{March 1st, 067}
"First up is Taijutsu!" Daikoku-sensei announced to the two seven-year-olds. "Each of you will spar with me and attempt to land five clean hits within five minutes."
"Yes, Daikoku-sensei," both Itachi and Naruto answered, bowing slightly.
Itachi was first. He entered the ring with his sensei and got into his standard Uchiha Taijutsu stance. At Daikoku-sensei's signal, the young Uchiha heir quickly dashed forward and began launching a chain of attacks. While the standard Uchiha Taijutsu style focuses heavily on counterstrikes, this was a case where Itachi needed to initiate the conflict. He focused on maneuvering his sensei into positions where he was forced to block in order to catch him off balance long enough to land one or more clean hits. Itachi was able to successfully land all five strikes within the first three minutes.
Next up was Naruto. The Uzumaki had a different style, utilizing his incredible speed to quickly overwhelm the defenses of Daikoku-sensei. Focusing on jabs and angled palm thrusts, Naruto scored his five hits in only two.
"Very good," Daikoku panted slightly, wincing. Naruto had gotten quite a serious hit that may leave a bruise on his ribs for a few days. "Next is Ninjutsu. Each of you is required to complete two tasks from the following list; perform the three basic academy jutsu, those being Clone Jutsu, Replacement Jutsu, and the Henge, perform one jutsu of C-rank or higher, or successfully complete the surface clinging exercise."
Once again, Itachi was first. He chose to perform the three academy basics and his own C rank jutsu.
"Clone Jutsu!" Itachi announced, forming four identical clones around him after utilizing the hand seals ram - snake - tiger.
"Good, now the replacement?" Daikoku-sensei nodded, checking off a box.
"Replacement Jutsu!" The main body of Itachi was quickly switched with a nearby log that had been placed there for purposes of the test. For this one, he was able to complete the technique with no hand seals, something that was highly recommended for all ninja to master.
"Very impressive. Now, the henge. Please transform into Lord Hokage."
"Henge," Itachi spoke simply, completing the seals dog - boar - ram, and transforming his appearance to look nigh indistinguishable from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Fourth Hokage.
"Well done. And finally, your C-rank jutsu."
"Fire-style, Grand Fireball Jutsu!" Itachi shouted, quickly sealing snake - ram - monkey - boar - horse - tiger, inhaling until his chest puffed out, and releasing a fireball the size of the sparring ring.
"Incredible!" Daikoku-sensei should have known better than to be surprised by now, but he still was. "I've seen weaker fireball jutsus from ninja twice your age."
"Thank you, sensei," Itachi bowed and switched places with Naruto, fist-bumping him on his way back.
"Alright, Naruto. Which two would you like to complete?"
"The clone can be any type, right, sensei?" Naruto asked.
"Well...yes, I suppose so."
"Then I'll do the three academy basics and a C rank jutsu like Itachi," the redhead said. He formed a cross seal with his hands and announced, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"A-amazing! Where did you learn that?" Daikoku asked in shock. The shadow clone was a forbidden B-rank technique that required Jonin-level chakra reserves to utilize efficiently and without serious danger. And that was just for forming one!
"It was a gift from Kakashi before my parents passed away," the real Naruto answered sadly before shaking his head and continuing. "Replacement Jutsu."
"Henge!" At the same time, his main body was replaced with the log, also without seals, his shadow clone performed the henge and transformed into Daikoku-sensei.
"Remarkable, the both of you," the Chunin instructor said, shaking his head in amazement. "Alright, now we'll head back inside for the Genjutsu and written portions."
"Wait, what about my C-rank?" Naruto asked, dispelling his clone.
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu is a B-rank forbidden jutsu. That more than qualifies," Daikoku-sensei explained.
"I thought I told you that earlier?" Itachi questioned, walking aside the redhead towards the academy. "Don't tell me you forgot already."
"Nah, just wanted to hear him say how impressive it was." Naruto gave a smug smirk while Itachi sighed.
"I'll make sure to tell Anko you're getting a swelled head." Immediately, Naruto went pale. Anko did not like arrogance at all. Which was weird, considering how she carries herself, not that they would ever tell her that. "Let's go, we still have two more portions to go."
{Timeskip}
"Well? Didja pass?" Anko asked the two boys impatiently as she was finally let out for the final day that year.
"What do you think?" Naruto flashed a grin and held up his leaf headband. "Of course we did."
