A few months later
The Sandaime Hokage sat at his desk, rubbing his throbbing head as he dealt with the nauseating paperwork. 'I wish there was an easier way' he thought, silently sighing to himself.
The wooden door creaked open to reveal a young woman with the robes of a kage, while her face wasn't visible, her auburn hair sat on her muscular shoulders.
"Sandaime-dono" she said, bowing before the renowned 'God of Shinobi', "I am here to see Yondaime-dono."
The Sandaime's wrinkles deepened at the thought of his successor, "He's dead," replied the old kage, indifferently. He noticed the saddened look in her emerald eyes, and immediately regretted the cruel tone directed at the young woman.
The Mizukage held up the 2 year old baby that rested in her arms, "this is Naruto," she said, gesturing at the blonde baby. She had found the name in Minato's sensei's book, and immediately taken a liking to it.
The Sandaime took in his features, and noted the similarity to that of his dead successor. He raised a brow, before asking, "And who exactly is the boy?"
"Terumi Naruto," she replied, "the son of the Godaime Mizukage and the Yondaime Hokage," she continued, uneasily.
The Sandaime scratched his beard, 'troublesome women' he thought to himself. "And what brings the two of you here on this fine day?" he questioned, glaring at the woman.
"I wish for him to be instated as a Konohagakure shinobi. Originally I wanted Minato to look after the boy, but I suppose that isn't possible now."
"You want to abandon your own child?" he spoke, inwardly regretting the death of Namikaze Minato. He was the one to now deal with his foolish mistakes.
"Hai, he is the Jiinchuriki of Sanbi, I'd rather let him live a peaceful life than one filled with pain and misery," she replied, allowing algid tears to plunge from her jade eyes, "I have scrolls containing heirlooms and a range of jutsu."
The Sandaime scanned the mourning woman, knowing how attached mothers can become to their children, having been a father. "I accept," he finally said, "he will be sent to the orphanage, and when he comes of age, he will be enrolled in the academy."
Mei nodded, and situated her son in the lanky arms that belonged to the Sandaime, "please, take care of him," she added, before quietly leaving the Hokage's tower.
'Minato, you foolish man,' thought the man behind the desk that was said to be created by Hashirama.
He left shortly after the Godaime Mizukage, and went directly to the orphanage; he could only hope the citizens wouldn't recognise his familiarity to their deceased Hokage, even with the face structure he shared with his mother. For now, he would keep both heritages secluded.
Yakushi Nonō squealed in delight upon sight of the heavenly bundle. She stroked his sleek hair and idolized his cerulean eyes that seemed to glisten.
She walked to the room accommodating the younger adolescents, and placed him in the timber cot. The small boy nuzzled the vivid, orange quilt, and soon fell into a soundless sleep.
Time skip – 4 years
A young boy almost 5 years of age wandered around the deafening streets of Konohagakure, running from the enraged victims of his latest prank.
Many of the citizens were sceptical of Naruto. He held uncanny resemblance to their beloved Yondaime, and had made an appearance only months after the invasion of the Kyuubi. The boy was perceptive and shrewd, like a fox, one might say. Foxes were known for their prodigious shape shifting proficiency after all.
Naruto became bewildered when they looked at him as if he were an incorporeal being; he was mere orphan, and had no memory of those deemed his parents.
He had asked his esteemed 'Jiji' many times before, but had only been informed they both perished on the night of the Kyuubi attack.
Naruto could not negate his solitude; many children looked at him with indifference, for no apparent reason. He overheard many quarrels in which he had been referred to as a malicious spawn, but heeded no concern to it.
He regularly wished he had a family that shared the same love as the ones he saw.
Despite his bounteous attempts to disprove their theories, he remained as an outcast, doomed to live a pitiful life.
He remembered meeting a crimson-haired woman, who unlike most glared at him with remorse and anguish. Perhaps his parents had been ghastly offenders, who had distressed the young matron.
Unknowingly to his guardian, Nonō, whom he greatly treasured, he had found the scrolls dedicated to him, from an anonymous source. They contained many jutsu, all of which he was unable to use, due to the fact he didn't know how 'chakra' was used.
He kept them hidden; thinking perhaps someone once cherished him.
His jiji informed him he would be introduced to the academy at the age of 5, somewhat earlier than most.
He continued to scamper from the disheartening civilians, though they had no hopes of surpassing his superior speed.
He eventually arrived at the orphanage, and plummeted into the arms of Nonō, who glared uneasily at the child.
"Naruto-kun, what have you done now?" she questioned, noticed the resentful yells in the distance.
The blonde boy sheepishly rubbed his head, "nothing, dattebayo!" he replied, quickly slamming the door closed, "nothing to see here!"
