Author's Note:Before we start this chapter, I would like to inform you that if you read Naruto's True Nindo by Kyuubi123, you'll recognise a lot from his work in this chapter. I would like to point out that I did ask him if I could use this and a few of his chapters, and he said sure go ahead. So please don't say I stole his work, as I did ask first.
Chapter Fourteen.
Naruto Uzumaki - Part 8.
(New Beginnings - Part 1.)
28th of March 1914 - Morning, Naruto's Apartment:
It was Saturday morning, and Naruto just got up to have breakfast, but he also had to get some milk for himself and food for his two shadows Kyūbi Mirai and Aiko. As he did though, once again he found the words, 'die demon' and 'leave our village' in red paint over his door and windows.
Naruto sighed at this, seeing this happening once again, as he said to himself, "One day, the day that I become Hokage and they'll have to stop this, and I'll be respected and can leave this behind me. It'll happen, as if my name isn't Naruto Uzumaki, I'll become Hokage and everything will change."
"Oh really?" said a feminine voice behind Naruto.
As the teen turned around, he found Akane Kyūshū standing behind him. She was new to the Red Light District, having moved to the Hidden Leaf Village about a month ago. Naruto was shocked how well Mirai and Aiko took to her; they never were this friendly to people, so he knew she was an okay person if they liked her.
Akane was working in one of the Night Clubs in the Red Light District. So far she was one few who didn't seem to hate him. He didn't know if it was because she didn't know him, or it was because she was like the rest in the district. She was an outcast of some kind, and it was better to get along with the other outcasts in the district. Whatever the case, he would take whatever kindness that he could "Oh hey Akane." Naruto greeted the older teen.
"So you want to be Hokage do you?" asked the Akane. The way she asked gave Naruto the feeling that she was against it for some reason.
"Yeah, you have a problem with it?" Naruto asked her unhappily. He was sick and tired of others putting down his dream.
"I just want to know why you would want to be the Hokage." Akane told the young teen, "Few have that as their dream and I find it intriguing that one of your age would have a dream that big. Especially becoming a Kage for a village that has no respect for you, and hates you for no reason."
"Well if you must know," Naruto said while puffing out his chest and trying to look confident "I want to be Hokage so that I can change their opinion of me. I want this village will stop treating me like I'm a nobody and finally give me some damn respect."
Akane looked at him for a few moments, as though he'd just sprouted a new head. "That's stupid."
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?! I WILL BE HOKAGE, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU LAUGH AND TELL ME THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!" Naruto yelled, frightening a few people and animals that were in the area.
"I never said that you couldn't become the Hokage, or any Kage if that's what you want," Akane explained to Naruto, not wanting to upset him too much, "I simply meant that your reason for being the Hokage was stupid."
"Huh?" asked a confused Naruto.
"Why do you care what others think about you?" asked the young lady, "Especially for a village that detests you for something that's beyond your control. From what I've seen, and the way you act, I bet you don't have anyone acknowledges you for yourself."
Naruto thought about it for a moment and three images came to mind: the Third Hokage, Teuchi, and his daughter Ayame. They acknowledged and cared for him. "You may be right," he admitted, "The village might hate me, but I do have three people who acknowledge and care for me, the Third Hokage, and the people who run the ramen stand that I go to."
"Then that should be enough." Akane told him, leaving her thoughts about the Third for a moment, "While I may have been in the village for a short while, I've seen you around the village. Your pranks and very loud personality is just a way to get their attention, isn't it?" the man asked sadly.
Naruto was shocked that this man knew so much about him. Most of the villagers just plain didn't care to know anything about him.
"Yeah, well at least when I do those things, they notice me." He said.
"Naruto, you shouldn't do things like that to get their attention. It's meaningless." Akane told Naruto sadly.
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW?! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE LOOKED AT AS IF YOU ARE TRASH OR SOME DEMON! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE PEOPLE LOOK AT YOU AS IF YOU'RE NOTHING!" he yelled infuriated at the woman for telling him that what he was doing was meaningless.
