Hey all! Welcome to the second installment - glad you stuck around. Got to say I'm surprised at the overall positive reaction towards such a dark story! :) I'm glad you all enjoyed it.

In terms of pairings, I haven't given it much thought still. There are just too many more important considerations for the story's plot at this stage, so it didn't seem worthwhile to mull over it too much. I have read each and every review/PM regarding the matter, and I'll take the advice into consideration. Hopefully, somewhere along this process some inspiration will strike.

Hope you all enjoy.

Best,

Haitorei~

Chapter One

"Wake up," Naruto muttered, mentally noting that his supply of smelling salts was running low. "I need you awake for this."

Eyes widened with realization. "I'm going to fucking kill you, I fucking swear I'm going to kill you."

"Hn." Naruto unrolled his tools, carefully mulling over which blade he'd use this time. That one. His darkness had decided. Very well, that one. The tanto.

"What is this, some sort of sick, fucking game to you?"

Naruto quietly examined the blade to make sure it was clean. Yes, this one would certainly do.

"Answer me!"

Months of preparation had gone into this particular kill. This one was special. "Inuzuka Tanaka, Jounin of Konohagakura no Soto, do you have any last wishes?" He steadied the tanto in his right hand.

"Wait, please. My dog, my ninken. Please, don't let him die. He needs to return to the clan."

Naruto took a deep, slow breath, relishing ever bit of air that entered his lungs. Yes, his darkness would be satisfied for some time after this particular kill. Grabbing the man's hair back with his left hand, he leaned in close to his ear. "I know, Tanaka. It went missing one month ago… because I am one who killed it. Gutted like a pig on the side of the road." And before he could scream, Naruto stuffed his mouth with rags. His muffled screams were furious and frantic, but he wouldn't let them continue for too long.

With a swift, deep cut into the belly, Naruto quickly jerked it upwards through the rib cage and diagonally into the heart. He closed his eyes and embraced this sacred, private moment.

"Tell me what's like. You call it the darkness. How does it begin?"

"It starts with a small drop of blood that shouldn't be there, in the back of my mind. It's like a fly that can't be swatted away. And when it's not satisfied, it grows and grows until it's a downpour, flowing from my eyes until I see the whole world in red. And when it's still not satisfied, it floods my system and commands me; only now it's no longer the deep crimson. It's black as night. The blackness takes over, and the only way I can get temporary reprieve is to kill. Preferably a human. The tougher the kill… the more satisfying."

"We'll work on controlling it. That's why your training starts today. You won't be going to the academy, you understand? It's for your own safety."

"The safety of the village, you mean." Naruto said bluntly. He didn't much care for the politeness of everyday conversation. Each seemed to be a political game, a dance of who can be more direct without seeming insulting. Seemed like a waste of energy.

"Yes," the Sandaime admitted.

"Your duty is to protect the village, is it not?" The eight-year old Naruto asked the old man. "I am a threat. Why not have me killed? Or exiled?"

"Because you mean too much to me."

Sentimental attachments to other humans. Naruto could sympathize. If being around any human made him feel the way he felt when he was killing… then he'd definitely want to hold on to that.

He opened his eyes, and the world was no longer black. Taking deep breaths, a sense of normalcy returned. His darkness had subsided for what would be another month or two, and in the meantime, he could make headway on his training. Now, for cleanup, the worst part of the job. It was like taking care of your drunk self while you're sober, only knowing that getting drunk felt better than anything, and if you wanted to keep killing – er, getting drunk – you'd have to clean up.

As for Sarutobi, well, his time would come. The man was unbelievably strong, and even The Snake knew that much. Opening the intestines of the man, he took out two parchments, one blue and the other green. That was how, for the past nine years, the snake had been communicating to him. Red was for training. Blue was for skills. And green… Green was special. The next target. When Naruto accomplished eliminating the next target, he'd receive two more scrolls. Naruto didn't know who The Snake was, nor did he care. The man provided him more training and expertise than Sarutobi ever did, and it was The Snake that really taught him how to survive among humans.

'Tip #37: Fake it. Humans associate lack of emotion with hostility; as a killer, you want to camouflage into the background, because you never know when another killer is on the prowl. Fade into anonymity. Blending in is vital for survival. The snake does not announce its presence to the entire world. It kills, gets the job done, and disappears. Do not gloat or linger.'

He'd commit each and every single one of them to memory, no questions asked. He'd amassed almost three hundred such tips by now, and it was surprising how well The Snake knew him – better than anyone else in Konoha, and at times, better than he knew himself. Certainly, Naruto has had his fair share of doubts at first. But time had proven The Snake to be right every single time, and by now, The Snake's words were gospel. There had been a time when Naruto even began a manhunt to find out The Snake's identity, but weeks turned into months and there was not a single lead.

