Greetings everyone! firstly let me just say . . . oh mine gott! the response! for one chapter in the span of four and a half hours i got a quarter of the reviews i got for Yadokawa Naruto since May over 14 chapters! cheesus crust on a cracker! thank you guys so much!

okay, now on to the meat and bones of this AN . . . first on that list is the pairings, thank you all who recommended a pairing there have been several recommendations for a Naru-Saku pairing and that may even play into the story a little . . . maybe . . . it could work. second up was some non-linear pairings like shion or haruna . . . people like that. i have looked at some of those characters and I think i've picked out one i like but i can't remember the name of her right now . . . i'll find it again . . . especially considering it's a part of the old Naruto show i believe i have missed . . . or just don't remember watching it . . . one of the two. lastly for the pairings was an OC . . . this intrigued me because of an OC i had already planned on being close to Naruto but how close I wonder? keep up the suggestions people! i would like to hear all your thoughts on this matter. and remember, I'm only filtering out persons who are older than 18 years of age as of the beginning of the first arc . . . i may lift that slightly but yeah.

okay, next on the list. someone pointed out that Naruto never asked what happened to the men that tired to kill him in the last chapter . . . you know? the ones that damn near succeeded? yeah . . . that was my bad . . . i accidentally edited out a section of the conversation between Naruto and Sarutobi where Naruto asks just that question and is informed that they are dead and that the village believes he did it . . . until Inoichi came and informed them all about the mystery woman doing it so yeah . . . whoops.

lastly . . . when I wrote the pilot chapter . . . i expected it to sit there a while and be as popular as say . . . Akane's Family . . . I was gonna write this story for fun when I was done with Yadokawa Naruto . . . what does this mean? i had nothing planned when I wrote that pilot chapter . . . my plans are still ludicrously vague although they are coming together nicely . . . suffice to say, I spent the last *looks at time in the bottom of screen* shit . . . fourteen hours . . . fuck . . . well, i've spent the last fourteen hours working on this story to try and cobble together a chapter and I am fervent in my belief that even with most of a day spent on it, it's still shite . . . I'll let you guys be the judge of that though.

in anycase, I hope you all enjoy, see you at the bottom.

Part 1

As the sun rose over the horizon, two figures were painted in golden light. Standing on a rise, the two figures overlooked the village of Konoha, silently making preparations of their return.

"So what exactly was your plan again?" A boy, no older than fourteen asked as he watched the village below him. The boy was wearing a black outfit that consisted of a jerkin over a long sleeved tunic with a pair of combat trousers and tight fitting gloves, all trimmed with dark orange highlights. The Jerkin also had a hood and a face mask, both of which were drawn meaning that no part of the boy was visible and even his voice was altered to be unrecognisable.

"You will know in time . . . for now remember exactly what it is we have discussed and don't lose sight of your current goal" The woman standing beside the boy said, her dark green kimono dress fluttering in the early morning breeze.

"Ah yes . . . my goal" the boy said "That shouldn't be too hard" he shrugged.

"Be cautious . . . I will watch over you for a short while but I have already spent too much time doing so" the woman said, casually glancing at the boy next to her

"Don't worry, you taught me well" The boy said before turning to look at the woman "So what was your name?" he asked and one could almost hear the grin on his face. The woman turned back to him and smirked, a display of emotion that had never been seen before by the boy.

"Take care Naruto" she said before the darkness rose up and claimed her.

"You too, nee-chan" Naruto replied into the empty air before beginning his trek towards the hokage tower.

Naruto decided to enter the Hokage's office with style and went through three handsigns before the darkness rose up around him and when it fell, he was standing in Sarutobi's office.

"Who's there!?" The old kage demanded as Naruto stepped into the light of the rising sun.

"You don't remember me old man?" Naruto asked, his voice showing no emotion at all.

"Drop your head and show me your face" Sarutobi commanded, his eyes tracking the darkly clad boy. Naruto did as demanded and he could hear the sharp intake of breath as his blonde hair, blue eyes and whiskers were revealed to the old kage. "Naruto" he whispered in shock

"In the flesh" Naruto said, his mouth quirking at the edges slightly in a smile.

"Where have you been? It's been two years!" Sarutobi said, the astonishment hitting him hard.

"Two years?" Naruto asked, turning his head to look out the window at konoha "It felt like six" he said. "The woman I told you about took me to her village and trained me there" he explained and Sarutobi finally noticed that Naruto was speaking with no emotion whatsoever.

