Disclaimer: Naruto and all associated characters are property of Masashi Kishimoto

Jutsu: Original(Translation)

Biju/Summon Speaking

Bijū/Summon Thoughts

Naruto mental reply

! - dattebayo

edited 4/20/16

Chapter 7

Losing the Path

2 months later – Naruto's Apartment


Naruto woke up and stretched briefly before getting out of his futon and scurrying into the bathroom quickly. Winter was in full swing, and Konoha had received a heavy dusting of snow.

The mornings were quite cold, and Naruto was a little scared about using the heater when he heard stories of people dying from bad air coming from heaters. Kyūbi still laughed at him for believing such foolishness, as he put it. Naruto decided he would just use heavier blankets to sleep. Plus he was now able to wear his coat, even more, much to Kyūbi's chagrin.

Naruto rushed through his morning ritual and dressed quickly, donning his precious coat. It had taken several attempts and lots of pricked fingers to sew the patches onto the jacket, but he was happy with the result. The Uzumaki Clan Symbol was now proudly displayed on his left arm right below the shoulder while he added the memorial symbol on his back just like he saw on the Jōnin vest that the Hokage showed him.

Naruto had become close to the Hokage and affectionately referred to him as Jichan (grandpa) or jiji (old man). He would spend a half day with him on Sunday and would occasionally spend a few hours with him throughout the week, either at the park or to eat at Ichiraku's. The Hokage would tell him amazing stories about his battles in the past or the times he spent with the Nidaime Hokage during the war.

His relationship with Kyūbi had improved a little more. Kyūbi would not always insult him now and had not called him a fool or other mean things for some time, which was good. Naruto could tell that Kyūbi was still hiding his negative emotions from him, but he didn't want to bother Kyūbi too much and risk him getting mad at him.

Naruto was starting to figure out how to discern between the different negative emotions and whether they were targeted at him or were just in general, based on clues from Kyūbi. Mostly Kyūbi would identify a particular emotion when it would cause problems for Naruto only, and would disregard any other negative emotions around them. Essentially, this ensured that Naruto would have to try to figure out the other emotions he was feeling, where they were coming from, and who those emotions were targeting. Naruto was a little frustrated that he still couldn't understand the different emotions he was sensing, but Kyūbi would just explain that it was due to him not having enough of something called life experience.

He also got to play shogi with his new friend Shikamaru once a week as well. On Saturday, he would spend the day with Shikamaru and Shikaku playing shogi. Shikamaru's friend Choji would be there sometimes, but he didn't play very often.

It wasn't fun playing against Shikaku at all because Naruto could tell that the man wasn't taking him seriously, and the older Nara always won. Naruto would beat Shikamaru sometimes, but Naruto could tell that Shikamaru wasn't always trying his hardest. When Shikamaru was trying his best, he would put his hands together and form a circle while thinking. He used that a lot against his father, but Shikamaru didn't do that when playing Naruto nearly as often. When Naruto played Choji, he always won. Easily. So, Naruto imagined Choji felt the same way Naruto would when he played against Shikaku. While he felt bad that he always beat Choji, at least Naruto was always trying his hardest to beat him.

The most exciting parts of the week were when he was able to learn things from Ren, Taro, and Makoto. He had been going to the park every day for two weeks when he heard they had been adopted and began to lose hope of meeting them again until Monday on the third week. He saw all three of the lying on the ground ringed around a tree.

Flashback 1 month 2 weeks - Hokage Monument Playground


Naruto ran up to his friends and practically shouted, "Hey guys, it's me! I have been looking for you guys forever!" a puzzled expression crossed his face at their actions causing Naruto to ask, "What are you guys doing?"

Naruto skidded to a stop near the prone children with his head cocked to the side and a curious expression on his face.

Ren, Taro, and Makoto would place their feet on the tree then remove it only to repeat it again. Ren and Taro rolled their heads back to greet him quickly then went back to what they were doing.

Makoto sprung up when she heard Naruto and began speaking rapidly at him. "Naruto-kun! I've missed you! What happened to you? Did you get adopted? We heard you were hurt!"

