All right, this is chapter two. Hope you guys like it.
Previously:
'I think I'll go and speak to young Enma. I haven't seen him in ages.' Another crack like a breaking mountain was heard once again and the ten tailed monkey demon, master of time and lightning, disappeared in a pulse of light. The world around him began to disappear, it hadn't happened yet, so it was being erased to prevent the chance of paradox.
A stray thought crossed Sarushukun's mind as he made the transition from flesh to lightning.
'I wonder what kind of effect Seihen Rakurai would have on a human with all of that demonic chakra still being converted…'
Chapter 2: Death and Rebirth
He was running. Running in a way that should not be familiar to anyone, especially not a four year old child. He was running for his life. The orphanage that he had lived in since he had been born had just kicked him out a few weeks ago. And honestly, he was only too happy to leave. The cold stares, the infested bed, the comments…Even if he couldn't understand all of what they said, 'little demon' painted a pretty clear picture of how they felt about him.
Very few people in his short life had been kind to him. Old man Hokage, the ramen guy (he still couldn't pronounce his name), and a little girl with funny eyes he had met in the park.
Flashback
He was on his way to eat at the ramen guy's stand when he bumped into somebody coming out of a shop. The old lady had screamed as she fell down. He had said he was sorry as many times as he could while trying to help her up, but she kept crawling away, as if she was scared of him. That had confused him a bit, why would she be scared of him?
A person in an impressive looking vest, he knew that it meant something related to the ninjas of the village, but didn't remember what it was, had asked the lady if she was hurt.
"The demon attacked her!" Someone answered for her. The vested person who was getting ready to help her up stopped, and turned to look at him with hate in his eyes.
"You attacked her!" He asked, his voice a screaming accusation.
"N-no I… I didn't me-mean to knock her down…I said I was sor-" Naruto stuttered out.
"Don't lie, demon, I saw you!" Someone in the growing crowd crowed. Murmurs of agreement were voiced by most everyone on the scene. The vested ninja took a look at the crowd and smirked evilly. He looked back at Naruto and spoke to him in a stage whisper.
"You better run, kid." The crowd cheered as Naruto's eyes widened. People had been after him before, but never this many. And never a mob with a ninja in it.
End Flashback
He was running for his life. Two vendors had been knocked down in his haste to get away from the people on his heels. They too had taken up the chase. He just had to knock over a vendor selling weapons. He was unfamiliar with the part of town that he was in now, the shopping district. He stumbled over a rock making him trip. It saved his life. As his head fell forward, a kunai whizzed over his head. Several strands of yellow hair floated to the ground in front of Naruto's face. Two more kunai flew past his ears and he struggled to get up, scrambling on the loose gravel. He grabbed one of the kunai as he finally made it, and ran down an open alley.
Naruto knew at that moment that Kami must hate him. It was a dead end. He was only a few feet into the alley, he turned around in the hope of being able to get out the way he came in to find a wall of people there already. He backed up two steps for every step forward that they made. He looked back to see where the wall was and bumped into it. Naruto was beyond panicking now. In the corner of the alley, he was kicking at the ground, trying to make himself small to better fit into the corner. It may not have been the best protection, but it was all he had.
A older man in a black vest suddenly jumped into the alley from the roof of one of the buildings, effectively cutting off the mob from Naruto. Which was a good thing, considering they were only about five feet away.
"You okay, kid?" The man asked, a large needle in his mouth. Naruto briefly wondered why anyone, especially a ninja, would keep a weapon in their mouth before he answered.
"I-I think…" Naruto was able to get out before his back arched in pain and a bright bluish light began to shine from him.
You see, there are times in life where one thing changed could change everything. The ninja before him saved him from the crowd. The mob would later be punished after the Hokage was made aware of the situation. The Hokage would realize how bad Naruto's life was, and decide to check on him every so often in addition to the weekly allowance. A low ranking ANBU would be assigned to shadow him during the day up until the point that he was to enter the Ninja Academy to ensure his safety. That is, if the state of affairs had been allowed to play out uninterrupted. However…it was not.
"The demon! It's escaping!" One person shouted.
"Kill it!"
