AUTHOR NOTES: This is nothing more than a revamp of an old story. I'd appreciate it that if you find an errors to please let me know so that I can correct it.


Chapter Two - The Fire of Youth

The years had seemed to pass by quickly as both Obito and Rin had settled down in Horoyu village with Naruto. At first the move was difficult because most of the village saw the new couple as strangers, but as time pasted and people got to know them they became an intricate part of village.


Obito had kept his skills, as a ninja, sharp by becoming a hunter of sorts, while Rin — on the other hand — decided to set up a small medical office. Suffice to say, Rin was often the one who brought in the most money, as her office was the first of its kind in the area and the people of Horoyu always seemed to be sick or in need of medical attention. Just the fact that Rin had to hire several apprentices and employees was an indication of how much business the office usually did. There were even orders from neighboring villages that were delivered by Obito as he did his so-called "hunting".

Deep down Rin knew that Obito wasn't hunting animals. Even thought he'd come back with one from every trip and have a fantastic story about he got lost and wandered about trying to find something to hunt. She knew that her husband was hunting criminals for the surrounding towns and villages, and was being paid quiet well for it. However, she also knew that Obito would have done the jobs even without the pay. It was hard for a ninja to go against years of training, and it was hard for Obito to pass up a chance to stretch his legs and dust off his skills.

As for their adopted son, Naruto grew up fast. Faster than they had ever seen a child grow. The little blond bundle of joy was walking before he even reached the one year mark. He was a happy child, and even seemed to radiate a strange aura of calmness from him as he seemed to get into everything.

Rin would often smile when she thought about how attached to Naruto her husband had become. Obito could often be seen playing with him in the yard, and even at night he would read stories to the little child while kissing him good night after the blonde ball of sunshine had fallen asleep.

Whenever he wasn't "hunting", Obito was the consummate father and Rin could often be seen with a thoughtful look on her face as she wondered if he would have been like this with their child?


Several years had passed and Naruto's fifth birth day had come and gone. The two parents, ex-ninja, had been training Naruto in the ninja arts since the day had come when he could understand what they were talking about. Between his education and training, the little boy had a small amount of time to wander about the village and explore.

The people of the village loved their little Naruto. He was often seen watching the old men play shogi down at the parlor in the middle of town. All of the older man treated the little boy as if he was a grandson or nephew, and they often could be caught trying to teach the little blonde how to play shogi in between games.

The feeling, that Naruto was a part of the family, was mutual for almost everyone in the small village. However, since the village was for retired ex-ninja most everyone here was already an adult which left Naruto almost no one his age to play games with, but that didn't seem to deter the little boy in his friendships. He could often be found sitting in the shogi parlor with the older men as he listen to the stories that they told or working aside the women as they made lunch in the near by restaurant.

Because of his tenant, Rin would often make a routine check up of Naruto's health every month. She was always surprised to see that the little boy's chakra reserves were always expanding while his inner chakra coils seemed to thicken and taken on the appearance of that of an adult. Another worry of hers was when Naruto had cut himself severely on a freshly cut bamboo pole, she was shocked to see that the wound closed almost instantly and the tissue around it reverted back to its smooth appearance.

His healing capabilities and his high immune system often made the boy a bit more rambunctious than other of his age. Rin's worry wasn't about where his ability had come from, but rather what this ability was doing to her adopted son. With her expertise and understanding of the body Rin knew the adverse effect that the regeneration was causing, that being that cells only divide so many times in a lifetime. She knew that his own special ability would shorten his lifespan if he ever was severely hurt, so she began to research a way to remove the possible danger that this ability might cause in the near future.


Another two years had passed, and finally Naruto began to apply the training that his parents had been giving him all this time.

Currently, Obito watched as his son tried desperately to keep his feet above a small pond that they would often frequent for training. Even though Naruto could only hold himself over the pond for a minutes at a time, it was more than any other child could do at that age.

