A/N: My apologies for being gone for so long, I'll save the excuses and thank you all for your time and patience. No, Empathy, Master's and Chains, and Kitsune Haven, T&I Uzumaki have NOT been abandoned. I have been having some issues with writer's block and stuff going on in real life. It is both frustrating to me as it is to you, and I cannot express how sorry I am.
Thank you all so much for your support and kind reviews. It all means a lot to me and the encouragement really helps and keeps me going. As always, feedback and reviews are always welcome, and I hope you continue to enjoy whatever I put out. You are all awesome.
Special thanks to Midnight Lost for being my Beta Reader and Soundboard for fic ideas.
Chapter one: Pilot.
Long ago, before recorded history, many realms coexisted in a single world. The realms nearly fell to ruin due to the Keyblade wars and were split apart to prevent such a tragedy from happening again… supposedly. Even so, the realms still to this day remain connected by a network of crossroads between each one.
To protect the realms and the space between them, a guardian and sovereign known as 'The King of the Crossroads' watches over the numerous realms. This is the story of Naruto Uzumaki, the next King of the Crossroads.
Konoha, October tenth, the apartment of Naruto Uzumaki (Age Ten).
"Another day… another birthday." Naruto grumbled to himself as he sat on his living room couch, deciding that it would be best that he stay indoors for the day. After all, October Tenth was a very bad time for him to be out and about.
People would often think back on those they lost during the Kyuubi attack, many would take to drinking, lots of drinking. Then tempers would flare and they'd try to take it out on him. While he was technically counted as a military asset due to his Jinchuuriki status and was thus protected by the Shinobi corps by orders of the Sandaime that prevented the villagers from harming him, he didn't wish to run any unnecessary risks.
Drunk people often did stupid things after all. For now, Naruto felt content to have a quiet day at home with nobody bothering him. He was about to start a marathon of the famous Princess Gale movies… but was interrupted by the sounds of knocking at his door. The blonde raised an eyebrow knowing that his best friend Anko was out of the village on a mission, so he wondered who would be knocking.
He headed to his apartment door and looked through the peephole, only to see a delivery man waiting with a large box wrapped in brown paper under his arm, and a clipboard in his other hand. Strange, he wasn't expecting anything… unless the Sandaime was sending him a surprise present? Growing curious, he opened the door and greeted the delivery guy with a curt "Morning."
The delivery person nodded his head and replied in a professional tone "Morning. Got a package for a Naruto Uzumaki. I'm assuming that's you. Sign here please." He presented the clipboard with a pen attached to it, prompting the blonde to accept it as he scribbled his name onto the provided paper.
"Hey uhh, not really any of my business, but uhh… this package has been a real head scratcher. Been sitting at the office for years with some explicit instructions. Said it had to be delivered to you today, specifically." The Delivery guy spoke in a casual tone, his words making the blonde raise an eyebrow. That definitely seemed odd. Why have the post office hold the package until a specific date?
"Any idea who sent this package?" Naruto asked as he returned the clipboard, prompting the delivery man to hand over the large box that felt rather heavy in the Uzumaki's hands.
"No idea. Can't tell you even if I knew. Sorry. You have a good day now." The delivery guy responded before departing to continue on to his destination, leaving a puzzled Naruto behind who used his foot to shut the door behind him and then proceeded to carry his package over to the kitchen area where he set the box on the table.
Wasting no time, he removed the brown wrapping paper by tearing it off, then grabbed a pair of scissors to cut through the tape sealing it shut. When he opened it, he was initially met by the sight of styrofoam peanuts but could see something peeking out from the top. He plunged his arms inside to get a feel for the object in question… which had an unusual shape.
He quickly placed the open box on the floor to make it easier to lift the item out and then began to remove the mysterious object… when it was removed from the packaging, he found it to be a western style castle, a toy model to be specific. He hummed to himself and placed the toy castle on his table to better observe it and flick off some of the little styrofoam peanuts still stuck to it.
From what he could tell, this thing was definitely of a high-quality material, what type exactly, he couldn't say, but it definitely wasn't any kind of plastic. It seemed to be hand-painted too, and above the gates was the familiar red swirl marking that Naruto had seen decorating the jackets of both Chunin and Jonin on countless occasions.
He then saw something taped to the portcullis of the model castle, it was a little note with the words 'Password: Kingdom Hearts.' He tilted his head in confusion and wondered why a model castle would need a password… unless it was supposed to do something special when said password was uttered.
He decided to give it a try and spoke the password aloud, once the words 'Kingdom Hearts', the portcullis raised up and an ethereal purple light seemed to emanate from the now open gates, making the blonde lean in closer, wondering what was about to happen… then a flash of light filled his vision and everything faded to black.
Once he had blacked out, images flashed in his mind, but they were all blurry, and unfocused, nothing that made any sense to him. He could feel his body lying on a cold stone floor, but his eyes refused to open… if he had to warrant a guess, he was in some kind of a sleep paralysis at this moment. He could feel and sense everything around him… but he felt like a prisoner trapped in his own body.
He could hear the sounds of footsteps rushing towards him, followed by voices, female voices, but he couldn't tell what they were saying since they sounded somehow far-away even though they were clearly getting closer… though there was definitely concern in their voices.