"Yes, before it destroys the village!" Someone else agreed. The crowd that had initially feared the consequences that the ninja in front of them represented forgot their fear and rushed him. Fifteen people on one are not good odds. Especially when he wasn't their objective. The ninja with the needle was able to knock out four of the rushing villagers while three made it past him. The two weapons vendors and the vested ninja who had told Naruto to run. Two kunai shot from the roof, slicing the vendors in the neck, killing them. The third throwing knife was caught by the ninja, brandishing it as his own as he lunged at Naruto. Another wave of pain shot through him and an arch of electricity shot out of him and hit the wall. It left a knuckle sized crater and a scorch mark. The ninja was coming closer and closer, almost literally flying through the air in his dash at 'slaying the beast'. Naruto's eyes shot open wider then should be possible. Tiny bolts of electricity began to run along his skin, chirping like a thousand birds. The last thing that Naruto saw was a ninja swinging a knife at his head before his vision was suddenly, and painfully, cut off. The smell of charred flesh made it to his nose before he passed out from the pain wracking his body.
(XxX)
"Take him to the hospital. Cover him up and put something on his head. Hurry, before he dies from those burns." A man in an off white cloak said to a black cloaked figure wearing a bird mask.
"Yes, sir!" The man said, taking his cloak off and wrapping it around the burnt and naked boy. If he hadn't seen the boy before that explosion took place, he wouldn't have recognized him. His entire body was charred and slightly smoking. He tore off a strap on his shirt and tied it to the boy's head, attempting to stop the flow of blood was seeping from his almost burnt closed eyes. He liked to think he was a strong man, but he thanked Kami that the lids were closed and he was covered in his cloak. Seeing a child, this child or not, with what happened…thinking what this kid was going to have to endure, beyond how the village felt about him… He stopped that train of thought and took off towards the hospital at blinding speed.
The off white cloaked figure with a dog mask and silver hair just stared at the scene before him, wishing that he could have gotten there sooner, and piecing together what had happened. A group of people, including at least one trained ninja, had chased the boy into the alley. That much was clear. Someone tried to stop them, a chuunin that he had known for a while. He had been found under four burnt bodies and was being taken to the hospital as well. What he didn't understand was what happened with the boy, with…Naruto. That name was hard to think about. He understood that he lost his Sensei to the Kyuubi, not this child. He understood that this child should be seen as a hero, the jailer of the village's greatest enemy… As rationally as he understood it, it didn't stop the resentment he felt towards the boy. He had come a long way though. He had to be held back by the Hokage from going after the boy in a fit of rage after his teacher had fallen. In a few years he would probably settle for indifference towards the boy. At that point in time, if he had to, he would be able to stand being around him.
"Whatever happened, it was bright, powerful, and burnt damn near everything." The dog masked man said to seemingly no one.
"Was the seal breaking?" A man on top of the roof asked.
"No, I don't think so. I wouldn't have been surprised if it hadn't, life and death situations tend to bring about powerful chakra. It didn't feel like the Kyuubi's either. But I would think you of all people would know that, Hokage-sama." The dog masked man said, as the figure dropped next to him to reveal an old man in a white and red robe and hat.
"Yes, but I wanted to know what you thought. Their was something there though. Not Kyuubi…but something. Almost familiar…" The old man trailed off in thought.
"Hokage-sama?"
"Oh, yes, sorry Kakashi. Just a stray thought. Thank you for doing what you could. I had better go to the Hospital. I would like to get Genma's part of the story and to check up on Naruto. I want you to gather up anyone else who isn't dead that was involved in this." The Hokage ordered, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"Yes sir." Kakashi said to himself quietly, kicking over a blackened corpse. It happened to be the ninja who had gotten to Naruto. The man's face crumbled away as his body was moved. 'Uzumaki Naruto…I think I feel bad for anyone who crosses you.' Kakashi thought, turning the body over again and moving to the next.
(XxX)
'What the hell happened?' Naruto thought. His head, eyes, and just about every muscle he had ached horribly. He tried to scratch at his eyes, the pain had given way to a terrible itching, to find that his arms wouldn't move properly. A sad sigh let him know that someone else was in the room. The exhaled breath had a distinct smell to it. A smell that he had only ever smelled with on person. Piped tobacco. He gasped, snippets of a one-sided conversation came to him. Something about a monkey, some light, and not fucking up again. None of it made sense to him, but his senses were going crazy over the wrongness of the situation.
"Relax, Naruto-chan."
