Disclaimer: I do not own anything with that said please enjoy the story!

Early chapter, I got my laptop back faster than I had anticipated so I got to work to bring this to you asap! I hope you like it and are looking forward to more regular chapters again also I have been out of practice and I am sick so hopefully, everything is on the up and up but if not let me know and I'll go back and try fixing them.

Enjoy!

Naruto ran quickly through the surrounding forest of the village, using the shadows of the towering treetops as a cover he moved quietly under the light of the hanging full moon towards his destination.

Upon his back rested a large furled up scroll secured tightly to his body with the kanji for 'Forbidden' printed along its side.

He sighed in relief as he reached a small open clearing, taking a brief moment to scan the tree line for any movement or hidden figures before he cautiously entered the clearing and set the large scroll down against one of the surrounding trees.

Setting himself down next to the scroll he took a moment to recount why he was running around with one of the villages most guarded relics like some kind of common criminal.

*Flashback start*

"A scroll?" He questioned, his brow scrunched in confusion at the man's request. He supposed it made some sense but of all the items it could have been he hadn't expected it to be something so mundane.

Mizuki nodded, his eyes darting around for any hidden onlookers before he explained further

"Like I said this test is only given to advanced students." Mizuki began, "For your test, you will be infiltrating the Hokage Tower and retrieving a large, hidden scroll located within the Hokage's office before bringing it to an assigned location where your performance will be graded."

Naruto frowned as he listened to Mizuki explain his objective, "You think I'll be able to sneak into one of the most heavily guarded buildings in the village and escape unnoticed?" He questioned his eyes narrowed at the seemingly suicidal task.

This did not sound like an easy task even for the most experienced shinobi, the Hokage tower was one of if not the most well-guarded buildings in the village and was filled to the brim with Anbu.

That didn't even include the presence of the Hokage himself who would be more than capable of taking on any singular intruder.

Mizuki shook his head "Of course not, I wouldn't send you in completely blind." He reached into his shuriken pouch and pulled out a small scroll.

"Inside this scroll is a detailed layout of guard patrols and shift change times, this will give you a fighting chance if you play it smart, from your test scores I don't think you'll find it too much of a challenge to get in and out if you don't mess up." He explained handing over the scroll.

Naruto glanced over it and Mizuki wasn't lying, the guard patrols were very clearly marked as well as multiple entrances and exit points. It also detailed how to get to the drop-off point at the outskirts of the village.

"This will act as an official mission if you are seen you will be captured, of course, once the test is over you will be released and will be able to return in time for graduation but you'll only get one chance at this." Mizuki said with a reassuring tone but there was a hint of anticipation in his voice.

"So now onto the big question, are you willing to go beyond your peers or is this too much for you?" He questioned turning serious for the first time since their conversation started.

Naruto looked down at the scroll in his hand and up at the white-haired instructor contemplating all the information before finally making his decision.

"I'll do it." He answered.

*Flashback end*

Naruto shook his head, now wasn't the time to be spacing out he needed to keep his focus or all his work would be for nothing. He was a bit early Mizuki wouldn't arrive for at least another half hour based on the plans.

Naruto sighed as he looked at the scroll laying beside him, part of him wondered what was actually written inside. After all it wouldn't be hidden away in arguably the safest place in the village and not have some importance.

It wouldn't be professional of him to open it.

Yep, just going to leave it right there.

The big scroll with who knows what locked away inside totally begging to be read...

*Half an hour later*

Naruto's body tensed as the sound of someone walking through the forest reached his ears, he quickly secured the scroll to his back and rolled into a nearby bush and waited for whoever it was to reveal themselves.

He didn't have to wait long as a familiar snowy white hair man stepped carefully into the clearing instantly giving away the man's identity. Mizuki had arrived right on time and appeared to be searching for something as his eyes wandered over the moonlit opening.

Naruto let out a small breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding before making his way out of the bush and calling out to him.

"Mizuki-sensei, you made it I was worried someone else might have found me first." He said rubbing the back of his head and offering the man a sheepish grin.

Mizuki turned to face him and offered his own grin, though it lacked the gentleness that had previously accompanied it replaced with barely restrained malice.

