Chapter 2: Foundations Build on Sandy Shores
The first thing Naruto felt upon his first waking moments was how heavy his limbs felt. With every minute movement he attempted, he felt an unwieldy heft to his limbs as if they were soaked in concrete while he slept.
"Man, that's the last time I ever goof around with rooftops. I don't know how those ninja do it."
The young boy griped, apparently to himself as he was alone in the room, about his misfortune.
He pushed himself over in the bed and allowed his legs to dangle off the edge and his feet to flop gently upon the floor. Standing, he noticed his clothes folded neatly on his bedside table.
"No time like the present"
Naruto thought to himself before attempting to strip off the thin, uncomfortable gown. By the time he had it off from around his shoulders and was taking a good look at his previous apparel, searching for a proper way to bundle it up and dispose of it, he noticed the garment torn nearly in half, straight down the middle.
"What the hell? Great, they won't even give me something halfway decent to wear. Typical."
Naruto, emboldened by his disgruntlement, decided to attempt to change into his old clothes. Attempt, because much like his hospital gown, the moment he exerted the smallest amount of force to slip the elastic band around his waist he tore the clothes nearly in half.
"Uh...WHAT?"
The young boy stared in disbelief at the ruined clothes in his hands. He hadn't even felt the resistance the clothes should have given him. He took the opportunity presented by his nakedness to take figurative stock of his body. Only, once he had wiped the dreariness out of his eyes and taken an investigative look, he noticed that he didn't recognize the arms his hands were attached to. His arms were supposed to be skinny, small, almost frail and with hands to match; Not these though. Looking down at his arms he saw veins protruding from bulky, coiled, steely muscles.
Rushing over, he began stacking whatever he could find in an effort to reach the half mirror that hung above the sink. Once everything was precariously in place, young Naruto got a good look at himself. He looked…..unnatural. No five year old should look like the image he was seeing. Gone was his baby fat, or any other type of fat for that matter. He could view an uncountable amount of veins protruding from his body, just beneath the skin. Skin, which was pulled tight over bulging muscles that seemed to ripple under even the slightest of movements. Seeing his new state of being, Naruto naturally did what any other five year old would have done in his situation.
"SOMEBODY HELP MEEEE!"
He screamed so long that by the time the nursing staff found him he had passed out from lack of oxygen and was curled up and naked on the floor.
"Holy shit…" Apply described a young nurse whose name tag identified her as Ayaka. "Look at him. What do you think could do something like that?" Ayaka turned around to see her supervisor, a squat woman with a permanently disappointed look etched into her features, regard her with a sneer.
"Oh yeah, gee I wonder." The supervisor called out into the hallway. "Hey Bunko, go get the little freak a doctor would you? Oh, and inform the Hokage about the change." She then regarded Ayaka with a haughty grin. "Ayaka is still in training and evidently she needs to be informed about our resident demon and his…...condition."
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"Well Naruto, your vitals seem to be…..good." Hiruzen gave a nervous chuckle before continuing. "Well, if I am to be honest the weight is a little concerning. An average little boy would be around forty pounds your age you know?" Naruto, eyes to the ground, barely mumbled out a response.
"I'm a freak now Jiji. Look at me." He sniffled in between grumbles. "The nurse said I was seventy pounds, is that bad? What's wrong with me?"
Hiruzen regarded Naruto for a few moments to organize his thoughts before speaking.
"Naruto, your body has changed. I won't lie to you. Your bones have become twice as dense as what we would expect from a boy your age, you have put on nearly thirty pounds of muscle while simultaneously losing ninety-seven percent of all your body fat, X-rays revealed you have grown multiple new, support bones that assist in holding up the structural integrity of your new physiology, your heart rate and oxygen levels are inhumanly high, and your skin has thickened and taken on nearly a leathery consistency."
The Hokage's pause was met with silence and the sounds of a teardrop hitting the wood floor.
"However, you are still Naruto Uzumaki. My favorite knuckle-headed troublemaker." Naruto lifted his tear stained face to meet the eyes of Hiruzen, the Hokage's wrinkled face pulled up in a smile.
"Jiji, what's a fizzyogoly?"
The Hokage sighed deeply then addressed the boy.
"I know just what you need. You need something to take your mind off today's events. How would you like some ramen?"