"Well I was hurt, but Hokage-jiji said I didn't have to go back to the orphanage anymore. He got me this cool apartment all to myself, and he gives me ryō to buy things! I even go and eat with him all the time!" Naruto said boastfully.

"Wow, Naruto-kun! You are so lucky! You get to meet with the Hokage! I can't believe you live all by yourself. Isn't it scary?" Makoto asked.

"It was a little scary, at first, but there is always Neko, Saru, and Karasu to help me," Naruto said.

He looked back towards Saru, who was watching him for the day. Saru wasn't as friendly as Neko and Karasu, but he also didn't sense any negative emotions from him. Saru always kept within sight but would keep his distance from Naruto.

Makoto followed Naruto's gaze and noticed the Anbu with the monkey mask watching them at a distance.

She was a little nervous since Danzō said they had to hide their plans from the Anbu. She really wanted Naruto to join them so they could be together again. Then they would all be a super cool ninja team fighting to protect Konoha.

Danzō had told her that Naruto had a special chakra that was very powerful and because of that the other clans and the Hokage were fighting over who can train Naruto. Danzō wanted to train Naruto too, but since everyone was too busy fighting over who could train him it was up to her, Ren, and Taro to have Naruto choose to join them before he fell behind. If Naruto decided to join them, even the Hokage couldn't stop him.

"What's wrong, Makoto-chan?" Naruto's question interrupted her thoughts.

"It's that man with the mask. Is he following you?" Makoto asked quietly.

"Oh! Don't worry about Saru; he is just assigned to watch me like Neko and Karasu," Naruto replied with a smile.

Internally Naruto was wondering why he was sensing negative emotions from his friends. He never noticed sensing those emotions from them before but back then he was always sensing Kyūbi's emotions. He wasn't sure what these emotions were either.

Naruto subtly peeked into his mindscape for a second and noticed that Kyūbi was asleep, so he kept his thoughts hidden so that he didn't bother his snoozing companion.

"So, what are you guys doing?" Naruto asked.

"We learned that if you channel chakra to your feet you can stick it onto a tree. What Torune-sama told us to practice is sticking your foot to the tree with chakra, then try to pull your foot off while channeling chakra and see how long you can keep your foot stuck. If you get strong enough, you can eventually walk up the tree without your hands," Taro said excitedly before deflating, "but we just started, so we can't do anything cool like that yet."

"Wow, that still sounds cool, though! I never heard anything about that." Naruto plopped himself down next to where Makoto had lain earlier and tried to copy what they were doing.

While he was trying it, he began to ask more questions. "So, I heard you guys all got adopted! Are your parents nice? Did they teach you how to do this?"

Ren replied. "We were all adopted by this guy named Torune-sama. He finds orphans that are strong and trains them to be a special team for Konoha."

Taro replied, "Yea. Torune-sama is super cool! He can do all kinds of crazy ninja stuff."

Makoto remained silent as she continued trying to stick her feet to the tree.

Naruto was not having any success; it seemed that when he moved to put his foot on the tree while channeling chakra to it, his foot would get pushed away instead of sticking. Sometimes even pieces of bark would fly off as well.

Ren had been watching Naruto from the corner of his eye and saw what Naruto was doing wrong. "Oi, stupid! You are putting too much chakra. You have to use less chakra to stick to the tree and your supposed to take turns with each foot not only use one foot."

"Hey! I'm not stupid! Hokage-jiji said I'm really smart!" Naruto tried again, channeling less chakra, but his foot was still pushed away. He was still trying to figure out how to just channel the chakra to the bottom of his foot instead of his whole foot.

"He was just kidding, calm down," Taro said before he sent a sly glance towards Ren. "It's not your fault that you aren't learning about these things yet."

"Yea! You better be grateful, Naruto. Torune-sama said we weren't supposed to teach other kids this yet. If you tell anyone, we will get in big trouble. Worse then when we took Keiri's candy box." Ren said

"I am grateful!" Naruto said quickly. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about it," Naruto said with a nod, "You guys are my friends, I won't get you in trouble."

