Something I made sometime last year, 2015. Can't recall where the original idea came from, possibly another story I read somewhere, but it was interesting to write! Like the last one, this one will be split into separate chapters. But this story was meant as a... bloodier tone than my other stories. Not quite sure I'd want to continue this one. It has quite a few issues.

But speaking of the last one: I've decided that, due to the few people that claimed to be interested in the idea, I will be posting Oracle of Nemesis as its own story. It'll be updated to Chapter 4 in about a week or so. How often it will update is still up in the air, since I'm still very spontaneous in my writing blocks, but I'll be honest when I say getting people to review, even negative ones, are inspiring.

Still not sure on if I should keep the name and summary as they are, so toss some suggestions if anyone thought of any! But more importantly, here is:

Tales of a Kunoichi: Alternate Reality - Bounty Hunter (Draft Title:Hope is something to Hunt for)

Summary: Gifted with the power to shift her shape, Uzumaki Naruto was far from a normal child. But when she uses that power to save someone precious to her, she finds herself fleeing from Konoha out of fear. With no one left around her, she finds the best way to get by... is to hunt.

Important Differences: Naruto was born 2 years before the series start, making her 14 while the regular Genin in Canon is 12. This story will touch on the past very briefly, and that is intentional. Some events will happen further down the line.


Five years after the attack of the Kyuubi...

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed as he stared through a thick glass towards the figure within, who was quietly playing with small colorful blocks. The sight made him feel much older than he actually was, and he was old to begin with. The figure was a small five year old girl, with her blonde hair going down her back and her bright blue eyes taking everything in with her natural curiosity. Her clothing was just a light shirt that hung loosely around her thin body and a pair of brown shorts, both of which had spots of dirt across them.

She was quietly stacking blocks in the small room she was in, which only had the blocks, a bed, and a small box full of toys to keep her busy. The door was not visible in the room, due to it only being able to open from the outside. The thought made Hiruzen frown even more.

The soft tap of footsteps brought the man's attention away from the window, and he sighed as he stared into the one squinted eye of his friend and rival, Danzo Shimura who took a spot beside him and stared into the room as he had moments before. There were no words as they watched the child play with the blocks, until her arm, which appeared normal at first, suddenly turned into a large ax and chopped one of the red blocks in half, an annoyed look on her face as she did so.

The sight caused Hiruzen to sigh once more, but it was Danzo who spoke up first, "What shall we do with her, Hiruzen?" The War Hawk muttered quietly, watching the child's arm return to normal. "She is far from normal, and far from safe. It must be the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra on her body." The last part was said with a hint of despair, even he had hoped the Kyuubi's influence would not appear on the child.

The Kyuubi had, after all, nearly taken his life with just a swipe of its paws five years ago during the attack on Konoha. The beast was even able to best Hiruzen to an extent, leaving him near the same state Danzo was in. It was something to be feared.

"I do believe you are right, or it is some bloodline hidden in her body..." The Third Hokage muttered, his hands behind his back as he stared into the window. The child was creating new blocks now, by forming them on her hand and then letting them fall off onto the ground, where she used them to finish what she was building. "It must be partly that, since she seems to be a natural at using it." Hiruzen noted.

Danzo nodded slightly, crossing his arms over his chest. There was a few moments of silence before Danzo spoke again, "I could..."

Hiruzen held his hand up, cutting the man off before he could finish his words, "No, you cannot. This sort of power is not something that can be used effectively without the reasoning of right or wrong." Danzo frowned at his words, having wished to turn the child into an emotionless 'Root' member, but he nodded his consent. Even he, as much as he hated to admit it even to himself, knew emotions tied in to 'right' and 'wrong.'

"What shall we do with her then?" He muttered again, glancing over at Hiruzen with his one eye.

The Third was silent for a few moments, before he slowly bowed his head, "I will teach her to live on her own... and then put her into the academy. I will teach her right and wrong... and I know of a few people who would be happy to assist her." Danzo snorted slightly, looking back towards the window with a blank look on his face.

"If you say so, Hiruzen. I know not if that is the best course of action, but only time will tell." With that, he slowly turned and walked away, not bothering to look back towards his long time friend.

Hiruzen watched him go before turning his attention back to the child, who was smiling as she stared at a small and colorful castle she built on her own. He placed his hand gently against the glass, smiling himself at the scene, "I will try my best with you... Naruto Uzumaki."


