Author's Notes: Here I am again, starting another story after just having started a new one earlier this week. To provide a statement for my other two stories, I'll be mainly focusing on my two newest stories for a few weeks, before I go back to my older two stories. While the concept of a Ronin!Naruto may not be very original, I'll be doing my best to breathe new life into it. As for Hanyou!Naruto and Ketsuryugan!Naruto... I just wanted to try something new.
For a second note, Naruto will not have a Harem in this story, he will strictly be paired with Fem!Haku. Albeit, Haku herself will not be making her debut in this chapter, as this will serve as an introduction for Naruto in this story.
As per usual, expect Naruto to be OOC! and/or overpowered in certain portions of the story. Some lore will have to be changed.
With that out of the way... Let's get this show on the road!
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"'Talking or thinking by the Kyuubi or berserk Naruto'"
-Konoha, Naruto's Age:10-
A wounded Naruto fell to the ground, his clothes tattered and covered in his blood, as rusted blades were driven into his legs, pinning Naruto to the ground and not allowing for any further escape from the blonde.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" A drunken voice asked as a few villagers stumbled towards Naruto.
"Are you scared, demon?" A villager asked, kicking Naruto in the face.
"P-Please..." Naruto muttered, "N-No more..."
"Now?!" A third villager asked, dousing Naruto in an unknown liquid. "Now you ask for mercy?!"
"Give us our families back!" A fourth villager demanded, shattering a bottle over the blonde's head, a shard of glass cutting Naruto in his right eye. "Then we'll grant you mercy..."
Naruto screamed in pain, as the vision in his right eye faded into darkness. Before he was able to even process what happened, Naruto was slammed into the pavement, before more of the liquid was doused over his head.
"Hurry!" A villager yelled, "The Anbu might be coming any time!"
With his body broken, Naruto could do nothing but lay helpless on the pavement, blinded in one eye, with semblances of a strange liquid in the other. Suddenly, a villager dropped a lit match onto Naruto, setting the young blonde completely ablaze, causing him to scream in pain. With the crime now committed, the villagers fled the scene, leaving behind a burning Naruto.
"Help me..." Naruto murmured, not being able to yell due to the multiple wounds across his body, as the remaining vision he had in his left eye slowly faded. 'Dark... It's so dark... It's all gone dark... Help me...' Naruto thought, as his vision completely vanished, with the blonde himself falling unconscious.
As if a form of ironic justice had intervened, a downpour of rain soon followed, extinguishing the flames which had encompassed Naruto. Before long, two jonin wandered towards Naruto, before standing over him.
"Is that?" The first jonin asked.
"It sure is," The second jonin replied, "That's the demon... Too bad though, it seems someone got to him first."
"Do we?" The first jonin asked.
"No... It's not our problem," The second jonin stated, "We'll take the knives, though."
Doing as the second jonin said, the first jonin removed the rusted blades from Naruto's legs, before leaving with the second jonin, as the rain continued to pour down upon the grievously wounded Naruto. Unbeknownst to the two leaving jonin and Naruto himself, however, the blonde's wounds began to patch themselves up.
-Naruto's Mindscape-
Naruto could've sworn he was dead, blinded at the very least. Suddenly, the screams halted, as Naruto found the strength to stand up once again.
'What is this?' Naruto thought, stumbling to his feet before smacking into a wall. 'It's cold... Wet... Lonely?'
"Cold... Isn't it?" Came a deep voice, startling Naruto.
"W-who are you?!" Naruto asked, falling to his feet, "D-don't hurt me!"
"Easy, kit," The voice urged, "Those aren't easy wounds to suffer..."
"W-Where am I?" Naruto asked, groping the air in an attempt to find his way.
"We're in your mind, more specifically, your mindscape," The voice replied.
"W-Who are you?" Naruto asked.
"The only damn reason you're alive right now," The voice declared, "I am the Kyuubi."
"B-but, you're dead!" Naruto stated, "The Fourth Hokage killed you!"
"Do you seriously still think that's the case?" The Kyuubi deadpanned, "Have you ever stopped to consider why all those villagers called you a demon? Have you ever thought about why all your academy teachers treated you like shit? That's not your fault, it's mine. The Fourth Hokage sealed me inside of you."
"Why?!" Naruto asked, "Why did he do that?!"
"Perhaps I can explain..." A voice suddenly said.
"You!" The Kyuubi suddenly roared, "Take one good look, Minato, look what they did to your son!"
'Minato? Son?' Naruto thought, before piecing it together, 'The Fourth Hokage... Is my father?'
