Chapter one: Prologue.
Danzo Shimura had been called numerous things throughout his life, mostly for good reason. A Warhawk, a schemer, a manipulator, a murderer, a man who firmly believes that the ends always justifies the means and so forth. An amoral man to be sure, willing to do virtually anything, no matter how corrupt in order to advance Konoha.
There was only one truth that Danzo truly believed in, and that was in order to thrive in the Shinobi world, you must be capable of operating in morally grey areas. You need to be able to make hard choices, there was no room for hesitation. One wrong decision based solely upon moral judgement could lead to one's undoing. However, the same can be said for a simple careless mistake just as well.
"When did it vanish? Why was it not destroyed as I ordered?" Danzo asked furiously as he looked to one of his aides, an orange haired man called Fu Yamanaka, who was pursing his lips nervously as he was busy shuffling through a stack of papers as if hoping they would provide an answer for him to give.
"Just a short while ago, and it was in the process of being destroyed… before it was stolen." The orange haired man tried to explain, his boss staring hard at him with his one visible eye, and in a rare flash of uncontrolled anger, Danzo lashed out and struck Fu with his cane, making it snap from the impact as the Yamanaka was sent to the floor, dazed and bleeding from the blow.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT MAY HAPPEN? Who knows what could have been in that vial?!" The Warhawk roared in fury. At this point of time, one may ask 'why is Danzo so angry' and/or 'what could have been stolen?'. Well, in summary, the item in question that was stolen is a biological weapon. A weaponized disease in the blunt terms.
Normally, Danzo wouldn't turn away a potential tool or weapon he could use to his advantage… but the one form of weapon he couldn't stomach using, much less keeping on hand was that of an aforementioned disease. A sample of one had been recently stolen by one of his spies and brought it here for ROOT's arsenal… the fool. Weaponized diseases weren't like loyal foot soldiers that you could give marching orders to.
Once you pop open Pandora's box and unleash hell, there would be no stopping it. Viruses were unpredictable, virtually uncontainable, and once they got their momentum going, could become virtually unstoppable. And now one such disease was god knows where, potentially smack dab in the middle of Konoha where it could be easily released which may lead to unthinkable consequences.
"Find it. Find it now. Kill whoever stole it and get it back. We CAN'T let whatever disease that sample was to be unleashed. No matter the cost." Danzo ordered, prompting his private army of Anbu to nod and began their desperate search to find the missing sample, the Warhawk could now only pray that they weren't too late.
Meanwhile. Konoha's Red Light District.
A lone figure could be seen, almost casually walking through the village streets wearing a hood that largely obscured his face, but on close enough inspection, one could see a pair of spectacles and some silver hair peeking out. This man was Kabuto Yakushi, formerly a ROOT operative that Danzo manipulated and inevitably attempted to eliminate and now he was a follower of Orochimaru.
Why was he here in Konoha? To spy for his master of course, to keep tabs on the village and gather any relevant data that could aid in the village's destruction. And, with Orochimaru's permission, get some measure of revenge against Danzo.
Kabuto bore a strong grudge against the old warhawk, not necessarily for the attempted assassination, but for sending his mother figure Nono Yakushi (Another ROOT operative) to kill him, which forced him to kill her in self-defence and find out the awful truth that they had both been manipulated to kill the other by Danzo. He had hoped that by breaking into ROOT's base he could find something to use against the old man… and he scored the jackpot in the form of some unknown biological weapon that was labeled as 'Blacklight'.
With this little vial, he could easily cripple Konoha and get his revenge. Two birds, one stone. And given Danzo's old age, it would be probable he could contract the disease if it spread quickly enough. Now he just needed to find some unlucky victim to infect, and then let the rest take care of itself. Anyone would do really… (thump)
Kabuto felt himself bump against someone and looked down to see a blonde haired teenager with his arms loaded with a number of grocery bags that seemed to be obscuring his vision. "Sorry about that." The teen apologized as he hefted the bags, trying to maneuver them so he could see more clearly.
Seeing his chance, Kabuto popped open the vile and spoke with a fake drunken slur "Ahhh, watch where yer going. Ya damn brat." And then he dumped the liquid atop the blonde's head and then stumbled away, believing that the angry drunk act would be more than enough to ward off suspicion. Which seemed to do the trick as the boy glared at his retreating form and muttered 'prick' beneath his breath.
The boy sighed and continued onto his apartment, feeling the need to take a shower after that experience, not because of the liquid that was dumped on him, but because he suddenly felt dirty after bumping into that guy, though he wasn't sure on the reason why. Still, it didn't seem worth it to cause a scene with some random guy, much less a drunk. It was time to carry on with business as usual, though unknown to him… tomorrow would be anything but normal.
The next morning.
Naruto yawned a bit as his alarm clock buzzed obnoxiously, forcing him to slam a hand on the top of it to make the damn thing shut up. The blonde grumbled as he glared at the device, knowing full well there was an odd love/hate relationship he had with it… on the one hand, it always woke him up on time for classes. And on the other, it always stirred him from his most blissful dreams and brought him back to the cold, harsh, and monotonous days of his daily school life.
He brought his hand up to his face to rub the sleepiness from his eyes and looked at his clock to look at the time… but instead he found that his alarm clock was now smashed to pieces, making him blink his eyes several times as he looked at his hand. He didn't really hit it THAT hard… did he? Shrugging his shoulders, he got up from his bed, grumbling to himself about having to buy a new clock… but feeling an odd sense of satisfaction from destroying his old one.