The little boy wasn't genius, but he did have a passion for learning everything about being a shinobi, especially if his father has asked him to learn it. The father smiled as he remembered the times that he would teach Naruto a new move and leave him to his own devices, only to return to find the boy sleeping on the ground from exhaustion. Obito knew that nothing ever came easy to the blonde, but what he noticed was that when his son finally understood something he had the uncanny knack for twisting and bending it to his will.

The young father smile as he watched the little boy's face curl slightly into a sneer before he swore loudly and tried to get control of his technique by pumping even more chakra his rapidly fading jutsu. "Hey, watch the language! You know you mother doesn't like you saying those words and neither do I," Obito said sternly.

Naruto bowed his head in shame as he said, "Sorry, otosan, but...it just that I can't get a handle on this!" His frustrated cry made Obito look up and watch as his son stood trying the jutsu again while he was panting in frustration. Taking a deep breath and concentrating, Obito's eye's began to under go a slight transformation as a reddish tint crept into the his iris and a black tomoe made itself known. A half formed Sharingan eye was now staring at the little boy while he struggled with his jutsu, and those eyes saw something that they wouldn't have believed if they didn't already know about it.

Bluish chakra swirled around Naruto for a moment before a small burst of red chakra would emanate from his abdomen. This reddish energy easily disrupted the delicate balance Naruto was trying to hold, and as such his control would go out the window. Trying to combat the foreign energy, Naruto would push more chakra into the technique, but that was like using a band-aid to stop a leak that was on dam.

The partially formed Sharingan faded and Obito's eyes returned to their normal dark color. "What were you feeling at that moment, Naruto?"

"Moment?" asked the little boy as his eye squinted in confusion.

"The moment you lost control," clarified Obito while he walked to the other side of the small pond.

Naruto stood still in low grass as he thought back to that part and realized something. "I was really mad that this was taking so long to get the hang of," Naruto said softly trying not to draw his father's attention.

"Exactly, so...what do you think you should do now that you know that those feeling might be the cause of your problem?" asked the black haired man as he picked up a rather large stick and waved it around testing its strength.

Naruto looked down at the waters and thought hard about what his father had taught him, and for a second he almost said something but instead he chose to sit down next to a tree while closing his eyes and willing his frustrations and anger away.

Obito smiled as he sat next to his son and handed him a small canteen of water to refresh himself. 'He knew that just trying harder would've caused even more trouble and grief for him. However, at the same time...where I would have left the training off for another day, he has only decided to take a short break to gather himself.'

Later that day, father and son walked into their house while Naruto face was a glow with pride for getting the hang of the walker walking trick. Upon arriving home, both of them were witness to a solemn looking Rin who told Naruto to wash up for dinner as she tentatively handed a piece of paper to Obito, "Its...important."

That night, Naruto watched his dad storm out of the house in fury, his eyes blood red with anger as he walked off into the dark of the night. His mother was sitting quietly at the family table, a sad look covered her face as unshed tears lingered in her eyes. Gathering his courage Naruto padded into the room and sat next to his mom, "Kasan? What happened? What's wrong with tosan?"

Rin felt the light pressure of little arms around her waist, and when she focused on the source she saw that Naruto was hugging her and his face looked expectantly up at her waiting for a reply. "Your father's family..." said Rin slowly turning over the thought that maybe she shouldn't be telling Naruto this, but one look into his eyes told her that he needed to know, "someone bad has killed all of you father's family, son."

"What? Why?" asked the blue eyed boy with such confusion that Rin decided that he didn't need to know the specifics.

Rin chose instead to look away to hide the sadness on her face as she said, "Sometimes events will happen in your life that will leave you confused, Naruto. When this happens, it's up to you to find your own answers."

Naruto sniffed at his mothers answer as he cold almost "feel" the sadness rolling off of her. "Don't cry kasan," said Naruto as he jumped down from his mothers lap and walked to the door where Obito had left, "I'll find the answers for you and dad." The little boy stepped out not looking back, and though he couldn't see her he was sure that his words had helped his mother.

Sure enough, seeing her little boy dealing with such sadness from his parents in a collected manner made Rin feel a bit more secure as she took a deep breath and centered herself. 'I can't act like this,' thought the woman as she stood up and began preparing some tea for her husband and son.