"If that is the case, I'd like to have Inoichi-san take a look inside your memories again" The old kage said casually, as if he expected Naruto to just accept this.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that this time hokage-sama" Naruto said quietly and Sarutobi was struck by just how blank the boy's face was. He was beginning to worry that Danzo had gotten his hands on the boy. "My seeming lack of an emotional state is merely perpetuated by my training in masking any and all emotional response as opposed to suppressing emotions altogether" Naruto said and Sarutobi wondered if he could read his mind. "Having spent many years in a village that runs the philosophy that emotions are shared between loved ones alone has enabled me to detect subtle indications of such displays" at this, Sarutobi bowed his head with a heavy sigh. The boy was reading his micro-reactions because that was all he could use to tell what people were thinking.

Flashback

"What is your name?" Asked an elderly woman who looked down on Naruto with a blank expression. Naruto opened his mouth to answer when the woman cut in "Do not answer that" she said in the same soft style as Naruto's guardian. She had taken the blonde boy to a village with people that all walked around with blank expressions. Naruto was surprised at how big it was, even moving at shinobi speeds it took an hour to get from the gates of the village to his guardian's home. "Whenever someone asks you for information, carefully consider if they need to know that information and if they don't, refuse an answer" the woman explained and Naruto nodded. "Your name is very personal information, that should only be shared with people you love if you can help it . . . now, let's begin our lessons on how to mask your emotions"

Flashback end

"So why have you returned?" Sarutobi asked the blonde, adopting his old grandfatherly smile.

"I have completed my training to a sufficient degree and so I requested the ability to return" Naruto said blandly, he had adopted the same style of soft speaking that his guardian had used. Of course, the Hokage had no idea what Naruto was thinking but his gut feeling told him there was more to the story than that.

"So you wish to join the ranks of Konoha's shinobi?" Sarutobi asked, pulling out his pipe and filling it with leaf before lighting it. Naruto for his part merely nodded his head almost imperceptibly. "Can you tell me what you were doing in your time away?" Sarutobi asked, hoping to get something from the boy.

"I was training . . . and learning . . . I was trained in many techniques native to the people who took me in including taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu and the usage of tools" Naruto stated, his tone of voice completely unchanging.

"I see . . . would you mind if I had someone test you out to see if you are qualified?" Sarutobi asked "It's merely a formality but you must understand I can't really take you at your word" he continued.

"I understand Hokage-sama, I will submit to testing" Naruto said with a slight incline of his head

"Right then, fetch me Iruka from the academy please" Sarutobi said to one of the ANBU hidden in the room. Naruto suppressed a smirk as one of the shadows in the room darkened slightly, alerting him to the presence of his guardian.

Several minutes later, a knock came on the door and Iruka entered.

"You wanted to see me Hokage-sama?" The man asked, his scar jumping with every word.

"Ahh Iruka-san . . . meet Naruto, I would like you to test him to see if he is capable of being a genin of Konoha" Sarutobi said past his pipe.

"Ahh right . . . well then, shall we go to a training field or do it here?" Iruka asked, scratching his head at the unusual situation he was in.

"A training field please, I wish for you to test Naruto in everything a genin needs to know" He said

"Right, Hokage-sama, please follow me Naruto-kun" Iruka said and walked out of the room with Naruto in tow.

"Alright Naruto, let's start with your throwing weapons" Iruka said with a smile though Naruto could tell it was a forced smile he had applied to make him feel more comfortable. "Please throw ten shuriken and ten kunai at those targets" he said, indicating the targets in question.

Flashback

"We will be your instructors for the physical and conventional style of combat" came the bland voice of a tall man on Naruto's left. They were in an open field with targets and training dummies littered around it.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, still trying to wrap his head around all the big words that people were using.

"Ninjutsu can be used as a potent weapon, however, if you specialise in that alone, you will suffer" came the bland voice of a woman who looked almost exactly the same as the man save for a few minor details. Naruto was sure they were brother and sister but from his teachings with the old lady, he knew not to ask.

"You will face occasion when you are required to fight in hand to hand, or when you are required to perform a task and you will not want to waste chakra or be unable to use Ninjutsu" The man continued, picking up where the woman left off.

"We will teach you how to perform near all actions performable with Dark style Ninjutsu with tools and your own body instead so that you may if required" the woman finished. Naruto looked between them and came to the conclusion that they were definitely siblings.

"First, we shall instruct you on the art of throwing weapons . . . anything can be thrown with power and accuracy, it merely depends on where you hold it and how" the man said and Naruto nodded, picking up several practice weapons.