The voices seemed to be conversing with one another, likely discussing what they should do or asking what was happening. After a few moments, Naruto felt a series of hands start to lift him up off the floor and start carrying him someplace. He tried to force his eyes open to see what was going on, but they refused to budge. After a few moments, he felt himself being placed down again, only this time he felt his head being gingerly placed onto something soft.
He could feel some kind of fabric, maybe silk pressed against his cheek, and something else he couldn't identify. It was firm, but somehow soft at the same time. He then felt a hand running through his hair, a voice humming a soft tune in his ear. He was in this position for… he wasn't sure how long exactly, a few minutes at least until at last his eyes started to flutter open at last. His vision was blurry for a few seconds, but quickly started to clear up as he found himself surrounded by a rather large group of women… and one of them was a mermaid.
His eyes almost bulged out of his head as he tried to suppress the urge to scream out something like 'Holy crap! A real mermaid!' He managed to contain himself, if only barely since he didn't want to scare the girls or said mermaid in question.
His head was resting in the lap of a woman with long wavy blonde hair wearing a pink dress while the others watched over him, the looks on their faces showing relief as he started to come around. "Uhh… hi, ladies." He greeted nervously, unsure of how to handle such a situation.
They all giggled in response as he slowly stood up to his feet, he pursed his lips for a moment and then spoke "Sorry for the intrusion ladies. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I hope I didn't scare you or anything when I… dropped in." At his introduction, the girls all giggled once again, a few happily clapping their hands together.
"What a polite young man!" Squealed a woman with black hair, pale skin, wearing a blue and yellow dress with the other girls nodding in agreement, many of them sweeping into graceful curtsies with the black haired woman continuing to speak "I am Snow White, it is a pleasure to meet you." Huh… now that was a name that the Uzumaki wouldn't have ever expected. The name of a famed Fairytale princess.
A woman with blonde hair with a silver and blue dress spoke next "My name is Cinderella. We are all so glad you're alright. We were worried you may have hit your head when you came in through the gates." Wait… Cinderella? Yet another Fairytale princess… no way this could be a coincidence.
Another woman approached, this one of Asian heritage like himself who spoke "Fa Mulan, at your service." She then bowed respectfully to him, to which he returned the gesture. He remembered reading about her story once, about a woman who joined the army in the guise of a man to protect her home and her father. A very commendable story.
One by one, the others began introducing themselves. Aurora, Jasmine, Ariel, Belle, Pocahontas, Moana, Anna, Elsa, Kida, and Alice. Once the introductions had been made, Aurora asked "Excuse me but… does this castle belong to you?" At her question, the Uzumaki raised an eyebrow since he assumed that this castle was their home… and well… in a manner of speaking it was, he supposed.
He rubbed his chin for a moment before replying "I guess it does. Believe it or not, I got this package, and the castle was inside. I spoke a password and then… Well, I ended up here. That's when you found me on the floor. I felt like I was stuck in my own body for a bit, till I came to. I take it that you ladies don't live in this castle?"
They all exchanged looks with each other, as if silently asking how best to answer him. Then, as if they came to a silent agreement on how to respond, Alice took Naruto by the hand and said "Come Naruto. It might be easier to show rather than explain." He was slightly confused but agreed to go along with them anyway since it seemed like whatever they wished to tell him was more complex than words alone could explain.
They guided him towards what appeared to be a throne room, a series of doors lined up on either side of the chamber, each one bearing a name or a title on it. 'Snow White', 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Wonderland', and so on and so forth. "Those doors appeared suddenly in our homes, when we stepped through, we all ended up here. We meeted and greeted each other, and then you showed up." Jasmine explained, crossing her arms beneath her bust.
Belle suddenly chimed in and suggested that this castle was most obviously magical in nature, and somehow was a gateway to their homes for reasons unknown. Though whether their homelands existed far away from one another, or were from other dimensions they weren't certain yet, but this castle was definitely at the center of it all.
"There's also the glass." Elsa chimed in and pointed up to a series of intricate stained glass windows. Each one had a different picture, and it appeared that each depiction was meant to tell some kind of a story.
The first one showed a young girl with crimson hair, crying in a corner as a far-away village burned. The second one showed the girl training with an almost fanatical zeal… then the third showed her with a man that looked exactly like the Yondaime Hokage. Fourth picture, the woman was pregnant and meticulously building the model castle with the help of a mysterious figure dressed in a black coat.
Fifth picture, the woman appears to be in labor… while humorously choking and shouting the Yondaime. Sixth picture, a baby with blonde hair and whisker markings is born… and being held hostage by a man in a mask until the Yondaime came to the rescue.
Sixth picture, the masked man seems to be performing some sort of ritual… and is tearing out the Kyuubi from the red haired woman's body. "Oh Kami… this is… that's me… as a baby… this is my birth. The Yondaime Hokage… was my dad?" Naruto spoke in shock as he quickly connected the dots. While he had always thought he bore a resemblance to the Yondaime, he had thought it a little arrogant to believe there was any real relation, especially without proof.
He progressed further as he followed the story, which showed the Yondaime fighting the masked man who was using a Sharingan to manipulate the Kyuubi. The Yondaime and his wife or lover were then mortally wounded as they tried to protect him from the Bijuu's claws, and were forced to seal it inside him to save him and the village… and the masked man escaped.
His parents' story, his own story, it was all here, portrayed in the glass. It all started to make sense now. His mother was the previous Jinchuuriki and lost her old home, she trained to be a Kunoichi, and at some point met the Yondaime, she then built this castle with the help of someone for reasons unknown.
