Hello! This is my first chapter in a work that I hope to be proud of one day. I've compiled a bunch of different ideas from other fanfics that I have enjoyed. Without further ado I will let you dive into the story. Also I hope you're having a great day/night (and if you're like me then you're reading this at 3 AM) and I hope you enjoy the story. Oh and also, here is a key:
-ttebayo= ya know
Dattebayo= believe it
There will be references in this story, several, in fact. You will see references including, but not limited to OPM, Haikyu, MBMBAM, and The Adventure Zone. If you spot a reference, point it out! It'll be a fun game.
Try not to take this story too seriously. If there is a serious part, trust me, you will know.
Enjoy!
To earn great power, one must experience tremendous pain.
The air stirs,
a boy rests on a cloth bag.
He turns to one side,
then the other,
over and over.
He can't get to sleep.
Something just isn't right!
-
Naruto slowly rose from his usual resting place in the shack that he'd been staying in. He had always been a kind and selfless boy, and he lived far away as to not upset any of the other villagers.
As naruto was finding out, even the most selfless of people get hungry. "So much for being generous," Naruto thought out loud, "Doesn't get you much ramen at 2 in the morning."
At the young age of seven, his skill in hunting and tracking was rather adept- he even boasted it being "On par with the alpha wolf." This was obviously not the case. Alpha wolves are also just a myth, so it's a farce on multiple levels.
Most of the days flew by as he attempted to set up snares in the wilderness. The lack of wild fruits and vegetables being caught by his faulty traps usually led to him taking the easy route and fishing instead. The scratches and scrapes he earned throughout the day would usually hinder anyone's ability to fish. However, most people don't have an inhuman healing factor.
This week had faired differently than usual for Naruto. During the day, the rivers and snares all ran dry of food for the boy. This had been the same for the past couple days, as his tremendously noisy stomach would tell you. He set off into the forest to search for a possible midnight snack.
The forest was beautiful tonight. Pale, faint streaks of moonlight breached the treetops. The slight breeze blew the leaves and foliage on the ground in circles around the boy. He found his log overlooking the shimmering blue pond, laying atop it to look at the stars, "A break is in order," Naruto reasoned. Truth be told, Naruto walked this way on purpose- just so he could sit in his special spot.
As he stared up at the sky, he noticed that the moon was almost full.
'Thank god it's not,' Naruto thought to himself.
The full moon is a... bad omen for Naruto.
Leaves swirled around him, although now it wasn't because of the wind. An anbu agent in a dog mask appeared before him and spoke, "Lord Danzo asked for you."
Naruto wasn't an expert tracker for no reason.
The brain of a young child has incredibly high plasticity, allowing for things like learning languages to be remarkably easy for young children. Naruto was no different than said young children, however his early years were used to learn ninja skills instead of Spanish. Beginning at the age of two, Naruto was trained in root by Danzō himself. He was not trained on a whim. However, but that is a tale for another day.
Tl;dr, Naruto was a seasoned anbu vet. And he's seven! The ninja world is one filled with rather outrageous stories.
"Right now?" Naruto looked for a response, receiving one he didn't want: A nod. "Oh well. Can't be helped I suppose." Despite the sharp discomfort in his belly, he was enjoying himself, and wished to continue to spend time there, "I'll start making my way over. Thank you for notifying me, dog-san."
Naruto also knew better than to actively disobey Danzō for no reason, even if he's (supposedly) nicer now than before. Naruto still wasn't too sure. I mean, making seven year old kids wake up at 5 AM?! Can you really get worse than that?!
Yikes.
Naruto opted to take the scenic route to the main root base. He was in no rush, and also feeling pretty rebellious. This would stick it to Danzō!
The Root and Danzō Naruto knew were not what they used to be. Long gone were the days of the emotionless shinobi tools used to fulfill the mission at any means possible. Naruto had changed Danzō's way of thinking over the years to that of accepting and nourishing bonds between surrogate brothers. Root turned from a predatory organization known for forcing children away from their families at a young age, to the village's most prosperous, respected, and well kept orphanages.
Now, to be completely fair, child soldiers were still being created, just in more... humane ways. Usually you don't see "Child soldiers" and "humane" in the same sentence, but Danzō found a way.
Naruto set out on his journey only to be stopped in his tracks by a sudden sensation felt in his eyes.
This was a familiar feeling. One Naruto only had when someone with truly hateful intentions was near.
Soon after the sudden sensation, Naruto heard a shuffling far off in the trees, along the snapping of twigs.
Naruto knew this took priority over Danzō's summons. What if it was some sort of thief? Or even worse...
If he was going to be the Hokage one day, he couldn't let himself be plagued with the 'what-ifs.'
Naruto followed the sound deep into the woods and stuck close behind.
-
The rustling in front of him stopped after about 10 minutes of running through the forest towards the border. He had only recognized one scent, which piqued his interest even more...
'A... Hyūga?' He rationalized in his mind, 'What's going on here?'
"Damn," Naruto heard from in front of him, "I knew it couldn't be that easy," the assailant taunted him, assuming it was some regular shinobi or anbu, and continued, "Might as well show yourself, just to get it over w-" he was cut off by a slight rustling in the bushes in front of him, stepping back and drawing a kunai, "Another for the slaughter, eh boys?" His two thugs gave a grunt.
