Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Somewhere in the Land of Fire.
The sun shone brightly on lush forests and the gentle wind stirred grassy fields. Off to the side of a remote county road, a tall, white haired man sat in the shade looking through a stack of papers. Occasionally, he would stop and giggle perversely to himself as he reread a juicy scene.
"Hehe, the fans will love this part," the Gallant Jiraiya mused as he reviewed his latest work of literature, "This one is just about ready to go to the publishers."
As Jiraiya continued to peruse his exotic work, he took notice of the position of the sun. He tucked his papers away into a satchel before sighing, "Well it's just about time for a report from the old man."
Jiraiya bit his thumb and smeared the blood across his palm before performing a sequence of hand signs. 'Summoning Jutsu,' Jiraiya said to himself before a large toad poofed into existence in front of him in a cloud of smoke. The toad acknowledged Jiraiya before regurgitating a scroll from its mouth. As he took the scroll from its outstretched toungue, the toad disappeared again in a poof of smoke.
"Let's see what we got here," Jiraiya commented as he opened the scroll, "Village security hasn't been breached, that's great to hear. Shinobi forces have fully recovered from the Nine Tails attack with the latest batch of genin. I wonder how many promising future kunoichi there are? Wants me to investigate rumors of a newly appointed Mizukage in Kiri? Already on it sensei. Oh, here's a bit about Naruto. It seems like Kakashi has been looking after him for the past few months."
As he read that last part, Jiraiya set the scroll down while a somber look came into his eye. For a moment, he reminisced about his former blond-haired student, and that fiery redhead that fell in love with him. He smiled at the memory before saying, "Damn, if a broken kid like Kakashi could overcome his grief, then I have no excuse."
"It's about time I went to go see my godson," with that Jiraiya stood up and began walking down the road, "Hmm, its been quite a while since I was in Konoha. I wonder how well the hot springs are doing on the female side of the business?"
In Konoha.
At this very moment, Hinata was very scared. This was one of the very few days she was let out of the Hyuuga compound to play on the playground. Her status as the Hyuuga heiress usually caused other kids to avoid her, so she didn't have any close friends and was left to play alone. Today she ended up straying away from the playground into the woods nearby, only to be cornered by a group of older kids.
"Hey, hey, look at her eyes, she's a freak," one of the boys said to his friends.
Hinata looked down hoping they wouldn't keep looking at her pupil-less eyes.
"Heh, yeah, she's one of those Hyuuga snobs who think there better than us," another boy said.
"Is that true huh?" the lead boy asked Hinata by getting in her face, "Do you think your better than us? Huh?"
"You should apologize to us," the third boy spoke up.
"Yeah, apologize," the second boy agreed, "apologize for your whole clan."
"I'm sorry," Hinata said meekly.
"What was that?" the first boy sneered, "I can't hear you."
"I'm sorry," Hinata said a bit louder.
"That's not good enough," the first boy grabbed her hair and forced her head down into a bow. The other boys started to laugh.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Hinata began to tremble on the verge of tears.
"HEY! Cut that out," a newcomer shouted at them.
"Eh, who are you?" the lead boy asked, "Get lost, this none of your business."
Hinata turned her head to see a blonde kid with bright blue eyes and cute whisker marks adorning his cheeks.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," the boy proclaimed, "And I'm going to kick your ass, dattebayo!"
The boys began laughing at the smaller and outnumbered kid.
"I'll show you not to look down on me," Naruto grit his teeth before going though a few hand signs and calling out, "Clone Jutsu."
The group of boys were briefly apprehensive by the display of ninja arts. Until they saw the pair of clones poof into existence in a measly pile of patheticness. The boys began laughing before grabbing Naruto by his shirt and beating him with their fists. After a few minutes the boys were satisfied that he was thoroughly beaten and left him on the ground as they ran off laughing. Meanwhile, Hinata watched the whole thing, now completely forgotten.
"Um…" Hinata approached her savior.
"Ugg, ow," Naruto got back up before turning to Hinata, "Oh, hi! Those bullies are gone now. Are you alright?"
Hinata stumbled to respond, "Oh, um, I- "
"LADY HINATA!" just then Hinata's guardian, Ko, found her. Ko grabbed her hand and began leading her away, "Lady Hinata, what are you doing out here? You should stay away from that boy."
