Naruto: Archer and Loner

Author notes

I guess I'll start off with a reply to a review I received. Child Soldier posted "It looks like your description embodies the many "cliches" of fanfictions written by many people over the years. Ever read Eroninja?" Well, in response to that, Child Soldier, I have to say thank you. You say that my description of the story embodies the normal "clichés" of writers. I came up with a description that gave a base outline of what I was going to write. It isn't going to be 100% accurate or perfect. All that matters to me is if you enjoy the story. As for if I've ever read any Eroninja, I can't say that I have for sure. I will defiantly look that writer up and read their stories to see what you meant. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Naruto nor Bleach do not belong to me.

Chapter 4: Learning Curve

Kiski Uzumaki stood in the hospital room watching as Naruto slept. Thinking over the events of the past few days, he has a sad smile on his face. 'This child has been through so much at such a young age. Most people would've given up by now,' he thinks to himself. 'I wonder how the training will go. Will he be like his mother? Strong yet brash? Or will he learn patience and silence?' Kiski is brought out of his thoughts by Naruto slowly sitting up.

"Kiski? Why are you here so early," Naruto asks, as he fully wakes up and sees the man standing there.

"I thought we could get an early start. We need to do some shopping and move in to your new home," Kiski says. Naruto's eyes widen in surprise. Excitement clearly plastered to his face.

"Yay! I'll finally have a place to sleep," Naruto states as he jumps out of the bed.

"Naruto, what do you mean by that," Kiski asks.

"Huh? Oh, just that I've been living on the streets since I was kicked out of the orphanage 2 years ago. I usually slept wherever I could. Empty dumpsters, cardboard boxes," Naruto says, embarrassment on his face at the revelation of his life.

"Naruto, don't be embarrassed at what happened to you. You should be proud. You are strong for having to go through all that. Most people would've given up. I have to ask, why didn't you go to the Hokage for help," Kiski asks, anger showing in his eyes. 'This village has done more harm than good with this boy. They will rue the day they decided to torment and abuse him,' Kiski thinks to himself.

"I tried to let Hokage-Jiji know, but was always kicked out of the Hokage tower by his secretary. I did get some help from Nara-san, Yamanaka-san, Aburame-san, Akimichi-san and Inuzuka-san. They gave me food and clothes when they could. I never went directly to them for help because I didn't want to abuse the help they gave me," Naruto says, a sad smile on his face at the memories of the help he received.

"You are wise, Naruto. And those people were wise and kind to help when they could. You will thank them when you see them later. They will be glad to know that you are ok and you appreciate the help they gave you. Did Hyuga-san help at all," Kiski asks.

"No," Naruto states venomously. "The Hyuga's beat me whenever I was around their clan grounds."

Kiski's eyes narrow at this revelation. He knows that the Hokage will want to know of this and have words with the Hyuga clan.

"Naruto, let's get out of here," Kiski says, as he puts a smile on his face to try and set Naruto's mind at ease. He picks Naruto up and walks out of the room.

Checking Naruto out of the hospital took only a few minutes. The looks and glares the boy got irritated Kiski to no end. 'This is going to be hard for a while,' Kiski thinks to himself. They put the hospital behind them and start walking into the shopping district of Konoha.

"Naruto, stick beside me and ignore any glares or looks you receive," Kiski tells him.

"Hai," Naruto replies quietly, his eyes darting around looking for any danger.

Kiski and Naruto approach Tokigawa's Clothing. Entering, they hear a cheerful voice say, "Welcome to Tokigawa's Clothing. " They see an older woman standing behind the counter. As she sees Naruto, her eyes narrow.

"Get out boy. We don't serve your kind here," she says coldly.

"Naruto, go ahead and look at some of the clothes while I talk to this kind woman," Kiski says, smiling at Naruto. Naruto nods and heads further into the store. Kiski walks up to the counter and grabs the woman by the front of her shirt.

"Listen closely and listen well, woman," Kiski whispers coldly. "You are going to serve Naruto with kindness and respect. If you don't, you won't have to worry about a shop because there will be nothing left once I'm done with you."

The woman's eyes widen in fear as she looks into Kiski's cold eyes. She can see her death in those eyes. She pales and nods repeatedly.

"Good. Now, everything Naruto gets will have the Uzumaki Clan symbol on it. Is that understood? And you will not breathe a word of this to anyone, ok," Kiski asks quite warmly. The woman nods in agreement. Knowing that if she failed to honor his request, Kiski would make her life a living hell.

Naruto browses the isles pulling clothes down that peak his interest. Mainly white clothing with dark blue highlights. Five minutes later, he walks up to Kiski arms laden with clothes.