He felt a surge of negative emotions from Makoto when he said that and was going to ask her about it but changed his mind since he could tell that it wasn't towards him. She was probably worried about getting in trouble if this Torune found out.

Naruto rolled his head back slightly and peeked over at Saru, who was still watching from a distance. He didn't think Saru heard them talking, but he couldn't be sure. He turned his attention back and tried to stick his feet to the tree again.

Afterward, they planned to meet him at the playground every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Flashback End


After he finished his breakfast he wrapped a scarf around his neck that Shizune had given him. It was black with small orange dots on it, and he loved it. The orange dots were plentiful enough that he was satisfied with the level of orangeness, but they were also small enough to be subtle instead of standing out brightly. It almost looked like a starry sky was tied around his neck.

Shizune had not approved of his orange coat, but Naruto refused to budge on it. She had given him this scarf to show that he could still wear more appropriate colors without sacrificing his beloved orange.

He grabbed his gloves, keys, and Gama-chan and put his snow boots on. Saru met him outside, and they made their way to the park.

Hokage Monument Playground


As Ren, Taro, and Makoto were waiting for Naruto's arrival and were discussing the plan that Danzō had told them. So far, they had been successful in completing the milestone objectives and, according to Danzō, if they continued as they were, Naruto would join them next month, and they would all receive special chakra weapons.

Ren only really cared for the weapon and was getting impatient. He knew he could simply boss Naruto around into doing what he wanted. Naruto always did what Ren demanded in the past. It was the only reason why he hung out with Taro or Naruto in the first place. Ren was going to be the leader while Naruto and Taro were his sidekicks. Makoto would follow him because she always followed them when they went to meet with Naruto.

"I'm going to push the final plan on Naruto today guys, so be ready!" Ren said.

Makoto frowned. "...but Danzō-sama said we were not to proceed until we have reached milestone 5."

"It won't matter. We both know that Naruto will do as Ren says. Why wouldn't he?" Taro said with a scoff. "He already knows that we are learning cool things and are getting stronger than him. you can tell he is jealous."

Ren nodded in agreement with Taro but didn't comment any further. Everything Taro had said about Naruto was true, so there was no need to say anything else.

"If you are sure you can convince him then fine. I don't care about the weapon; I just want Naruto-kun to join Root like us." Makoto said quietly.

"Just stick to my plan. If he refuses, we all have to agree that we won't be his friends anymore. That always works on Naruto. Danzō-sama just doesn't know him like we do." Ren stated with certainty.

"What about his Anbu guard? If they hear then, Danzō-sama will be furious!" Taro asked.

"Don't worry about it. The Anbu guard today will be Saru, and he always stays at the far edge of the playground. We will bring Naruto to the trees and continue practicing the leaf sticking with him. Shin and Taka will make sure to play between us and Saru, and make enough noise to block his hearing."

Makoto was worried but nodded her agreement. She hoped Naruto would join them. She would always feel happier and less alone when she was near Naruto, more than any of her other friends.

Naruto's excitement grew as he neared the park. Kyūbi had started to help him with the chakra exercises that his friends were teaching him, and he couldn't wait to show them how strong he was getting. Thanks to Kyūbi, he could stick his feet to the tree, and he was also able to keep the leaf stuck to his forehead for almost an hour. He wanted to try climbing the tree, but Kyūbi told him that his chakra reserves were too small still, because of his age.

"Calm down, brat or your chakra control will suffer. You can't maintain control unless you stay calm." Kyūbi snapped.

'Your right Kyūbi-sama, but I can't help it! Those guys are probably learning all kinds of cool things that I don't even know about. I don't want to be left behind.' Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to force himself to calm down.

"I don't know why you bother with this group of mortals. The only one who is kind to you is the green eyed vixen." Kyūbi said with a huff.

'Taro is nice to me, and Ren, he's just grumpy like you are.' Naruto said slyly.