"But I- " Hinata tried to protest while looking back at Naruto. He had a sad, but slightly understanding expression on his face. As if this situation had happened before. Hinata wanted to go back and help him but before she could act he was already out of sight.
The next morning, Naruto found himself walking with Kakashi to his first day at the academy. As the pair arrived, they found the yard outside of the academy already full of new students and their parents. The most prominent of which included the clan heads of Konoha's 7 biggest clans with their heirs or heiresses.
"See, big brother Kakashi, I told you we would be late," Naruto exclaimed indignantly.
"Meh, meh Naruto," Kakashi waved of his complaints, "We're only 3 minutes late, and the Hokage hasn't even arrived to give the opening speech. Besides, we couldn't let that old lady cross the street by herself."
"What old lady?" Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion, "I don't remember seeing any old ladies on the way here."
"Eh, she was a sneaky ninja old lady," Kakashi replied, thinking he should reconsider his list of automatic excuses, "You couldn't have seen her if she was a ninja."
"Oh," Naruto believed it completely, "I'll be able to see her when I go to the academy though, right?"
"Maybe in a few years," Kakashi started to wonder about what kind of hole he dug himself into. Seeing an opportunity to change the subject, Kakashi pointed to the front gate, "Oh look, the Hokage is here."
The crowd quieted down as an old man made his way to the front steps of the Academy. He wore white robes with red clothing underneath. On top his head rested a red and white pentagon shaped hat, displaying his status as leader of the village. As he made his way towards the Academy the crowd parted and bowed. The respect given was not just to the village leader, but also to a man who had lived so long in a world where so many shionbi die young.
"Hey, Old Man!" Naruto called out friendly manner, while waving at the Hokage, "Did ya come here just to see me become an awsome kickass ninja!"
Several nearby adults glared at Naruto and told him to hush, but Hiruzen just smiled and waved back, "I'm glad to see you here today, Naruto."
"In fact, I'm glad to see all of you here," Hiruzen addressed the whole crowd, "To the parents here today, I'm sure it will be difficult to see your sons and daughters take on such a dangerous job in becoming a ninja. However, there is no greater responsibility than the protection of one's village. The shinobi of Konoha are never left behind and there sacrifice are never forgotten. To the children who are just joining this Academy, today is you first step on your way to becoming ninja of Konoha. You are the future of this village and its people. May the Will of Fire burn within you as you become the protectors of our nation and our home. I wish you all good luck. Without further delay, you may now enter the building and find your classroom."
With that the Hokage stepped aside to allow the new students to file into the building.
"Have a good day, Naruto," Kakashi gave an impression of a smile with his only visible eye, "I'll be here this afternoon and we can get ramen for dinner."
"Yay! Ramen!" Naruto grinned excitedly, "Don't be late though."
"Of course not," Kakashi exclaimed with mock indignation.
Naruto looked at Kakashi suspiciously before turning to follow the other kids into the building. Once inside, he waded through the crowd until he found his homeroom. He quickly found a seat in between two other kids who he assumed where boys.
"Hi, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, I'm going to be the Hokage, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed.
The kid on his left scoffed before saying, "I'm Satsu- err, I mean Sasuke."
The kid to his right yawned before sleepily responding, "I'm Shikama-."
The kid was cut off as a sudden comotion happened across the room when several girls shrieked at the sight of bugs crawling up the sleeve of a dark haired kid with round tinted glasses.
"Hey Sasuke. Hi Shikamaru," Naruto greeted them enthusiastically. Sasuke seemed satisfied with that answer and went back to watching the teacher prepare for class. Shikamaru appear disgruntled for a moment but shrugged it off and fell back asleep, as if it was to much effort to address the issue.
A few rows behind the trio a shy girl watched the blonde. 'He's in my class!' Hinata thought to herself, 'I should thank him for saving me yesterday.' But before she could act the teacher called for everyone to settle down as class began.
Outside, Kakashi waited until all of the students entered the building before approaching the Hokage, "Lord Hokage."
"Ah, Kakashi," Sarutobi acknowledged him, "Come with me, the council will be addressing your request today. Can't have you being late for that, now can we."
