Disclaimer: sup? Do people read these things. Or do you just see the word disclaimer and your like "right, blah blah, we get you don't own Naruto." And then you just skip to the beginning of the story?
-start-
Naruto strained his ears, listening for anyone coming down the hall. When he heard nothing he reached under his pillow. He had to suppress an exciting squeal as his fingers grabbed ahold of the crinkly plastic. Pulling out the sequestered candy bar he had pinched from the caretaker's desk. As he pulled it out he marveled at its shiny wrapping.
He had noticed she kept them in the bottom drawer of her desk when he'd caught her pulling one out once. All he had to do was sneak in and pick the lock. Almost too easy.
His heart pounded in his chest as he tried to make as little noise as possible as he ripped open the packaging. He mentally swore as whoever made the wrapper did their best to make it out of the loudest material as possible.
Finally getting the wrapper halfway off, he brought the chocolate treat to his lips. He took a moment to simply breathed in the chocolate aroma first. Letting the smell of sweetened cocoa fill his nose, making his mouth overflow with saliva.
Swallowing, he delicately took a small bite from the tip of the bar. The chocolate instantly started to melt as it touched the tip of his tongue. The sublime taste of the candy bathed over his taste buds lighting them up like he couldn't remember them ever being.
He shuddered in delight as he chewed the nougat that the chocolate coated. Goose bumps rose down his skin as the rest of the world melted away.
His dank little room at the end of the hall transformed itself into a lovely fluffy cloud that floated through chocolate and nougat heaven.
Suddenly that all changed at the sound of his door slamming open jolted him from said paradise. He fell hard back to earth as his eyes snapped open only to be greeted by the scowling face of the orphanage caretaker. His eyes traveled down the fire poker she had clutched in her boney hand.
Her sharp grey eyes looked down at the candy bar he still held in his tiny hand. A single nibble took from the tip.
"You dirty little thief!" She snarled causing Naruto to drop the candy bar.
The old woman stomped her way up to the frightened boy. Naruto started to panic as she wound her arm back like she was going to take a swing at him.
"W-wai-!"
She swung faster than he thought possible. He had no time to react. There was a blinding flash of pain emanating from the side of his head turning his vision white, then there was just black.
--
"Ugh..." Naruto groaned as he started to come to consciousness.
He was instantly assaulted with the worst headache he'd ever experienced in his entire yet admittedly short life. His head felt like a split melon. Reaching up to the spot with the most pain was located, he winced as the pain spiked once his fingers touched the side of his head.
'right' he had been hit in the side of the head with a fire poker. Opening his eyes he was confused by the stars being above him. There also seemed to be walls of some sort around him, but there was no ceiling.
Breathing through his nose he had to gag as he smelt some thing horrible. It smelt like old trash. Looking around himself his face fell into a scowl. 'oh, that explains it' he thought as he noticed he was in a dumpster.
He was surrounded by bags of trash and just general refuse. With a groan and a grunt of exertion, he pulled himself up. His head just came over the lip of the dumpster as he took in his surrounding.
He seemed to be in an alley that in no way looked familiar to him. With a sigh, he tossed his leg over the edge of the dumpster and pulled himself out.
He had misjudged his grip and lost it toppling over and falling to the hard floor of the alley with a thump.
Naruto just laid on his back for a while, staring up at the stars that hung in the night sky. He had heard from some older kids at the orphanage that the stars told stories. As he looked up at the sparkling lights that speckled the dark canvas, all he saw was chaos.
Amazing beautiful chaos. They stood above all else without any care in the world. No care of what happened down here. They never had to choke down cold soggy day-old rice just so they wouldn't starve. Or get locked in the hot boiler room for hours when they back talked. Or get cracked in the side of the head with a fire poker.
As he lay there on the cold ground, head still ringing, body sore and stinking like trash he made himself a promise. A promise of a lifetime. He was going to be like those little sparkles in the sky.
He was going to stand above everyone else. He wouldn't have to care about what these people did down here in the dirt and trash. He was going to be better than all of them.