"The Stone and the Leaf aren't necessarily on the best terms," a voice, seemingly coming from all around the forest whispered, "I would guess that you're not here to have tea... right?" Upon this question, a single fox pranced out of the bushes. The Iwa shinobi stepped back bracing in fear.
It was a well known legend across the entire nation that those who were on bad terms with the foxes of the leaf did not live very long. Inari, the god of foxes, protected this land. "The foxes decide," was an adopted saying of the leaf.
Inari-sama wasn't necessarily a fan of kidnappers.
A small masked figure leapt down behind them, the side of his fist slamming into the back of the middle one's head, knocking them out.
The two remaining criminals searched wildly around the forest, looking for any glimpse of the new assailant. Without warning, another of the men fell.
The sole remaining iwa shinobi watched as his ally was violently slammed into the dirt. He leapt back to a nearby tree and began to search for the fox boy. He was interrupted when he felt a fist collide with his neck and then nothing else after that.
Naruto shed his mask and landed in front of the still walking Hinata Hyūga.
"Are you hurt?" The boy asked.
Hinata immediately looked up. She stared into the boys red- wait -blue? She stared into the boy's blue eyes. She smiled at the sight. The eyes were calm and caring.
She felt like she was being hugged.
She started to fall and the boy rushed in to catch her. She looked up and saw the boy, illuminated by the moonlight, eyes closed, a beaming smile shone down on her, "I came to save you. Everything will be all right."
She stared for a moment, feeling herself slowly losing her grip on consciousness, "Ano..."
It was both fortunate and unfortunate that the event was interrupted: "HINATA! Oh thank every god above- We were so worried!" Lord Hiashi Hyūga explained, filled with relief.
"Ohayo! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, I saved Hinata here-ttebayo," Naruto let out a soft chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Hiashi practically ran over the boy, not noticing the man directly 5 feet in front of him, lying motionless, and a second body two feet from the first.
Naruto opened his mouth as Hiashi interjected, ignoring the boys attempt to explain, "Hinata are you okay? What happened? Please tell me everything." Hiashi rambled.
Hinata twiddled her fingers and explained the whole situation, "and then after all of that, he- he stopped them," She blushed as she pointed to Naruto.
Hiashi looked over to Naruto, "You stopped them?" It seemed unbelievable, this child the same age as hinata had tracked down a group of specially trained foreign infiltration units. It seemed unbelievable, up until he saw a fox mask clipped to his waist along with a fox snuggled up to the boy. After that, it made some sense.
But not a lot.
Hiashi was just left with several more questions, "What was your name, boy?"
"Naruto Uzumaki! I said it earlier. Dattebayo, you old coot!"
The branch family members flinched at the sudden insult. Hinata's eyes widened in fear. She had seen her father mad before. She just hoped Naruto would be okay. Hiashi leaned close and squinted at the boy.
Naruto squinted back, "What are you doing? Do you want a kiss or something?"
Audible gasps could be heard from the branch family.
Hiashi broke into laughter, "OH! It was so hard to keep a straight face," he clapped an arm on Naruto's shoulder, "Tell me, boy-"
"Hey quit calling me 'boy'-ttebayo! I already told you my name. Twice," he brushed the hand off his shoulder. Hiashi merely continued to smile.
"Very well," Hiashi stood up and brushed himself off, "Girl, tell me this," Naruto groaned. That wasn't what he meant, "Is what my daughter said true?"
"Dattebayo," Naruto grumbled, mimicking Hiashi and brushing himself off, "Well, at least the stuff about me saving her," he conceded. He couldn't really attest to her being kidnapped and... well he kinda wasn't paying attention to the rest of the stuff the girl had said.
"Hm," Hiashi said as he rubbed his chin, "I suppose it would be only fair to walk you home," Naruto's face contorted into a sort of cringe, "Where do you live, child?"
Naruto growled, forgetting about his embarrassment, "I live in a shack over that way," he pointed, "Don't call me child either."
"Sorry, fella," Naruto rolled his eyes, "I don't think a shack will do. You will stay at our residence for the night."
Hinata's face lit up, before quickly falling blank and losing consciousness. A branch bodyguard caught her.
"Sorry, but I gotta talk to Danzō. He said he needed to see me. Besides, I don't really want to," Naruto started to walk off.
Hiashi grabbed his shoulder, "I'll clear it with Danzō," Hiashi leaned in, "I would feel much safer if Inari-sama was watching over my daughter."
A smirk crossed Naruto's face, "What are you talking about? Inari is always watching over everyone in the leaf. And this," he gestured to the mask, "Is only a cool souvenir. I'm just your average root trainee," he threw his arms behind his head, "A normal shinobi." A fox let out a low growl, "I wouldn't go spreading rumors now, Hyūga-sama."
A larger growl followed his statement. Hiashi and his branch family body guards stood at attention.
"Oh uhhh," Naruto chuckled, "I think I'm just hungry."
——————
Hello! This is my first chapter in a work that I hope to be proud of one day. I've compiled a bunch of different ideas from other fanfics that I have enjoyed. Without further ado I will let you dive into the story. Also I hope you're having a great day/night (and if you're like me then you're reading this at 3 AM) and I hope you enjoy the story.
The stuff in bold before the poem is important. But I'm sure I don't have to tell you that.