heard footsteps behind him, and turning to see who was following him saw the face of his teacher. "Mizuki-sensei?"

"Naruto, come with me, I want to talk to you about something"

Naruto followed the man, wondering what it might be that he wants to talk about. 'He's never wanted to talk to me before…ever' he thought. The pair eventually settled on a rooftop of a house in a fairly non-descript area of the villages upper west district.

"Don't feel bad for what Iruka said…" reassured Mizuki "…he's actually looking out for you"

This peaked Naruto's interest, he had always thought of Iruka as being an overly strict wise-ass who couldn't take a joke.

Mizuki continued, "He wants you to experience true strength, and in order for that to happen there can be no easy rides. That's why he always fails you, even if what you have done wrong is small. He wants you to persevere and become a great ninja"

Naruto paused over this, and digesting this new information and allowing his usually unresponsive mind to process it all. "If that's true, he could at least be a little nicer. Now I'll have to wait until the next graduation exam and by them everyone else will be WAY ahead of me, even that idiot Sasuke"

Mizuki's face split into a dark grin, but he schooled it into a more neutral expression. "You know Naruto. If you REALLY want to become a genin, there is another way"

Naruto's face lit up with hope, "Seriously, I'll do anything Mizuki-sensei, whatever it takes"

Inside Mizuki was laughing maniacally 'This is all too easy, now to seal it' he thought. "Okay Naruto, here's what you do…" and began telling him what to do.

Later

Naruto sat alone in the forest clearing by the old cabin used by travellers as a point of rest, the Forbidden scroll on his lap. It was late at night, the full moon hung in the air. It had taken all of his hard-earned stealth and skill, but he had gotten the damned scroll from the Hokages house. I mean, first there were the ANBU guards, then the chakra strings attached to traps, and then the old man himself had caught him in the act. But a quick Oiroke no Jutsu and the old fart was lying in a pool of his own nasally ejected blood, completely unconscious. The scroll had been in the vault exactly where Mizuki-sensei said it would be, disguised as a walking stick with a genjutsu.

Then he had left the house with the careful movements that he had entered it with, and ran for the woods one mile south of the village where the cabin was, just like Mizuki-sensei had said. It was starting to creep him out just how much Mizuki-sensei knew about the Sandaime's home and the forest, but for the mean time he let the worry leave his mind. He was just too excited to care.

"Now, let's see what's so special about this scroll" he muttered as he undid the ties holding the scroll and partially unrolled it. As he scanned the scrolls contents, his heart rate steadily grew faster and faster. Every jutsu on the scroll were super-powerful ultra-cool ones, the names alone forced him to re-read them just to be sure he saw right. 'Wow, with these jutsu I'll be able to beat Sasuke for sure, and Iruka-sensei will have to pass me. But everyone's gonna be looking for me with Iruka-sensei, which means I only have time to learn one before he shows up to grade me on the test. Which one, their all so cool if a little bit…dangerous'.

'Copy them for later' whispered an ethereal voice. It was like a wisp of smoke or a gust of wind, sharp and clear but fleeting. Naruto's head shot up, and he looked frantically left and right, searching the surrounding trees for the source of the voice. 'Write them down. Copy them for later, you can learn them then' whispered the voice again.

Naruto was seriously freaked out by this occurrence, but not being one to turn down some good advice, even if the are from a creepy-smoke-wind-voice-that-he-cannot-see-yet-hear-clearly. Taking out a pen and a spare blank scroll (the basic tools of a genius prankster, because you never know when inspiration may strike) he unrolled the scroll further and began to copy down the name, synopsis and steps towards learning the techniques. On closer inspection, he noticed that there was more to the scroll than just cool ninjutsu that could kill an enemy at thirty paces.