He entered the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face, he unscrewed the cap from the tube of toothpaste and gently squeezed the bottom to force out some of the paste inside… only for most of it to splurt out and land on the mirror and the sink, catching the blonde off guard. "Okaaaay, that just happened." He muttered quietly to himself as he awkwardly used his toothbrush to scoop up some of the paste so he could clean his teeth… and then he paused upon getting a good look at himself in the mirror.
He had grown significantly taller, by a whole foot or so. And his body seemed much more toned and muscular now, like that of a swimmer's build. "Oh Kami… I hit the mother of all Growth spurts." he muttered in bewilderment. He knew that people's bodies went through changes as they went through puberty… but he didn't think it was possible to change THAT much overnight.
He then began to brush his teeth, his eyes glancing up and down his new body and came to the conclusion that he must now be much stronger as evidenced by what happened with the clock and toothpaste, and he wondered just how strong he actually was. Enough to finally kick Sasuke's ass maybe?
The blonde didn't have long to enjoy his new changes as he suddenly realized something… "Shit." He grumbled as he spat out the liquified paste and saliva mixture in his mouth. "I need a whole new wardrobe now." He muttered in mild aggravation, knowing that his clothes wouldn't fit him anymore. Still, he supposed that it wasn't all bad. That orange getup just wasn't his style.
He thought about what kind of clothes he may want and immediately thought about a trenchcoat like what his dear friend Anko Mitarashi always wore. She had a way to make it seem all cool and stylish just like she was. Bold and true to herself. The blonde's skin itched a bit and in the mirror he saw a trench coat that was the spitting image of Anko's form on his body.
He tugged at it and found that this was by no means a Henge he had unwittingly conjured, but it was a real coat, it even felt the same as his friend's favorite coat as he rubbed the fabric with his fingers. Growing more curious, the Uzumaki concentrated, wanting the coat to change to a black color… and as if sensing his thoughts it did indeed change on command. "This is new." Naruto muttered to himself as he checked out his new attire… and quickly came to the conclusion that he not only underwent a growth spurt, he must have unlocked some kind of Bloodline.
He had heard that most, like the Sharingan were awakened through intense training or life-threatening situations and others could simply develop naturally all on their own. This one had to belong to the latter category. He concentrated harder, creating a pair of black fingerless leather gloves on his hands, followed by a pair of jeans, shinobi sandals, and a crimson shirt with the words 'I'm still standing' printed across the front.
The blonde guessed that this bloodline was of a potentially shape changing nature. Deciding to give it a little test, he concentrated on his left hand, desiring it to change into a set of claws. And on command, his hand morphed instantly into a monstrous clawed hand. He gave a small smirk and dragged one claw across the bathroom walls, finding that it was exceptionally sharp as it easily cut into the tile even though he was barely applying any pressure to it.
With a mental command, his hand changed back to normal in less than a second, and he stuffed both of his hands into his pockets while muttering "I think I could get used to this." With that said, he finished his morning ritual and exited his apartment. Once he was outside, the blonde cracked his neck and decided that it would be a good idea to test and see just how fast he was.
He got into a readied stance and took off like a shot, a cloud of dust trailing behind him as he ran faster than he had ever ran in his entire life. He felt light as a feather as his legs moved beneath him, he felt so happy that he leapt for joy high into the air… much higher than he intended as he found himself almost flying through the air with the village far below him. "OH SHIT!" He shouted in surprise as he found himself falling back to the ground.
He saw the Academy in plain view as he descended, then gained an idea as he his used new shape changing powers to manipulate his coat into becoming a makeshift glider, allowing him to more gently descend to the ground. As he approached the Academy, he released his 'coat glider' and let himself drop again, he rolled across the ground to soften his landing and then found himself back on both feet standing just a short distance from the school's doors.
"Wow… that was actually fun." He whispered to himself gleefully, deciding he would have to practice using his newfound abilities and test to see what his limitations were. With a giddy spring in his step, he proceeded to his classroom, and in no time at all he had arrived. When he entered his classroom, all of his classmates and the teachers looked towards him, some of them staring with open mouths and wide eyes.
Naruto sauntered towards his usual seat with his hands in his pockets, humming a small Jazz tune'. He set himself down in his seat and leaned back into it as he gave a toothy grin. "Naruto? Is that you? What the hell happened to you?!" asked the form of Sakura Haruno as she eyed his form up and down.
The whiskered teen looked over towards her and replied in a charming voice, a newfound confidence in him as he spoke "Growth spurt. See anything different that you like?" At his question, the pinkette's mouth opened and closed much like a fish out of water. Either she had no answer to give, or she had no idea where to begin on how to answer him. And judging from her flummoxed expression, it was likely the latter. And wait… was she blushing? Yeah she was, blushing neon red to be exact.
"Is it normal to grow that much overnight?" Asked the form of Shikamaru Nara to his best friend Chouji, the Akamichi giving a 'What're you asking me for?!' kind of expression. As this went on, numerous female members of the class began to whisper and gossip amongst each other as they admired not only the blonde's new outfit, but could also see that he was very much in shape given his new physique.
Even a number of Sasuke's fangirls were quickly drooling over the whiskered teen's new looks. Off to the side, both Iruka and Mizuki looked at each other in confusion then shrugged their shoulders, with the scarred Chunin muttering 'teenagers'. And then called for classes to begin. After a quick roll call, Iruka began one of his history lectures about Konoha's founding, earning a collective groan from the students, a few of them miming a motion that resembled slitting their wrists.