Flashback end

Naruto's arms flashed forward and ten small three bladed shuriken thudded into the target. Iruka was surprised by the speed at which they were thrown and noticed that all of the bladed discs landed exactly dead center of the target.

"Great now Kunai" Iruka said, reapplying his smile as he looked at the blonde.

"I apologize but I do not carry ten kunai of similar specification to the ones you would have me throw" Naruto said in his soft monotone.

"Err . . . that's okay, I can lend you mine for the purpose of this test" Iruka said while giving the boy a confused look before handing over the tools. Iruka watched as Naruto took the knives and weighted them in his hand, spinning them around a little before nodding and throwing them with precision and power but not the same speed he had thrown the shuriken with. Iruka also noticed that the first kunai was slightly off the mark.

"I was not taught how to use Konoha standard kunai . . . but I was taught that anything can be thrown if you know who to hold them" Naruto said in way of explanation.

"Good" Iruka said, his expression showing his surprise that this boy had such skill. "Let's retrieve our weapons and move on to the next section" he said. And the two walked up to the targets and retrieve their tools before returning. "Now, we are going to test out your Taijutsu . . . I don't expect you to know the Konoha standard style so I'm just going to judge your level to see if it's genin or higher and leave it at that" Iruka said before adopting an academy standard stance. "Are you ready?" Iruka asked after he saw that Naruto had not moved at all save for changing his positioning so that he was standing square on with Iruka and then the scarred teacher noticed that the stance Naruto was in was very reminiscent of a Taijutsu stance. Naruto merely nodded his affirmation which confirmed Iruka's suspicion.

Flashback

"Now we shall teach you Taijutsu" Said the man, it had been a few hours already and Naruto's wrists were starting to get saw from all the throwing practice he had just gone through.

"The Taijutsu we are going to teach you is similar to the throwing techniques in that it allows you to use as little energy as possible to cause as much damage as possible" The woman explained.

"For now we shall merely teach you the first level form . . . similar to your katas from the academy, when we feel you are ready, we shall teach you actual fighting techniques" the man continued and the two began their instruction of the blonde boy

Flashback end

Iruka moved forward at genin speeds and attempted to strike Naruto in the chest with his fist when the blonde's hand snapped up almost faster than Iruka could track but, while Iruka was focused on Naruto's arm that redirected his own attack, he missed the punch that slammed into his abdomen and the kick that hit his knee. Iruka jumped back, noticing the pain that standing on his left leg now caused him as he carefully watched the blonde for signs of movement, none were forthcoming so Iruka attacked again, this time at his full speed of middle chunin and yet again, his punches were redirected while Naruto countered with his own punches and kicks in rapid, explosive attacks. It became evident to Iruka that Naruto's taijutsu style was superior to the academy standard and conceded the match.

"A-alright, Naruto . . . very good" Iruka said, feeling the pain from multiple strikes but shaking it off. "Taijutsu was never my strong suit and the academy standard is merely an entry taijutsu to allow one to formulate their own or learn a better one so it makes sense it would be beaten so easily" Iruka said, attempting to justify his defeat to a mere genin. Naruto for his part merely remained silent and didn't react. "Next up is Ninjutsu, please perform the academy three" Iruka said and Naruto just looked at him. Iruka waited for a few more seconds before he finally realised that the blonde would have no idea what the academy three were. "Err sorry about that" Iruka said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "That's the clone, the substitution and the transformation jutsu" Naruto nodded and darkness leaked out of him, turning into two perfect copies of himself while he turned into Iruka that was accurate to every visible detail other than a blank expression that Naruto always wore and finally, he switched himself out with a nearby log, casually walking back to Iruka who was standing there gaping at the boy who had done all three of these things without a single handsign.

"I spent many hours attempting to perfect my jutsu and control . . . I have distilled many of my basic techniques to one handsign or none at all" Naruto explained to the stunned chunin.

"Exactly how long have you been gone for?" Iruka asked but Naruto didn't answer.

"So how did he do Iruka-kun?" Sarutobi asked as he took in the two who had just walked back in.

"Well . . . you wanted to know if he was good for chunin right? Cause if so I'd say yes" Iruka said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'll take that to mean he is good enough to be a genin then" Sarutobi said with a small smile. "You may leave Iruka" he said and Iruka bowed before leaving the room. "So, you have been busy then Naruto-kun" Sarutobi said as he turned his attention back to the boy.