"You've got the whole village searching for you, it seems someone must have noticed the scroll was missing and sounded the alarm, lucky for you that you have the scroll and weren't caught" Mizuki extend his arms towards the boy, "Now hand it over to me and you'll be on your way to becoming a chunin in no time."

Naruto, however, made no move to hand the scroll over instead he tightened the strap that kept it secured to his back as he narrowed his gaze on the white-haired shinobi.

"No, I don't think I will Sensei." He answered coldly watching as Mizuki's grin quickly morphed into a scowl.

"This is not the time for games Naruto, hand the scroll over now!" He demanded harshly, taking a step forward towards the boy.

Naruto remained unphased and took a single step back never breaking eye contact.

"You don't think I couldn't see how shady this was from the beginning? A random chunin having a detailed floor plan of the Hokage Tower and its guard patrols, being the overseer of a secret test no one else could know about that involved stealing from the leader of the village and making their way out in the direction of the border of Fire Country." Naruto's glare remained fixed on Mizuki as he spoke.

"I may not always be the brightest but this screams treason Mizuki and you aren't getting your hands on this scroll if I have anything to say about it." He finished.

Mizuki sneered at the blond "Do you feel clever brat? What, do you want a cookie for figuring it out? It doesn't change the fact that you've still brought the scroll here and you are the only thing standing in my way."

Mizuki reached behind his back and pulled out a large shuriken "I was going to allow the village to deal with you and finally put down the fox brat but I am more than happy to kill you myself, you little monster!"

Naruto frowned slightly at the man's threat, more so at the title of fox brat that had plagued the whispers he'd heard adults mumble when in his presence, but he brushed it off for now.

He had a traitor to deal with.

Falling into his stance Naruto stared ahead calmly, his normally warm blue eyes almost frosting over as he stared down his enemy.

"If you think you can you are welcome to try but you aren't on my level." He replied not with arrogance but pure confidence.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you!" Mizuki roared and launched the shuriken in his hand towards the blond, smiling cruelly as the bladed weapon tore through the air towards its target.

Naruto waited until it was right in front of him before narrowly dodging to the side, allowing it whiz harmlessly by before launching himself forward towards Mizuki, two kunai in hand.

Mizuki growled and rushed to meet him in the center of the clearing, drawing his own kunai.

*Clang!*

The two met in the middle, blades crossed and sparked as the two struggled to overpower one another. Mizuki had the size advantage and the natural strength that came with it over the boy, but Naruto was no slouch with his constant physical training allowing him to match the older ninja in a deadlock.

Naruto grit his teeth in annoyance as they locked up he knew full well he couldn't stay in a stalemate with Mizuki forever, his training was the only reason the man hadn't already overpowered him. He quickly lessened his force taking Mizuki off guard at the sudden slack and forcing him to overcommit to a downward stab.

Naruto quickly pivoted to the left and used the moment to spin himself around launching a harsh kick into the man's side that sent him sliding along the grass with a grunt of pain.

Mizuki growled and quickly recovered and went to reach for the second giant shuriken he had packed but was interrupted by a sharp pain in his shoulder, he glanced down to find a kunai embedded in his flak jacket, the dull green fabric surrounding the object grew faintly red as his blood leaked into it.

This fucking brat was dead!

Ripping the kunai out with a wince he threw it back towards the blond who gave him a smirk as he effortlessly caught the offending item.

"What's wrong Mizuki, I thought you were going to show me the might of a chunin?" Naruto taunted, "If that's all you have, maybe I should be promoted after this, I can't be any worse than you are."

"DON'T YOU MOCK ME YOU FREAK!" Mizuki roared in anger and humiliation.

He was not about to be beaten by some fresh out the Academy genin, least of all the damn Kyuubi kid!

Ignoring the pain in his shoulder Mizuki brought out his second shuriken and hurled it towards the blond, this time though he sprinted behind it intending to catch the blond then he moved to dodge.

Naruto watched the steel star careen towards him and ducked allowing it to fly overhead before breaking back into motion as Mizuki reached him.

He quickly blocked an upwards knee aimed at his face with his palm and used the force like a springboard to vault over Mizuki, twisting his body in midair Naruto drove the kunai Mizuki had tossed at him into the man's other shoulder, earning a pained scream from the silver-haired chunin before planting both his feet on the man back and launching him forward.