Within the hour, Naruto and the Hokage were eating at a small but moderately successful ramen bar named Ichiraku Ramen. The ramen bar was run by a father and his daughter who were trying their hardest not to panic at the arrival of the village's most important figure at their little business. In fact, it was somewhere between little Naruto's second and third bowl that they realized the young boy, now dressed in the baggiest sweatshirt and sweatpants Ayami, the young woman, had ever seen.
"Hey there little guy! You enjoying that ramen?"
Naruto quickly shrunk back into his sweatshirt, eyes cast down in order to properly supervise his awkward, shuffling feet. Mercifully, the Hokage decided to intercede for the boy.
"Given the pace he's been putting it away, I'm sure he's loving it. Thank you my dear, he's just had a hard day."
"Oh Hokage-sama! It's no trouble at all! It's an absolute honor to serve both you and your little friend here. Please let me know if there's anything I can get you both. My dad and I are ecstatic to have you dining here."
Looking around, it was easy to see why. The presence of the Hokage seemed to be boosting the popularity of the ramen bar quite a bit and there were no signs of business slowing down. The Hokage gave a chuckle and waved Ayami off, focusing his attention once more on Naruto.
"So Naruto, have you thought about what you want to do when you grow up? Soon, you'll be old enough to choose your career."
Naruto was slurping the last of the broth in his fourth bowl by this time. He wiped his face with the back of his hand, taking great care to avoid getting broth on the clothes his Jiji got him, before beginning. "I don't know Jiji. I wanted to be a ninja like you but after the fall I don't know if I should. I can't even run on the rooftops without getting really hurt."
"Shit" thought Hiruzen. "Unintended side effect of memory alteration, he's scared he's inept and this will happen again. Ehh, I'm sure all he needs is a push." Hiruzen rubbed gently on Naruto's head, messing his already wild hair before addressing the boy and his fears. "Naruto everyone fails occasionally, you know that? The strongest, most important people in the world are oftentimes the people who have failed the most. What is important is that you follow your dreams no matter what stands in your way. Do you understand?"
"But Jiji, I can't do anything right! All my life I've gotten hurt for just doing stuff even civilians should be able to do! How am I supposed to fight and run and do awesome jutsu like a ninja?"
Tears were beginning to well up in the young boy's eyes once more as he relinquished his fears.
"My dear boy, each ninja starts where you are now. Every ninja under my command has failed over and over again. For each ninja you see performing their duty excellently, seemingly without flaw, there is a hundred ninja running a hundred jobs making hundreds of mistakes. What makes them so impressive is their willingness to get back up and keep learning."
The wrinkled man chuckled and offered up a warm smile.
"Naruto, I sense something special in you. I know that no matter what, you're going to be amazing. So I think you can do whatever you put your heart to, including the academy."
Hiruzen was promptly tackled by a flying hug delivered by a child with tears running down his face. "I promise Jiji! I'll do anything and everything I can to become a ninja just like you. Nobody will stop me! I'm going to be the strongest ever; in the whole world!
"Ah, that was easier than anticipated. Good, Konoha can't really afford to have our jinchuriki be afraid of becoming a ninja." Hiruzen cleared his throat after some time of listening to the boy babble near incoherently into his robes.
"Good Naruto, I'm proud of you. Just remember, your word is your honor. Don't promise things you can't deliver."
"I can do it Jiji! I promise I'll be the best ninja ever and I'll never break that or any promise ever! I'll be so strong I'll take your hat and be Hokage. I'll be the best Hokage ever!"
"I'm sure you will Naruto, but first things first. You have to go to the academy and do well enough to be a ninja first." Gazing up at the clock inside the ramen stand the Hokage gave a slight start. "Hmm, I apologize Naruto but it's time for me to leave. I have to return to my office and my greatest enemy."
Upon hearing this Naruto immediately grew quiet. He looked up into Hiruzen's eyes and whispered. "Are you going to be ok Jiji? Who is your greatest enemy?"
Hiruzen gazed off into the distance taking a last look at the sunset before taking out and lighting his pipe. He took a puff and merely uttered one word.
"Paperwork."
"You jerk!"
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In the park, children ran and played as the sun set. Swinging alone, Naruto sat deep in thought. In fact, he was considering his future and how he was going to go about being the most amazing ninja to ever walk the elemental nations when he was approached by a group of young boys.
"Hey freak! Get off the swing! We're going to play on it now and we don't want your stupid germs on it." Declared the largest of the group of civilian boys. A child of the age of seven.
"Huh? What do you mean? I don't have germs; and I'm not a freak! You take that back cuz I'm going to be the strongest ninja ever!" Naruto defiantly yelled in response.
