AN: To answer some questions
About the Naruto as a soulless weapon thing; that's been overdone. In this case, it'll be pretty close, but slightly different. He won't be paired with anyone, I promise you that.
Whatever. That question will be answered in this chapter.
And another question/answer. A paw? A fucking paw? When gamabunta henge'd into kyuubi was there a paw? No, it sorta looked like a five digited, jointed, and clawed hand to me. It's a demon, not a normal fox.
AN: Expect more V for Vendetta references.
AN2: Oh yeah, I've changed the year that the Cloud/Hinata kidnapping incident happened, for plot purposes. Don't worry, no Naruto/hinata in this fic. It's been disgustingly overdone.
Chapter 2 – Rescue, and Bombing Mission
Two years after training began
A single eye looked around a wall and saw no one. He "whew'd" in relief then set off. On his left shoulder was a lump shaped like the body of an unconscious child.
Kumo no Gashira was supposedly the greatest ninja under the Raikage from Hidden Cloud. This claim was yet to be proven.
Just a few more kilometers, then I'm out, and the Byakugan is ours!
--
Another eye watched as the man stealthily ran down the empty street towards his direction. Naruto reviewed his objectives.
FLASHBACK
The Hokage handed Naruto a scroll.
"Naruto, the Cloud emissary is here for the peace treaty; however, it's pretty damn obvious his motives aren't completely honest."
The boy 'hn'd in response.
"For the duration of his stay, you are to keep an eye on him from 11 in the evening to 4 in the morning. Yamato sensei will take over for the other times. Remember to sleep during the day. That is all."
"Hai."
END FLASH
The Hokage never said to engage the man…He racked his brain. He'd had it drilled into his head that no matter what there were five essential pillars that he had to uphold.
First, the protection of the village. Second, the protection of the Hokage. Third, protection of the citizens. Fourth, maintain the peace. Fifth, uphold justice.
….Good enough for me.
--
Gashira stopped when he noticed something in a tree. He looked up….and saw nothing.
I'm getting paranoid. I need to move before these Hyuuga bastards catch up to me.
He turned to continue running when a figure appeared a few meters down the road.
The fuck?
In the dark of the night, he couldn't discern much, but he could tell it was a little boy, maybe 7, 8? He wore a dark sleeveless shirt and pants that Gashira had seen on some of the Academy students of this village. But most noticeably, a bandanna diagonally covered the boy's left eye, and what seemed like a….
A gauntlet? What the hell's this kid doing with a gauntlet? And on just his left arm?
The boy coughed. "Ahem. Just what are you doing?"
The Cloud nin just stared incredulous. I'd expected some Hyuuga guards, but they sent a brat?
Naruto continued. "According to Hokage's law number 384-2b; any violence against Konoha's leading clans will be dealt with by severe punishment or death."
Gashira laughed. "Cute, kid. Now step the fuck out of my way, or I'll kill you"
The boy didn't respond. "Yeah, that's what I tho…ught?"
Naruto reached up to his head, and with a swift movement, pulled off the headband. At first, there was nothing. Then, there was light! Gashira stood petrified by it. The red light that shone out of the kid's eye. The light that made him feel as if his soul were being ripped to pieces. He shook his head.
"Haha. That's quite some kanashibari, kid. I don't know what the fuck's up with your eye, but I do know, you're gonna die now."
"Idiot. Did you think that was it?"
"Eh?" Suddenly, the brat disappeared…then reappeared right in front of him, left arm held high.
The gauntlet slashed downwards, and the claws on the ends of the fingers sliced at the nin's face. If it hadn't been for the forehead protector, Gashira probably would have lost his face in that. He dropped the still unconscious Hinata to the ground.
"Now you're pissing me off." He pulled out a kunai hurled it at the jinchuukiri, who managed to dodge.
"That's not all! Kunai Bakuuha! (Kunai Explosion)" The knife exploded, showering Naruto's left arm in metal fragments. Naruto winced as the hot steel cut into his skin, and cracked the gauntlet in places.
Suddenly, the cloud nin appeared and delivered a vicious kick to his head. Naruto jumped off to the side, and blocked the kick with the gauntlet, which finally cracked under the pressure.
"Since you're just a kid, I'd let you go. But you just piss me off. I'm gonna enjoy cutting off your- What the fuck is that?"