Mizuki crashed face first into the ground, the dirt and grass were quickly painted red as he bled from his nose and lip. He rolled over slowly with a groan of pain and glared hatefully into the calm face of the whiskered blond.

"Give up Mizuki this is pointless you've already lost, at least if you cooperate you won't make your punishment any worse." Naruto spoke offering the man a chance to back down and surrender.

Mizuki slowly rose up, madness in his eyes Naruto could only see pure anger in the man's gaze as he tried to regain his balance and grabbed at his wounds.

"Don't you dare lecture me like you are my better! You are nothing but a monster in human skin pretending like you don't know what you really are!" Mizuki screamed.

"You should have been killed the moment they found you but they let you live, they let the beast that killed the Fourth and destroyed our home live!" Mizuki was raving by this point, blood spilled freely from his wounds and Naruto couldn't help but flinch at the raw acidity of his tone coupled with his broken image, "Do you want to know why we hate you? Why everyone in this village secretly wants you to disappear?!" Mizuki offered with a cruel bloodstained grin as he watched the calm look the blond had sported morph into one of surprise, then anxiety and slight fear.

"All the stories say the Fourth Hokage gave his life to kill the Nine-Tails but that isn't the truth, not even close. A tailed beast can't be killed but they can be weakened and locked away..." Mizuki shakily raised his hand and pointed at him.

"The Hokage gave his life to seal the Fox away into a human shell, ripping its power and immortal form away and leaving it vulnerable, weak. You think you're so fucking smart Uzumaki, then I'm sure you can figure out the rest!"

Naruto's body shook as all the pieces started to fall into place, his birthday coincided with the attack, the barely hidden whispers of "Fox child" and "Monster" that followed him everywhere, even his face carried the marks of a beast.

"Y-You're lying! I am Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf I'm not a monster!" He cried out, his previous composure broken as flashes of his childhood flickered through his mind the years of neglect, abandonment, fear, and hate all hit him at once.

"You...you Naruto Uzumaki are nothing more than the Nine-Tailed Fo-" Mizuki never got to finish his sentence, his body slumped and unceremoniously collapsed hitting the floor with a dull thump. Behind him stood a cloaked Anbu member with a bird mask, his arm held in a chopping motion indicating he'd knocked the man out.

"Forgive our tardiness Uzumaki-san, you did well to hold him off for as long as you did." A monotone voice projected itself from the masked nin, behind him two more cloaked figures emerged a taller figure with a bear mask and a clearly more feminine figure with a cat mask.

The one with a bear mask quickly picked up Mizuki's unconscious body and flung him over his shoulder, he offered a quick nod in the boys direction before flickering out of sight in an instant followed swiftly by the bird masked Anbu member.

The one with a cat mask approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder breaking him out of his daze as she gave him a light squeeze to catch his attention.

"The Hokage would like to speak with you, I will escort you to him. Are you prepared?"

Naruto didn't trust himself to speak at the moment and merely nodded and with that, the two were gone in a flicker of leaves.


*Hokage's Office*

"Thank you Cat for bringing young Naruto-kun here, you are dismissed I expect your team's report on my desk first thing tomorrow morning." The Third spoke taking a small puff from his pipe.

Cat silently nodded and quietly exited the office leaving the aged kage and young boy alone to speak.

Turning to face the Whiskered child Hiruzen couldn't help but feel his age at the turmoil he found within those azure orbs. The boy was like his mother in that regard he noted a small twinge of guilt quietly reminding himself that the boy didn't even have the luxury of knowing his mother's name.

He could only hope Kami would forgive him when his time came.

"I wish to congratulate you on a mission well done, Naruto-kun. You did very well in apprehending a traitor who wished to steal village secrets, held your own in combat with a much more experienced opponent, and returned in near perfect condition." He praised,

"You took on a lot of risks both to your career and your health with such an impromptu mission but you work paid off and Mizuki will be interrogated to see what he knows. Though I do wish you had come to me directly as opposed to leaving me a simple note with instructions to just trust you."

He meant that sincerely, this would have been classified as at least an A-rank mission in almost any village and for a newly minted genin to pull it off without any physical wounds was practically unheard of.