"I believe we performed adequately," Itachi nodded, holding his own headband up with a smile.
"Alright! Let's go get dango to celebrate!" Anko cheered. "And you two are buying!"
"Wait, we're the ones who graduated! Why should we have to pay?" Naruto whined.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the purplenette scolded. "There's a very simple explanation for that. You should both learn this lesson well; it's the most important one you'll ever learn, gotcha?"
Even Itachi seemed reasonably intrigued by what she was going to say.
"It's because I'm a woman!" Anko announced confidently, causing Naruto and Itachi to fall over comically as she walked away. "Now come on! Dango awaits!"
{March 11th, 067}
"Well, you three seem...different," their sensei deadpanned, looking at his three potential genin disciples. "I guess we should introduce ourselves, huh? Dammit, Lord Third, why'd I have to get stuck with these three?"
"You realize [cough] we can still hear you right?" the oldest of the three responded. There was no real annoyance behind the question, more so he was just stating a fact.
"Unfortunately…" their sensei sighed again. "Well, alright, here goes. I'm Kenzo, so you may call me Kenzo-sensei until further notice. I'm twenty-eight years old and a master of leaf-style Kenjutsu. My father was killed in the Second Shinobi War and I fought several battles in the tail end of the Third Shinobi War. I enjoy Kenjutsu spars, drinking with my war buddies, and a good lay. I don't like whiny brats, doing more work than necessary, and other people messing with my swords. My dream for the future is to die honorably in battle rather than in a shoddy old hospital room and to find a worthy apprentice to pass on my swordsmanship to. Frankly, none of you look the part."
"Well, he seems nice…" Naruto grumbled.
"Well then, smart mouth, why don't you go next," Kenzo said, looking straight at Naruto.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki," the redhead introduced. "I'm seven years old and I specialize in high-speed Taijutsu. I like spending time with Itachi and Anko, training, and eating ramen and dango. I dislike people who judge others and people who spend their lives stuck in the past. I don't know what I want to do with my future yet...I guess I'd like to live up to my father's expectations of me and make sure that everyone I love is safe."
"Thrilling," Kenzo sighed. "Uchiha, you next."
"My name is Itachi Uchiha. I'm also seven years old and I specialize in Genjutsu and fire-style Ninjutsu. I enjoy training, spending time with friends and family, and thinking on various existential questions that we've yet to answer. I dislike arrogance, laziness, foolishness, and fangirls. My dream for the future is simple; I wish to live my life protecting the leaf."
"So, we've got some dreaming youngsters with a weird vocabulary," their sensei drawled. "Alright, last one. Least this one's old enough to be worth it…"
"I'm Hayate Gekko," the eldest boy spoke. He had short brown hair that was covered by his leaf headband in a bandanna style, leaving a small patch of bangs to hang over the middle of his face. In addition, he had notable lines under his eyes, wore the standard-issue genin outfit, and had a katana on his back. "I'm twelve years old. I [cough] don't specialize in anything yet, but [cough] I'd like to become a master of Kenjutsu. I like [cough] Kenjutsu, teahouses, and my best friend Yugao. I dislike [cough] people who make fun of my eyes or cough and people who think Kenjutsu is [cough] not worth learning about. My dream is to become a master of leaf-style [cough] Kenjutsu."
"Well...that was interesting...if your file didn't warn me about that, I'd send you home on illness," Kenzo sighed again. This really was not his day. "Alright, well, now that I know who you are, we'll see if you're worth training. And don't think just because I want an apprentice and you want a master means this gives you any better of a chance. You're still not my genin yet."
"I'm not sure I follow," Itachi questioned. "Is this because we graduated early?"
"Man, what's with kids these days and those dead eyes…" he grumbled. "No, that's not it. Graduating from the academy just means you aren't totally hopeless. You may have noticed that the test was rather easy and apparently the civilian council is frequently making requests to make it easier so their children have a chance at graduating. Once you do graduate, you get put onto temporary squads where you have another test."
"So, this is where we are tested to see if we actually become ninja, rather than whether or not we're lost causes. Is that it?" Naruto asked.
"Least you're observant for brats," Kenzo nodded. "That's right. All teams will have their tests bright and early tomorrow morning...well...all teams but you. I have a...standing appointment with a lady friend and don't feel like getting up that early, so we'll have your test now."
"Something tells me he's going to be a really bad influence…" Naruto deadpanned, earning a slight nod from Itachi.
