Chapter 1. A new beginning

"This is Fishcake, I have visual on the target." A young boy whispered into a wireless radio, which he had attached firmly to his ear. His eyes were firmly locked onto his elusive prey, the demon that they had been hunting down for hours. A beep sounded in his ear, followed soon by a young girl's voice.

"T-this is Sun, I'm in position." From his position atop the trees, he spied out from the corner of his eyes his teammate, who was lying in wait among the bushes. Though he wasn't sure if she could see him from where she was, he gave her a subtle nod, before he heard another beep.

"…Hn. I'm here."

"Oi, who the heck is "I"? We gave you a codename for a reason, why don't you use it?" The boy complained, pouting at his other teammate's lack of cooperation. He had spent a good amount of time thinking those codenames up, the least the guy could do was show some respect!

[Focus.]

He didn't need to be told twice. He brought his fingers up to the pendant hung around his neck, rolling it forward as if it were nodding. Sucking in a deep breath, the boy leapt and brought his hands together and intertwined his fingers.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" In a burst of smoke, multiple copies of the boy sprang out, each one moving towards their target. The demon immediately reacted, hissing venomously before expertly dodging a clone's attempt at grabbing it. A mass of limbs reached out to it, only for them to grasp at empty air as it used their arms as a makeshift bridge, allowing it to jump to safety towards the bushes.

"It's going towards you, now's your chance!" The boy yelled out at someone unseen.

Realizing that something was up, the demon could do nothing but stare ahead as a young girl emerged from the bushes. It was too late for it to change its trajectory, so it did the only thing it could in such a situation. Just as the girl grabbed its torso, the demon unleashed one of its deadliest weapons.

"P-please don't resis-Ah, it scratched me!" Startled by its attack, the girl let go of the demon, allowing it to run free in the opposite direction.

"Dammit!" The boy swore, before pursuing in the direction the demon ran in. "Taka, it's all up to you now!"

His clones dashed ahead of him, curving around the target in an attempt to cut off its escape route. Just as the demon attempted to turn back, another boy who has disguised himself as part of a tree sprang out, successfully catching it off guard. Exhausted from its attempts of escape, the demon resigned itself to its miserable fate and let out a disappointed mrowl.

It would enter hell once more.

"Oh, my cute Tora! I'll never let you go again!" Madame Shijimi wailed as she smothered her pet cat. The distressed animal struggled miserably against its owner's affections, futilely letting its displeasure be known through its angry meows.

"Heh, serves you right you demonic cat!" Naruto jeered, taking delight in the cat's suffering. After the damned thing gave them the runaround for the better part of the day, it was nice to see some payback being inflicted on it, even if he wasn't doing it himself.

[After seeing this, it's no wonder it ran away! Treat it more gently, animals aren't meant to be handled that way!]

[You always did like animals huh? Well, can't say that I disagree here.]

Naruto's eye twitched, as his moment of glory was ruined by the voices in his head. God, that sounded worse than he thought. He wasn't crazy last he checked, but after everything that's happened to him thus far, he wouldn't be surprised if he was. It'd explain a lot of things.

"U-um, Naruto-kun?" A gentle voice broke him out of his worries as he saw his teammate Hyūga Hinata approached him with a small container in hand.

"Tora scratched you a lot on our way here, s-so I was wondering if you'd like some of my family's healing salve?" Hinata shyly asked, ever red-faced as usual. A part of Naruto wondered why she always seemed to act that way around him, but that part was quickly quashed in favor of replying to her offer.

"Really? Thanks, Hinata, you're a lifesaver!" Naruto took the offered container in hand and started liberally applying the ointment.

"Oh, but you got scratched a bunch just now too, didn't you? Are you alright now?" He asked as he continued to apply the ointment, occasionally hissing in mild pain as the healing substance coated his wounds.

Seemingly exploding into a deeper shade of red, Hinata couldn't help but show a demure smile as she played with her fingers shyly.

"Y-yes, but I already used the ointment on myself, so I'm fine."

"Is that so? That's good then!" Naruto grinned, before capping the container and handing it back to Hinata.

[Uwah, she wants it bad! Oi Naruto, you should hurry up and take notice of her already, I feel bad just looking at her.]

Wants it? Want what? Eyebrows furrowing in confusion, Naruto brought his hands up to his pendant and tilted it sideways, as if he were tilting his own head in confusion.