However, Hiruzen knew that not all wounds were physical and while the boy may have walked out without a scratch physically, mentally the boy had taken a major hit.

"I do, however, wish to speak with you about some information you uncovered while on this mission, something I'm sure you have your own questions about." He spoke slowly.

"About me being the Kyuubi I assume?" The blond answered despondently taking in the older man before him, "Or why I was never told what I am?"

Hiruzen shook his head sadly, "Mizuki spoke with no understanding, a mixture of truth and hate-filled conjecture. You are not the Kyuubi that much I can confidently assure you of, however, the beast is indeed sealed inside of you. Understand this Naruto-kun you are the prison, not the prisoner." The Third explained and gave a gentle smile as he saw a small sliver of hope return in the boy's expression.

Naruto felt some relief at that bit of knowledge, it wasn't amazing to know he held within him the beast that had attacked his home but he felt a bit better knowing that the lives lost during the attack were not a result of his actions.

It also put his childhood and status in perspective, why the villagers went out of their way to avoid him, why parents told their kids to stay away from him, why he was sometimes charged more for basic quality items, and the list went on and on.

The village didn't hate him.

They hated what he represented, a constant reminder of what they lost that day be it, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, friends, lovers all lost forever in the blink of an eye to an uncaring and unstoppable force.

Yet the demon lived, given human form it lived on mocking them, never allowing them to move on with their lives due to his presence.

It was sad in a pitiful kind of way.

He could vaguely understand their pain but at the same time, he couldn't fully comprehend it either. Not when he had no one close to him on such a personal level, he had never truly felt loss because he never had anything to lose to begin with.

He was born without parents and up until recently he had no friends but they were all alive and well, he had yet to truly lose someone precious to him. He could imagine how hate could grow to ease the pain of loss, a distraction from grief.

He was just the unfortunate casualty in the whole situation.

But did that make their actions right though? Did he not suffer as well? Was his duty to make the village feel better by becoming the scapegoat to their fears, their grief, and their superstitions?!

For a moment Naruto felt anger, dare he say even genuine hatred for the inhabitants of the village, why did he have to suffer on their behalf? What had any of them done for him that justified sacrificing his very body for their sake?!

But as the anger took hold so to did understanding. What good did being angry accomplish? If he lashed out he'd only become part of the same cycle that he had suffered under his whole life and at the end who won from that?

He was still pissed, the damage from years of neglect and abuse wouldn't disappear overnight but he would have time to sort out his feelings later in private right now he needed to know more.

Naruto gave a deep breath and quietly asked two questions.

"Why was I never told and why did he choose me?"

The Third let out a puff of smoke from his pipe before replying.

"You were never told because I passed a law forbidding anyone to speak of your status as the container in the hopes of giving you the chance for a regular childhood." He answered.

Naruto snorted at the idea of a normal childhood too emotionally drained to care about whether or not that was proper to do in front of his village leader.

Hiruzen shook his head sadly at the response "I am truly sorry my boy, I can only imagine how awful things have been for you. Even as their leader I can not control their thoughts and opinions I could only hope that perhaps the younger generation might connect with you if they got the chance to see beyond your burden."

"I do not blame you, free will is both a blessing and a curse. You did what you could Ojichan-eh I mean Hokage-sama!" Naruto hurriedly corrected himself.

Hiruzen laughed loudly at the slip-up, the boy had not called him that in years! Granted that was his own fault not having the time for the child but it warmed his heart to hear again.

"I do not mind if you call me Ojichan, Naruto-kun it is refreshing to be referred to so informally sometimes it feels as though people forget I am a person, not just a Kage." He chuckled getting a small smile out of the boy before returning to his serious tone to address the second question.

"As for your second question, unfortunately, I don't know the answer to that..." He replied softly, heart clenching at the frustrated look that settled upon the boy's face.

He hated to lie to him but he wasn't ready not yet at least, it wasn't the proper time.

He could, however, give the boy some encouragement.

"I can only guess that he saw something in you, perhaps a strong will or inner strength that made him think you were the best option. The Fourth was not one to do things thoughtlessly you must have stood out to him even as a baby." He offered a helpful suggestion.

Naruto merely nodded but his face was still set in a large frown as he was ultimately left with just more questions.

Like always...

