A/N: Kamizon here! This is chapter three of 'The Eternal Chimera'. Before I do break into the story I have some notes to make.
First, there are a couple of time skips in here. Nothing major just some character development. Bear with it please.
Secondly, there's quite a twist here. It makes this fic gradually move away from canon. Most might not be expecting it... But you'll like it!
I'd like to thank ThunderNinjaBird for putting in the first review for this story. Thanks also to those who put this story in their Favs and Follows.
On with the story...
Chapter 3: There Is Always A Source
So soon it had been two years. Naruto was still living with Kakashi and loving every minute of it. In the past Naruto didn't really have many happy times, all he had were memories of moments where he had to fear for his life as a result of the villagers' persecution. These days he had times that he could look back upon in many years to come and say that they were actually joyous moments.
That didn't mean to say that he had no bad memories while being under Kakashi's direct care. There were still the odd attempts at ruining his current lifestyle but there were far fewer attempts on Naruto's life.
In the two years that Kakashi had spent looking after Naruto many things had changed. Their relationship had been taken from that of a teacher and student to that of a mentoring older brother, Kakashi had left the ANBU and also put his reading of Icha Icha in hold.
Kakashi, for his part, had no idea how he had lived before adopting Naruto, it was just so much fun now. He couldn't conceivably imagine living without him. He was like a breath of fresh air. Just fulfilling if you will. He still remembered the conversation that he had with the Hokage that particular day and the chaos that ensued shortly after.
FLASHBACK
Kakashi had just walked into the Hokage's office. Sarutobi greeted them somewhat surprised at seeing them, normally they would train and then return to report on the progress Naruto was making at the end of the week. Being only the middle of the week, he wasn't expecting to see either of them for the next two or three days, unless maybe a mission that required Kakashi's skills specifically came up.
"What can I do for you two today?" the Hokage asked, Kakashi wasted no time in his reply.
"There is nothing that you can do for us. I just came to inform you that I have adopted Naruto before you hear something strange from another source."
If there was anything Sarutobi was expecting it was not that, his mouth fell open, pipe dropping to the ground. He was at a loss for words.
"How?" was all he managed to grunt out, not trusting himself to speak further. Kakashi wasn't even given time to answer as the door to the Hokage's office burst open. It was Asuka Haruno, Sarutobi looked past her to see his secretary giving him an apologetic look, he sent her a look back that seem to say that he knew that she could have done anything to prevent it.
"Hokage-sama, it has been brought to our attention that someone has adopted the demo…" she caught herself just in time; it was almost a force of habit to call Naruto by such hate filled names. Once she had calmed herself and was thinking slightly clearer she restarted,
"It has been brought to our attention that someone has adopted Naruto Uzumaki."
The Hokage was about to answer her when someone beat him to the punch, Kakashi entered the conversation,
"'Brought to your attention'? I adopted Naruto not half an hour ago, how could you possibly know so quickly?" Kakashi of course knew how they knew. There was some sort of plot to never have Naruto adopted; ensuring that he always had a miserable life. It was that it was impossible to prove. Now that the civilian council had found out so soon after the papers had been processed and well before any formal complaint could follow the proper official channels. The person that had served him at the desk in the civilian council office must have leaked the copy of the adoption paperwork that were currently held in his hands. She must have contacted Asuka Haruno, a recent addition to the civilian council.
Asuka Haruno had only just joined the council. She was fast on her way to becoming its head, due to her unrivaled and thinly veiled hatred of Naruto. Nobody could work out where the hatred came from, she had not lost any one particularly close in the Kyuubi attack, yet the hatred was there and burning stronger than any Uchiha katon jutsu.
"Naruto Uzumaki is special. Special circumstances deserve special attention." Turning back to the Hokage, Asuka continued, "For this reason we have called a council meeting of both the civilian and ninja sectors."
It was now Sarutobi's eyes that narrowed in suspicion. "How did you arrange the ninja council to convene? The only four people that have such power in the village are myself, and any one of the three village elders." He also had his suspicions though he knew she would never confirm them.
"That is not the issue right now. Both of the councils are gathered and waiting in the council chambers. It is best that we do not delay them any further." She had dodged the question and attempted to redirected his attention. He was aware of this but as it stood he would rather just get the meeting out of the way.
-0-
In the council chambers there was a large ruckus. Asuka drew their attention, announcing the reason that we are gathered.
"We are here to discuss the implications of the adoption of one Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto for his part couldn't understand why his adoption was such a big deal for everyone else. This should be special to only him and Kakashi sensei, with a select few others to be allowed to celebrate with them. Those were his thoughts as he walked out of the council chamber because he wasn't a council member.
"Before we begin, I would like to ask why the ninja council was also gathered." Sarutobi demanded
"Simple, to decide upon what punishment should be suitable for Kakashi Hatake should we deem disciplinary action be necessary." Was Asuka's smug response.
"The ninja council is only concerned with dealing punishment for professional misconduct. As such there is no need for them to be here. Any member of the ninja council that does not wish to witness this has my permission to leave."
No sooner than the words had left Sarutobi's mouth Hiashi Hyuuga and Fugaku Uchiha had shunshined out of the chambers.
After having part of her plan demolished by the Hokage, Asuka settled for trying to remove Naruto from Kakashi's guardianship.
"Well, it still remains to be seen whether it is a good idea for Hatake-san to adopt Naruto."
Maintaining his usual air of casual indifference Kakashi asked "On what grounds do you deem me unfit to look after Naruto?"
"We are all aware of Naruto's unique circumstances." She said, skirting around the thought of saying 'he has a demon sealed within him!' for fear of her life. "We are simply unsure how stable he is or whether he will attack. We simply have the adopting family or individual's best interests at heart."
Kakashi was smiling, she had made it too easy, "Are you telling me that an aged matron with no battle skills is better equipped than me to handle Naruto if such an unlikely event occurred? Me; a highly experienced Jounin of considerable standing in this village?"
Sarutobi cast his eyes about the room, Shikaku Nara, while appearing to be asleep was paying close attention to the proceedings and had a knowing grin about his face if you cared to look closely enough. Tsume Inuzuka, head of the Inuzuka Clan, Chouza Akimichi, head of the Akimichi clan and Inoichi Yamanaka, head of the Yamanaka clan were not even bothering to hide their glee. For many years each had made attempts to adopt Naruto into the family, each failing every time. Shibi Aburame's facial expression could not be seen through the high collared jacked and dark sunglasses he wore, but there had to have been at least a smirk on his face from the proceedings. While he had not made an active effort to adopt Naruto, he or his clansmen had time and time again rendered assistance; using their kikai bugs to mercilessly drain an assailant's chakra till they died. Attacking a mere child, more defenseless than one of their bugs deserved no mercy.