Naruto paid little attention to both the lecture and the other students. He was currently off in his own little world as he focused on his hands, changing them into a variety of different shapes to practice his transforming abilities. If he could change his hands into a set of claws, what other things could he do to himself? Create his own body armor? Enhance his muscle mass' capabilities? There were numerous possibilities. And he was looking forward to experimenting in a more private setting.
The time passed by rather quickly as Iruka's lecture finally came to an end, much to the relief of the class. With that part of the day done, Mizuki announced it was time for class spars, prompting the students to file out of the classroom, a bit more excited than before for two reasons. One, class spars were pretty much the highlight of the average school day. And secondly, people were curious on how the 'new' Naruto would handle himself against Sasuke.
As the students began to take their places they were gossiping about who may win that particular match up. Throughout the entirety of this year, Sasuke had dominated the class as the top candidate for Rookie of the year and the golden boy of the Academy. The Uchiha had the support of the teachers in virtually everything, and his Fire jutsu and clan Taijutsu had always given him an advantage over most everyone else in class.
And Naruto himself was very much looking forward to knocking the Uchiha off his throne. Unsurprisingly, Iruka called for the Uzumaki and self-proclaimed 'Elite' to enter the sparring area. The whiskered teen cracked his knuckles, an eager look on his face… which quickly fell when he realized something.
He hadn't gotten used to his newfound strength, meaning that if he attempted to punch Sasuke… it was probable that he would receive a fatal injury. A mental image of the Uchiha's head popping off his shoulders entered Uzumaki's mind. While he certainly wouldn't shed a tear of Sasuke were to croak, the last thing he wanted or needed was the Civilian council using such an event against him.
Still, that didn't mean he couldn't mess around with the Uchiha a bit. "Something you want to say, Dobe?" The 'Avenger' asked as he stood across from the blonde, a bored look on his face as he believed today would be yet another victory for him.
"Yeah. Your mom was a nice lady and a respected member of the community." Naruto quipped with a broad grin, having fond memories of the few times he encountered the Uchiha woman. She was always kind to him. Why couldn't she have been spared and Sasuke killed?
"NO ONE TALKS ABOUT MY MOTHER THAT WAY!" The Uchiha shouted in outrage as he charged at the Jinchuuriki… while everyone in the background wondered 'what in the hell made Sasuke so angry?', if anything Naruto was actually complimenting Sasuke's late mother.
Naruto tilted his head a bit as the Uchiha charged at him, for some reason he felt like Sasuke was moving a lot slower today… or could it be that..? He paused his thought process as he stepped to the side, avoiding a blow from the Uchiha, which confirmed his unfinished thoughts. It wasn't that Sasuke was slower, it was that Naruto himself was faster.
Grinning to himself, Naruto spoke "Something wrong Sasuke? You don't seem to be in proper form. Standards for being an 'Uchiha Elite' must be dropping." At his mockery, the raven haired boy scowled deeply as his face turned red in anger as he kicked at the blonde's head.
The Uzumaki raised his arm up to block the incoming kick… only to find that he felt no impact whatsoever when the Uchiha's leg made contact with his arm. Was his body tougher now too? Come to think of it, he didn't feel any impact when he landed after his accidental flight. Grinning even wider to himself, the blonde stuffed his hands into his pockets and stood his ground, deliberately allowing the Uchiha to freely pound away at him.
Sasuke grunted with effort as he sent a flurry of punches to Naruto's torso, the Uchiha felt like his fists were punching concrete, but he tried his best to fight through the pain, believing that he could force the Dobe out of the ring. However his blows seemed to have no effect as the Uzumaki gave a mocking grin. "You trying to punch me or massage me Uke-kun? You're pretty weak." He spoke, at this point this wasn't even a sparring match as their audience couldn't help but giggle as Sasuke was quickly running out of steam his punches quickly becoming weaker as he desperately tried to make the blonde budge.
After a few more moments, Sasuke was gasping and wheezing for air. His knuckles bruised and bloody from repeatedly punching Naruto's toughened body. "This… this can't be happening. This is all some kind of trick! You're cheating somehow?" Sasuke shouted in a manner similar to a toddler having a tantrum as he pointed an accusatory finger at the Uzumaki.
"Really Sasuke? I'm now too much for you to handle and you're immediately accusing me of being a cheat? That's just pathetic. How am I cheating? When did I cheat?" The blonde asked as he stuck his pinky in his ear to clean it out, his eyes glancing over the crowd and noticed that a number of students were giving the Uchiha nasty looks due to his behavior and empty accusations.
"I'm an Uchiha Elite! I'm the best in the class! There's no way in hell some clanless orphan can beat me!" Sasuke screamed childishly, earning some boos from the crowd at his lack of sportsmanship as Naruto shook his head with a sigh.
"Pot. Kettle. Do the math dum-dum. I'm done with this shit." Naruto muttered as he marched forward, he placed a hand on the exhausted Uchiha's chest and gave a shove, sending Sasuke almost flying out of the sparring arena where he landed with a soft thump, earning some laughs from the crowd.
"You won't get far in life acting like an entitled brat or treating everyone like shit. Still, if you end up getting yourself killed on a mission, I doubt anyone would really miss you." The blonde teen stated since most everyone wanted to get in Sasuke's good graces because they were interested in his money or whatever else he inherited after the Uchiha massacre.