He cleaned up the laboratory and headed to the study room. This location, an entire secret lab sealed away from the rest of the village, was actually The Snake's idea. Naruto hypothesized that most likely The Snake himself used it at one point, or perhaps one of his enemies. Either way, The Snake knew the layout by heart.

He opened up the new skill scroll. He was by no means a dessert first kind of guy, but when it came to the skills The Snake gave, it was worth it. With a rush of eagerness, he unwrapped it across the large table and sat down.

'Naruto-kun. Congratulations on your thirty-fifth mission. Fifty kills. This truly marks a special day. Within Konohagakure no Soto, the shinobi community would consider you a Jounin. Consider today's skills scroll a graduation present from me.

So far, I have taught you to overcome four animals. The Dog, your latest kill, was an interesting specimen. Its loyalty is its weakness, ferocity its strength. The deer, whose intelligence is its primary asset, its pacifism the greatest weakness. The pig, whose endurance leads it to victory, but its pride the many handy defeats. Lastly, the monkey, an excellent jack of all trades who ultimately refuses to be truly great at any one thing. Today, we will discuss what happens when you face another snake. These battles are among the most vicious.

The shape of the snake, which is one of its greatest assets, is precisely what makes snakes so easy to swallow. And when you face another snake, you must swallow them whole. I've given you seven jutsu to master, three tips to internalize, and an especially interesting kill – another snake, no doubt.

Eagerly, he looked through the jutsu list. Kage bunshin no jutsu. A solid clone? This was in Konoha's forbidden scroll. His eyes gleamed just thinking about the possibilities. He was definitely starting with this one.

…

"Naruto, in several months the Academy will be graduating its next batch of students. I'd like you to join them for the remainder of their time."

He blinked. "Why?"

"You'll be placed on a shinobi team with other genin."

Naruto shook his head. He knew the shinobi system. "I don't want to be a ninja." It was technically true. He wanted to do what shinobi did, just not for the Leaf. And certainly not in Konoha's pathetic system. He wanted to keep working for The Snake. He was learning far more with his mystery teacher than he'd ever learn in the village.

"And how will you sustain yourself? Once you turn thirteen I can no longer give you funds; you must earn them. The civilians will not accept you. The shinobi community is one of the few places you can turn to."

There was that issue, once again. The Sandaime delicately stepped around the Kyuubi issue, something he'd known for years thanks to his real teacher. But the man did have a point. "I suppose working alone is not an option?"

"Most certainly not."

Naruto groaned. Now he'd have to put on a new mask. Blend in once more – this time not for the hokage, one person, but for his entire academy class. What a pain.

…

Naruto hadn't slept in days. Five to be exact. The Snake's jutsus were more difficult than he'd expected, but he'd done it. In fact, his focus had been so myopic on the new ninjutsu that he didn't even consider looking at the tips or his next target. Certainly, he hadn't meant to. But the lectures at the Academy were so mind numbingly boring, that without even knowing, he'd fallen asleep.

"Ouch!" The boy next to him yelped as an eraser hit him squarely in the head.

"Shikamaru! You're being a bad influence on the new stu – I mean Naruto!"

Naruto looked at the boy. Apparently they were both asleep. Shikamaru grinned at him. Naruto returned a foxy grin. "Hehehe." I guess I'm going to be the slacker for the next two months.

"Sorry, Sensei." The boy mumbled.

"Sorry, Sensei," Naruto followed. It wasn't even five minutes before Naruto fell back into a deep asleep for the rest of the day. Before he knew it, five hours had passed and the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Naruto grumbled and got up. He'd have to read over the rest of the scrolls and begin preparations for his new target, whoever the person was.

"Hey, Naruto!"

It was that Shikamaru kid. "Shikamaru," Naruto smiled.

"Hey, Chouji and I are going to hang out for a bit, want to join?"

Hang out? What did that phrase even mean? It would be good for his cover, he guessed, but not tonight. Any other night. "I'm actually kind of busy tonight – I have to go home and do something, but could we, er, hang out… tomorrow?"

"Sure sounds good," Shikamaru waved him away. "Bye!"

"So, Naruto-kun."

Naruto internally groaned, recognizing the Hokage's voice. What now… "Hokage-sama."

"How was the first day of school?" They began walking towards the Hokage tower.

Naruto frowned. Now he'd have to double back to get to the lab. "Boring. Iruka Sensei is well intentioned, but this is nothing I didn't already know."

"Oh, what did he speak about?"

"Ah…"

"He told me you fell asleep during class."

"Gomen, Hokage-sama. Won't happen again."

"Don't stay up so late tonight, like you did the past five nights, and perhaps this won't happen. You didn't think I knew?"

