A/N: I came up with this story idea when working on the timeline and next chapter of Long Lost Uzumaki and couldn't get it out of my mind till I got it on paper. What would happen if Jiraiya found Kimimaro during his journeys instead of Orochimaru? How could the effects of this ripple outward and what would change?

I hope you enjoy it and would love to hear what you all think about it.

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Pulse- Prologue

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The Land of Water
Outside Kiri - The Village Hidden in the Mist
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'I never thought that the Mizukage's bloodline crusade would spread so fast.' Jiraiya thought to himself as he walked down the road from the Village Hidden in the Mist. 'On the plus side, this should keep them out of Konoha's hair for a while. This info should keep the old man off of my case for at least a few months. Anything to keep me out of that village.' Changing his line of thought before becoming depressed, 'I'm getting to damn old for this, can't wait till I can settle down, focus on my writing and of course, my research!'

The giggling old man train of thought was derailed when he saw a young boy, no older than 9 or 10, staring down at the base of a tree near the road. What drew his attention was that this young boy was holding a dagger that looked as though it was made of bone and... appeared to be threatening a small flower.

"Why are you blooming in a place like this?" the young boy asked. "How come you won't answer me, huh? Oh, so you're going to ignore me too then? Who cares anyway, it's not like anyone will see you here anyways!"

Jiraiya called out, "What did that flower do to you boy? Tell me how a plant deserves your anger like that."

The boy's head whipped around at the question. "Are you laughing at me?"

"Do I look like I am laughing at you? It was a simple question boy. What did that flower do to you?"

"Don't talk down to me, I hate people like you! And don't call me boy, I have a name!"

Jiraiya smirked. "And how would I know that. I come across a brat threatening a flower, for all I know, you could be nameless. What is your name then oh mighty menacer of dangerous flora?"

The boy snarled at the joke and threw his dagger at Jiraiya who caught it and looked at it with surprise.

"You wouldn't be Kaguya would you?" Jiraiya asked.

"Kimimaro Kaguya, now what do you want from me? Or are you going to sit there and make fun of me all night?"

Switching to a more serious tone, Jiraiya apologized. "I heard about what happened to your clan Kimimaro and I'm sorry. How did you survive?"

"Luck I guess, I don't know." Kimimaro replied, his head held low.

"What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know..." He said downcast, before mumbling. "I never had a choice."

"Well then this is your lucky day! I am willing to take you on as my apprentice! What do you say?" Jiraiya shouted out, pointing at the very confused boy.

"Apprentice?! Who are you anyways? You don't look that strong, what could you teach me?"

Summoning a car-sized toad beneath him, Jiraiya chuckled a moment at the chance to perform his signature intro before breaking out into dance and shouting, "Thanks for asking kid! I am the famous and incredible Toad Hermit of Mount Myoboku also known as the Toad Sage, Jiraiya!!!"

"..." Silence was the only response.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes and dismissed the toad before continuing, "Listen Kimimaro, without arrogance, I am one of the strongest ninja in the world. I do not kid in the slightest when I say that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I offer this because I find you... interesting."

"Interesting? What kind of reason is that?"

"Let me get this straight kid, are you looking for reasons to not accept my training?"

"Hehe... then when do we get started?" Was the only response.

"Right now kid, lets go somewhere warmer." Jiraiya replied before turning and continuing down the road. 'Damnit, why do I have such a soft spot for orphans? First Minato, then those Rain brats, now Mr. Bones... Everyone I loved has either left Konoha or died, maybe I just do this to have an excuse to stay away? I hate where these thoughts are going, I'll be deep later.'

Neither of them noticed a form come from the woods. 'Damn you Jiraiya, he was the last and he was perfect. I'll have to choose another host. A child raised by that fool won't have enough hatred or drive for the cursed seal to use... For this, I will make you suffer.' Orochimaru thought before vanishing into the shadows.

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The Land of Fire
Unknown
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Two men are walking down a road alone, not a soul around for miles. One man was an older white haired man, over 6 feet tall, dressed in a dark green outfit with a red vest, wore steel armguards covered in mesh and wooden sandles on his feet. He carried no visible weapon, just a large scroll on his back and wore a spiked forehead protector made of some sort of bone with the kanji for "Oil" on it. He was writing in a small notebook with a perverted grin on his face.