In the background, Iruka grit his teeth a bit at the Jinchuuriki's overwhelming victory over the Uchiha. There was no possible way that the boy could have gotten so much stronger overnight, not naturally anyway. He strongly suspected that the Kyuubi may be involved, though whether or not the boy was cooperating with the beast or being manipulated, he had no idea or even proof. He supposed that he'd have to make a report to the Hokage and let him figure it out. With great reluctance the scarred Chunin announced "Winner by Ring-out, Naruto Uzumaki."
With that, a number of students cheered at the fact that Sasuke's undefeated streak had been broken and his pride seriously bruised, and it was all done by the 'Dead-last' no less, and to add insult to injury, Naruto didn't even throw a proper punch throughout their little 'match'. Did their class have a new star on the rise? Was Naruto finally getting his act together or something? They had no idea, it just felt satisfying to see the Uchiha get knocked down a peg.
Suffice it to say… It seemed like there was a newly formed Naruto Fan-club as several females approached him and began offering their congratulations, Hinata and Ino being among them. "Wow Naruto! That was really cool of you. You didn't even flinch under Sasuke's punches. Didn't they hurt at all?" Ino asked as she pressed her body to his, her hand roaming his fresh rock hard abs, the contact making Naruto blush a bit since he wasn't expecting his fellow blonde to be so… bold. Still, it wasn't unlike when Anko teased or flirted with him so he knew how to respond.
"Honestly? I didn't even feel it. His punches were pretty pathetic. But I'm glad to see a pretty thing like you is worried about me." He responded smoothly, earning a giggle from the Yamanaka heiress.
"Naruto-kun, I… I'm so glad that you won. How does it feel?" Hinata asked him to the side as she grabbed his arm and began to hug it, even through that coat she always wore, the Uzumaki could easily feel her large and budding breasts. Was she an early bloomer or something? Pushing that question to the side he answered the Hyuuga heiress as he summed it up in three words "Pretty damn good."
A bit later.
Once the remaining sparring matches were finished, lunch period came around. Most often, Naruto would be sitting by himself with his meal, but this time it seemed that a number of females wanted to eat with him today after his victory over the Uchiha. Naturally, he didn't want to be rude to them so he allowed them to hang around, plus it was nice to have some company.
Most of them asked how he got so strong overnight, others showered him with praises over his win, and so on. For a moment, Naruto couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed, like this was all a dream and he didn't want it to end. He'd never had fans before, while he knew that these girls were quite shallow given how quickly they jumped from Sasuke to himself, he didn't see any reason to be rude or nasty to them.
Plus he was kinda enjoying the attention. He looked to the side and saw that Ino and Hinata seemed to be whispering to each other instead of asking him questions and such things, he guessed that they may have been gossiping about something, although the Hyuuga heiress didn't seem the type to engage in gossip. He could only shrug since there were oftentimes girls could be weird or didn't make much sense to him.
A shadow then loomed over him as his new fan-girls fell silent, he looked up and saw the form of a familiar Anbu standing in front of him. A cat masked Anbu with purple hair to be exact that could only be Neko. A highly accomplished sword user and a personal guard for the Hokage that he had met on numerous occasions. "My apologies for interrupting you Naruto-san, but the Hokage requests your presence immediately."
Under normal circumstances, when he was called to see the Hokage it was usually due to one of his pranks. And since he knew he hadn't pulled any pranks recently, there was only one other reason why the Hokage wanted to see him. "Who was it that bitched to him? Was it the sore loser Sasuke? Or was it one of the teachers?" The whiskered teen asked with a snarky expression since he should have seen this one coming a mile away.
Neko paused briefly as if considering how to answer him and then replied "Sorry. But it is not my place to disclose the identity of a teacher when he reports one of his students." Her words earned a chuckle since she said nothing, but told everything in one fell swoop. So it was a teacher then. That only left two candidates, and the blonde knew that one particular Chunin teacher had a serious chip on his shoulder.
"Well, let's not keep the old man waiting. I'll be back later ladies." The Uzumaki spoke charmingly as he gave a two fingered salute to his new fan-club, a number of them collectively sighing with starry eyes and muttering under their breath that Naruto was much nicer and more gentlemanly than Sasuke.
Neko offered a hand to the blonde boy, and he accepted by place his hand into hers. The Anbu then formed a single hand-sign and they vanished from sight in a swirl of leaves, only to appear less than a second later inside the Hokage's office. The Sandaime himself was sitting behind his desk, his eyes closed as he was smoking from his favored kiseru after finally earning some respite after completing his paperwork for the day.
Hiruzen exhaled some smoke and opened his eyes as if sensing their presence, his eyes widened a bit upon seeing the blonde's grown form and smirked a bit. "Ohayo Naruto-kun, thanks for coming on such short notice. I'm told you won a great victory over Sasuke."
At that, Naruto rubbed his nose a bit and answered "Hell yeah I did. That the reason I'm here? Did Iruka whine and cry about how I damaged and pretty much humiliated the class favorite?" At his questioning, the aged Hokage could only give a dry laugh and glanced at Neko who only gave a small shrug.
"I never said it was Iruka. And yes, that is why, at least in part." The Sandaime admitted as he exhaled another plume of smoke, knowing full well that the boy was much sharper than people usually believed. Most especially when it came to reading people or judging their character or true intentions, a very useful skill in the Shinobi realm.
"Didn't have to say it. Iruka's had it out for me for a long time. And what do you mean by 'in part'?" Naruto asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. The Hokage gestured to a seat in front of his desk, prompting the Uzumaki to accept the unspoken invitation as he settled into the offered seat.