Naruto spotter his father sitting on a tree stump, which over looked a small lake that they was nearby. Walking slowly, but purposefully he came within several feet of his father only to hear him say in a harsh tone, "What do you want?"

"Can I sit?" asked Naruto, as his fathers form stood straight in shock. It had seemed that he wasn't expecting his son to follow him. Naruto waited a moment and began opening his mouth to ask again, when his father spoke up and said, "Sure...go ahead."

Naruto plopped down next to his dad as they looked out at the lake in silence. He didn't have to see his father's face to feel the anger that was literally emitting from the man at the moment. However, instead of talking to his dad, Naruto decided to just be next to him.

This was how it was for an hour and a half. The two stood watching the shore of the lake sweep in and gentle sweep out, every now and again one of them would shift their position or entertain themselves with something. During this time, Naruto had noticed that a nearby tree looked like it had received the brunt of his father rage as he spied several burnt out holes that still seemed to be smoldering quietly.

Obito watched the waters ripple in front of him as he thought of his family, his mother, father, sisters...all of them dead. He wanted to become angry and take revenge on the person who killed them, as his blood was boiling and his vision became clouded with anger. However...for some reason, ever since his adopted son as sat down beside him, Obito could feel his anger beginning to ebb like the shores of the lake he looked out at, it seemed every minute that he sat with the quiet boy that his "real" feeling came into perspective.

It had been quiet a while since on of the two males said anything, then without warning Naruto asked, "So?"

Looking at him in confusion Obito replied by saying, "So what?"

"When do we leave to catch those bad people and kick their butts?" Naruto asked a wide eyed Obito while he grinned at his father.

A heavy sadness crushed down on the older man, gazing at the boy across from him, he smirked and said, "We don't."

"No?"

"No." responded Obito as he looked at Naruto and said in a solemn voice, "Revenge will never solve anything, son. A good shinobi knows that instinctively. Besides, it won't bring back my family, will it?" Obito smiled when he saw the little blonde shaking his head as an answer to his father's question.

"So?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Do you want to go back home? Cause I don't know about you, but I'm hungry!" said Naruto as his little stomach growled viciously at the both of them. Obito laugh long and hard as he got off his seat, but before him and his son left he hugged the little boy and ruffled his hair.


It was after that day that Naruto had noticed that his father was starting to become a bit stricter about training. Naruto didn't mind it, even though he complained and even got into shouting matched with his dad every now and again, because he knew that deep down his father was training him so that he would never have to lose an important person again.

One day, when they were training in a field, Naruto was asked by his father, "What are shinobi considered if they break the rules?"

Thinking of his lessons, Naruto said, "They are thought of poorly? Right?"

"Yeah," said his father, "ninja who break the rules are trash, son. Of course, this rule also applies to all people as well," Naruto was nodding his head with a bit of happiness until his father continued by saying, "But...those ninja who abandon their friends are scum. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The blonde thought it over his blue eyes darting to and fro as he too into consideration what his father had said. "Never leave your friends...even if you have to break the rules?" Naruto answered his father with a tentative question.

"Right," answered Obito as he continued their training for that day.


Several weeks had passed without any more incidents or acknowledgment of what happened to the "Uchiha clan", and Naruto was beginning to feel worn out by the 'special training' his father was giving. As the little boy thought about it, it wasn't just his father who was wearing him out. No, everyone in the village had a hand in training him to death! His schedule was so hectic that he barely had any time for himself, or fun!

In the wee hours of the morning he would train with his father, by the afternoon he would show up at his mothers shop for some medical ninja training. This would usually last a couple of hours after which several of the older men of the two would pick him up and whisk him away to the local gaming parlor for his routine "strategy and patience training", as the old men in the parlor called it.

Yume-obasan, would usually appear some time in between games to train him in, what she called, "the noble art of genjutsu". The woman was obsessed, she knew that he was completely horrible at recognizing, using, and escaping genjutsu's. However, Yume-obasan was not to be deterred, besides there wasn't much else to do around Horoyu. Plus, she never had children of her own and she wanted to pass her knowledge on to someone.

