Enigma- The Beginning
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything anime-related in this story. (alchemy, popping out of a cabinet, ect.)
Again, a reminder that Naruto does NOT have any whisker marks!
"...I'm bored," Thoughts
"...stupid ningens," Kurama(Kyuubi)
...I'm bored... Flashback
A/N
I'm so sorry I'm updating this late! I've been really busy... and I've also been obsessed with reading Hunger Games and it was my birthday not a while ago and and AND! Nah~ that's pretty much it. Ooh! And I just got a flat-screen with HD channels installed in my room so I've bewitched by it's beauty... Can ya blame me for that?
A grunt escaped his throat as he hit the tree. Hard.
Training in the Forest of Death is indeed dangerous, but he didn't really care about that at the moment.
"Your mission is to…"
Itachi's eyes widened, in a rare show of emotions. He was in silent shock as the Sandaime Hokage gave the orders.
"I will give you some time to think about it."
The black-haired boy knew he was in no place to argue and that there was good reason behind this madness, but this was just too cruel.
"…yes, sir."
"You are dismissed."
Itachi left in no more than a second.
The forest was peaceful and quiet. Nothing but nature was present and Naruto was glad for it. Sleeping was his preferred activity over everything and the fact that he had Maiko's warm body as a makeshift bed was a bonus. He sighed in contentment before he suddenly sat up to attention when the sound of metal rang through the forest.
At first, Naruto assumed it was just some shinobi training, which was half-right, but when Maiko sniffed the air and growled lowly, he became alarmed.
There was fresh blood. A lot of human blood. And the scent was dangerously close.
Training at the Forest of Death was dangerous, yes, but the shinobi who dared to enter would be aware of the eminent danger and would be well prepared so there was rarely any spilling of so much blood.
Boy and tiger stalked slowly through the foliage towards the disturbance. As they came closer, the scent of the blood became stronger. Finally, something, or someone, came into view.
There was a knock on his door followed by the gentle voice which had known and loved all his life.
"Itachi, would you like some peaches?"
The Uchiha smiled. He loved peaches, but he didn't want to come out or let his mother, or anyone for that matter, in at the moment.
"No thank you." But his mother was persistent.
"But they're so sweet! You should have some. They're good for you and you love peaches."
Itachi answered with silence.
"I'm coming in there, Itachi!" The door slid open a crack, wide enough to show her son's face which was morbid and blank as always. She smiled brightly as he took the plate full of neatly cut peaches.
"Thank you."
He quickly shut the door, but not before flashing his mother a reassuring smile.
Despite the calm atmosphere with the sweet peaches and the view of the Uchiha garden from his room, there was turmoil within the Uchiha's mind. Every time he looked into another pair of the deep obsidian coal eyes of his kin, he felt a pang of despair, disappointment and guilt.
"I've got to clear my mind…"
He got up and changed into a more appropriate outfit for training. After saying a quick goodbye and assuring his mother several times that he will be home before nightfall, Itachi headed towards training ground 44, the Forest of Death.
He grunted as he threw the kunai hazardously at the tree. The Uchiha had been beating himself up for a nearly an hour and had lost enough blood to make him dizzy. He was about to grab one of the fallen kunai on the ground and would have 'accidently' cut his hand if it weren't for a deep growl.
The black-haired boy took a defensive position as a huge white tiger stalked towards him, sniffing the air. Itachi knew of the unusual size of the inhabitants of this forest, but he had never been up close to really see the difference between these animals the ones outside of this area.
He stood frozen as the feline came closer and closer, the animal was so close that he could almost touch it. Slowly and discreetly, the Uchiha drew a kunai from his pouch.
"Maiko, come here." Itachi was surprised to hear a child's voice and to see that the tiger obeyed the child. His eyes followed the feline cautiously as it trotted up to a blond boy no more than eight. He recognized him immediately.
Naruto Uzumaki, the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. And the child was petting the huge white tiger as if it were a kitten, who by the way was purring like kitten.
Not one to show his emotions, Itachi merely raised an eyebrow at the unusual scene, wondering just why the tiger had approached him in the first place.
Naruto answered his unasked question, "He got a whiff of your blood and got a bit paranoid."
The older boy looked down at his hand to see blood flowing heavily; he would pass out at this point. He stood still as the 8 year old came towards him and started to tend to his injuries with any medical provisions the Uchiha had brought in his pouch. The small hands that were wrapping gauze around his bleeding hand were surprisingly gentle yet firm.
Itachi blinked when Naruto pulled away and looked down again to find his hand neatly wound with gauze, no longer bleeding.
"Would you tell me exactly why you were trying to obliterate your hand?"
Naruto waited patiently for the Uchiha's answer. However, instead of answering the question, Itachi asked a question himself.
"What happened to your eye?"
"I'll tell you if you answer my question. Deal?"
Itachi sighed. He realized that his question touched a sensitive subject, but so did Naruto's.
"…fine. But you are not to tell anyone; it is not something to be easily spoken of. There will be consequences if you tell."
The blond snorted. "Well, looks like Mr. Uchiha doesn't think I can keep a secret, huh Maiko?"
Naruto received a soft grunt of agreement from the tiger but all he got from Itachi was a blank stare. He sighed in defeat.
