AN:
A lot of stuff is planned for this chapter. There will be a Council meeting and a bit of Council Bashing, so if you like that sort of thing, then this should be fun! Also, we get to see Itachi and Kakashi again!
Please Review and I hope you enjoy!
XOXOXOX
THE NINE TAILS INCARNATE
ARC 01: ACADEMY
CHAPTER 3: THE NEW SASUKE UCHIHA
XOXOXOX
LAST TIME ON THE NINE TAILS INCARNATE:
The room held two strange trees; each with the trunk hollowed out and filled with resin which had hardened into Golden Amber. Inside each tree; sealed within the amber, was a human being. One was a red haired woman and the other was a blonde man that looked eerily like Naruto.
"Well Sasuke, let me introduce you to Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki; my parents."
XOXOXOX
Sasuke didn't know whether to stare and the two crystallised humans or their Tailed Beast son. The boy didn't know how to react to friends in normal situations, so how the hell was he supposed to react to something crazy like this!? Then suddenly, the names Naruto had said clicked in his head.
"Wait, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki? Those are their names?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto nodded. "Yep! My dad is the Fourth Hokage, but that's a super SSS Rank Secret, so don't tell anyone! And my Mom used to be an amazing Kunoichi with a really cool bloodline ability! She could make chains from her chakra! I've been hoping I'd get that power too, but it hasn't shown up yet."
"I can't believe it… You're the kid of the Fourth Hokage and my mom's old teammate..." Sasuke muttered, now officially dumbstruck. If he hadn't already been through an emotional roller coaster that day, the Uchiha doubted he would have believed this was real.
"Oh yeah, Auntie Hikari said that she used to be on a team with my mom and your mom. They were supposed to be one of the only All Kunoichi Teams in the Leaf Village." Naruto grinned as he wagged his fox tails.
Sasuke smiled. "Heh, my mother is always telling me stories about how crazy Kushina used to be. I know I can't tell anyone about your dad, but can I at least tell mom about Kushina? It would make a good peace offering when I go to apologise to her."
"My mom is known to the Council already, so I think that'll be okay. What do you need to apologise to your mom for?" Naruto asked.
"Pretty much the whole last two years. Mom and Itachi were mourning too, yet I acted like a brat to them. I also made an ass of myself to the council more than once, so I'll need to apologise to them too. Though I bet the Civilians will just say that I did nothing wrong." Sasuke muttered, feeling suddenly bitter about the Civilians of the council. He had started feeling it after Naruto told him how they treated him. 'Is this feeling empathy for a friend?' he thought.
"Well, I've got to report to the Council this afternoon anyway to let them know how my first day went. They always want to know everything about my life, with me being a "Precious Treasure" or a "Wild Beast" depending on who you ask. But you can come with me if you want." Naruto offered.
Sasuke nodded. "With everything that happened, classes must be over by now. Do you want to head straight to the council?"
Naruto grinned mischievously. "Yeah, and I have an idea for welcoming the council to the chamber… And you're gonna help me!"
The Dark Haired Boy paled at this. "Why do I get the feeling that I've just walked into a dangerous situation…?" Naruto just kept laughing as he led Sasuke out of his Parents' Stasis Chamber.
The two boys ran to the Hokage Tower, making sure that no one saw them as they snuck in and up to the Council Chamber. As expected, it was empty since there was still a good few minutes before the council was due to gather. "Perfect. Hey Sasuke, I'm gonna teach you something really cool! Trap Storage Seals!"
"Trap Storage Seals? You didn't show anything like this in the Assessment." Sasuke said, tilting his head quizzically.
"Well, a Ninja has to keep some secrets! Plus, when I use them for pranks, I can deny any knowledge of it. Anyway, they're pretty simple; just paint the seal onto a surface, place what you want to seal in it on top and then add Chakra! Then when you form the Release Handsign, the seal with release the item it stored!" Naruto explained before showing a drawing of the seal to Sasuke.
Sasuke examined it closely for a few minutes before nodding. "Okay, I've got it. But what are we gonna put in them?"
