Prologue
Naruto - six years old
All throughout Konoha the heavy rain battering buildings could be heard. There was more rainfall than normal, but it was nothing to be afraid of. In fact, the farmers cherished this opportunity to grow their crops.
Still, most people decided to stay home and spend time with their families. Getting sick from the rain would be a bad idea… is what one would normally think, but that was not the case today. Completely disregarding any chances of receiving a fever or ruining their clothes by haphazardly running through the mud that marred the ground were dozens of adults swarming the normally peaceful streets of Konoha.
Why, you ask? They all had a common goal … or target to be more specific. A few metres ahead of the swarming mob was a haggard and worn-down child trying his hardest to put even a few more feet of distance between himself and his pursuers. His shirt was white with a red swirl in the center, and he wore black pants. Not that you could tell - he was so muddy and bruised that his clothes were now dyed brown and red. Anyone viewing this barbaric scene would feel absolutely repulsed, rightfully so, but the onlookers in the village hidden in the leaves didn't even bat an eye. Anbu, jonin, chunin, and even genin completely ignored the horrific scene in front of them.
'Why… why me...?' thought the boy named Naruto as he continued dashing through the street. When he saw the new special model of the three-pronged kunai in the window of a store but couldn't afford it (not that it would've mattered - the owner would've kicked him out either way) he didn't ask for anything. When he smelled the new special limited-time barbeque dish and could hear the rumbling of his stomach (he couldn't get the food - since he would've gotten kicked out either way) he didn't ask for anything. When he felt the pain in his heart from seeing all the kids leave the park with their families - he didn't ask for anything (since nothing would change).
'It's not fair' … Naruto could not understand why everyone seemed to despise him so much. He never did anything wrong so why did he suffer the wrath of just about everyone he seemed to meet? He didn't have to think about the answer to that question much longer, as the truth soon came in the form of one villager's very loud remark…
"JUST WAIT TILL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU DEMON FOX" shouted one man carrying a pointy pitchfork.
The good news was that Naruto no longer had to keep running as the anbu finally took action. One with a fox mask and one with a badger mask quickly swept in and apprehended the man who revealed the 'S-class secret', he would be dealt with later-on. Amidst all this chaos the boy managed to slip away and the mob could no longer continue their hunt.
Trying desperately to catch his breath was Naruto as he sneakily made his way to his dilapidated apartment. Normally he would've been exasperated over having to treat his wounds with whatever leftover medicine and bandages he could find at home, but what he had just heard completely took over the thoughts in his mind.
'Demon fox…' those dreadful words kept resounding over and over in his head to the point that it sounded like some cacophony playing on repeat. Now, our protagonist may not have been the smartest kid in his class, but there was only one demon fox that he knew of.
The kyuubi.
The wounds afflicting his body were painful, but they were hard to focus on with the rising apprehension filling his heart.
'Could I be the kyuubi? But no… didn't the fourth hokage defeat it six years ago? YEA that's it! There's no way I would forget that, he's my hero! I know for a fact that he stopped the kyuubi six years ago on October 10!'
Naruto finally stopped limping, but it was not because he had finally reached his apartment. No. It was because the pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together. If what he felt was anxiousness before, it was now at least twice that. Probably even more. The Uzumaki child didn't know how it would've been possible, but the fact that his birthday fell on the same date that the nine-tailed fox was defeated was an eerie coincidence.
When Naruto later learned about the existence of jinchurikis that week in the academy, he wondered how no one else had noticed that the kyuubi didn't have one. Well, maybe Shikmaru noticed but he felt too lazy to keep dwelling on the topic. All that our protagonist thought was 'everyone hates me because of something out of my control? Isn't it because of jinchuriki's that we can live?'
1 year later
Naruto - seven years old
Life hadn't been the same since Naruto found out the truth. He couldn't help but feel even worse about the looks he was receiving and it was starting to get to him. He did have a talk with the hokage shortly after the initial incident however, which did bring him some repeatedly ensured the boy that Naruto never did anything wrong and that he was a hero protecting the village by keeping the kyuubi under control.
'Pfff… if only the villagers also thought that way' thought the blond haired kid as he walked through the streets of konoha during the night. It had gotten late, way too late for a boy his age to still be outside. But it's not like it mattered - no one was at home waiting for him anyway.
The jinchuriki was just about to make it past the Uchiha compound when he heard a scream - multiple screams - that he would never forget. Curiosity getting the better of him, our spiky-haired protagonist peered over the walls surrounding the clans housing, and the sight in front of him was truly horrific.