Kakashi continued while Asuka was still mulling over his words, "Also if he really is as dangerous as you insist, then is it wise to leave him in a place filled with so many other vulnerable children?"
Asuka was quick on the rebuttal, "As you said, it is very unlikely that he will ever attack, so there is no risk."
'HA! Got you there, take that you stupid one-eyed cyclops' raged the inner persona that all Haruno women possess, not stopping to consider that 'one-eyed cyclops' was not much of an insult.
Kakashi smiled once again "Just as you say, it is very unlikely that he would ever attack. So there is no risk there therefore I shouldn't have to fear for my life and no reason for you to worry about my well being now that I have adopted him."
She was beat and he knew it. She had nothing to say; she simply opened and closed her mouth like a fish gulping air.
Not wanting to waste any more time here, Sarutobi called the meeting to an end before any other member of the civilian council grew a brain and tried to find some other way to remove Naruto from Kakashi's custody.
FLASHBACK END
Kakashi still thought back to that day when he felt like he needed a lift in his day. After all it was not often that you got to silence the civilian council's power broker without the rest of them even getting a word in, almost making it pointless having gathered them in the first place.
Right now Naruto and Kakashi were playing a game of hide and seek; this was to practice stealth techniques. It wasn't quite as simple as the civilian version. The hiding and seeking was still the same, but the hiding person needed to learn to hide so much better if they wanted to avoid being caught.
Another difference was that that person was allowed to move around while they were hiding. This was a double edged sword, move to remain concealed, or remain still and avoid giving your position way but risk being caught easiliy; it was a very fine balance as any movement had to be precise and not alert the 'enemy'.
This was often a game he had played with his first and only genin team, though there were a few extra rules. Like using a genjutsu to disorient the searcher, though it had to be placed very subtly otherwise you were classed as being found.
As he continued his search pattern he heard a rustling in the bushes nearby, a normal person would have passed it off as the breeze, but Kakashi was not a normal person. He had found Naruto he walked over to the bushes and placed his hand on Naruto's head. He had done quite well not to be spotted considering he was still into wearing those hideous orange jumpsuits that they managed to obtain from Keiichi.
Kakashi had many other games that he used to teach Naruto strategy, it always worked best with games. He was still a firm believer that children learned best when they were having fun with what they were doing, something that Naruto seemed to prove over and over again.
Kakashi taught him strategy. The ideal game to play would have been shogi, but seeing as Naruto was too young he settled for snakes and ladders. The first thing he had taught Naruto to do was how to cheat at throwing the dice and always get the number that you wanted. Of course once Naruto had learnt this he always went for six, only to end up back on the beginning square after the 5th roll very time. He had quickly learnt that it was not always the highest number that got him the furthest, but sometimes that a lower number could be better, especially if you landed on a ladder. With that in mind, Kakashi then made the objective to reach the goal square in as few turns as possible. It took Naruto many weeks of experimenting before he got the optimal route that Kakashi had planned in his head almost immediately. Once he had completed that he got out a different board, increased difficulty this time to nut out the correct route. Surprisingly, it took him less time than the original; he was learning to consider all his options faster and make correct choices.
Their training had continued over the years. He could now effectively do the henge and the kawarimi. Bunshin was still impossible for him to perform. Kakashi had kept to his word to Sarutobi and not taught him any of the higher level jutsu from his vast repertoire. His chakra control, while much better, was still not as good as Kakashi would have liked, particularly with all the tree walking training he was doing; then again Kakashi was using himself as a yard stick, a person that was already a genin by his Naruto's age.
He knew that using genjutsu was out of the question for Naruto, the best he could hope for was to teach him how to get himself out of them. This was easier said than done as it involved putting Naruto into a genjutsu, and the ones he knew were far too extreme to subject a child of barely 6 yrs old to. To help he sought out Kurenai Yuuhi, a promising young chuunin. She was far better than he was at genjutsu and was able to cast minor ones of her own creation on the spot, often used for punishing perverts.
When he had asked her to cast a genjutsu over Naruto showing a picture of Gai Maito chucking Ichiraku's ramen down the drain she gave him a quizzical look.
He gave her a sheepish grin and asked her not to question. The genjutsu was cast,
GENJUTSU VISION
"YOSH! Someone's flames of youth have started to dwindle! To consume ramen, such an unyouthful act! I will make my own flames of youth burn even brighter by tipping this horrid ramen down the drain." Gai proceed to pour the ramen down a drain that had just magically appeared.
VISION END
That was all poor Naruto could take. The speech was enough to tolerate, green spandex was bad, the bowl haircut was worse, the fuzzy eye brows; well they were horrendous. But the compared to the evil of chucking perfectly good ramen down the drain, the rest was nothing. Naruto was panting hard, with a horrified look on his sweat covered face; never had he seen such an evil thing in his life, he had to get out and did the only thing he could remember Kakashi telling him to do; emit a large pulse of chakra to end the jutsu.
Kakashi for his part was grinning. He had just taught Naruto to escape genjutsu all the while getting one up on his 'eternal rival' with him being none the wiser. Kurenai decided something were best left unasked and decided to stay and help Naruto train in order to reduce the amount of chakra he use to dispel the jutsu. Naruto agreed to be subjected to more genjutsu on the condition that he was "never ever to see the food of gods" being destroyed again.
-0-
It was now a new year and the day of the first day at the Konoha Ninja Academy.
"Aniki-kun, are you going to take me to the academy today?"
Kakashi smiled a Naruto addressed him as his older brother,
'Rather fitting actually.' Kakashi thought, 'the son of the man I consider a surrogate father referring to me as his older brother. That's nice'
"Yes Naruto-kun, don't worry, I'll see you off. This is an important day for you, I wouldn't miss it for the world." Kakashi reassured, his one visible eye crinkling with kindness while placing some bacon on Naruto's plate.