"You are dismissed for the night, in light of this incident I have pushed the team assignments back a week so do take the time to recover and prepare for your team assignments. I see a bright future for you Naruto-kun." The Third said.

Naruto stood up and bowed before making his way to the door but before he could open it the Third spoke once more.

"Also I do hope you'll use whatever you learned from the Forbidden Scroll responsibly, it's forbidden for a reason after all." Naruto swore he could hear thinly veiled mirth in the old man's voice.

Not bothering to turn around and ask how he knew, Naruto gave a slight nod and exited the office, taking care not to bump into the heavily bandaged man waiting outside on his way out.


Naruto immediately made his way home the events of the past few hours hitting him all at once left even his seemingly boundless energy reserves on empty as he trudged through the dimly lit streets of the village. His mind too preoccupied to even register the occasional glare from what few night owls remained on the streets.

He eventually made it home and swiftly crashed onto his bed, not even bothering to remove his clothes he just wanted the peace of sleep, he didn't want to deal with all the questions running amok in his head right now.

Taking comfort in the familiar scent of his sheets and relative safety of his home he soon found himself happily embracing the encroaching darkness and drifted off.

Peace at last...

Drip...drip...drip...

The sound of the sound of dripping water immediately set Naruto on edge, make no mistake he was no stranger to a leaky faucet that wasn't the issue.

No, the problem was he could feel that he was partially submerged in some form of liquid and last he checked his bedroom didn't have a tub inside of it!

Sitting up slowly Naruto blearily took in his surroundings and to his surprise found himself in what looked like a dimly lit sewer, dull grey pipes ran along the walls and ceiling running endlessly through the various hallways and corridors before disappearing off into the darkness.

Looking down he found the entire floor was slightly flooded causing him to hastily stand up not wanting to get soaked but to his shock, he was completely dry as though the water was simply rolling off him. Dipping his hand gently into the water he clearly felt a wet sensation but pulling it back out he reaffirmed he was in fact dry.

"Where am I?..." Naruto questioned, and more importantly why the hell did this place feel slightly familiar to him?

Deciding that sitting around wouldn't answer any of his questions he began to explore the dimly lit halls his hand running gently over the walls and pipes, idly noting that the pipes emitted a subtle warmth some more so than others.

He didn't know how long he had walked for simply picking a pipe and following it but he noticed that all the pipes seemed to be converging in one direction, he assumed that was either the origin point or the exit and so he picked up his pace the sound of his footsteps echoing through the empty halls.

Abruptly the trail of pipes stopped, no longer running along the walls but curving inward embedding themselves into the panels and disappearing from sight in front of a shadowed hallway.

Something about that hallway set his hairs on end, as though if he stepped into the shaded corridor he would be crossing some kind of threshold from which there would be no return. His mind whispered at him to turn around and find another path, some other way but he had to know why he was brought here.

Taking a deep breath he steeled himself and stepped into the shadows, the light of the sewer halls fading behind him as he wadded out into the darkness, keeping one hand on a nearby wall to guide himself he began his trek.

The darkness seemed endless ever expanding and all-consuming, he wondered if perhaps he'd made a mistake and debated turning back around but before he could decide he saw a faint red glow in the distance offering a small bit of illumination in the pitch blackness. Confidence returned he sprinted towards the light and grew anxious as the glow increased bathing him in crimson light.

Abruptly the light faded leaving Naruto once more in darkness immediately causing him to panic, he had let go of the wall in search of the light and feeling around he couldn't find anything to indicate where he was!

Before his panic could overwhelm him the room was suddenly illuminated, the unexpected flash of light forced his eyes shut as his retina's burned from the shift in lighting.

Naruto rubbed his eyes attempting to sooth them, blinking a few times he looked around to see just where on earth he'd found himself.

Naruto found himself standing in the center of a wide room, bathed in a soft orange glow from hanging wall lights and the ever present flooded flooring indicated that he was still within the apparent sewer system.

What really caught his attention however was the utterly massive gate that stood before him, it dwarfed even the tallest buildings in the village! In the middle hanging off what looked like a lock was a simple paper tag with the kanji for 'Seal' written on it.

"What the hell..." Naruto could only gasp in awe at the pure size of it.