"Please do not use my name so lightly . . . names have power and where I am from, names are used only among lovers and closest relatives" Naruto said quietly and Sarutobi widened slightly before narrowing them. This was the first taste of information that Naruto had given him regarding the mysterious village he had been in.

"So the people you are with are naturally tight-lipped?" Sarutobi asked, hoping to keep the ball rolling but Naruto merely declined an answer causing the old kage to sigh. "You are going to need accommodations" the old man said quietly.

"I would prefer my old apartment back if at all possible, it was very out of the way" Naruto said, turning to look out the window and at Konoha.

"Hmm, that's going to be difficult, the owner was unable to afford the keep the place and so it is for sale . . . unfortunately, nobody has bought the building" Sarutobi said

"Then could I purchase the building?" Naruto asked which caused Sarutobi to hum in thought. "Money shouldn't be an issue, I have plenty of currency on me" the old kage looked down at the boy in contemplation.

"Alright, but what could you possibly need an entire apartment building for? Your old building wasn't small" Sarutobi said, pulling out some paperwork to allow Naruto to buy the building. "Take this form downstairs to the accountant and they will set you up. Team assignments are six days from now so get your photo done, fill out this documentation and return it here for review as soon as possible and you will meet your team next week" The old kage said before sighing at the added paperwork he now had to do.

"Hokage-sama . . . do you mind if I make an inquiry?" Naruto asked as he looked over the paperwork covering the Kage's desk.

"What is it Naruto?" Sarutobi prompted

"You know the shadow clone technique yes? Would it not be easier for your paperwork to use shadow clones?" Naruto asked and Sarutobi's eyes lit up with the sudden realisation.

"No wonder Minato spent so much time with his wife" Sarutobi said quietly before grinning madly, Naruto merely blinked at the mention of the fourth hokage. "Thank you Naruto, you have been a great help" he said taking on an insane look as he slammed his hands together and two copies of himself appeared and set themselves to work on the paperwork.

Just at that moment, the door to the office slammed open and a young boy with a blue scarf trailing behind him burst into the room.

"I have you now old man!" the boy shouted, a shuriken in his hand as he prepared to attack the Hokage. The boy took three steps into the room before he suddenly and unexpectedly slammed into the ground at speeds that might have suggested foul play if Naruto and Sarutobi hadn't seen the boy's feet get tangled in his scarf. "Drat a trap!" the boy exclaimed as he sat up rubbing his head while a man in a black bodysuit with black glasses appeared in the doorway.

"Honorable grandson! Are you alright?! Might I just inform you that there are no traps here!" the man exclaimed at the top of his voice. Naruto watched on with the same apathetic expression he always wore but underneath the mask he was simultaneously laughing and groaning at the display in front of him. Konohamaru picked himself up off the floor and looked around until his eyes locked with Naruto's while Naruto himself noticed that the man in the doorway was studying him, one hand dangerously close to his weapon pouch.

"You must have done this yourself!" The boy said, walking over to Naruto to jab a finger at him angrily.

"I must warn you that should you attack me, I will retaliate" Naruto said to the boy and immediately the man in the doorway had a Kunai in hand.

"Do not threaten the Hokage's Grandson foul demon!" the man practically growled.

"Ebisu! You overstep your bounds!" Sarutobi called out, his eyes locked on the man now identified as Ebisu. For his part, the man had his kunai away and was bowing at almost ninety degrees almost instantaneously

"Forgive me Hokage-sama! It was not my place to judge someone in your care!" he called out.

"Don't forget that Naruto merely gave Konohamaru a warning to deter violence" the old kage continued. Konohamaru watched on as his sensei was put in his place for threatening the boy that was standing in front of him. He noticed that the blonde had no emotion on his face whatsoever and watched everything with a keen analytical gaze.

"It appears you are busy with family matters" Naruto said to the Hokage, his apathetic voice hitting Konohamaru hard, the teen didn't even care about Konohamaru. "I shall take my leave of you now"

"I shall see you again when you have the correct documentation ready for me" Sarutobi said and then pulled something out from a draw. "Take this as well . . . you are a shinobi of Konoha as of now, wear it with pride" he said as he tossed the hitai-ate at Naruto who caught it and tied it onto his forehead, the one spot where he could hide or display it with ease. Naruto noticed that the darkened shadow in the corner of the room lightened as he left the room, leaving Ebisu to delve into a lecture about shortcuts to power positions Konohamaru watching as he left.