Another boy more towards the back of the group responded.
"Yeah right. My mom works at the hospital and she saw you after your little accident on the rooftop. Nobody as clumsy and stupid as you will ever make it into the academy. Let alone be a ninja."
Hopping off the swing to address the older bully, Naruto squared his shoulders and looked directly into his face. "Oh yeah? What would you know dumbass? Jiji believes in me and he's the strongest ninja in the village."
The ringleader of the group of boys stepped forward.
"Yeah right dunce, the strongest ninja in the village is the Hokage and the honorable grandson was just born a few months ago. So unless you're a dunce AND a baby there's no way for you to be related to the Hokage."
The young boy's entourage began chuckling and passing around names in response to their leader's comeback. Empowered by the support he was experiencing, the child decided to push on with his torment.
"In fact, I heard from Genji that his mom said you're just some bastard orphan."
Something happened within those few moments between the utterance of that final insult and Naruto losing control. It wasn't clear to anyone but Naruto what exactly the breaking point was; whether it was just simple lack of restraint, a sore spot concerning his heritage, or the fact that he felt trapped by the boys attempting to hassle their way into controlling the playground, a playground that wouldn't include Naruto. Whatever it was, it sealed the young bully's fate.
"You're dead."
Before the boy could even process those words, Naruto exploded forward, driving his shoulder into the leader's gut. The struck child folded like a napkin around Naruto's younger frame, providing ample opportunity for Naruto to lift the young boy off of his feet using his shoulder as leverage and brutally throw him into the swing. Shattering both the swing and likely a few of the bully's ribs. If any experienced fighter were to look at the scuffle, they would be able to identify that no move made by the infuriated child was trained, with good form, or proper stance.
Rather, everything Naruto did to that child for the next five minutes was pure adrenaline and raw strength fueled by the hazy red aura that began to develop the longer the one sided fight went down. By the time Naruto came to his senses, he was straddling a bloody and bruised child whose face was covered by a film of tears, snot, and blood. A face that was rapidly beginning to swell.
Naruto leaped to his feet and backpedaled before looking around, still in a hormonal, rage induced daze. Only to see a dozen different children, who had stopped to watch in horror, all staring at him with the entirety of their attention. The rest of the gang that had followed the young boy had either ran off at some point or lay on the ground crying from punches delivered on autopilot. He slowly spun in circles taking in each of the kids who only now started to begin whispering incomprehensible things to each other. From what Naruto could make out they were all absolutely terrified of him and they were afraid that they were next.
"No! I never wanted this. I didn't want to do this. I….What happened to me?"
Suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulders from behind and began shaking them. Naruto turned to see who had decided to approach him but it wasn't someone he recognized. The only thing that Naruto did recognize of the girl was the emblem she wore on her coat; A red and white fan. He couldn't make out what the girl was trying to tell him over the ringing in his ears and the feel of his heartbeat pounding in his skull. The slap introduced to his now stinging right cheek fixed that problem effectively. Slingshotting back to reality with dizzying speed, he turned back towards the girl to try and hear what she was saying only to hear her nearly scream.
"YOU NEED TO RUN!"
She began attempting to push him in a seemingly random direction only to find out he was much too sturdy for her to move so adjusting on the fly she grabbed his hand and commanded.
"Follow me! Hurry, they're coming!
Naruto began to move with the girl. As they fell into a sprint, Naruto noticed he was struggling to keep pace, which was strange in his mind considering this girl didn't look like she was built like a runner. Rather, she looked rather thin. When they finally stopped, Naruto took stock of his environment. She had led them to a clearing in the forest. He hadn't been to this part of the village before but mostly because you could hear the ninja training here and his Jiji told him that interrupting the ninja could be dangerous due to the jutsu that they could be using.
"Oh…..this is a training ground. Why would she bring me here? We're going to get in so much trouble!"
"HEY! What's going on? Where are we? Who are you?"
Cheeks red from either exertion or embarrassment, the girl didn't turn when she answered the question. Instead she began looking around the foliage that lined the clearing.
"Quiet!" She hissed. "I've never seen adults look at anyone like that before and they weren't THAT far behind us. I think they were going to hurt you. I'm trying to find us a…...GOT IT!"
Naruto watched the young girl grab ahold of an inconspicuous tree root before pulling upwards, lifting a perfectly hidden manhole hidden below it. Peering down the manhole, the only things present were a ladder and the dark depths below. Naruto began to back away, scared of the prospect of entering into the dark, enclosed earth, but that's when the noise of the adults in pursuit broke through the clearing.