"Alright, head over to the third training ground. If I have to wait longer than five minutes, you all head back to the academy. Now SCRAM!"
{Timeskip}
"Lucky you, but unlucky for me," Kenzo sighed. "I knew I should have made the time shorter…"
"Kenzo-sensei, we ran at full speed," Itachi replied, panting slightly. "I think you beating us here by three minutes isn't that bad."
"You also didn't tell us {cough} where the training ground was, so we had to find it ourselves," coughed Hayate.
"Yeah, well, red made it here two minutes before you two."
"I have a name...and I told you earlier speed is my specialty…" Naruto deadpanned.
"Yeah, whatever. Alright, I'm supposed to have some fancy test to test you on ninja skills or something," Kenzo shrugged noncommittally. "But I don't really care about any of that shit. Just show teamwork, skill, and don't be total idiots, and I'll consider passing you."
"What exactly is our test Kenzo-sensei?" Itachi asked.
"Right...uh…" Kenzo thought for a minute. "How about this? You have...I don't know...an hour to disarm me without any of you being disabled."
"That seems rather simple," the Uchiha pointed out. "Are you sure that's it?"
"Simple, huh?" Kenzo grinned, drawing forth a brilliantly shining katana. "I'll have you know that I haven't been disarmed once since the Third Shinobi War. You have quite the task on your hands, I tell ya."
"Are there any rules to this test?" Naruto asked, glancing at Itachi slightly.
"Let's see...uh...you all have to work together I think," Kenzo hummed. "All of you have to be conscious before, during, and after disarming me, on the off-chance that you actually succeed, and you can't leave the training ground for any reason."
"So, as long as you lose your katana, we pass?" Itachi questioned.
"Man, what's with all the questions," Kenzo groaned. "Yes, now START!"
Quickly, Hayate shot off into the trees while Itachi and Naruto just stood there looking at him.
"What are you two doing? I said start," their sensei said.
"I believe you overestimate this test's difficulty," Itachi sighed. "Naruto?"
"Replacement Jutsu!" Naruto announced, switching places with their sensei's katana.
Itachi walked over and picked up the weapon and just stood there looking at their sensei who was now standing there in shock while holding onto Naruto's shirt. "Does this mean we pass, sensei?"
A thud sounded behind them, which turned out to be Hayate falling out of the tree laughing and coughing.
{Timeskip}
"Hahahahaha~!" Anko was collapsed onto the floor of their kitchen, holding her stomach while she laughed. "Oh, that's just too good!"
"You should have seen the Old Man's face when Kenzo-sensei had to submit his test report. It was something between disappointed, impressed, and amused at the same time," Naruto chuckled. Anko really made this less boring.
"That's rich!" Anko continued to cackle on the ground as she laughed. "Didn't he try to make up an excuse on why not to pass you?"
"Yeah. His reason was one of the rules was that we all had to work together and he tried to claim Hayate didn't help."
"And?"
"We said that he was the distraction."
"..."
"..."
"AHHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA!" With that, Anko was gone again, back to the land of pure and unadulterated laughter.
{April 3rd, 067}
"Almost a month of this...how do they even qualify as missions? It's just manual labor!" Naruto groaned. "And how could one person possibly lose a cat so much? That's just not realistic!"
"One's illusion may be another's reality, Naruto," Itachi told him.
"I have absolutely no idea what that means…"
"Doesn't Anko start at the academy again today?" the Uchiha asked, once again changing the subject.
"Yeah, which is why this 'special' training you got hooked up for us better be quick. I don't want to be late meeting her on the first day." Naruto shivered slightly. "Anko can be...terrifying…"
"You're the one who offered to be her roommate."
"That is entirely beside the point!" the redhead sighed. "Anyway, what exactly is this training anyway?"
"My father believes that I should meet another Uchiha who is five years my senior and begin training with him. Supposedly, he is rather gifted in similar areas to us. His genjutsu is extremely powerful, he has knowledge of all Uchiha clan fire-style ninjutsu, and he is beginning to gain a reputation as Shisui the Teleporter."
"I think I've heard of him before," Naruto mused, thinking for a moment. "Oh, yeah! He's the one that's trying to use the Flying Thunder God of my father by using the Body Flicker, right?"
"I'm not sure if that's exactly what he's attempting to do, but yes, you have the right person," Itachi nodded.
