Chapter 4
HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII PEOPLE! Here it is! Chapter four! I hope you enjoy it. Sorry it took me so long to write it. I had the idea to put into the chapter, just now how to put it together! SORRY!
Anyways hope you enjoy this chapter! Also I'd like to thank my Beta hinatasgreatestfan. THANK YOU!
Dislcaimer: I don't own Naruto...I'm too screwed up...YAY!
A black shadow ran from roof to roof, as silently as possible, towards the Hokage Tower. 'This time I want to get a powerful jutsu!' Naruto thought as he got closer to the Tower. 'I hope the Old Man didn't re-hide the scroll. But I'm prepared this time.' Naruto smirked. Naruto reached the Tower and climbed into the Hokage's office through the large windows.
Naruto instantly ducked under the desk to find the seal. "Wha...it's...it's not here." Naruto frowned. "Maybe Old Man Hokage found out it was me..." Naruto scooted out from underneath the desk and stood up. "Well...looks like this is a perfect time to test it out." Naruto made the appropriate hand sign and smirked. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"
Within seconds ten clones of Naruto were standing before the original. "Alright troops!" Naruto began. "We're looking for a seal! It's on a yellow slip of paper. It was underneath the Old Man's desk last night, and it's not there now. Now...let's get searching!" Naruto yelled.
The clones saluted to their creator and the eleven Narutos began their attack on the Hokage's office. Within a matter of minutes, the Hokage's office was completely destroyed. One clone had stopped his search and was playing around with the Hokage's hat. "Hey guys! Check me out! I'm livin' the dream!" he joked.
The other clones turned to look at him and laughed. The original was a little miffed. "Hey! Knock it off! We have to find the damn seal!" he yelled, swiping the hat from the clone. "Get back to—" He stopped with a grin as he looked into the hat. "Well, hellooooo. Found it!" he yelled, reaching into the hat and pulling the seal out.
The clone frowned. "I helped!"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Okay, guys, I'm gonna start writing the next jutsu down, you guys start cleaning up," Naruto said, unsealing the scroll from the seal. The clones quickly got to work, and Naruto opened up the scroll.
"Okay let's see..." Naruto said reading the scroll. "No that one looks dumb...no, not strong enough. Hmm...Katon: Haisekishō ...This jutsu requires keen senses to read the air currents, the insight to read the movements of the enemy, the tactical experience to not also enfold one's allies in the flames, and careful attention for the timing of the ignition. The user spews a stream of chakra infused gunpowder from their mouth, which surrounds the region. As the gunpowder is composed entirely of ash, it stays in the air around the victim like a cloud, which can be used like a smokescreen. After surrounding the enemy with the ash, the user can ignite it with a flint placed on their teeth beforehand to create a spark, resulting in a violent explosion, burning the enemy." Naruto read to himself. The blonde's lips curved into a smirk. "This will be perfect!" Naruto almost shouted.
As Naruto wrote down the instructions and description of the jutsu, and the clones continued to clean, a pair of chocolate brown eyes watched the blonds at work. 'It's just as Hokage-sama suspected. Why are you doing this, Naruto-kun?' The eyes then slipped back into the shadows and vanished.
Naruto rolled the scroll back up and smiled. "Awesome job, guys!" The Hokage's office was almost clean. Naruto pocketed the new jutsu and looked back at the scroll. "Well, at least I read up on re-sealing you," he said to the scroll. He bit his thumb and dragged his blood over the scroll again, causing it to disappear back into the seal.
"Hey Boss-Man!" one clone called. "Check this out." Naruto turned to the clone and saw him holding a black journal.
"What is it?" Naruto said taking the book out of the clone's hands.
"I dunno," the clone said before going back to work.
Naruto examined the outside of the book and found it didn't say anything. Naruto opened it up and was immensely surprised. The first page was written by the First Hokage! Naruto, being instantly intrigued, began reading.
Today marks the day of a new beginning. Today marks the building of Konohagakure no Sato. I have been appointed by the people, the Senju Clan (my clan), and the Uchiha Clan to be the leader of this village. A title has not been issued for the leader, however it is of little importance at the moment. Uchiha Madara's attitude toward our alliance and the infrastructure of the new village has been particularly problematic. He believes he should become the leader; however, I worry about him. His intentions are unclear at the moment, but I am very suspicious of him. I have a feeling that Uchiha Madara is already plotting much against the newly created Konohagakure no Sato.
"Wow..." Naruto was flabbergasted. "It's the First Hokage's journal! Awesome!" Naruto looked up and saw all of the office clean and his clones waiting for any other command. "Awesome job, guys! You're done." The clones nodded and dispersed. Naruto then got up and sat in the Hokage's chair. "Boy I can't wait to sit in this chair as Hokage." he said to himself, smiling. Naruto then opened the book and skimmed over more of the journal and realized it wasn't just the First Hokage's Journal, it held lost information on Konoha from all the Hokages.