There were instructions on the finer points of genjutsu, detailing how the illusions can be made more realistic and thus more effective. There were a selection of taijutsu styles and physical technique deemed to extreme to be taught traditionally. Each style featured its history and teachings, with the basic kata and instructions on how to safely perform them. There were also a series of manoeuvres that the scroll deemed to be highly useful in hand to hand combat, such as unbreakable joint locks and holds. There scroll even contained a series of body breaking training regimes that, from what he read could turn the weakest genin into a jounin wannabe easy as you can say 'number one ninja'. Naruto read through roughly ninety percent of the scroll, but stopped when the descriptions of what some of the jutsu could do made him feel nauseous. 'Why the hell would I want to make a guy implode, that's just sick' he thought with a judder, as he took his time to write down as much as he could. After a while he decided to stop, remembering that he still had to learn one of the scrolls techniques. With that in mind, he returned to the first one on the scroll. It had immediately peaked his interest, especially when he read the description a couple of times. This particular jutsu was a ninjutsu that he had purposely left from the stuff he had copied.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu, a ninjutsu that creates solid clones of a person by evenly splitting their chakra. Unlike regular clones these are not illusions, but perfect copies of the user that are capable of performing jutsu separately from the original. They can remain corporeal for prolonged lengths of time; but disappear when forcefully struck once…" Naruto said as he read aloud the synopsis of the jutsu.

"…Also, the Kage Bunshin has a lesser known side effect to its use. When a clone is dispersed, all of the experience it has gained returns to the user. This is due to the nature of the clone, with it being a physical and wholly corporeal copy with the emotions and memories of its creator. This makes the Kage Bunshin very good for reconnaissance purposes, since their creator can send them to scout ahead safe in the knowledge that anything they learn immediately returns to them."

After reading the description, Naruto couldn't help but grin with glee. 'Not only will I be passing the test to graduate, but I'll also be learning a really useful technique. I'll finally be able to do a create clones, this is going to be so cool' he thought, and with that he started to begin performing the steps required to learn the technique.

Elsewhere

Iruka was alone in his apartment, thinking about the conversation that he had had earlier that day with the Hokage. He sighed as he recalled the Sandaime's words. It had been after he had dismissed all of the graduates, after finishing the exam. The Hokage had been amongst the crowd, and had motioned for Iruka to follow him. The old mans words kept repeating themselves over and over in his mind.

"Iruka" the older man began, looking the young chuunin in the eyes.

"Hai Hokage-sama" Iruka replied, his voice a mix of the usual honoured reverence for his leader and an almost sceptical curiosity.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something"

"What's that? You know I always have time for our conversations together"

"It's about your behaviour towards one of your students, Uzumaki Naruto"

"Naruto? What about him?" Iruka asked, wondering why the Hokage would be interested in that particular pupil of his.

"He's a lot like you isn't he. Like you he is an orphan, and so like you he has grown up with no parents to guide or teach him"

"I can see where you are going with this Hokage-sama. You want me to ease up on him, but that is something that I cannot do"

"Oh really, then maybe you should first listen to the reason why I am asking you this…" the Sandaime looked into the distance, as if pondering a lost memory "…Naruto has always been alone. No one has been there to teach him, or comfort him when he is feeling sad. No one has even recognised that he even exists. So in order to make himself feel better, he performs pranks. By doing this, he can briefly be noticed and acknowledged by others; even all he gets is hate in return."

"I know that but…" he was silenced with a raised hand.

Sarutobi continued, "We both know that Naruto has the demon Kyuubi sealed within him, but Naruto does not. Only those alive during the attack know this, but nobody sees Naruto for who he is." He gazed at the carved rock face of the Yondaime. "The Yondaime Hokage wanted Naruto to be acknowledged as the hero of the village, the one who sacrificed his body to contain a terrible evil. But the adults of the village do not see Naruto as a hero; they only see the demon sealed inside of him. And their cold behaviour has transferred to their children, so even if his peers do not know Naruto's secret, they still have a deep hate for him that they cannot explain."

Sarutobi paused, waiting for his words to sink in before finishing, "Do you know, that when a person does not acknowledge another, their eyes show nothing when they gaze at that person. Not hate anger, not joy nor love. All they are is empty and cold, colder than the harshest night in winter"

A knocking on the door woke Iruka from his thoughtful pondering. He moved to the door, the banging continuing. He opened it to reveal a panting Mizuki, dressed in his shinobi uniform. "Mizuki, what are you doing here?"

"Iruka, its Naruto. He's stolen the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage residence and run away! Everyone's out searching for him, some are talking about going so far as killing him!" exclaimed the wheezing chuunin.

