"The humans hath broken a bond of yore. Verily, they was't truly of the liars."

- The Book of Log

C4: Childhood's Beginnings (Pt.3)

Beta Reader: Izaranna

Naruto was leaning against the windowsill, reading a book, his attention waning by the minute. He looked out the window and took in what he could of the outside world — a world he had never been a part of.

The sky was lighting up; its dark hues faded into lighter shades, the sun banishing the darkness of the night completely, obliterating every shadow in sight. To him, it was all a swirl of muted colours, lacking the vibrancy that can only be seen when looked at from the outside.

He was bored.

Dead bored.

Naru-chan didn't like being bored.

It had been eight years since his birth and he could remember everything – every single second – of those eight long years. It wasn't a problem, until a few years ago when he accidentally managed to make himself remember every single detail that was present in those seconds.

It all started when he was but a year old, if not younger.

He was a little pudgy baby when he discovered the wonder of the floating screens. Clicking what he knew now as 'Yes' gave him knowledge and saying certain keywords allowed him to learn more about himself than anyone ever could.

Recently, Naruto had been stuck in a rut of sorts. He was getting bored of reading, but who could really blame him, when that was all he had done for eight years? Sure, he dabbled in arts and writing, but nothing could beat a good book to him.

The blond raised his hand and summoned a screen that was filled with boxes of all sorts surrounding a little figurine of himself that wore whatever he wore, creepily similar to the voodoo dolls he read about in one of his books.

The boxes contained whatever articles of clothing he wore, but as always, most were empty. They weren't organised well—it looked like as if a toddler had decided to make his user interface.

He hated it.

Sadly, he couldn't do a thing about it, so he looked at the things he could change.

His 'skills'.

There were millions of things in that section. After finishing his first library, he recognised a few of them. After getting his Anbu to get him anatomy books, he understood a bit more. This ability seemed to consider being alive a skill and so, gave him access to every substructure in his body. Cilia and cells, nerves and neural tracts.

There were too much to understand. But they were grouped into categories for some reason. So, he tried turning them on and off. Maybe change a few values. Some even had sliders which was interesting.

He died many times, but luckily it wasn't permanent.

It never was.

Time reversed for him. He went back to a point where he wasn't dead and his settings were reset if they were affecting him adversely.

He adjusted his position on the windowsill and decided that today he would ask the Anbu to take him outside. He got up and put his book away, before turning around and bumping into an Anbu.

"Nii-san?" said Naruto. He knew it was that Anbu. His mannerisms and vocal cues were impossible to replicate.

The Anbu smiled beneath his mask, happy that even after his protests, the Hokage had given him this job—he'd have probably failed in helping Minato-sensei's legacy, let alone to the point where he would call him 'Nii-san', had he not been forced into the role of caretaker. It was one of the few promises that he had actually succeeded in keeping.

"Would you like to go outside?" asked the Anbu like as if he had read Naruto's mind.

How did he know that? I'm pretty sure he—

"—can't read minds?" quipped the Anbu.

"How do you do that?" questioned Naruto.

"Trade secret."

He huffed, "I think I preferred you before you managed to convince the Hokage to allow you to join the same rotation every other Anbu had."

"I'm hurt." said the Anbu while crossing his hands above his heart in a show of how much hurt he was dealt by the blond's words.

"You take too much joy in life now." said the boy while narrowing his eyes in disagreement.

"Only because of you, Naru-chan."

The Uzumaki sighed.

"Here's a wig and a pair of contacts. We'll be watching from a distance, so don't try to get into too much trouble. You'll be given free reign, the only time we will stop you is if you do something or are going to do something illegal, and I'm sure you know what that is."

Naruto nodded in compliance, mentally going over the legal codex used in the Land of Fire.

The sun bared down upon the village of Konoha, dissolving any semblance of darkness in the village. Its heavenly glow bathed everything in the village, increasing the vividness of the grass, the sky and the earth.

Uzumaki Naruto (who was wearing a black wig and dark brown contacts) walked along a river, taking in the brilliant radiance of reality. Normally, such a beautiful day would inspire a sense of awe in people, but for one who has never experienced the outside world, it made the day all the more amazing.

He was broken from the trance-like state he was in when he noticed that, across the bank, hidden in a clump of trees, were people who were administrating care to the trees in a manner similar to what one would give to pets.

Naruto was shocked.

What kind of people do that? Especially such high-level people.

The blond carried on. The laughter of children wafted through the air and weighed heavily on Naruto's mind. The only child he had ever seen was the kitten of the Daimyo's wife and Konohamaru… but he didn't count.

The Uzumaki changed course and veered away from the river towards the sound. It originated from a park with many children—clan children—Naruto's ability supplied. Every single fact he had ever read displayed itself when he looked at the people it pertained to, which was just another thing that came with the premise of being Uzumaki Naruto.