"No way. No frickin' way!" Naruto yelled. "This is all of Konoha's secrets! Oh, baby. I could totally use this!" Naruto continued to skim until something caught his eye. 'Madara Uchiha? That was in the First Hokage's entries. The Shodai wrote that he died. Why is he in here again?'
Naruto checked who wrote the entry and his eyes widened slightly. 'The Old Man?'
What I have to write, I write in complete and abject sorrow. The Uchiha Clan is near extinct, and I let it happen.
Those first two sentences nearly stopped Naruto from reading. "No way. The...he..." Naruto couldn't even comprehend what he was going to say. Naruto continued to read.
Uchiha Itachi, son of Uchiha Fugaku, who was head of the clan, was asked by the clan to become a spy for them and spy on Konoha while he was in ANBU. Itachi feared the Uchihas would betray Konoha and attack their home village, and so he decided to become a double agent. Sadly, The Uchihas didn't trust Itachi as I had hoped. They began to doubt him. Once again, unfortunately, Itachi had a falling out with his father...and most of the clan.
The day the Council ordered him to kill his clan, he pleaded one thing. He wished to keep his brother alive. The council ordered him to kill everyone, but he disobeyed and kept his brother alive. He told his brother to hate him and become an avenger in the hopes that he would redeem the Uchiha name by killing him.
Itachi went into hiding for several days after the massacre before coming to me with disturbing news. He suspects Tobi, his accomplice in the massacre, to be the presumed dead Uchiha Madara. As much as I wish to disagree with him, from what Itachi has said about Tobi, the similarities between Tobi and Madara are uncanny. I have come to truly believe Uchiha Madara is alive and most likely still planning to attack Konoha.
The day he came out of hiding to speak to me, he begged me to do two things: look after Uchiha Sasuke and to never tell him the truth about the Uchiha Massacre. To my surprise, and that of the rest of the council, he threatened them and Danzo not to touch his brother, or the whole Uchiha Massacre would be revealed.
Itachi also told me one more thing: he wanted to join Akatsuki. I begged him not to join, but he said he must join until Sasuke seeks him out and kills him. I begged again, but he refused. Finally, I asked him if he would do me one favor. I asked him to, once again, become a double agent. I knew Akatsuki was dangerous, and with the jinchuriki out there, including Naruto, it would be beneficial for us, as well as himself, to be a double agent. I also told him that, if somehow Sasuke found out, he would be able to come back, and his crimes would be forgiven.
For future Hokages: Uchiha Itachi is innocent. Uchiha Madara is alive.
Naruto couldn't believe what he read. Not only was the whole Uchiha Massacre Konoha's Council's idea, but he was a jinchuriki...whatever that was.
Naruto wanted to read more, but he wasn't sure if his brain could take all that information. He kinda wanted to read the Fourth Hokage's secrets but decided that was better left for another day...if he could find the book again.
Naruto checked his pockets to make sure he had the new jutsu, then quickly left. As he returned to his apartment, the new knowledge of what he read couldn't leave his mind. He knew he couldn't tell anyone. It was one of Konoha's greatest secrets! So that's what he was gonna do. Keep it a secret.
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The next day, Naruto arrived at the Academy a little early. He saw that his spot next to Hinata was taken thanks to Kiba. He then saw Sasuke in his little secluded corner, and decided to sit next to him. "Hey Sasuke," he said, sitting next to him.
Sasuke was taken by surprise. He had made it very clear that no one was to sit next to him. So why was this dobe going against his rule? "Hn. Why are you sitting next to me, Dobe?"
Before Naruto could answer, Sasuke's fangirls instantly jumped on Naruto. "What are you doing, Naruto?! Sasuke said no one could sit next to him! Not even us!" Sakura yelled.
"Yeah!"
"That's right!"
"What makes you so special?!" Ino screamed.
Hinata was tuning out Kiba, who was trying to impress her with random stories about his jutsu he could do with Akamaru. She heard many of the girls shouting at Naruto, who was sitting next to Sasuke. Hinata was a little confused as to why Naruto was sitting with Sasuke. There were other open seats that weren't near the Uchiha.
Naruto looked at the fangirls and shrugged. "Nothing makes me special."
"Exactly!" Sakura yelled. "So move! Leave Sasuke alone! He's too cool to be hanging out with a loser like you!"
Naruto winced slightly. Not because of the insult, but because Sakura was as loud as a banshee. "So...that must be why you guys can't sit with him, either." he said, pointing to the fangirls. Shock flashed over the girl's faces.