"Don't make me laugh, brat. That spiky-haired fool can't compare to me." Kyūbi said with a growl.

'You are right about that, Kyūbi-sama. Ren is nowhere near as grumpy as you are.' Naruto replied with a smirk

Kyūbi growled lowly "Do not mock me if you want my assistance, brat, or I will simply go back to sleep again."

'I was just joking Kyūbi-sama, please don't take it seriously.' Naruto replied with anime tears

"Hmph. I don't think its possible for me to take you seriously, brat." Kyūbi said in amusement.

Naruto had to stop himself from physically sticking his tongue out in response to Kyūbi's dig on him. He was getting better at not responding physically when speaking to Kyūbi outside of his mindscape. Luckily, Kyūbi didn't talk to him in front of other people very much unless it was something important. He had gotten a few weird looks from strangers, though. He held back replying to Kyūbi since he was nearing where his friends were waiting for him. He waved to them as he walked up.

"Hey, guys what's the plan today? Want to play snow forts? Or are we gonna play ninja like last week?" Naruto asked with a smile.

Ren shook his head "Nah, we want to train today. We won't become strong ninjas by playing games all the time."

"C'mon, let's practice, Naruto," Taro said.

"Here Naruto-kun, I brought you a leaf to practice with from our garden," Makoto said.

"Thanks, Makoto-chan!" Naruto followed, but he had a slight frown on his face.

The Hokage told him it was important to play games as they helped develop skills that you couldn't get from training. Shogi trained you in strategy and tactics. Playing ninja helped develop tracking and hiding skills. Snowball fights helped with accuracy and evasion. If his friends were being trained to form a special group wouldn't their trainer know these things as well? The Hokage was the most powerful ninja in the village; he would know what to do to become strong.

Also, he was sensing a lot of negative emotions from all three of his friends, and they were all targeted at him specifically. He had a really bad feeling and was unsure what to do. These were his friends, and he trusted them but he wasn't sure what emotions these were. Are they mad at him about something? Maybe they were mad because he wanted to play instead of train, that must be it.

Kyūbi sighed at Naruto's naivety. 'This will be a painful lesson for him, but it is necessary. I wonder how he will handle it.'

The group sat around the base of a tree where the snow was unable to accumulate. Ren and Taro were looking at him with a grave expression on their faces while Makoto had a worried look on her face.

"What's going on guys?" Naruto asked nervously. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong Naruto. In fact, it's your lucky day! We convinced Torune-sama that you were strong enough to join our secret group." Ren said.

"Yea. Naruto, you don't have to worry about the Hokage holding you back until the Academy. You can start training with our group now if you want to." Taro said.

"That's right! You don't want to join the stupid Academy with the rest of the losers. They don't even learn the chakra sticking techniques that we showed you. Root is much better, and we got you a special invitation to it. You will be rewarded with a special weapon if you join us." Ren added.

"Please consider joining Root Naruto-kun. They even said we will all be on a special team and do all the most important missions to protect Konoha." Makoto pleaded.

"Wait. You guys aren't going to join the Academy? I thought everyone had to join the Academy to become ninjas." Naruto asked.

"Well... Root is a secret group of ninjas who do the really cool and dangerous missions because they are trained to be the best." Ren said confidently. "Instead of waiting to join the Academy and graduate when you are 12, Root ninjas go through special training and are finished with their training by age 10. Root ninjas are always better than Academy ninjas." Ren finished with a nod.

"Root only looks for the strongest kids to join them," Taro added. "If you aren't strong enough, then they send you to the Academy instead."

"And you guys said I could join Root with you guys? Is that where you have been learning all this cool stuff?" Naruto asked.

"Yea. Torune-sama works for Danzō-sama, the head of Root and one of the Hokage's advisers. He was the Hokage's rival. Danzō-sama always gets the best weapons for ninjas and can learn every jutsu possible." Makoto said with a smile.

She felt that Naruto was almost convinced and decided to make Root sound even better than it was. She didn't like a lot of the training, but she could easily bear it with Naruto there.