Naruto smirked and revealed a handful of small bomb like objects. "These are my Naruto Special! Here's what we're going to do; paint the seals on the ceiling above the Elder Council, Civilian Council and Jonin Haruno's seats. I've got something else planned for the Clan Heads and the rest of the Jonin, so I'll handle them!"
Sasuke nodded and took the Naruto Special Bombs and some Ink and a Seal Brush from Naruto. The Uchiha didn't know where he got these from, since they'd never fit in the Blonde's green shorts and his shirt had no pockets. Ignoring this for now, Sasuke got to work on his part of the prank. It didn't take him long and once he'd finished all the seals and placed the bombs in them, Naruto did a couple of handsigns and made both his and Sasuke's seals vanish. The Uchiha boy was about to comment on this when he noticed black ink on the end of each of Naruto's tails.
"You write seals with your tails?" he asked.
"Yep! With Nine tails and two hands, I can make eleven seals all at once! Besides, my Tails are steeped in Tailed Beast and Uzumaki Chakra, which makes them great for seals! That Brush I gave you was made from the fur on my tails too, Dattebayo!" Naruto grinned, letting his vocal tic out again. He didn't do it often any more thanks to a bit of training from Hiashi, but it still came out when he was excited.
Sasuke looked at the brush in his hand, and sure enough he could see some familiar gold colouring beneath the ink on the brush. He offered it back to Naruto but the Tailed Beast Boy shook his head. "Consider it a gift." was all he said before directing Sasuke to follow him out of the room.
After waiting on the roof of the Hokage Tower for fifteen minutes, an ANBU with a cat mask appeared before the idly chatting Naruto and Sasuke. "Naruto Uzumaki, the Leaf Council requests your presence." she said.
"Thanks Neko, I'll head there now." Naruto smiled. Neko nodded and disappeared in a flicker. "Well Sasuke, ready for the show?"
"Heh, this should be good. What's the signal for me to release my seals?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.
"It'll be when I say: Cake. If I say that word, drop the seals." Naruto grinned like a Cheshire Cat. The two boys excitedly ran to the council chambers, pausing so that they could compose themselves and not give away their plan. "All right; Show Time!"
Naruto pushed open the doors and walked in, Sasuke following close behind and shutting the doors behind him. Not only was the entire council gathered, but Mikoto Uchiha, Hikari Hyuga, Iruka Umino and Mizuki were all waiting as well, likely to hear about the fight between Naruto and Sasuke.
"Hey everybody, how you doing?" Naruto said cheerfully while Sasuke gave a polite bow to the council.
"Ah, Naruto-kun, its good to see you and Sasuke-kun in good condition. When I heard about your little spat, I was a bit worried." Hiruzen said with a Grandfatherly smile.
"Ehehe, no need to worry Gramps! We're both just fine! Our first day at the Academy was...a piece of CAKE!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Sasuke formed a silent seal behind his back, releasing the seals above the Elders, Civilians and Haruno. The seals appeared before dropping the Naruto Special bombs on the heads of their victims. Each one suddenly transformed into a fully iced layer cake, which splattered onto the heads of the council. Outraged yells followed this as the Clan Heads, Hokage and Jonin suppressed their laughter.
"Oh Naruto..." Hikari muttered, trying to keep her own laughs in.
"You damned brat! Have you no respect for those above you!?" Jonin Haruno spat, wiping the cake from his purplish-pink hair.
"Actually, I think you'll find Naruto was not the maker of those seals." Danzo said with a small smile as he stood up, suspiciously cake-free unlike his fellow elders. He revealed the bomb in his hand, which he had caught before it touched him, and then with skill gained through decades of training and experience, he flicked the bomb directly at Sasuke. Sasuke yelped as the bomb exploded in his face, covering him in cake.
Naruto, Mikoto and Itachi all openly laughed while the Jonin and Clan Heads had to try even harder to hide their mirth. "Okay, I guess I deserved that..." Sasuke frowned, as he pulled cake from his eyes.
"Indeed you did. I must say, I never expected you to help with one of Naruto's pranks." the Hokage smiled.
"Well… It is the nature of a Leaf Ninja to help their friends, right?" Sasuke said with a faint blush under his mask of cake.