The class erupted into laughter. Even Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. Sakura's face went red with anger. She pulled her fist back and punched Naruto in the face. The classroom went silent. Naruto, who had fallen off his seat from the punch, looked up at Sakura. "What the hell Sakura?!" he yelled.
"How dare you?!" Sakura screeched. "How dare you call me a loser! You're the biggest loser around! No one likes you! No one wants you around! You've failed the Genin test twice! You'll never make it as a ninja, Naruto! So just give up!"
Everyone was a little shocked to hear Sakura say those things to Naruto. Everyone knew Naruto wasn't Sakura's favorite person, but they never thought she could get that nasty.
Fueled by rage, Hinata approached Sakura. She spun Sakura around and slapped her. Sakura, along with everyone in the room, was taken by surprise. "No, Sakura. How dare you." She frowned.
Sakura put her hand on her sore cheek. "What the heck Hinata? Why did you slap me?" Sakura exclaimed.
"You punched Naruto. I think he should have slapped you, but Naruto is too kind to lay a hand on someone he cares about," she stated bluntly.
Sakura growled and took a fighting stance.
Naruto stood up and spoke. "I wouldn't do that, Sakura. Hinata totally kicked your butt last time," he chuckled.
"Oh yeah? And who's gonna stop me from kicking Hinata's butt this time?" Sakura said confidently.
As if on cue, Iruka came in to start the class. He saw Sakura ready to fight, Hinata looking rather angry, and Naruto on the floor. "What is going on here?" Iruka asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Iruka-sensei! Naruto was being mean to me!" Sakura whined.
"What?! You started it Sakura!" Naruto yelled. "You got all pissy with me just for sitting next to Sasuke! Then you punched me because I said something you didn't want to hear!"
"No! Don't be a liar Naruto!" Sakura yelled, trying to get Iruka to believe her, instead of Naruto. "And, Iruka-sensei, Hinata slapped me!" she yelled pointing at the female Hyuuga. "She slapped me for no reason!"
"Hinata. Naruto. Is this true?" Iruka asked.
"Not all of it!" Naruto yelled.
"Care to tell us your side of the story?" Iruka frowned.
"Gladly!" Naruto said glaring at Sakura. "It is true that I said something that I guess could be considered mean, but Sakura punched me!"
"I did not, Naruto! Stop lying!" Sakura screeched.
"Then how did Naruto end up on the floor Sakura?" Everyone turned stunned eyes to the voice. "You need to stop lying."
"S-Sasuke...kun...?" Sakura stuttered.
Iruka looked at Sasuke, then cleared his throat. "Sasuke, would you care to tell me what really happened?"
Sasuke sighed, then spoke. "Everything Sakura says is a lie. Sakura punched the dobe because he called her a loser, after calling him one. Then she," he said, motioning towards Hinata, "slapped Sakura because Sakura was being a bitch." The entire time the Uchiha was speaking, his tone never varied at all: he sounded rather bored the entire time.
Everyone stared at Sasuke dumbfounded, Hinata and Naruto more so. 'He...defended us?' Hinata thought.
"S-Sasuke-Kun..." Sakura started. "Wh...Why...?"
"Why what?" he asked, not even looking at her.
"Why...would you say that about me? I love you!" she pleaded.
"Sakura...please calm down and take your seat. You've done enough damage," Iruka stated. Sakura was about to retort, but Iruka shot her a look that quickly got her moving to her seat.
Naruto inwardly snickered at Sakura before returning to his seat next to Sasuke. Hinata smiled at Naruto. 'You're being so mature, Naruto-kun,' Hinata thought, smiling again, before taking her seat next to Naruto. "You don't mind if I sit here, too, do you Sasuke-san?"
"Hn. Do what you want," he said before turning his attention to Iruka.
Iruka saw Naruto and Hinata sit next to Sasuke and smiled. 'Well done, you two.'
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After class, Naruto sought out Mizuki to give him the Shadow Clone Jutsu. After walking around the Academy for a little while, he managed to find Mizuki at one of the training obstacle courses. "Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto called.
Mizuki, who was running the obstacle course, heard Naruto scream. His attention turned from the course to the blond, who was running at him holding a piece of paper. He couldn't help but let a devious smirk grace his lips. "It seems you found the scroll," he commented, trying to seem only minimally interested.
"Yeah! But I only got this one jutsu," the blond said, handing over the piece of paper. "It's the Shadow Clone Jutsu." Naruto smiled.
Mizuki smirked at Naruto again. "Well done. Have you gone back to the Hokage's office to collect more ninjutsu?"