Iruka was stunned. Why would Naruto do something like steal the Forbidden Scroll? Sure, he would pull few pranks but that was the farthest he ever went. Finding himself, Iruka looked over at his colleague "You go join the others. I'll be along shortly, try to stall them until I get there" he said, shutting the door and racing to find his shinobi attire.

Outside, Mizuki's face split into a cruel smile. He turned in the direction of the southern woods, where he knew Naruto was and began to run with all haste. He briefly stopped to pick up the two fuuma shurikan he had stashed away, before continuing. 'I'll find Naruto, kill him and take the scroll. No one will miss him; in fact they'll be glad he is dead. Its foolproof!' he thought, laughing maniacally as he ran.

Later, in the woods

Breathing heavily, Naruto collapsed onto the ground in a heap, all of his energy finally spent. It had taken everything he had, but he had mastered the jutsu in only a few hours. Now he would pass the test for sure, then he would finally be a ninja. His mind wandered into visions of himself with the Hokage hat on, standing proudly before a glorious sunrise, but it was interrupted when he heard footsteps. Looking up, he saw a very familiar sight. An angry Iruka glaring down at him.

"It's all over Naruto," he said, looking hard at his wayward student. He had to do a double take when he saw the condition he was in. All over Naruto's body were scuffs, bruises and marks that only intense training could produce. 'What has he been doing…training?' he thought.

Scratching the back of his neck, Naruto grinned up at his sensei. "Hey there Iruka-sensei, I wasn't expecting you to show up so soon. I only had time to master one technique, and I've only just finished doing that."

"What are you talking about Naruto?" asked Iruka, clearly puzzled by the boy's words.

"You know the jutsu I had to master for the Secret Graduation Exam. Mizuki-sensei told me about it. He said I had to get the special 'Forbidden' scroll from the safe in the Hokage's house, then come here and master one jutsu from the scroll. Then you would pass me for sure. He knew everything, how the scroll was disguised, how to avoid the patrolling ANBU, where this place was, everything. It was kinda weird how he knew so much, but I did it, I mastered a jutsu and now you have to pass me Iruka-sensei you have too" Naruto said, his excitement clearly increasing with every syllable.

"Mizuki?! How could he…" realisation dawned on Iruka as he placed all of the pieces together in his mind, just in time to hear the tell tale sound of metal flying towards him. He pushed Naruto out of the way and just had enough time to raise his arms in defence. As he did so, a hail of kunai slammed into him with such force that he was smashed against the wall of the cabin behind him. Most of the deadly instruments impacted safely against the wood behind him, but some managed to find purchase in his flesh. One grazed his shoulder whilst another embedded itself deeply in his thigh. He looked up to see Mizuki grinning madly at him, two large shurikan strapped to his back.

Mizuki surveyed the scene before him and called out "Naruto, give me the scroll"

"No Naruto! Don't give him the scroll. Mizuki used you to get it, and now he plans to steal it and use its forbidden secrets to destroy the village! Don't trust him; everything he says is a lie!" Iruka yelled his body still rigid from the pain of the kunai attack.

Mizuki scoffed "Don't trust me?! Your one to talk Iruka, considering you're the one that's been lying to him! Everyone has! Why don't I prove my trust, by telling Naruto the truth?"

Fear gripped Iruka's heart as it leapt up into his throat. "No Mizuki don't!" he shouted desperately through gritted teeth.

Naruto was confused. Not a minute ago he had been about to show Iruka-sensei his cool new jutsu, and now Mizuki sensei had attacked him and they were arguing with each other. "Wha…what do you mean everyone's been lying to me? What's going on?"

Iruka could swear that Mizuki's smile grew wider, if it were even physically possible. "You know that twelve years ago, this village was attacked by the great demon Kyuubi no Kitsune. It killed many people; it almost came close to destroying the village utterly. But the Yondaime Hokage defeated the Kyuubi, thus saving everyone from the monster. Immediately after that time, a new law was passed."

"Law, what law? I haven't heard of any laws that mention the Kyuubi, nobody mentions it at all except in history lessons" Naruto retorted, not liking the tone Mizuki was using. Something at the very core of his being was twisting, it was like he instinctively knew that what he was about to hear would be bad; it was like a primal instinct.