Naruto had stars in his eyes as he thought about it. Learning all the cool jutsu and fighting all the bad guys with his friends. It would be just like they all dreamed about in the orphanage.

Ren saw the look on Naruto's face and knew that he was close to agreeing to join. He acted just like he would back at the orphanage. All he would need to do now was make Naruto think that Root was the only option he had.

"Danzō-sama said that you have special chakra, and if you join Root, Danzō-sama will show you how to use your true strength," Ren said seriously, "The Academy can't teach you how to use it. Root is the only one who knows how to train your special chakra." Ren whispered.

Normally that would have Naruto jumping to join but the moment Ren mentioned special chakra, Naruto visibly stiffened, and he was overcome with a terrible feeling deep inside him. Did he have really have special chakra? Or was this Danzō guy after Kyūbi?

"You are correct, brat. Your group of mortals is in league with the one called Danzō to try and use us as a weapon." Kyūbi snarled in disgust, "Those arrogant fools! Do not trouble yourself with these fools no longer. Can't you sense their deception?"

'They wouldn't do that, would they? These are my friends! Would they lie to me like that?' Naruto said in denial.

"You have sensed their negative emotions towards you have you not?" Kyubi said coldly before taking a softer tone. "That bad feeling deep inside you is your instincts warning you, do not ignore it. That is more than enough evidence that these so-called friends of yours are false."

"I don't know about this guys," Naruto said with a frown. "I think I should ask Hokage-jiji about this first." Naruto glanced over at Saru, but he didn't seem to have heard their discussion.

"No! You can't tell the Hokage, its a secret! Don't you remember anything I told you!" Ren shouted.

"Yea Naruto! You said you wouldn't tell anyone about this!" Taro said indignantly.

"Please just join, Naruto-kun." Makoto pleaded, "You won't regret it! We will all be a special ninja team protecting Konoha every day." Makoto said as she clutched Naruto's sleeve.

"You think you are too good for us now because you're all buddy, buddy with the Hokage is that it?" Taro said scathingly.

"No, I don't think that at all! I just have a bad feeling about this, and you know that I have always been right when I get that feeling." Naruto justified.

"Whatever, Naruto. I see how it is." Ren said with a sneer. "I can't accept your answer. You are just doing whatever you want because you're selfish. If you don't join us, then I can't consider you a friend anymore and neither will the others!" Ren stood up and turned his back on Naruto.

Taro followed his example standing next to Ren while Mikoto fidgeted nervously.

"C'mon Naruto-kun, won't you just do as we say? We promise you won't regret it." Makoto begged with a soft tug on his coat sleeve.

"Well, brat. Will you just do as they say? Just like you have always done in the past? Or will you finally make a stand for your own decisions?" Kyūbi said testily.

Naruto was distraught when his friends turned their backs on him and called him selfishly. He always did whatever he could to make them happy like, he believed, a good friend should. When Makoto begged Naruto to go along with them and looked at him with her mesmerizing green eyes, he was about to fold to their demands, again, until he thought over the last thing Kyūbi said.

As he looked back through his memories with his friends, he realized that Kyūbi was right. His friends always demanded that he go along with them, and they would only do what Naruto said when it would benefit themselves. They always took more of his candy or desserts. They always left him behind to get in trouble and would always tease him about it. Only Makoto didn't take things from him, but she still always went along with the others. Just like he did too.

Naruto clenched his teeth and balled his hands into fists; his eyes were starting to water with tears. He didn't like this feeling he had. It was like he was angry, sad, and hurting at the same time. It was... confusing.

While he didn't know much about negative emotions, yet, this was one he knew he hadn't felt before because it was by far the worst. Even when those men wanted to attack him, it didn't feel as bad as this. This feeling seemed to hurt him deep inside. Like that sharp pain that he felt in his chest before he woke up in the hospital, but it was still worse than that.

"That, Naruto, is the feeling of betrayal. These fools have betrayed your trust and used you as a tool. This filth never cared about you unless you could help with their own selfish wants and as soon as you try to take care of yourself, they want to discard you like trash."