Naruto froze. No way.

The Hokage chuckled. "Don't worry, I know you teenagers need your privacy."

And the tension melted instantly. The man's love for him was blinding. He refused to see the truth. Very well; a snake preys upon those very things. Naruto sheepishly smiled. "Yes, the truth is I've been interested in a girl, and I'm working on a project to… impress her. She's in this year's academy class, which is why I didn't want to go."

"Hoho! Is that so. Well, that's all! You simply had to tell me. Don't mistake me, you're still certainly attending class." The man smiled. "Well, I've held you for long enough. Good afternoon, ne?"

"Good afternoon, Hokage-sama." Naruto bowed and headed in the direction of his home.

Meanwhile at the Academy, all the future genin were eagerly gathered in one corner of the playground outside.

"He didn't want to hang, but he seems nice enough." Shikamaru commented.

Chouji, between chips, piped in. "If Shikamaru says he's okay, then we have nothing to worry about, guys."

"Did you see who he walked home with? The Hokage himself came. Don't you think that's bizarre?" Ino asked.

Shino pitched in. "Given my observations, he's an extremely talented shinobi. Perhaps the Hokage has taken personal interest."

At these words Sasuke's focus came zooming back into the conversation. "The Hokage?" Sasuke asked no one in particular. That child was really so talented? He needed to find out. He'd have to keep a much closer eye on the boy.

…

"I want you to be a Jounin Sensei."

Anko's jaw hit the floor. "What!?"

The Sandaime nodded. "Time has passed from the incident. You've proven your loyalty to the village over and over. The shinobi community trusts you."

She snorted. "The community? You mean the interrogation squad and the ANBU. Not parents. There is no way any parent would trust me with their child."

"That won't be an issue."

"Why? Does he not have parents or something, because unless he was – "

"Anko."

"Oh. S-Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just… I wasn't thinking. Wait. All three of them are orphans?"

The Sandaime shook his head. "Just one. He's… special. I want you to look after him."

"Who is he?" The Sandaime handed over the file. Opening it, Anko saw a curious name. Uzumaki Naruto.

"The boy has had a rough childhood. He needs a sensei that will understand that, but not go easy on him because of it. He needs you."

So that was it. The demon boy. "Why me?"

"You know what's like to be labeled because of something that was never your choice. To know how it feels not be able to shed that label. He needs someone to look up to. To understand and give him hope for the future."

She sighed. That was certainly true. He was guilt tripping her; how could she say no now? "Fine. But I won't be happy about it." She mumbled.

The Sandaime seemed pleased nonetheless.

…

Naruto smiled at the now clean lab. The last moments of someone's life were very revealing. He'd seen all sorts of reactions over the years. Some turned to rage, swearing they'd kill Naruto. Others turned to desperation, which led to begging, false promises, and anything to get Naruto to reconsider. Few embraced the fact that their time had come, and they simply smiled and let Naruto proceed.

He felt a strange sense of satisfaction reminiscing over the many kills. The autopsies were complete, the jutsus had been extracted from the dead bodies, and all traces were eliminated. Of course, there was a tub of human ash locked away in a deep compartment, but he'd get rid of that another day. Perhaps it was just the anticipation. Finally, his next assignment was another snake. Taking a deep breath, he opened the mission scroll.

Mitarashi Anko : Jounin

…

The Snake's Tips

Entry 14

Guard your techniques with your life. There are those that can, with a single glance, replicate your technique to perfection and steal your greatest secrets, leaving you vulnerable. Hand signs can be copied; jutsu sayings can be memorized. If you wish to live, you must be escape notice. Your hand signs must be undetected, if at all used. Your taijutsu style must be predicated on unpredictability and chaos. Escape the pattern and rigor that is taught to you in this weak village. Embrace the hebi style – that which even the sharingan cannot copy.

Hand signs are merely crutches used to mold chakra. A true master of chakra has no need for them; true mastery of chakra entails an incredible visualization of the end result and channeling through will power. Likewise, the vocals are simply used to help one concentrate. Eliminating these is the first step towards truly becoming a snake.

Entry 28

Hunter ninjas are not merely for decoration; they are used to prevent the enemy from extracting vital information from a dead boy. Chakra signatures leave footprints, and your body records every jutsu you have ever performed. While a living being has too active of a chakra system to really understand, a dead person's body lends itself to examining these footprints in far greater detail. With this, you can reverse engineer and grasp all of the jutsus a person has ever cast.

This is the next step in making yourself truly powerful. This is the reason I have asked you to keep the bodies in the lab. Perform autopsies and extract the information necessary and begin cataloging. It is essential to keep organized and pristine records.

So, what did you guys think?