Since his mother was the previous Jinchuuriki, that made him the only natural choice to be the Kyuubi's prison. More importantly, the people who lost their lives that night, Naruto's lack of parents, the village's scorn and his lack of a family… It was all the fault of the masked man from that fateful night. Everything that happened to screw up his life, it was the masked man's fault. He was the real reason behind his suffering.
Naruto balled his hands tightly into a white-knuckle grip, staring angrily at the glass depiction of the masked man. Whoever he was, wherever he was, he would pay dearly for everything he had done. His musing was interrupted when Belle spoke up "We saw the glass… and… this has to be the saddest story any of us have ever seen… to think… an innocent child grew up… through all of this." She then gestured up towards a particular glass window… depicting a lonely and crying Naruto as adults glared at him and seemed to be whispering things behind his back.
"Yeah… My parents did what they could to protect me… and paid the price for it… what they couldn't protect me from was the grudge of the other villagers. I wanted to become Hokage as a way to get revenge against everyone for how they treated me… but now I see… that my real enemy, the person I should really be seeking revenge against… is Mr. Mask. Whoever he is, he's powerful enough to subdue an immensely powerful beast like the Kyuubi, and he survived a fight against one of the fastest and deadliest Shinobi in the world. I'll have to be ready for him when we meet." The whiskered boy spat angrily as he cracked his knuckles.
The girls looked on in concern as Pocahontas spoke "Careful Naruto… you have a right to revenge, but you mustn't let it consume you. Tales of vengeance almost never end well." At that, Naruto pondered on her words for a moment, then let out a soft chuckle.
"Funny you should mention that. I was just thinking… about fate versus destiny. Fate is a preordained course of events that we humans have no control over, no matter what we do, it all ends the same… supposedly. For Destiny, everything is constantly shifting and changing due to our choices and actions and because of our ability of free will.
It is my belief that there may be some things that are unavoidable in our lives and may already be set in stone regardless of circumstances, my birth for instance. Too many factors involved for it to not be Fate. However, as beings of free will, we can still shape, manipulate and change our lot in life and therefore freely change our destiny. In short… me and this masked man are fated to be enemies. Someday in the future, we'll meet again, regardless of if we want to or not, of that I am absolutely certain and it is my choice to train, get stronger, and be ready for the day we clash." Naruto explained with a confident grin as he crossed his arms.
The girls all blinked at him, but then silently accepted his words, if he was right, then it would of course be inevitable that he and the masked man would someday meet again. "Erm, pardon my asking… but what's a Hokage?" Anna asked out of curiosity with the others nodding since they were curious about that too. Naruto glanced at them… then quickly remembered that they weren't from Konoha, much less the Shinobi Nations.
"Ah. Right. The Hokage is the leader of our village, our 'King' I guess." He explained, trying to put it into simple terms for the girls.
"You said that your Yondaime Hokage was your father… does that not make you a prince?" Kida asked, earning a small shrug from the Uzumaki.
"I guess so. Hokage isn't a hereditary title though. A Hokage isn't born; they're chosen based on their merit and skill. Regardless though, a Hokage's relatives are often treated with respect. Still, the big question on my mind is 'why wasn't I told about my parents?'. Was it because my parents had enemies? If so, inside the village, outside the village, or both? Or maybe there are more reasons that I cannot currently think of?" The blonde boy pondered aloud, earning thoughtful looks from the girls.
Naruto knew that the one person who could provide answers was the Sandaime… and he never did, even when he personally inquired about his parents. Why? What was the Sandaime hiding? Was he bound by some sort of non-disclosure agreement? A promise to his parents? Too many questions, not enough answers… regardless, Naruto supposed that was likely a separate issue. What he should really focus on, at least, at this time, was the masked man.
As far as he knew, there was only one type of Genjutsu capable of manipulating the Kyuubi… the kind induced by a Sharingan, and supposedly, the only person ever able to pull off this feat was Madara Uchiha. This confirmed that the masked man had a Sharingan, and Naruto doubted that a transplanted Sharingan eye would have enough power to perform this same feat. No. The man had to be an Uchiha.
Question is, is it actually Madara himself who returned from the grave? Or was it someone else that learned Madara's secrets and managed to attain this power for himself? Naruto's bet was on the latter. As he quietly thought to himself, his musing was interrupted by the sounds of metallic footsteps that marched down the halls. Naruto and the girls were surprised to find sets of Samurai armor marching into the chamber with their Katanas at the ready.
They then stopped, turned on their heels and marched into formation before saluting with their swords as black and crimson banners suddenly unfurled from the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, the sets of armor had no occupants inside to wear them, they were moving about completely by themselves without assistance… save for perhaps magic.
Suddenly, the Samurai began to shout in almost mechanical or robotic voices "All hail Naruto Uzumaki! King of the Crossroads and guardian of the realms!" The whiskered boy looked to the other girls questioningly who were only able to shrug in confusion. Jasmine then made a gesture as if telling him to go talk to the Samurai.
Not seeing any other choice, the blonde casually approached a suit of armor and asked it "Did you just call me your king? What's this about a Crossroads?"
The armor leaned forwards a bit, even though the armor was clearly empty… it still felt like a pair of eyes were somehow looking through him. Creepy. The Samurai then answered "Yes. We did, great king. The Crossroads is the space between this realm and all others. Once, they formed a single whole, but were split apart by the Keyblade wars."