Most of the information followed the following formula:

Surname which typically was their clan name + Forename normally blank

Some, however, were filled; clan heads, clan heirs and their spares. They were important enough to be mentioned in the genealogies Naruto had read.

One clan was missing, Naruto noted.

The Uchiha.

The blond was not surprised—he had read the architecture plans for Konoha and knew that they had a park hidden within the confines of their own clan compound.

He looked around, noting the one boy who was eating another kid's hand. Inuzuka Kiba, a spare heir. He also found some Hyuga, however, their clan heir was missing. Again most likely for the same reason as the Uchiha.

The boy left the park and wandered around Konoha for a bit, before returning home.

"Nii-san, why were people hugging trees?" questioned Naruto as soon as he entered his home.

The Anbu chuckled. "They were showing their appreciation to the trees, thanking them for the help they give us."

The boy looked even more confused, "Why?"

"You might want to take a seat—this will take a while."

Naruto sat down on one of his sofas in the living room and signed to the Anbu, "CONTINUE."

The masked man nodded and began, "Every shinobi country has their own patron religion, and you know that, right?"

The blond nodded.

"Konoha's religion is the Way Of The Log. We follow it along with either Shinto or Buddhism, like every other shinobi country. Why? We are protected by the log through the use of a jutsu which calls upon it. When called, it shields us from danger, and our only priest of the Way Of The Log was our first Hokage, gifted in the Ways of the Wood. The main reason why ninjas, and especially the Jounin, follow the religion is actually a state secret."

Naruto repeated, shocked, "State secret?"

"Yes. It is a state secret that only Jounin and Anbu have clearance to. In fact, it is a part of their induction."

The blond opened his mouth again but was interrupted by the masked man. "Don't ask me more about it, I really am not allowed to talk about it. It's an S-rank secret."

Naruto looked at the Anbu blankly before speaking, "Can I go out again, tomorrow?"

"You can go out whenever you want, providing that you alert us beforehand."

Naruto was happily chomping his way through a box of Takoyaki as he explored every crevice of Konoha when he encountered Sasuke–Uchiha Sasuke–rummaging through a dumpster.

"What are you doing?" asked Naruto, his box now empty.

"Things." muttered the Uchiha helpfully, before he dove deeper into the trash.

Naruto waited until the boy resurfaced before questioning him again, "What sorts of things?"

"Stuff." admitted Sasuke, equally as helpfully as before.

The blond tried to continue the exchange. "What sort of—", until he was interrupted by Sasuke.

"What is your problem? Who are you?"

The boy turned around and looked at Naruto before his face paled.

He whimpered before his eyes gained a steely glint and he barked harshly, "Not a word of this to father."

He would have looked intimidating, if not for the banana peel in his hair. Naruto held back a laugh as he cast his mind back to see why the Uchiha would think that he was part of his clan. After a second, he spoke, "I'm not an Uchiha."

Sasuke did not look convinced.

He did indeed look a bit like an Uchiha at first sight; his black wig, dark contacts and pale complexion (spending most of his time indoors does that to people) were indeed features typical of the average Uchiha.

"Alright, fine. I'll prove it to you."

Naruto took off his wig to reveal his blond hair, and then took out his contacts to reveal his bright blue eyes, and continued his questioning as he had determined that the boy should now be more susceptible to his demands

"Now, can you tell me what someone like you would be doing in a bin?"

The boy's eyes narrowed, before he icily responded, "What do you mean by 'someone like you'?"

Naruto continued, not knowing that he was entering a minefield, where even one misstep would blow up in his face. "The spare Uchiha heir."

The effect was instantaneous. Sasuke's demeanour plunged to sub-zero, visibly deflating.

He started in a defeated voice, "You're right."

The blond's eyes widened as he realised that his choice of words might not have been the best.

"I'm just a spare. A stupid, idiotic replacement that can never compare to Nii-san. I'll be the spare and that's all I'll ever be."

The Uchiha's grip on the edge of the dumpster loosened and he fell into it.

"Sasuke!" Naruto ran towards the dumpster and climbed onto it, seeing only a trace of black hair as the boy sank deeper into the trash, being enveloped by its stinky embrace.

The blond jumped in after him and found a hand amidst all the trash. He held onto it tightly and tried to find his way out of the bin.

Eventually, they made their way out. All of Naruto's muscles were aching. He couldn't believe how much bigger the bin was on the inside.

"A little help would be appreciated," muttered Naruto as he tried to haul Sasuke out of the bin.

Somehow, the boy heard and started to try and escape the bin's clutches. After much effort (and a great deal of vomiting), the blond managed to get the Uchiha onto the cold hard ground. He then noted that the boy was clutching a scroll in his hand.

