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4 years old
ミ ナ ト
He could no longer pronounce his name. Naruto Uzumaki was a taboo that could no longer be claimed as his own.
The matron of the orphanage wrote down Minato Namikaze in his inscription sheet. The information that followed it after wasn't his either.
Four. He was four now.
The shinobi holding his hand shifted nervously. Barely a Chuunin, the young shinobi did not have full control over his motor skills and his subconscious still betrayed him from time to time. He was understandably nervous. How could he not when Naruto was practically piercing holes with his eyes?
The old lady wasn't as affected and smiled motherly at him in welcome. With a swiftness that wasn't expected of her, she took his small hand into her wrinkled ones in a gentle handshake.
"Everything will be fine, little one. You'll be safe with us, I promise. Call me Atsuko-obaasan!"
"… Atsuko," he repeated blandly, staring at her with blank eyes. Her warm eyes dimmed a little when he disregarded the honorific straight away, just to light up with unbidden determination. Her thin lips curled into a beaming grin.
"You are a rude little thing, aren't you?" she asked. He stepped aside when she tried to reach for his chubby cheeks. She pouted, fist pumping weakly to show faux defeat. "I'll get you next time," she promised solemnly, just a bit of amusement seeping through her features.
Finally, the chuunin couldn't take it anymore. He spoke, hands twitching at his sides.
"Can I go now?"
Atsuko winked knowingly at him. "Get going, you lazy bum. I'm sure you're needed somewhere else to play the hero."
The shinobi flushed at the dismissal, but recovered soon enough. "You don't ever change, madam. The world needs more people like you," he chuckled with amusement before flash-stepping out of the building.
The matron stared for a moment and then laughed at the empty space he had been in. "Those ninja. I swear, you never know which trick they'll pull on you!"
Naruto nodded, thinking of Obito and his time-space jutsu.
"Come on! I've got a lot to show you, Minato-kun! I know that it isn't much, but my home is yours!"
Atsuko, Naruto decided grimly, was a sharp contrast to what his matron originally was. Hirako, the future matron, hadn't been affectionate with him when he was in her care. Whereas Atsuko depicted an image of a joyful grandma, eager to please her children, Hirako had been the harsh counterpart, merciless with him and whoever tried to associate themselves with 'the demon brat'. Not that it mattered; this lady was his present now. Nothing like not being a jinchuuriki to a nine-tailed fox to inspire love for him, huh.
Or maybe it was because he was in his father's body.
He caught his reflection on a mirror and promptly turned away from the whisker-free face that stared back at him. Save for the long hair, it could have passed as a mini-version of himself.
But it wasn't.
The boy wondered if Minato had known. Personally, Naruto felt a little creeped out, being in someone else's body and dictating its movements as if they were his to command. It was like being a washout version of Orochimaru, only without the intent and will to possess bodies.
Because he wasn't enjoying this. Not one bit.
He was an idiot. An idiot who somehow had ended up with a second chance he didn't deserve. Minato- the original one; his dad, damn it!- was gone because of him. Because of him and his stupid decisions he...
Sasuke, Madara, Obito… All of them triggered the event. But the moron that encouraged that kind of sacrifice was…
I'm sorry for being a bad father…
His grip on the matron's hand tightened.
There was no changing the truth. He was stuck. Here. Alone. Forced to start anew with a false identity that he had stolen from his own blood.
He was what never was, just like his father wasn't now.
Naruto Uzumaki hadn't been strong enough to protect his precious people- and no. He didn't appreciate the irony of that statement.
The boy didn't appreciate many things these days.
For one, his obsession with orange had taken a much darker turn. The symbolism behind it didn't appeal to him now.
Red… red wasn't so much better. He could still see Tsunade being impaled by a Chidori, with blood gushing out her back as he crushed her heart.
Red was the Sharingan, part of the Uchiwa that clan wore in their back.
Red… perturbed him just as much as orange did.
Atsuko quieted all of the sudden and crouched in front of him, making him startle at the sudden proximity. Her aged face was frowning now and staring intently into his darkening cobalt eyes.
He flinched away from her hand when she tried to touch his face.
Atsuko lowered the offending hand slowly.
"I know this is hard, Minato," she muttered. "Your mother was a great woman. Not everyone would have sacrificed themselves for their child, lest in that kind of situation. The world is a scary place sometimes and not everything goes how you hope it would, but there's still the good things it has to offer.
"Sure, the people that attacked you were horrible human beings, but you have to think positive because if you don't you might as well give up now and let despair swallow you whole. Minato, you have a long life ahead of you! You can do anything in this world if you wish for it. Just put effort behind your actions and you'll do the impossible!