Naruto had left the Hokage's tower and was heading to the apartment building he now had the deed to when he noticed that he had a tail. It was the same boy from the Hokage's office, Konohamaru and, from Naruto could tell, he was attempting to hide using a cloth. Naruto turned around and a twitch of his eye, almost imperceptible, was his only response to the cloth rock with sandals that was in the middle of the road. Turning back and continuing on his way, Naruto returned to the building he now owned and looked at it. The years had not been kind to it as it looked run down and ill kept but Naruto knew he could get it fixed up easily enough, he had enough money on him to pay upkeep on the building as well as completely renovate it, not that he wanted to.

"Aren't you wondering why I was following you?" Came the voice of Konohamaru who was now standing behind Naruto, not paying any attention to what the blonde was doing.

"The question crossed my mind" Naruto replied "But it is of no consequence" Naruto continued, masking the amusement he felt at his jab while Konohamaru glared at the blonde.

"Train me!" Konohamaru demanded, causing Naruto to turn and face him.

"No" Naruto said simply, his blank look seeming to further incite Konohamaru.

"Train me!" Konohamaru repeated and this time Naruto decided to not deign to respond. Heading towards the office of the apartment building, Naruto was almost at the door before Konohamaru dashed in front of him with an angry glare. "Train me!" he demanded again, a scowl on his face as he looked at the only person who didn't care in the slightest that he was the Hokage's grandson.

"What is your dream?" Naruto asked, the question that had been asked of him so long ago by his guardian.

"To become Hokage so that everyone stops thinking of me as the 'Honorable Grandson' and starts treating me like myself!" Konohamaru exclaimed with determination, his fist clenched in front of him. Naruto immediately saw parallels with himself before he left the village as he studied the boy.

"A foolish goal" he said and Konohamaru growled. "You would replace the title of 'Honorable Grandson' with the title of 'Honorable Hokage' in the end, nobody would say your name . . . it will be all hokage this, hokage that" Naruto said, his words hitting the boy like a knife wound. "So you see, your goal is foolish . . . find a better one, or a better reason and you will have improved significantly" Naruto pulled out a key and walked passed the shocked Konohamaru, unlocking the door and entering the office while Konohamaru merely stood outside gaping like a fish. The boy closed his mouth and was about to turn away to go cry somewhere when he thought better of it and walked into the office after Naruto.

"Train me" Konohamaru demanded, his voice oddly subdued. Naruto looked up at the boy, some old paperwork in his hand from before the previous owner had to sell up. Naruto put the papers down and walked in front of Konohamaru, studying the boy quietly.

"I can only give you advice . . . you must do the rest" Naruto said and Konohamaru looked up, something akin to longing in his eyes. "Find what makes you passionate . . . something worthwhile and not some silly little goal . . . find something you would want to devote your life to" Naruto said before turning around and sitting down on the hard wooden chair that was behind the desk.

"What is it you live for?" Konohamaru asked quietly, awe in his eyes.

"Something grand . . ." Naruto said cryptically before casting his gaze back up to konohamaru and Ebisu who was now in the doorway of the office building.

"How did you get in here?" Ebisu asked, suspicion dripping from his voice.

"I own this building" Naruto replied and Ebisu narrowed his eyes as he adjusted his glasses.

"You will forgive me if I don't believe you" Ebisu said, one finger still on his glasses. Naruto merely tapped a document that Ebisu picked up and looked over with a critical eye before sitting it down again.

"You are one of the ones that believed I was responsible for the death of those men aren't you?" Naruto asked, going back to studying the documents in the office which detailed the condition that all the apartments were in before the owner sold out.

"Are you saying you didn't?" Ebisu sneered only to suddenly be looking into the ice cold gaze of Naruto.

"Indeed I am" he said "perhaps you should have found evidence of my crimes before trying to convince others of them but that has always been the way of Konoha hasn't it? Kill first ask questions a decade or two later" Naruto continued and Ebisu's eyes widened just a fraction in surprise. "Please leave my office, I have work that needs to be done" Naruto said, turning his attention back to the documents.

Well . . . here we are . . . it's been a long road getting from there to here . . . that statement was ripped straight from the opening theme song of star trek enterprise . . . anyway, I was going to include Naruto meeting his team in this chapter but that seems to have not happened . . . also he bought the building? . . . i don't think i planned that one . . . if i remember (hope i do) I'll explain where Naruto got his money in the next chapter . . . but suffice it to say, it's a lot easier for him to get some cold hard cash than one might realise.

in anycase, i'm sure there are questions so let me know what you liked, disliked, what you thought could use improvement and what you'd like to see more of. take care.