The boy was overly fiery, and often provided the woman with curiosity regarding his irrational stamina. She smirked at the cheerful boy, and started tickling the small child.
10th October
The sun shone through the clouded window, scorching the azure eyes that belonged to a blonde child. Said child awoke startled, remembering the date.
"NONŌ!" he howled, stirring the rest of the sleeping children.
"Naruto, shut up!" said a boy, slightly older than the blonde boy. He wore black rimmed circular glasses and had ash-grey hair. His outfit consisted of a greyish green shirt and black, denim shorts.
"Kabuutoo," he pouted, "it's my biiirttthdaay!"
The older boy sighed, and stuffed his face into his pillow, attempting to override the troublesome sound that was Naruto.
Nonō rushed into the room, upon hearing the wails, but was relieved to find a pouting Naruto. She pulled him into a hug, before whispering into his ear, "happy birthday, Naruto-kun."
He beamed at the gesture, and promptly bowed, as he had seen others do, "Nonō-sama, I ask for one gift."
"Yes, Naruto-kun" she said, ruffling the child's hair, "we may go eat at Ichiraku's," she added, with a smile.
A few hours later (hokage's tower)
"Sandaime-jiji," spoke a small boy, glancing up at the powerful man before him.
"What is it, Naruto-kun?" replied the man, looking up from his orange book.
"You said I may enter the academy, after I turn 5," he replied, pleading.
"Ah, keen are we? I suppose I could make the arrangements. I believe there is a class tomorrow; I will see to it that you participate."
The next day
A Chunin walked in, holding a clipboard with a list of names. He was given the task of watching over the heir's class, an honoured position indeed, most heirs begun their curriculum earlier than general civilians, it made the task of educating them slightly more complex, but entertaining nonetheless. There were members of every major clan, including the Hyuuga, Uchiha, Inuzuka, Aburame, Yamanaka and Haruno.
He scanned through the names, ticking each off as the children responded, before coming to an unfamiliar one.
"U-Uh, N-Naruto? Do we have a Naruto?" he questioned, confused as to why the unknown student had no surname, this was an heirs class after all.
The Hokage abruptly walked in, holding the minuscule hand of a child. "Ah, Iruka-san, this is a new student, Naruto."
Umino Iruka wore the standard Chunin vest; he had brown hair kept in a ponytail, and dark eyes. A scar ran across the bridge of his nose. He peered down at the child, before faintly whispering to the esteemed Hokage, "I recall this being an heir's only class, why is he here?"
"That is for me to know, and for you to find out," winked the Sandaime, walking out and leaving Naruto to fend for himself.
"Well, Naruto, how about you introduce yourself?" asked Iruka, cheerfully smiling.
"My name's Naruto, I'm 5 years of age and I'm going to be the greatest shinobi ever, dattebayo!" he replied, punching the air with his bare fist.
The class whispered amongst themselves, asking questions mostly along the lines of, "why is a non-heir here?"
Naruto occupied a seat next to a brooding, Uchiha, who only 'hn-ed' when greeted with his presence.
"Students, settle down. Today we will be learning how to efficiently throw kunai and shuriken," he said, earning silence from the class.
They hastily rushed outside, eager to learn some 'awesome' ninja skills. They lined up, and were handed blunted, metal weapons.
Naruto felt the weighted, cool metal in his hand. He watched as the Uchiha that he had been seated next to flung the shuriken and kunai at the target, effectively hitting the circular board with each of them.
Though it was no bullseye, the female population stared with adoration at the famed, last Uchiha.
Naruto uneasily walked up to the temporary line, preparing himself as he held the kunai with his shaking hand. He flicked his hand back, then forth, aiming at said target. The kunai whizzed through the air, sinking into the robust tree several metres behind.
The class burst into laughter, ignoring the far-fetched strength behind the inaccurate throw.
He picked up his second kunai, lowering his hand- attempting the change the course of the kunai. He repeated the same steps, he flicked his hand and once again the kunai went whizzing through the air, smashing into the verge of the target.
A hint of red blessed his face, as the class smirked and whispered. He picked up the last one and heaved it towards the target, letting his irritation consume him.
The power behind the throw ravaged the centre of the target, ultimately destroying it with a mere blunted kunai.
Iruka stared in astonishment; strength of that level without chakra enforcement was unheard of, unless you were one Senju Tsunade.
The class ignored the last attempt, and continued to thrust their weapons towards a different target.
After the short lesson, they learnt the concept behind chakra, and the mythology behind the strange source. They learnt the fascinating tales of Otsutsuki Hagoromo, better known as the Sage of Six paths, and how chakra came to be.