They'll look up at him in wonder and be amazed by his excellence, and when they try to reach up and touch him they'll be burned by his bright light.
Clenching his fist Naruto punched it up to the stars. He held it leveled at the sky, glaring up at it in challenge.
( Five years later. Naruto age 15)
Naruto Uzumaki or otherwise Known as the Demon strolled down the street, his hands stuffed in his pockets. On his right side was Chūji. The diminutive brown-haired plain looking boy. His smaller legs moving quickly to keep up with Naruto's larger stride.
"Heya Naru!"
Naruto turned to wave back at the prostitute that called out to him as she sat in front of her parlor. Naruto kept walking stuffing his hand back into his pocket.
"You fucking her boss?" Chūji asked smirking at Naruto.
Naruto snorted lightly punching the top of his underlings head causing the boy to yelp.
"No you idiot, I ain't got time for that. I just helped her with an unruly customer recently." Naruto explained nonchalantly.
Chūji just smirked. He knew his boss had to be getting something out of those hookers by the way they always seemed to smile his way. But then again that could be due to his well-known chivalrous ways and constant white knighting for sex workers.
Naruto lightly backhanded Chūji's shoulder to get his attention as the blond turned into a small restaurant. Old men in suits littered the joint, most of them smoking cigars or cigarettes. Naruto resisted the urge to gag at the heavy tobacco smoke that hung in the air. He walked to the back his underling following behind him.
Walking through the kitchen he passed the chefs who bustled around trying to fill orders. They paid him no mind as he made it to a door marked employees only. Knocking twice Naruto stood back keeping his arms to his side.
A few seconds elapsed before the door opened slightly and a man in an overside suit poked his head out. He took in the sight of Naruto and his companion before grunting. Stepping back he opened the door fully, letting the two come inside.
The room wasn't large, more of an oversized supply closet than anything. A single bulb hung from the ceiling barley illuminating the place. The only thing in it was a round card table in the center surrounded by folding chairs. Some of the chairs were occupied by men in suits. The man who sat at the head of the table ( as much as there can be such a thing for a round table) sat slouched in his chair with a lit cigarette loosely held in his lips.
He had his long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Instead of a suit, he wore a dark red silk button-up that went well with his slacks. His sharp black eyes looked up at the two newcomers as the entered.
" Ah Demon! my favorite little punk! Come sit." Tsūretsu, head boss of the Hi no zugaikotsu group greeted Naruto amicably.
He gestured to the seat across the table from him, which Naruto swiftly took after a bow to show respect. Chūji bowed as well taking a stance behind Naruto his hands folded behind his back.
"Thank you, sir."
Tsūretsu waved him off. He took a long drag of his cigarette before blowing the smoke out through his nose.
"So you got it?"
Naruto held his hand over his shoulder at the question. Chūji was quick to place a thick envelope in his boss's hand. With a smirk, Naruto tossed the envelope in front of his boss causing a loud thunk to sound through the room.
Tsūretsu had a similar smirk to Naruto's as he stubbed out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray before picking up the stuffed envelope. The smirk only grew as he quickly counted to bills inside.
"Damn Demon! You always go above and beyond, our little overachiever." Tsūretsu complimented as he finished counting the money inside.
"I do what I can." Naruto shrugged, his smirk never leaving his face.
Tsūretsu chuckled at the kid's fake humbleness. Naruto was a damn prodigy of a gangster and the brat knew it.
"Yeah yeah," Tsūretsu grumbled as he pulled a small stack of bills from the envelope before tossing it in front of Naruto.
"Here ya go get yourself something nice. Like some new duds"
Naruto frowned looking down at his clothes. He wore a dark tank top with a burnt orange button-up over it, unbuttoned. His pants were just a simple pair of black track pants with an orange stripe running down both sides.
Tsūretsu scoffed. Shaking his head in bemusement. He didn't get this generation at all. When he joined up with Hi no zugaikotsu the first thing he did was buy a tailored suit.
"Whatever, someone will be by your place in a couple of days with more product for you to offload. Now, go do whatever it is you kids do for fun." Tsūretsu dismissed them with a wave of his hand.
