Getting accustomed to her new life was a struggle for Naruto, being a stranger in a village that for some reason felt familiar was a bit overwhelming for the shy and timid girl. All her life, she had only known one person, lived and interacted with him and him alone. For her to now go into the world and make her own path was daunting.
She never interacted with children her age; she didn't know how or where to start. Being new in a close-knitted class that have been studying together for two years already, she felt like somewhat of an outcast.
A couple of boys volunteered to show her around and integrate her into the class when she first arrived but they were quickly bored. She chalked it up to her timid and shy self. One boy was too energetic and the other was acting extremely weird, she didn't know how to act around them.
Her instructor was a gentle young adult that went out of his way to help her catch up to the class and encourage them to interact with her. He even treated her to a bowl of ramen in a stand that she found to be the best thing ever.
Weirdly enough, not only did she feel like she tasted it somewhere before but the ramen stand guy had also recognized her somehow.
"Oh I am getting old and I do get a fair bit of customers, I must've gotten you confused with someone else." Was his simple answer when he found out she was new to the village, yet Naruto couldn't stop the feeling at the back of her head that some things just didn't line up.
Had she come to the village with her father before?
Why did it seem so familiar?
Not to mention the constant nagging feeling at the back of her head, the yearning, the burning desire for a certain someone. Someone that she had no idea where or how to look for.
Someone that she did not even know.
Just who am I? She wondered one day as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.
She was a simple farm girl that lived with her father, he had taught her everything she knew from speaking to reading even to a bit of ninja arts, and she lived with him and helped him in his farm. He would go from time to time to a distant village to trade in some goods and she would wait for him patiently in their tiny but cozy home. For a period of time, life was simple. Life was good. Up until her father died from an unknown disease.
She believed that and missed her father dearly, but sometimes a part of her would wonder if that is even true and her heart would clench with guilt for disrespecting her father's memory.
Months passed by, mundane, routine and filled with classes in the morning and an empty afternoon, and evening to do whatever she wished. She trained and studied religiously, more because she had nothing to fill her time with than for actual desire to be stronger. And as the time passed, she found herself slowly climbing the ranks in the class.
She had managed to make somewhat of a friendship with a girl named Hinata. Months became years, and Naruto finally found herself about to pass the long awaited genin exam.
She had been nervous about it for weeks, preparing diligently and going through every detail with meticulous care.
And in a sick twist of unfortunate events the exams had the ninjutsu side of the exam which was the clone jutsu for this year as 50% of the passing grade, meaning she had to do the physical and academic parts almost perfectly if she were to pass, because of her inability to do anything resembling a clone.
It was an impossible task and she knew that, yet she did not give up.
Even though she had 95 out of 100 on the academic exam and 92 out of 100 on the physical part, she did not pass, and she left the academy eyes teary and heart heavy.
She had been studying hard for this, yet she failed because of the one thing that she could not do. It was entirely unfair.
She wanted to become a ninja, out of respect for her father, and because it felt right. And now, even that was robbed from her.
She had actually wanted it. It was the one thing that she had worked for since her arrival to the village and in her time there it became the only natural and obvious route her life could go.
So naturally, when Mizuki, one of her teachers approached her with a secret test, she had only slightly resisted before caving in into his offer.
She was going to become a ninja!
Stealing the scroll of sealing was surprisingly an easy task, with the hokage sleeping on the job, she managed to slip in and out and start making her way to the clearing where she was supposed to meet Mizuki. When she reached her destination, she unfurled the scroll and started reading its content, intending to learn a jutsu like Mizuki had instructed her.
It did not take too long for her to learn a technique called the shadow clone technique, finding it way easier than the clone technique they taught in the academy, and she smiled triumphantly at the victory. She is going to be a ninja!
What she did not expect was for Iruka, her other instructor to find her in the clearing way before Mizuki could meet up with her, he told her that Mizuki had tricked her and that there was no secret exam. It took all her willpower not to burst down crying right there and then.
Not only she could not become a ninja, but one of her teachers had tricked her into becoming a traitor.
To top it all off Mizuki started blabbering about her being the nine tailed demon fox that attacked the village, claiming that she was nothing but a monster and a threat to peace.
Flashes of a repressed memory ran through her mind; a pool of blood by her feet, a multitude of bodies all around her, torn and slashed, her hands shaking, dyed a dark red.
She could not stop the shower of emotions that burst out of her and she fell down to the ground crying.
Just who the hell am I? She wondered as she stared at the giant shuriken flying towards her
Just as she was about to embrace death, the hokage himself jumped in front of her catching the shuriken.
He did fast work of the chunin before turning back to the shaking, scared girl. He embraced her into his chest and whispered.