The Hokage took a drag from his kiseru, his nostrils exhaling smoke as he replied "This is no simple growth spurt is it? You didn't just grow taller overnight, you became much stronger as well. Tell me… was it truly natural?" At the Sandaime's question, the blonde wanted to burst out laughing as he came to realize the real reason he'd been called here.
"Now I get it. Iruka thinks this is all the work of the Kyuubi. I bet if I sneezed he'd blame it on the fox." Naruto spoke in a tone that held both a mocking and angered tone to it, earning a small nod from the Hokage since the boy had long since already discovered and came to terms with his burden after figuring it out on his own. It certainly wasn't difficult given his birth date and so forth.
"Well, fine then. Lemme put those worries to rest then. I think that I unlocked a Bloodline of some kind." Naruto spoke, earning looks of curiosity from both the Hokage and Anbu. He knew that he'd have to tell the Hokage about his new abilities, though he wanted to wait till he'd practiced a bit more before demonstrating, still, beggars couldn't be choosers. The teen raised his hand up and then it changed into a set of razor sharp claws covered in a black and crimson substance. And then he brought the set of claws down, slicing apart the Hokage's desk in one clean swipe.
The Sandaime glanced down at the ruined desk and muttered, "Most impressive. That clearly isn't a Henge, but a true transformation. How far can you take it exactly?" At his question, the Uzumaki changed his hand back to normal and gave a small shrug of his shoulders.
"Not sure exactly. I only just discovered it this morning, and haven't yet had a chance to properly practice. So far, I managed to create the clothes I'm wearing now, and those claws. Plus I've gotten a lot faster, stronger, and tougher." Naruto replied honestly, though it was easy to see that he was more than excited to test out his new powers.
"I see." The Hokage muttered as he drummed his fingers on the remainder of his desk, while the Sandaime knew that the boy's parents had no such abilities, it was still possible for the Bloodline to skip a generation. It was entirely probable that it came from someone further down in Naruto's family tree. "Well, I'm glad that there has been no interference by the Kyuubi. I look forward to seeing you develop these new abilities. You can go home for the day… while I speak with Iruka about his salary." The Hokage spoke, very much considering cutting down on the Chunin's pay given his biased views on the boy since this certainly wasn't the first time the Academy Teacher was blowing smoke.
"Thanks Jiji. I'll keep you posted on my Bloodline powers as I go along." Naruto spoke as he gave a two-fingered salute, and then bid both Hiruzen and Neko goodbye and then made his way to the door… only for it to fly open and slam into his face as two figures rushed through past the blonde. Naruto was stunned for a brief moment, not from the door's impact since he felt no pain from it, but mainly from surprise at what just happened as he glanced over his shoulder to see who just intruded.
"Where is that loser? I demand a rematch because he cheated me!" Shouted a very familiar voice, making Naruto shake his head while the Hokage gave an annoyed glare at the Uchiha's intrusion and then shifted his gaze to the form of Iruka who had a sheepish smile while rubbing the back of his head which seemed to aggravate Hiruzen further.
"Right here Sasuke." Naruto muttered as he sauntered over with a mocking expression, the Uchiha spun around so quickly at the sound of his voice, it almost seemed a miracle he didn't break his own neck. "You! Dobe! I demand a rematch! I demand satisfaction!" Sasuke shouted while pointing at the Uzumaki, prompting Neko to stand between the two to make sure they were kept apart.
The Jinchuuriki sighed as he ran a hand through his air, though he seemed to have a growing smirk on his face. In the background Hiruzen spoke "From my understanding, you lost fair and square Sasuke. And what gives you the right to make demands of a Kage?"
The Uchiha snarled a bit, his eyes focused solely on the blonde's form as he growled out towards the Uzumaki "Fight me Dobe." at that, Naruto stuffed his pinky finger into his ear as if attempting to clean it out and replied "Now why would I wanna do that Sasuke? I've nothing to gain from beating you in a rematch."
"You only beat me because you cheated and I wasn't going all out anyway." The raven haired boy spoke, using whatever excuse he could think of to soothe his ego. Naruto then smirked a bit as the gears in his head started to turn, knowing full well that the Uchiha wouldn't back down.
"Okay Sasuke. You want a rematch? Make it worth my while. If I win, you'll give me every last scroll in the Uchiha's jutsu library. If I lose, I'll do anything you say including that I admit to 'cheating'." Naruto spoke, sending a wink towards the Sandaime who gave a knowing nod.
Sasuke grunted in response and spoke "You're on Dobe. The match rules will be simple, anything goes except outside interference. We'll be doing this tomorrow morning at the Chunin exam stadium, I'll be sure to invite an audience so that I can show everyone why Uchiha's are superior and to expose you for the cheat that you are."
Naruto scoffed a bit and replied "Keep telling yourself that Sasuke." with his piece said, the blonde marched off without a word further as everyone present watched his retreating form. Once he was gone, Sasuke stomped away to speak with the Civilian council about the upcoming event.
Hiruzen glanced over towards Iruka and spoke "I blame this on you Iruka. You and almost everyone else have been feeding that little brat's ego. Hell, you encourage his behavior." At the Hokage's words, the Chunin felt himself shrink a bit but managed to force a smile as he tried to speak but was cut off by the Hokage.
"I don't want to hear any excuses. Much less praise of whatever exaggerated skill or talents that Sasuke may or may not have. I think we should begin discussing your salary Iruka-kun." Hiruzen spoke at the end with a sadistic gleam in his eye, for a brief moment, the Chunin thought he was going to receive a raise… he could not be more wrong.
Meanwhile.