After a short breakfast, we find the pair roof hoping towards the ninja academy. Silently Kakashi thanked himself for all the physical training that he had done with Naruto over the past 2 years. It had consisted of swimming practice and daily jogging to improve his stamina and speed as well as a few exercises to build some strength into his muscles, though not too much as to affect his growth. While they weren't travelling anywhere near the speeds that Kakashi was used to, it would have driven him nuts to have to have traveled at ground level at civilian pace.
In 15 minutes they had reached the academy. Kakashi turned to Naruto with a few last messages.
"Alright, every time you come here from now on, I want you to time yourself. Each time you should aim to beat your best time in arriving here. You don't have to beat it every time, that would be ridiculous, just focus on getting here as fast as you can and remember don't claim you beat the time if you end up taking a shorter route." Kakashi watched as the devious smile on Naruto's face fell, he could read that smile any time and he often had a fairly good idea as to what Naruto was thinking when he used it, after all he was getting used to Naruto's unpredictability.
"Secondly, ask questions. Even if they make you feel stupid, ask them any way. You will learn more if you are asking questions. This will help you later on in your ninja life." Kakashi didn't need to go much further than that, the explanation would be lost, but it was a vital part of being a ninja. Questioning everything, from information given to the reality of one's surroundings was vital. Even if the question was asked only in one's head, it was better to answer yourself, rather than have a question unasked and thus unanswered, particularly in the field.
Naruto gave Kakashi a hug, no longer flinching at human contact like he had done only 2 short years ago. Kakashi watched his retreating back for a while, before shunshining home. He had put of reading his prized book series for 2 whole years now, he'd be damned if he didn't catch up while he had the chance.
-0-
Naruto was looking through each class list attached to each of the doors. He finally came to a door which had his name posted on the class list. He cracked a wide grin as he recognised some of the names on the list. Kiba Inuzuka, Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi and Shino Aburame were all on his class list as well. Over the two year period the 5 of them had grown quite close; well four of them had. They were about as friendly as anyone had ever been with an Aburame, not for want of trying, but due to Shino being so withdrawn like the rest of his clan.
Two other names also stuck out; Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka. He recognised the names, though didn't get the same thrill of excitement that went through him when he saw the other four boys' names. Ino was polite to him when they were with their parents, but when their parents weren't watching she avoided all four boys like the plague. It wasn't due to her parents' attitudes towards Naruto, simply that she thought that boys were 'icky' and tried to spend as little time with them as possible.
Sakura was a different kettle of fish all together. Naruto and Sakura had something of a history together, as was to be expected; it was hardly surprising that Asuka's highly negative view of Naruto had rubbed off on her daughter, indeed going as far to actively warn her daughter and tell her to keep away from the boy.
Sakura for her part could not see what was so bad about the boy, but her mother had told her to keep away and not become friends. When she went to the park she found a group of children no older than the age of five teasing Naruto about everything, from his orange clothes to his whisker like marks on his face. Sakura, glad that they were for once not teasing her, joined in. Ino, could be seen somewhere in the back ground not participating, but not saying anything in Naruto's defence, like the 4 boys who were his friends.
This continued on for weeks until Ino finally approached Sakura and somehow convinced her to stop. Ino had offered to be Sakura's friend if she stopped teasing Naruto. In Sakura's defence, the only reason she teased him was because others did. But she still gave him the looks the villagers sent his way.
Naruto walked into the class and noticed that three of his four friends were already seated, only Kiba was missing. He sat on Shikamaru's left while Chouji was seated on his right. This left space for Kiba to sit on Naruto's own left and the group could sit together through school. Kiba siddled into the class only a few minutes after Naruto. Naruto failed to notice as he was now taking note of the rest of his classmates.
There was a boy in the corner with obsidian black hair. He was wearing a blue t-shit and ninja sandals with a white pair of shorts. He also had bandaging going around his shins as well as his forehead. He didn't seem to be talking to anyone, but there did seem to be an unusually large number of girls sitting around him.
The next person he took notice of was a girl with indigo hair that seemed as though she was trying to mimic a turtle by disappearing into her massively over sized jacket. The jacket was beige in colour, and was complimented by a pair of blue three quarter length shinobi pants. The thing that held Naruto's attention though was her eyes. From what he could see they had no pupils and reminded him of the full moon, something he loved starting at with either his friends or his aniki when they all had the time.
He was snapped out of his thoughts by the rough opening of the door to the room. A man with silver hair walked in first, closely followed by a man with brown hair pulled back into a pony tail and a scar across the bridge of his nose.
The man with the ponytail spoke first,
"Good morning class, my name is Iruka Umino and this is my colleague Mizuki Bakamono, though you may refer to us as Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei. Together we will be your Chuunin instructors through your academy life, providing tuition in the ninja arts as well as areas such as battle tactics, survival skills, mathematics, language and Konoha's history." Many giggles had broken out during Iruka's introduction of Mizuki, not that he could really blame them. But really? BAKAmono?
The day started out with the typical self introductions (AN, sorry, but I'm not going to run, through these, I have a feeling that this chapter is going to end up rather long as it is). This was followed up by a history lesson, something that the students would deem the second most unwanted thing in their entire academy life. The coveted first place went to Iruka's patented 'Big Head' jutsu, which was discovered a short while later when nearly everyone was asleep.
The lesson was followed up by the highly anticipated lecture in chakra, which was a complete let down, they only really discussed what chakra was and its uses; there was no practical which thoroughly disappointed many of the students, mostly those who had not accessed their chakra yet.
-0-
Elsewhere Kakashi was wondering around, not really sure of what he should do with he regained freedom. The decision was soon taken out of his hands when and ANBU officer shunshined right in front of him.
"Hatake-san, the Hokage has requested your presence."
Fully expecting the ANBU to shunshin away again, Kakashi started to make his way down the street once again. Kakashi turned and said to the man
"You can leave now. Your message has been passed on."
"Actually I have orders to 'make you feel hell' until you actually arrive at the Hokage's office."
"Well I'd love to see you try. I live with Naruto, so I've built up a pretty high resistance to irritating things." Kakashi had a smug look about his face.
"The Hokage did warn me of such, so he gave me the ultimate battle plan. Henge!"
Looking skeptical, Kakashi waited for the smoke to clear with a grin replacing the smug look he was currently wearing. His scepticism soon turned to absolute horror, the ANBU had henged into Maito Gai, his 'eternal rival'.