"O-ojii-san?" Naruto asked hesitantly, not willing to believe that the giant monkey might have been real. A small bit of indignation rose up inside of him.
"Hey! I'm not little!" He shouted before he cold stop himself, wondering why the hell he had said it.
"Oh, so you're a big boy now, ne, Naruto-kun." Saratobi asked, trying to keep his mirth from his voice.
"Damn straight." Naruto responded. This time it was both him and the odd urge that said it. 'What the hell is going on?'
"What am I doing here, old man? And why can't I move? My eyes itch." Naruto told him, still struggling against whatever was impeding his movement. He had a good idea that it was bandages, but even if he was in pain, it didn't feel like anything was cut or broken. Just stiff. Or itchy, in the case of his eyes.
"Naruto… I'm so terribly sorry… I had no idea, no idea… I've never felt so disgusted with the people of this village in my life."
"Old man, just get to the point." Naruto said impatiently. A man that had been dead for the last few years was talking to him. He was in a hospital, that all powering smell of sickness and disinfectant always had bothered him, and he was confused as hell.
"They will be punished, Naruto, I promise you that. Naruto, the villagers, they attacked you. Genma, he's a chuunin by the way, tried to stop them, but a few got past him. One was able to…" He stalled here, and placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. It was shaking slightly, and Naruto knew that something was wrong. A feeling akin to a static shock, most likely ambient chakra in the man's hand, passed between the two. The shock traveled up to his eyes, and like a switch, Naruto's dark vision turned very, very bright.
"They took your eyes, Naruto." The Hokage was able to get out.
"Wha…no…you're wrong…Genma? But it's so bright…" Naruto trailed off, his thoughts picking up on the mumbled words. 'Genma…that guy with the senbon from the exams. He…he helped when I was little. Really little. That's one of the first memories I have of the villagers going after me…But he saved me last time…I didn't go to the hospital. How did someone take my eyes? I can see…I think.'
"Get these things off of me." Naruto said, struggling with the bandages.
"Naruto, you were burnt very badly. We don't know what happened, but we think you caused an explosion. We think that you pushed out as much chakra as possible, that's the energy ninjas use to do their techniques, to protect yourself." Saratobi explained.
"So I'll be a strong ninja?" Naruto asked, once again, before he could stop himself. He could almost see the expression on the old man's face.
"Naruto, I don't think that will be possible."
"Why, 'cause you think I can't see? I can see, it's just too damn white. Don't look at me like that, old man. I don't need your pity, and I'm not crazy." Naruto accused, noting the shocked expression on the old man's face this time. The blinding bright white had died down some, now it was just slightly annoying.
"Now get these things off of me, old man." Naruto all but demanded.
"Very well, Naruto. But if it becomes painful, you will put them back on, agreed?" The old man asked him, knowing that suffering from second and third degree burns would be painful to move, let alone take bandages off. It had only been a day after all since he had been admitted.
"Yeah, yeah. Just get'em off me." Naruto said. They would have already come off, despite the almost constricting feeling of them, but they covered his fingers. He was sure he looked like a mummy of sorts.
The Hokage started slowly, unwrapping a finger first. He was surprised that the boy had not made a sound, and more surprised that the skin that was uncovered looked a little raw, not the blackened condition he was told of when he had arrived yesterday evening. He was becoming confused, and slightly worried, when he revealed a reddish hand. No burns.
"Your too slow, old man." Naruto told him, as he pulled the hand he was holding away and began to unwrap his other hand himself. Saratobi simply stared as more and more skin was revealed, no dead skin, no blackness. Just fresh, slightly red skin. Naruto had been able to get the bandages off of both arms and the top of his chest before the Hokage fell into the chair behind him, his mind going over all of the possibilities. He finally settled on a theory involving the demon that was sealed inside of him either helping him, or passing on a greater healing ability. Perhaps it was both? Self preservation would be high on the fox's list of objectives, so why wouldn't it want to keep the boy alive? Come to think of it, he couldn't remember a single time the boy had been sick. All cases, he had told the head medic, whether it was a sneeze or the flu, he wanted to be made aware of. Either the medics weren't doing their job, or Naruto had never been sick.
Naruto had made it up to his mouth, relishing in the feeling of being able to open it. He was about to go higher when the old man stopped him.
