Okay, I apologize for another Edit. But this Chapter needed some work after I practically RUSHED it out. This will be done much different than what you got before, BUUUT. Most of the Events of this Chapter will be retained. The previous version will be Exported back to my Doc Manager with the first, (thankfully the Docs last a year now instead of 30 days back when I remember making my Account). I realized the way I introduced the Bijuu was... Too fast, too soon. I need to fix this before I completely break what I intend to produce and have to force-stop once again.

Chapter Two: Stepping unto the Diverging Path

(Flashback – Within the Mindscape)

Naruto groaned as he sat up, looking around. "W-where am I?" He asked, somewhat scared as he noticed the draining water in a sewer system. He moved to stand up, frowning as he checked behind him. There was a path forward or back, and he didn't know where he was. "Did... Is this..." He frowned more. "Have I died, like those people wanted me to?" He wondered quietly. Before he started to wander the sewers, searching for a way out.

…

"I am the Kyuubi no Yoko you heard about." Said the large looking fox looming behind the cage Naruto stood before, having wandered towards it and spoken for a while.

"Agh! Please don't eat me!" Naruto exclaimed, cowering back and almost turning to run.

"Eat you? Don't be silly. Even if I did, and could, right now it would kill me as well when you die."

Naruto still shivered, staring up at the bright red eyes of the fox that glowed with great forceful power. "So... I'm still alive?" He asked warily, still unsure if the Kyuubi wouldn't eat him or would.

The fox let out a snort, and chuckled. "Of course you are brat. You are only here because I had to actively save your life in order to save mine, It is an unintended consequence."

"Oh... So they did attack me..." Naruto hung his head.

The Kyuubi stared down at Naruto before letting out another snort. "Yes, they did. And it was because they think you are me. Honestly, you ningen are such sheep."

Naruto just stared up at the fox, blinking slowly.

"Pfft...Whatever. For now, I shall grant you a boon to better save the both of us. Hold still."

"Ah? What do you mean, what are you going to do?"

"Forcibly expand your Chakra Coils. It will hurt, and it will ruin your Chakra Control later on for the most part. However I'm not sure what other consequences this could have upon you. Now... As I told you." The Kyuubi's eyes glowed a dark menacing tone. "Hold still!" With an intense flare of its power, red Chakra seeped through the gate of the cage the fox resided within. Coiling, twisting, and bubbling the power surrounded Naruto whose mouth opened in a silent scream as his skin also began to bubble and boil from the contact. After just a minute, which felt to last for hours to Naruto, the flow of Chakra ceased and withdrew back within the Gate as Naruto lay face down on the ground.

"I am sorry kit..." The Kyuubi whispered while he lay there. "Not that you can hear me."

(End Flashback – The Next Day)

Itachi leaned against the wall of the office, eyes closed and seemingly asleep. Naruto almost lay on his lap, laying over a cloak but under a warm blanket. The Uchiha's eyes snapped open as he heard a groan and looked down at the blond as he started to sit up and groaned again.

"Nnng..."

Itachi touched Naruto's shoulder, moving away as he pushed the blond back down to laying. "Take it easy Naruto-kun." He said gently. "You need to relax."

"Itachi-niisan!" Naruto exclaimed as he stared up at the black haired and eyed friend he made. "Umm... Where am I?"

Itachi blinked slightly, before looking down at the mask resting on the couch nearby. "Well... I'd normally chide you for that, but it seems I left my mask off anyways." But then he chuckled warmly. "But you are in the Hokage's office, and it is just you and me currently. How are you feeling?"

"I... Guess I'm okay." Naruto rubbed his chest. "Where is Jiji?"

Itachi smiled slightly. "Off in another meeting to scold the civilian council." Possibly for the obvious mob attack that was organized against you.

"Oh." Naruto frowned. "Can I go home?"

Itachi hummed in response, poking Naruto's chest lightly. When he didn't hear an outburst of pain he nodded and stood up. "You can go home now if you want. I'll go with you to make sure you get there." Safely.

Naruto beamed up at Itachi. "Okay! Can we get Ramen along the way?"

Itachi couldn't help but laugh heartily and patted Naruto's shoulder. "Of course! Lets go, and I'm sure you're very hungry right now." He smiled encouragingly at Naruto, grabbing his mask and placing it in his shirt to hide it away. He helped the blond to his feet, and then they left the Office to depart for Naruto's favorite ramen place.

(At Ichiraku's)

"Oi, Teuchi, another bowl of miso!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Sheesh..." Itachi stared in what could only be awe, amazement, and mild dread, at the building pile of bowls. "How can you eat so much?"

Naruto looked over at Itachi, before shrugging. "I dunno, I just feel like I have to eat as much as I can." Or not at all... He thought to himself.