[Don't tell me, you really don't know? Geez, how dense can you be? I'm not going to tell you until you figure it out for yourself, I guess.]

Though he was still puzzled by the response, Naruto couldn't reply as he heard the Third Hokage look up from his desk and address his team.

"Now then, Team Seven's next mission is…" The wizened old man began, before humming in interest. Naruto felt a thrill of excitement course through his body as he listened on. After what they had just went through, surely the next mission was something more exciting, right? What could it be? An epic quest to save a princess? A hunt for rogue ninja? A mission to liberate a village from the clutches of a tyrant?

"Babysitting Yojyu-sama's son." Naruto's grin fell from his face.

"Procuring supplies from a neighboring town." Naruto's face slowly shifted into a grimace.

"Helping to dig up potatoes at-"

"NO!" Naruto yelled out in protest, no longer able to stay silent. "No thanks to any of those! Give me something more exciting already, old man!"

[N-Naruto! You mustn't address the Third Hokage like that! Hurry up and apologize!]

[Ain't it fine? I agree that he should be doing something more fitting for his status already, all of these are just menial tasks.]

As the voices in his head continued to berate him, Hinata too became flustered.

"A-ah, Naruto-kun you shouldn't speak like that." Hinata gently advised, too shy to actually admonish her blond teammate.

[Hinata-chan really is a good kid huh? You better treat her kindly, Naruto.]

Wasn't he already treating her nicely though? Pouting due to both of their words, Naruto crossed his arms indignantly.

"My point still stands! I want to do a mission that's more exciting! Don't you agree, Sasuke?" The blond genin asked as he turned to his other teammate for support. He got none however, as the ever-stoic teen simply grunted as he looked on disinterestedly.

Meanwhile, Kakashi let out a sigh as he watched Naruto raise a ruckus. He'd already expected something like this to happen sooner or later. His musing was interrupted however, when he heard the sound of palms smacking against a table.

"You idiot! You're still just a novice!" Iruka shouted angrily at his ex-student. "Everyone starts with these sort of easy missions so as to build up experience!"

"But, but…!" Naruto continued to childishly whine. "We've only been doing boring missions late-Ghack!" Kakashi's fist slammed onto the back of his head, interrupting his impassioned speech for justice.

"Cut it out already." Kakashi admonished, watching as Naruto crumpled to the floor in pain. But before he could apologize to the Third Hokage for his student's outburst, he was interrupted by the man himself.

"Naruto." The man sternly began, putting down his cherished pipe as Naruto got back up. "It looks like I need to explain to you exactly what missions are in this village."

[Ah, he's going into a lecture. That Hiruzen, he never changes. As expected of "The Professor", I guess.]

The Professor? He'd never heard anyone call the Third Hokage that before. It would explain why the old man seemed to love giving long lectures, especially on topics related to ninjas. Speaking of which…

"Listen to me Naruto!" The Third Hokage scolded. He never liked it when one of his lectures were being ignored.

"I'm sorry about all this." Kakashi apologized on behalf of his student. To the jōnin's dismay, said student groaned and stood up.

"You've always lectured me like that old man." Naruto complained, before him giving a determined look. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not the kid who used to pull pranks anymore!"

As Naruto said that, his hand went up to clutch meaningfully at the pendant hung on his neck. A blue gem was shone brilliantly in the middle, encrusted by veins of silver metal surrounding it.

Upon seeing this, all Kakashi could do was lament the fact that he would undoubtably get a scolding for his student's obstinate behavior later. As he moved to apologize once more, he noticed both Iruka and the Third Hokage grinning.

"Alright then, so be it!" The Third Hokage said, taking a puff of his pipe. Naruto looked at him in shock, a sentiment that was shared between his teammates as well.

"If you insist so badly, I'll let you all take on a C-Ranked mission." Leaning forward, The Third Hokage added. "It's to escort a certain person."

"Really? Who?! Who?!" Naruto eagerly asked, his excitement from before returning in full force.

"I'll introduce you to him now." The old Hokage then turned towards the door behind the trio of genin and their teacher. "Can you please enter now?"

The four turned their attentions to the door, and watched in anticipation as the door slowly slid open. What they did not expect to see, was a drunk old man stumbling through the door.