That awe swiftly turned to fear when Naruto noticed something faintly moving behind the gate.

Something really, really big!

Naruto could see the water on the floor ripple violently as whatever was behind that gate shifted, the ground shaking as the mass twisted and turned, churning the water with the mear force of its movements.

After what felt like an eternity but what was only a few seconds the shaking stopped, the ripples slowed and he could no longer detect movement inside the cage.

What the hell was inside there?!

"H-Hello!" Naruto wasn't sure if calling out to whatever was in there was a smart idea but he had nothing else to work with, what other choice did he have?

For a moment nothing happened and he wondered if perhaps it hadn't heard him but before he could call out again the presence made itself known.

Naruto's body froze as he found himself staring into a large pair of rich crimson eyes burning with so much hate and rage that he felt himself beginning to choke on the raw fury emanating from within those eyes.

Visions of death and pain assaulted him, the smell of sulfur clawed at his lungs ripping at him from the inside but he couldn't look away. His blood boiled and his mind screamed in fear demanding he do something, anything to get away from whatever this creature was!

Naruto gasped as a pressure settled itself upon him driving him into the ground his chest heaving as he struggled to breathe, he could do nothing but whimper in pain as the edges of his vision began to grow black and his sight was filled with stars as the tendrils of shadows seeked to pull him under. The sound of his heartbeat pounded in his ears like drum louder and faster with each passing moment

Then abruptly it all stopped.

The visions disappeared, the pressure vanished and once again he could breathe, greedily taking in what air he could between his coughing. His blood that moments ago felt like fire in his veins cooled and he could move once more.

Yet through all of this, his gaze never left those cruel vermillion eyes that regarded him as one might regard an insect. An annoyance barely worth notice or consideration merely something to be stepped on and forgotten.

A fanged smile appeared in the darkness revealing rows of sharpened fangs malicious intent practically radiated from the beasts fanged grin. a hint that the only thing stopping it from using his body as a toothpick were the bars between them.

For a moment there was silence and then the beast opened its mouth, the smell of death and rot hitting him as a deep voice reminiscent of rumbling thunder addressed his crumpled form.

"Hello, oh Warden mine..."


Chapter Complete!

I am happy to be back, not being able to write gave me a lot of time to look back at my story and refocus myself which I really appreciate but nothing beats being back to writing!

I want to give a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, liked, favorited, and followed the story as well. It really means a lot to me to have so much support for my first written work especially when there are so many talented writers on here.

I know this story is far from perfect but it has been really encouraging to know that people actively want to see where this story will go and that makes me super pumped.

With that mushy stuff out of the way let me explain some things really fast that I wasn't able to before based on some of the feedback people left.

Is Hinata a closet RTN version of herself?

No, at least not intentionally haha. I wanted to make her more assertive and playful than before but she's not going to be kinda yandere or anything. You could say it might be a mix I guess but it wasn't what I was going for.

Have you made any progress on deciding if this is a harem story or not?

Yes actually, while there is no final decision I am leaning towards yes because it seems like people are kinda curious to see relationships explored with the changed characters. (Kira, Shikari, Satsuki and possibly others I decide to change) but also with the already existing ones as well so that would satisfy both but some people don't like harem stories and I want to make sure the story doesn't devolve the female characters into a bunch of collectibles.

I'm not sure when romance will become a more noticeable part of the story so the choice is still up in the air but I do want to write some slice of life style moments for the characters to interact in so those might pop up.

Are you going to explore Naruto and Satsuki's past at some point

Of course, but it's not going to be in super long flashbacks but rather little moments here and there to help flesh that out. Most of their development going forward will come during their upcoming interactions.

How strong is Naruto currently, is he chunin level seeing as he beat Mizuki?

I would put him around high genin, low chunin. He whipped Mizuki in part because Mizuki underestimated him and couldn't use Jutsu since he was trying to maintain his cover and couldn't afford to be signaling his location. Also, Mizuki is an instructor not really a super active ninja so he's a bit weaker than average skill level for his class.

Like I said Naruto will probably end up pretty powerful in this story but it will be earned he will lose and he will win and grow at a fairly believable pace as I see fit.

There were other questions but I will address those as they become more relevant to the story later so for now I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Please review and let me hear your thoughts!