"I saw them over this way! Come on, they can't be far."
Naruto didn't quite understand what was happening or why this girl was trying to help him, but he knew he liked his odds with the girl that had led him here rather than explaining to the group of adults why he turned those kids into boneless heaps of pain. So with a gulp and a deep inward breath, Naruto decided to descend the ladder into the black pit. What little light he did have was snuffed out when he was far enough down for the girl to join him. Especially when she closed the manhole cover behind her. Quietly, they descended the ladder in relative silence. Just as Naruto was beginning to panic, his foot touched the ground and he was able to blindly stumble into a wall.
"Hey, don't panic alright? It's always going to be really dark down here for a little while. There are lights I'll turn on after I get down and find them."
Naruto could hear the girl call out in the darkness but it was impossible to locate her. Placing his hand in front of his face even just shy of touching his eyes revealed nothing. He looked quite ridiculous flailing around in the dark and waving his hands at the moment when the girl found the switch and brought soft orange light to their little hideaway.
"Pfffffffft! Hahahaha! What are you doing?" The girl's spit take brought heat to Naruto's face and in response he crossed his arms and turned his head away.
"It was dark! I don't know you and I've never been here before! Lay off, will you?"
"Oh! That's right, with all the running around and panicking I completely forgot. My name is Kiyu Uchiha. It's very nice to meet you! I don't really know anything about you or why what happened at the park happened, but my dad told me that it is an Uchiha's duty to help those in need and keep the public safe. So I did the best thing I could think of; I brought you to my secret hideout!"
Stars in his eyes, Naruto began looking around almost frantically.
"This is your secret hideout? That's AWESOME!"
The hideout was a simple fifteen square foot bunker with concrete walls, a cot in the corner, a training dummy, and a bookshelf. It was clean and spartan in design, or rather one could tell it originally was. Now, the bunker had posters of various movies pinned up to the walls, different books and manga adorning the bookshelf, a stuffed tanuki resting on the cot which also had a sleeping bag and pillows laying chaotically on it, and a small table with snacks, primarily strawberry pocky from Naruto's first glance.
"Yeah! But you can't tell anyone ok? Not even my parents know about this place. I come here to hangout and relax when the compound gets too much."
Naruto frantically reassured her. "I won't tell a soul I promise! This is the coolest thing I've ever seen! I would never take this from you."
Kiyu sighed. "Good, thank you. You never did tell me your name though."
"Oh right! Sorry. My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I'm going to become the strongest ninja in the village and one day be Hokage! Believe it!"
To Kiyu, the difference between the boy in front of her and the feral child on the playground was night and day. Things weren't adding up and she was going to get down to the bottom of it.
"Alright Naruto, so why did you hurt those idiots at the playground? Don't get me wrong, I think someone should stand up to them but what you did was way too much. They probably need to go to the hospital."
At this question, Naruto sat down on the floor and curled his knees to his chest.
"I….I don't know. I'm not crazy, ok? Please don't think I'm some sort of monster or anything. I'll try to explain everything I can, please just…...wait until the end before you decide anything about me."
At this, Kiyu sat down on the floor across from him and pulled out a notepad.
"I promise I won't say a word or judge you or anything until you're all done. I'm gonna write everything down so I can remember this the next time we meet ok?"
Confused, Naruto looked up at Kiyu from between his knees.
"Next time?"
"That's right Naruto! It's an Uchiha's job to make sure everyone is safe and happy; That means you too. I'm gonna be here to help with whatever problem you have until you don't have it anymore, got it?"
That…...sounded really nice; Almost like she was offering to be a friend.
"Ok, I think I'd like that." Taking a deep breath to center himself, Naruto decided it was time for the explanations to begin. "It all started with these weird nightmares I have. Nearly every night I hear this…..."
Naruto and Kiyu would spend three hours in that bunker before going their separate ways. Both with a smile on their face. Naruto because it was nice to get the problems, dreams, and feelings off his chest to someone nice who would listen; Kiyu because she felt like a proper Uchiha, working with people to make the world a better place. Because of this, the stern talking to she received for returning so late was well worth it.
End of chapter 2
Me again. What do you guys think of chapter length? Right now I'm planning to write a chapter at around 3.5 words each. I feel like that's pretty sustainable. If you all have a specific preference then feel free to review or dm me your preference. Anywho, enjoy the upload and have a good however-long-it-is-until-I-see-you-again.