Still having no information regarding the world around him due to his lack of eyesight, Naruto groped around, as slow footsteps approached him. As if he had not been blinded, Naruto could almost picture Minato crouching to his level, before hugging him tightly.
"What..." Minato began to ask, "Just what have they done to you... Naruto?"
"Is it true?" Naruto squeaked out weakly, "Are you... My father?"
There was a sudden pause, as Naruto could feel tears on his shoulder.
"I am," Minato replied, fully expecting his son's retaliation, only to be surprised when Naruto returned the hug. "I- I'm truly... Sorry."
"Why?" Naruto asked, "Why me? Why did you seal the Kyuubi inside of me?"
"That's for later..." Minato assured, "Right now, we need to make sure you do not perish, not like this."
Minato stood up, before also helping Naruto up.
"There is a sealing scroll in front of you," Minato explained, pointing towards the seal which contained Kurama. "If you just rip a bit of it off, the Kyuubi can supply you with enough of his chakra to ensure your survival," Minato continued as Naruto began limping towards the paper. "That's it..."
Naruto groped around, before placing his hand on the edge of the paper. Minato's eyes widened, as Naruto bent his right arm. Noticing Naruto's true intent, Minato dashed over, before pulling the blonde away from the scroll.
"Do not do that, Naruto," Minato replied, "Should you remove the scroll entirely, the Kyuubi will-"
"I know," Naruto stated, cutting Minato off, "But from how I was treated... I see no reason that Konoha should not burn to the ground."
"Aside from the fact that doing such a thing would kill you..." Minato began to explain as the environment around them shifted to one that was completely blank. "That is not the right way, Naruto. You can not blame the crimes of a few on the entirety of a group. That is simply unfair on them."
Naruto fell to his knees, holding his head in his arms. "Then explain, father! Why was it fair for me to get treated the way I did?!" Naruto suddenly burst out, "How is it fair for me to be the one who constantly has to be beaten?! For something that I am not responsible for?!"
"So long as fear exists in this world... Hate will constantly be festered... Often against those who do not deserve it in any way," Minato began to explain.
Tears began to stream down Naruto's face as he picked himself up, "I- I just can't... I just can't bring myself to forgive Konoha... Part of me... Truly does want to see Konoha burn..."
"I know," Minato replied.
"THEN TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD DO!" Naruto demanded, "TELL ME, LORD FORTH! WHAT SHOULD I DO?!"
Minato did not reply, merely placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "How old are you, Naruto?"
"Ten..." Naruto replied, rubbing the tears from his face.
"My, my..." Minato continued, "You must've been through a lot, haven't you? I have no right to call myself a good man... Let alone a good father, for letting you go through that... But there is a reason... For which I sealed the Kyuubi into you."
"And what could that have been?!" Naruto asked in anger, "What reason could've possibly been so important that you've compelled me to this fate?!"
"I wanted you to forge your way..." Minato revealed, surprising Naruto, "For I believed that you would master the Kyuubi's power... Because you are my son. As a parent, it is my duty to watch over you, nurture you, and protect you... Seeing as I couldn't do any of those... The least I could do was to put my faith into you."
A single tear fell onto the ground, as Naruto positioned his face where he assumed Minato's face was.
"Then..." Naruto began to say, "Tell me... What should I do?"
Minato paused, before answering. "I don't know."
"If... If you can't give me an answer..." Naruto began, slowly welling up again, "Who am I, to find an answer? I'M NOT SMART! I'M NOT STRONG! I'M-"
Placing a hand on Naruto's head, Minato cut his son off, before speaking once again as he began to fade into the air.
"You'll find an answer," Minato assured with a smile, "I believe in you. You are my son. You can do it."
Tears began to stream down Naruto's face, as he felt Minato slowly fading away. Naruto suddenly smiled, sensing Minato's smile.
"As long as you do not give up hope, as long as you do not give in to the deepest of your temptations..." Minato assured, vanishing into nothing, with nothing more but his voice still echoing through Naruto's mind. "I believe you can do it... And I always will."
Naruto smiled with contempt into the darkness of his vision, the environment shifting to a vast forest, one of which the Kyuubi stood in the center of.
"What the-" The Kyuubi began to say, only for Naruto to raise an arm.
"Consider this my thanks, Kurama..." Naruto replied, shocking the nine-tailed beast. "For always looking over me..."
"How did you-" Kurama asked.
"Know your name?" Naruto asked, "I don't know... It's like, I always knew?"
Naruto turned around, "I should be fully healed by now, right?" Not waiting for Kurama's response, Naruto continued. "I... Don't exactly know where I should go now... But Konoha isn't where I'm staying..."