Naruto raised himself to his feet, breathing heavily. The moon came out from behind some clouds, revealing his red furred arm. The single jointed fingers unflexed, revealing claws nearly a half foot long. The red eye flashed once more, and an emotionless, yet still fearsome grin came to the jinchuukiri's face.
"You…fucking monster!"
"Plus fifty points for perceptiveness. But fate demands your blood. Kaze no Yaiba Gohon Gatana. (Blade of wind: Five swords"
Still in shock, the Cloud nin could do nothing has five razor sharp blasts of wind emitted from each claw, and sliced right through his body.
--
Hiashi was in a state of panic. He was running down the road that ran past the Hyuuga estate. The kidnapper, though skilled had left fine traces on the ground that the Byakugan could detect. Suddenly, there was a discharge of chakra up ahead. The Clan head's heart rate rocketed, and he sped up.
--
Pulse….stable. Wounds….none. State…..asleep, possibly due to genjutsu.
Naruto completed his analysis of the Hyuuga heir, and turned to himself. His left bicep was showered in metal fragments, leaving him unable to lift the child. But no matter, ANBU must have heard the commotion by now. More importantly….
Naruto scowled. His arm had been revealed…this wasn't good. He scourged around the dead man's bloody shirt and ripped off an appropriate sized piece to wrap around the abnormity.
A monster, I am. Yet a soul, I possess. I do, don't I?
Uhuhuhahaha. Child, you're fucking nuts. As if having me screwing up your life wasn't enough, you have no idea what this trainings done to you.
Quiet, demon.
Before Naruto could argue, he sensed someone else coming up the path. His red eye flashed, and instead of seeing light, he saw chakra and infrared radiation.
It's…Hiashi-sama?
Naruto immediately snapped to attention and bowed. To the Hyuuga, he was not to speak until spoken to; simply just bow.
--
Hiashi came to the battle scene and didn't know what to think. From what he saw, the Cloud nin had been propelled backwards about 3 meters and into the wall. Five rivulets of blood stretching from the wall to the site of the strike proved this. And….
That child….did this. He defeated Gashira. Hinata…..is all right.
Furthermore, he was incredulous that he knew the proper procedures of formality at such an age.
Hiashi picked up his daughter and reactivated his byakugan to examine her. Amazing. She's still asleep.
"Hinata-sama has not been harmed in any way. She is merely asleep."
The clan head turned back to the boy, who was in the process of lowering a headband over his left eye.
"I'm assuming you did this."
"Hai, Hiashi-sama."
Why is he being so formal? "Amazing…for a kid of your age."
The boy didn't answer, but just stood at attention. "Tell me….who are you?"
He continued to remain silent. Hiashi's brow furrowed.
"I said, 'Who are you?'"
Before he could answer, Yamato appeared between them in a leaf shunshin. Immediately after, the Hokage also appeared, and the trees were lined with ANBU.
"Good work Naruto. We'll handle the clean-up."
Hiashi's eyes widened. The weapon! Of course! That explains the strength and the stoicism.
The Hokage glanced at the dead body of the Cloud hero. Ugh….A man of my age should NOT have to deal with this kind of trouble. .
--15 minutes later
Yamato, Naruto and the Hokage were gathered in the conference room of the Hokage tower. There was a knock at the door.
"Hokage-sama," Hiashi called. "I brought Hinata home and came here as soon as I could." He took a seat at the table with the three other men.
"Hn. Hiashi. What do you predict will happen after this little incident?"
The clan head froze at the abruptness of the question. "Well, those Kumo bastards will demand reparations, of course. Most likely, it will be the boy's life." He glanced at Naruto. Amazing. We're discussing his fate, yet not an emotion has flickered in his head. No. He wasn't ordered to respond. How unsettling…
Yamato coughed. "I don't think so."
"Eh?"
"We're talking about a dead tokabetsu (special) jounin. There's no way in hell they'd ever believe that some seven year old killed him."
"Well, what do you have in mind?"
The jounin was merely a teenager, yet his eyes showed a strange kind of maturity that seemed almost artificial.
Teacher and student. They're both anomalies. The clan head thought.
"I say…we tell them that a Hyuuga did it. That's what they'd believe anyway."
