Biding Time

Ch. 2-Paradidomi

Narration: Sharingan= Deus ex Machina

Talking: "Sharingan= Deus ex Machina"

Thinking: 'Sharingan=Deus ex Machina'

Last Time on Biding Time:

Looking towards the baby on his desk Hiruzen collapsed into his chair. 'I am far too old for this.'

Ch. 2

-12 Years Later-

It was the final day of school in the Konoha Shinobi Academy. For the oldest students, it was the day that they would see if they had what it takes to become genin.

They'd been learning everything from theory, history, to practical skills for three years. All their training came down to a single, three-part test.

The test had a written, ninjutsu, and physical portion, which each counted as a third of your grade. While the grade didn't dictate who passed, it was used to rank the ninja within the graduating class.

The test would be administered by the chunin instructors Iruka Umino and Mizuki. Their classroom was full of excited and nervous kids, all of them hoping today would be the day they'd graduate and begin their careers as ninja.

There was only one empty seat, and it belonged to Naruto Uzumaki. The troublemaker was widely regarded as a bad influence by kids and a demon in human form by the adults. Most shinobi realized he wasn't the bijuu, but even they saw him as a weapon.

Naruto was currently across town, running as fast as his little legs could carry him. He had less than five minutes to be in his seat or he'd be marked late. The problem was that he was almost ten minutes away.

'Iruka says that a little chakra can make you stronger.' The blonde kid thought to himself. 'It's worth a shot.'

Channeling way more chakra than was needed, Naruto jumped about two stories high onto a roof. 'Uh-oh!' He thought to himself before face planting on the roof of a grocery store.

Peeling himself off the roof, he channeled chakra to his legs, this time using far less. With his chakra under control, Naruto began to hop from roof to roof, traveling to the Academy.

He made it to the building in two minutes, before running to his classroom. Bursting through the door he practically teleported to his seat with thirty seconds to spare.

Iruka looked at his favorite student with a look of despair and relief. "Naruto, could you please explain why you were almost late to your exam."

Naruto stroked his chin, before answering in a voice that was eerily similar to a silver-haired jonin. "I was lost on the road of life Iruka-sensei."

Within the shinobi district of Konoha, a loud sneeze was heard from the apartment of Kakashi Hatake.

Iruka shook his head, not wanting to know how much Kakashi had corrupted the boy. Picking up a stack of papers, he began to hand out the written exam.

The written portion lasted for an hour and a half. Naruto struggled, but he was sure that a lack of knowledge history wouldn't doom him if he got high marks in practical skills.

After Iruka and Mizuki picked the papers, they brought the students outside, where they tested everything from stamina, to hand-to-hand, to even trap making.

It was here where Naruto excelled, beating everyone except Sasuke, the Last Uchiha. This got him a few surprised looks as most expected the dead last to fail here too.

Naruto's heart sank with the next test; ninjutsu. All you had to do was perform three basic jutsu to pass. The transformation, replacement, and clone jutsu.

All you needed was basic chakra control to perform the techniques, which meant it was a simple test to past for the average Academy student.

Chakra control came easily to those with small reserves, as control over a small amount of energy is simple. But the larger your chakra pool, the harder it is to control it and let out the exact amount you need.

Naruto had more chakra reserves than anyone in the class, including the teachers. He'd asked Iruka why, but he said it was probably his genes. Nonetheless, Naruto had abysmal control.

That's why no one was surprised when Naruto barely performed the henge and replacement jutsu, and absolutely failed the clone jutsu portion.

His clone was pale and sickly, barely resembling Naruto, much less posing as the perfect copy it was meant to be.

With a barely hidden grin, Mizuki said the three words Naruto hoped he'd never hear again. "You fail, Naruto."

That afternoon, Naruto was slowly making his way home, all his dreams crushed and killed. 'I'll never become Hokage. The villagers were right.'

As he was walking, Naruto noticed that he was being followed. Mizuki-sensei was tailing him from the rooftops.

Naruto stopped and waved to him, surprising the chunin who never would've thought an Academy student could see him.

Mizuki hopped down next to him and gave him a sad smile. "Naruto, I' sorry about today, and I've decided on a way for you to get another shot."

Naruto instantly perked up, excited at the prospect of redeeming himself and becoming a ninja of the Leaf.

"I need you to sneak into the Hokage Tower and get a very special scroll." And so Mizuki told Naruto all the details for his 'test'. Where the scroll was, what to do if he was caught, and even where to meet him to deliver the scroll.

Mizuki grinned as he watched Naruto soak up all his words like a sponge, never even considering that the chunin instructor was using him. 'It's too easy.'

-That Night-

Naruto had just successfully recovered the scroll and was now waiting by the Forest of Death for Mizuki to arrive. No alarms had been sounded, and the boy had gotten out without anyone detecting him. 'I'll definitely pass!'