The blonde raised an eyebrow and asked "Keyblade wars? What's that about? Did my mother make you too? Who is that other guy in the black cloak that helped her make the castle?"
The Samurai was silent for a few moments before answering "My apologies, your majesty, but information in regards to the Keyblade wars is almost nonexistent, save that many Keyblade wielders fought in a great and terrible war that split apart the realms. Your mother, the great Kushina Uzumaki did indeed make us along with her silent partner. His identity however, remains a mystery even to us."
"Okay… what is a Keyblade then? Some kind of a weapon? Why did my mom build this castle?" Naruto asked, his curiosity growing more and more as the mysteries surrounding this castle and his mother seemed to grow more and more.
"Apologies once again, my king. I don't know the full details, but I can confirm that a Keyblade is indeed a weapon of some sort, most definitely magical in nature. Your mother built this castle, in the hopes that you may someday reunite the realms into a single existence once more. How and to what end are unknown to us." The Samurai explained once again, earning a small nod from the boy, who then glanced back up at the glass depictions.
The most recent depiction he could see, represented himself arriving at the castle. It would seem that these glass windows changed as events happened, there was no foretelling or future events to be found here. However… It seemed that his mother built this castle for him to fulfill a specific purpose. "My mom… did she know that she was going to die?" He asked, his emotions running high as he once more glared at the glass windows depicting the masked man.
The Samurai armor answered in what appeared to be an almost solemn voice "Your mother was a warrior, any battle could have been her last. She knew not when she would die… but she wanted to give you a chance to prepare yourself for the future in case anything happened to her. When she gave life to us, we swore to serve and protect you in her place should anything happen to her. Our blades are yours, Naruto-sama."
The whiskered boy then smiled, feeling comforted that his mother cared so deeply for him even before he was born, as expected of any true mother. "There uhh… an armory or training area here? Someplace I can train?" He asked, hoping to get started on his training as soon as possible.
There seemed to be almost a glint coming from where the eyes should be on the Samurai as it replied "There is indeed a training area, equipped with the finest weapons and armor ever forged. There is also a library with countless books and scrolls on almost any subject you can imagine, and a separate library filled with many, many, scrolls on Ninjutsu and Taijutsu forms."
At the mention of a library, Belle quickly rushed forward and almost shouted "A library?! I would love to see it! Can you give me directions? How many books does it have? How is it organized?" Even as she peppered the Samurai armor with questions, it didn't seem to respond to her at all, leaving Naruto to quietly think to himself.
If he was to become Hokage, he would need to pass the Academy exam. It used to be back during the Shinobi War period that admission was far more relaxed, with kids even younger than he was now graduating and being shipped off to the fight. Now that the Shinobi Nations were at peace, mostly, there wasn't as large a demand for more Shinobi to fight.
Current age of admittance was now twelve, minimum. That gave him two years for training prior to joining, three if he included his Academy year. Three years is a long time, but he strongly doubted that it was enough time to get strong enough to take down the masked man. No, he needed more time. Not to mention, if people questioned his skills and talents, then they would be all over him wondering how he got so strong. They may even claim that the Kyuubi was somehow involved, which may complicate things.
He then smirked to himself and decided to act the part of a fool and a failure to ward off any potential naysayers or Civilians bearing a grudge against him. He would also 'fail' for two years to buy himself extra time to grow stronger and further cement his reputation as a hapless idiot, at least until his big reveal. If the Sandaime asked, he would just reveal the truth, or part of the truth and explain why he hid his real talents.
"What are you thinking about?" Alice asked as she approached him from behind, prompting her fellow blonde to give a large smile as he answered "I was just thinking about getting a head-start on my own education."
He then cleared his throat and began to speak "Well ladies, I appreciate your help earlier, and thank you for everything. Feel free to come and visit whenever you like, I hope to see you more often and hope that we can all be friends… I could really use some friends." He uttered the last part a bit more quietly, earning some 'awws' from the ladies as they proceeded to wrap him up tight in a group hug… Kami, these ladies smelled really nice.
They all said their goodbyes, some of them giving him pecks on the cheek and promised to return and visit him real soon. There were also promises of home cooked meals, tutoring from Belle and Alice, and even sparring sessions from Mulan and Kida before they all used their respective doors to return to their home realms. Once everyone had left for home, the blonde quickly rubbed his hands together and spoke to himself "Time to get started."
Five years later.
Five years… Five grueling years that were some of the best and worst of his life. The best because of his female friends that often came to visit him, study with him, learn with him, and even train with him. The best because he made new friends during his time at the Academy.
The worst because of the pain and soreness caused by his intensive training, though the results were well worth it. The worst because he had two of the worst Academy teachers in the history of the Shinobi Nations with one Iruka Umino holding a very powerful grudge against him, not to mention there was the presence of Sasuke Uchiha.
Kami, Naruto couldn't stand that guy. The Uchiha was born with all sorts of privileges and advantages and wasn't appreciative of any of it. Also, the guy had a chance to make happy memories with his family, something that Naruto himself never got a chance to do, and again, the Uchiha had no appreciation for that fact. For the first ten years of his life, the blonde had to scrape and struggle until he gained control of the Castle.