"It's okay, Naruto. You did well."
A memory of that certain someone flashed into her mind hugging her as she sat in the pool of blood and she hugged the hokage hard, crying into his chest, the memory bringing her slight comfort. The man seemed like he didn't mind, stroking her gently to help her calm down.
She had learned from the hokage later in the day, that yes she did hold the kyuubi inside her. He had told her that her father was originally a Konoha ninja and that the hokage had allowed him to settle down with his daughter outside of the village for her protection.
"It is very unfortunate that your father had died the way he did. We were good friends, I learned a lot from him, even though we disagreed on a lot of things." Hiruzen spoke honestly for a bit and he noticed the girl's lips curve upwards in something of a smile, but her eyes remained downcast; red from all the tears she had shed.
"You were always meant to come back to your home village, so I cannot stress how pleased I am to have the daughter of a dear friend striving to be a ninja and serve Konoha. It really warms this old man's heart to see a youngster put in so much hard work, even managing to learn the shadow clone technique." The hokage carried on. "It goes without saying that you, more than most, deserve to be a ninja."
At those words, her head shot up instantly and her eyes looked hopeful as if she did not trust what the man just uttered.
The man gave a hearty laugh and smiled. "Don't be surprised child. After all, how cruel would I be to doom such a diligent and passionate worker to a life that they do not desire?"
Naruto barely smiled since her father's death but hearing these words, she allowed herself a heartfelt one.
"And please, don't let that traitor words affect you, you are not a monster. You are a beloved Konoha citizen."
Naruto heart skipped a beat at his words and she felt tears well up in her eyes. She did not deserve all of this generosity from the hokage that she had just betrayed. She understood now why her teachers talked about him in high praise and she found her apprehension that she felt towards him at the start vanish. The hokage was really a gentle and kind man.
Hiruzen knew what he was doing when he allowed the girl to slip in to get the scroll of sealing. In fact, he was in on the whole ordeal, he had ordered Mizuki a week prior to approach the girl, briefing him about all the necessary details and letting him in on the secret that very few knew in the whole of Konoha. He knew that the girl would not pass because he had made sure the test specifically tailored so she'd fail.
It was quite the genius plan to assure her loyalty. She was the jinchuriki and so he couldn't let her priorities be up to chance. No to mention what sort of ideas Itachi could have put in her head with Kotoamatsukami.
Her learning the shadow clone technique was a great-added benefit. Maybe he deemed her talentless a bit too early than was wise.
It was a necessary play and he was ready to suffer his student's wrath.
As if right on cue, Jiraiya came bursting through the door, clearly pissed out of his mind, he knew the man would know what he has done-after all nothing escapes the toad's ears- and he was preparing himself for the heated talk.
"You filthy bastard, how dare you do that?"
"Her loyalty to the village needs to be guaranteed Jiraiya, something that little Itachi's ploys had left her devoid of."
Jiraiya slammed his hand on his table, leaving a fist sized stump on it. Hiruzen did not flinch at his outburst, choosing to stare back passively at his student.
"She was loyal enough, working hard to be a ninja in this damn shithole. I don't know what else you want, you bastard." Jiraiya shouted in frustration. "You just had to go in and make her life shit again just when she was starting to feel at home."
"On the contrary, Jiraiya I think she feels more at home now. Not to mention that her loyalty is more directed towards the right place. No matter how much you like the Uchiha, Itachi is still a missing nin and we can't guarantee that he hadn't made sure she'd be loyal to him through the genjutsu he had used."
He was making up excuses, they both knew it, but it seemed like Jiraiya realized the futility of arguing further.
"One day, one day you will pay dearly for this, sensei."
Hiruzen sighed. It was a shame that none of his students could see through the same lenses that he did. Try all he could, they didn't agree with his strategies even though he proved time and time again that they worked.
"May I remind you of the consequences for threatening your hokage are?"
"You need me more than I need you, hokage-sama, and you know that, so your threats are falling on deaf ears." Jiraiya replied, his voice full with venom. "Now I am gonna make a request and I hope, for your sake that you make sure that it is fulfilled. I want to be the jounin sensei for Naruto, Sasuke and whoever you decide to add in with them."
Hiruzen gave a hum of consideration. Two of the best new genins taught by a sannin. It's certainly had quite an appeal.
Jiraiya wanting to be team's 7 sensei... Kotoamatsukami not having the full effect on Naruto and making her long for Itachi without fully remembering him, and Hiruzen securing's Naruto's loyalty by changing her opinion of him and making her think he's kind an gentle.
What do you guys think is the reason Kotoamastukami isn't working well, is it Itachi specifically leaving in clues or is it something else?