'So this is what betrayal feels like, huh. Now I see why people get so angry and full of hate after this. This feeling hurts so much, Kyūbi-sama. It makes me want to cry, yell, hurt them, and run away at the same time." Naruto said in a pained tone,"What should I do?'

"Reject those fools as your friends," Kyubi said immediately. "If they are so willing to cast you aside you should cast them aside first. You should never forgive them, even if the throw themselves at your feet and beg."

'I don't know if I can do that. I won't be their friends anymore, but if they beg me to forgive them, and I don't sense anything negative from them, I will forgive them."Naruto said sadly. "It hurts, but maybe they don't understand, maybe this Danzō guy tricked them. They weren't the best of friends when I look back, but they never did something like this before.'

"Hmph. You take a risk allowing snakes in your den. The rewards for them were higher this time, which is why they were willing to betray you." Kyūbi said with a huff. "That is how all corrupt and greedy humans justify their betrayal, but at least, you aren't foolish about it by forgiving them unconditionally," Kyūbi grumbled. "I still say that it would be a mistake if you do."

'The boy begins to grow up and so far he has not deviated from his moral path, even right after a traumatic experience such as this. You have earned my respect, Naruto.'

Makoto was worried; Naruto hadn't said anything, and he looked like he was about to cry. "Naruto-kun, please won't you go with us."

Naruto stood up and wiped his eyes. He looked up at Makoto with a look she had never seen on his face before. His face was stern, and his normally sparkling eyes were dark and stony.

"No! I won't be joining you. I won't do what you say anymore! I am not some lowly follower for you to throw out like trash because I don't agree with you! You say you won't be my friend anymore well I don't care because I don't consider you my friends anymore either. You call me selfish when you are the ones being selfish!" Naruto's voice kept rising with each statement almost to the point where he was shouting.

Makoto looked hurt by what Naruto said while Ren and Taro turned around with a shocked look on their face. This was not how Naruto was supposed to react. Danzō was going to be pissed if they didn't turn this around somehow.

Naruto turned and began to walk towards Saru with tears in his eyes. Ren tried to grab him, but Naruto only threw his hand off and kept walking. They were calling out for him to come back, but he ignored them and walked out of the park towards his apartment. He didn't look back once.

Karasu listened in on the three Root recruits for a little while longer until they left. They were in a panic, but since they didn't know where Naruto lived and Saru was with him, they couldn't pursue. With a small smile on his face, he departed with Shunshin (Body Flicker) to report to the Hokage. He was glad Danzō's little ploy failed on Naruto.

He wished he had been as wise at that age and avoided Danzō, but he was determined to protect Konoha at any cost and Danzō had been very convincing. Now he found himself trapped in an entangled web of deceit that he couldn't escape. The Hokage was trying to help him by assigning this detail, but Itachi knew that it was only a matter of time before he was caught between a rock and a hard place.

Naruto's Apartment


Naruto just plopped down on his couch and curled up into a ball. The pain of betrayal from his closest friends left him feeling abandoned and alone. He replayed the events at the park and took note of the negative emotions he was feeling from them at the time. He wanted imprint those feelings in his mind so he could learn the differences and memorize them. He never wanted to experience that again.

Then he remembered something that made him feel a lot better. Kyūbi had used his name! He didn't call him a brat, or mortal but actually called him by his name. He would never really be alone; he would always have Kyūbi with him. He could visit jiji once a week, he could play with Shikamaru and Choji on Saturdays, but Kyūbi was always there, even when he was sleeping. He would make sure Kyūbi realized how much he appreciated him. He closed his eyes to thank Kyūbi face to face.

Naruto's Mindscape


As soon as Naruto entered his mindscape he began to change the surroundings again to match the weather outside. The sky was clear and crisp with winter. The trees and ground were covered with clean powdery snow. Kyūbi was already waiting for him with his head rested on his paws but both his eyes were open and fixed on Naruto.