Even then, Naruto trained hard and studied hard every single day. He sometimes muttered a quiet thanks to his late mother Kushina for leaving a literal goldmine of magic and Ninjutsu to study from. However, in spite of the priceless gift his mother left him… he would give literally anything he possessed away if it meant even spending a single minute with his parents. Something he never got to experience.
Fortunately, that would all come to an end in due course after he finally passed the Genin exam today. He had studied the Academy rules and regulations very carefully, and found that any iteration of the Clone Jutsu was acceptable for passing the Academy exam. The reason he looked into this was to ensure that Iruka wouldn't have any wiggle room to try and fail him, knowing full well that the man would use literally any excuse to fail him to keep him from passing and becoming a Shinobi.
Even as he was musing to himself, he quietly watched as the other students took their turns performing the needed Jutsu in order to pass the exam. He glanced over towards the forms of Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha, who would undoubtedly be his teammates. According to Academy tradition, the worst ranked student would be paired with both the Top Kunoichi and Rookie of the year, in this case, Himself, Sakura, and Sasuke respectively. The one thing he hadn't planned on when he initially joined the Academy, and didn't learn until much later.
Definitely not his ideal choices for teammates, but beggars couldn't be choosers. He had already committed himself to his role of being a hapless Ramen loving idiot that constantly shouted 'Hokage' and 'Dattebayo', and there was no breaking his act until graduation day. He'd have to suck it up for a few months with his team until the Chunin exams, then upon promotion to Chunin, he was free to cut ties with them.
"Hey Naruto… something's different about you." Sakura pointed out, making the whiskered teen smirk a little. He had forsaken his orange jumpsuit in favor of a black coat that was an exact match to his mother's unknown partner which had numerous magical and protective properties… not to mention it looked really cool on him. There were dozens of these things in the Castle armory.
He could have gone for something like a set of his own Samurai armor, but this was much lighter weight and suited his needs better. "What? You like the coat?" Naruto asked with a grin, prompting the pinkette to stare at him for a few moments.
"It's not just the new clothes… it feels like your whole attitude has changed. I don't think I've heard a single scream about ramen since you walked through the door." Sakura pointed out almost nervously, she then looked around cautiously for a few seconds and asked "You're not gonna pull another prank, are you? I still have nightmares about that prank you did with that tiger."
Ahhhh, yes, the infamous 'Tiger Rampage'. Naruto had to suppress a chuckle as he recalled borrowing Jasmine's pet tiger Raja to pull a prank on Kiba after they had an argument that dogs were better than cats. He certainly couldn't back up his claims when Raja was chasing him down and roaring the whole way which ended up scaring a lot of students and even some faculty.
Of course Naruto had to answer a lot of questions about how he procured a tiger, which he answered 'borrowed from a friend'. Kami, the look on Kiba's face and that dark stain(s) in his pants made it all worth it.
"Nah. No pranks going on here. I just have a good feeling about today." The Uzumaki answered with a grin, causing the pinkette to give him a suspicious glare, but she said nothing further as she returned her attention to Sasuke who was taking his turn for the exam. As expected of the golden boy, he breezed through the three needed Jutsu with ease, his many Fangirls singing his praises, and the teachers kissing up to the Uchiha, remarking on how skillfully he pulled off those techniques.
Naruto had to suppress a roll of his eyes, finding it ridiculous how someone who had accomplished nothing in life was placed on a gilded pedestal simply because of his pedigree. No one here really respected the Uchiha, not in a genuine fashion at least. There were only three things people genuinely wanted from the Uchiha. If they didn't want his favor for political gain, or his seed to sire little Uchiha bastards, then they wanted his money.
That was one thing that Naruto was grateful for, and perhaps a reason he was never told of his parentage. If he blabbed his parents' names to the wrong people, then his parent's enemies would swoop in like starving vultures. If not that, then people would be kissing up to him the same way they sucked up to Sasuke… and Naruto had no desire to be placed on a gilded pedestal like the Uchiha.
After all, he wanted to be recognized for his own accomplishments and skills, not coast on his parents' names. At long last, his name was called up and the whiskered teen walked to the front of the class with a broad grin and a swagger, which earned some nervous looks from his classmates as they scooched slightly in their seats, as if they were trying to distance themselves from the blonde as they wondered what his game was. What big prank was he planning?
Well, in truth, Naruto was indeed about to pull a big prank of a sort… the kind that involves pulling the rug straight out from under Iruka and Mizuki's feet. The scarred Chunin looked at the Uzumaki in a funny way, as if silently asking himself 'what's he up to?'. Iruka shrugged to himself and spoke "Okay Naruto… please perform a Henge and turn yourself into the Sandaime."
The whiskered teen complied with a slight nod, and in a puff of smoke changed into a perfect likeness of the Sandaime. Iruka raised an eyebrow upon noticing that Naruto didn't use any hand-signs, especially since it was a very difficult feat to perform almost any Jutsu without the use of Hand-signs.
Tapping his pen against his clipboard, the Chunin then spoke in a voice that sounded quite nauseated "Riiiiiiiight. Very good. Please perform a Substitution." Again, the Blonde Uzumaki gave a nod of agreement, only this time he snapped his fingers and instantly replaced himself with a random student that happened to be sitting next to Ino Yamanaka.