"Haah? They all just a bunch of brats!" The bespectacled man belligerently complained, taking a long swig from a large bottle of sake. The brief moment of silence was enough for Naruto to take in the man's appearance. He had a head full of grey hair and a white towel draped around his neck, though his face was currently flush from the alcohol. He wore a dark grey sleeveless shirt coupled with a pair of beige pair, all held together by a sash tied around his waist.

Finally separating his lips from his booze, the man's eyes drunkenly scanned the room, ultimately falling upon Naruto's figure. He grimaced and looked past the trio of genin.

"Is that idiotic looking shorty really a ninja?" He directed his question towards the man standing near the three.

[Oi, who are you calling a shorty! He's someone of a higher standing than you, show some respect!]

[Dad, he can't hear you!]

[I don't care, no one insults my grandson and gets away with it!]

[The two of you need to calm down. Though you have to admit that Naruto is rather short.]

[Father, I think that's unfair coming from you, you were born the tallest out of all of us here after all.]

[Tch, don't just take an insult like that lying down, what kind of man are you?!]

Eyes twitching, Naruto clenched his fists. He would've said something even without the cacophony of voices currently screaming in his head. But before he could say anything, the man took another quick swig of his bottle and began to introduce himself.

"I'm a super bridge-building expert. The name's Tazuna." He began, his earlier drunkenness seemingly fading away. "Your job is to follow me back to my country and protect me with your lives while I complete a bridge."

Upon hearing that, Naruto's angry slowly faded away and gave into elation. Finally, a proper sounding mission!

"Don't you worry about a thing, we'll protect you! We won't even break a sweat!" Naruto puffed his chest out. "Right guys?"

"Hn."

"U-um, I-I'll do my best!"

Tazuna grimaced once more. Would he really be alright with these kids? He was already taking a huge risk though, seeing as how he hasn't really been totally honest about his situation.

Well, he'll cross that bridge when he gets there.

"Then I'll meet you guys later at the gates. I'm paying good money for you guys, so you better not be late."

And with those words, the team dispersed to go prepare for the upcoming mission. As Naruto leapt across rooftops on his way home, he heard the voices arguing once more.

[Keh, I still think we should've socked him across the face for what he said.] One voice said.

[It wouldn't have done anything to benefit us other than self-satisfaction. Besides, right now he is Naruto's client. It would've reflected badly on him if he'd actually attacked him. Not that you would understand, you barbarian.] Another voice retorted.

[What was that?! That's no way to talk to your father, dammit!]

[That aside, you should really hurry up Naruto. We need to talk to you before you leave, and you only have so much time.] A third voice urged.

"Talk to me? Can't you just do it right now then?" Naruto asked, finally being able to reply to them. It was unfair that they could clamor and complain in his head, but he couldn't shoot anything back at them until he was alone. He didn't want to add "talks to himself' to his reputation after all, and it was just plain weird to do it anyway. Even now, he wasn't used to having to communicate with those that spoke to him within his mind.

He supposed it meant that they couldn't hear his private thoughts though, so that was a silver lining.

[Well, we could just talk to you about it now, but we think it'd be best if we spoke face to face this time. There's a lot to teach you before you head out, and it'll be easier to do once you're with us.] A fourth voice kindly explained. Upon hearing him speak, Naruto's heart clenched a bit. He couldn't help it, knowing who that voice belonged to.

"Got it. I'm almost there, just give me a minute." Naruto accepted the explanation and redoubled his efforts.

True to his words, Naruto soon reached his humble abode, a ramshackle apartment. Upon entering, he was immediately on the receiving end of complaints.

[No matter how many times I see this, I can still hardly believe my eyes.] Lamented a fifth voice.

[To think after so many years of cultivating our land and legacy, we would be left with this.] A sixth voice agreed.

[It's mortifying, yes, but there's not much we can do about right now. I'm sure Naruto will find a solution eventually though!] A seventh voice boisterously proclaimed.

[Leave that aside for now. Naruto, we need you to hurry up and come to us. There's a lot we need to get out of the way, and the clock is ticking away.]

Curious as to what they could be talking about, Naruto quickly took a seat on a nearby chair. He still wasn't used to doing this, but he figured he'll warm up to it eventually. Naruto closed his eyes, and he relaxed his body, focusing his thoughts upon his destination.