"What?! I am not sacrificing one of my –"
Yamato sighed. "No. you didn't let me finish. We merely tell them that it was a Hyuuga, but instead…we ship WEAPON-9."
"What? What'll that achieve? Besides losing an extremely valuable commodity. As much as I hate to admit it, I'd rather sacrifice a Branch member than our trump card."
The Hokage interrupted. "I'm glad, Hiashi, that at least you attach some value to Naruto. But, I must agree with Yamato's plan."
"Hokage sama…I'm afraid I don't understand."
"This is a perfect situation for our contingency plans. We made several of them in the case that other villages found out about Naruto and tried to kidnap him. The one Yamato and I have in mind is a brilliant counter-attack. A Trojan Horse, if you will."
"Excuse me?"
"Allow me to explain. Naruto. Unwrap your arm."
The boy who had been quiet and still for the past few minutes immediately complied. Nothing could have prepared Hiashi for what he saw. He fell back against his chair, and his Byakugan activated by reflex.
Red fur….claws…the Kyuubi.
"Calm down, Hiashi! This….this is the true purpose of the weapon project. Naruto would have had a hard time harnessing the beast's chakra. But by having stolen one of its limbs, that is a piece of cake."
Hiashi shook his head. "Hokage sama, I think it is best you explain."
The Hokage briefly told Hiashi about the assassination attempt and the two years that were spent getting Naruto accustomed to the use of his new parts.
The clan head sighed. "This is too much. But I still don't understand, what is this Trojan Horse plan of yours?"
Yamato spoke up.
"It's simple, really. First, we'll send Naruto in a casket that's been lined with chakra absorbent material, so they won't be able to tell he's alive. They'll take it into the village like idiots. The second they open the casket, Naruto will immediately release as much of the Kyuubi's chakra as he can, and create shadow clones. We estimate about…..2,000 clones. Before anyone can respond, Naruto will pull off a Bunshin Bakuuha (Exploding Clone technique). From a previous experiment, we can tell that the amount of damage will range from a few square blocks to about a square kilometer. Can you imagine the kind of damage that'd do to Kumogakure? They'll never approach us again in the immediate future."
"My god…Wait. What about the boy? Won't he be caught in the blast?"
"Naruto, explain."
The boy's expression didn't change, but he spoke in a near monotone voice that still held the timbre of a child.
"The Kyuubi is naturally resistant to fire by essence. While engulfed in its chakra, I will be perfectly unharmed."
Yamato seemed unconcerned, but Naruto's manner of speech shocked the Hyuuga as well as the Hokage. The latter took an extra long draw from his pipe.
What have I done…?
--Two days later
Breathe in. Draw life. Breathe out. Repeat.
Naruto meditated while nailed inside the casket. Breathe…..slide…..Soon, he found himself in a familiar hallway with the dripping pipes.
"Well, demon. Are you prepared?"
Insolent whelp. Just because you have my arm, you think you can just go around expending it at ease.
"I expend because I do, and I do because I can. And I can and I will do whatever it takes to protect the village."
If it were possible, the fox would have sweatdropped.
You brainwashed little….
"I don't know what you're talking about. In any case, there are six hours and forty three minutes before this carriage reaches Kumogakure. I will commence mental training until then."
The demon sighed. This kid was so boring and couldn't even be intimidated anymore.
All right. You remember what I told you about chakra and elemental designations right?
"Yes. Yamato sensei determined that my chakra is wind based. Yours can control water and earth. In addition, your hereditary traits give you a natural resistance against fire, thought you can't control it."
Correct. And you remember how to specifically designate chakra for jutsus right?
"Yes. I use my own chakra for wind jutsus and all non elementals. I channel your chakra via the fox arm to use water and earth jutsus. And I can mass-channel in order to cover myself in your chakra to avoid fire. However, since your chakra isn't my base coil chakra, my suiton and doton jutsus will always be weaker than my wind jutsus."
Good! It's as if you remember my lessons word for word.
"I do."
…This is pathetic, but I'm getting the feeling you scare me more than I scare you.
"Fear is irrelevant."
Eh?
Naruto continued. "Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will allow it to pass around me and through me. I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where it has gone, there will be nothing left. Only I shall remain. The Hokage told me this."
The fox grinned. A man after my own heart. Well, child. Rest up. You're going to need it if you want to emerge out of this alive.