Itachi beamed at his little brother and Mikoto looked ready to cry from happiness. Even without Sasuke saying more, they knew what this meant. After two years of misery, they finally had their Sasuke back!
"Wait, Uchiha-sama really did help make these damned things? I can't believe that!" Homura growled.
"Well Naruto made the bombs, Sasuke helped make the seals. It was his chakra that made them and he was the one who released them." Danzo said with a laugh. Secretly, he was elated! With Sasuke and Naruto now friends, if Danzo's plan to keep Naruto loyal ever failed, they'd have an Uchiha close to him that could hopefully tame him.
"Oh! That reminds me!" Naruto said, activating his own seals. A series of small pops could be heard and a single rose fell onto the desk in front of each of the clan heads and friendly Jonin.
"Ever the showman, eh Naruto?" Kakashi said with an eye smile as he threw the rose at Naruto's feet. The others followed suit and Naruto bowed like an actor on a stage. At a bit of urging, Sasuke rolled his eyes and joined in.
"If your ninja career ever fails, at least you have a good back up as a Stage Magician!" Sasuke teased.
"Yes yes, this little show was amusing, but it is time to get serious. Naruto, clean up." Hiruzen ordered. Naruto simply nodded and formed another handseal. Instantly, all the cake and roses transformed into a single leaf each, which Naruto quickly dashed about and picked up. At Sasuke's curious look, Naruto grinned.
"It's my Fox Transformation: Leaf Charm! I can turn leaves into anything I want by pouring in some chakra. Pretty cool, huh?"
With the leaves gathered, Hiruzen had Naruto describe everything that happened on his first day at the Academy, from the introductions to the assessment tests, to the fight with Sasuke and what happened afterwards. He only left out the visit to his Parents' Stasis Chamber, but he did mention telling Sasuke who his mother was, which made Mikoto ecstatic. Sasuke looked disappointed and regretful through much of report, though he perked up when Naruto said that he and Sasuke were now good friends.
"I see, you had quiet the day. Iruka, Sasuke-kun; anything to add?" Hiruzen asked, keeping a neutral expression.
"No, Hokage-sama, Naruto told you everything. Though I will say that seeing Sasuke now compared to how he was earlier, it is hard to believe they're the same person! He seems genuinely remorseful." Iruka said.
"I see. And Sasuke-kun, do you have anything to say for yourself? Even if you made up afterwards, you did attack Naruto-kun outside of a sanctioned match and that is a serious offence." Hiruzen said firmly.
The Civilians began to look panicked. They didn't want to see their hero being punished just for attacking the demon boy! "Hokage-sama, surely given his emotional trauma you can forgive this, can't you? We all know that is was the Nine Tails that began the unrest with the Uchiha which led to Sasuke-sama's suffering, so is it any wonder he attacked the creat- err, boy?" Haruno said.
"That is not an excuse!" shouted Sasuke, much to the council's surprise. "Naruto is not the same Nine Tails that caused the Uchiha's problems. He even told me that he'd have given his life to save the innocents slaughtered by Shisui! Naruto is a ninja of the leaf and my friend, so I won't let you treat him like a monster!"
Naruto smiled broadly and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Thanks Sasuke, that means a lot to
me."
The Civilians were too shocked to argue against Sasuke, and both the Clan Heads and the Friendly Jonin began to wonder if they had misjudged the young Uchiha. "Sasuke." Itachi began. "Does this mean you have let go of your hatred?" he asked hopefully.
"I-I can't say that I don't still hate Shisui. It still hurts so much whenever I think about what he did! But… It's not right to act the way I did. I am sorry. I am truly sorry for everything I have done." Sasuke said, bowing his head to the entire council. "Please, forgive me."
Mikoto couldn't keep her emotions inside any more and burst into happy tears as he ran forward and embraced her son, whom for the first time since the massacre, returned the hug with tears of his own. Hiruzen sighed and shook his head, relieved that Sasuke was not being consumed by hatred any longer. The old man just wished it hadn't taken a fight with Naruto to snap him out of it.
"Sasuke." The Old Hokage began. "I visited you before you signed up for the Academy. I asked what you would do with the skills you cultivated as a ninja. Has that answer changed?"