Ten years after the attack of the Kyuubi...

Birds chirped, the sun shined, and children played in the streets of the village of Konoha. To any on looker, it was a peaceful time. But that would not last long, as two tragedies were beginning to take place at the same time in this "peaceful" village. Only one was planned, but both were equally horrible.

The first attracted the attention of the ANBU, who handled the security and the more 'dirty' jobs of Konoha. These Ninja were the best at what they did: Protection and Assassination. It was rare for any normal civilian or for another Ninja of the highest skill to see them during their job. Now, however, there were hundreds flying across the rooftops towards one of the largest districts in the Village, to stop the massacre of the famed Uchiha Clan.

It was this lapse in security that caused an even greater tragedy that would harm Konoha for years to come. Spies were natural in this world of Ninja, and many of them were professional spies that could slip through the tightest security. However, the most dangerous spy... was one made in the village itself.

A man named Mizuki, a Chunin that worked at the Konoha Ninja Academy, was one of these. While he would not have chanced doing something risky normally, he had something the other spies did not...

A gullible tool.

The tool in the shape of a cute ten year old girl with her long blonde hair flowing down her back and her bright innocent blue eyes, wearing a orange tank top with black baggy pants. She was rather short, barely reaching Mizuki's chest as she stood in front of him, her head tilted curiously to the side.

"So I just have to get the scroll..?" She asked a bit timidly, uncertain if he was telling her the truth. She had just failed the Academy's test to become a Ninja again, although not because of her own lack of skill. The test required her to preform a 'Clone Jutsu' as a requirement to pass, but she was unable to do it, although she aced the other portions of the exam. It was an odd system.

Then, as she was brooding, Mizuki appeared and offered her another chance: Obtain the Forbidden Scroll of Secrets in the Hokage Tower to pass. A secret test, apparently, given to those who could not do the regular test. It was a bit... questionable, but Mizuki was a trusted teacher, and Naruto had little reason not to believe him.

"Yep, that's right." The gray hair man stated with a grin, holding his finger up. "You don't have much time, so if you want to pass, you have to do it quick. I already told you where the scroll is located, you just have to slip in and grab it... Then meet me at the old shack just south of the tower." Naruto frowned slightly at his words before nodding her head, a bright smile lighting up on her face.

"Okay! And then I'll be a real Ninja, right?" Mizuki grinned and nodded his head... unknowing of the two eyes watching the scene from afar.


Naruto panted softly as she stood in front of the shack, rubbing her head with her arm to clean off some of the sweat. It was easy to get inside and get the scroll, but getting out was more of a problem. It was about mid day, nearly night, and there were always people looking to annoy her on her way down the street. She was forced to used the rooftops, which caused some of the real Ninja to shout at her in annoyance, since Civilians and Academy students were not allowed to do something so dangerous.

Still, the result was worth it and she grinned as she held her left hand up, allowing a large golden scroll to slowly fall out of her palm. Her arm twitched slightly at the action, but she paid it no mind. She had long since got used to her abilities. She was able to change her body into any shape or form, and even 'absorb' things into her body. It allowed her to copy that form as well, but she was unable to copy power of something completely.

A matchstick made with her power would burn like a real one, but anything related to chakra would fail to be copied. A scroll's lock, a rock coated in chakra... Fire made with chakra. None of that was able to be copied, but she knew she could make them herself by using Jutsu anyways.

She cleared her head by shaking it back and forth, blinking as she felt a presence appear behind her. She turned and smiled at the sight of Mizuki, who began to clap with a smile as he stood there. He was slightly different than before, with two large shuriken on his back, but she paid it no mind as she happily held up the scroll.

"I got it, Mizuki-Sensei! So I get a headband now, right?" She grinned as he chuckled, but her face soon fell as he removed one of the shuriken from his back. "Mizuki-Sensei..?"

Mizuki just chuckled louder, spinning the shuriken in his hand slowly with a large grin on his face. "You know... I always wanted to kill you." He admitted freely, causing the girl's eyes to widen. "Everyone does, really." He continued, taking a step towards her, which caused her to take a step back. "Do you know why? It's because ten years ago... You attacked this village." Naruto's eyes widened further and she took another step back, just as Mizuki stepped forward.