"Yes, Lord Hokage," Kakashi fell into step with Sarutobi as he began making his way back to the Hokage Tower.
"About that report you gave me a few weeks ago," Sarutobi discreetly mentioned, "It was rather… interesting. It will be filed away as an S-rank rumor for now, unless any evidence to support it comes up. Per your request, the shinobi you encountered will remain unnamed in our records. However, should he commit, or already have committed, any crimes against Konoha, or the Land of Fire, he will immediately be placed in the bingo book under his real name."
"I understand Lord Hokage," Kakashi accepted.
"Good, we're here," Sarutobi confirmed as they reached the Hokage Tower.
Once inside, they made their way to the council chambers where 14 other people had gathered in a semi-circle. On the left side of the room the 7 clan heads were settling in from attending the Academy entrance ceremony with their kids. The exception was the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan heads, as they didn't attend the ceremony. The clan heads included: Fugaku Uchiha, Hiashi Hyuuga, Shibi Aburame, Tsume Inuzuka, Chouza Akamichi, Inochi Yamanaka, and Shikaku Nara. On the right side of the room sat the 3 elder advisors and the 4 civilian department heads. The 3 elders were known as Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado. The 4 department heads included: the Head of Banking and Village Finances, the Head of Trade and Foreign Relations, the Head of Public Health and Safety, and the Head of Village Upkeep and Construction.
Each department oversaw a different aspect of the civilian concerns in the village. The Department of Finances oversaw the village economy and the distribution of money. The Department of Trade oversaw the civilian businesses and the import and export of food and supplies. The Department of Public Health oversaw the hospitals and ensuring they were equipped to handle any injury, disease or treatment. The Department of Village Upkeep oversaw the maintenance of public buildings and parks, as well as the construction of new buildings and the expansion of the village.
"Everyone is here? Good," Sarutobi took his place at the head of the room, "Seeing as Kakashi is here now let's begin with his case. Kakashi Hatake has requested the adoption of the Nine Tails jinjuriki, Naruto Uzumaki. What is the council's decision?"
Some of the members muttered among themselves for a minute, before Koharu spoke up, "I believe a debate regarding the adoption of the village jinjuriki already took place a month after the Nine Tails attack. In that debate it was determined that the boy couldn't be adopted by any clan or civilian to prevent the child from being influenced in any way."
"That's not completely accurate," Inochi spoke up, "I believe the exact decision was that no one from a clan could adopt Naruto to prevent an imbalance of power. It was also determined that a civilian would be unsuited to raising a jinjuriki. The final agreement did not include anything regarding shinobi independent of any clan."
"Eh, just let him adopt the boy," Tsume said nonchalantly, "What harm could it do?"
"Kakashi's psyche report for the past few years show that he is mentally unstable and unsuitable to raise a child," Homura pointed out, "He has a reputation for being late to any appointment, takes on more anbu missions above the mental load for any ninja, not to mention several of those missions were considered suicidal."
"He's been taking care of the boy for the past few weeks already," Chouza mentioned, "Perhaps his mental condition can be improved and reevaluated. The Yamanaka's can help with the recovery if need be."
"Regardless of Kakashi's qualifications as a parent, any shinobi that adopts the jinjuriki will gain the boy's support and power," Fugaku stated, "I stand by the notion that the village jinjuriki must be kept neutral and cannot be adopted by anyone, ninja or civilian."
"At this point, it wouldn't be necessary to adopt the boy to gain his support," Shibi analyzed, "Simply befriending him would be enough to earn his devotion."
"That can't be helped," the Koharu threw in, "We can't just restrict the boy from speaking to anyone ever. Instead I'm more concerned about how other villages might react to this. Especially if it is Sharingan Kakashi who adopts the boy."
"We must also consider what impact this may have on the civilian population," the Head of Public Health put forth, "While those of us on the civilian portion of the council have a general understanding of shinobi affairs to aid us in the management of a ninja village, the average civilian is prone to assumptions. If the rumor that the village jinjuriki has a ninja guardian spreads around, some people might jump to the conclusion that the seal is unstable and the container needs to be under surveillance. Such notions would cause a panic."
