Altered Destiny Ch. 3: Aimless Beginnings
Naruto wandered through a deep and twisted forest, away from the warm grace of the light into the deep depths of an abyss that seemed repulsive yet strangely magnetic at the same time; the sensation was nearly indescribable. Even though this place should be like a maze, unfamiliar and scary; to Naruto this was not the case.
Call it whatever you wish, Naruto knew exactly where he was going. After what felt like an eternity of wandering around through thick, twisted folds of the landscape, coming to a halt as he came to a wide passage.
Two torches illuminated an enormous cage with intricate symbols and unrecognizable carvings that illuminated the bars with the glow of bright blue chakra, the contrast within the darkness looked very lovely. Naruto felt he was wise to approach with caution because the more he approached the caged bars the more he became aware this place was meant to contain something; something powerful and dangerous!
As if on cue a loud animalistic battle cry shook the entire area around Naruto, the roar not only startling him but causing him to fall hard to the ground as the sound waves from the roar shook the very ground around a radius Naruto guessed to be larger than simply where he was standing. As Naruto rose to his feet and regained his balance he gathered courage; taking a step forward.
"What the hell are you!?"
Naruto yelled as what appeared to be a giant fox approached the edge of the cage from the darkness.
"Well I'm impressed you made it this far; as to answer your question I am the great and powerful Kurama! Or as your history refers to me: The Nine Tailed Fox."
The beast said, smiling down at the prey before him; watching Naruto to gauge his reaction. Unexpectedly Naruto busted out laughing as if this information was the funniest thing he had ever been told; laughing so hard he had to hold his side to restrain himself enough rise from the floor and speak.
"So I was right then wasn't I? This is no dream or nightmare; because you are within me the people who have knowledge of this hate me. And that's why they wanted to kill me as a boy."
Naruto said, becoming lost in thought as pieces began to fit in his mind.
"Yes, that is the case. Because of this accursed seal I cannot free myself from my prison which ironically is a small child. And any humans within the village that had knowledge of this shunned you and separated their children from you out of their frustrating and growing hatred; that is also the reason before you encountered this Hinata child you had no friends."
Kurama explained; no pity in his tone as he spoke.
Naruto shifted his gaze upward at Kurama, looking him dead in the eyes.
"None of that matters now, what's past is past. All I desire is to become stronger so I can protect Hinata from danger. Can you make me stronger?!"
Naruto asked, a look of absolute and unbreakable resolve reflected in his facial expression. Kurama noticed this and something about this boy intrigued him; almost as if he was different than the humans before him somehow yet Kurama couldn't put his claw on what it was.
"Very well as a reward for making it this far I will give you access to my chakra. Don't strain yourself, you will die."
Kurama said bluntly, Naruto's form beginning to fade as the waking world beckoned him…
The sunlight finally had begun to creep in through the blinds of his window, caused Naruto to stir. As Naruto opened his eyes everything was clear now; this Kurama creature was inside of him and was very much real. Before anything Naruto had to fully wake up so as he grabbed the clothes he would be wearing for the day he sleepily headed for the bathroom, closing the door.
Naruto turned the shower on and began undressing, putting his dirty clothes in the basket in the corner before reaching his hand underneath the water flow from the shower head to check the temperature of the water; when the temperature was properly adjusted Naruto slipped into the shower.
While Naruto was finishing getting dressed he put his mother's necklace around his neck and tucked it beneath his shirt and the basic Ninja clothing that Hinata had given him. According to her the shirts belonged to Neji when he was younger but Naruto didn't mind.
The outfit consisted of a basic black vest, a loose-fitting short sleeve black shirt, and black pants consisting of a strong yet soft material that Naruto couldn't recognize but to be truthful he didn't care too much so he dismissed the thought and went through his pantry for a quick bite to eat.
Hinata's mother Asuna Hyuuga had been gracious enough to let him live in one of the various guest houses that were outfitted in a similar style to an apartment. There was a cozy medium sized bedroom, a kitchen equipped with a stove, oven, microwave, refrigerator, freezer as well as dishes and silverware. Also on the property was a bathroom with a toilet, a sink and shower; everything necessity was accounted for.
After cooking himself and consuming a very delicious breakfast sandwich Naruto gathered all his things and equipment and then exited his house, locking it behind himself. It was a blue sunny day with a beautiful breeze, days like this made Naruto very grateful he lived in peaceful Konoha. After taking a deep breath of fresh air Naruto strolled toward the entrance to the Hyuuga Estate, his pace picking up as he became excited. Today was the day! The day Naruto would finally be allowed to learn Ninjutsu! As far as Academics go the basic principles of Ninjutsu were openly taught to anyone with interest in the subject.
For example Naruto knew how to throw Kunai and Shuriken; as well as possessing a small but notable trait called discretion. But Naruto was far from having any real knowledge of anything important like how to draw chakra; or even use the basics of Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu. Traditionally all young students have open access to the basics of Ninjutsu yet in order to learn anything to practical you had to complete a placement test and get accepted into the Ninja Academy's Advanced Course. Not all people were suited to the life of a Ninja so there was also an employment system in place to ensure everyone within the village was enjoying their work and utilizing their strong talents wherever they may lie.
As Naruto was walking he lit a cigarette, taking a long puff and exhaling the smoke smoothly as we walked, other people around him gave very disapproving looks but Naruto didn't care; he was used to it.
"You wouldn't happen to be smoking in the new school uniform I just gave you, would you?"
Hinata asked in a very dark tone, the sound of her voice sending chills down Naruto's spine and causing him to freeze in his tracks and the cigarette to fall from his mouth to the ground.
"Of course not Hinata, I would never do such a thing."
Naruto responded laughing a little nervously and scratching the back of his head unconsciously while using the bottom of his shoe to put out the cigarette.
"Oh? Is that so? In that case let's go to school."
Hinata said, walking forward and leading the way; Naruto knew better to do anything other than follow her.
Who knows? This might turn out to be a rewarding experience.
Naruto thought to himself as he followed Hinata to the Ninja Academy.
Sarutobi smoked from his pipe as he was watching Naruto and his interactions with Hinata through his crystal ball, cracking a smile as he tapped the ash from his pipe into a nearby ashtray. Although Sarutobi was the Third Hokage he saw much promise in much of the new students each and every year; this year in particular Minato and Kushina's boy will be attending the Ninja Academy.
Sarutobi couldn't help but wonder how Naruto's punk kid persona would adapt to classroom life if even for a short while. The brilliant thing about the schooling system that Sarutobi set up when he was younger within the village was the fact that if a student excelled he could graduate without completing the entire school term if he or she proved themselves to be a capable Shinobi of the very least Genin Level; the basic Ninja Level of any immediate graduate.
So if Sarutobi was lucky Naruto would gather enough skill to advance beyond the classroom quickly enough where he wouldn't have to adjust to classroom life.
A/N: My world is certainly turning out different than the original Naruto but that's the fun of AU's am I right? So just imagine the Ninja Academy but every individual matures and graduates on their own skill; rather than forced to graduate in groups on a yearly basis. Getting this story off the ground is so fun! I'm literally having a blast so if anyone loves reading this even half as much as I enjoyed writing it than I am thrilled! Thanks for all my readers both old and new! Review If you care! And feel free to pm me any and all questions! Thank you! – DL555