"W.. What are you talking about..? I .. I wasn't even..." The girl stuttered out, fear in her eyes as she felt the shack's wall against her back. There was no where else to back up to.

"Oh but you were." The gray hair man smiled, keeping a few feet away from Naruto now. "You attacked it, killed my parents, and ruined this village... You've heard it, haven't you? People calling you Demon... Fox Spawn... But I know that you're really it, aren't you? You're the Kyuubi!" With that, he slung his arm back with the shuriken spinning quickly before he tossed it towards Naruto's head. The girl paid it no mind as she was paralyzed in fear and shock, though she jumped as Mizuki yelled, "Die, Kyuubi!"

Clang

Mizuki's eyes widened at the sight before him, as Iruka Umino, his partner in teaching at the Academy, stood there with a dented kunai in one hand and a large frown on his face. The kunai began to fall as he stood there, and it was evident that his wrist had snapped from stopping such a large and spinning weapon. The expression on his face held no pain, however, as he glared forward towards his fellow teacher.

Mizuki just stared at him, confusion and shock evident on his face as he took a small step back from the fierce expression on Iruka's face. "I... Iruka? What are you doing here?" Iruka glared at him for a few more moments before turning his head towards the blonde behind him.

"Get out of here, Naruto. I'll handle Mizuki. Don't let him get that scroll." The girl looked up at him with fear in her eyes, but she nodded meekly, slowly making her way around the shack. Mizuki growled as he saw her and began to run towards her when Iruka jumped in his way, nearly taking his head off with another kunai in hand.

"Dammit, Iruka! Let me kill her! She killed your parents too!" Iruka's glare just became more intense from his words and Mizuki huffed, pulling a kunai out of the pouch on his right hip. "Fine... I don't know how you knew about this, but we'll settle this here!" He charged forward and Iruka met his kunai with his own.

The battle, despite its intensity, was short.

While their skills were about even, Mizuki was better equipped than Iruka for such a fight, having prepared before hand, and Iruka was sporting a broken wrist. It wasn't long that Mizuki gained the advantage and pinned Iruka to the shack behind him with two kunai sticking out of his shoulders. The brown haired teacher grunted in pain and panted softly, unable to move his arms the way he wanted to.

Mizuki growled as he held the last of his large shuriken to his side, starting to spin it slowly as he stared at Iruka. "This is the end, Iruka. I'll get that fox too once I'm done with you..." Iruka coughed softly, glaring at Mizuki with hatred in his eyes.

"Why... Mizuki? I thought you loved the village... And you know about seals. She isn't the fox. It's just..."

"A lie!" Mizuki interrupted, slamming the kunai in Iruka's left shoulder further into his flesh, making the man cry out in pain. "I know that bitch is the fox in disguise... I saw it with my own eyes, how she changes her body around... No human can do that! Besides... My loyalty is to Orochimaru-Sama." He grinned as Iruka's eyes widened in horror. "But I can't let you tell anyone... So goodbye, Iruka!" Iruka closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the blow to come...

When it didn't come, his eyes snapped open and widened at the sight of Mizuki standing in front of him, a blade sliding through his neck from behind. The gray hair man tried to turn his head to see who stabbed him, only for the wielder to suddenly jerk the blade to the side, cutting his neck clean off and causing his body and head to fall to the ground with a thump.

Behind him was a panting Naruto, her right arm having the shape of a long steel blade, starting just below her shoulder. Blood dripped down it and some was coating her shirt and face, after it squirted out of Mizuki's neck. The most notable feature was her eyes, which were wide in fear and panic, and it was clear by her heavy panting that she was beginning to have trouble breathing. Her hand began to slowly change back to its natural shape, with blood coating her skin now, and she began to take slow steps back away from the corpse at her feet.

Iruka, his mouth slightly agape at the scene before him, quickly shook his head, noticing the signs of panic on his student... and friend. "Naruto! Calm down..!" He shouted, but that was apparently the wrong move to make, and he desperately wished his arms were free as the blonde girl jumped in the air in front of him, disappearing into the trees above. "Wait..!" He struggled out, his body slowly beginning to shut down to protect him from the pain going through him.

The last thing he saw was her bright blue eyes staring at him as he fell unconscious from blood loss.


She ran. Fast.