"I'll admit, I have no idea what you've been through," acknowledge Akane, "but really do you really need the acknowledgement of those who care nothing for you? Even if you somehow manage to become Hokage, which is unlikely at the moment, there'll be many who'll still hate you. They'll only see you as a demon, wondering how you even got to become Hokage; many would say that you used dark chakra to become Hokage."
As much as Naruto wanted to scream at Akane saying it wouldn't be like that, he wasn't that foolish to think so. He knew deep down that she was right. Unless he proved himself, they would think he didn't deserve to be Hokage. With a deep sigh, he said, "In that case, I'll prove that I'm worthy of becoming a Hokage."
"It would take a miracle or something drastic for these fools to change their minds." explained Akane wisely, "You could gain respect after risking your life many times before something big happens to make them see you a new light. Then again, if you do something stupid, or something that they don't agree with, they'll just knock you down and see you as a demon again.
"All I have to say is this, the only people whose opinion should matter to you are those who actually care for you and care about you. I have seen the villagers and how they think about you. They don't care about you, so don't even try to gain their approval or their respect. You already have the approval of a few people who actually care for you; they should be enough to motivate your goal and dreams."
Akane wanted to tell Naruto her thoughts about the Third Hokage but knew it would be hard for him to believe right now. So instead, she worked on his dream, and see if he understood what it means to be a Kage. So she said, "While I believe you shouldn't be a Kage to a village that treats you like dirt, do you even know what it takes to run a village?"
Naruto paused to consider her question. All he really knew was that the Hokage, or any Kage, was the best ninja in the village and theirs was a position of great respect. He knew little of what a Village Leader was, or if it was even the same as a Kage. And he had no idea how a village was run.
"No, not really," Naruto admitted.
"Then you should find out." the red head advised, "You might find out that being a Kage isn't the job you want. But if it is, then you should be doing it for the right reasons, not to be respected or to be acknowledged by those who hate you."
Naruto looked at Akane, deep in thought at what she said. What she said made a lot of sense. What did he care about people that didn't give a crap about him thought of him? Why should he care about their recognition, when he had people who already recognized him and accepted him? Even if it was only five or so people. He didn't like being known as an idiot or a fool, yet he'd believed any attention was better than none. He had a lot to think about.
"Thanks, Akane, never thought it like that before," Naruto admitted honestly.
"That alright," Akane answered with a smile, "I thought you should think about it before you go all in. I wouldn't like it if I had a brother going into a job he won't like, without knowing the what he's getting into. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"You told me that you were taking part in the Genin Exams last week, so I was wondering; how did they go?" Akane asked honestly.
This was something that shocked Naruto, considering that nobody cared how things were going for him. In fact, most didn't even want him to pass the exams, preferring that he died somewhere so that they would no longer have to deal with him and his pet Kyūbi. To hear that someone honestly cared about how he went into the exams was a shock.
Naruto sighed sadly. "I failed again."
"For the second time?" Akane asked in shock, "How'd that happen?"
"To be honest, I've never been good with tests," Naruto informed her with a sigh, "I have problems reading the written part of it, so I fail my written work. Whilst I'm ok at Taijutsu, although my forms could do with some work, I can pass that easy enough, I need help with Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.I'm decent with Ninjutsu, but I suck at chakra control, so I often overpower most Jutsu and I'm also awful at Genjutsu. In fact, I failed my second Genin Exams because I couldn't free myself from the Genjutsu that the placed me in."
Akane was gobsmacked. "Has anyone tried to help you? Or did you even try?"
"Well there were two people who helped me out, but seeing how the village hated me so much, I try not to go to them too often. As they have a business, so I don't want it ruined because they been seen helping me out so much." Naruto informed the older teen, "So I had to do almost everything on my own. The teachers just throw me out of the class for the smallest things, like moving my legs or arms too much, which I find helps to concentrate better. You see, if I don't move about and interact somehow, I find myself getting bored and distracted easily. And when that happens, I play up. Not only that, they know that I have poor chakra control, so they do nothing to help me, sticking me to the basic Leaf Concentration Practice chakra control exercise. They don't even bother telling me how to do it better."
Hearing this, it took all of Akane's self-control not to lose her temper.