The other was a teenager, around 5 and a half feet tall. He wore a loose gray robe over a black body suit. His white hair hung below his shoulders, held back in a ponytail with a strip of red cloth. His pale, unlined face was marked with two dots centered above his brow. His eyes were ringed in red paint as well. He was juggling knives, swords and other weapons made of bone as he moved down the road, glaring at the old man with every giggle.

"I can't believe it's been five years since I found you brat." The older one suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence they had been traveling. "Who would have thought that I could find such a prodigy in such a place..."

"I can't believe you have been convinced to go back to Konoha. You told me years ago that you were never going to your home village. I have to say though that my first impression of your Hokage isn't the best. Using me to force you back to the village isn't the most honorable way to treat one's student." Said the teen before pausing. "Jiraiya, I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now. You don't mention much about my skill level. I know I can hold my own against your Shadow Clone now, but just how strong am I?"

"In my expert opinion Kimimaro, you are about Jonin level right now." Jiraiya said, "You have what I can only call mastery of your Shikotsumyaku, your Taijutsu is very high level, your Ninjutsu is decent and while you don't have any Genjutsus to use, your Genjutsu defense is fairly good as well. You might have trouble with a Genjutsu master, but otherwise I don't see you struggling much with most enemies."

"I see."

"More than you expected you get on your fishing expedition?" Jiraiya asked with a smirk. "Enough ego building, why are you asking this?"

Kimimaro thought for a moment. "I guess I'm nervous. From your stories, it sounds like there will be some very powerful ninja in the village. I mean, I know I am strong, but not on the level as you and the other Sannin or the Hokages. It's been 12 years since you have been back, who knows who else there is now. Besides hearing about Itachi Uchiha, you haven't exactly kept up with village in a long time."

"Don't try to start this conversation again Kimimaro, I haven't been back to the village for a reason and I still don't like talking about. Now as much as this is a cleverer avenue you have chosen than usual, drop it."

"Yes sensei..."

'Damn kid, why would I want to go back to the village with so many bad memories. It's going to take all my self control just seeing Minato's face on the mountain. Maybe I'll check up on the kid I heard he sealed the Kyubi into. Damnit... if only I had been faster...' Jiraiya raised his head. "You are right in one thing though kid, I should keep up to date on the village happenings, it'd be the responsible thing to do. This will be an interesting year for you, a few months with a Genin team, breeze through the Chunin exams and then who knows where."

"Should be fun."

"That it should... I wonder what is going on in the village though. I guess we will find out in a couple weeks, lets go!" Jiraiya shouted.

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The Land of Fire
Konoha - The Village Hidden in the Leaves
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The atmosphere in village was tense. Naruto Uzumaki, dubbed the "Demon Child" by the population had stolen the Forbidden Scroll from Hokage Tower. What made this action such a crisis was that contained within this scroll were the techniques and seals that had been used in sealing the Nine Tailed Demon Fox into the child, 12 years prior. The primary concern was that the information contained within the scroll could conceivably be used to release the demon. It was this that caused the village-wide hunt for young Naruto.

"There you are Naruto! Let's see why you would do this." Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hokage of Konoha mumbled, watching his young charge in his crystal ball. He watched as the boy struggled before finally managing to create a single Shadow Clone. 'It looks like I need to have a talk with our instructors... these are not the skills of someone last in the class rankings.' Suddenly, the situation became more interesting as Iruka entered the field of vision. Hiruzen continued to watch.

In the clearing, Iruka came upon an odd site. Naruto looked like he had been run into the ground somehow. "I found you..." He said in his creepy voice.

Naruto jumped at the sound. Seeing it was Iruka, he scratched the back of his head with a grin. "Hehe, you found me... I've only learned one skill..."

"Hey, you're all beaten up, what were you doing?" Iruka asked.

Naruto got excited, "Nevermind that. Hey, hey, I'm going to try an incredible skill!"

'So... you were practicing here? And enough to damage your body at that...' Iruka spoke up, "Naruto, where did you get that scroll on your back?"

"Oh this? Sensei Mizuki told me about it, and about this place too!" Naruto said excitedly. "He said that if I showed you a skill from this scroll, I'd definately graduate!"

'Mizuki?' was all that Iruka had time to think before he suddenly pushed Naruto to the side before being struck by a dozen Kunai by the newly arrived Mizuki.

"Nice job in finding him Iruka." Mizuki said with a smirk.