"Naruto…I don't think you should remove any more. I don't know if you were guessing before, but I am sorry to tell you that your eyes were taken. I know that this might be hard to understand, but you can't see. You have an amazing healing ability, something I have never seen before. No matter how strong it is though, they couldn't be saved. They were removed after you were brought in…beyond repair." The old man told him sadly.
"You're lying!" Naruto shouted. Part of him knew that the old man was wrong because he could still see. The other part was simply denying it for the simple fact that if he lost his sight, he could not become a ninja. The first part of him knew that this was irrational, with the right training, anyone could become a ninja. He already had the training, so it would that much easier. The second part didn't understand that, which was thoroughly confusing the first part. 'My memories of this time are fresh, as if they just happened, yet they seem distant as well… Two parts…a young…and an old, maybe?' Naruto asked himself. The second part of him gave the equivalent of a mental shrug. 'I'll check out my mindscape. Something weird is going on, besides seemingly being sent to the past.'
"We'll do a test, Naruto. Where am I sitting?" He asked the boy.
"In the chair in front of the bed." Naruto answered immediately.
"And how many fingers am I holding up?"
"Three, no two and a thumb. Cheater." Naruto said, smiling slightly. 'This has to be some sort of side affect. Only a four year old would find that funny.' The second part of Naruto huffed in indignation. Naruto laughed at the old man, who seemed to become more shocked every time Naruto said something.
"You can really see, Naruto?"
"Uh…duh?" Naruto responded.
"How well?" Was the next questioned asked. Naruto thought that was a slightly odd question, but he had been asked how many fingers the man was holding up as well. As he thought about it though, he was seeing rather well. Over the course of the conversation and taking off the bandages, the bright light had gone away, leaving him with his vision the way it always was. Though he could've sworn that things were as sharp as they were when he increased his senses, only he wasn't trying to. And he was sure that his peripheral vision was doing weird things.
"Good…really good, actually." Naruto finally told him after a few moments.
"Naruto, how thick are the bandages covering your eyes?" The old man asked. Naruto thought that this was the most odd question yet.
"What are you talking about, old man, I don't have any…" Naruto trailed off as he ran his fingers over his eyes, finding that they covered in both bandages and gauze. Slowly, tenderly, he unwrapped the bandages covering his head. With every layer removed, the room became sharper, and his peripheral vision expanded. He was starting to panic, that much could be seen from his frantic breathing.
"Naruto, Naruto!" Saratobi shouted, getting the young boy's attention. "Relax, if it hurts, stop. Whatever it is, I'll try to help you the best I can." He assured the boy. Naruto relaxed slightly, but he kept asking himself what the hell was going on. He got the feeling that the second part of him was more concerned with his mental cursing then his new sight. The last layer came off , leaving his head free of bandages, his eyelids still closed.
"Old man…I see…everything." Naruto said, in barely above a whisper. He was trying to calm himself down now. This was not a bad thing, after all. He had always been healed by Kyuubi… And then he remembered Kyuubi, and the fight. Had the demon fox come as well? If not, was there one in him when he was brought back? The questions and implications were making his head hurt.
"What do you mean by 'everything'?"
"I…I mean 'everything'. It's about noon right now. You're not wearing your hat thing. There is a black cat clock on the wall. My hair is silver… Why is my hair silver?" Naruto asked before he marked it off as unimportant in the grand scheme of things and continued. "And there is a rather large spider in the corner of the room. Behind me." Naruto deadpanned. "I saw through at least two inches of gauze and bandages…what's wrong with me?" The last part came out as an insecure wail from his second part. The old man sat on his bed and wrapped him up in his arms, holding him tightly. The first part of Naruto was happy to know that the old man really was alive, but knew that he could deal with the situation without the hug. The second part, however, loved it and sunk further into the embrace.
"It's okay, Naruto. I promised that I would help you, and I will." He reassured the boy, wondering exactly what he could do to help. It was obvious that the boy would be attacked again if left on his own. He would take him himself, if it wasn't for his responsibilities as Hokage. There were very few clans in Konoha that would treat him well if they saw him, let alone take care of him. The Yamunaka's maybe, Inoichi had been a friend of the fourth's and one of the few who had been consulted on the seal that resided on Naruto's stomach. They knew the sacrifice being made, by both the fourth, and the child. Him and Hyuuga Hiashi.