She took a few deep breaths before calmly regarding Naruto. "Listen, once you find out what it means to be a Kage, and it's what you want, I'm willing to train you. In fact, I'll train you whether or not you want to be a Kage if that's what you want."
"You'd do that for me?" Naruto asked in shock.
"Of course I would," the teen told him, "you seem to be a good enough kid, and you definitely don't deserve the way this village has been treating you. One condition though: you don't tell anyone that I'm helping you."
"Why not?" Naruto asked confused.
"There's a few reasons," Akane admitted, "but the main one is that if people knew that I'm helping you, someone might try to stop me; even the Hokage."
"What? Why would he do that?" Naruto asked in shock, he didn't think the Hokage would try and stop him from getting trained by someone that wanted to help him.
"Let's just say I can't tell you." Akane said, the young teen boy, "Not that I don't want to, I just can't. You have my word, if you decide that you want me to train you, I won't lie to you. But at the same time though, I won't tell you everything for one reason or another; at which point, if I can, I'll tell you. But think about it, do you think the villagers would be happy that you're being trained?"
"No they wouldn't, in fact, they most likely try and stop you," Naruto admitted. With the way the villagers had been treating him, it wasn't hard for him to think they would run her out of the village.
"That's right," Akane confirmed, "So it's better that you don't tell anyone, not even the Hokage. And if you do this for me, I'll even teach you what it means to be a true ninja. Each person as a different meaning to what it means to be a ninja, but I'll teach you what I was told what it means to be a ninja. Something that I agree with."
"Okay, I won't tell him." Naruto promised the older teen. He was upset that she didn't want him to tell the Hokage, but put it down that there was more to the story than meets the eye. He could sense that when the time was right, she would tell him what she could. Not only that, but he was interested to hear what she thought what a true ninja was, and if it means that he had to keep their training a secret, Naruto was more than happy to do so.
And with that, they parted, Akane went to get some rest, whilst Naruto, Mirai and Aiko, went to get some milk and food.
o0OoO0o
Evening - Hokage's Office:
Hiruzen Sarutobi was relaxing from a long day of doing the curse of paperwork that came with being a Kage, when Naruto walked in with his two pet Kyūbi, who was walking behind him.
"Hello Naruto, is something bothering you?" asked the village leader.
"Hey old man," greeted Naruto with a thoughtful expression.
"Is there something bothering you?" asked the Third Hokage, in curiosity.
"Old man, what does it mean to be a Kage and a Village Leader?" the thirteen-year-old asked.
Sarutobi was stunned. In all the time he'd known Naruto, never once had he asked that question. "Why do you ask?"
Naruto heaved a sigh. "I failed the Genin Exam for the second time this week."
"You aren't giving up are you?" asked the Third with an expression that seemed to be equally sad as it was alarmed.
"No, but I do know that if I fail one more time, I'll be kicked out of the Academy and unable to become a ninja for this village." Naruto admitted.
"Don't worry Naruto, should that happen, I think I can work something out for you." Hiruzen offered with a grandfatherly smile. The Hokage knew that the young man of him was right, should Naruto fail for the third time, he would force to quit the Academy.
It was a rule set up by the Second Hokage. He believed that if a student couldn't pass the Genin Exam after three attempts, it meant you won't meant to be a shinobi or kunoichi. So save them the pain and heartache, should a student fail three times at the Genin Exams, they would be kicked out of the Academy and unable to become a ninja for that village.
When the Hokage said he would work something out for the young man, he wasn't going to do it only for Naruto, but for the village too. The Village might be against the teen, because of the fox within the young teen, but they didn't know that they needed him too. So should he leave the village and he moves to another village to become a ninja, it could spell trouble later on. So it was for the Greater Good of the village that Naruto stayed here.
"Anyway, you asked me about what it means to be a Kage and a Village Leader," the Hokage reminded Naruto, "Why do you ask?"
"Right, for a while I was upset about it." Naruto explained to the old man, "But as I left my apartment to get some supplies, I ran into a new neighbour of mine that moved here a few months ago. And we started to talk."
"Who was this new neighbour?" asked the leader of the Leaf Village.
