Kurama was resting inside the seal of his new jinchuriki. When had escaped Kushina's seal, he had thought he would finally be free. But he was forced to do the Uchiha's bidding and was sealed yet again.
His thoughts wandered to the last words of Hagoromo, as they always did.
He had waited patiently, all this timw for the arrival of the One. The one who according to the old man, would unite the world. But he was slowly getting sceptical of the old man's words. Humans were inherently selfish and power hungry, and that had not changed since his creation.
So, he had a plan. He had not worked out how he was going to achieve it, quite yet. But it was the thought that counted.
He was sealed in a human who was hardly even a year old. If he managed to influence the human, he would be able to mold the boy, into the 'one'.
The plan was likely to fail, but it was better than just lying for another century to wait for the human's death only to be sealed again.
So, Kurama looked at the sleeping toddler lying on the other side of the bars and began his master plan.
Ayaka Saito was staring at her charge in deep thought. She had been personally requested, by the Hokage no less to babysit Uzumaki Naruto. She had a lot of experience in dealing with babies and had accepted readily.
But babysitting Naruto had been much different than she had expected. The toddler was too energetic and lively. It was a bit tiring at first, but the boy had grown on her.
She remembered trying to get him to say her name, only for baby to blabber happily. His first was 'Kura..ma' which was unexpected to say the least. Perhaps, one the anbu guarding the boy were named Kurama?
The boy had learned, faster than any baby she had seen before. Maybe, he was one of the 'geniuses', Konoha was often blessed with. As a two year old, the boy had already started speaking simple sentences and by the time he was three, he spoke better than kids twice his age.
He was set to go to the orphamge, but something in her had called from inside and she had adopted the boy.
But much to her chagrin, as the boy aged, he became a bit reserved and mature. But he still smiled whenever he was with her, which was enough for her.
"Are you alright oka-san?", a childish voice interrupted her musings.
She looked at the boy and smiled. "Yes, I'm okay. Now, you wanted to speak with me ?"
"Uh, do you mind if I join the academy early oka-san ?" he asked quietly.
She shook her head, "No it's alright. As long as you pay attention, and don't overdo it, I suppose it will be fine."
She had already made peace with the fact that he would be a ninja. Still, the prospect of him getting hurt frightened her. She saw him looking at her expectantly and sighed.
"I will go and register you tomorrow. Are you sure you wish to join so early ? You can always join next year ?" she asked hopefully.
The boy shook her head and looked at her with wider than usual blue eyes. She sighed. How could she say no to that ?
5 year old Naruto was excited. Even though he was taught by the Kyuubi about the barbarity of the shinobi system and the need for reformation, he was still a bit excited. His oka-san left him outside the academy where a number of children were gathered.
He wondered if these were his future friends. He shook his head. It did not matter in the end. What he had to do, was to be done alone. Alone was not the right word. After all, he would always have Kurama with him. These friends would likely oppose him in the future.
Kurama had always been there for him. Even when his Oka-san was not. Kurama had taught him to speak, to walk and about the world, in general.
As he watched the children interact with each other, his mind went back to the conversation they had on the previous day.
*Flashback*
Naruto was in his mindscape. Or atleast that was what Kurama called it.
He was telling Kurama about Ninjas that he had read about in a book. Kurama had immediately shut him up and adopted a familiar look.
He knew a lecture was coming.
"Listen Naruto, what have I told you about other humans ?"
He rubbed his head thoughtfully, "That they should not be trusted and... Oh! that they were responsible for capturing you and your brothers simply for power."
And he agreed. He knew no one in the village liked him except for Ayaka oka-san because he had Kurama. They imprisoned Kurama inside him for power but despised him for having it? Kurama was right, as he always was.
"Correct. And who did you think did it? It was shinobi...Remember what I have told you about chakra?" He nodded. "Ober the years, shinobi have learned to weaponize, what was originally supposed to be a tool of global communication. This is why you have to be a shinobi. You are currently weak. But that can be remedied with time."
He nodded quickly. When he was 4, he had promised Kurama that one day, he will free all his siblings.
"I will ask Oka-san to register me early, then. But wouldn't learning to use chakra as a weapon be disrespectful to the sage?"
Kurama had told him many stories of the sage. It would be safe to say that the sage was his hero.
Kurama smiled. "It is. But we do not live in a perfect world. If you want your opinions to be heard, to bring change, you will have to be strong enough to face whoever opposes you."
He understood.
*Flashback over*
The Instructor called out their names and age to confirm their identities.
The way the man spat out his name in a hateful tone made him wonder if he will be taught fairly. He had no one else to teach him. After all, Kurama could not teach him shinobi arts.
An hour later, they were led to a classroom. He took a seat on the back.
After a brief lecture on the shinobi lifestyle and the syllabus of academy, the teachers began distributing a booklet containing information about chakra.
He was proven correct. He was given a tattered book which was missing many of its pages. He opened a channel to Kurama to ask for advice.
'Kurama I-'
'No need. I know what happened. Ask the teacher on the right for another booklet. He has the least negative emotions for you'
He gave him a mental nod.
He slowly made his way to the 'trustable' teacher. Or atleast, the one least likely to rebuff him.
The channel was still open and Kurama was watching. It made him a bit feel safer.
He called, "Sensei?"
The man looked at him with a frown, "Yes ?"
"Uh Can I get another book ? This one is torn and missing pages." He handed over the book shyly.
The instructor scowled. Naruto winced. But the scowl was not directed to him. It felt more like directed to the world at large. What a grumpy guy.
He was given a new copy and he happily trodded to his seat.
The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. He was picked up by his Oka-san in the evening after the classes ended.
The old man was going to visit again. Oka-san was busy preparing a hefty meal for 'Hokage-sama'.
Naruto hated meeting the Hokage. Any conversation with the old man was tiring.
He could not mention Kurama, for obvious reasons. But with the Hokage, he could not even make up a lie. Kurama had adviced him to always be vague and talk about unimportant things with the Hokage.
Also, it was because of him, that he did not know about his parents. Kurama would have already told him if it were not for the slim chance that the Hokage would discover him knowing things he shouldn't.
The door was knocked twice. He went to open the door, and saw the old man standing there, looking at him with a kind smile. He looked so harmless. But Kuarama had warned him that the Hokage was the most deadly ninja in the village.
He politely welcomed the man inside. Tjey settled down in the living room. Oka-san came and served the lunch.
After the pleasantries, the old man looked at him and asked, "I heard that you have joined the academy. Do you like it there Naruto-kun?"
He parroted what Kurama had told him to say. "Yes Hokage-jiji, it is great. The senseis don't like me very much for some reason and they treat me unfairly but I love learning the ninja arts."
The hokage raised an eyebrow and asked, "Could you give some examples on how they treat you unfairly Naruto-kun? I promise nothing you say will be held against you."
Naruto was inwarldy sweating. He hoped the Hokage had not picked up on it.
"They punish me often for no reason. Some of them cause me to miss the lectures. During quizes, I always get the most difficult questions.The study material they provide me is of poor quality and is often missing the content."