The whiskered teen then flicked his wrist and made a rose appear between his fingers before presenting it to his fellow blonde who was blushing at the gesture. "A beautiful rose, to a beautiful woman." Naruto spoke with a flirty wink and then mimed a kiss before performing the Substitution once more to switch himself and the random student back to their original positions, leaving behind a certain blonde Heiress blushing neon red, while a number of other girls seemed to bristle in jealousy at the gesture since they wished such a thing would happen to them.
Iruka glanced between the two blondes, wondering why Naruto would flirt with Ino instead of Sakura… an attempt at making the Haruno jealous? 'Feh. Teenagers.' The Chunin whispered under his breath before clearing his throat and then putting on a slimy looking smile, his eyes full of expectancy since he knew what was to come next… only Naruto was grinning back, his smile animatedly becoming shark-like in appearance that sent a cold chill down the Chunin's spine.
"Sakura… are you familiar with the rules and regulations of the Academy?" The blonde asked out of nowhere, earning looks of confusion from everyone. Sakura seemed a bit surprised to be suddenly called out, but quickly shook it off as she puffed out her chest and spoke pridefully "Of course I do, baka! Give a regulation number and I'll happily quote it off."
Naruto's grin seemed to grow ever wider, almost threatening to split apart his cheeks as he spoke "Regulation 24601.", as soon as those numbers left his lips, both Iruka and Mizuki gave puzzled expressions as they racked their brains as they tried to remember which regulation that was… only to realize too late what the boy was aiming for.
Sakura cleared her throat and began to quote off "Regulation 24601, students are free to use any iteration of the Clone jutsu they know during the Genin exam in the event their Chakra levels are too high to perform the basic Academy version."
The Jinchuuriki grinned triumphantly as he saw the 'oh crap' look the scarred Chunin was giving him. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." The blonde spoke, and then snapped his fingers, causing several puffs of smoke as ten perfect replicas stood behind him… all of them casually flipping the bird to both of the Chunin which caused them to go red in the face, most especially Iruka who now had several bulging tic-marks that were angrily pulsing.
"I believe this is the part where you say, 'Congrats, you passed the Exam. Here's your Headband.'." Naruto spoke in a snarky voice while holding out his hand expectantly as the clones dispelled behind him. There was a tense silence as both the Jinchuuriki and scarred Chunin stared each other down, with many students wondering why the latter didn't hand over the headband already. They clearly saw the blonde perform a Clone jutsu, so that meant he passed.
"Where… did you learn… the Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Iruka asked in an almost growling voice, gripping his pen so hard that the plastic threatened to snap under the pressure.
"I'm not obligated to answer that. Legally, or otherwise." Naruto flatly responded, his snide smirk never leaving his face since his response seemed to further infuriate the Chunin even more. The Uzumaki then chuckled and spoke "What're you gonna do Iruka? Fail me? On what grounds? Plenty of eyewitnesses here to support my side of the case if you want to get the Hokage involved."
At the mentioning of the Hokage, Iruka finally relented since he knew that the old man would undoubtedly side with the brat… and as said brat stated, there were plenty of eyewitnesses. "You passed." The Chunin snarled out before practically throwing the headband at the blonde who seemed to snatch it out of the air and then proceeded to tie it around his right arm before retaking his seat next to the Haruno who was looking at him questioningly "What the hell was that all about? Iruka-sensei looked ready to pop a gasket."
Naruto said nothing as he leaned back in his seat with a triumphant grin on his face, since he was the final student to take his turn, Mizuki then began to awkwardly give a speech congratulating the passing students and then announced that Shinobi registration photos would be taken tomorrow at 10:00 AM, then Team Assignments would be the following day and to come at 9:00 AM sharp.
Once the class was dismissed, Naruto immediately made a quick exit to escape further questioning from his now former teachers. On his way out, he noticed that Mizuki was giving him an extremely dirty look which caught the blonde's attention. Usually the Silver haired Chunin was of a more benign demeanor than Iruka… even if he did have some hatred for the blonde due to his connection to the Kyuubi, Mizuki never once showed it outwardly. "Curious." Naruto muttered to himself as he decided to tail the silver haired man… he had a funny feeling that something was up with that guy… and his instincts were most usually spot on.
He ducked into another hallway out of sight and then snapped his fingers, causing his body to disappear from sight with the use of an invisibility spell. He patiently waited outside the classroom as the students filed out one by one followed by Iruka who left with a very sour expression on his face… but Mizuki and Sasuke were the only ones who hadn't left yet. Sometimes the Uchiha would stay behind in the classroom to quietly brood to himself before heading home so that wasn't unusual.
But why would Mizuki stay behind, unless he wanted a word with the king of brood himself? The currently invisible Uzumaki stepped into the classroom, thankful that the door was left wide open which would have made it significantly more difficult to enter unnoticed if it were closed. He leaned against the wall as he observed the Chunin approaching the Uchiha "Congrats on being named Rookie of the year Sasuke-kun."
The self-proclaimed avenger gave an uncaring scoff and replied with a rude 'Whatever'. The Chunin gave a light glare but quickly covered it with an obviously fake smile and spoke "Right… well Sasuke-kun. As Rookie of the year, I wish to reward you with the very same task that your brother earned when he became Rookie of the year."
At the mention of his Elder Brother, the Uchiha gained a look of interest and asked "What task?" Mizuki merely grinned as he replied back "Well, the task is relatively straightforward. All you have to do is break into the Hokage's office and learn a Jutsu from the large scroll hidden inside the vault. It is full of many powerful Jutsu that you're free to take your pick from. I believe that Itachi learned a high ranking Fire style jutsu if I remember correctly."