-- Eight hours later
The Hokage stood in full battle gear with several of his most trusted ANBU and jounins. Yamato was present, of course. Even Hatake Kakashi was alert, and didn't have his book out.
The band stood at the edge of the Cloud/Konoha border. Messenger birds had told them that the cataclysmic explosion had occurred nearly an hour ago. The Hokage grimaced.
The boys late. I hope nothing happened.
Suddenly, one of the scout ANBU sent out a call. "I'm getting a strong chakra reading half a click north! It's approaching fast!" Everyone got into a battle ready position.
Please let it be
The leaves of a tree rustled violently, and fell to the ground as a result of a Konoha shunshin.
Uzumaki Naruto, a.k.a. Weapon IX, was still crouched in the final seal of Shunshin no jutsu (body flicker technique). His face was covered in dirt, and his long blonde hair that had been tied into a short ponytail was not haggard and pointing out in every direction. His clothes were tattered, and he had cuts all over the place. Already, red chakra sparked here and there, trying to heal the wounds.
"Hokage-sama…..mission. Accomplished…" he managed, before falling to the ground, unconscious.
The ANBU muttered. For a kid of this age to have been able to do something like this…It was like another Itachi or a Kakashi.
The Hokage looked down at the boy he picked up and sighed. I'm sorry I had to put all these burdens on you….Forgive me when you get older.
--
Seven years after beginning of Initiative 461.
After countless missions with his sensei, and nearly destroying an enemy village, he was still hesitant. Damn, what is the meaning of this? Oh, scratch that. It went away. Damn, that is some good mental conditioning.
Naruto took a breath…and opened the door to Konoha Ninja Academy Lecture Hall 3.
--
"Ne, -munch- Shikamaru, -much- who's that?" Chouji asked his friend.
The aforementioned lazy nin merely turned his eyeball to the door.
"No idea. Why'd he come on the day of team assignments though? And that's some funky garb," he said, about the boy who had just come in.
His hair was tied back in a short ponytail that ended between the shoulder blades. A Konoha forehead protector went diagonally across his head, covering his left eye. He wore a tight black sleeveless shirt and loose, standard ninja pants. Shikamaru's eyes widened at the number of scars that marred the exposed arms. They seemed as if they have healed halfway, then stopped abruptly. However, most curious was the strange gauntlet on his left arm. It came up to his elbow, where it formed a ball joint, then stopped. The fingers had claws about two inches long.
Before Shikamaru could continue his analysis, the door opened again and Iruka sensei stepped in. Seeing the new kid, he visibly paled.
Chouji elbowed Shikamaru "Did you see that?"
The genius could only nod. They watched as the two exchanged only a few words, and the kid went to take a seat.
--
The rest of the class had seen the new arrival, and had similar thoughts, except for, of course, a certain Uchiha. But soon, Iruka sensei came in and everyone immediately thought of the team assignments.
Every girl save for one, Hinata, crossed her fingers. Please put me with Sasuke-kun. Please put me with Sasuke-kun. Please put me with Sasuke-kun.
"Oh-okay then. We'll get started right away. Team 1 will be"
Sasuke spaced out. That kid. He never came to any of the classes, but he's a gennin. Just who is he? More importantly, how strong is he?
"Team 7 will be Uchiha Sasuke."
He looked up. "Haruno Sakura." The girl whooped for joy. "And…and Uzumaki Naruto." Both thought …who?...That kid!
The said boy leaned back against his seat. "Hn…" He began what Yamato sensei had called "mentat processing". Assimilating his knowledge with the demon fox's to make accurate or near accurate assessments and predictions.
Uchiha Sasuke. One of two final Uchiha members, and last three to hold the Sharingan. Ninjutsu: High for gennin. Taijutsu: High for gennin. Genjustu:…lacking.
Chance of surviving a C-class mission: 95 percent
Haruno Sakura….no special traits.
Ninjustu: severely lacking. Taijustu: Low-average. Genjustu average-High for gennin.
Chance of surviving a C-class mission:...65 percent.
Hokage-sama…why did you give me this assignment?
-- End
AN: WOOHOOOOO There's another chapter done. Don't worry about all the training missed. We'll get back to that in flashbacks. Please r&r!!!