"Akane Kyūshū," explained Naruto, "she works in one of the Clubs that's near me, she showed me that I don't know it means to be a Kage. She said that I should find out if it really something I want to do. When I told her that I wanted to be Hokage because it would give me respect, she said that that wasn't a good reason to want to be Hokage."
'Oh isn't she the interesting one.' thought Sarutobi as he looked at Naruto and saw that he really wanted a truthful answer.
"She was right Naruto," he replied, hiding his worry. The young lady had only been in the village for a month, and she had turned the head of the biggest prankster and made him think. No one before was able to make Naruto set down and think, he tried to do for a few years now, but with no luck. And if she could do this, what else could she do. If she could make Naruto settle down to think, she already had him wrapped around her finger. He realized that she might be someone to keep an eye on. He would have to look into her, to ensure her motives were pure.
Naruto was surprised. He'd told the old man that that was his dream for a long time and yet he had never criticized it.
"I never said anything before, because I didn't want to destroy your only dream; but are you sure you want to know what it means to be the Hokage?" Lord Third asked very seriously, "What I say may change your mind."
"I want to know Lord Hokage." Naruto said looking at him with the same intensity and determination that he would soon be known for. And seeing that he was showing him respect, by calling him by his title, showed he was serious about this. "I want to know if the dream I am chasing is really what I want."
"Fine, take a seat." the Hokage told the teen.
Once Naruto was seated, Hiruzen closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate.
"To be a Kage or Village Leader is not a job for the faint of heart Naruto, nor for those who are not completely dedicated to the job. Everything that transpires in the village is somehow affected by you. Every business, merchant, food vendor, and civilian falls under your jurisdiction. And whilst some villages, like this one, might have a Council or group of people to help you, most of the time you have to do most of the work."
What he didn't tell the teen was how the civilians in this Council had controlled more than they should, and he was having a hard time regaining. But he hoped that should Naruto become the Hokage, they would have been dealt with in one way or another. "You should know that you'll be in this office, doing the evil work that is paperwork that relates to these sorts of things." Here Naruto let out a laugh at this joke, it would seem that he and the Third Hokage hated doing paperwork. "Every decision you make does not only affect you, but it also affects every single person in this village." The old man said as he rose from his chair.
"Then there is the military." the Hokage went on to explain as he looked out the window, "You are in command of every ninja in this village. They all must obey you and they all will follow your orders. You will be sending them on missions and you need to know what team specializes in what area as well as what team is better prepared for the mission. You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of every team as you will control how teams are made. This is very important Naruto because of all of their lives rest on your shoulders. If you mess up and send the wrong team in the wrong situation then good men and women will die because of your foul-up. You may have to order some ninja on missions that you know are more like suicides missions if it is necessary. And no matter how much you try and not to, you willeventually mess up, and the deaths of your comrades will be on your hands, and even then you must persevere and not let the loss of life keep you from leading the village." The old man said, at this part, the Third Hokage looked Naruto in the eyes.
As he did, Naruto looked at the Hokage and he saw the pain in his eyes and knew that the old man had seen and made his share of mistakes and was still paying for them today.
"Come here Naruto." Sarutobi said as he went to the window. When Naruto had joined him he asked, "What do you see?"
Naruto looked out of the window as saw the everyday life in the village. Families were walking around, shops and stores were open, and friends were conversing.
"I see the village old man." He said not quite grasping what he expected him to see.
"That's right Naruto, and rather you're a Kage or a Village Leader, every man, women, and child of your village is your responsibility. Their lives depend on the decisions that you make. As a Kage or a Village Leader, you bear the burden of carrying and protecting every person in this village even if it means giving up your life. There will be times when you must do things you wouldn't normally do, things for the Greater Good for the village, that would make people hate you should they learn what you have done. You even would hate yourself for doing so, but you know that for the Greater Good for the village, you need to do so."
Here looked sad at all the times he was forced to do things for the Greater Good of the village, that he knew that he didn't like doing and knew other might not too. But as the leader of the village, that was something you had to do. As you had to look out for the village, no matter what. Like the times he had to do with Naruto. He was forced to do things, things that made life harder for the boy, but for the protection for him and the village he had to make those choices, even if he didn't want to. He just hoped that Naruto never learns about what he had done, as he feared what he might do should he learn what he has done.