"I went back last night, and I think the Hokage found it; it wasn't where you hid it," he explained.
Mizuki frowned. 'Dammit. Damn that old fool!' Mizuki sighed, then placed a hand on Naruto's head. "You did well Naruto. I'll make sure Iruka knows about this and gives you extra credit. Okay?"
Naruto smiled. "Awesome! Thanks Mizuki-sensei!" he yelled, running off and waving to Mizuki.
Mizuki gave a small wave to Naruto. When he was out of sight, Mizuki frowned. 'Damn it all. The brat only manages to bring me one jutsu...and, of course, it just had to be one that will take forever for me to learn!' Mizuki growled and crumpled up the piece of paper. 'And now...the Hokage went and re-hid the scroll. Looks like my plans are put on hold for the time being.'
As Naruto exited the Academy, he saw Hinata waiting for him. "Hey, Hinata-chan! Were you waiting for me?" he asked.
Hinata nodded. "Junichi-san had errands he had to run, so he said that we can spend some time hanging out, if you want to." Hinata blushed slightly.
"Heck yes I wanna hang out! How about we get some ramen?" Naruto smiled. He hadn't eaten his favorite food with his best friend in a long time.
Hinata giggled and nodded. "Alright, Naruto-kun. Lead the way."
Naruto cheered as he led Hinata to Ichiraku's. "Next time, we'll get your favorite, 'kay?"
Hinata blushed. 'He's so considerate...' Hinata beamed at Naruto. "Thank you Naruto-kun."
Naruto smiled back, and the two continued their walk to Ichiraku's. Naruto and Hinata approached the small stand and sat down. "Hey, Old Man!" Naruto called.
Teuchi came out of the kitchen when he heard Naruto's voice. "Ah, Naruto! Good to see you again. Oh, and you brought Hinata-san again. It's good to see you as well," the aging chef said with a smile.
"Thank you." Hinata smiled. "It's nice to eat here again."
Teuchi smiled at the couple. "Alright, you two. What would you like to eat?"
"I'll have some beef ramen, please." Hinata smiled
Naruto smiled. "I'll have the same."
Teuchi smiled, nodded, and went into the back to make their ramen. Ayame came out when her father told her that Naruto and Hinata were there. "Naruto-kun! Hinata-san! It's good to see you two. Have you been training hard?"
Hinata nodded. "Yes. My cousin helps me train," she said, smiling.
Naruto nodded. "Yup! I've already learned a new jutsu and I'm trying to learn another one!"
Hinata blinked. "You've learned a new jutsu, Naruto-kun? What is it?"
Naruto realized what he said, but he played it off smoothly. "Well...you know how I'm terrible at creating normal clones?" Hinata and Ayame nodded. "Well, there's this clone jutsu that's made for people like me who can't create normal clones because I have too much chakra."
Ayame smiled. "That's wonderful, Naruto-kun."
"Yup! And after me and Hinata-chan catch up, I'm gonna work on the other jutsu!" He smiled. He saw Teuchi coming out with their bowls of ramen, and he got excited. "Alright! Ramen time!"
Hinata giggled at Naruto's enthusiasm. Hinata and Naruto thanked the owners and began to eat. "So, Hinata-chan," Naruto started after swallowing some of his ramen noodles. "Have you learned any new jutsu?" He then put more noodles in his mouth.
Hinata nodded. "Yes, I have. Neji-niisan taught me a family jutsu that I couldn't even do before the break," Hinata said, slightly embarrassed.
"Reawy? Wha doeth it do?" Naruto said with his mouth full of ramen.
Hinata blinked and giggled. "I strike the opponent's chakra points, closing them off. I have to use my Byakugan to make sure I hit the chakra points correctly," Hinata explained.
"Awesome!" Naruto shouted. "Wow, I wish I could use some of those awesome jutsu you can use!" Naruto said, lifting his broth-filled bowl and slurping the broth.
Hinata blinked at Naruto, then looked at her bowl. It still had noodles in it, but she picked up her bowl and began to sip some of the the broth out of the bowl. She put her bowl down after a few sips and turned to Naruto. "W-What?"
Naruto was staring at her, trying not to laugh. "Y-Y-You ha-have a n-noodle on your lip..." Naruto couldn't keep it in any longer and burst out laughing.
Hinata picked the noodle off her upper lip and laughed with Naruto. The two laughed for several more moments, before smiling at each other and finishing their meal. The two chit-chatted for a little while longer before Hinata heard her name being called. Hinata turned and saw Junichi approaching them. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but I must go."
"Oh...okay. Bye, Hinata-chan," he said with a wave.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto-kun." She smiled and walked to Junichi.
Naruto waved goodbye, then turned to his ramen with a sigh. "You okay, Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked.