"Look at the ninja, look at the people in Konoha! This war is ending because we persevere. We bleed and die for our loved ones so that they reach happiness. There are hundreds of children who suffer the same you are going through, but they still smile. And you know why?"
Naruto stared, he didn't dare blink at the old lady whose face had softened into a compassionate smile.
Does she know?
Her murky green eyes sparkled with conviction he hadn't seen for years.
She beamed. "Because they know they are the future."
They are the future.
He had seen the future. It wasn't a very nice place. The woman was just prattling meaningless nonsense.
She doesn't know. There is no way.
His eyes tingled unpleasantly.
Of course, she didn't know!
Atsuko pulled away from him, looking satisfied with herself as she studied him. He wasn't sure what she was seeing, but he felt that her speech hadn't imparted the message she wanted him to hear. Yet she looked so sure.
He teared up.
Why… why was he crying?!
Without a conscious command, his undeveloped hands grasped at the hem of her summer dress, with a grip that had nothing to do with the iron will he had once possessed a lifetime away.
The boy cracked.
"I won't see him again!" he blurted. His body quivered and dropped to his knees. "I won't see either of them again! My friends, my parents…! They are all gone now! Everyone's gone! I'm so stupid… so, so stupid!"
You didn't think. Just acted.
"USE YOUR BRAINS FOR ONCE!"
Naruto was positively sobbing now. He could only watch as the salty moisture damped the wooden floor. His shoulders were hunched and his arms trembling. Her arms wrapped around them and pulled him together when all he wanted was nothing more than break into tiny pieces.
"Sweetie," the matron cooed softly. "Don't say that. You will always remember them, in your memories."
I trust you.
… because you are my son.
You'll contain my memory just fine.
Just… live a fulfilling life for me?
Naruto's world was breaking. He knew that he was making a scene and that people were staring. Children were pointing fingers and observing sympathetically from the sidelines.
He didn't care.
He didn't care.
.
.
He cared. They just didn't know just how much.
波風湊
"The White Fang is coming! The White Fang is coming to the orphanage!"
The door boomed as it slammed open. Warily, Naruto looked up from his book about the Clan Wars. His young body made his confused stare look even more lost than he really was.
There was only one person who barged into his room like that- his very own roommate.
Araki rolled his eyes at his subdued reaction.
"You don't know who that is, do you?" he questioned with a petulant air about him. Naruto was vaguely amused at the sight of his puffed cheeks.
After five months of sharing, the four-year-old finally got a good grasp of the brunet's personality. Araki- to put it simply- was a worshipper. His aim in life was to become as strong as the Sannin and the White Fang of Konoha- heck, everything was centered around them in the boy's life (even Snake Bastard was included in his praises, disturbingly enough). Each time someone mentioned any of his heroes, he exploded into a babbling mess, retelling their victories and adventures to the newcomers. Having heard those particular stories before from a bragging Toad Sage, Naruto took the liberty of disappearing of the room once the older boy got into it. There was much to leave desired to his storytelling skills and he had freely admitted as much when he had tried to corner him to give him a lengthy lecture about them.
Naruto pointed at one of the books sticking out from their shared bookshelf.
"I think I know enough," he muttered.
Let him draw his own conclusions.
Araki pouted even more.
"Fine. You might know something, but not nearly as me!"
"Thank God," Naruto deadpanned. His comment, however, was blissfully ignored.
"White. Fang. Is. Coming. Here," his roommate said impatiently, as if addressing a retard. He was tapping his feet irritably, waiting for a reaction.
Naruto blinked in disbelief.
"You are not making this up, right?"
"Would I lie?" Araki adopted a faux indignant expression at the implied accusation.
The blond's blank eyes told him what he thought about that.
Araki rolled his eyes. "Come oooon! You know I wouldn't lie about him! The matron was telling the staff that we would meet him at lunch so that they ought to prepare him another meal for him. We are eating steak for the first time in months, seriously!"
And then the situation finally dawned on him.
"We are going to eat lunch with the White Fang!" he screamed joyfully.
Naruto yelped at the loud noise and threw the book at him. As always, it hit his forehead with ease.
"OUCH!"
"Don't do that! My ears will bleed!" He rubbed his ears, wincing at the buzzing he could still hear.
"Can you not?" Araki complained, tending to his irritated forehead with both hands. "It's always the same place too!"
"If you learned to dodge, then it wouldn't hit!" Naruto scolded playfully.
Araki scrunched his nose disdainfully. "Please. Minato, we both know that your aim is scary. Even if I tried I'd still fall victim to your abusive ways!"