But it' had been almost twenty minutes, and Mizuki still hadn't shown up, and Naruto was starting to get bored. 'I'll just take a peek. It won't hurt.' And with that Naruto placed the scroll on his lap.

It was titled the Scroll of Secrets, and it contained a list of what appeared to be high-level jutsu. 'I'll become Hokage in no time with one of these! Hmm, what first?'

All the jutsu looked interesting, but some were immediately crossed out. Genjustu was a no-go, as was the Shadow Clone. 'I can't imagine how hard that would be if I can't do a regular clone. I 'll try the Nature Shift: Lightning.'

Reading the description, Naruto learned that the technique attuned someone to lightning, making them invulnerable to it, and giving them incredible control over it.

All you had to do was complete the hand seals, slam your hands on the ground. 'This is easy, why doesn't everyone do this?'

Naruto went through the hand seals, making sure to perform each one perfectly. After completing the last one, he slammed his hands on the ground and screamed as he felt his chakra being sucked out.

He watched as storm clouds gathered overhead, appearing in seconds. They were dark and heavy, blocking out the entire sky. After a few seconds, they began to crackle with electricity, the lightning jumping from cloud to cloud.

The pulses of lightning sped up until there was so much electricity flowing there was no room for more energy. And so, all of the lightning shot down towards one person. Naruto.

He screamed as he felt his skin melt, the intense heat burning his skin. Within his head, he could hear a voice screaming. 'I WON'T DIE LIKE THIS!' Suddenly, Naruto felt even more pain.

His previously empty chakra coils were being filled with chakra once again, but it wasn't from a natural source. This was red, nothing like the blue chakra that all living things naturally produce. It was also corrosive, burning him and filling him with an ungodly amount of power.

If someone else was watching this, they would see seals painted across Naruto's back glow brightly before disappearing, the immense chakra overloading and destroying them

Naruto was a human battery, being filled with power beyond belief. But like all batteries, he could only hold so much. Subconsciously, he knew that he had to use the power somehow.

Grabbing a hold of both the corrosive red chakra and the lightning chakra, he spoke two words. "Heal me." He gasped, the pain threatening to push him into unconsciousness.

And both energy sources responded to his will. The pain stopped, and only then did Naruto notice the storm had stopped and he was still glowing with electricity.

He glowed brightly, his skin healing at an unheard of rate. Naruto had always healed fast, but nothing like this. He was literally watching his skin heal before his eyes. Where before he had blackened skin, there were now zero marks.

He was in perfect condition, not a single wound or burn left on him. The red chakra was also gone, as was the majority of the lightning chakra.

'What just happened!?' Naruto thought, thinking back to the corrosive red chakra. But before he could put more thought into it, Naruto heard sirens going off in the village. 'It must've been the storm! It alerted the village!'

Naruto paled. 'What if I'm failed for attracting attention!?' The boy collapsed against a tree, scroll in hand.

Physically, he was perfectly fine. But he was drained emotionally and mentally. The day was filled with so many highs and lows, and after everything he went through, it might be for nothing.

The crashing of nearby branches alerted Naruto. He stood up, kunai in hand, ready to defend himself. But to his surprise, it was a worn and ragged Mizuki who appeared in the clearing.

He was breathing hard, and upon spotting Naruto he drew a windmill shuriken from his back. "Naruto, give me the damn scroll!"

Quickly picking up the scroll Naruto ran towards the instructor, oblivious of his true intentions. Before he could go far, he was interrupted by another person in the clearing.

It was Iruka, who was breathing like he'd just run a marathon. "It's a trap Naruto! Mizuki is using you!"

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. 'How could I be so dumb! Of course, he didn't care. He was just using me.' Naruto thought to himself, disappointed that he fell for something so obvious.

But the disappointment turned to anger. Naruto looked at Mizuki with a cold stare. "You know, I could always just say I killed you in self-defence."

Mizuki laughed. "Please kid, you failed everything but combat, and that was against Academy students. What chance do you have against an elite ninja?"

Naruto said nothing and calmly walked towards Mizuki, channeling what was left of the lightning chakra to his right hand, while clutching the scroll in his left.

Mizuki and Iruka didn't notice the chakra, and both thought he would hand over the scroll without a fight.

"Ah, good job Naruto. Maybe you weren't as dumb as everyone thought." Mizuki sneered holding his hand out for Naruto to hand over the scroll.

Iruka eyes widened, shocked that Naruto would just give the traitor what he wanted. "Don't do it Naruto!"

But the boy ignored him, walking at the same pace. Mizuki walked towards him, trying to finish this up quickly.