Across the village of Konoha, word spread like wildfire. The rumor mill was working in overdrive as the grapevine grew and extended all across Konoha as people gossiped about Sasuke's humiliating defeat at Naruto's hands. Not long after, the Uchiha caused a major scene and forced his way into the Hokage's office and challenged Naruto to a rematch with plans to make it into a public spectacle at the Chunin exam stadium.
The presses came to a screeching halt as new headlines on the front page newspapers were churned out and delivered to the general people became interested at the news since they had heard stories of the Uchiha's skill and prowess and his survival of his clan's massacre. Now they would have a chance to see if there was any truth to it or if it was all propaganda and hot air being blown around by the Civilian Council. All at once, the atmosphere began to change in the village as people rushed towards the stadium to reserve seats before the tickets were even printed out and ready to be sold.
Some people were already making their own posters and spreading them across the village to continue spreading awareness of the upcoming event. Gambling corporations and merchants were already banking on the upcoming match as they too started their own ad campaign, hoping to bank on the profits earned from the bets people would make as they tried to predict the winner.
Overall, it seemed as if the village was caught in a feverish pandemonium. In the village streets, Naruto could be seen walking down the road as he thought about how best he could employ his new abilities, he guessed that his shape changing powers would largely rely on his imagination, and knowing his opponent, he would undoubtedly employ his Fire style jutsu. So the blonde would have to create some kind of protective armor to keep him safe from the flames.
"THERE HE IS!" Shouted a voice from behind him making the blonde snap out of his musing, he turned around and saw a large group of reporters in front of him, their cameras flashing as they shoved their microphones into his face. "Hey! What gives?" Naruto asked as he was temporarily blinded by the flashing lights while being bombarded with questions from the reporters.
"Naruto Uzumaki, is it true you accepted a public duel with Sasuke Uchiha?"
"Is this a personal dispute?"
"Word is that the Uchiha fortune's on the line! Care to comment?"
"Have you been hiding your real talents all these years?"
"Are you single? Do you have a special lady?"
"Is this fight a demonstration of sorts against the Civilian Council's corruption and favoritism towards Sasuke Uchiha?"
Were the numerous questions the reporters asked him, catching the blonde off guard since this seemed utterly absurd. He only just accepted the Uchiha's challenge five or ten minutes ago! How could word have spread across the village in so short a time? Elsewhere… a number of Fan-girls violently sneezed, including a certain Yamanaka Gossip Queen.
Naruto quickly looked about in terror, trying to find a means to escape from the reporters… he got lucky and saw the forms of Anko Mitarashi and Kurenai Yuhi standing off on the other side of the street, staring at the situation with eyes the size of dinner plates. He mouthed a quick 'Help me!' which was all the indication the two needed to jump in and save the day.
The two Kunoichi quickly rushed over and forced themselves between Naruto and the reporters, shielding the former from the flashing cameras as Anko muttered in a hurried voice "No comment! Nothing to see here! Naruto-san here needs to get prepped and ready! Time to go!" She and Kurenai grabbed hold of the blonde boy, and then whisked him away in a swirl of leaves.
A minute or so later, they found themselves in the shared apartment of the Snake and Genjutsu mistresses, the trio letting out a series of relieved sighs. The Two Kunoichi looked at him questioningly, almost demanding an explanation for what happened since they had only just heard of the upcoming match and little else.
Once they had settled down, Naruto gave them the rundown on everything that happened starting from his unexpected changes, his win against Sasuke, the Uchiha's demand for a rematch, and his apparent confusion on how word spread so quickly. "So wait… of all the things you asked of Sasuke, you only asked for the Uchiha Jutsu library?" Anko questioned with a tilt of her head.
"That's what you're hung up on Anko?!" The crimson eyed Kunoichi asked as she animatedly slapped at the air. There were much more important things at play here than some silly bet… but she had to admit she was kind of curious as well.
"What else was I supposed to ask for? I don't have much need for the entire Uchiha district, what am I even gonna do with it? I don't need his money either, much less want it since I don't want the Civilian Council to start hounding me over it. Only thing that would be of any real use to me was the Jutsu library." The blonde explained with a tired sigh, the Kunochi both giving a drawn out 'Ohhh' as they came to understand his point.
"I don't get it though. How can a simple Academy Sparring match… evolve into THIS?" Anko muttered as she rubbed her temples a bit, with her two friends sighing since they had absolutely no idea except for the fact that it seemed like Sasuke was unwittingly setting himself up for further humiliation… though Naruto was certainly looking forward to obliging the little brat for all the times he'd bullied and ridiculed him at the Academy.
"Doesn't matter I guess. This is happening. But I gotta admit, I can't wait to get some payback and try out my new abilities." The whiskered teen admitted as he clenched his fist, a visible smirk on his face as he allowed his hand and forearm to change into an exceptionally large blade that was almost his full height.
"You ladies mind if I crash here for the night? I don't wanna be ambushed by the paparazzi on my way home." He requested, earning some giggles from the Kunoichi but they gave a nod of understanding since they didn't want him to suffer such a fate… and it was highly probable that there wouldn't be anyone around to bail him out.
"Anything for you Naruto-kun. Make yourself at home… just do me a favor and win, okay? I wanna put a big bet on you and I'd be veeeeery grateful if you score a win for me." The Snake Mistress spoke in a husky voice and gave a flirtatious wink, with her friend Kurenai shaking her head at her roommate. Still… she had to admit, Naruto was now quite the looker.