"You wouldn't know because the law concerned you…" Mizuki continued, his voice steadily rising to a fever pitch "…because the law states that nobody is ever allowed to tell you…" his voice rose louder "…that you in fact are…" even louder "…the Kyuubi, the nine tailed demon fox that destroyed the village and killed everyone!" By now he was clearly ranting, enjoying and glorifying in breaking down the young boys spirit, tormenting him with a truth not meant to be heard.

"You are the demon that killed so many people, including Iruka's parents I might add. You were sealed away by the Yondaime, the man you respect so much. That's why everyone hates you, that's why Iruka hates you! He may pretend to be your friend, but I'll wager that he's just toying with you, trying to win your trust so he can kill you himself."

With those words said, Mizuki reached behind himself and unclipped one of the fuuma shurikan he had been carrying. "Now die demon! Return to the hell that spawned you!!" he cried out, throwing the shurikan with the insane strength only madmen have.

The shurikan whipped through the arc, spinning so fast it was almost a blur. But Naruto didn't see it. All he saw were a myriad of flashing images in his head, as the truth Mizuki just told him speared through his heart, his mind, his entire being, rocking him to the core of his soul.

Being thrown out of the orphanage at the age of four, with only the clothes on his back for warmth.

"Stay away from my child demon" a mother screamed, shielding her son from the 'monster' before her.

"Get lost ya filthy demon brat" a drunken man shouted, throwing a bottle at a scared eight year old Naruto.

Naruto, five years old being taken by the kind old man Hokage to his new apartment, after he was found foraging for food in the trash.

Standing by the swings watching parents quickly take their children home, leaving him all alone in a suddenly empty park.

Crying himself to sleep at night, hoping the nasty people won't try to burn down his home again.

Being failed for the third time on the graduation exams, and watching parents congratulate their smiling children.

Throughout this series of flashbacks, Naruto could feel a buzzing sensation build up in his head. It was like an insect at first, but slowly built into a terrible pulsing pain. He collapsed to one knee and clutched his head, his face contorting into a grimace, tears running down his cheeks, as his body convulsed violently. Blood started trickling down his chin as he bit his lip hard, such was the pain he was feeling. It was like a wild animal was within his skull, and it was trying to claw its way through the bone to get free. Naruto thought, as painful as thinking was that he was dying. He wished he was, that he would just die and leave all of the pain and suffering behind him, but it didn't stop. It got harder, more forceful, a terrible soul wrenching feeling. Then, just like that, after a seeming age of pain and mental torture it all stopped. If he were to put it into words, he would say it was like a dam being released when the water pressure became too great. A blissful, sweeping sense of euphoria swept through Naruto, reinvigorating his tired limbs. Then he felt something wet drop on his face.

Naruto snapped back into reality and found he was on his back, with Iruka crouching over him. Iruka had a shurikan embedded in his back, the shurikan Mizuki had intended for him. The wet drops he had felt were Iruka's tears. He mouthed the word 'why', but no sound came from his lips. He was too shocked to speak.

"You've always been alone haven't you Naruto. You've never had anyone be there for you, too congratulate you when you succeed or pick you up when you fail" said Iruka, all his pent up emotion boiling to the surface, tears flowing in small lines down his face.

"Were so alike you and I. I too have always been alone. Ever since my parents died, I've had no one to help me either, to recognise me or congratulate me. Like you I became the class clown, doing anything to be noticed, just too be seen and acknowledged in anyway. My grades declined, life was always so hard, so painful…" he paused as his memories played in front of his eyes "…I see now that it was wrong of me to always put you down, even if it was with good intentions. I wanted you to achieve your goals by yourself, to become strong. To learn from your mistakes and be the best shinobi you ever could be. Naruto…I'm sorry."

Hearing that broke through any barrier Naruto could erect around his already battered heart and he broke down. Turning quickly, the Forbidden Scroll in his hands, he ran into the forest as fast as he could. Iruka watched the young boy disappear into the undergrowth, "Naruto, come back" he cried in desperation.