The first thought that went through Naruto's mind was to pester the boy into asking him about his motives, but his mind reminded him of the books he read on human behaviour. He would need to comfort the boy.

"Sasuke…If you feel up to it, do you want to talk about it?" Naruto asked as he patted his shoulders in a comforting manner. The blond felt as if he had just made a huge mistake, but luckily, the black-haired boy was receptive to his demands. He nodded.

"What does it matter? You're just some random civilian that I'll probably never meet again."

Sasuke coughed, trying to get rid of the taste of rotten apples that snaked its way into his mouth. "Sure."

He licked his lips and spat trying to get rid of the taste.

"Where do I even begin?" He took a deep breath. "It all started when I was born. I have an older brother who is so much better than me. He's like a mountain compared to me, the anthill. My parents always compare him to me and expect me to be as good as him without even giving me the time of day."

He coughed again.

"Sure, my mother's alright, if not a bit scary. Father is the one I have problems with… he acts so… fake. It's like as if just talking to his son makes him suffer as much as drinking poison."

The boy shivered. "The only person who really cares about me is my brother."

Sasuke relaxed and leant against the bin as a small smile graced his lips. "He really is amazing! He takes me training, and we do survival training against boars! He always smiles around me, even if he doesn't smile around anybody else, and that's how I know that I'll always be special to Nii-san, just like he's special to me! At least, he used to…but that doesn't matter. He's, well, perfect!"

He paused before continuing, "He became Anbu captain this year, and he's only thirteen!"

The boy paused and looked at Naruto incredulously, "You do know what an Anbu is, right?"

The blond grinned and nodded. Sasuke stared at Naruto suspiciously before continuing, "He gained his Sharingan – my clan's bloodline limit – at eight."

The boy paused, trying his best to emphasise his next sentence, "My age."

The Uchiha spat, "And look at me! Sifting through garbage to retrieve a scroll for the easiest jutsu that my clan has. A stupid jutsu that allows me to make tiny harmless flames! I can't even kill flies like that, let alone the people that my brother did at eight."

The boy started to yell, "And you know what's worse? He's a pacifist! I don't even...I can't even. He's so gifted, and yet such a good person at heart. It would be better if he was horrible and hated me! At least then I could say that he was just another criminal, but…now…"

Sasuke felt like as if he was sinking deeper and deeper into the ground. He knew he was in a bad state, but not to the extent that he would confess his darkest secrets to a random civilian.

Naruto realised that it might be time to intervene. He thought for a bit about what he ought to say and then decided on, "You know Sasuke. It could be worse. Your parents could beat you and your brother could rub his superiority in your face."

The black-haired boy's eyes lost all hope. "Even you think he's better than me..."

"He is," Naruto said matter-of-factly, "but you know what Sasuke? That's fine because I'll tell you something, a word, that will solve all your problems."

Sasuke looked hopeful, "What?"

"Dattebayo!"

"Dattebayo? What does that even mean?" asked the boy confused.

"It means no worries." said Naruto nonchalantly.

Sasuke looked annoyed, "What does it actually mean? Do you take me for a fool or something?"

"Actually, it means whatever I want, because the original variation was something my mother said once, and since she died without telling me the meaning, it means whatever I want it to mean."

Sasuke's expression tensed as he just realised that he had been complaining about parents to a boy whose parents were dead.

Naruto continued. "At this moment, it means no worries. It's a part of my philosophy. Just live how you want to live. Do whatever you want, specialise in whatever you want. I love reading books and drawing and doing calligraphy from time to time and look at me. I'm perfectly normal, right?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto. "I have to be at the top of the academy, or else my parents will be even more disappointed in me, and that takes practise."

"Then make sure to take breaks or else you'll burn yourself out. It's not like you have any drive to do anything, right?"

"Just leave." the boy said in a defeated tone. "If Izanagi wills, we will meet again."

Naruto knew that the Uchiha clan were a bit different from the rest of the village. They were quite religious, to the point where their forefathers had named their greatest techniques after the Shinto deities. It was quite a different thing to hear someone speak of them.

"You know that you might get tetanus from some of the lacerations you received, right?"

Sasuke replied in a strangled tone. "Just go."

Naruto never met the boy again during his frequent forays into the village. He saw many things; people chasing chickens, chickens chasing people, ninjas chasing cats and cats chasing ninjas.

He could say one thing though—it felt like home. What made it even better was his discovery of a certain dish called Ramen, which was sold at a quaint restaurant called 'Ichiraku Ramen'.

It was the food of the gods, Naruto knew. He even made his taste buds extra sensitive just to get all the taste he could from each delicate string.

He liked Konoha.

It was so easy to get lost and forget himself in. He remembered that one time when he was so lost, he ended up at a cemetery where a funeral was taking place for the father of a pink-haired girl around his age.