"Yeah. I just wanted to hang out with Hinata-chan a little more. I mean...she's my friend...my only friend," he said, his voice almost a whisper by the end.
Ayame sighed and looked at Naruto sadly. She felt bad for the young boy. He was such an energetic ball of sunshine with a heart of gold, but very few saw that. She only hoped that once he became a ninja the villagers would see him for who he was, and not as the demon he carried. "Don't worry Naruto-kun. Everything will be okay."
"I know. Thanks, Ayame-neechan." He slurped down the rest of his ramen and placed the bowl down with a content sigh. "Alright. I'm gonna go Ayame-neechan. I'm gonna work on my new jutsu!" He paid for his and Hinata's ramen and ran to the training grounds.
When Naruto reached the training grounds, he pulled out the slip of paper that held the new jutsu he was going to learn. "Okay...Burning Ash." He read over the jutsu's description again, and then moved to the instructions on how to preform it. "Great...hand seals..." Naruto groaned. Naruto sucked at hand seals. "Okay...so Snake...Rat...Snake...Tiger." Naruto read on. "Okay...so...hand seals then...I blow a lot of chakra infused gunpowder out of my mouth." Naruto read on, the instructions saying that a flint should be placed in between his teeth to light up the gunpowder and make an explosion. Naruto decided against that, making sure he could actually produce the gunpowder first and not kill himself if something went wrong.
Naruto took a deep breath and slowly let it out to calm his nerves. "Okay. I can do this..." He took one more deep breath before he began his hand seals. 'Snake. Rat. Snake. Tiger.' "Katon: Haisekishō!" Naruto took in a deep breath and breathed out a very small puff of gunpowder. It was no bigger than a baseball.
Naruto frowned. "Dammit..." Naruto took another deep breath, then tried again. 'Snake. Rat. Snake. Tiger.' "Katon: Haisekishō!" Naruto took another deep breath and blew out the gunpowder. Once again, no bigger than a baseball. Naruto growled and stomped his foot. Naruto continued to practice the jutsu. He performed it over and over again until night had fallen.
Naruto was face first on the ground, trying to catch his breath. "Wh...why...is...is it so...ha...ha...hard to...do this...jutsu...?!" Naruto rolled onto his back and stared at the dark, starry sky. He groaned as he slowly sat up, still trying to catch his breath. Naruto stood up on shaky legs and began to preform hand signs. 'Snake...Rat...Snake...Tiger.' "K-Katon: Haisekishō!" Naruto took as deep a breath as he could and blew out the gunpowder. The dark cloud that came out of Naruto's mouth was bigger than all his other attempts. It was about the size of a beach ball. Naruto fell face first into the ground again, panting. "I...I...got it...b-bigger..." Naruto had a small smile on his face as he began to slip into unconsciousness.
A tall, slender figure wearing an ANBU mask approached the young boy, and placed a hand on his blond hair. 'I have to tell Hokage-sama about him learning this new jutsu.' The figure picked up Naruto and placed him on his back. 'You better hope this doesn't hinder your chances of being a shinobi, Naruto-kun.' The ANBU then began the short journey to Naruto's apartment. Once inside Naruto's apartment, he quickly made his way to the boy's bed and laid him down. He then removed his mask and revealed his...or, rather, her face. Yugao Uzuki was standing next to Naruto's bed. Yugao covered Naruto up and left his apartment. She then quickly rushed to the Hokage's office to give him her report before he went home.
Yugao entered the Hokage's office just as he was getting up to leave. "Hokage-sama, I have news to report," Yugao said, bowing to the village leader.
"Ah, Yugao. I didn't think you'd make it. Was I right?" Hiruzen prayed that he wasn't.
"I'm afraid you are right, Hokage-sama. He was the one who found it. He's taken two of the scroll's secret ninjutsu," she said with a bowed head. Yugao didn't hate Naruto. In fact, she actually quite enjoyed his pranks. Mostly because she had never been pranked by Naruto, and it kept her team on their toes from time to time. She was also one of the few people who saw Naruto for who he was, not the Kyubi.
"Only two?" This confused the Hokage. 'Why would Naruto only take two?' Hiruzen sighed. "Do you know which ones he took?"
Yugao nodded. "Yes. He took and learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu. He also wrote down Fire Style: Burning Ash."
Hiruzen sighed. "Thank you, Yugao. You are dismissed." Yugao nodded and shushined away. Hiruzen sighed and approached the window that looked out to Konoha. "What are you trying to do, Naruto?"