Laid across the ground were dozens upon dozens of lifeless bodies ranging from all ages. The scene almost made Naruto throw up, but it wouldn't have been the first time. The first time was when he was fed poisoned food by a restaurant owner who initially seemed nice.
Fear kicking in, the Uzumaki child was about to leave when something caught his eye. There were a few silhouettes standing grouped together standing up. He couldn't quite make out their features however,- it was too dark for that. But when they finally stepped out of the shadows he recognized who they were. Not personally, he wasn't sure if he had ever met them, but there was one thing he knew for sure.
They had the konoha ninja headbands on them, and they had just killed an Uchiha child.
Now with the sense of fear doubled, Naruto finally ran back home. He was grateful that he wasn't noticed, most likely because it was hard to notice a small child when there were a bunch of dead bodies and fights going on.
Deciding that he would report the incident tomorrow instead of right away (the streets were too dangerous anway), he went to sleep that night.
And was shocked the next morning in the academy.
Everyone was talking about the Uchiha massacre and how Sasuke was the only survivor. While surprising, the point that caught Naruto's attention the most was the fact that they had a completely different suspect. Itachi, the older brother of Sasuke.
'Is there something going on here that I don't know about? What about the other konoha ninjas that were also part of this? Maybe I didn't see it right… it was pretty dark' Our protagonist wouldn't discover the complete truth to that question until much later, but his faith in konoha and its citizens was decreasing even more.
3 years later
Naruto - ten years old
'History class is so boring…' thought many kids in the academy class during one of Iruka's lessons. Naruto definitely agreed with that sentiment, and was planning to run away from class. Right after he finished a prank of course. But what caught his attention was when Iruka started to speak about the Shinobi World War.
Normally this wouldn't have been interesting for the blond child - dates were really hard to remember - but the topic of why the wars started came up. It was always one small reason or another, one shinobi village didn't like another and would start to fight over it, which resulted in the loss of thousands of lives.
Class wrapped up like normal, if you count no prank from Naruto as normal, and all the students went home excited to play with their friends or go train.
However, Naruto's thoughts were occupied with the earlier discussions. First it was everyone's irrational hatred towards him, then the mystery of the Uchiha massacre, and now he learned that entire villages went to war over revenge in a continuous cycle.
It was disgusting.
But more than that, our protagonist realized something that would change his life forever.
As he walked down the street like normal, ignoring the scornful looks of the villagers, he came across a group of ninja speaking about what seemed to be like Iwagakure ninjas.
"If only we could go and attack Iwagakure right now" spoke one brown haired man with brown eyes and a full beard who looked to be in his early-thirties. He had the signature green vest indicating that he was a chunin.
"I have unfinished business from the last war, I need to get revenge this time" responded another ninja with black hair and a tanto on his back. He had the jonin vest and a scar across his left cheek.
"Honestly, the idea of peace is ridiculous. Even if they forgive us I'll never forgive them until their whole village is burned down" spoke the third ninja with straight blond hair a shade lighter than Naruto's. He was also wearing the jonin vest and had blue eyes, indicating that he was probably from the Yamanaka clan.
"Well we can… oh! What do we have here!" Spoke the chunin as he noticed Naruto trying to discreetly walk by them.
"You know, I was frustrated with the last mission and I need to take out my anger on something" remarked the black haired ninja.
"Come with us, we ninjas would like to spend some time with you…" spoke the Yamanaka to Naruto who could only curse his fate for what was to come.
A few hours and lots of beatings later, Naruto who had limped all the way home was sitting down on his couch. His wounds were severe, but he didn't feel like treating them.
'If I become Hokage can I change this?' thought the blond haired boy 'all this hatred towards me and other people… when will it stop... '
He remembered how the third Hokage always told him about the concept of peace, but what depressed Naruto the most was that even the sensei of the sannin known as "the professor" couldn't do anything to stop the villagers from hating him or wanting to start another war.
Thinking long and hard about it, Naruto realized that there were two things he wanted more than becoming Hokage.
Peace and the destruction of the cycle of hatred and revenge.
This wouldn't be possible normally, but our protagonist decided that one way or another he would accomplish his goals.
With a newfound look of determination, the jinchuriki thought 'I can't change anything unless I become stronger and become a ninja, so that'll be my first goal. After that…
I'll leave the village and unify all the shinobi villages'
And that is how the story of Naruto taking a different route and attempting to bring peace to the shinobi world began. He will meet many new allies and enemies along the way, and start his own group of shinobi rivalling even the akatsuki.
The kurotsuki.
Thanks for reading!
This is my first fanfic so please tell me if there is anything that can be improved or if you have any suggestions.
See you next chapter!