After a bit longer of walking, the duo reached the Uchiha training grounds, where a young teen was waiting for them. He had on the same Uchiha-style high-collared shirt, a tanto strapped to his back, and a leaf headband over his forehead. He even had lines under his eyes that looked rather similar to Itachi's own.
"He looks like your twin," Naruto whispered as they approached him.
"He is rather...similar…"
"Hey, you're Itachi, right?" Shisui greeted. "Fugaku told me you'd be here. I'm Shisui. I wasn't told about you, redhead, what's your name?"
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, Itachi's best friend," the Uzumaki replied, shaking the young ninja's hand.
"Oh, right, I remember you! You're Lord Fourth's kid!" Shisui grinned. "Well, if Itachi says it's alright, I have no problems working with both of you."
"That's what I was going to request. If you'll accept both of us to train with, I'd appreciate it," Itachi bowed.
"Sounds good to me! Let's see what the two of you have got!" Shisui grinned.
{June 6th, 067}
"Zzzz…dango...zzzz...stabbing….zzzz…my dango…" Anko snored from the couch as Naruto was trying to focus.
"I swear…" Naruto groaned, slamming his forehead on the table. "How am I supposed to learn any of this with all of that noise!"
Kenzo-sensei had finally begun to warm up to the trio of genin and was actually training them. Hayate had impressed him with his dedication to Kenjutsu and was officially made his apprentice, thus got most of Kenzo's attention, but Itachi and Naruto were given separate tasks to focus on when he wasn't with them. That, in addition to the immense help they got from Shisui, who they quickly became exceptionally close friends with, made their progress continue at an impressive rate.
Naruto was given a basic book on sealing techniques, as, according to Kenzo-sensei, the Uzumaki clan were world-renowned Fuinjutsu specialists. It turned out, however, that the entire world wasn't wrong and the practice was, as Kenzo-sensei described, harder than the male populace after a new volume of Icha Icha came out. Needless to say, Naruto was struggling with his studies and the snoring of Anko was not helping.
"Zzzz…Naruto…" The redhead perked up at this. Potential blackmail was always welcomed. "Zzz...target practice...zzzzz...hehe...zzzz...redheaded porcupine…"
Naruto gained an annoyed tick-mark on his forehead and stomped over to the sleeping academy student, hoisted her over his shoulder, and proceeded upstairs to unceremoniously dump her in bed before slamming the door closed and stomping back downstairs as she continued to snore.
"Zzz...Itachi help….zzz...Naruto's getting away...zzzzzz…."
Returning to the book on sealing, Naruto continued to read and practice long into the night. First, he had to start learning all the symbols and designs, as well as what they did. Then he had to learn how to write them. Now, this sounds easy, but it wasn't just learning how to write them, no. He had to learn to write them perfectly. It's like tracing a drawing but by memory and the drawing was painted by a drunk mathematician who lost a dare and had to invent new shapes. That's not even mentioning that it wasn't a drawing of anything specific and there were hundreds of them that all did different things by themselves, let alone when they were connected to each other, so...yeah...it was hard.
Four hours later, Naruto fell asleep, snoring just as Anko had earlier that evening.
{Naruto's Mindscape}
The redhead woke up in a shallow puddle of water, but was, oddly enough, still completely dry, though he had no idea where he was or how he got there.
"Where the hell…" Naruto grumbled, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "If this is a prank by Anko…"
He looked around trying to get his bearings but the only things he could see made everything more confusing, rather than more easily understood. The walls were lined with strange piping and the ceilings dripped water. There were hallways everywhere, but each one seemed to just go to some dark and unknown abyss.
That was, of course, until a loud growl began to echo throughout the tunnels. It bounced off the walls with a hollow and demonic timbre, sending a slight shiver down his spine.
"Why am I walking towards whatever made that noise? This is the worst idea I've ever had. I really should stop. This is terrible-" Naruto continued to ramble quickly to himself as he continued to follow the hallways towards that terrifying growl. None of it really made sense, it was more of a confused babble to acknowledge to himself that he didn't understand why he was doing what he was doing, just that he understood that he was doing it.
Until that is, Naruto reached a very large room. In the middle of the room was what looked like a massive prison cell, with ornately decorated gates holding thick bars of what was likely some sort of steel. In the center, there was a mall sheet of paper stuck over where he assumed the two gates met which had a symbol on it. He recognized it as '判' as it meant 'seal' in the Fuinjutsu language.