'That would be perfect. But how?' He thought to himself. After a few minutes the boy in his arms pulled away, and looked up at him. The eyelids opened. Saratobi almost pulled back, keeping as composed as he could, as not to startle the boy.
"Naruto, there is a mirror over there. Move slowly, but you should see your…eyes." The old man told Naruto. Naruto nodded, knowing something was wrong. Despite the old man's composed state, Naruto had seen him nearly flinch. He had also seen the unbridled curiosity in his eyes. Whatever it was, it was odd, yet interesting. Or freakish. He got out of the bed, his legs still bandaged. They looked so…small. He almost fell when he landed on the floor. Not stepped, landed. It had felt like he was falling from the four foot high bed. Despite the sight, the second part of his psyche, the old man being alive and all… Nothing had driven the fact that the monkey had been real, and that he had been given a second chance, then barely being able to look overtop the bed.
He found his way over to the mirror and set his gaze on the reflection of his eyes. What should have been his eyes. But there were no eyes. Instead, a constantly moving whitish blue energy seemed contained inside where his eyes once resided. The energy completely filled up the sockets, leaving no room to see behind it. The centers of the 'eyes' where his pupils were supposed to be, were solid. But going towards the outside, strings of the energy moved wildly about, changing hues from light blue to a pearly white. He really didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. He just sat there staring. Staring so long, in fact, that he missed the Hokage sending someone to bring Hyuuga Hiasha to the Hospital. He was still looking at them, contemplating trying to touch them when a gentle clearing of a throat brought his attention back to the old man.
"Naruto, there is someone who will be coming to meet you shortly. It would be a good idea to make a good impression. In other words, be polite, and don't speak unless you are asked a question. I'm sure any questions you have will be answered after this meeting." The Hokage told him, just before a soft knock was heard. Naruto turned around quickly and tied the bandages hastily over his eyes again.
"Sarutobi-Sama" The man said with a casual bow. "I assume that this meeting is prudent." The pupil less man said, rather then asked. He was a Hyuuga, the head of the clan in fact. His time was gold. He would have made anyone else make an appointment to see him. In his eyes, he was making allowance enough to show up.
"To the point I see…Yes. You see, I find myself in a rather difficult position. I need to find a home for this child here, and there are precious few who I would trust his safety with. I would take him myself, but I am rather swamped in my duties and I fear that I am not young enough to be raising children again."
"No. If that will be all, I'll-" The Hyuuga's departing words were cut off.
"No, that will not be all. During a recent attack on him, his eyes were taken away. His chakra has somehow…manifested new ones for him." The Hokage said.
"Why does this interest me?" Hiashi asked, irritated.
"Because the manifestation seems to be based of the basic principles of a bloodline limit that you are quite familiar with."
"Byakugan." The man said, barely above a whisper.
"Yes. And considering the individual, I would hope that certain allowances could be maid."
"Uzumaki Naruto…"
"Correct."
"I see. Let me see his eyes." Hyuuga said. Naruto was motioned over. He didn't like the feeling of being talked about while he was still in the room, but he had dealt with it before. Naruto undid the bandages over his head, letting the man see them. Naruto could see that Hiashi was both surprised and confused at the revelation, but both slipped away quickly as the man seemed to come to a decision. Veins around the man's eyes suddenly bulged and Naruto felt slightly exposed. The second part of him wished that he could man feel as uncovered as he felt in spite. The chaotic energy in his eyes stopped moving and solidified, and he saw under the man's shirt. Then under that. Then under his skin, seeing blood, bone, organs, and finally through him to the other side. The cat clock's tail seemed to move at half it's regular speed. He suddenly felt very lightheaded and had to catch himself from falling back.
"Interesting. It seems that he only has to mold chakra in his eyes to have… similar…affects as the Byakugan, only his area of sight is always active. That energy, it is his chakra. It has been…altered. His pathways are tremendous for someone so young. Though the seal… Hokage-Sama, whatever has changed his chakra has also changed it as well. It seems to contain a vast amount of the same chakra that runs through his system, simply waiting to be used… But the Kyuubi…neither the taint, nor its chakra, is there." Hiashi said as evenly as possible, though nervous tension could be seen in the stoic man's face.