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It was about halfway through the year, and Naruto had come along quite a lot. His skills had improved quite a lot, thanks in large part to Hinata's help. Naruto had returned to the Hokage's office multiple times to find "Mizuki's hidden scroll" but had no luck, since the Hokage had hidden it again. So Mizuki told Naruto that the one jutsu he turned in would give him extra credit.
Naruto had also been practicing his new jutsu over the past few weeks, trying to get his gunpowder cloud as big as he could. Naruto had managed to make the cloud about the size of his bedroom in his apartment. He still hadn't put flame to the gunpowder, still fearing it would go horribly wrong. Naruto hadn't shown his new Jutsu to Hinata yet, but he was planning on showing her, and the rest of the class, on graduation day.
Currently, Naruto was sitting next to Hinata and Sasuke. The duo had become accustomed to sitting next to the lonely Uchiha, who secretly enjoyed their company. Of course, this angered all of Sasuke's fangirls, especially Sakura.
'How dare they get to sit next to my Sasuke-kun. I should be the one next to him, not those losers!'
"All right, everyone," Iruka started. "I want to talk to you today about your goals." Iruka smiled. "What you want in life, and why you want to be a ninja. Who would like to start?" Iruka saw Naruto's hand shoot up in the air, waving to-and-fro. "Naruto?"
"I want to be Hokage one day! I want to be known as the greatest Hokage to ever live! I want to be better than the Yondaime!" he shouted.
"Why do you want to be Hokage, Naruto?" Iruka asked.
"Well...I want to be known as Uzumaki Naruto and not shunned by everyone..." Naruto started sadly. Some of the students, including Hinata, looked at him with a sad gaze. "But I mostly want to protect the people I care for, and the people who care for me! I even want to protect those who hate me because they live in Konoha! I have to defend Konoha with my life! That's what Hokages do!"
Iruka smiled. "Well done, Naruto." He noticed Hinata raise her hand. "Would you like to go next, Hinata?"
Hinata nodded. "I want to be a strong and fair leader of my clan. I want to change things between the Main Family and Branch Family," she started. Taking a deep breath, she continued, gaining a deep blush as she said, "I want to be a strong kunoichi...and maybe a wife someday."
Iruka chuckled. "Alright. Anyone else?" Iruka went around the class asking all the other students. Surprising no one, Sakura exclaimed she was going to be Sasuke's wife. "Okay, Sasuke. You're the last one. What are your goals?"
Sasuke sighed. "My goals are to revive my clan and to kill a certain man," he bluntly stated.
Many of the girls swooned, stating how cool he was. Naruto blinked. "Are you talking about your brother?"
Sasuke turned to Naruto. "Hn. Of course I am, Dobe," he said, turning his attention back to Iruka.
"Why? It wasn't even Itachi's fault. Konoha's council forced him to kill your clan." Naruto, having realized what he said, slapped his hands over his mouth.
Sasuke snapped his head towards Naruto, his eyes locking with the blond's. "What did you say?"
Naruto swallowed hard. He looked around the classroom and saw everyone's eyes on him. He then quickly bolted out the door of the classroom, running away from Sasuke and everyone else.
"DOBE! GET BACK HERE AND EXPLAIN!" Sasuke yelled as he chased Naruto.
Hinata stood up and went to run after them, but Iruka stopped her. "Let them go, Hinata. Naruto can handle this," he told her, though he was worried about Naruto, too. If what he said was true, that the Council did order Itachi to kill off the Uchiha Clan, then Sasuke was in for a whirlwind of emotions.
Naruto reached the outside of the Academy when Sasuke managed to tackle him to the ground. "Now...tell me about the Council," Sasuke said, venom in his voice.
Naruto shoved Sasuke off him, trying to catch his breath. He knew if he took off running again, Sasuke would probably try and kill him. "All right. Just...don't talk until I'm done, okay? There's a lot to explain."
Sasuke frowned but gave a short nod.
"All right. Well...I found out by accident," Naruto started. Naruto began his story on how he found the Hokage's journal and what he had read. He started with the First Hokage's entry about the founding of Konoha. He said that one member of the Uchiha Clan, Madara, was a little sketchy.
Sasuke was listening with high interest. He couldn't believe, though, that one of his own clan members was suspicious at the beginning of it all.
Naruto continued with the actual Uchiha Massacre, and how Sasuke's brother suspected Tobi to be the supposedly dead Uchiha Madara. He also explained how Itachi was a double agent through all of the massacre and is still a double agent and still very much loyal to Konoha.
Sasuke sat there in complete shock. Everything he knew...all of it...was a lie. A lie! All because of the damn Council! Sasuke started to get angry. The Council had pushed Sasuke to become a Genin and graduate early, but he never did because his teachers didn't think he was quite ready yet. Sasuke grew even more angry as he realized the Council tried to fuel his hatred towards Itachi with their constant reminders of the massacre and how Itachi wanted him to despise him. Sasuke's body began to tremble with rage. He had so many emotions running through him: anger, sadness, betrayal.