Itachi shook his head lightly, but smiled all the same. "Well... Try not to make me broke now."

(At Naruto's apartment)

Itachi sighed wistfully as he patted his rather depleted wallet, and opened the door into Naruto's home. He grimaced at the sight of the top floor completely abandoned and empty of anyone else. Debris and trash lined the hallway. How can he live like this? I should return to the Hokage and inform him Naruto's stipend must be depleted again. He began to walk towards the window.

"Niisan?"

Itachi paused, having opened the window to look back over at Naruto. "What is it otōto?"

The blond hesitated, frowning as he shuffled his feet. He looked down, hanging his head. "Why do people call me a demon?"

Itachi hesitated, his heart wrenching and frowning deeply. "I... I cannot tell you Naruto-kun... Not yet." He frowned more as Naruto seemed to become more dejected. "I... I'll ask the Hokage for permission to tell you, hopefully soon. But it might not happen until after you become a Genin."

Naruto pouted, but nodded slowly.

Itachi let a wan smile cross his face, turning to move back and put his hand on Naruto's head. "I'll talk to him... A law is stopping me, and only he could tell you. So the best I can manage is telling him you want to know why you're being called a demon." He rubbed the hair on Naruto's head. "I'll see you in a few hours after my shift is up. Cya."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Itachi smiled at Naruto's small grin, and left in a flash of leaves through the open window.

Itachi appeared outside the office, and entered through the window.

"How'd it go?" Sarutobi asked softly from where he sat at his desk, a crystal ball sitting on a pillow in front of him.

"I'm sure you saw Hokage-sama." Itachi moved placed his mask back on, becoming Weasel once again. "He's losing hope... I can see it. Without guidance... We could lose him."

With a sigh Sarutobi nodded. "I know... But he's still too young to know the truth of his heritage, or the burden he really bears upon his shoulders."

"So what should we do sir?"

Sarutobi hummed quietly, weighing his options. "I'm assigning you to a long term mission. You are to become his permanent guardian."

Itachi blinked in alarm. "I... What? But my father-"

"Will have to allow it." The Hokage stated with finality. "You are a Shinobi under my command. Not his. You will be temporarily rescinding your duties as an ANBU. I..." He paused reforming his thoughts. "Train him. Give him the edge he needs to properly compete with the other students who should have a Clan to teach them before they enter. The Uzumaki may not be remembered by the majority of the people here, but we can shape the one we have with us into a fine young man."

"I... Yes, Hokage-sama. I'll accept this mission."

Sarutobi nodded. "Good... I know you'll do well with him. He already views you as a brother."

"Yeah... Sasuke might not enjoy that though."

Sarutobi shrugged. "Then the boy will have to learn to deal with it. Go back to him Itachi."

Nodding, Itachi turned to begin to leave.

"Leave the mask."

"Oh, right." Itachi removed his mask, and turned to place it down on the desk before Sarutobi.

Naruto sighed as he lay on his lumpy bed, eyes closed. What should I do while I wait for Niisan? He wondered quietly, before he heard a tap at his window. Huh? Only Niisan does that... He warily got back up from his bed and left the bedroom. He looked surprised to see Itachi waving at him with a grin, so he quickly went to go open the window. "Niisan? What are you doing here?" He asked, despite feeling glad he was back. He was too used to being alone.

"The Hokage decided I would become your full time guardian Naruto-kun." He looked around thoughtfully. "Gather up your things. You're moving with me to a place I know you'll like."

"Okay!" Naruto grinned and with great energy and enthusiasm, he started running around picking up the only things he really wanted to keep: His clothes.

"Naruto... Is that all you really have?" Itachi asked with a frown.

"Umm... Yeah. The stores seem to always charge me more than the price for some reason."

Itachi's right eye twitched. "I see... Well I have some spares at home you can wear." Holding his hand out, he waited for Naruto to take it. And then they both disappeared within a swirl of leaves.

Naruto shook his head as he looked around the large yard he appeared in with Itachi. "Woah... Where are we?"

Itachi smiled down at Naruto and rubbed the top of his head affectionately. "My own private home, away from my family. And now it is your home otōto."

Naruto grinned widely, before seeming to vanish in a puff. The door to the house slammed open, and Itachi sweat-dropped.

Damn, didn't realize he had that much energy. Itachi smiled all the same, and walked into the home as well to help Naruto get settled in.

(Later that night)

Itachi sat with Naruto in the dining room, eating rice and dumplings. "So... I'll be training you before you are to enter the Academy."

"Really?!" Naruto exclaimed with another grin. But it was muffled and sounded like "Bweary?!"

Itachi chuckled, shaking his head lightly. "Yes, I'll be training you. I hope to have you at a similar level to the other students you'll be in class with."

Naruto hummed, before nodding. "Okay. When do we start?"