"Don't tell me…" Naruto whispered, eyes widening as he seemed to finally realize where he was.
"So," the deep voice spoke, the tone gravelly and angered. "My jailer comes to visit me, does he? Very well, human. What do you want with me and what will it take for you to leave me to my slumber?"
"You're…" Naruto whispered. "The Nine-Tailed Fox…"
"An observant one," the fox answered sarcastically. Naruto watched as a single, massive, red-slitted eye opened in the murky darkness of the cage. "If you're simply here to gawk at me like some street performance, leave my presence."
"You...you're the one who attacked my village…" Naruto said softly. "And...and killed both of my parents…"
"And? Killing worthless humans is a pastime of mine. Your sob story does not amuse me."
"But...I don't feel angry." The fox raised an eyebrow at this. "Is it because of what my father said? Is what he said true?"
"I find speaking with worthless humans boring, though I will say that even if I didn't, I have no idea what you're talking about," the fox grumbled.
"My father...he said that it wasn't your fault. That you didn't mean to attack the village and someone forced you to. He told me that he wanted me to forgive you...and to stop the hatred...but I didn't really know what he meant…" Naruto spoke again. "Do you understand?"
"I think he wanted you to give me your body so I may tear apart your flesh and kill everyone you hold dear."
"For a fox you aren't very clever…" Naruto deadpanned. The fox growled in response but said nothing. "So...now what?"
"You either grant me access to destroy that worthless village and all the humans in it, or you leave me alone in peace."
"Is that what you want? Just to stay locked away in this cage sleeping?"
"I already told you what I want."
"You know what I mean," Naruto sighed, sitting down. "Gahhh! This is confusing! I'm talking to the creature-actually, what exactly are you?"
"I'm the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox! Kyuubi!"
"Right, I know that, but like...what is that...exactly. Creature sounds demeaning, monster sounds even worse, and you aren't really a fox...probably…"
"You really are stupid, you know that?" The fox grinned slightly at the shout of 'hey!' from the boy. This one was interesting to him, much more so than those other two who simply told him to stay put and stay silent. "I'm the Nine-Tails, one of the nine Tailed Beasts in the world."
"And...what exactly...does that mean?" Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "I don't really know anything about that."
"Humans really are still just as stupid…"
"I'M SEVEN YEARS OLD!"
"We tailed beasts are conscious constructs made out of pure chakra," the fox explained. "And I, the Kyuubi, am the strongest of all of them. My so-called siblings are weaklings in comparison."
"Well, that's pretty cool...I guess. So, is it like, your power is based on your tails or something like that?"
"You're observant for a whelp."
"Gee, thanks…" Naruto deadpanned. "So, how exactly did you come about?"
"What?"
"Well, chakra doesn't just get consciousness out of nowhere, right? Where did yours come from?"
"Why would I tell some lowly human such as yourself?"
"I was just trying to make conversation, sheesh." The fox said nothing, but huffed in annoyance. "So-"
"How much longer must you disturb my slumber, foolish human. I could rip the flesh and meat from your bones before you could so much as scream."
"What's your point? So could most of the Jonin in our village," Naruto shrugged. "I figured we should work something out, right?"
"And what does that mean, human?"
"Well, we're stuck with each other, right? If I let you out, you'll kill a bunch of innocent people-"
"And you'll die."
"Again with the 'not clever' thing. You could have just tried to get me to believe you'd leave my village alone and I might have let you out…"
"What need have I to do something like that? I'm the ultimate being, the Nine-Tailed Fox! I can simply devour you."
"Right...anyway...that kinda means we're stuck together. Shouldn't we work something out that's mutually beneficial?"
"What could you possibly offer me in exchange for the power of the strongest being in all of the world? This is a mindscape not a physical place, anyway, so even if you had something I could feasibly desire, you could not give it to me."
"Wait, this is a mindscape?"
"Where did you think you were?"
"...point taken…" Naruto thought for a moment. "Well, for starters, how about I get rid of this stupid sewer. It's rather revolting, I think."
"Foolish human, you can't just-" the fox was cut off by the piped walls slowly disappearing and the bars of the cage following suit. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, HUMAN?!"
"There, all done!" Naruto announced as he opened his eyes again. Grinning at the giant fox who was now revealed in all his nine-tailed glory, the two looked around at a scarily accurate representation of the Hidden Leaf Village. "How's this?"