"Wait!" Kurama yelled.
"That should be all for now, Kurama..." Naruto stated, "I'm counting on you, from now on."
"Shut up and listen to me!" Kurama placed forth a demand, one which Naruto appeased. "There is one more thing I can do for you... Albeit, it's really your choice if you want me to."
"I'm listening..." Naruto replied.
"If... I was to... Say, age you by two years, and infuse my chakra with your own..." Kurama began to explain, "I could make you gain a better sense of hearing, smell, and chakra control..."
"Why would I say no to that?!" Naruto asked back.
"Well... There is one more part..." Kurama continued, "Your blindness will take three years to heal..."
"So what?" Naruto asked, "I could hear and smell better, and hell, waiting three years for a cure to my eternal darkness is better than living the rest of my life blind..."
"Just a heads up," Kurama interjected, "The eyes you gain after the three years are up will not be the same ones you had..."
"What are they called?" Naruto asked, knowing full well of the special names of unique eyes.
"The Ketsuryugan..." Kurama stated, "You should wake up now... It is the opportune time to leave."
-Real World-
Naruto slowly struggled to his feet, noticing his continued lack of vision as well as the absence of any wounds. Naruto groped around for a bit, before coming upon a cloth-like object. Not taking any time to analyze the situation, Naruto quickly tied the cloth around his eyes, before, with Kurama's instructions, making a mad dash out of the village and into the great unknown.
-The Next Day-
Naruto awoke atop a tree branch, with little to no recollection of how he had gotten there and with even lesser knowledge of his current location.
'Where do I go now, Kurama?' Naruto asked mentally.
"Your father left a map for you..." Kurama explained, "One which would lead you to, what seems to be the final relic of your heritage... Seeing as your current situation leaves you... unable to read the map... I'll lead the way, just listen closely."
"Where does it lead?" Naruto asked verbally, taking note of the slim chance of anyone being there.
"A place of which I have only laid eyes upon once..." Kurama noted, "Uzushiogakure... The home of the Uzumaki Clan."
Naruto nodded, noting the shared names between himself and the clan.
"Importantly..." Kurama continued, "The former home of Kushina Uzumaki... My former hostess... And your mother."
-Hours Later-
"Halt," Kurama stated, "We've arrived."
Naruto stood across where the former city once stood, mentally picturing the demolished village based on how Kurama had described it.
"I- I hear something..." Naruto stated, something akin to a whisper echoing in his ears. "They call to me..."
"What does?" Kurama questioned.
"The voices of the extinguished..." Naruto replied, making his way across a bridge, one which Kurama had not told him of.
"How did you-" Kurama began to ask.
"They're guiding me..." Naruto revealed.
Naruto traversed the ruined village, stretching his arms about to ensure he did not bump into any rubble. Upon reaching the direct center of the settlement, Naruto fell to his knees, groping around as if trying to find something. Eventually, Naruto found what he had been looking for - A hand-shaped hole, one which perfectly fit his hand.
"Place your hand..." A voice whispered into Naruto's ear. "Claim your heritage..."
Nodding to himself, Naruto placed his hand into the hole, before the ground began to shake slightly, as something seemed to unearth itself. Reaching out, Naruto wrapped his fingers around what appeared to be the hilt of a sword. Now knowing the true reason he was called here, Naruto grabbed the handle tightly, before pulling it out of the ground, claiming the katana-like blade as his own.
"Our hopes and dreams now live through you..." Came the whisper of a loving female voice, "My son..."
Naruto held the blade up high, as he felt his chakra coursing into the blade, just as many whispers echoed through his ears.
"Muramasa..." Naruto stated, "So that's your name... I wonder... What do you look like?"
Unbeknownst to Naruto, the blade began to glow red, before reverting to its normal blue tint.
"If you're done inspecting the blade..." Kurama stated, breaking Naruto out of his trance, "Put the blade back in its sheath, and let's get going."
"Alright," Naruto replied, sheathing his newly acquired blade and placing it around his back. "Where to now?"
"A place where they will teach you to use that blade..." Kurama assured, "The home of the Samurai... The Land of Iron."
Naruto nodded, as Kurama began to guide him out of the ruins of the former village.
Author's Notes 2: And that concludes the first chapter of Blade of the Blizzard! Not my best work... But that could be because I have more plans for the later parts of this story in comparison to the first two chapters.
Anyways, feel free to tell me what you guys thought of it in the reviews down below, I'm interested in your feedback regardless of whether it's negative or positive.