Naruto didn't say anything. He simply walked towards the cage and Kyūbi just remained silent watching as he progressed closer to the gates. Naruto walked right up to the gate then slipped through the bars without hesitation and approached Kyūbi's muzzle. Kyūbi swished a few of his tails, but Naruto did not falter. He stopped when he was a small distance away from Kyūbi's muzzle and directly in front of his right eye.

"The boy is more emotional than I thought." Kyūbi mused, "I wonder what his intentions are with this display."

Naruto just stared into Kyūbi's eye with a watery gaze then bowed low. "Thank you, Kyūbi for showing me the truth. We may not be friends yet, but you have helped me so much, and I will always trust you no matter what."

"You are right. I do not trust you quite yet, kit, but you have earned my respect for now. Do not do something stupid to lose it." Kyūbi said in warning, but his tone was softer than normal.

Naruto bowed again before he quietly moved to sit down against a tree he created as close as possible to Kyūbi and closed his eyes. He wasn't tired, but he simply felt that he needed to rest and Kyūbi's presence, which had always held a bad feeling for him, had suddenly become a good feeling like Gama-chan or his coat. Naruto decided just to bask in the feeling to try to ease the pain he felt deep inside.

Kyūbi also had undergone some changes in his beliefs. Feeling the pain of betrayal on Naruto's innocent soul had been a revelation. The pain he had experienced through his link with Naruto had been worse than anything he remembered over his vast life. He surmised that having inherent purity must have resulted in amplifying the inherent negativity in an emotion like a betrayal.

Yet, even after a wound that grievous, he was still willing to forgive those fools. Granted he stipulated that he would only trust them if he couldn't feel negative emotions, but that was only logical. He didn't think any humans were capable of that kind of forgiveness.

Every time he ran across a mortal on the revenge trip they were always just full of hate. Willing to commit unforgivable acts. This incident was nowhere near as severe as someone backstabbing a friend with a dagger, but the emotions were just as strong and raw. Kyūbi had no doubt that Naruto would even forgive those fools if they had tried to kill him, as long as they were genuine in their remorse.

Hokage's Office – Hokage Tower


Hiruzen was making his way through his usual paperwork and was clearing through them at a steady clip. It would soon be time for him to observe Naruto through his crystal ball, one of his favorite past times.

Itachi's sudden arrival in his office suddenly sparked his concern. The only reason they would Shunshin directly in is if something happened involving Naruto.

Itachi approached the Sandaime's desk and spoke. "I have some news you might find important."

Hiruzen motioned Itachi to continue and began to prepare his tobacco pipe for a smoke.

"Naruto-kun's former friends from the orphanage approached Naruto-kun today and tried to encourage him to join Root," Itachi said in his typical monotone.

A look of rage came across Hiruzen's face as he heard the news. 'That manipulative bastard! How dare he make a play like this.' Hiruzen thought. "How did Naruto-kun respond?"

Itachi replied "Naruto-kun asked his friends some questions about Root and, at first, it seemed that they had convinced him to join them. When one of his friends mentioned that Danzō told them that Naruto-kun had special chakra, and only Root could train him, Naruto-kun appeared to become... suspicious and wanted to speak with you before deciding." Itachi paused as if gathering his throughs before continuing. "The boys then issued an ultimatum that he join, or they would break off their friendship while the girl tried to coerce him to join instead. Naruto-kun was silent for some time before he shouted at them, declaring that they were not his friends. At that point, I remained behind to listen to the three children and discovered that Danzō enacted this plan, but the children went against his plans and moved the timetable of the operation up on their own. I then left and proceeded here directly once I was certain they would not pursue him any further. Saru remained with Naruto-kun."

Hiruzen already had his crystal ball up and was viewing Naruto before Itachi had finished his report.

Naruto appeared to be curled up on his couch asleep. Hiruzen was proud that Naruto had seen through their deception. He must have put together that "special chakra" meant the Kyūbi, but the proud feeling changed to sadness when he studied Naruto's face closer. He could tell that he had cried himself to sleep based on the tear tracks and the wet spots on his coat.