"Surely you're mistaken. The Kyuubi could not simply vanish!" The Hokage said in a fierce whisper. "No one short of a demon could have killed it. It didn't even have a body to kill… You are certain, Hiashi?" The old man asked as he sat down heavily on the couch. He couldn't comprehend it.
"I am not mistaken. The red chakra of the Demon fox is simply not there. It's as if the chakra was forcibly taken from the beast and made into his own." The Hyuuga commented. Naruto was getting impatient. They were so caught up in the mystery of what happened to Kyuubi that they had failed to realize that they were talking in front of him. He wasn't supposed to know about Kyuubi being sealed inside of him. So he did the only thing he could think of.
"What's Kyuubi?" He asked innocently. The Hyuuga froze and the Hokage began to choke in his latest drag from his pipe. Hiashi began to think fast, hoping to find a plausible answer that would be both misleading and the truth. The Hokage was doing the same. A large puff of smoke, larger then a man, burst into the room. After it cleared, a large, dark skinned figure stood in the room. Snow white hair adorned his head and face, kept back by a leaf headband. A fishnet shirt and pants was covered in a tiger striped robe. He carried a furry bundle in his hand.
"Enma?" The Hokage asked curiously. It wasn't often that a summoned creature came of its own volition. This meeting would prove that they never did.
"Yes, it is I, Sarutobi." The Monkey king said, throwing the furry bundle unceremoniously onto the bed, where it bounced, arms and legs flailing wildly. It landed on the other side with an 'oof' sound.
"What brings you here, old friend?"
"Explanations, deliveries, and I was ordered to." The large monkey told him. Looking intently into the eyes of the Uzumaki boy.
"Ordered you? You're the King of the Demon Monkeys, yes?" Sarutobi asked him, slightly confused. The question was pointedly ignored, though Hiashi caught the twitch in the demon monkey's eye.
"He has been…purified. He has, somehow…gained favor with Sarushukun. The demon fox has been dealt with, and the seal will slowly deteriorate with time. Whether it was intentional or not, his chakra has been altered slightly. Sarushukun-Sama has given me a message, a name, and a gift to give you." The old monkey said, looking at Naruto again. "You are within his favor. All who have been are given a name. He has named you 'Raiden', and wishes you to live up to the name." He told the shocked and confused child. The large monkey walked up to the child and grabbed his arm. Using his black fingernails, he slit a long line down the child's forearm and another across his own hand. Before anyone could stop him, the monkey had smeared his blood across the already closing wound, causing a hissing sound while black smoke rose out of it. Naruto felt like his arm was on fire, but the pain ended just as fast as it came.
"That is a summoning seal. You will learn of summoning when you are older. This will help you should you find yourself in a dire situation." The Monkey King said, backing up. Naruto looked at his arm and saw a long tattoo that looked like a staff with the symbol for 'monkey' in the center of it. He had seen Orochimaru with something similar and was amazed that the giant tailed monkey had given him something so useful. He was confused about the chakra comment, but he figured he'd work it out.
"And I was told to tell you 'Don't fuck up.'" The monkey said with a shrug. He didn't understand it, and neither did the two adults in the room. Naruto did though; it was one of the few things he was able to hear before he was sent back.
"And take care of the brat, kid." Enma said, before disappearing.
"I'm not a brat!" Two voices said at the exact same time. One belonging to a lightning eyed child, the other from an unknown source. The furry thing that had been thrown on, or rather over, the bed had climbed up on it again to reveal a small furry monkey. The monkey wore a black and cream open vest with a tanto strapped to his waist. He wore no pants, but it seemed natural. He reminded Sarutobi of a very, very young looking Enma.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked.
"I'm Rakurai, but call me Rai, Raiden." The mini Enma that called itself 'Rai' said with a small bow. "I'm gonna be your companion!" The monkey exclaimed loudly, as it jumped from the bed and landed on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto took this in stride. He had always wished that he had a constant friend like Kiba had with his dog. Now he had one, a talking one, seemingly, thanks to a crazy demon lord.
"I'm Naruto, nice to meet you!" Naruto practically shouted, before laughing at the monkey digging through his hair.
"Hmmm. Too clean, no juicy bugs to eat." Rai said a little disappointed. "And your Raiden, Big Boss Monkey says so. Big Boss say something, you listen. He gave you a name, and all the monkeys will recognize you by it. I suggest you use it." Rai said, sitting on the child's shoulders with his legs crossed and his hand rubbing his chin while the other supported it. The sage like looking pose was ruined by the fact that the monkey's tail was scratching his stomach. The Hokage had chosen not to comment until now.