It didn't matter where she went now. She killed someone, and that was a grand crime, especially for someone like her. She even used her shape shifting ability to do it, something she promised to never use to fight someone, unless she could help it. She could have punched, or kicked him from behind, but she stabbed him and chopped his head off...

As her feet fell heavy against the forest floor, the wall of Konoha growing distant behind her as she ran, she knew it was not the act of killing that scared her away, or the idea of punishment. The Hokage and Iruka would not have allowed her to be punished so easily... No, she knew the real reason she was so eager to leave, so eager to get away from that body...

It was to escape... from the rush of excitement and power she got from killing him.


Three months later...

It was difficult, being alone in the world, but Naruto had learned quickly how to live off the land. She had already set up many tents and camp sights, though she made sure to cover her trail in case anyone from Konoha thought to chase her down, if they even knew of her continued existence.

Even if they found her, however, she knew they would not recognize her.

Her long blonde hair had been cut to the neck and her bright blue eyes were now a deep violet, giving her a unique appearance. Her blood soaked clothing had been discarded and replaced by her own power to shift shapes, creating a tight white tank top that fit her small frame nicely, a pair of long dark green cargo pants with many pockets, and a pair of dark green hiking boots. She often wished to make them orange, but felt that would draw too much attention.

She was currently chewing on a piece of rabbit, which she had cooked just moments before on the roaring fire in front of her, but the taste was … bland. She had no spices or knowledge of the plant life around her. It would be a bad idea to eat a poisonous plant on accident, after all.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, sighing softly to herself as she scooted closer to the fire. 'Three months, and not a sign of anyone chasing me... I didn't really hide my scent, or anything, but I don't know how that works when I change my body...' Sarutobi hadn't really gone over that, now that she thought about it. Maybe he didn't know, or he didn't want her to know. He did, however, tell her about the Inuzuka and their ability to track anyone through their canine nose.

The thoughts of Konoha had her sighing again, staring into the flames as tears began to brim in her eyes. 'I was so stupid... I shouldn't have just ran like that. Iruka-Sensei is probably dead because of me... I should have helped him, at least... Why did I run?' She knew there was only one answer to that question, but she refused to accept it...

Refused to accept her fear.

The sudden snap of a twig brought her out of her musings and she hastily stood up, glaring towards the sound with her hand reaching behind her back, though she knew no weapon laid behind it. Ninja must always be deceptive in battle.

"Come out. I already heard you." She stated boldly, after waiting a few moments for more movement. After a few seconds, a man slowly walked out, a cocky grin on his face as his hand rested on the hilt of a long katana strapped to the left side of his waist. He was wearing a simple kimono with a bland dark blue pattern with the front opened up to reveal his slightly hairy chest. A pair of sandals rested on his feet and his short brown hair moved slightly in the wind while his equally brown eyes stared at her with a bored expression.

"Hey there girly... Just lookin' for a good time, and some grub..." He slurred out a bit, causing Naruto's nose to scrunch up as she smelled the alcohol on his breath.

"You're drunk?" She questioned, before shaking her head as his grin grew. "No, I don't have any more food, I'm barely getting by as is." He huffed softly, eying her up and down for a moment before letting out a loose chuckle.

"Yeah, guess you are... Let me take care of that." Without warning, the man dashed forward with the blade sliding out of its holster on his hip, sliding through the air towards Naruto's neck.

She had just a moment to react, but the girl had not been just sitting and eating while she was on the run, and she was already top of her class when it came to physical activity. With a graceful movement, she ducked under the blade and jerked her left hand up, her hand changing into a knife before slicing up the man's chest.

He quickly pushed away from her and grunted, glaring at her with his cocky demeanor fading as he held onto the straight cut along his chest, which caused him to pant slightly. "You bitch... How the hell did you cut me..?" He grunted out, as Naruto had already changed her hand back to normal before the man had seen.

She huffed to herself and glared at him, crossing her arms in front of her body. "I'll give you one last chance to retreat." She stated simply, not answering his question, although her focus was anywhere but the man as he glared in anger at her. It was on the excitement running slowly through her veins.

With a grunt, the man spat blood onto the ground and pulled his blade up again, charging at her with an angry shout. She sighed as he approached, not bothering to move as a figure fell from behind him, kicking at the back of his knees. The result was instant as he stumbled forward towards Naruto's arm, which transformed into a large blade from her elbow down, resembling the same blade of the katana the man was wielding.