'No he wouldn't!' Kakashi though wildly, his stomach knotting with apprehension.
"YOSH! LET THE POWER OF YOUTH EXPLODE!"
He did, succeed and Kakashi wasn't having any of it. If all it took was a visit to the Hokage then so be it; anything was better than that, well…nearly anything.
At the Hokage tower an old man waited patiently for the visit he was surely about to receive. Two minutes after having sent the ANBU agent, Kakashi Hatake was standing before him; it had to be some kind of record.
"That was below the belt Hokage-sama." Kakashi pointed an accusing finger at the aging Hokage. He simply smiled at Kakashi, finally having something against the eternally tardy ninja.
"Kakashi, we are ninja, there are no real rules and certainly no line below which we cannot hit." The grin never leaving his face.
The grin suddenly disappeared, showing that he was going to be completely serious now. Kakashi noticing the change in demeanor responded accordingly by withdrawing his hand and standing to attention, showing that he was listening.
"I have an offer, for you. I want you to listen to the whole thing before you decline. I want you to rejoin ANBU." Detecting that Kakashi was about to interrupt as he thought that was the whole offer, he quickly spoke again, raising his voice as he continued.
"I want you to be assigned to my personal guard here in the village. There are many benefits to this. The risk is far lower than that of any other ANBU missions, this way you stay in the village when you are on duty and you don't have to leave Naruto unattended for days. Finally, financially you will be better off. You have been surviving for the past couple of years on the monthly stipend that I allow you out of the budget. This will give you the chance to earn money far above that monthly allowance."
Kakashi mulled it over in his head. The two things that had Kakashi most concerned about rejoining the ANBU were the mission risk and leaving Naruto alone while he was away on missions. If Kakashi were to die while he was out on a mission then Naruto would be left alone again. If Naruto were to die while Kakashi left him to go on a mission, Kakashi may very well be committing sepaku. This offer removed those two factors.
"What are the hours?" Kakashi asked, hoping that he would say that it was from 9 am till 3 pm; the hours that Naruto was in the academy.
"6 am till 2.30 pm. Eight hour shifts with a 30 minutes 'on call' paid break. In other words if I call you through those 30 minutes you drop what you are doing and come. In fact, if I call you at any time between those hours, you drop what you are doing and come." Sarutobi finished rather sternly. Kakashi realised that the Hokage was referring to his tardy ways.
There wasn't much need for further consideration; the hours were not perfect, but better than he could have received.
"I accept. Thank you for the kind offer Hokage-sama.
"Good, you start next week and Kakashi, be on time every time. This appointment is one that many would give their left hand for. Just as easily as I have given it I can just as easily take you of the duty. Dismissed." With a sharp nod Kakashi shunshined home, realising that he would not have the time to read starting next week, so he was going to get through all he could in the week he had left, blood supply permitting of course.
-0-
The weeks to come were hardly anything of note; Kakashi had started his job as one of the Hokage's personal guards. At the end of the month he was pleasantly surprised with the pay he received, more than enough to cover both his Icha Icha addiction as well as Naruto's ramen addiction and then leave some left over for the other more…essential…essentials in life.
Naruto was thoroughly enjoying school, well anything practical anyway. The only real subject that Naruto found remotely interesting was history and only when it specifically included the Yondaime Hokage. While the other Kages were 'cool and powerful and stuff' nothing beats beating the strongest demon of them all; the Kyuubi no Youko.
He found the practical side of anything really easy, mostly because he had been trained in it in the last 2 years. There were other exceptional children in his year. Ino, Kiba and Chouji and Sakura all shone in given fields; Kiba and Chouji in taijutsu the girls more so in the use of jutsu or in Sakura's case bookwork and academics. There were two standout students. The first was Shino and the second and current top of the class was Sasuke, the boy that Naruto had observed from afar on the very first day. In fact, if it weren't for his book work, Naruto would have been right up there with them as one of the topped ranked students in the class, consequently, he was only ranked average, due to his abysmal academic ability.
There were two students that baffled the teachers. Both of them were clan heirs, so it was expected that they would do better than they currently were. Hinata Hyuuga, while not being a genius was still fairly apt at book work, though not enough to earn her the top place amongst the potential kunoichi. Her ability was brilliant, almost top of the class, in fact there were only 3 people that could beat her; Naruto, Shino and Sasuke. The thing that baffled the teachers was that her taijutsu was terrible. She came from a clan that was known to use what is regarded as the strongest taijutsu style in Konoha, the Gentle Fist. Yet every time she entered a match she was defeated, it was clear to the chuunin instructors that every time she had a clear shot she hesitated, not wanting to injure her opponent, ultimately leading to her defeat.
The second person that mystified the instructors was Shikamaru Nara. He was poorly ranked in taijutsu, often forfeiting his matches. His ability to use the jutsu was relatively competent, but it was his test scores that confused them. Every time he would answer only so many of the questions in the exam, getting all the ones he did answer correct. Though he seemed to have the potential to actually ace all of his test he only score enough to score exactly 50% leaving him with the lowest passing score of the class.
Before long half of the year had passed. Sasuke still maintained the overall top position in the class, while Shino was still hot on his heels. It was only very occasionally that Sasuke lost to any one, any if he did it was always to Naruto in a taijutsu match, simply for the blonde's unwillingness to give up and his freakish endurance.
The Uchiha clan council could not have him, would not have him 'losing' to any one in any regard, after all, they were the Uchiha; the strongest in the village. To give him the best advantage that he could have they enlisted the help of none other than his older brother to train his, after all he was a jounin already and only at the age of 11. At first Irachi was reluctant to train him, though when he realised that their training time would not be under any observation, he quickly changed his mind.
(What actually goes on)
It had always bothered Itachi that the Uchiha had rested on their laurels and claimed to be the greatest in the village, due to the sheer power of the Sharingan. It always annoyed Itachi that he was referred to as the 'Uchiha prodigy', as though saying that he only had power due to his clan of birth not his own hard work. It made Itachi angry; not simply annoyed, irritated or any of those other more mild emotions, but outright furious that the clan of Sharingan wielders believed only in the betterment of the clan and not the village as a whole. With his younger brother under his tutelage he was determined to have at least one other Uchiha that saw his views, even if he had to beat it into his younger brother and that is exactly what he did.