A large scroll? In the Hokage's office? Filled with powerful Jutsu? To Naruto's knowledge, only one scroll could fit that description… was the Forbidden Scroll. Kami almighty, did the universe have a sick sense of humor. Giving such a thing to someone like Sasuke would be like handing a can of gas and a book of matches to an arsonist… it would not end well at all.
Sounds like Mizuki is planning to take the scroll from himself and use Sasuke as the scapegoat. He was probably counting on the 'dead last's' third consecutive failure but is now being forced to improvise. Naruto's suspicions were confirmed when the Chunin handed over a map with a set of instructions to the Uchiha… something that the blonde was sure the Hokage would be very interested in.
Time to make a report to the old man. After having seen and heard enough, he quietly slipped away and made a beeline towards the Hokage tower.
A few minutes later.
Hiruzen sighed to himself, wondering which was worse, having to sign paperwork or having to listen to Iruka Umino's almost constant complaints. Paperwork seemed to have a way of multiplying, but at least it didn't talk, whereas while there was only one Iruka, the man almost never shut up when it came to Naruto, most especially when it involved complaining about him.
"... he was completely disrespectful, openly taunted me in front of the class, and he used an A-rank jutsu to weasel his way through the exam! A jutsu that shouldn't have even been taught to him to begin with!" The Chunin spoke out, with the Hokage listening… his attention getting caught by the mention of an A-rank jutsu being used by Naruto.
"And what Jutsu was that Iruka?" The Sandaime asked as he drummed his fingers impatiently.
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu." The chunin answered quickly, earning a thoughtful expression from the Sandaime… who then gave a casual shrug.
"I don't see the problem. There's no rules preventing Naruto from using such a Jutsu, least of all to pass the exam since any Clone is acceptable." Hiruzen stated bluntly as he took a drag from his Kiseru.
"No! No! Don't you get it? He must have learned it from… you know what." The scarred man spoke in a not-so-subtle manner, causing the Sandaime to roll his eyes at the Chunin's persistence, but nevertheless he would need to be thorough for the sake of security. However, it was his personal belief that the Kyuubi had nothing to do with this and Iruka was being plain overly paranoid.
Before the Hokage could respond, there was a quick knock at his door. The Sandaime called out "Come in!" Allowing the newly visitor entry… and lo and behold, who would enter but Naruto himself with a broad grin on his face as he casually sauntered into the office without a care in the world.
"Ah. Naruto-kun! We were just talking about you." Hiruzen spoke, making the boy chuckle as he pointed to his reddening ears and replied with "No shit old man. I thought my ears were burning."
The Sandaime chuckled in a good natured manner and spoke "Iruka was just telling me you learned a highly advanced technique… and has expressed concern on where you got it from."
The blonde sighed and shrugged as if to say 'go figure' before replying "Thought it was something like that. Short answer is that it was a 'gift' from a certain Kunoichi. Pretty thing. Cute round face, violet eyes, long crimson hair, very good with a sword." At his description, the Sandaime visibly stiffened in his seat since there was only one person he knew of that fit that description.
"Iruka. You can go. I need to speak with Naruto-kun in private." Hiruzen spoke in a serious voice as he took a long drag from his pipe. The Chunin nodded and grinned smugly towards the blonde, as if he had somehow one-upped the boy before leaving. As soon as the door was shut upon Iruka's departure the aged Hokage asked "So… how long have you known."
The blonde crossed one leg over the other as he relaxed in his seat before answering "About five years. Mom left me a journal, amongst other things. It detailed the Uzumaki clan, the village of Uzu, its destruction, my mom's Kunoichi career, how she met up with my dad. All that good stuff, so I pretty much know the whole story up until the Kyuubi attack. More specifically, I am aware of what happened during the night of my birth, but there's still a few holes in the story."
The Sandaime nodded in understanding and chuckled quietly to himself. He should have known that Kushina would have left a small time capsule for her son and made arrangements for it to be delivered to him should something have happened to her. "I see… truthfully, I am kind of glad you know. Now I don't have to lie to you anymore. I was hoping to tell you when you reached Chunin at the least, though now that is moot." Hiruzen spoke in a relieved voice.
"I won't ask why you hid my birth from me. I can already guess at least some of the reasons, and that they were good ones, or at least your intentions were good. At any rate, the real reason why things went so horribly wrong on that fateful night was because of a masked man." Naruto explained and then gave the summary of events that happened on the night he was born.
Hiruzen listened intently the whole time before nodding and spoke "That's quite a lot to take in. I won't bother asking how you know this since it does make sense to me. I had always wondered why your mother's seal had failed since she was one of, if not the absolute most powerful Kunoichi in the world, and your father is, was, a world renowned Seal-master. Truthfully, I had always suspected outside interference was involved, but lacked proof."
Naruto laced his fingers together as he stated "Yeah. Mr. Mask is the one responsible for all those people's deaths and for everything I have suffered through. Not sure who he is yet, but I have a strong feeling that it is only a matter of time before we meet again."
The Sandaime stroked his beard as he spoke "I agree. Though fifteen years is a long time, are you sure this man could still be alive? Furthermore, if he was strong enough to control the Kyuubi and go toe-to-toe with Minato, he is clearly not an average joe."