Still in his mother's grasp, Sasuke nodded with a new, determined look. "Yes, Hokage-sama. I still want to hunt down Shisui, but not for revenge. I want to bring him back to the Leaf to face justice for what he's done. And, I want to fight and grow stronger so that I can protect the village and my friend. Naruto's got it in his head that he can just throw his life away all the time to save others, so I'm going to get stronger so he doesn't have to get himself killed."
Naruto laughed a bit, but gave a grateful smile to his new friend. "Thanks Sasuke. And you don't have to worry; when you go after Shisui, I'll be right by your side!"
"If its the two of you, I think you may actually succeed." Itachi said, imagining how powerful the two would be. "Madara Uchiha was immensely powerful when he used the Nine Tails as a tool. Imagine how great the two of you will be fighting as friends instead of as a Master and his Slave." That thought made them both grin. The idea of being stronger than one of the Legends of the Leaf was an amazing one indeed.
"Well, considering everything that has happened, I think I will leave Sasuke's punishment to Iruka and his mother. The attack may have been a serious offence, but since it led to a good outcome, I will forgive it this time." Hiruzen declared, effectively silencing any and all arguments that may have been forming.
Iruka, with Mizuki trailing behind, approached Sasuke with a small smile. "Normally, you'd be in detention until you made Genin for this stunt, but like I said earlier, I will let you off with a warning. Study hard and be a good student Sasuke, and you too Naruto. I'm going to be expecting a lot from you. Oh! And after the Assessment Test, the two of you are tied for the Top Shinobi position, and Hinata is currently occupying the Top Kunoichi position; you should be proud Hyuga-sama."
Hiashi and Hikari both wore proud smiles as the nodded their thanks to the departing teacher. Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't so glad… "Damn! I was supposed to get Ramen with Hinata-chan after class! I forgot all about it! She's going to be so mad..." he said fearfully.
"It can't be that bad. Hinata seemed pretty even-tempered to me." Sasuke commented.
"Oh no Sasuke, you have no idea how worked up my eldest daughter can be when she gets mad!" Hiashi grinned, knowing he was teasing Naruto. "I passed her on the way here and she did not look happy."
Naruto went white as a sheet and bolted out the door. Sasuke just stared and the smoke he'd left in his wake before the Blonde boy suddenly ran back and grabbed him. "If I'm getting it from Hinata-chan then so are you!" Naruto declared before dragging the Uchiha off with him to meet their fate. The parents among the council laughed to themselves. Oh to be young again.
When Naruto and Sasuke reached the Hyuga Compound, they found a Hyuga Maid playing with a little girl with long brown hair and cute round face. "Naru-kun, Naru-kun!" The two year old Hanabi shouted, running over to the Blonde boy. "Nata-nee-chan's mad at you!" That made Naruto gulp. If even little Hanabi could tell Hinata was upset, then Naruto's goose was cooked.
"Now now Hanabi-chan." Came a sickeningly sweet voice from inside the house. "You don't want to spoil the surprise now, do you?"
Naruto and Sasuke paled as Hinata walked out into the yard, wearing a smile that meant something very unfortunate was about to happen. "Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, let's have a little talk." Hinata said, activating her Byakugan.
The two boys' screams could be heard throughout the village for a long time afterwards...
XOXOXOX
AN: Ha! Now that Naruto and Sasuke are friends, they have to share Hinata's wrath! Sasuke bashing won't exist past this chapter. The next one to both receive it and be redeemed will be Sakura.
Fair warning for Sakura fans; she will be getting pretty heavily bashed until her redemption chapters, but her behaviour will have a damn good reason behind it.
Current Pairings are:
Naruto/Hinata/?/?/?/?
Sasuke/Sakura/?/?/?/?
Okay, normally I'd have the Poll here, but due to the fact I've been getting more votes than I ever expected (thanks guys!), and I write these chapters a good few days in advance, it has become too much to update every chapter with every vote, so I will only be adding the Poll to the first and last chapter of every Arc.
Characters eligible for pairings are literally every Canon Character, though Haku will be the only eligible Gender Swapped Character, since I prefer Haku as a female rather than a male.