"There is no reason to assume that civilians will act that way," the Head of Trading negated.
"It is unnecessary for the jinjuriki to have a family as long as he is properly trained in the ninja arts and displays loyalty to the village," Danzo stated firmly.
The council muttered amongst themselves another few minutes, until Sarutobi spoke up, "Does anyone else have something to say? What about you Kakashi?"
Kakashi, who had remained silent so far, stepped forward, his body language not betraying his inner emotions.
"Everything said about my reputation is true. I'm unfit to raise a child," as he said this, his expression changed to one that clearly showed determination, "But please give me the chance to try. I promise you I'll make Naruto a shinobi this village can be proud of."
The council was silent for a moment before Sarutobi spoke up again, "If that is all, then let us vote on the matter. All in favor of allowing Kakashi to adopt Naruto Uzumaki raise your hand."
Sarutobi, Tsume, Inochi, Chouza, Shikaku, and the Head of Trading all raised their hands.
"Six," Sarutobi counted, "Then how many are in favor of the villiage jinjuriki remaining neutral without any legal guardian, civilian or ninja."
Fugaku, Hiashi, Shibi, Danzo, Koharu, Homura, the Head of Finance, the Head of Public Health, and the Head of Village Upkeep all raised their hands.
"Nine," Sarutobi sighs disappointedly, "By a vote of 6 to 9, Naruto Uzumaki will remain an orphan and cannot be adopted by any shinobi or civilian from this day forward. Kakashi, I believe Naruto has been living at your apartment for the past few weeks. As the orphanage has chosen to banish Naruto from the premises, I will provide Naruto with his own apartment using the Hokage funds. He will be moved into his new place by the end of the week, at which point you will be given the payment of a C-rank for temporarily housing the jinjuriki for a short period of time."
"I… I understand… Lord Hokage," Kakashi admitted in defeat.
"You are still permitted to see him anytime you wish, and you may become his jonin sensei, should he attain the rank of genin," Sarutobi added.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage," Kakashi said gratefully before leaving the council chambers. As soon as he left the council continued onto the next issue of debate.
By time lunch came around, Naruto was bored out of his mind. The whole morning was just the teacher going on and on about some dull math and history lessons they were going to cover over the course of the year. Naruto kept fidgeting in his seat wishing he could do something, anything to pass the time in an interesting way. He was tempted to join Shikamaru in taking a nap, but advice Kakashi gave him a few days ago kept popping up in his head. Kakashi told him he should pay attention in class, even if it wasn't that fun. Gathering and remembering information perfectly was a key part of being a ninja, alongside having the patience to do so. So, Naruto paid attention to every word the teacher spoke, even if he didn't understand how any of it could be related to being a ninja.
As the lunch bell rang, Naruto jumped up excitedly. Finally, he could get up and move around. Maybe he could even make a few new friends during recess. Naruto grabbed a bento Kakashi made him this morning from his cubby where the younger students put their things for the day. As he made his way outside he chose to sit underneath a tree to eat.
He looked around to see if any one else would join him, but none of the other kids approached him. The clan children didn't seem to have any ill intention to this, as they were just gathering in their own little groups of friends. The civilian kids however, were a different story. Most of them were clearly avoiding Naruto, some going even as far to pretend he didn't even exist.
Naruto was slightly saddened by this as he started to take a bite of his lunch. It wasn't bad, wasn't great either, and it definitely wasn't ramen. Kakashi could cook decently enough, even though he didn't put much effort into making it taste good, just passible, but it was the thought behind it that mattered the most to Naruto. This meal was prepared by someone who seemed to care about him, and that lessened the loneliness he was feeling.
As Naruto continued to eat his lunch a violet haired girl from one of the older classes walked over to him. She was perhaps about 3 years older than him. She wore a simple white shirt with an orange skirt and black ninja sandals.
"Hey there, why are you sitting all the way over here by yourself?" the girl asked.
"Heh, I guess just don't have that many friends yet," Naruto replied as he looked up from his meal.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find a group of friends eventually," the girl encouraged, "I'm Anko, Anko Mitarashi."
"I'm Naruto," Naruto introduced himself, "Naruto Uzumaki."