And so the little blonde trained day in and out, there were even days where some people would pay him with jutsu scrolls or training tips for doing labor around their house. It only dawned on Naruto later that it seemed that their were a lot of people who knew how to be a ninja around their town. He could remember his father falling to the ground laughing when he had mentioned that fact as he said something that sounded like, 'you're only just figuring this out now'.

This month, however, was different than other months, because as long as Naruto could remember every now and again a silver haired ninja would visit his mother and father. The three would usually converse for several hours in the confines of the sitting room, until the stranger would take his leave. Neither his mother nor his father talked about the man, but he knew that they were well acquainted with him and they often looked forward to his visits.

This visit was different though...Naruto had been practicing his kunai and shuriken skills when the man had arrived at his usual late time. However, unlike the time he had seen the man before, his one visible eye was set into a serious expression. Walking up to Naruto the man asked, "Are your parents in?"

"They're in the back," responded Naruto in a wary tone of voice as he felt that something just wasn't right with the way the man held himself. Naruto watched as the man nodded his head once and walked to the back of the house.

He heard his father's voice calling out to the man as he rounded the corner, "Hey! Bout' time you got here! I was about to send out a sear...what's this?"

"I've been asked to give you a message. Can we go inside?" the man spoke solemly.

"Sure," Naruto heard his mother say sounding worried. Hearing the click of the sliding door which was followed by a sharp crack as the door to their private sitting room was closed. Naruto wanted to get closer, but he knew that his father and the man were too good at detecting him. Instead, he settled for listening to what bits of conversation could be heard from where he was, which was not much.

Muffled voice could be heard discussing something, until Naruto heard his father shout, "What are they thinking!? Do they even know what I went through!" The voices soon resumed their hushed conversation, as Naruto heard his mother saying something. 'Probably calming tosan down,' he gathered when the voices seemed to speed up as if their were in a heated discussion again.

"No!" said a voice as deep, solid, stubborn and immovable as a mountain, and as familiar as his own was. Naruto had recognized his father voice and it sounded like he was not going to be swayed from his decision, "I don't care! We are not going any sooner or later!" With that last set of words Naruto heard a door being slid open while his mother called out to his father. Suddenly he turned the corner catching Naruto listening in and frowned while he marched off to his favorite spot to cool off...as if that poor tree needed any more holes in it.

"I'm sorry," said his mother while he heard the man sigh while shuffling around.

"Its alright, I understand what he's going through," said the silver haired man while he and his mother closed the door to the sitting room and walked around the side of the house. "However, I must do what is asked of me. Please reconsider this," the man said as he looked at the tree that Naruto sat in watching the two.

Shaking her head, Naruto watched his mother smile at the man and say, "Five more years...five more years and then we'll come back. Like Obito said...'no sooner, no later'." The man frowned slightly as he said in frustration, "I'll see what I can do, but don't expect Sandaime or the Council to quit bugging you," said the man while he managed to make his next sentence sound awfully close to a threat and a warning, "Next time they may not send me."

"Understood," said Rin as she nodded once and bowed politely.

"Tell Obito to stop being such an idiot," said the man as he took off in a flash down the main road, while Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man who had insulted his father.

"You can come down now, Naruto," said his mother as she walked over to the tree that the man had been eying.

Jumping lightly out of the tree and managing to trip on a root, Naruto looked up at his mother and smiled while he tried to come up with a good reason for being up in the tree.

"Don't even try," his mother spoke calmly while wearing a beatific smile.

"Are we moving?" Naruto asked after he stood up and brushed of the dirt and odd stick off his clothing.

Rin looked in the direction that her husband had left and said in a calm tone of voice that often followed one of her bouts of frustration, "Yes and no."

"What does that mean?" he asked pressing his luck, but wanting an answer none the less.

"It means that now your real training starts," she said with a grin while her adopted son looked at her with a face filled with horror.