"It's better than that vile sewer…" the fox grumbled. "However, now that the cage is gone…"
"Yeah, the cage was just a physical representation of the seal, you know."
"All I'm hearing is tear the meat from your bones!" the fox roared, charging Naruto only to run face-first into a sealing array that surrounded the boy.
"See? I tried to tell you. I just changed your cage. I'm still outside of it, but I can make it into anything I want. Is this ok?"
"This is...acceptable…" the fox huffed, trying not to be embarrassed at the fact that he ran face-first into a wall.
"Awesome! So, does this mean we can be friends?"
"Friends? I'm not sure I'm familiar with the concept."
"You know...err...it's hard to explain…" Naruto scratched his head. "It's sort of like we interact with each other and enjoy it, we support each other in doing things we want to do, and we help each other out."
"So, in other words, you want my power. Begone, human, I'm not interested in this strange deal you've invented to trick me."
"How do you NOT know what a friend is? Aren't you inside my mindscape?"
"I'm sealed inside of you, foolish human! What do you think, I'm just allowed access to your mind? I'd take it over if I was and destroy the world!"
"You're...really unnecessarily violent...you know that?"
"I'M THE-"
"Nine-Tailed Fox, the strongest being in the world, you said that already," Naruto sighed. "But you don't know what a friend is. I guess I'll have to show you then, won't I? If this is what my dad wanted, then I'll try extra hard."
"If you wish to try to pull your tomfoolery over me, human, you may certainly try. Just know the moment you slip up, I'll be there to devour you whole."
"Right, right, of course," Naruto waved him off. "Anyway, how do I come back here to talk to you?"
"Oh, it's rather simple."
"Really?"
"YOU DON'T!"
{Outside}
"AAHHH~!" Naruto shouted as he suddenly shot awake. "Wait, Anko...what are you doing?"
"Er…" Anko chuckled awkwardly. "Nothing?"
Sure enough, as Naruto shot awake from his meeting with the fox, he opened his eyes to Anko, whose face was about two inches from his own.
"EW! WERE YOU GONNA KISS-"
"IDIOT!" Anko slammed her fist over his head, blushing. "I WAS GONNA PAINT STUFF ON YOUR FACE! DON'T BE GROSS!"
"Ow~," Naruto whined. "That hurt~!"
"Well, don't say stupid stuff like that!" Anko huffed.
"Well sorry, you were-wait...DID YOU SAY YOU WERE GONNA PAINT ON MY FACE?"
"Er…I gotta go, Hana is waiting for me andifIdon'tleavesoonI'llbelatebye!" she said quickly and raced off out of the house.
"DAMMIT, ANKO!" Naruto groaned and left to go check his face to make sure she didn't get anything on his face. 'Well, at least I woke up before she started... Anyway, what the heck was up with the fox? Is he bipolar or something? He kept shifting from bored to angry and even was relatively friendly occasionally...and he didn't even try to trick me!'
"Naruto?" the redhead heard coming from outside as a knocking sound came from the door. "Anko just took off, are you alright?"
"I'll be out in a minute, Itachi!" Naruto yelled. 'I'll deal with the fox later, I guess...he doesn't seem that bad when he's not in a bloodthirsty mood. Maybe you were right, Dad. Maybe we can be friends.'
{October 10th, 067}
"Dammit, where is he?" Anko demanded, stomping around the house. "I spent all this time getting everyone together and he thinks he can just skip it? Well, he's got another thing coming if he thinks that!"
"I told you already, Anko, Naruto likely wouldn't be home today," Itachi told her. "That's what happened last year. He spent the entire day at the graveyard."
"Well, I'm going to get him then! We're celebrating his birthday and that's that, dammit! I didn't invite everyone for nothing!" Anko complained as she stormed off.
"She does realize that we're the only ones here, right?" Itachi asked the other two. "And that you are her friend and have never met Naruto before?"
"I'm just here for the cake," the girl, named Hana Inuzuka, shrugged.
"I just hope Naruto forgives me for letting her out like this," Itachi sighed.
{Meanwhile - Naruto's Mindscape}
"You...did some redecorating…" Naruto observed, glancing around at the pile of smoldering rubble that was once the Leaf Village.
"Oh, this? It's been like this since the last time you came."
"I've only been here once!"
"Why do you think you're here again? I want you to rebuild it so I can destroy it again. Chop chop, human."