"Alright. I promise not to tell. As for my eye, some villager stabbed it when he kidnapped me on my 8th birthday. Your turn."
What bothered Itachi was how casual the blond was when he spoke of such a terrible experience.
"…I received a mission. I have the choice to refuse however."
Naruto snorted. "Let me guess. It's about the Uchiha's conspiracy, isn't it?"
The jinchuuriki chuckled at Itachi's wide eyes.
"How…?"
The blonde shrugged. "The Hokage shouldn't leave me alone in an office full of important documents."
Itachi frowned. "Why did you ask me if you already know?"
"I didn't say I knew all of it. I just wanted to fill in the blanks; which would be what your mission was."
All the blond heard from the Uchiha was silence.
"Hey, you said you'd tell me abo-"
"I was ordered to commit mass genocide on the Uchiha."
Naruto's eye widened as he tried to comprehend.
Killing off all the Uchiha? That makes sense. Get rid of a problem before it becomes a problem. But still…
"…was it the Hokage or the council of elders ordered you to do this…?"
Itachi narrowed his eyes. How did a mere child know to suspect the corrupted council? "The Hokage."
They were both silent until Naruto asked, "What are you going to do?"
The Uchiha stayed silent, for he did not have an answer. The blond sighed and started to walk back to home.
"Whatever you do, just don't ruin your treasures."
Itachi cocked his head at the other. What the hell did he mean by that?
After staring at his hand for awhile, he too started to head back home, still pondering on the jinchuuriki's words of advice.
Naruto was walking by the harbor with a box of pocky in his hand. He saw from the corner of his eye, a small boy his age who was training on the dock. At first, Naruto paid no mind to the boy and was about to walk past him but then, he took a second glance and realized who this boy was.
Sasuke Uchiha, younger brother of Itachi Uchiha.
The blond narrowed his eye. An Uchiha.
"I was ordered to commit mass genocide of the Uchiha."
Naruto snorted when Sasuke's flame ball came out smaller than his head. The Uchiha must have heard it because he jumped and turned around in surprise, then he flushed in embarrassment. He became even redder when the blond raised an eyebrow at him.
Naruto gracefully jumped down the hill onto the dock and sat down at the edge, kicking his feet on the surface of the water. He took out a pocky stick and held it up for the boy, who was still frozen from embarrassment. Naruto sighed and put the pocky into his own mouth.
"You're pretty stupid, aren't ya?"
The young Uchiha flushed in anger at the insult.
Naruto explained not so delicately, "If you really expect to be able to create one as big as your father's, then you're pretty stupid."
Sasuke was surprisingly meek at the mention of his father. He said nothing and just stood there awkwardly.
"Your father shouldn't expect someone so young to be able to pull it off just because his older brother did."
The boy became visibly depressed at the mention of his brother.
"Your brother is not normal. Maybe in a good way; maybe in a bad way. I don't really care. It's not common or normal to be as talented as him. Personally, I prefer to work at something to achieve rather than get it at the first try. It gives me something to do. Itachi's life must be pretty boring. He's run out of things to be better at."
The other said nothing making Naruto let out an exasperated sigh. "Are all Uchiha's unable to speak!"
"…no...!"
"Oh, so you people can speak… up to 1 syllable anyway. I swear; you are all so freaking emo."
Sasuke finally exploded. "What do you know! You aren't an Uchiha! We aren't emo!"
"No durh. Do I look like an emo Uchiha?"
The Uchiha growled, "Who do you think you are to insult us like that!"
"Makes you angry, doesn't it?"
"OF COURSE IT DOES, YOU RETARD!"
"Great. Now, take that anger and put it into that fireball jutsu."
Sasuke was confused and taken aback by the order. "Wha-"
"Or are you unable to do even that?"
The young boy growled at Naruto and took a deep breath before going through the needed hand signs for the grand fireball jutsu. He was amazed by the results.
Naruto smirked when a fireball twice the size of him spontaneously escaped Sasuke's mouth.
As the flames faded into nothing, Sasuke was trying to comprehend what the hell just happened.
"Wha… but my father said…"
Sasuke stared in wonder at the spectacular display of flames spewed from his father's mouth.
"You see, Sasuke? A jutsu requires complete focus. When performing a jutsu, throw away any emotion, thoughts, anything that might interfere"
"…he said…"
Naruto came up and put a hand on the Uchiha's shoulder. "Good job. Letting your emotions take over isn't necessarily a bad thing, ya know."
Sasuke stuttered out, "I… I don't understand…"
"That jutsu was a fire element jutsu. Element jutsus require a good amount of chakra but there's a little trick to using it to its fullest. Every jutsu requires a certain amount of focus or concentration. Every jutsu requires a certain level of skill. Every element jutsu requires a certain amount of passion. Getting riled up and performing the jutsu without thinking can sometimes lead to the best results. Only throw away emotion when fighting; even then there are times when you need it."
The Uchiha was still a bit confused, but before he could ask for further explanation, Naruto walked up the hill, not even bothering to say goodbye, and headed back home without another word.
Same old same old: Any questions; confused? Ask. That's pretty much it. Also, if I have any grammer mistakes, tell me so I can beat myself up about it for three months whenever I have a bat in my hand.