"It's a heavy burden Naruto, you'll lose friends, family, and you'll hate yourself for doing the things you're forced to do." the old man told the blonde teen. "But you know that if you don't, the lives of the people you love, and those of the villagers would be in danger if you don't make those hard choices. And there might be a day where you'll be forced to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect the village. You have to remember Naruto, as a leader be it a Kage or a basic Village Leader, you're the guiding light for the village, and everyone will look to you for guidance and leadership. To view everyone under you as precious, to place their lives on your shoulders, to protect them with your life, that is what it means to be Kage or Village Leader." Hiruzen told Naruto seriously.
Naruto looked at him with awe. He never knew that being the Hokage of this village had such a responsibility, and had to make such hard choices to protect the village. After hearing what the old man told him, he felt ashamed of how he always yelled that he would be the next Hokage when he didn't even have the slightest idea what it entailed. Had he become Hokage, unless he was dumb lucky he could have ruined the village, as he played Hokage and not knowing what he really had to do to protect those in the village.
Akane was right, to be the Hokage for the simple reasons of wanting respect and acknowledgement was selfish and was a disgrace to the Hokage who had come and died for this village.
"Then that is what I will do." Naruto said.
"What do you mean Naruto?" asked the third.
"I will become Hokage, but for the right reasons. Another thing Akane told me was that I shouldn't strive to gain the acceptance of those who hate me for no reason. As long as I am acknowledged by those who truly know and care about me then that is all I need." Naruto said with conviction in his voice.
"That is very good advice Naruto." Hiruzen told the teenager with a smile, "If those fools don't accept you and don't make the effort to understand you then you shouldn't worry about the acceptance or their acknowledgement."
"Yeah, I will be Hokage to protect this village. I may not be accepted but I will protect those that are precious to me with my life." Naruto said.
The Third Hokage looked at the determined look in Naruto's face and swore that he saw an image of Lord Fourth behind him. He just hoped he never finds out what he has done to him, sure it was done to protect him and the village, but he didn't think Naruto would agree, no matter what was said to convince him otherwise. There were some things one could never forgive, he knew when the day of judgement comes along, like other Kages and Village Leaders before him, he would have a lot to answer for. But he knew that the things that he did, he did so for the Greater Good of the village, he would more than happy to receive the judgement to his deeds.
"Are you sure Naruto, it will be a lot of hard work." the old man warned.
"I am sure, I will defend and protect everyone that is precious to me because that is my nindo, my ninja way." Naruto said.
"Well if you need anything then you can tell me." Hiruzen said kindly.
"Thanks, old man, I need to do some thinking now." Naruto said as he left.
o0OoO0o
As Naruto left the Academy and down the streets to go back to his home, he was deep in thought about what he had learnt. As he was doing so, he was completely ignoring the looks of hatred and distrust from the villagers. He was somewhat proud of himself, when Akane told him told him that he should go to someone to learn what it means to be a Kage or a Village Leader, there was only one person he could think of: the Third Hokage.
Now normally he would have gone to see the old man right away, unannounced, but Naruto wanted to show the old man that whilst he was a prankster and a kid at heart, he can be mature too: to show his age. So he waited until the end of the day when he knew that the Third Hokage is finished and could give him time.
After the talk with the Hokage, he simply pretended to ignore the looks while silently pondering their meaning, he know recognized them but simply didn't care what they meant. If these people didn't want to even give him a chance then he wouldn't concern himself with their opinions. Knowing that he had to think clearly, he went to the Hokage Mountain, where the seat in deep contemplation for a while.
He knew that to become Hokage then there were some things that he would have to change about himself. He, first of all, had to become a shinobi and a competent one at that. No one would follow an idiot into battle. He also needed to control his temper. No one would want an impulsive leader ruled by his emotion either. His chakra control and genjutsu sucks. He hoped that Akane could help him with these, if not, he would find someone else who might be able to help him
'Man, I have a lot to work on if I want to be a ninja and then Hokage.' Naruto thought to himself, and he planned out what he would do next.