His eyes winded for the last time as his head was cleanly chopped off as he fell onto the blade, flying into the air before Naruto caught it by his hair, staring at it in annoyance as it dripped blood onto the ground below. She shuddered to herself as she heard the body hit the ground with a thump and she shook her head side to side to clear her head. She paid no mind to the puff of smoke that soon echoed through the forest.

After a few moments of consideration, she put the head to the side and turned the headless body onto its back. She slowly dug through his outfit, pulling out an orange book, which she recognized instantly as the one Hiruzen had in his possession and threw it into the fire quickly. The next was a dark red book with a single red piece of paper sticking out of the top. She quickly opened it with a frown, going straight towards the bookmarked page, where she saw the face of the man she had just killed printed on the paper.

"Geez, what an ego..." She muttered to herself, noticing the bounty of 10,000 yen printed in bold letters under his picture, letting her know exactly what she had just came across, 'The Drunk Bandit, Beltaru.' "A bingo book... and the idiot marked himself in it to show off..." She rolled her eyes at the thought, flipping through the pages slowly. There were many men and women listed in the book, some of which were high class Ninja, such as Kakashi Hatake from Konoha, but those numbers were very few.

She hummed softly, trying to recall her lessons on the 'Bingo Book' that she got from Hiruzen during her private lessons. 'Normally, the bingo books are black... but those are for shinobi villages, to track missing-nin and for other villages to put bounties on famous Ninja... But this one is red and seems to cover more basic bandits.' The man she had just killed was rather low on the bounty list, but not the lowest. Petty thieves had a small bounty, but there was no 'Dead or Alive' tag signed on them, unlike on the man she just killed.

Keeping a 'bounty head' alive also didn't give more money, unlike the black bingo books. 'Probably because bandits don't have any real information on them, unlike Ninja.' Naruto mused to herself and began to flip through a few pages before shrugging her shoulders, not seeing anything that caught her eye. "Well, I guess I'll turn you in then..." She muttered, grabbing the head off the ground and his sword soon after.

Without another word, she turned and left, leaving the body behind for the animals to devour.


It had been surprisingly easy to turn in the bounty in the next town, although Naruto knew she would have to find another way to carry a head around if this was going to be a habit. She was getting far too many strange looks, and fearful ones, just walking through town.

Now, however, she was quietly counting her money and hummed to herself as she stared at the cash. 'That was pretty easy, and I do have a book that lists the most common areas these guys are in... I need supplies to keep living so...' She frowned to herself, looking to the katana which now rested on her hip, as it had on its previous owner.

As if to answer her thoughts, a bright light shined on the blade and caused a small emerald embedded in the hilt to glow. Naruto nodded her head as she turned her gaze away from the blade as thin flesh colored ropes began to draw the blade into her body as she left the town.

'I'll be... a bounty hunter.'


Chapter END!

For some reason several paragraphs were tabbed, like this one for example. Not sure what the deal was with that, past me. Was a pain to fix. (*Post Upload Edit: Wow, apparently the Doc Manager deletes tabbed paragraphs regardless. So fixing that was absolutely pointless. Good thing past me did it. That guy deserved it.)

But anyways, that's the first chapter of Bounty Hunter! As you can already tell, it's full of cliches and rather annoying ideals that I don't really like doing anymore. Mizuki, for example, is one my favorites for my main story and I'm a bit upset at my past self for making him out to be the stereotypical villain he was in canon. But hey, at least he died properly this time, instead of being subjected to filler. Poor Tsubaki.

Some of the loose ends, especially Naruto's past, are touched on in the last two chapters, but I never brought myself to fully exploring them since I dropped the story rather early in development. From what I recall, the main reason was simply a lack of real conflict beyond canon stuff and a lot of junk I'd have to make up.

Constant world building is tiring and that's probably why I dropped it.

Anyways! Look forward to the next chapter in a bit and if you enjoyed Oracle of Nemesis, check out my profile or follow me on it to see when I toss the story up. I'll probably toss the 3rd chapter of this little story up once Nemesis is ready, for anyone that doesn't want to do that.

Hope you enjoyed and maybe got some inspiration from it! That's kind of my main reason for putting this "collection" out there, by the by. I've been inspired by so many stories that I'd love to hear about inspiring someone myself...

Does that make me shallow? Weird? I dunno. Either way, hope someone got something out of this!