Naruto stared at Sasuke in shock. Sasuke's reaction didn't surprise him, really; he'd realized even when he was reading the journal that Sasuke would be more than a little upset, if he ever found out about this. It was what happened because of the Uchiha's reaction that shocked him. Sasuke's eyes...they were red with a single tomoe in them. "Sasuke...your eyes..."
Sasuke turned to Naruto and frowned. He wasn't angry at Naruto. In fact, he was grateful, though it didn't show. He was glad he knew the truth, but he was still very angry. Sasuke left Naruto and took off running towards the Hokage tower.
"Sasuke, wait!" Naruto yelled before taking off after Sasuke.
Hiruzen was in a meeting with the entire shinobi and civilian council. They were currently discussing this year's up-and-coming ninja. Of course the village council was praising Sasuke, saying that he was going to be the Rookie of the Year.
As if on cue, Sasuke charged through the doors, with two Chuunin behind him. "Who gave the order?"
The Council turned to see Sasuke looking rather menacing, and, shockingly, his Sharingan was activated.
"Come on, kid! You can't be in here!" one Chuunin said as he tried to pull Sasuke back. Naruto was right behind the Chuunin, but he knew Sasuke deserved a real explanation that wasn't from him.
"WHO GAVE THE ORDER?!" Sasuke yelled.
The Hokage stood up and waved his hand at the Chuunin, signaling them to back off. "Now Sasuke...what do you mean 'Who gave the order?'"
"Who gave the order to tell my brother to kill our clan?!" he shouted. Sasuke noticed that the Hokage was suddenly paralyzed with shock. He also noticed the council members were the same way, some more so than others.
Hiruzen sighed. "I did."
"You're a liar! I know it wasn't you! It was one of them!" Sasuke yelled, pointing to the council.
That shocked Hiruzen more. 'How does he know?' Hiruzen cleared his throat, then spoke. "Sasuke, before we get into this, how did you come to find out about this?"
"That doesn't matter right now! I want to know who told Itachi to kill everyone in the Uchiha Clan!" he ordered. He looked around and saw that two members of the council were more calm and less shocked than the others. "It was you two, wasn't it?!"
Hiruzen turned and stared at his former teammates: Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
The female Elder sighed. "Forgive us Uchiha-san, but it was necessary. Your clan–"
"I DON'T CARE! You could have done something other than killing them off! That was my family!" he screamed. Tears were streaming down his cheeks as he screamed. "You killed so many men, women, and children! Some of my clan members probably weren't even thinking about betraying Konoha! You could have spared so many lives! But instead you chose to be selfish and cruel!"
"Uchiha-san. Please calm down," Homura stated. "Yelling isn't going to solve anything. What's done is done."
Sasuke stared at the two Elders, horrified at what they said. "What's done is done? WHAT'S DONE IS DONE?! Screw you, you senile old bats!" he screamed. "You have no right to be on this council! I should kill you for killing my friends and family!"
The rest of the council seemed to disappear around Sasuke. It was only him and the two Elders. "The deepest circle of Hell is reserved for people like you! You say my clan was out for power? You're wrong. It's you who's out for power!" he shouted while pointing to the two elders. "You're so afraid of one clan gaining control over this large and vast village, that you kill them off so you can keep the power that you have!"
Hiruzen sighed and decided to speak up. "Sasuke...I am deeply sorry about what happened."
Sasuke turned to the Hokage, his glare not so intense. "I know you are. You weren't the one who ordered this, but you are to blame, too! Your word is law in this village! You could have nulled that order, and you didn't! The only reason you still have my respect is because you still see my brother as an ally to this village."
'I want to know how he obtained this information.' Hiruzen sighed once more then turned to the Council. "We'll continue this meeting another time. Sasuke...come with me."
"Can I come too, Old Man?" Naruto spoke up.
Hiruzen was about to object, but Sasuke nodded. "You, too, Dobe."
The Council, along with the two Chuunin, watched as the trio left the Hokage's tower. The rest of the Council turned to the Elders and looked at them with slight disgust. Everyone in the room thought Itachi had betrayed Konoha. Now they saw that the Elders had betrayed Itachi so they could keep the power they had.
Shikaku, head of the Nara clan, was the first to speak. "God, how troublesome. I never thought I'd see the day the Elders would turn against Konoha," he said before walking out of the meeting room.
"Agreed," Shibi, Shino's father and the head of the Aburame Clan, voiced. He followed Shikaku out of the room.