"Oh well, if it was easy then anyone could do it." Naruto said to himself as he headed home an hour later. Starting tomorrow he was a whole new ninja.
Unbeknownst to Naruto, Akane was watching him and heard what he said. "So he took my advice, Naruto. You might know the truth of what being a Kage entails, that's just a start. I'm sorry little brother, but when I'm done informing you the whole truth of what has been done to you, to our family, you'll be looking at this village a different light."
Then turning to look at the village that done harm to her brother, she sneered as she said, "Soon Hidden Leaf Village, you and your leader will pay for what you have done to our family. And it'll be the very same person who'll you hurt and betrayed, my brother Naruto, that'll punish you all for what you have done to him and our family."
And with that Akane Kyūshū, once Naruko Uzumaki, smiled darkly as she left to prepare to train her brother. If the village saw the smile she had, they would be on their hands and knees begging for forgiveness or running for the hill to get away for what Akane was planning. The village was going to learn the old saying was very true: Never. Fuck. With. An. Uzumaki. As if you did, you would be in a world of trouble, something not only this village will learn, but the other villages that destroyed the Uzumaki Clan in the first place would learn too.
To be Continued!
Author's Note - PLEASE READ TO THE END: Here ends the next chapter of The Ninja Overlord, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you'll take a few minutes to leave some feedback to what you thought of it. Now as I said at the start of the chapter, I'm using a few chapters from Naruto's True Nindo by Kyuubi123.
I done this as this for the simple reason that it fits what I wanted to happen for my story. I had many ideas for what I wanted to do here, but I could never find the right words to use to write it out. But when I read this story, it was like the gods were speaking to me, as the layout of this was the very thing I wanted to write. So I removed the man in the story and placed him with Akane, and added a few things to fit my needs and make the chapter my own. So you know, until we get to the Genin Exams, I'll be using a few of Kyuubi123's chapters for my work, as they got ideas to what I want to happen in my story, like how to add Anko into the story.
The second chapter of this story will have the first half of chapter two of Naruto's True Nindo, where Naruto meets up with Anko before finding his sister, having a small talk with Akane before ending the chapter.
So you know, I'm writing the Third Hokage and other leaders in the story as Greater Good sort of people, doing what they had to, for the greater good for their village. The way I see it, they do what must be done, be it good or bad. Like the leaders of our governments, they most likely do things that we're not aware of, things that we might not agree with or hate. But the leaders do what they do to protect the country, in this story, do what must be done to protect their village.
I want some advice, I'm going to have it that Akane and/or Masato are going to have a few words with the Hokage and about his actions. Like why Lord Third didn't do anything to make Naruto's life better, or why he never had someone train Naruto, knowing that as an Uzumaki and as Jinchūriki, his chakra control would be shit and would need extra training among other things that I haven't thought of right now. So I would like to ask you this, what would you think the Hokage's answers would be, and how would he defend himself against a pissed off sister/grandfather? I hope that you can help me with this.
Here's the dates of birth of each of the characters of the characters that'll pass the Genin Exams at the same time as Naruto. I done it by the team that they were in the show. I hope I done it right, in fact it is why I'm posting it in this chapter, to make sure that I done so, if I got the dates wrong please let me know. Know that Naruto is MEANT to be older in this story, and the dates I'm using I'm hoping would allow him be in the same class as the rest of the group as he does his third attempt in passing the Genin Exams.
So you know, I don't know if I'll be keeping the same teams or not, I'm still in the air about it. But as far as I can right now, it would look like that I'll be doing so, as it would make things easier if I did. Only time will tell.
Team Seven:
Naruto Uzumaki: 10th of October 1900 starts the Academy on 5th of April 1909 and meant to finish 25th of March 1913 but instead he finished 23rd of March 1915, as he failed two other times before passing on his third time.
Sakura Haruno: 28th of March 1903
Sasuke Uchiha: 2nd of July 1902
Team Eight:
Shino Aburame: January 23 1903
Hinata Hyūga: 17th December 1902
Kiba Inuzuka: 7th of July 1902
Team Ten:
Chōji Akimichi: 1st of May 1902
Shikamaru Nara: 22nd of September 1902
Ino Yamanaka: 23rd of September 1902