When Naruto was within three feet of Mizuki, he pushed every remaining ounce of lightning chakra left into his palm.

Pointing at Mizuki with his open palm, Naruto released his hold on the chakra. From Naruto's hand exploded a beam of lightning, launching Mizuki's body flying.

He bounced between trees and landed in a heap in a bush.

Calmly walking over to where he landed, Naruto crouched by the man's smoldering body. Spitting on the corpse, he whispered to himself. "I'll never be fooled again."

It was here where something in Naruto changed. He vowed to never be a pawn again. He would be the mastermind. He would be the one pulling the strings.

As Naruto stood up, he looked Iruka in the eyes. He radiated apathy, a perfect mask of indifference covered his face. "We will bury him. If anyone asks, he fled after trying to get the scroll from the two of us. If questioned further, say you found me here alone with the scroll. You will say Mizuki made me steal the scroll and it was his plan. Do you understand?"

Iruka looked at him in shock. Where was the boy who put a smile on his face every day? Where was the kid who screamed about becoming Hokage? Where was the Naruto he knew? But Iruka knew the answer. He was dead. His innocence gone. His naivety vanished. His smile replaced. This was the face of someone who'd been crossed one too many times. One who'd given out his last chance.

Iruka shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I refuse to lie to the Hokage."

Naruto shook his head. "Then I'm sorry Umino because that makes you a threat. And I don't tolerate threats."

Reaching deep, the blonde drew on his newfound red chakra. He was covered by it, and it granted him power unimaginable.

Iruka took a step back, drawing a kunai. "Stay back Naruto! I don't want to hurt you!" The boy scoffed, calmly walking towards the chunin. "It's you who should be scared." Naruto lunged towards Iruka, slamming a chakra enhanced fist into his stomach.

The red chakra burned the area around the impact, destroying the cloth and burning skin. Iruka screamed in pain, but it didn't stop Naruto.

With his other hand, he wrenched the kunai out of Iruka's hand and quickly ended his life with a rapid stab to the heart.

Releasing the chakra, Naruto dropped the body of Iruka in shock. He felt like his mind was in a haze, and he had an insatiable bloodlust. Fighting the tears, Naruto said a quick prayer for the man who'd taught him so much.

After a few minutes, Mizuki had been buried and the grave had been carefully hidden. Naruto could hear the sirens blaring and knew that he was in a serious predicament.

If he went back to the village, he would be interrogated, and he had a very small chance of being released. He was technically a civilian still, and thus he would be tried as a civilian. He stole the Scroll of Seals, was the only known suspect in the death of a chunin, and there were probably more things the biased civilians would try to get him executed for.

But if he left the village, he would be branded a criminal, yet not a missing-nin. The only possible threat from the village would be from hunter-nin, which were far easier to escape from then an entire village.

As he considered the options, he realized that the latter was the obvious choice. He could defend himself well-enough, and years of living off of scraps made him quite resourceful. He was also a hard-worker and was sure he would have no problem starting a new life somewhere.

The only thing left to decide was what to do with the Scroll of Seals. It contained powerful jutsu, the kind only high-jonin had access to. If he brought it with him, he'd be hunted by ANBU Black Ops, the highest rank one could achieve outside of Kage.

But if he left it, he'd be giving up power that most would risk death to achieve. However, it just wasn't worth it. Most of the Jutsu required skill far above his level, and he'd be captured and executed in days.

So he left the scroll by Iruka and turned to the forest. Taking a deep breath, he hardened his features and began to run.

-3 days later-

-Morning-

It'd been three days since his escape, and Naruto was running through the forest. He was getting quite aggravated by the lack of change in the forest. It was big trees, big trees, and if you looked hard enough, you could spot more big trees.

'If I'm in here any longer I'm going to bring lightning down on this damn forest!' Naruto thought to himself, wishing he was anywhere else but here.

This was something Naruto realized he could actually do. He had the ability to conjure and manipulate lightning. The only downsides were that it required chakra, and it was pretty taxing. The good news was that after a good night's sleep his chakra coil would be completely full.

He hadn't tried to access the red chakra again, as whenever he used it he became irrationally angry, and the chakra burned his skin and nearly melted his clothes. He also felt extremely guilty about killing Iruka, as the man had been like a father to him.

But because of that awful red chakra, Naruto ended his life.

The chakra felt evil, and it was like a drug. But Naruto refused to be manipulated, especially by something from within himself.

Naruto continued on walking, stopping when he heard yells coming from a dirt road within the forest. Crouching, he hid behind a tree. He poked a head out and saw a group of two men pulling along a teenager.

The men were tall, and muscled, easily dragging the lanky teenager behind them. They wore civilian clothes but carried swords on their hips.

The teen was being taken against his will and was struggling and thrashing against the rope wrapped around his hands. "I'll kill you all! You destroyed my village you bastards!"