FLASHBACK
"So Sasuke, this will be our first time, not as brothers, but as sensei and pupil. As such you will regard me as sensei through this time." Itachi informed Sasuke, who all the while just remained silent, giving small nods that he had understood.
"Now we will spar with me asking questions throughout. I will fight at your level, though should you get a question wrong, I will not check my hand and you will feel the full force of the blow."
"We begin now. Sasuke, when you fight, whom are you fighting for?…" before the question had been completed it was already being answered.
"The Uchiha clan." Sasuke answered, as though it were almost a conditioned response. Before he knew Itachi had moved, Sasuke was sent sprawling on the ground. Itachi's eyes showed no emotion.
"Incorrect, try again. Who do you fight for?"
"Father…to make him proud." Sasuke was recoiled as a fist planted itself deep within his gut.
"Wrong, you fight for your village. The village hands you the assignment, an assignment designed to benefit the village in some way, from the lowest of D ranks to the highest of S rank missions. We will try again, this time with a different question"
Sasuke nodded, not being able to speak properly after being winded by the punch. Itachi had said he was not going to check his hand, yet Sasuke had the distinct feeling he was anyway. The sparing had resumed and was in full throttle when Itachi quizzed him again.
"Why is it that you are the top of your class? Why am I so powerful at such a young age?" Sasuke listened to the full question before choosing to respond. Once Itachi had finished only then did he speak up, feeling he had found the correct answer and avoided another painful blow.
"It is because we are Uchiha." He was sent flying this time. It had made Itachi lose his temper.
'To have the arrogance of our clan so firmly embedded into one so young, such a pity.'
"Try again. Why do we prevail over others, even some of over our own clansmen?"
Sasuke was panicking, why did he and his brother succeed and do better than others, even those inside their clan. If he and the rest of his clan were same in being Uchiha then he should not be able to prevail over them based on that merit alone. He knew what the answer was NOT, but couldn't figure out what the answer was. What did he and his brother have in common that they did not have in common with the rest of the clan. Well there was only one thing that they did in common and that was that they enjoyed training…that was it.
"Because…because we work and train hard."
Sasuke closed his eyes, expecting a devastating blow for saying something so
'un-Uchiha like', but nothing came. Then he looked up to see a smiling older brother.
"Correct. We try hard and work for what we have, it was not simply given to us. Remember that the path of a ninja is not an easy one, but with some determination you can truly accomplish great things. Work hard and go beyond what this clan believes to be its best."
"Finally, there is one last question I would ask of you. Why do you fight?"
Sasuke was troubled by this question. An idiot would have answered immediately what he had been taught by his father and the clan council.
'Fight for power and fight for the pride of the Uchiha.'
Sasuke was far from an idiot and realised this is the last answer Itachi would want to hear. Then he realised, if he did not fight for this purpose then he had no reason to fight, none of his own at least anyway.
"Sasuke, the last question does not need to be answered right away. If you do not have an answer now, develop one. All I ask is that you might tell me when you do, as a request from an older brother, not a task from your sensei."
FLASHACK END
Itachi's training and questioning of some of his firmest belief continued throughout the rest of the school year. It was through this time that they actually became brothers by more than just title or by blood relation, but by their ties to each other.
Slowly Sasuke changed, changing those around him in the process. His rivalry with Naruto had not ended and had forced the young blond to work even harder if he ever wanted to be considered on the same level as Sasuke in at least taijutsu.
This in turn forced Kiba and Chouji to up their efforts not to get left behind by their friend. Shikamaru still had the mentality that it was all still far too 'troublesome'.
Ino and Sakura just as determined not to get left behind by the boys and prove their own worth started training harder to catch up the gap that seemed to have opened out over the few weeks. Hinata was not to feel the effects of such a thing as well. Her clan had deemed that Hanabi would make a far better heir to the Hyuuga than Hinata. As a direct result Hinata stopped receiving private training from her father who had opted to train Hanabi. Hiashi had his own secret agenda. He had declared Hanabi the heir to save her from receiving the caged bird seal on her third birthday. While it pained him to sever connections with his first child, he still had to protect he second born.
Hinata was completely unaware of the politics that surrounded both her and her younger sister, though due to the clan disowning her in all regards except name she was free to do as she please and do as she pleased she did. She was not going to be seen as weak by the rest of her class mates. They had already changed themselves for the better. She was now determined to look to the rest of her class as a source of inspiration and improve herself along with them. Where she once struggled to prove herself to her clan, she now thrived, proving herself to her classmates and sensei, all the while a genjutsu mistress watching from afar as the student she privately tutored excelled and improved in leaps and bounds.
To Mizuki and Iruka it was inconceivable that one class could change so drastically due to the change in attitude of one student, yet it had happened. Even many of the so called 'die-hard' fan girls had changed their ways. Sakura had often wondered if she would have been like that, liking Sasuke only to fit in with the crowd if she had not met and befriended Ino.
It seemed that there were going to be quite a few genin teams passing this year and not just the exam, but the jounin administered test as well.
One year later
It was raining. It seemed as though heaven itself had opened up to share in the grief and mourning that was passing through the town like a ripple. It was a sad day for many and whispers were about. Snippets of conversation could be heard everywhere, all on the same topic of conversation.
"Did you hear?"
"Yes, did you?"
"All wiped out. Poor Sasuke is the only one that was left. How horrible."
"No one with the Sharingan survived. Only Sasuke; the last Uchiha."
Sasuke was not sure what to feel. On one hand there was the immeasurable grief and sorrow over losing one's family to one person in one night. On the other hand it was the villagers' conversations that made as though all of the clan had been wiped out. It was not the case. Sasuke was the only one who had any potential of bearing the Sharingan; that much was true. Yet those who still bore the Uchiha name yet not the bloodline still lived, the prized Sharingan, sadly no one acknowledge their pain.
His bother Itachi had gone on a rampage the previous night, killing all who could wield the Sharingan. In his rampage he had killed many who had married into the Uchiha family for power and prestige. The only members of this group allowed to live were Sasuke, the youngest with the potential to awaken the Sharingan, the many outsiders who had married into the clan who had genuinely fallen in love with an Uchiha and the discarded clan members; those who were considered as trash after they failed to awaken the Sharingan.
Sasuke, while not there to watch the full extent of the massacre, was there to see his beloved elder brother kill his father in cold blood.