"Yes sir."
Naruto stood up grabbed the stack of bills he had been given and walked out of the room. As he made his way back to the street he pulled a few bills from the stack passing them back to Chūji who followed behind him.
"Thanks, boss!" Chūji cheered happily as he stuffed the money into his pants pocket.
"Yeah yeah. I'm headed home. I'll swing by your place when I get the new package."
Chūji smiled as they came to a split in the road giving Naruto a salute.
"Sure thing boss!"
With those parting words, Chūji turned down the split in the road as he made to head home.
--
Naruto stumbled into his apartment working his door open as he balanced two heavy bags in both arms. Kicking the door closed with his foot he rushed over to his kitchen counter letting the bags fall from his arms to its surface. He sighed in relief after being relieved of the burden.
Naruto paused as he felt a presence behind him. Slowly reaching into his pocket Naruto's fingers wrapped around a handle.
Turning around quickly as he pulled it from his pocket he leveled the thing at the intruder. He sagged slightly as he was greeted by an familiar old man in white and red robes a lit pipe held between his lips.
"Hello Naruto, welcome home." Hiruzen Sarutobi greeted his lips stretched in a tight smile.
Naruto pushed the small switch on the side of the knife-like handle he held in his hand. With the sound of a spring going off, a thin blade shot out from within, flying through the air at speed right at the Hokages face.
Hieuzen almost lazily caught the blade between his fingers an inch from it's intended target. All pretense of a smile had fallen away from the older ninja's face.
Naruto slipped the handle of his ballistic knife into his pocket as he turned back to his groceries.
"I told you don't smoke in my place old man." Naruto chided as he began unloading his groceries.
Hiruzen sighed tiredly as he came up beside Naruto placing the ballistic knife on the counter.
"We need to talk Naruto-"
"I highly doubt that." Naruto cut him off.
"Just listen Naruto. They're giving me no choice." Hiruzen said his voice heavy with regret.
Naruto turned on the Hokages a scowl on his face.
"What are they gonna do? Lock me in a cage if I don't join up?" Naruto seethed his fist clenched at his side.
"What? Can't have the weapon walking around free!?"
Sarutobi took a step back, turning away from the boy. He folded his hand behind his back as he walked up to the kitchen window. He looked out at his village his face set in a deep frown.
"That's not how I view you Naruto."
The declaration was met with silence as no doubt Naruto continued to glare holes into his back.
"They want you properly trained."
Naruto scoffed. " I can handle myself." He responded flippantly.
Hiruzen rubbed at the bridge of his nose as he turned to look at the boy who had his arms crossed over his chest.
"Proper Ninja training Naruto."
Naruto rolled his eyes, turned to his groceries, and started putting away some perishables into his fridge.
"You'll be put into rotation. Working with different rookie teams to get a feel for missions and learn to work with a squad."
Naruto slammed the door to his fridge closed. The glass condiment bottles within rattling loudly.
"You're talking like I'm going to follow along with this bullshit!"
"Dammit Naruto!"
Naruto was momentarily taken aback by the old man raising his voice at him. He schooled his features quickly, regaining his scowl.
"I'm trying to tell you...you've got no choice this time...I've got no choice. People went over my head on this. The Daimyō is concerned that our Jinchuriki is untrained. Especially since Kumo has two Junnin level Jinchuriki."
Naruto wasn't able to hold back his expression of surprise at the information. He knew that there was more like him, but two in one village? He couldn't help but wonder if they had similar lives. Whether or not they can do the things that he could do.
"I was just able to stop them from indoctrinating you into the Anbu program. I made promises that you could be folded into the general Ninja corps. If I can't make good on those promises..."
What would happen to Naruto was left to hang in the air. He would be forced to become a ninja, whether it be by going along with the old man's plans or being beaten into submission by Anbu until he complied.
"Dammit old man! I got shit to do! Responsibilities and shit!" Naruto complained loudly fisting his blond locks in frustration.
"Oh yes pushing pills for the Hi no zugaikotsu. It would be a shame if some pill fiends went without a fix," Hiruzen commented with a raised brow.