"I see, so that's what's going on." Iruka mumbled, looking up at his friend in anger.

Mizuki shouted down to the confused boy, "Naruto! Give me the scroll!"

"Hey!! Hey!! What's going on here!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto! Don't give him the scroll, even if you die!!" Iruka shouted. "That is a dangerous scroll that has forbidden ninjutsu sealed within it. Mizuki used you in order to get his hands on it!!"

As Naruto shook in confusion, Mizuki spoke with an evil smile on his face. "Naruto, there is no point in you having it... I'll tell you the truth..."

Panicking, Iruka could only shout, "No!! Don't!!'

Ignoring him, Mizuki continued. "12 years ago... you know about the Demon Fox being defeated right?" Naruto could only stare incomprehensibly as the story continued. "Since that incident, a new rule was created for this village."

"A rule?" Naruto asked.

"But Naruto, this rule was never meant to be told to you..."

"...not to me? What is this rule? Why?" He asked which only cause Mizuki to laugh. "What kind of rule is it?"

"The rule is that nobody is allowed to talk about the fact that you are the Demon Fox!"

"Huh?" Naruto asked, not getting it. "What do you mean?"

"Stop it!!!" Iruka shouted.

"It means that you are the Nine Tailed Demon that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village!! You were sealed up by the Hokage you admire so much and you have been lied to for your entire life! Didn't you find it odd how everyone hated you?" Pulling out a giant shuriken and spinning it in his hands, he continued, "Iruka is the same, he actually hates you!!"

'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!' Naruto thought over and over.

"Nobody will ever accept you!" Mizuki shouted, throwing the shuriken. "That scroll was used to seal you up!!"

The Third Hokage's stories about Naruto going through his head, Iruka flung himself in the path of the oncoming weapon. "Ugh" was all he could say as the shuriken struck him in the back.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"My parents after they died, there was nobody there to compliment me or acknowledge me... I was so sad... I would always act like an idiot to get attention. Since I wasn't able to do well in things like school and get attention that way. It was better than nothing, so I kept acting like an idiot... It was so painful... Yeah... Naruto, you must have been in a lot of pain too. I'm sorry Naruto, if I had done a better job, you wouldn't have had to feel like this..." Iruka babbled, trying to get through to him.

Naruto's only response was to run.

"Naruto!" Iruka called.

He could only run, it was impossible. He was just a kid, how could this be true?! It had to be trick, some sort of lie... Hiding behind a tree, he then remember the seal on his stomach that showed up when ever he used his chakra. It was the reason that the old man got him such bulky clothing, so make sure it stayed hidden. Suddenly he heard a noise and crouched down.

"You're the idiot, Naruto and I are the same!" Naruto heard Mizuki say.

"The same?" Iruka asked.

"If you use the skills in that scroll, you can do whatever you want! There is no way that Demon Fox wouldn't try to use the power, unlike what you're assuming!" Mizuki replied.

As Naruto listened on in horror, Iruka spoke. "Yeah... the Demon Fox would do that..."

Iruka was suddenly cut off as the sound of metal cutting through flesh. "Naruto, you can come out now," a voice called out.

Naruto cautiously peeked out from behind the tree. Looking around, he saw Iruka and Mizuki each lying in a pool of blood and a man standing over them with a curiously designed sword. He was average height, with pale skin, long black hair and yellow eyes. "Who are you?" Naruto whispered.

"My name is Orochimaru, and I am here to rescue you."

"Why would you want to rescue me? I'm a demon, nobody likes me..." Naruto said, lowering his head.

Kneeling down in front of the boy, being careful to not look at the Forbidden Scroll, Orochimaru answered him. "Naruto, you are not a demon, you carry a demon. These fools in the village have treated you the same way they treated me, as a monster . Would you like to come with me Naruto? I can train you to be stronger... tell you about your family..."

"My family?" Naruto asked in shock.

"Yes Naruto, I know who your parents were, your father was the Fourth Hokage who sealed the demon in you. The Fourth sacrificed his son to save the village, trusting in Sarutobi to protect you. He has been lying to you your entire life. He was the one that created the law preventing anybody from knowing the hero you were for caging that beast."

"He told me... the Old Man told me I was an orphan, that he didn't know my parents... and he lied? Everything, all LIES!!!" Naruto ended in a shout, wisps of red chakra swirling his body while the Snake Sannin looked on in glee.