"Hello Naruto," Anko smiled at him, "You know, you kind of remind me of myself during my first year."
"Huh? Really?" Naruto inquired.
"Yup," Anko began to elaborate, "I started out without any friends because everyone was intimidated by my father."
"Oh," Naruto replied, "Who's your father?"
"Orochimaru of the Sannin," Anko stated proudly, "Well, technically he's my godfather. He was my mother's sensei before she died, leaving me to be raised by him."
"Ok," Naruto responded.
"You have no idea who he is, do you?" Anko realized as Naruto nodded his head, "Well, he's the head of Konoha's research division and one of the legendary three Sannin. He's a little creepy at times, but I know he's really nice underneath. He even taught me how to summon snakes!"
As she said this, a snake slithered out of Anko's sleeve and hissed at Naruto.
"That's so cool, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed as the snake disappeared back into her sleeve.
"Hey, why don't I introduce you to my friends," Anko said as she waived over a group of three girls.
"This here is Naruto," Anko told her friends as the approached, "Naruto this is Kurenai Yuhi, Hana Inuzuka, and Yugao Uzuki."
Anko pointed to each girl as she introduced them. Kurenai was dark haired with vibrant red eyes and was wearing a red dress. Hana was a brunette with red marks adorning her face, she had her hair pulled up into a pony tail. Three puppies trialed around her feet. Yugao appeared to be a year older than the rest of the group. She had violet hair like Anko and was wearing a black outfit reminiscent of anbu gear. As all of them sat down to each lunch, Naruto began to enthusiastically chat with the older girls.
Across the school yard, the shy Hyuuga heiress watch the group laugh at one of Naruto's funny antics. 'I want to go over there,' Hinata thought, 'But what if they think I'm rude for interrupting them.' She continued to sit alone, but unnoticed as she tried and failed to find the courage to walk over and speak to the boy that saved her.
Hinata only half paid attention during the afternoon class. Every few minutes she would glance nervously at Naruto, hoping he might recognize her and make the first move. As the first day at the Academy came to an end, Hinata steeled herself to confront Naruto. Unable to catch his attention as students filed out of the classroom, she moved ahead to the fence outside the Academy to cut him off as he left.
As Naruto passed by, Hinata gathered herself and spoke up, "Narut-"
*Growl!* Hinata was cut off as Naruto's stomach made itself known.
"Man, I could go for some ramen right now, but Kakashi's late again," Naruto said to himself, "Eh, I'll just meet him at Ichiraku's."
Just as Naruto was about to skip off someone stopped him in his tracks before saying, "Whoa there, don't you know a man should always listen to a woman when she's trying to get his attention."
The person was a tall man with long, spikey white hair, and red markings on his face. The man wore a headband with the kanji for oil, a red haori, a green kimono with matching pants, wooden sandals and carried a large scroll on his back.
"Huh?" Naruto turned to see who the man was talking about, "Oh, I didn't notice you. You're that girl from yesterday! Hinata, was it? Did you want something?"
"Y-yes," Hinata stuttered in surprise, "I-I wanted to t-thank you for saving me y-yesterday."
"Eh, it was nothing," Naruto scratched behind his head, "I'll always jump in to help a pretty girl in trouble dattebayo!"
Hinata's face took on the color of a tomato as she mumbled, "P-pretty?"
"Are you feeling ok? Are you sick?" Naruto misinterpreted her expression, "How about you come with me to get some ramen? It'll help you feel better!"
"S-sure," Hinata's heart started beating faster.
"Hold on a second," Naruto turned to the man that halted him, "Who are you again?"
"Oh me," the man struck a dramatic pose, "I'm glad you asked. I'm the gallant sage of the toads, one of the legendary Sannin. I've fought countless enemies and stole the hearts of countless damsels. Men want to be me, women want to be with me. I'm the one, the only, Jiraiya!"
"Eh, doesn't ring a bell," Naruto was unimpressed.
"Ack-" Jiraiya's pose was ruined as he fell before he recovered and sat up, "Ah, I'm sure you just haven't learned about important shinobi in the Academy yet. How about I pay for the ramen while I tell you about my adventures."
"Ramen!" Naruto became considerably more interested, "Ok, let's go!"