Hopefully, Hinata's birthday party in a few weeks would provide him with the chance for some new friends. He seemed to be amiable towards Shikamaru and Choji, but neither of those children shared common interests with Naruto. Shikamaru, besides playing shogi, would rather sit around staring at the sky, and Choji was just happy if he was eating something. Occasionally, he would see them play around, but not at the level he had seen Naruto play with those three snakes in the past.

"I'm afraid there is nothing much that can be done at this time about Danzō but leave him to me," Hiruzen said with a sigh. "Thank you Itachi, you are dismissed."

Itachi left with a Shunshin and settled down on a roof near Naruto's apartment to keep watch until Neko relieved him. Once Neko arrived to replace him, he filled Neko in on the details of what happened on the playground and what he saw in the Hokage's crystal ball. Neko couldn't help herself and went to go comfort Naruto. Neko knocked on the door and waited for Naruto to answer.

Naruto was still resting against the tree absorbing the new feeling he noticed from Kyūbi when he was jolted out of his mindscape. He sat up and looked around but didn't know what happened to pull him away from Kyūbi. He was about to go back into his mindscape when he heard knocking at the door.

He walked over and answered the door to see Neko standing there. Before he could even say anything, Neko enveloped him in a hug and carted him off to the couch. Naruto stiffened as he had never been grabbed like this, as far as he remembered. Neko, on the other hand, was lost in cuddling bliss. Eventually, Naruto relaxed and decided that he found this feeling to be quite enjoyable.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun. I heard what your friends did to you." Neko said while she rubbed his back gently with her chin resting on his head. Protocol be damned, she would not let him suffer that kind of betrayal alone.

"It's okay Neko-chan, I guess they were never really my friends after all," Naruto replied sadly. He wouldn't cry over those people anymore if he could help it, but the pain was still there.

Neko hummed in sympathy and replied. "You don't have to hide your feelings, Naruto-kun. It's better to let them out. I had a so called friend who did something similar to me when I was your age, and I remember how much it hurt."

"It did hurt, a lot, but I don't want to cry over them. They don't deserve it." Naruto said vehemently as he leaned into Neko's embrace. "I was just following them because I was weak and scared of being alone, but I'm not going to be weak or scared anymore. I will find my own path and leave them behind to be forgotten."

Neko squeezed him a little tighter. "You are not weak or scared Naruto-kun. It's natural for a boy your age to look for friends. Most boys your age wouldn't be able to live on their own or even be separated from their mother for half a day without crying.

Neko moved back a little so she could look at Naruto's face. Once she saw his big blue eyes looking up at her, she spoke again. "You are much braver than other boys your age, but you are right about finding your own way. Everyone has to find their own path. You will meet other kids at the Academy, some of those kids will become friends who will remain with you for life. Some of those friends will be close at first but time will change them as they grow and eventually, you drift apart even without arguments and betrayal."

Neko hugged him tighter to emphasized her point. "Guard your heart Naruto-kun, but don't build walls around it or you will miss having true friends."

"I will, Neko-chan, and thank you. I feel much better now." Naruto said as continued to enjoy the embrace. It was similar to the feeling he got from Kyūbi earlier but much stronger. It felt nice to have Neko's arms around him.

The moment was interrupted when his stomach growled a few minutes later. Neko reluctantly broke the hug and after some convincing, she managed to get him to go out to Ichiraku's for lunch.

As Naruto ate his miso ramen slowly, he thought about what Neko and the Kyūbi had told him. He always had wanted to become a ninja with his friends because that was what those three also wanted. Now he had to wonder if that was even what he wanted to be anymore. It was so confusing to him now, and he had to wonder just what he wanted to do.

After thinking it over more, he decided that he did still want to become a ninja. There was someone out there who wanted to hurt him and Kyūbi. He wouldn't be able to always rely on other people to protect him, and he wanted to be able to protect himself and Kyūbi.

As for having more friends, he didn't really know what to think about that right now. Maybe someday he would be able to find more but, right now, he wasn't certain that he wanted any besides Kyūbi.