The two men just laughed, not even fazed by the boy's yelling. 'They're bandits!' Naruto realized. He knew they were civilians by how they carried themselves. They may have been strong, but they stood no chance against him.

Quietly dashing from tree to tree, he stalked them, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. His moment came when one of the grunts handed his length of rope to his companion before walking off to pee. Naruto drew a kunai from a pouch on his hip.

In a mix of stealth and speed, Naruto snuck up behind the mountain of a man. He jumped on his back and quickly slit the man's thick neck. His cries alerted the other bandit, who drew his sword.

As quickly as he could, the bandit tied the teen to a tree branch before rushing to where he last saw the other bandit. But it took long enough that Naruto had time to pull the blade from the dead man's scabbard and hide behind a nearby tree.

The second bandit quickly found the man's body and took a step back in shock. He backed up against a tree, and unfortunately for him it was the same tree Naruto had been hiding behind.

The boy sank his blade into the side of the man's head, killing him instantly. The boy cleaned his newly acquired sword with the second bandit's shirt. He also looted his new sword's sheath, as well as the second bandit's weapon and sheath.

Walking over to the teen, Naruto was a terrifying sight. Imagine seeing a boy wearing a blood-stained kill-me-orange jumpsuit walk up to you holding your captor's weapons, one of which is covered in their blood.

Naruto inwardly smirked at the reaction he got from the older boy. He was backed up against the tree, pleading that Naruto not kill him.

Wanting to have a bit of fun, Naruto raised his blade at swung it towards the teen. The teen flinched and closed his eyes, waiting for the deathblow.

But death never came. The teen opened up one eye and saw that the blade landed above his head, slicing the rope that held him.

Naruto laughed, before cutting the rope around the older boy's hands with a kunai. He looked at Naruto with awe and admiration, before falling on his knees.

"Thank you, sir! I vow to serve you for the rest of my life!" The teen proclaimed, causing Naruto to sweat drop.

"Um... Thanks?" Naruto said, deeply confused by the teen's reaction. "What's your name?"

The teen brightened at Naruto 'accepting' his request. "My name is Daisuke! I live to serve you, young master!" Naruto looked at Daisuke in disbelief. But he also got his first good look at him.

He was tall, a good six feet. He was thin and built like a runner. His skin was pale enough that he could be mistaken for a vampire. He had a kind face, with green eyes and black hair put into a ponytail.

"Daisuke, what happened with the bandits? I overheard something about your village?" Naruto asked.

A streak of anger flashed across Daisuke's face before it settled on a frosty indifference, the same Naruto used.

"My village was attacked by the Bandits of the Red Streak. They were led by Kazu the Red Streak, a missing-nin famous for being able to ignite weapons with fire. They attacked my village, capturing those he could, and killing any who stood in his way." Daisuke could barely continue, his mask of indifference cracking to show the 14-year-old boy who just lost everything.

His face was a perfect storm of anger and sadness, coming together to create pure hatred for the man who ruined his life.

Naruto shook Daisuke a bit, getting the much taller boy's attention. "Where is he now Daisuke?"

"In the village's ruins." He muttered, overcome by unpleasant emotion." Naruto smiled kindly. "Good, then he'll be easy to find."

The boy looked at him in shock, the statement so crazy it shocked him out of his stupor. "Wh-what!? Why would you want to do that!?" The boy asked incredulously, absolutely unable to understand why anyone would want to even see that despicable man.

Naruto looked at him straight in the eyes. His next words were said with such certainty he could've said they were going to fly and Daisuke would've believed him.

"We're going to assassinate Kazu the Red Streak."

I hope you enjoyed ch. 2!

Some key things to know:

-Naruto is one of the only people who could've survived a forced Nature Transformation. Kurama is the ONLY reason he is alive. The Transformation remade his old body, making new organs, bones, and muscles. Kuram basically worked overtime to make sure his container healed fast enough toio survive things like momentarily having no heart, lungs, or skin. (Not everything was remade at the same time)

-Kurama's chakra is a lot more potent. Even without using a full tail, the bloodlust drove Naruto to kill Iruka, who was a father-figure to him.

-Naruto doesn't know about the seals from Jiraiya, or that he's the container of Kurama.

-The seals from Jiraiya are totally gone. Not even a single Kanji is left of them. Naruto is for all intents and purposes in a new body, but Kurama is stuck with him because the Reaper Death Seal works this way: Kurama is tied to Naruto's soul. If the soul passes on (Death), the link is broken and the fox is free. If the soul goes somewhere besides the afterlife then so does Kurama. (This was just a reference, Naruto's soul didn't go anywhere; his body was just remade and improved.

Thanks for reading, have a wonderful day!