Naruto grabbed a blushing Hinata by the hand and began pulling her towards his favorite place in the village.
A little while later, the three of them were sitting down at Ichiraku's, each enjoying a bowl of miso ramen while Jiraiya recounted the first time he visited the land of the toads, Mount Myoboku. At this time Kakashi made his entrance.
"Ah, there you are Naruto, I should have known," Kakashi commented as he pushed aside the cloth hanging over the entrance, "Oh, Lord Jiraiya, I didn't realize you were near the village."
"I decided to visit a person I was overdue to meet," Jiraiya replied.
"Big brother Kakashi, you were late again," Naruto accused.
"Heh-heh, I'm sorry, a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long way around," Kakashi's eye seemed to smile innocently.
"Oh," Naruto still couldn't tell that he was lying.
"Hey, Naruto I need to talk to you for a minute, will you come out side," Kakashi requested.
"Ok," Naruto complied before turning to Hinata, "Make sure no one touches my ramen."
As Naruto walked outside, Kakashi sighed as he prepared himself for what was to come next, "Naruto I have some bad news."
Naruto looked up at Kakashi, now paying close attention.
"I tried adopting you today," Kakashi revealed, "But I was denied."
"What?" Naruto exclaimed in shock, "Why?"
"As a high-ranking ninja I have to take on a lot of risky missions," Kakashi told only half of the truth, "If I were to die on one of those missions you would be back to where you started. That is why the council wouldn't agree to let you stay with me. With in a week you'll be moving out of my home and into your own apartment provided by the Hokage. Don't worry, I'll still be able to see you in between missions. I'll come by everyday that I'm not outside the village."
Naruto started to tear up before he ran forward and hugged Kakashi. Burying his face into Kakashi's stomach he cried out, "It's ok big brother Kakashi, I'm so glad that you tried to adopt me. No one's ever done that before. As long as I can still see you as much as possible I'll be happy."
Kakashi stood there for a moment as a tear escaped his visible eye. He hugged Naruto back briefly before guiding him back into Ichiraku's to finish his ramen.
Author's Note:
And there's chapter 2. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and favorited this story. The positive feed back helped me write this chapter sooner than I originally planned.
To address those of you who have asked about the harem: I feel as if almost any girl in canon can be paired with Naruto in a believable way. Because of this I currently have no set limit on how many girls can be in the harem. I'll keep on adding them one at a time until I reach a point where I feel like I can't handle any more. I intend to build up each relationship throughout the story, so it may be a while before some girls show any romantic interest in Naruto. I will not do any yoai pairings.
You may have noticed I lowered the ages of some of the older female characters. This is to make them more likely to join the harem. This may affect certain plot points, such as Anko being Orochimaru's adoptive daughter, as she would have been too young to be his apprentice, and pushing back the date of his betrayal. Tsunade will not be de-aged and will not be a part of the harem, her role as one on the Sannin is too important to change. None of the moms (Tsunami, Mikoto, Yoshino, etc.) will be included into the harem. The only one I might consider is Tsume, as she doesn't have a living husband that I know of.
The prioritization for adding girls to the harem are as follows:
Absolutely confirmed:
-Hinata, Haku, Temari, Shizune, Anko
High Priority:
-Ino, Ayame, Kurotsuchi, Fu, Konan, Mei, Tayuya
Intermediate Priority:
-Kurenai, Hana, Yugao, Tenten, Sakura, Karui, Mabui, Kaguya, Yugito, Karin
Lower Priority:
-Matsuri, Guren, Honoka, Pakura, Samui, Isaribi, Yakumo, Tamaki
I'm open to including other filler characters, but I'll have to rewatch the episodes they appear in before I decide how to include them in the story. The same goes for the movie girls, as I only remember the last three movies (RTN, The Last, Boruto). I'll also consider adding Boruto era girls (like Mirai, or that cat girl Wasabi) by making them born sooner.
Keep in mind that story progression and character development take precedence over adding more girls to the list just for the sake of it. It isn't fun when the character isn't done justice in their development.
Edit: I rushed through the A/N when I first uploaded this chapter because my computer's battery was dying. I have now reworked the harem list to include some characters I forgot.