"Yes Naruto, but I need you to decide quickly, they will be coming for the both of us if we don't leave now." Orochimaru said sensing that his old sensei was on the way.

As Naruto stood up, there was a flurry of movement as the Third Hokage and 2 ANBU appeared in the clearing. "Orochimaru! Leave that child alone!"

Orochimaru didn't answer, he merely raised the Kusanagi.

Seeing this, Sarutobi turned towards Naruto. "Naruto, this man is very dangerous, you must stay away from him. Bring me the scroll."

"The scroll... This damned scroll that started all of this!" Naruto muttered, then looked up with betrayal in his eyes. "No 'Hey Naruto, sorry your teachers tried to kill you.', no 'Are you ok Naruto?', just the scroll! How many lies did you want to tell me today Hokage-sama?! You don't care about me! Tell me again, who were my parents?!"

Saturobi glanced at Orochimaru. 'It's not possible that he knows. Nobody but I know the truth.' He thought before making one of the worst mistakes of his life. "I'm sorry Naruto, but I have told you this before. Nobody knows who your parents were."

Naruto's closed his eyes for a moment as he became angrier and angrier. All present looked on as his whisker marks thickened and an ominous aura surrounded him. Opening his eyes, now red and slit like a cat, he yelled. "LIES!"

"The demon is escaping!" One of the Hokage's ANBU yelled, as they both jumped at Naruto.

"No you fool!" Sarutobi shouted, moving to intercept only to be stopped by Orochimaru.

"Do not inturrupt... sensei..."

The first ANBU reached Naruto, swiping at him with a kunai. Naruto merely roared and the ANBU was flung back by the strength of the Chakra. The shuriken that the second ANBU had thrown were blown off course and instead of hitting Naruto in the head, they merely cut the strap holding the Forbidden Scroll. The ANBU blody flickered to Naruto and grabbed the scroll, but could only jump back as Naruto he was attacked by the boy's new claws.

Moving quickly to stand next to his teammate, the first ANBU yelled. "Do it now!"

Their hands moving at high speed, they each yelled the name of their attacks.

"Fire Release, Flame Dragon Projection!"

"Wind Release, Great Breakthrough!"

As the massive firestorm was about to hit Naruto, a massive wall of earth rose to protect him. All parties looked towards Orochimaru who just smiled and dissolved into mud. The wall then collapsed revealing that the clearing was empty except for Hokage and ANBU.

"Find Naruto!" Sarutobi shouted. "Bring him back alive and unharmed!"

'How did this happen? Where did I go wrong?' These thoughts circled in Sarutobi's head as he returned to the tower...

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The Land of Fire
The Road to Konoha
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Kimimaro's eyed widened at the site of Konoha's gates and the walls surrounding them and turned to his sensei. "Jiraiya, don't those walls seem a bit like overkill? Those must be 100 feet tall. With the trees so close, there must be dozens of places to hide within 50 feet of the wall, not to mention the shadow of the wall itself. Also, don't most C-class and under fire techniques have a maximum range of 30ft?"

Bursting into laughter, Jiraiya could only respond, "Looks can be deceiving brat. Those walls are constructed from specially mined and prepared stone. They can be climbed using the tree climbing technique, but it take 3 to 4 times the chakra to do so and no ladders will reach so high and still be secure. One ninja with a good supply of weapons and a Fireball technique can hold a stretch of wall against most intruders and it would take a very high class summon to break through. The main purpose though is to drive them towards the gates. It lets us defend the village against nearly all attacks with smaller numbers."

As they arrived at the gates, the two Chunin guards eye's widened at the sight of the famous Sannin. After signing him in, the guard couldn't hold himself in any longer. "Lord Jiraiya? I can't believe I get to meet the famous Toad Sage! Are you here for the festival?"

"What festival would that be?" Jiraiya asked.

"The Kyubi child left the village and is being hunted as we speak! The final act of the Fourth Hokage will finally be completed!" The Chunin answered.

With a growing sense of unease, Jiraiya could only ask. "What child?"

"Well not really a child, the child shape that the Kyubi took when it's power was sealed. Lord Hokage named him Naruto Uzumaki." The Chunin said.

Jiraiya's only reaction was a crushing amount of killing intent as he asked one last question. "Where is Sarutobi?" He asked in a cold voice as Kimimaro looked on in confusion.

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A/N: Please review, I want to know what you think about this.