FLASHBACK (Uchiha Massacre)
Sasuke walked through the Uchiha Compound doors only to here moans and wailings of pain as people clung to loved ones. Dyed in red, these people held onto the lifeless bodies of their treasured people, it seemed there was no pattern to it. Men, women children of all ages, the youngest being only a little older than Sasuke were all lying dead around him. He tried to ask them who had committed this act, but he would get no response. He simply rushed of in the direction of his father's house with fear evident in his eyes.
He opened the door only to receive a splatter of blood across his eyes, tainting his vision red. What he could see was his mother crying over his father's body as he slowly bled to death.
"Itachi, please. Just do it." Even now Mikoto Uchiha was a devout wife.
Itachi started with a quavering voice, "Oka-san, I cannot grant you release. You must still look after Sasuke-kun."
Upon the mention of her other son her frantic thoughts seemed to clear, she still had one more son to raise, it seems that it would be a while before she could join her beloved on the other side.
Itachi turned to Sasuke, "Sasuke, there's now only two people left worthy of keeping the Sharingan, you and me. This clan has been purged of its stupid ideals. Please remember all that I have taught you." Itachi silently prayed that he would remember not only the lessons on the ninja arts, but also why he should work hard and not fall into the trap that of many Uchiha before him had fallen into.
"Why?" Was all Sasuke could manage to voice.
"Sasuke-kun, sometimes even the mightiest of trees gets a limb that becomes infected and parasitic. To prevent the spread of infection and the corruption of the tree, it is best to sacrifice that limb... even if it once had a great purpose to the tree."
Before Sasuke could ask anything further Itachi had left to avoid the ANBU officers he knew would be coming to his location. Without further commotion he turned his back and would not be seen by any one that would recognise him for many years to come.
FLASHBACK END
There was a public memorial for the clan, many turned up.
Since that day many had started fawning over Sasuke. It wasn't just the fangirls any more either, it was the village adults as well. Frankly it made him sick to see them put him on a pedestal while there were so many in his clan members that had lost loved ones, yet assistance was not offered to them. Why? The connection was simple, because he was the one remaining person that could attain the Sharingan as well as produce an heir that was capable of receiving it as well.
Sasuke separated himself from those that fawned over him and focused on his training, surrounding himself with those that he knew would not give him an inch through their training time. There was a surprisingly large number of them, all of them from his class in the ninja academy.
Over time many of these people had supported him while he got over his grief.
Naruto and Kiba had taken to playing pranks over the years, the ultimate was when Naruto used a variation of the henge. His own Oiroke no Jutsu transforms into a very very sexy female with the right dimensions. The sexy technique was used to knock both Mizuki and Iruka out from a giant nosebleeds when the their lessons or rants, whichever way, got boring. Of course Naruto had to run from both Ino and Sakura for degrading women everywhere. Later when questioned about how he developed the jutsu he retold about finding one of his brother's books and how he modeled the bodies after the ones seen in that, then adding some feminine grace to his face before completing the jutsu.
Others simply helped him train instead of trying to find idiotic ways to make him laugh as Sasuke seemed most peace when training, perhaps because it was one of the good memories that he had with this brother.
He understood Itachi. After a few of their training sessions, he began to see what Itachi saw. How disgusting the Uchiha had become all because of power. Now he was going to fight for something else. What? He did not have an answer to yet.
Now his strength and hard work had brought him recognition. Not the feeble attempts at making him king of the world but true recognition from his peers. Now he was part of the greatest class. One that would produce shinobi that surpassed the Legendary Sannin, the previous Ino-shika-Cho, the Yondaime Hokage and probably Madara Uchiha.
He was part of Konoha.
Five years later
It was the night before the Academy Graduation Exam. Everyone was at home resting for the exam... well nearly every one. Naruto Uzumaki was at home panicking because he still could not do the bunshin jutsu. He was 12 now, and his big brother had explained to him that he simply had too much chakra to release such a small amount without there being any wastage. This didn't stop him. It was the thing that so many of his friends admired about him, he never gave up and he never stopped trying. Kakashi watched his little brother struggle for the umpteenth time. He couldn't help but pity the boy. He had kept his promise to the Hokage from all those years ago, but it was time that he broke that promise in order to help a little by teaching a high level jutsu.
"Naruto-kun, come here. I have something that will help you with the bunshin." Naruto wanting any advantage he could get quickly moved from his place in the training area of their backyard to where Kakashi was standing.
"This strictly speaking is not help with the bunshin, but a replacement technique seeing as you can't use it." Naruto grinned, Kakashi; seeing the imminent explosion of joy quickly cut through his thoughts.
"Wait. There is a condition to me teaching you this. It is that you must never teach this to any of your friends. The jutsu is classified as a kinjutsu for a reason. The chakra it takes for you to use the jutsu is enormous, if your friends tried, they could potentially end up dead. This is only safe for you to use because of your high reserves."
Naruto's eyes widened considerably, the gravity of what his older brother was saying sinking in.
"The jutsu is the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Kakashi demonstrated the hand sign slowly, though unlike all those years ago he could do it with some speed and still trust that Naruto would see them.
Naruto resumed his place in the field and performed the jutsu. Immediately 5 clones popped up. It was unheard of, a boy not even a genin getting a jounin technique on the first try.
"Out of interest, how much chakra did you try to use." Kakashi asked trying to get a feel for Naruto's chakra level.
"Oh, only about the same amount that I use for 2 bunshin." It was Kakashi's turn to go wide-eyed. He has that much chakra. If he couldn't do the water walking and tree walking exercise Kakashi would have said Naruto had the worst chakra control in history.
'I think I get it now. He opens the gate to his chakra and then closes it to the level he needs it, which is why he can do the water walking and tree climbing. But when he opens it for the bunshin, the bit that escapes is already too much for that jutsu. It just means we are going to have to get him to control how rapidly he opens the gate to his chakra.' Kakashi had gained an understanding on his little brother's chakra control, level and usage, just by teaching him one jutsu.
Naruto, feeling content that he could now pass practiced the jutsu a couple of times before he went to bed waiting for tomorrow to come.
-0-
The following day found Naruto and his class mates in the ninja academy each waiting for their chance to prove themselves worthy of being a genin of Konoha.
Iruka and Mizuki walked in through the door. Iruka was the one to address for the last time as a class.