He was almost nine—just one more month to go. The blond had finished exploring almost every nook and cranny of Konoha, except for the areas where he didn't want to enter unless he had a good reason, like the red-light district, and he'd almost finished all the books in his library, as well as finally maxing out all of his leisure skills.

It took a long time, but he was finally done with all his long-term goals.

But, just around the corner, would come an opportunity of a lifetime.

The Hokage entered Naruto's home and found him lying on a sofa reading his last remaining book. He looked quite happy, unlike his own son who had just left home in anger.

The man's face relaxed as he looked at the boy, before approaching him. While doing so, it seemed he had been noticed.

Naruto placed his book down on the table next to him, before walking over and greeting the old man.

"Ohaiyo, Jiji!"

The old man replied likewise before he adopted a serious expression. After a few pleasantries, Sarutobi brought up the question he'd come to ask in the first place.

"Would you like to become a ninja, Naruto?"

The blond stood silently, his brain churning with what the Hokage had asked. The boy stayed silent even after a few minutes had passed, so Sarutobi decided to tell the boy that he didn't need to respond immediately.

"Take your time Naruto, but I need to know by tomorrow by 10:30 AM sharp."

"Okay, I'll make sure to tell you by then."

The Hokage's exit prompted Naruto to begin thinking about the offer. To become a ninja is something that many people would give an arm for, but…

The boy sat down and pondered, but he could not reach a conclusion as each argument had a counter-argument. He knew he could easily ask the Anbu for help to reach a conclusion, but he decided against it as he felt that he really needed to lower his dependence on them— they wouldn't always be there for him.

He thought and thought until he could think no more.

That was something he did frequently.

It yielded nothing. He still couldn't decide, so he gave in. Naruto questioned each Anbu as to why they became a ninja. The answers, predictably, varied immensely.

One Anbu's answer was ridiculously generic. "I became a ninja, Naruto-sama because I come from a long line of ninja."

Birth. That was one reason. Naruto would have told him to stop calling him '-sama', but didn't, knowing that that it was a futile endeavour that would end in that Anbu laughing at Naruto's insistence.

The blond searched and asked another one.

"I joined the shinobi force because the civilian economy was suffering, and unemployment rates were rising in every country. It was not a good idea to stay as a civilian and since I had the ability to be a ninja, I became one. It also helps that I'd be able to protect my family—even if you aren't a ninja, they're everywhere."

Naruto thanked him and continued walking through the house to find another one. "We get stable and high pensions and even paid maternity and paternity leave."

Another Anbu paused, trying to think of what lead her to become a ninja, "You get to explore the world and well… it's fun, Naruto-sama."

The blond was confused, "Fun? How is it fun to risk your life?"

The Anbu swiftly gave her response. "The latest census on ninja death rates were taken during the war and even in Anbu, we don't die that often. Regardless, the trade-off is worth it. Even if I die, my children will live comfortably for the rest of their lives. It is fun because being a ninja gives you a sense of purpose and lets you do things you would never be able to do in any other job."

Naruto again thanked her and continued on, this time trying to find the final occupant of this house—his Nii-san. He found him eventually, hiding in a corner, reading a book called Icha Icha paradise.

"Nii-san?" Naruto called. "What are you doing?"

The Anbu started fumbling with the little book in his hand, trying to find a place to hide it. Lacking practise, he managed to do it only when it was too late.

The blond's eyes widened in curiosity, "What's that book? Can I have it? A romance book? It looks like it…"

The Anbu interjected, "So, Naruto? What do you want?"

The Uzumaki began, "Why did you become—"

The Anbu interrupted Naruto again. "Is this about Hokage-sama's offer?"

The blond nodded.

"Why I became a ninja would not apply to you. I have a question for you Naruto. The answer should help you come to a decision."

He paused before continuing so that the boy could prepare himself. "If a bird came up to you and asked you whether it should try flying, what would you say to it?"

Naruto looked confused, "I would tell it to try, of course."

The Anbu hummed. "And what if it did, and didn't like it?"

"Well…I guess it wouldn't fly? Not like it has to, but it's the smarter option to at least know how."

"And there's your answer." confirmed the Anbu.

"What? Can I actually drop out of the ninja programme whenever I want?" The blond paused and searched through his memories and found the relevant information. "Of course, of course I can. Ugh, how stupid of me. Please tell Hokage-sama that I do want to try being a ninja."

If Naruto could see the Anbu's face, he would have seen his mouth turning up in the semblance of a smile. "Sure, I'll send someone to do it."

Naruto made his way to leave and then he realised something and so turned around, only to notice that the man had already left. He needed to find that Anbu and ask him to restock his library with books relating to being a ninja.

R&R (Suggestions and advice are always welcome!)