"That might not be a bad idea, Naruto. The villagers don't like you for a reason that is no longer valid. But they wouldn't believe it if they were told that. A new name would allow you to live your life without the villagers hate hanging over your shoulders. You don't even look like you did before. Silver hair, and not to mention your eyes." Sarutobi mused. Naruto just shrugged. He would always be himself, a name was not going to change that. The thought of a childhood without the village out to kill him was almost too good to be true.
"I think that you should cover them up, by the way. Having your opponent underestimate you is a very good thing. Having a perceived weakness as your greatest strength is a good strategy." The old man said. The boy nodded and wrapped some of the bandages into a headband and placed it over his eyes. He couldn't see as well as he had before, but with a little concentration, he was able to see all of the room again.
"Although, they would draw conclusion from Uzumaki Raiden." The Hokage said, rubbing his chin, unconsciously mimicking the monkey.
"I would not worry about that, Hokage-Sama." Hiashi spoke up. The last ten minutes had been the most confusing, enlightening, and annoying in his life. But he knew what had to be done.
"So, you have reached a decision?" The old man asked, a sly smile adorning his face. The Hyuuga glared at the old man before answering.
"Yes, I have. He will come with me. The council will ultimately decide his fate, but I have some strong arguments. I believe that they will want a child that seems to possess an ability similar to the Hyuuga to be kept monitored. It is most likely that they will believe that it is a new bloodline that has branched from the Hyuuga's Byakugan, like the Sharingan. He would then be placed among the branch family until he reaches the level of Jounin, at which point he will be challenged by any of the council. Should he succeed, he will be allowed to choose a family name and start his own clan. The ancient council learned from the war with the Uchiha. As long as he agrees to never try to actively destroy the Hyuuga clan, his clan would become as respected as the Uchiha's." Hiashi explained. "Until then, while he would technically be a branch family member, he would not be given the Hyuuga name, and would simply be known as 'Raiden'."
The old man smiled at the child with the monkey on his shoulder.
"Do you understand that, Naruto? Sorry, Raiden, I should say." The old man asked. The boy shook his head in understanding before;
"No." The Hokage nearly face vaulted and Hiashi gained a small sweat drop behind his head.
"You will be given a family in a powerful clan, leaving your name behind for a chance at something that may have never been possible." Hiashi explained.
"Family?" Raiden asked, something sizzling dripping out of his eyes akin to tears.
"Yes." Hiashi said simply. Before he could stop himself, Raiden ran over and hugged the man's knees as hard as he could. This time around was already making changes beyond his comprehension. He dearly hoped that things would turn out better this time.
"Yes, yes. Well, we must be off, Hokage-Sama." Hiashi said, pulling the small child away from him. "My condolences on your loss, I know that the child meant a lot to you." The Hyuuga said, slipping back into the stoic persona that his clan was famous for. The Hokage merely nodded, making a hand seal. A puff of smoke later, a kage bushin wrapped in bandages laid on the bed.
The Hyuuga and the silver haired boy walked out of the hospital a few minutes later. Sarutobi went in search of a nurse, preferable one with little experience. Uzumaki Naruto had just passed with the birth of 'Raiden'. A large amount of disgust began to fill his mind. This day would be celebrated for years to come. And while it was truly a time to celebrate, the demon who had taken so much from the village was finally gone, the village would believe that it had happened because they had killed the 'demon brat'. He took another drag from his pipe before he tapped a nurse, maybe no older then eighteen on the shoulder.
End Chapter
Raiden: Thunder and Lightning. I think it was also a thunder god.
Rakurai: Lightning, bolt of lightning, etc.
I figured that if the Hyuuga's bloodline could be changed into the Uchiha's (assuming that that is what happened), then they could believe that something similiar had happened again. Obviously he is not a Hyuuga, or related to one, but I think that the Hyuuga council would be arrogant enough to believe that something like this cold have only come from them.
Well, that's the end of the chapter, more to come. What I said in the last chapter still stands; I need some ideas, and now that you guys and gals see where I'm going with this, maybe you can give me some goals or some direction that might help.
Remember to review, that always helps.