"All of you listen. The road has been long and many of us have had to put up with our share of trials before getting to this point. In just a few moments you will all be administered your genin tests. If you do pass you will be awarded your hitai-ate." This caused a stir amongst all the students.
"If Shino Aburame would come forward with me and Ami would go with Mizuki then we will get the testing underway." At this Naruto's head along with Sasuke and Ino's head all slammed on the desk multiple times.
"What in the hell do you three think you're doing?" Sakura asked puzzled by their behaviour.
The three looked at each other before Sasuke spoke for them all.
"The test is in alphabetical order."
After an hour or so there were only 2 people left in the room; Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke had let Ino go before him with Mizuki. Iruka came out not long after, so no words could be exchanged between the two. Naruto was left on his own until Mizuki came out to test him. Upon seeing the only examinee left a very vindictive smile came across Mizuki's face, how he was going to enjoy making the demon brat fail.
"Right then Naruto, the rules are simple. You need an average of 70% to pass. Failure in any one area will automatically disqualify you from the exam. Please demonstrate throwing accuracy with these 10 kunai. A bull's eye is work 10 marks, the perfect score is 100. Naruto looked around and saw marks from misthrown kunai to the left right, above and on the roof around the target. Hell, there were even some behind the wooden target. Scoring a perfect 100 Naruto, didn't even worry about that art of the test. The next part consisted of a taijutsu battle where Naruto and Mizuki would battle.
"Rules: you may not hide for the duration of the match, you must either be present to attack or defend, any taijutsu style is allowed. The match duration is 2 minutes or if you can land a blow on me. Full marks will be awarded to those that can either last the 2 minutes or land a hit. Naruto had started out with grand ideas of ending the match by landing a hit, but soon found that Mizuki was far too good an opponent, so he settled for seeing the timer out.
"Finally we test your capability of doing the three academy jutsu. They can be performed in any order. A simple demonstrated or not demonstrated is all that is awarded in this section."
Naruto used the kawarimi on a nearby book, getting ticked off as demonstrated, next was henge, he transformed into a replica of his older brother, complete with his book and everything.
The next one was the kicker, he was sure of it.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu." Naruto cried out, shocking Mizuki that he knew such a high level jutsu. Mizuki still grinned.
"Naruto, I asked you to perform the bunshin not the kage bunshin. Please demonstrate the correct jutsu."
"But I can't do the jutsu. Why should it matter any way? I performed a higher level jutsu." He argued his point knowing full well that perfect scores in other rounds would not make up for a zero in the final one.
"Well, then you fail." The words seemed like a slap across the face to Naruto. He left the room almost in tears.
-0-
Sitting on the swing, Naruto stared into space until a shadow blocked his light.
"Listen, I know it seems I was hard on you but that is only because I must officially say whether or not you can do the required jutsu and pass." Naruto simply nodded mutely in understanding
"That being said there is an unofficial test that you may take in order to pass the exam, almost like a supplementary." Naruto looked up, hardly daring to believe his luck.
"This last test is a test of stealth. You must obtain the giant scroll kept hidden in the Hokage's office. Success is deemed as getting to the forest undetected, failure is getting caught any time before I see you with the scroll." It was too good to be true. A stealth mission. He had been trained in this for the last 8 years; this was something he could do. He went home to prepare, putting on the set of dark clothes that he rarely ever wore. Orange may have been his favourite colour, but there was a time and a place for everything and a jumpsuit that screamed 'I KNOW YOU CAN SEE ME!' was not well suited for a stealth mission.
2 Hours later
The entire shinobi population remaining in Konoha was looking for Naruto Uzumaki. He had played many pranks in the past, but this was unspeakable. He had stolen the scroll containing the techniques of the past Hokages as well as many other village secret jutsu.
In the forest on the eastern side of Konoha, Naruto could be found reading through this scroll while he waited for Mizuki-sensei. The forest around him looked like it has been torn asunder by mini-explosions; apparently he had been practicing one of the jutsu. When he first started reading he was ecstatic at all the high level jutsu that he had found in the scroll. His brain was only half working at the time.
"Wow, look at all the jutsu. This scroll must be seriously valuable. Wait, aniki said to ask questions, they may even be able to save your life. So then why would
Mizuki-sensei want me to steal a highly valuable scroll for the sake of a test? Isn't it more likely that they would use a dummy scroll instead?... OH SHIT! This must be a set up of some sort."
"Correct you are, Naruto."Mizuki exclaimed from the trees.
"Do you know how badly I've wanted to watch you fail? Yet every time, you would just scrape through a mark on your academic tests that kept you in the academy. Now, I finally have a chance at true power and in the process I'm going to kill you; the bane of Konoha. Since I'm in a particularly good mood and you are going to die, would you like to know why it is that you were hated, beaten when you were younger?"
"Stop right there Mizuki, that is forbidden information. At the moment your charges rest at manipulating a pre-genin into crime. Mention that secret and it will be over, I will kill you where you stand."
"Ha, like you ever could Iruka" before Mizuki could even react, Iruka had planted a fist in his gut. Putting some distance between the two, Iruka jumped back to his original position some 20 meters right of Naruto. Based on the speed that Iruka had, Mizuki had decided he was outmatched. His only hope was to create a distraction and escape. He still was intent on harming Naruto as much as humanly possible. It started with the giant shuriken that he threw.
Iruka looked on in horror as the shuriken sped towards Naruto who was dumbstruck by the night's events. It had too much power and weight to be stopped in a catch, the only other option was to block it with his body.
Naruto came to his senses when he saw Iruka flash in front of him, only to cough blood into his face. Mizuki started talking.
"Well, as I was saying, would you like to know why the villagers hate you?" Not even giving him time to respond, Mizuki continued his torture.
"Do you remember the lesson that we had on the Yondaime Hokage? Well it was a lie what we told you that day. The fox could never be defeated, it was too powerful. He opted to seal it instead, into a human baby. That baby I was you. You bear the scorn of the village because you are the thing that killed so many people all those years ago." Something that had been long forgotten rushed to the front of Naruto's mind a dream or nightmare, where a giant fox was rampaging inside a cage, looking right through him as though he wasn't there. Was that not a dream, was that somehow real?
"Naruto! Don't listen! You are not the fox! You are Naruto Uzumaki and I'm telling you to take that scroll back to the Hokage. I can't fight with you here, there is too much worry that you'll get hurt in the process.