"Trust me, I wouldn't have accepted that match if I thought I'd lose. There's a thing called 'sucker bets'." The blonde stated, earning some sadistic grins from the Kunoichi. Naruto looked out the nearby window and saw a glimpse of the Chunin Exam stadium peaking over the nearby buildings. It was there… that he would settle the score with the Uchiha.
The next morning.
"Wow… this seems pretty surreal." Naruto muttered to himself as he looked up towards the exam seats where all sorts of people had gathered. Civilians, Shinobi, the Clan heads and their kids, the Civilian Council, Anko and her Boss Ibiki, Kurenai, and some other ninjas he didn't recognize. Overall… the place was packed to the point of bursting.
The blonde looked to his left where Sasuke was standing, the Uchiha's focus being directed solely at him as he ignored the crowd. And standing just between them was the Sandaime Hokage himself who had taken it upon himself to act as the referee for this match… though Naruto wondered if he was using this as an excuse to attend and at the same time avoid paperwork.
Hiruzen raised his hands to quiet the crowd, after a few moments the cheering died down allowing him to speak "Ladies and Gentlemen. Civilians and Shinobi alike! Today we have a special exhibition match between Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. The rules, as agreed by the contestants, are very simple. Anything goes with the exclusion of outside interference."
The Sandaime then turned to the boys and asked them "Do the contestants have any questions before we begin?" At that, Naruto raised his hand earning a nod from the Sandaime, prompting the Uzumaki to ask "Is killing or maiming allowed too?" The blonde asked with a slightly malicious grin as he cracked his knuckles, a large part of him wanting to break or slice off Sasuke's limbs.
"Absolutely. The first to be rendered unconscious, surrender, or otherwise killed will be the loser. Any additional questions?" The aged Hokage asked at the end, after a few moments of silence he took it as an indication that there were none and spoke "Begin when ready! Hajime!"
With the match now started, Sasuke pulled out a set of Shuriken, holding them between his fingers as he spoke "Ready to lose Dobe?" At that, the Uzumaki shook his head with a dry chuckle and replied "No. Never again."
Sasuke threw his Shuriken towards the blonde, prompting Naruto to raise his hand up as it changed into a large black shield that stopped the incoming projectiles with several soft and barely audible 'thunk' noises. The Uchiha used the momentary distraction to leap overhead as he went through hand-signs. Having already anticipated the Uchiha's use of Fire Jutsu, Naruto formed a protective black colored armor around his body.
The crowds seemed curious about this strange ability as they watched the match with bated breath. "Fire style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" The Uchiha shouted as a torrent of flames descended upon the Uzumaki and engulfed his armored form. Naruto easily shrugged them off and leapt into the air after the Uchiha, his hands creating a set of claws as he took a swipe at the Uchiha, only missing by an inch or two as his claws sliced through Sasuke's clothes but failed to catch any flesh.
Naruto landed on the ground on one knee with a loud thud. He got up from the ground and checked out his armored body, taking a mental note that while it protected him perfectly, it reduced his mobility. He would either need to find a balance between defence and mobility, or trying to reduce the time it took for him to change back and forth. Though that could be shelved for later, it's not like the Uchiha was a speed demon or anything like that.
The Uchiha landed a short distance away, his hands flying through hand-signs once more as he shouted "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower jutsu." and then began spitting out numerous fireballs, peppering the Uzumaki as he charged towards the Uchiha, easily shrugging off the fire technique with no visible effort. Growling, Sasuke pulled out a Kunai with an explosive tag attached with his free hand and threw it at the blonde, hoping it would knock him off his feet and slow him.
Once the Kunai made contact with its target, it exploded on impact, creating a cloud of smoke. However, the armored form of Naruto continued on, uninterrupted as one arm had formed a shield, and the other was still formed into a set of claws. Naruto slashed at the Uchiha's midsection, and Sasuke tried to roll out of the way, but he was too slow this time as Naruto's claws cut across Sasuke's belly.
The Uchiha cried out in pain as his body rolled across the ground from his failed dodge attempt, blood was gushing out as he tried to apply pressure to the wound to slow the bleeding, his pained cries being easily heard as the numerous members of the audience cringed from the pain. Some of the Shinobi present guessed that if those talons had cut any deeper, it was likely Sasuke would be picking his intestines off the ground, so he got lucky in avoiding a much more serious injury.
Naruto looked at his blood soaked claws with morbid fascination, he then turned towards the Uchiha and shed his armor, and approached him with a harsh glare "So much for Uchiha superiority. At the end of the day, we all bleed red. And I don't think the Shinigami much cares about status or pedigree." Naruto spoke, remembering back when the Uchiha's were still in full force.
So many of them acted as if they were superior, simply because of their status as a co-founding clan and for their damned Bloodline, not that it mattered now since they were all gone… including the few unfortunate good ones like Mikoto. And all Sasuke was… was just a bad reminder and example of the Uchiha clan and a golden goose people were waiting to exploit. Funny enough… Naruto wondered if the Uchiha would have perhaps met the same fate as the golden goose from the story?
"Learned your lesson yet? If you wanna drop out, now would be a good time." Naruto spoke with a sigh as his limbs returned to their original form, deciding to be the bigger man and give the Uchiha a sporting chance… though he doubted that Sasuke would take it. He was actually a bit surprised when the Uchiha started to laugh, something that was definitely out of character for Sasuke.
"Guess again Dobe. You'll be the one learning a lesson." Sasuke spoke as he got up and turned around, clutching at his bleeding belly… and his eyes a crimson color showing he'd unlocked his Sharingan, however it seemed incomplete since there was only one tomoe in each eye which made it seem rather lackluster.