"I think I have enough for now, Kiski. And I picked things that are slightly larger so I have some room to grow," Naruto says, sounding muffled behind the arm-load of clothes.

"Very good, Naruto. I'll pay this lady and we'll go to your new home," Kiski says as he pulls his wallet out. The woman rings up the clothes and Kiski hands over the money for it.

"You'll be able to pick up the clothes in a few hours or if you'd like to leave an address, we can have them delivered to you," the woman says.

"Have them delivered to the Uzumaki Clan compound later tonight. And make sure whoever delivers the clothes knows not to speak of where or to whom the delivery was for," Kiski says.

"Hai," the woman says quietly as Naruto and Kiski leave.

Kiski leads Naruto away from the shopping district heading to the Clan district. Naruto gets nervous as they enter the large district holding the popular and rich clans of Konoha.

"Naruto, you have nothing to worry about here. I am here to guide and protect you. Your new home is in this district. The Uzumaki Clan has a clan compound here," Kiski says after seeing Naruto's nervousness.

"Just so long as we stay away from the Hyuga Clan area, I'll be happy," Naruto says. Kiski nods and leads Naruto past the Nara Clan compound and leads him up to a gate with a large swirl on it.

"This is the entrance to the Uzumaki Clan compound. The Uzumaki Clan was quite large. The grounds cover 5 acres of land. There are 4 Clan houses and a fully functioning dojo surrounded by 3 training grounds. You'll find all you need to train both your mind and body here, Naruto. Now, I need you to cut your palm and place your hand on the center of the swirl on the gate," Kiski explained to Naruto and held out a kunai. Naruto didn't waste any time grabbing the offered kunai from Kiski and cutting his palm. Kiski notices that Naruto didn't so much as wince as he sliced his palm open. Naruto placed his hand on the swirl and watched as his blood was drawn into the swirl. This continued for a few moments until there was a large click and the gates opened before them. Kiski moved forward and looked at Naruto's hand noticing it was already healed. 'Must be either his Uzumaki healing or the Kyubi's doing,' he thought to himself. He placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and led him into the Clan grounds. The gate closed behind them with an audible boom.

Naruto took his first look at what was going to be his new home. Like Kiski described, there were 4 large houses arranged in a square. Each house looked quite large from the outside. In the center of all 4 houses was a large fountain. Water cascading down it in a swirl pattern.

"What is up with all the swirl patterns I keep seeing, Kiski," Naruto asks, awe in his voice and on his face.

"The swirl is the Uzumaki Clan symbol. If you notice, the Uzumaki Clan swirl is white with a slight blue hue to it. Every chunin and jonin has a red swirl on their jackets. The reason is in remembrance of the sacrifice Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki Clan. They fought off Iwa, Kiri and Kumo in the 2nd Ninja War and gave Kohona a fighting chance to survive the war. For 3 days and nights, they fought off the combined might of those 3 villages. Unfortunately, the village, Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki Clan were destroyed after that. You may be the last Uzumaki," Kiski says sadly.

Naruto looked up at Kiski in awe at hearing this. Eyes filled with tears at the loss and the realization that he may be alone. "I have you though, Kiski," Naruto says to the solemn man.

"Yes, you do, Naruto. But, I am not a true Uzumaki. I can only teach you what I am able to," Kiski replies. "Thank you though for thinking of me as a true Uzumaki. Now, let us go into the main library and start your training. We have 2 years to train before you start the academy and I want you to be the best you can be," Kiski says.

"Hai, Kiski-sensi," Naruto replies with excitement. "But, I don't know how to read yet. I wasn't allowed to go into the civilian school to learn."

"That is ok, Naruto. I will teach you what you need to know," Kiski replies and leads Naruto into the Clan library.

Whew! I think that is where I'm going to stop for this chapter. I did some thinking on the Naruto universe and thought, "they become ninja at 12 or 13 and Naruto had been in the Ninja academy for 4 years." With that thought, I figured that Naruto started the Ninja academy at 8. I figured that before the ninja academy, they would be in a civilian school to learn the basics of reading and writing. I also figured that the Uchia massacre happened while they were at the ninja academy. I figure Sasuke was around 9 or 10 when it happened. That's what I think, anyways. Also, I want to ask you all to forgive me for forgetting about Shibi Aburame in the last chapter. I may go back and add him after I'm done with this story or just ask you all to figure he was there with everyone else. I had meant to add him and it totally slipped my mind. Also, some of you may have an issue with how mature Naruto is at 6. It isn't because he's smart or something. It is because he was forced to grow up in a hard situation. Any child in a similar situation in real life tend to mature fast. It's a coping and survival mechanism. Thank you all for the favs and follows. I'll try and churn out more chapters as they come to me.