Naruto fled the scene trails of hot tears escaping his eyes. While running away he had the strongest urge to return, it was something he couldn't describe. Then in a moment of clarity something rang through his head, it was Kakashi's voice
"Those who abandon the mission are scum, those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum."
His voice rang through his head over and over like it was his conscious. In an instant his mind was made up. He had returned to the clearing to see Iruka not faring so well. After he had take the shuriken to the back he had slowed down considerably to a level Mizuki could handle.
Mizuki sneered as he saw Naruto approach again
"Drawn to a battle Naruto, perhaps that is blood lust of the fox within you."
"Say what you will about me, but you will die here for targeting me, then nearly killing my sensei." Mizuki was laughing what could the boy do, he didn't even know how to do the bunshin.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu." In his early celebrations and mocking of the pre-genin he had completely forgotten about that technique. He was now surrounded by a clearing filled with what had to be at least 1000 Naruto clones. The clones made short work of Mizuki. As Naruto was turning to go to Iruka, Mizuki's body started to emit a vile chakra, while a black flame pattern crept up the side of his neck and across the rest of his body. He raised himself off the ground and launched himself not at Naruto, but at Iruka. Iruka was sent crashing through the undergrowth from a particularly vicious knock to the head. Something inside Naruto just snapped. He couldn't tell what was happening, but he could feel power flowing through his body. His nails seemed longer, almost like claws. His teeth had lengthened and the whisker marks on the side of his face were now more pronounced than ever.
Naruto launched at Mizuki, a clawed hand extended, catching him across the throat. Blood sprayed out of the both the carotid and the jugular and across the field, there was no chance of recovery. Dully Naruto thought to himself
'I... I... I killed him.' the full impact of what he had just done had not hit him yet.
Then his body felt drained, he collapsed to his knees knowing noting of the real world after that.
MINDSCAPE
Naruto opened his eyes to see a dark passage. Immediately, he remembered this passage way from his last visit here. It looked different now. Last time is was more like a sewer, this time it was more like a grimy castle wall, there was less water and everything looked to be in a better state of repair.
He followed the corridor around again to find the same cage with the piece of paper presenting the kanji for 'seal' on it. The fox was still in there, though this time it was not on a rampage, it simply looked exhausted. It opened its eyes and spoke in a voice that while loud had a distinctly female ring to it.
"Greetings, Naruto. My name is Rei and..."
"Don't you mean Kyuubi no Youko?" Naruto interrupted.
"That is my title, not my name. As much as I would like to do this now, I am truly exhausted; I would just like to sleep. I will bring you back here when I am fully rested." Naruto wasn't given a choice as Rei laid her head down onto her paws to sleep.
Three days later
Naruto was at Ichiraku's with both Kakashi and Iruka. They were talking over a bowl of ramen each.
"Before I leave Naruto, I didn't get the chance to give you this the other day. Congratulations on passing your genin exam." Iruka proudly stated as he placed the hitai-ate over Naruto's forehead.
All Naruto could do was grin widely as he stared at the back of Iruka's retreating form. "Congratulations Naruto-kun!"
Naruto turned to Kakashi then felt as though he had something to tell his elder brother.
"Aniki, do you remember when you asked me all those years ago what my dream for the future was?" this had Kakashi interested, so he stopped eating and turned to face his little brother.
"I had quite alot of time to think about it in the hospital for the last three days. Well I've decided, that my goal is to get everyone to see me as Naruto Uzumaki, not the nine-tailed demon fox." He uttered the last part in a very lower voice so that no one would hear.
"I want them to view me as a human and more than anything for them to trust me and respect me as a shinobi. The job with the ultimate amount of trust and respect around here is kage. So I'm gonna aim to be Hokage someday."
Kakashi smiled at hearing the dram, a very worthy one indeed.
'Naruto, I never thought you'll find out the truth in such a way. Someday you will achieve your dream, and I'll be there to help you.' Kakashi thought to himself.
Later that night
MINDSCAPE
He was drawn into his mindscape for the third time in his life. He wasted no time in getting to Rei's sealed area.
"It's nice to finally meet you at last. Now that I'm full of energy I feel like actually having a conversation. The first time didn't count, I was too tired to talk."
"The first time? Kyuubi, that was the second time I've seen you." Naruto corrected.
"When else have you seen me?" she asked, wondering why she didn't remember the first encounter
"It was when I was little. You looked like you were being driven insane. You stared at the spot I was standing in, only you looked like you were looking right through me."
"I…I'm sorry you had to see me in such a state."
"I don't care! Why the hell did you attack Konoha! Why did you cause so much pain! Why did you make so many people hate me! WHY!" Naruto screamed with rage and tears on the edges of his eyes.
"I didn't choose to attack Konoha, I was forced." Kyuubi speaking with a hint of remorse
"Forced, how? What could possibly be powerful enough to control a Bijuu?" was the stunned Naruto's response.
"The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, only one man possess it, Madara Uchiha. He put me in a state of uncontrolled bloodlust only demons could have. Your out burst using some of my power must have triggered an involuntary response, freeing me from whatever technique he used in the first place."
Naruto finally calming down realised his mistake. He didn't know the answers yet he was putting the blame on Kyuu.. No, Rei. "I... I'm sorry."
"But why did you show up? What I've read says demons stay in another realm. What made you come here in the first place? If you hadn't come none of this would have happened"
This was a question that Rei really would rather not have answered.
"I was sent here by Kami himself …to be your companion over the ages." She responded carefully
"My companion…over the ages. What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto asked as his anger started to boil over again. 'she's toying with me'
There was no easy way to put this. She'd have to say it our right.
"I am an immortal. So are you, Naruto. I was sent as an immortal being, so you would have at least one friend to always be there with you, when all your mortal friends have died."
-0-
A/N: Another chapter done! Hope you enjoyed this one. Sorry about the lot of time skips. They were no ways to avoid them without compromising the story.
The next chapter has an inconsistency with the first chapter. I wonder if anyone will pick it up ...
Chapter four is the team placements and the beginning of the wave arc. It might be... surprising to read too. Yeah, a few surprises in there.
Again thanks for the favs and follows.
Oh some of you might be wondering what Naruto learnt from the Forbidden Scroll. How about I keep that a secret for now. :)
As always review only if you feel like it. I would suggest it if you want this story to be better than others you read.
-kamizon
One more thing, do you like Omake? :)