"That supposed to intimidate me Sasuke? You really think you can beat me with an imperfect Sharingan? That's what always irritates me the most about you, ya little prick. Always taking things for granted. Like your family for instance." Naruto spoke thoughtfully as the Uchiha stumbled clumsily over to him, a crazed look in his eye. Though it was hard to tell if the blood loss or Sharingan being unlocked was getting to the Uchiha's head… perhaps both?
"Don't you dare, talk about Family to me, orphan!" Sasuke shouted as he balled up his fist and took a swing at the Uzumaki, his fist colliding with a whiskered cheek, though obviously it had little effect as Naruto grabbed his fist and squeezed on it HARD creating several popping noises as he crushed the bones in Sasuke's hand.
The Uchiha screamed in pain, using his other hand to beat against the blonde's chest, though it seemed almost like a child trying to break away from an adult as Naruto shook his head and spoke "You had a chance to live with and know your family, to make memories with them, good and bad. I never even had that chance. You have no fucking idea how good you have it." He then sent his knee up into the raven haired boy's stomach, the blow making the Uchiha spit up blood and vomit as his legs gave out beneath him.
"Pathetic." Was the only thing that came to Naruto's mind as he tossed aside the Uchiha, like a toy that he had grown tired of playing with. "Better call the match before I really kill him, old man." Naruto spoke as he walked away, earning a nod from the Sandaime.
"Due to Sasuke Uchiha's injuries, Naruto Uzumaki is the clear winner." Hiruzen announced, causing the crowd in the audience to cheer for various reasons including the Uzumaki's mercy and sportsmanship to seeing the arrogant Uchiha getting the stuffing kicked out of him… though there were some that didn't take part in the celebration… mainly the Civilian Council.
"No! I'm an Uchiha… I won't lose… I CAN'T LOSE! NOT UNTIL I KILL ITACHI!" Sasuke screamed as he dug into his tool pouch and threw every Kunai he had at the Jinchuuriki, each one equipped with an explosive tag.
"WATCH OUT!" Came a few shouts from the crowd, mostly Naruto's friends and classmates. In reaction, Naruto donned his armored form just in time as a series of explosions enveloped his body. But he emerged from the smoke unharmed and seriously pissed off. "GET OVER HERE!" The Uzumaki shouted as his right arm formed into a tendril that lashed out, and grabbed the Uchiha by the waist and with one quick yank, Sasuke found himself being quickly pulled into Naruto's waiting arms.
The Uchiha's body slammed hard into Naruto's armor-covered body and the blonde had the Uchiha wrapped in a deathly bear hug. "Don't say I didn't give you a sporting chance." The Jinchuuriki spoke angrily and began to squeeze hard, the sounds of bones crunching being easily heard. Sasuke stared up towards the sky, his eyes and mouth opened wide as his legs twitched uncontrollably as he felt his bones and organs being crushed into paste.
Blood spurted from Sasuke's mouth like a geyser, and after a few more moments his body ceased moving altogether, signaling that he'd expired… and then something strange happened. A series of tendrils shot out from Naruto's body and seemed to be pulling Sasuke's lifeless form into the Uzumaki's making some people shriek at the sight. As this went on, Naruto saw brief flashes of Sasuke's family, of the Uchiha district and the massacre, almost as if he were witnessing everything through Sasuke's own eyes.
At last, Sasuke's body was completely consumed and absorbed into Naruto's body. The Uzumaki himself frozen in place as he looked down at his now empty arms. "Naruto… what did you do?!" Hiruzen asked in shock, never having seen anything like what had just occurred in his long career. While he couldn't fault the boy since this was a clear act of self-defence… he couldn't help but be shocked by the spectacle all the same.
In response, the Uzumaki shed his armor, returning to his normal form once again. He stared at the Hokage with a shocked expression and replied meekly "I don't know… it just happened." The Sandaime nodded in understanding and was about to speak to the boy, to tell him that everything would be fine and that they would figure this out… until the Hokage took notice of something strange… "Naruto-kun… your eyes…"
"What about my eyes?" The blonde asked cluelessly… his usual blue eyes now replaced by a set of Sharingan eyes. After a few more moments of shock, the entire arena broke out into pandemonium, demanding answers for what just happened and how the Jinchuuriki 'ate the Uchiha'. Both Naruto and Hiruzen looked towards the shocked and panicked crowds, and unfortunately they had no answers to give.
"Anbu." The Hokage signaled, prompting his trusted guards to appear, bowing to him on one knee which prompted him to speak "Take Naruto-kun to my private residence, see to it he is kept safe, healthy and fed until this mess is sorted out. I think that it's time for an emergency council meeting."
The Anbu nodded in understanding, with Neko taking the lead as she approached the blonde and they all vanished in swirls of leaves, leaving behind the Sandaime to run damage control over this unexpected turn of events. If he had to take a guess, it would seem that they had misinterpreted Naruto's abilities altogether. It wasn't necessarily of a shape-changing nature, but also that of a parasitic nature. If he was correct, then Naruto had somehow accidentally absorbed Sasuke's body and incidentally the Sharingan with it.
If that were the case… then Naruto would be facing far greater threats than just an outraged Civilian council. One in particular would jealously seek out Naruto for his abilities. Meanwhile… a certain snake Sannin was sneezing loudly.
End chapter one.
Next potential updates:
Master's and Chains.
Witch Doctor V2.
Avalon, (Naruto x Smash bros x multixover)
BT: Paradox.