Afterwards, they were taught a basic chakra control technique, one designed to introduce the application of chakra to the academy students. They were required to stick leaves to their foreheads using only a thin layer of chakra, a task deemed impossible for those with abnormal chakra reserves; Sasuke and Naruto.
Both had no complications locating and applying the chakra, but the problem more lay within having it stay without blowing away.
Iruka explained to them that they would have to practice more than the general class, due to their higher reserves.
When Naruto returned from the academy, he spent endless hours attempting to perfect the technique, but was abruptly interrupted when Nonō informed him he would never perfect it, no matter how long he tried.
She instead showed him a more complex chakra control technique, one generally not taught to academy students due to their minimal reserves. She applied chakra to her feet, and placed them on a tree, effectively sticking to it as glue would.
Naruto stared in fascination, "I'll get this down in no time, dattebayo!" he yelled, using his trademark quote.
He sent chakra to his feet, before charging at an oak tree, as soon as he placed the first; he was launched back, landing in the fallen leaves.
Nonō laughed at the pathetic attempt, "you must learn this with a clear mind, Naruto. Anger will only cause you to lose control."
He nodded at his guardian, before slowly walking up to the partially destroyed tree, and gently placing his feet on the flaking bark. He took a single step, then another, and two more. He cheered at his success, but only to fall back down.
He pouted, but continued to try no matter how impossible the circumstances.
Dawn came, and stars filled the midnight sky with gleaming light. Naruto lay among the dry leaves, panting as he felt the wind breeze along his exhausted body.
He felt himself being lifted up, and did nothing to stop the foreign person. He merely lay there, drifting off to sleep.
Morning came quickly for the boy, and he wondered if he could begin to learn the jutsu on the scrolls, now that he understood how to use chakra.
He pulled the paper from its secure, hidden place, and read the title of the first scroll, 'Lava Release' he read, flipping the pages, 'an advanced nature keki ge-what? That combines fire and earth-based chakra to create lava' he started, his eyes gleaming as his thought of the possibilities. He looked at the first jutsu that read 'Haibushin technique – creates a clone out of volcanic powders. The clones require significantly less chakra to make in comparison to shadow clones, but interact like them.'
"Coool, I'm going to master these, dattebayo!" he yelled, memorising the hand seals.
"Haibushin no Jutsu!" he yelled, creating 2 deformed pieces of lava. He sheepishly rubbed his head and continued to practice.
After a few hours, he could make clones that represented himself instead of a blob of molten.
He went to high five his clone, but missed and slapped it in the face instead, causing it to melt into a heated substance, before dispersing completely.
'Ouch' he thought, rubbing himself in the place where he was hit.
After checking the time, and realising he was late for his classes, he rushed to the academy, ignoring the yells from Nonō. Once he arrived at the academy, he regretted ignoring his guardian, as the place was empty and lifeless. He silently groaned to himself, before departing.
"Nonō-saan.." he whined, peering up at the woman.
"Naruto-kun, you only have classes on weekdays" she replied, ruffling the pouting child's hair.
He deserted the woman and left for his treasured scrolls, reading the various jutsu on the scrolls, until he came across another that interested him, 'Yōton: Haigiri no Jutsu: creates a cloud of poisonous ash that can be used to heavily cut opponents within the ash.' Once again, he memorized the Tiger, Rat and Boar seals, before testing the jutsu.
"Yōton: Haigiri no Jutsu!" he yelled, spluttering out black dust from his mouth. He was still able to control the ash, but the outcome didn't seem like the desired jutsu, so he dispersed it.
After a while, he was able to create a slightly larger cloud of black ash, that didn't match the description of the jutsu. He sighed before placing the jutsu away; the cloud could still serve as a diversion.
A few weeks had passed and he was declared the dead-last of the class, due to his inefficiency in basic jutsu. His accuracy had slightly improved, but was still a laughing matter.
He was surprised to see the Sandaime visiting him one night at the orphanage; he was wearing his formal kage robes, as he usually did when in public.
"Naruto-kun," he spoke, his voice hoarse and slow, "it is time you receive your own apartment, and permanently depart the orphanage."
Naruto gulped, he noticed his friend, Kabuto, leave a few years ago, and had wondered where he had been since. He had known Nonō adopted the boy. "Hai, Hokage-sama," he replied, not daring to look at the eyes of his surrogate grandfather.
The bearded man flung a pair of silver keys at Naruto, "apartment 3 is yours," he spoke, clutching the child's shoulder as he turned to walk away.
Naruto felt slightly distressed, but didn't allow tears to flow from his eyes. Instead, he hesitantly turned to Nonō, "heh, I suppose this is goodbye. Ja ne," he waved, strutting to his room.
He gathered his few items, and provided Nonō with a hug, before leaving for his new home.
Little did he know the upcoming events.