Naruto huffed. He shuffled awkwardly in bed at the mention of his actual name, still unsure about how to act on it. The sound of it still made his skin crawl- for the same reason why he avoided looking into mirrors.
(As an unintended result, his normally unruly locks were a bird's nest sticking out from his head even in its more tame days. It was worse than before because he had grown it out, just like his father. Atsuko had threatened to cut it one too many times because of the mess.)
Naruto hid his book under the mattress. Mood irrupted by unpleasant memories, he tried to redirect the conversation before his roommate noted the change in demeanor.
"We should help then," he announced with forced cheerfulness. "The staff will have it hard if we don't help them out today."
Araki's eyes bugged out.
"You're right!" he gushed and rushed out from the room, possibly to search for more volunteers. He could hear him scream down the hallway and the annoyed yells of the other orphans telling him to shut up. Araki had no patience for the sleeping, apparently.
Naruto chuckled dryly at his antics.
"I'm Minato Namikaze," he said to the empty room. Or his lips did.
I'm Naruto Uzumaki.
The seal at the back of his head was burning. From experience, he knew that if he tried to touch it, it would shock him silly.
I hate lightning.
Chidori.
The four-year-old sighed in annoyance, eyes dark at his failure.
Not willing to waste the whole day brooding, he got up from his bed and walked out from the room. The exasperated grumbles of the children that were limping to the kitchen made his heart lighten up. Just a bit.
波風湊
It was like meeting a ghost. The White Fang of Konoha was eerily similar to the Kakashi that taught him in his genin days. (Really, just cut that pony tail off and you have Kakashi-sensei- wait a minute! Does this mean that his face supposed to look like that? Damn, I really wanted him to have blimp-like lips!) He was behaving most sheepishly, looking uncomfortable at the many awed stares his peers were throwing at him.
"You brainwashed them," Naruto admonished quietly into his friend's ear.
"Shhh! I wanna know what he's gonna say!" Araki dismissed him with spastic hands.
"Thank you for receiving me here," the revered shinobi said, voice echoing in the small room they called Dinner. He straightened his back from the intimidated slouch he was in before. The grey-haired man's eyes sharpened as he peered at the small bodies sitting around him in a circle. Seeing the sudden transformation, Naruto finally understood why the man had the reputation he had. The way the sunlight reflected off Sakumo Hatake made him look fierce, just like a leader should look like- an extremely capable warrior of their village. His voice filled the room, calm and grave, but soothing all the same. Naruto had no trouble picturing him addressing ANBU the same way. "As you know, each year the Hokage sends one of his shinobi to this orphanage to offer you to join our ranks as ninja. This year, he elected me for this important assignment," he paused and sighed.
"I won't lie. I won't sugarcoat what means to be a shinobi. There are a lot of things I did during my years of service that I'm not particularly proud of. But that doesn't mean I am not proud about serving my village and my Hokage. I defend Konoha to the best of my abilities- and that includes my friends and family as well.
"I want you to consider very carefully what you want to be in the future. Right now, you are civilians, but that won't mean much if you choose to be a shinobi. The Academy will prepare you for the battles you will face in the battlefield, so that you complete your missions successfully. There, you will learn the value of the Will of Fire and what means to defend your village against the many foes we have."
Sakumo sighed, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously. "Well, yeah… Tell me if you want to join and I'll sign you right up. I'll even take you on a tour to the Academy."
Araki took that as a cue to stand up with his hand raised, arm almost popping out of its socket because of the sudden movement upwards.
Sakumo looked at him with something akin to surprise. The six-year old was positively beaming at him.
"…Yes?" The White Fang prompted when the boy didn't speak.
"I want to join, sir!"
Naruto coughed, barely managing to suppress his laughter. For the dark looks that Araki threw him, he knew that he wasn't being subtle about it.
An older boy to their left stood up as well.
"Me too!"
Many followed their example. It was chaos.
"I wanna be a cool ninja like the Sannin!"
"What's like being a ninja, mister? Is it as awesome as it looks?"
The eagerness of the other children was staggering. There were many standing, looking as if they had discovered a gleaming goldmine, as they interrogated a very dazed Sakumo Hatake. War legend or not, the man looked like he didn't know what to do with all this attention.
"I'm joining too," Naruto announced quietly, not bothering with childish proclamations.
Araki beamed at him before frowning. "That's good and all… but I don't know if they'll let you, Minato. You're too short!"
Azure eyes flashed with determination. "I don't care! I'll just train harder than you, that's all. I already know the basics, so it won't be too hard for me."
He may have been a goofy idiot the first time around, but even a deadlast like him had picked up information here and there. Besides, he had already started with the most theory, along with the basic katas they taught at the Academy; fortunately, Atsuko had many textbooks to spare in her care.