His consciousness slowly began to slip, and soon, his world was overtaken by the sweet darkness of slumber.

Upon opening his eyes, Naruto was greeted by the sight of two grown men wrestling each other on the floor. One was dressed like a savage, with animal pelts all over his back and shoulders in a coat, leaving his chest and abdomen exposed. His unkempt, red hair tossed around wildly as he struggled with the other man, who was dressed like a hunter. Said hunter had long black hair that was tied into a ponytail, with two long strands framing his face.

[I'll teach you not to talk back to me, you unfilial child!] The barbarian spat, locking his thick arm around the hunter's neck.

[You've never taught me anything before, what makes you think that'll change now you deadbeat dad?!] The hunter retorted, using a one hand to pull at the arm around his neck while using the other to push against the barbarian's face.

"They're going at it as usual, huh?" Naruto awkwardly commented. Such a sight was commonplace where he was, though it usually involved not just the two struggling on the floor right now. Turning his attention away from the ruckus the two generated, Naruto took in the sight before him in full.

The room itself seemed paradoxically expansive, yet small at the same time. A wide, circular table was in the centre of the room, with large, high-class chairs surrounding them. Naruto himself was seated in one of said chairs, its backrest far exceeding his diminutive height. They totalled nine including his own, with three to his left, four to his right, and one directly across of him. Doors stood a distance behind each chair, each of them having a similar, yet slightly different design.

Around the room, were multiple circular blue orbs that were embedded in various places, along with a large one place right in the middle of the table. It glowed with a pale light, casting rays of light that were reflected by the large crystalline chandelier above it.

[Ahaha, just ignore them for now.] A third man replied, who was sat directly to his left. Unlike the two from before, this man had silky blond hair, and was dressed like one of those low-ranking noblemen that Naruto had pranked before. Unlike those snooty noblemen however, this one had a frivolous, carefree air around him.

[Since you're finally going out on a mission outside the village, we thought it'd be a great time to finally impart some of our skills onto you.] A fourth man smiled, though if you were to count the seats clockwise from where Naruto was seated, he'd be considered the eighth man in the room. He had spiky blond hair and was dressed like any other ninja in Konoha, only that he stood out with his white robe which he wore over his uniform. He had an extremely recognizable face, one that Naruto knew all too well.

How could he not? After all, it was literally carved in stone, overlooking the village for all to see. He'd be a fool to not be able to recognize his own hero's face when it was staring right back at him in the flesh.

Not just a corrected himself. For the man who was seated to his right was none other than his father. Just the knowledge of that made his heart soar, and he returned the smile as brightly as he could.

[Ah, that's right.] The first man jumped in, returning to his seat right across from Naruto's. [I've acknowledged you after that little training exercise with your teacher, so now it's time for you to learn the fun stuff.]

Hearing that, Naruto's smile widened. He looked at the eight men seated before him. Ever since he was a child, Naruto had lamented the fact that he was alone. He cursed the fact that he was left to fend for himself in a population that seemingly hated him for reasons he never knew.

And while he now knows about the existence of the Nine-Tailed Fox residing within him, that didn't erase the bitter memories of being released from class, only to see other children having their parents pick them up, while he stood alone with no one to care for him. The derisive glares he received as he walked alone in the streets of Konoha. The scornful scowls thrown his way whenever he entered a store. All without anyone to guide him.

But no longer. He was not alone.

For before him, sat eight different generations of Namikaze.

A/N: Hoo boy. How's it going everyone? Thanks for reading the first chapter of [Ninth]. I certainly hope it has managed to grab your attention. If it wasn't obvious enough already, it's heavily inspired by a certain light novel aka [Seventh]. Chapter 2 has already been completed, which I will likely release after I've finished Chapter 3. Hopefully such an upload model will work for now, though if it doesn't, I'll likely make it a bi-weekly thing.

I do want to say though, it's a pretty nice feeling to be writing again. If you're here because you've read [Infinite Possibilities] and followed me as a result, it's nice to see you all again. I'm sorry that I dropped the story all of a sudden, though I had my reasons.

But man, it's been what, seven whole years? A lot of things have happened since then. To think that I'm 21 now. Time sure passes by.

But that's enough from me. I'll do my best to work on Chapter 3 asap, so that I can release chapter 2 to you all sooner. Until then, ciao~