"Don't bother…" drawled Mizuki, like he were talking to a naughty child "…the Kyuubi is just like me, it'll do anything for power. He'll use the scroll and take revenge on the village for all the mistreatment it suffered. You saw the look in his eyes. Those are the eyes of a demon" and he threw his head back, laughing out loud like a madman. "Now, if you don't mind I have a scroll to collect and a demon to kill…" he turned and looked Iruka in the eyes "…then I'll be back for you Iruka. Don't go anywhere" he added before leaping into the trees. His manic laughter echoed through the woods long after he had left.

Elsewhere

Mizuki raced through the tree's as fast as he could push himself, cloaked in the henge no jutsu as Iruka. If he could just get close enough to the brat, then killing him and taking the scroll would be child's play. But he just needed to find the crafty beast. Snarling, he scanned left and right until a figure caught his eye. There, it was Naruto jumping through the trees on all fours. 'I have you now demon' he thought gleefully.

"Naruto, give me the scroll. I can take it away from here, away from Mizuki" he called out to the boy, the jutsu changing his voice to match Iruka's tone perfectly.

Naruto looked at him, and then in a sudden movement slammed bodily into Mizuki's gut. Feeling the wind force itself from his lungs, Mizuki fell backwards onto the ground beneath, the henge dropping immediately. "How did you know I wasn't Iruka?" he rasped, breathing heavily as he regained his composure.

Naruto slumped against a nearby tree, and in a poof of smoke the answer was revealed. "Because I am Iruka you traitor" the newly revealed Iruka said with a gloating smile.

Mizuki's eyes bulged with anger, how dare that amateur show him up like that. He was always stealing his glory, even during their days at the Academy as children. Back then it had always been Iruka this and Iruka that, everyone feeling sorry for the poor orphan with his scar and little doe eyes. "Why do you protect that demonic brat, he's going to kill everyone with the power of the scroll. Cant you see that I am the hero, I'll be the one to save everyone".

As the adults were talking, Naruto leant against a tree close to the pair and listened, his heart thumping at a million beats a second. He kept his breathing as quiet as possible to avoid detection. He had just witnessed Iruka fool Mizuki by using a henge to impersonate him, when Mizuki had been impersonating Iruka. And now Mizuki was ranting out loud about how he was going to kill Iruka now when he was leaving him for later, and how because of Iruka interference the scroll had gotten farther away and that he was condemning Konoha to destruction by letting the demon brat escape. It was all very nerve wracking for the boy, who right now didn't really know who he was.

'Am I the Kyuubi, or me? I don't know anymore, what I am?' he thought in desperation. Then he heard Iruka's reply, which changed everything for him.

"Your right Mizuki. The Kyuubi would do that, but not Naruto. Naruto is everything the Kyuubi is not. He is kind, honest and hardworking. He may screw up, but that only increases his resolve. He has suffered, but because of that he has gained empathy in return. I have never seen him give up, and I am proud of what he has become. That 'thing' you mention is not the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He is Uzumaki Naruto of Konohagakure."

Those words were like a beacon of light in absolute darkness for Naruto. After learning the truth of his origins, and digging up memories he had tried to forget, his mind was fragile. But hearing his sensei praise him, hearing him acknowledge his existence, it gave everything that had ever happened to him a purpose. Tears of happiness slid down Naruto's face as he felt accepted. Someone had recognised him for who he was, he finally had a person whom he could consider 'precious'. He heard Mizuki scoff.

"You know, I was fully prepared to let you live just a little longer…" he snapped, clearly annoyed "…but you just changed my mind. Say goodbye Iruka!" he shouted, spinning the last of his fuuma shurikan in preparation of throwing it at the downed chuunin.

He never got within ten feet of Iruka, before an orange blur slammed into him delivering a wicked knee to the face. Naruto, spurred by his sensei's words had decided to act instead of hide. He fixed his gaze upon Mizuki, setting the Forbidden Scroll on the ground.

"If you touch my sensei…I'll kill you!" he snarled.

"Bring it on fox, you don't stand a chance!" raved Mizuki, angry that the demon had managed to even touch him.