Naruto looked up at the old man with a deadpan expression before sighing heavily.
"Of course, you know about it," Naruto grumbled under his breath.
"Yes, you've made quite the name for yourself 'Demon'."
Naruto shut his eyes rubbing at them with some pressure. He could feel a migraine growing behind his eyes.
"Dammit."
"Yes, quite a little gangster you have become." Hiruzen commented on his reputation , a wry smile on his face.
"If you know about Hi no zugaikotsu or the other gangs why haven't you shut them down?" Naruto questioned with a raised brow.
Hiruzen sighed looking away briefly.
"Unfortunately organized crime is an unavoidable reality when it comes to Ninja villages."
Hiruzen couldn't help but chuckle at Naruto's incredulous look.
"Surprised? As much as I'd like for my ninja to not need barbiturates to cope with the job, they sometimes require the escape of narcotics to deal with the horrors they are subjected to. As long as it isn't negatively affecting their performances as a ninja, we don't concern ourselves with what they do with their free time."
Naruto laughed at the explanation. His head turned up to the ceiling as he chuckle amusedly.
"Oh, I see! Hahaha, keep them fucked up so they don't focus on being murderers eh?" Naruto asked with a cheeky grin.
Hiruzen stared down at the boy with a flat look.
"We've tried a no-tolerance position in the past, it doesn't work."
The leader wasn't thrilled with this reality. It was just another sacrifice a leader has to make. A little sacrifice of morals was little to pay to keep morale up within his troops.
Naruto shrugged away the explanation, not caring.
"I guess that explains the Hi no zugaikotsu's rule against killing civilians. They probably know you'd crack down on them if bodies started showing up." Naruto mused nonchalantly.
A silence stretched between the two as they both weren't sure what to say.
"Listen old man...I can't just drop out. I got an obligation, hell I've got an underling! They'll come looking for me if I just walk. I'm a top earner." Naruto explained, crossing his arms over his chest and staring down at the Hokage.
Hiruzen stared back for a long moment. He didn't want the boy selling drugs for Kami's sake. Just thinking about what Kushina would do to him if he let her son be a gangster made his gut twist. His conviction wavered as his eyes traced over the large jagged scar that ran from the boy's temple to his chin.
He had already failed the boy so much. Did he have the right to dictate how the boy ran his life? On top of that he was asking the boy in front of him to become a killer in his name. Was being a drug dealer that much worse all things considered?
"Don't let it interfere with your Ninja career."
Naruto nodded at the command. It would be a pain in his ass to manage, but it wasn't like he had any other options. He didn't have a choice in being a Ninja, and he couldn't just walk away from the Hi no zugaikotsu, not after all of his work getting into the position and notoriety he had now in the game.
"Who will I be working with first?" Naruto asked with a resigned sigh as he hung his head.
"Team eight, under the command of Kurenai Yūhi. Be in my office at twelve hundred sharp to be transferred to her."
Reaching into his robes Hiruzen pulled out a Konohagakure ninja headband slapping it down on the counter. Naruto looked down at the leaf insignia stamped on the metal plate of the headband. His gut twisted awkwardly as he saw his reflection in the unmarked surface.
"Congratulations Uzumaki Naruto, you're officially a ninja of Konohagakure no Sato." Hiruzen couldn't keep the sympathy he felt for Naruto as he observed the blond look down at the headband as if it might bite him.
Naruto was able to tear his eyes away from the standard ninja gear to look up at the Hokage.
"What?… no test to see if I qualify?"
Hiruzen chuckled as he thought back at some of the things he's seen the boy do on his crystal ball. The boy was brutal with no real technique but he was effective. He was positive with some proper training he'd be an excellent ninja.
"That won't be necessary. Twelve hundred hours sharp. "
Naruto just nodded, his eyes turning back to the ninja headband that sat innocuously on his kitchen counter.
With a puff of white smoke, Naruto was suddenly alone in his apartment. Grabbing a box of macaroni from the pile of groceries Naruto hurled it across the kitchen causing the box to explode against the wall scattering uncooked pasta throughout the kitchen.