"You realize...what today is, right?" Naruto said sadly. "Today is the day that you were sent to attack us...and the day you killed my parents…"
"And?"
"You could try to be a little more sensitive, Kyuubi," Naruto commented dejectedly. "I know you don't care at all, but they were my parents. Whether I understand your reasons for killing them or not, it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, ok? Didn't you have someone you cared about like that? Ever?"
"Tch. Like I would tell you."
"I knew you would. Just try to think how you'd feel if I killed that special someone, even for good reason."
"I'd have you flayed and burned while rats and vultures devoured your innards and your soul was broiling in the Shinigami's stomach before you could even think about it," the fox growled, showing more anger and killing intent than he ever had before.
"S-see?" Naruto shivered, which was impressive, considering how much killing intent was actually being thrown around. "So you can understand a little of how I feel, right?"
"...I don't particularly feel that it's worth trying to understand how a human feels, but if you could reform my playpen for me, I will consider refraining."
"I appreciate that," Naruto let out a mirthless chuckle and started to reform the village. 'To think...it's been two years since they died...and here I am chuckling about it with their killer... Dad? Mom? Please forgive me…'
"Now that's better!" the fox declared, smirking evilly at the village. "Well done, human. You may go now."
"Wait! I want to know how to come back here!" Naruto protested.
"Why?"
"I said last time. My father wished for me to end the hatred. I think he wanted us to be friends."
"And I told you that I don't believe in your human trickery. We had this discussion, human. Don't tell me your memory is really so weak."
"How about I show you what friendship is? Then you can rethink it."
"And how do you plan on doing that, human?"
"This is my mind, right? I can do whatever I want here. So, if I do this...and add a little of that...we should get…" A moment later, a very large television started coming up from the ground.
"What in the blazes-?"
"There!" Naruto panted lightly. "Now you can watch my life whenever you get bored!"
"Why on earth would I care about that…" the fox deadpanned.
"It could be entertaining and you can learn about what being friends is about. I don't...really have that many...but I have Itachi, Anko, and Shisui. They're my best friends ever. I guess Hayate is my friend, too, and I have the Old Man and Kakashi...wherever he is…"
"You humans give out names so easily," the fox huffed.
"Does that mean you have a name?"
"Worthless human, why would I even answer that question?"
"I'll take that as a yes," Naruto grinned cheekily, earning a growl from the fox. "Well, one day, you can tell me and then I'll call you by your name. It must get old being called 'demon fox' all the time."
"Like you would have any idea."
"I can't pretend to understand you, Kyuubi, but I can try. When we're friends, I'll do what I can to help you out."
"If."
"When."
"IF."
"WHEN."
"Tch. Begone, human."
"Wait, how do I get back! You didn't tell me yet!"
"Figure it out!" the fox barked before expelling the redhead from his prison. "Now, DESTRUCTION TIME! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
{Outside}
"NARUTO! NARUTO~!" Anko called, searching all over the place. "Dammit, where is he?"
"Anko?" Naruto asked, approaching the purple-haired academy student. "What are you doing here?"
"Idiot! I'm coming to get you! You've been here all day, it's time to come back!" Anko scolded.
"I'd...rather stay here...if you don't mind…" Naruto admitted quietly. "I want to spend some more time with them."
"But today's your birthday!"
"Is it? Oh yeah, I guess I forgot," he chuckled sheepishly.
"Idiot, that means come back to the house so we can celebrate!" Anko groaned. "I got everyone together and you are not making me waste all that effort!"
"Everyone? The Old Man?"
"Er…"
"Teuchi? Hayate? Ayame? Kakashi? Shisui?"
"I don't really know any of them, so I brought Itachi and Hana," she chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry."
"So, you brought your friends over…" he deadpanned.
"Hey! At least I tried!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean that you didn't," Naruto sighed. "Thanks. I appreciate you trying. Really, it means...it means a lot to me."
"Whatever, now are you coming or not?"
"Sure, I guess. You put a lot of effort into asking those two people to come over, didn't you?"
"Shut up!" Anko shouted. "I don't suppose we could pick up some dango on the way back, do you?"
Naruto laughed and started walking. "Anko, I don't know why I put up with you."
They continued bickering lightly as they walked off towards town, neither noticing the masked figure watching them from the nearby trees. 'At least he found someone, sensei... I'll make it up to him someday...I swear…'