Naruto had things to do. It wouldn't do for his father's sacrifice to be in vain.
He had been still for far too long. Naruto would go crazy if he stayed in the sidelines another month. It was only in the physical aspect that he resembled a child; his mind was too weary for the naivety that came with this place and their inhabitants.
And most of the time, being surrounded by children just became too much.
Araki shrugged nonchalantly, not asking why he knew 'the basics', "If you say so."
"Okay!" the White Fang called out. Araki immediately gave the man all his attention. His shout muffled the children's inquiries easily enough, "Everyone who wants to join will have to wait for me outside! We'll go to the Academy together! We're heading out in ten minutes!"
A little girl squealed in excitement before running out from her seat at high speeds. Naruto observed her from the corner of his eye, feeling more than seeing her low chakra signature. A wave of sadness made him look away. In times of war, girls like that were cannon fodder. If the girl didn't quit and graduated despite her low stamina she'd be one of the first to go.
In fact, now that he thought about it, there were a lot of kids here that wouldn't make it past the first year at the Academy. They were still going.
Expendable.
Was the war this vicious? So many pawns were available here at the orphanage… They were luring them into the battlefield.
The blond felt cold at the thought of so many children being massacred for the sake of war. It was eerily reminiscent to what Konoha had been reduced to after Pain, when their forces had been cut down considerably after the megalomaniac leveled their village.
This was… recruitment.
And their choice.
Quietly and dragging his feet, he followed after his more enthusiastic peers. He passed the matron and Sakumo, hearing the man's reassurances about her charges' safety.
He stopped walking when he heard propaganda bullshit he was selling Atsuko. He bit his lip, wondering if it was wise to call him out on it.
"Minato?"
Naruto looked up out of habit. The matron was looking at him with worried eyes. The White Fang, on the other hand, looked taken aback by his presence. Probably his fault for muffling the sound of his steps.
Naruto looked back at him, considering his appearance.
Hatake.
Yup, this is sensei's dad.
Kakashi hadn't talked about him all that much and he hadn't seen him in Konoha when he was little, which raised several questions about what happened to him. Death in battlefield was one of the foremost possibilities that occurred to him.
Naruto gnawed on his lip, lost in his thoughts.
"Are you going to the Academy, Minato?" Atsuko questioned suddenly.
Naruto looked at her- really looked at her. Her posture implied she was asking something obvious, as if she already knew his response- probably did anyway. He hadn't been subtle with his choice in reading and she hadn't discouraged it either. Both knew this was a matter of time.
Sakumo was paying close attention to him now. Naruto wondered if he sensed something different with his chakra. He hadn't meditated for so long… His emotions getting the best of him when he tried.
"Yeah," he answered quietly. "I don't want to be a civilian." Because Konoha needed a Fourth Hokage, even if it was only the impostor who had replaced the real deal.
He owed his father that much.
You can correct a lot of wrongdoings.
"I can't correct a lifetime of mistakes just because you want me to!"
Naruto swallowed.
"Your chakra pathways are really developed," Sakumo commented off-handedly, as if that was something that happened regularly. "Did you have previous training, kid? Did someone show you a few tricks before coming here?"
The boy flushed scarlet out of embarrassment. "No. I learned it all by myself," he mumbled.
'Relearn' was the more appropriate word, but he couldn't exactly put that out here. This body was mostly untrained. His brain knew what to do; doing it was another different matter.
Sakumo hummed thoughtfully, "That's awfully impressive of you."
Naruto forced himself not to flinch. He knew that he looked awfully suspicious to the other ninja, but he was really a kid and he had no intentions of harming Konoha, so on the long run he shouldn´t have many complications with the other shinobi as long as he remained low. The least he wanted now was being considered as threat.
Atsuko chuckled obliviously, "I've had my fair share of your recruits here. I gave young Minato what they forgot to take when they left. You should have seen it! He devoured those books in record time! I'm not surprised he learned a thing or two from them. He's our resident prodigy!"
A prodigy. She was basically saying he was a genius. The perfect cover. Naruto would have kissed her in that moment had she not been so far away. A million of possibilities had opened up to him right in front of his eyes because of this civilian.
He could skip ahead. The Academy didn't teach much anyway. It wasn't that much of a loss. Doing D-ranks would be much better than kidding around.
Besides, Tora hadn't been born yet.
Right?
Sakumo smiled disarmingly, "An enthusiast, huh? We need more like you in the Academy. Kids these days are always lazing around."
Naruto returned the amicable gesture hesitantly, "That was a compliment, right?"
The man laughed, "Sure."
-2-
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