"I've entertained the possibility that Mr. Mask may have died at some point during these past fifteen years… but something in my gut tells me that he's still out there somewhere. Not to boast, but I've been training on my own time quite intensively to prepare myself." Naruto explained casually as he flicked his wrist and made a Kunai appear in his hand that he twirled between his fingers.
"Again, I won't ask. I'll just assume your mother left you some scrolls or something to learn from. However, I'm still curious, how strong are you exactly, and why hide your talents?" The Sandaime asked, although he could already guess the reason for the latter part of his question, he still wanted to be sure.
"Not meaning to toot my own horn, but I can say with sincere confidence that I'm on the low-mid Jonin tier. I have a lot of Jutsu and other techniques under my belt and I know how to use a variety of weapons to make myself a versatile combatant.
As for why I hid my talents… I guess Iruka's earlier accusations about the Kyuubi being involved is a pretty clear reason. Imagine if everyone was aware of my real talents. Nah, too much hassle. I decided to act the part of an imbecile as part of a long con to make myself appear as weak and harmless as possible." Naruto explained as he carefully balanced the Kunai on the tip of his finger.
"I thought it was something like that, and I have to say… very impressive work. Deception is a Shinobi's bread and butter, and you seem to have taken that to heart. I look forward to seeing what you can do in the future as an official Genin of Konoha." The Hokage spoke as he clapped his hands in congratulations to the blonde.
"Ah. That sort of reminds me. Saw Mizuki talking to Sasuke earlier and did a little snooping. Apparently he's goaded the power hungry Sasuke into trying to steal the Forbidden Scroll for him, he also gave the Uchiha a map with clear instructions. You might want to get your Anbu set up for a sting operation." The Uzumaki spoke in a warning voice.
Hiruzen nodded as he called out "Neko." On command, the cat masked Anbu appeared, bowing to the Sandaime on one knee as he asked her "Did you get all that Neko?"
She nodded in response and spoke "Hai Hokage-sama. We shall plant a fake scroll and make arrangements for a 'Bait and Switch'."
The Hokage nodded in satisfaction and spoke "Thank you for the warning Naruto-kun, you shall be appropriately rewarded for this information later. For now, please return home and leave the rest to us." At that, the blonde gave a two-fingered salute and exited the office with a broad grin.
So far, this had been an interesting first day as a Genin… he was looking forward to whatever came next. For now though… home sounded nice.
Later. Uzumaki Castle, library.
"Feels like every time I come here, there's more and more books than before." Ariel commented as she walked towards a table with some books in her arms, trying to learn as much as possible of the human world as she could. There were so many things to learn about humans. Their cultures, their homes, the way they live, the forests, the animals, items humans used in their daily lives, and so much more.
Thanks to Naruto, she was given an enchanted ring that allowed her to change her lower body to her mermaid tail or a pair of human legs whenever she wanted. It took her a while to adjust to walking on land with two legs, but fortunately she had plenty of help from her friends to get her used to walking on her human legs.
"I know what you mean, I can scarcely believe that Naruto's mother collected all of these. She must have traveled to other realms to collect so much knowledge." Belle spoke in awe, the vast collection was utterly staggering. She could probably spend fifty lifetimes combing through all of these books and not even come close to reading even a quarter of this library.
Of course Naruto had to cheat a little and use his clones to speed up the process, not that she could blame him. It was kind of unfair that she couldn't replicate herself like he could, though that certainly didn't deter her in the slightest. She could only make two whereas he could easily make hundreds with absolute ease.
In spite of her limitations, it was still fun and fascinating to learn the arts of magic. In Naruto's world, the term used for the magical energy is referred to as 'Chakra' though in other realms it may be referred to as 'Chi' or 'Mana' or any other applicable name, but regardless of the name it had the same general function. An energy that exists within a person that said person can harness with practice and training.
Obviously the style and applications of using said energy could often differ depending upon the realm which made the use of magic even more fascinating, in theory, there are virtually limitless ways to harness it and is only limited by one's imagination if they learn to use it efficiently… sadly people's cultures or viewpoints can limit this, so only someone with an open mind could truly master magic.
For subjects that he didn't understand, most of which were unrelated to magic, she often helped tutor him, and she had to say… he was a most exemplary student. Although he still needed to work on his mathematical skills. Her musing was interrupted when the doors to the library flew open and Naruto shouted "Guess who graduated ladies?"
Both Belle and Ariel squealed in delight as they rushed over to him and began planting numerous kisses on his face, leaving a multitude of lipstick markings all over his cheeks. "I never had a doubt in my mind you could do it Naruto!" Belle shouted gleefully and then planted another kiss on his forehead.
"We need to tell everyone else and celebrate! I've been working on my baking! I could make you a cake!" Ariel shouted by clapping her hands since she enjoyed learning how to cook ever since she got her first taste of human cuisine. Suffice it to say, her passion and persistence awarded her some great experience and skill in the kitchen.
"Sounds good, a party would be nice. We can host it tomorrow night." The Uzumaki spoke, making a note to invite the other girls to celebrate. Ever since he had first entered this castle, they had all become his best friends, his family, perhaps even more than that, but that last part was something to think more on later. For now, they had to plan a proper celebration, after all, his first few months as a Genin were likely going to be quite hectic.
End Chapter one.