"Fuck!"
Naruto stood there for a minute, drowned in the silence that followed his outburst.
'thump, thump, thump'
Naruto groaned as his downstairs neighbor started banging on the ceiling, his floor, with the handle of a broom stick. Closing his eyes tiredly Naruto leaned against his cabinets slowly sliding down to his kitchen floor. Leaning forward Naruto rested his forehead against his knees.
'thump, thump, thump'
"I swear to kami Mrs.Takenaki if you don't stomp I'm coming down there to shove that broom up your ass!"
--
Tsūretsu blinked at the boy he had grown quite fond of the past couple of years. As the teens blue eyes stared unflinchingly into his own he couldn't help but think back to that little scared boy with demon like eyes he found in the alleyway all those years ago. Demonic eyes brimming with tears, whiskered cheeks smeared with blood. Blinking, that frightened child's face was replaced with the teen that sat in front of him brimming confidence.
"So let me get this straight Demon. You want to be a ninja, but you promise it's not going to be getting in the way of your dealings?" he asked skepticism dripping from every word.
"You hate Ninja." He offered like the statement would click something into place for Naruto and he would see the fault in his logic.
"I don't want to be a ninja, I was...drafted I guess you can say."
Naruto huffed as Tsūretsu raised an eyebrow.
"It has to do with, that thing..." Naruto tried to elude to something.
Recognition only crossed the gang leader's face when Naruto hovered his hand above his navel area. Tsūrestsu's eyes widened as he instinctively looked at the dark corners of the room. When he didn't catch any hidden Anbu his dark eyes turned back to a tired-looking Naruto.
"Shit kid..."
Naruto nodded slightly running a hand over his face.
"Yup." Was all Naruto could muster as a reply.
"Listen Demon, your great. One of my top pushers bu-"
"I can make it work." Naruto tried to head off his boss's train of thought.
"I sell to a lot of ninjas already. Now I'll just be closer to the buyers. I can promise you won't get any heat either, I'll be able to keep them off your back too, I've got some connections to work to make sure you keep off of Ninja radar."
Naruto wasn't going to mention his connections started and ended with the Hokage. The old man had said himself that he didn't give a shit about the gangs as long as they didn't start killing folk. Which the Hi no zugaikotsu forbid anyway.
He just had to be sure to not let its existence or his involvement slip to any straight lace Jonnin. Not that there were many of those even in a village with a nice reputation like Konoha.
Tsūretsu looked to mull over it for a moment. Leaning back in his chair and puffing on his cigarette.
"Alright...you'll be getting a smaller package and a smaller payment for service rendered till you can prove how lucrative the market can be."
Naruto accepted the stipulations easily. It was probably the best he could hope for considering the circumstances.
"Thanks sir, can I ask for one thing?"
Tsūretsu subtly nodded indicating he could ask for his favor.
"Put Chūji to work under someone else. He's a little slow, but he's loyal."
A fond smile crossed the Hi no zugaikotsu boss's face and he heard the request.
"You are a good boss Naruto to look after your underling like that. I'll make it happen."
Naruto nodded gratefully and bowed twords Tsūretsu before leaving the room quickly.
--
End.
A/N:
Hi no zugaikotsu means flaming skulls gang or something. I don't know I made it up on the spot.
Anyway, yup this is a gangster Naruto fic. Or perhaps like a drug dealer ninja or something...Things about his past and how he got here will be explained in time. Either through remembrances or me alluding to it. I don't like straight flashback scenes so I'll try to avoid it.
Just to get ahead of it, may be a spoiler for this story, watch ghost dog, Forest whitakers character is basically Naruto but also mixed with the main character from good fellas.
I also try to avoid using Japanese in my writing because idk I think it's a little weeaboo if I'm honest. No offense to anyone who identifies as such. It's just not my style I suppose.
And yes Chūji is very close to the name Chōji...you cant see it but I'm shrugging my shoulders.
Anywho, chapter two:You party? , Will be out as soon as I write it.