"Try me fool…" Naruto said, bringing his hands into a cross style seal that would soon become very familiar to him "…anything you throw at me, I'll return a thousand fold. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

There was a vast explosion of smoke and noise, and when the smoke cleared, it revealed a clearing full of Naruto's. Literally hundreds of identical copies, so many that the surrounding trees were full as well as the forest floor. Both Iruka and Mizuki were stunned into silence, mouths agape. 'Shadow clones, amazing. Those aren't illusions, but real physical copies. Naruto has learned, in the space of a few hours, a jounin level technique.'

A sea of orange clad grinning faces all looked at Mizuki, who was turning left and right in panic trying to see a spot where there weren't Naruto's. Cracking their knuckles as one, Naruto and the clones all spoke at the same time. "Hey, I thought you were attacking. If you won't, we will" they said, and what followed was a short and very brutal beating for Mizuki. As one clone punched his face one way, another would kick him in the groin, whilst another elbowed him in the stomach. And so a pattern emerged of several hits leading to several hits as the chuunin was quickly overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers, and what was left at the end was nothing more than a jumbled pile of bruises and broken bones.

The clones dispersed themselves from the exertion, and Naruto felt a strange dizziness overcome him for a moment. But it quickly passed, and he turned to his sensei and grinned his trademark foxy grin. "Guess I went overboard huh sensei" he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Iruka smiled. 'Even after all he has learned he is still the same Naruto' he thought, moving himself into a more upright position. "Naruto, I want you to come over here and close your eyes for a second okay?"

Naruto did as his sensei asked, even though he was puzzled as to why. He waited until he heard "Okay, you can open you eyes now Naruto" before looking. He saw Iruka, except he was devoid of his forehead protector. Tentatively, he moved his hands up to his forehead, and felt smooth metal with his fingertips. Recognition dawned on his face, which was confirmed when he heard "Congratulations, you graduate".

Joy unlike anything he had ever felt filled Naruto, and he leapt at his sensei, hugging the man around the waist with all his strength. Iruka smiled down at his now ex-pupil, and thought to himself 'Now you're a ninja Naruto and this is just the beginning for you. You have a long and hard road ahead of you, but I know that you will do well'. He then remembered the search teams, and got Naruto's attention with a playful knock on the head. "Come on idiot, we have to return this scroll to the lord Hokage, and you need to apologise for stealing it" he reprimanded, falling slightly into 'sensei-mode'. Naruto agreed, and set off with his sensei and friend.

Elsewhere

Sarutobi looked up from his clairvoyant crystal ball, smiling to himself. 'Naruto has learnt of the fox and the seal remains strong, this is a good sign. I had hoped the circumstances might have been of my own design, and far later on in his life, damn that fool Mizuki. Everything seems to be fine, but then there was that strange fit he seemed to have that came and went so suddenly. What could have caused that, some form of latent mental trauma maybe? And then there was that presence I felt through the orb…" he turned to the portrait of the dead Yondaime "…your presence, Minato-san"

Sighing to himself at the puzzling development, Sarutobi turned and walked to inform the patrolling jounin and chuunin that the Forbidden Scroll would soon be back shortly, and to go pick up a battered Mizuki.

Authors Notes:

Well, how was that for the rewrite of the first chapter. Little pieces have been added here and there, any mistakes that made it through my checks have been edited, etc. I hope to continue this with all of the other chapters to keep a consistent degree of quality throughout this story, and once I am done new chapters will once more be winging their way to you the faithful.

Jutsu List -

Henge no Jutsu (Transformation technique) – an E-rank Academy level jutsu used to transform one object be it living or inanimate into something different. Whilst basic in principle, its applications are further reaching than most would believe, but it up to the shinobi using the jutsu to find out its uses for themselves.

Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy technique) – a jutsu that Naruto created, it is a simple henge where he transforms himself into a beautiful naked woman.

Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone technique) – another Academy level E-rank technique, where the user creates immaterial copies or clones of themselves. These clones are simply mirror images, and with careful scrutiny anyone can easily tell which image is the real person in question.

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone technique) – a jounin level B-rank jutsu which creates physical copies of the user instead of illusions. This is done by taking the users chakra and equally dividing it into however many clones need to be created, for example if they create three clones their chakra is split into three and so on.