"We can start tomorrow. For now, I want you to get settled in and adjust to everything."

"Okay!"

(A week later)

Danzō paced in a darkened room. "This information is up to date, yes?" He asked, stopping in place to turn to face a man wearing an ANBU uniform in his Root style.

"Yes." Stated the man, wearing an ANBU bearing the word 'Root' on the forehead. "The Uchiha are indeed plotting a coup d'état against the village Danzō-sama."

"Hmm... Itachi did retire from the regular ANBU forces according to the Hokage... Must have something to do with that." Danzō started to pace again. "Hmm... I need time to think of what to do about this. Go back to your spying on them, and inform me of any advances in their planning immediately."

"Yes Danzō-sama." The Root ANBU bowed deeply, before vanishing.

Itachi sat on the porch to watch Naruto's training in learning to access his Chakra, carefully timing how long he would take.

"Itachi!" Called out a voice from the entrance to the yard, walking up. He was fairly tall, just a bit taller than Itachi. His features were similar to a majority of the other members of the Uchiha clan, with the usual dark hair and black colored eyes. It was the shortness of his hair, along with how unkempt it was, and the broadness of his nose along with the sound of his voice that would tell others who he was if they afforded him less than a passing glance.

"Shisui. What can I do for you?" Itachi asked, quickly beckoning him over to where he was at so he wouldn't interrupt Naruto's meditation too much.

"Just wanted to check on ya, been a while since we hung out." He glanced towards Naruto, looking thoughtful. "Does your father know you are letting him stay here?"

"No." Itachi said with some curtness to his tone. "I will attempt to not let him."

Shisui nods. "Fair enough..." He paused, and lowered his voice as he leaned closer to whisper. "Your father has agreed to the coup... We should do something to stop it."

Itachi stiffened a bit. "How?" He inquired with just as low of a tone.

"I'm thinking... Kotoamatsukami."

Itachi frowned in thought, before nodding. "I see... Who have you told about that plan?"

"I was thinking of going to tell the Hokage, and then Danzō."

Itachi shook his head. "Leave Danzō out of it if you intend to stop the coup that route. Just inform the Hokage, and... Get all of the Elders in the jutsu when you have the plan in motion."

Shisui hummed and rubbed his chin. "Hmm... That could work. Yeah. By the way, Sasuke has grown much better with shurikenjutsu. And has even produced a good sized Gōkakyū no Jutsu."

Itachi smiled at that. "Good. I'll go visit him and the family here in a couple of days. I'm currently training Naruto-kun here to enter the Academy in a few months."

"How's he doing?"

"Still just learning how to access his Chakra, but I feel he'll get the hang of it shortly. He's... Either got almost no Chakra at all, or too much to control, which might be why he's taking so long."

Shisui laughed.

"Itachi-niisan, who is that?"

Itachi looked over at Naruto before smiling. "This is my best friend from our Academy days. Naruto-kun, meet Shisui Uchiha. Shisui, this is Naruto."

Shisui watched as Naruto wandered closer, looking up at him. His eyes blinked with a startled realization. "Naruto..." Why do people hate him so much when he looks like... "A pleasure to meet you kid." He offered his hand and accepted a shake.

"Hello Shisui-san. You're Itachi-niisan's best friend? Why didn't I ever meet you before?"

Shisui smiled and laughed. "Well I'm an ANBU like he was, so I haven't had much time to hang around and converse for a bit. However I'm on break currently."

"Oh, okay." Naruto looked Shisui over, before nodding. "Oh right!" He turned quickly, looking right up at Itachi now. "I can feel it! I can feel my Chakra now!"

"Good job Naruto-kun! Let's go to Ichiraku's, and then when we get back I'll start teaching you to access and control it." Patting Naruto's shoulder, he grinned at the exclamation of excitement from the blond as he jumped into the air and ran into the house.

Shisui's mouth twitched. "You know, I think Sasuke would be jealous if he saw how interact with him as if he's your brother."

Itachi chuckled and grinned at his friend slightly. "Perhaps, but I'm sure he can learn to deal with it. Hey... Can I borrow some money? I haven't taken a mission yet, and I know I can't for another week maybe."

Shisui shook his head in exasperation, and pulled out his wallet. "Oh fine... How much?"

Okay, this is the rewritten second Chapter. I posted this like a new one, and removed the previous one, to send out an alert to everyone who has followed. If you want to read the original two chapters, send me a PM and I'll send you guys the DocX for that. I hope you enjoy the changes overall.

Also, remember. I'm in the process of changing a lot of Canon. One of the things, obviously, are the pre-Series events.

Anyways, thanks for reading. Cheers. If you get alerted, and hadn't yet read the first chapter, be sure to read the new and different Chapter One.
~Veloran Darkfyre