More and more members continued to agree with Shikaku as they left, including Akimichi Chouza, Yamanaka Inoichi, and even Hyuuga Hiashi. The civilian council looked at each other before leaving as well, though they left without saying anything to the Elders.
Homura and Koharu looked at each other and sighed. Perhaps it was time for them to retire.
Hiruzen, Sasuke, and Naruto walked in silence. There was so much tension coming from Sasuke, it made Naruto and Hiruzen a little nervous to speak. Sasuke finally stopped in front of a small wooden dock. "I come here when I want to be alone or need to think," he said solemnly.
Hiruzen cleared his throat and spoke. "Sasuke...how did you find out about the Uchiha Massacre?"
"Uh...that would be from me," Naruto said quietly. "I was in your office a couple of months ago, and I accidentally came across the Hokages' Journal..." he said, hanging his head.
Hiruzen's eyes widened. 'Yugao never mentioned that. Perhaps she didn't stay long enough.' Hiruzen sighed. "Naruto...we will talk later about why you were in my office, but why were you reading the journal?"
"I was curious. I'm sorry..."
"Is that as far as you read?" Hiruzen prayed that he didn't read the Yondaime's entries.
"Yes. I swear that's as far as I read. I was going to stop, but I noticed Uchiha Madara's name in the entry you wrote, which I thought was odd since I read it in the Shodai's entry," Naruto stated. "So...I decided to investigate. I'm really sorry, Old Man. Please don't be angry."
Hiruzen sighed and began to massage the bridge of his nose. "I'm not angry Naruto. A little frustrated, but not angry." He then turned to Sasuke. "What are you going to do now, Sasuke?"
"I don't know...I need to think," he said sitting down at the edge of the dock.
Hiruzen nodded. "Alright Sasuke. Naruto, come with me. We're going to discuss why you were in my office." Hiruzen scowled. Naruto flinched, but nodded. Hiruzen gave a short nod and began to walk back to his office.
Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Hey...Sasuke?"
"Hn?" he grunted.
"I hope you still want to be a ninja. It won't be any fun trying to kick your ass if you aren't there," Naruto stated. He gave Sasuke his signature big cheeky grin before following the Hokage.
Sasuke sighed, but he couldn't keep a small smirk from gracing his lips.
Naruto was standing in front of the Hokage's desk, silence filling the room. Finally, after what seem like an eternity of silence, Hiruzen spoke. "Naruto I'm very disappointed in you."
"...I know. I'm sorry."
"Naruto, why were you in my office?" Hiruzen asked, as he lit the tobacco in his pipe.
"Well...Mizuki-sensei said he hid a scroll in here with a bunch of jutsu on it in your office. He said that if I find it and write some jutsu down, he would give me extra credit to help me pass," Naruto explained.
Hiruzen stared at Naruto dumbfounded. 'Mizuki? I can't believe he would do that to Naruto. He knows Naruto was desperate to graduate.' Hiruzen then picked up the small seal. "Naruto, do you know what this is?"
"Yeah! That's the seal that hides the scroll Mizuki-sensei hid! Where'd you put it?" he exclaimed.
"Naruto, Mizuki didn't hide this scroll."
"But, Mizuki-Sensei said–"
"Mizuki lied, Naruto. He didn't hide this scroll. I did. This scroll is the Forbidden Scroll. It holds all of Konoha's most powerful jutsu. I can only assume that Mizuki wanted you to find this scroll to give him the jutsu inside, correct?"
"Y-Yeah..." Naruto seemed slightly depressed. Mizuki had lied to him, just so Mizuki could benefit from Naruto's crime. "I'm so sorry..." he said as tears threatened to fall.
Hiruzen nodded. "I know you are Naruto. What ninjutsus did you take?"
"I...I've learned the Kage Bushin and I'm learning Katon: Haisekishō," he said, wiping his tears away.
Hiruzen nodded again. "All right, Naruto. You may go. But don't let Mizuki know about this conversation, okay? I'm going to have some of my Jonin pick him up and talk to Ibiki."
Naruto nodded and smiled. "Bye, Old Man. And thanks a lot." Naruto quickly ran out of the Hokage's office, happy he wasn't in too much trouble.
Hiruzen frowned and gently stroked his pointed gray beard. 'Mizuki wouldn't go to all that trouble to trick Naruto just for his own personal gain. He must be working for someone. I only hope it isn't...him...'
End Chapter
Okay! Did you enjoy it? Yes. Yes you did.
Now I need to say this. I've had 3 people point this out to me and it made me go "GRRRR!" NO! THERE WILL NOT BE A THREESOME! Strictly NaruHina with other couples! Okay? Thank you
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~Lu Lu-Chan25
Edited 1/1/18