A Tale of Two Transmigrants

Chapter 2: Seed

And thus began the life of Uzumaki Naruto, in the bustling village of Konohagakure.

From birth to childhood, it was a tragic one.

The village never recovered from the trauma of the attack of the Kyūbi, which had robbed them of their favourite Hokage and crippled their economy. It did not matter that Naruto had been orphaned by the assault; the villagers took their hatred out on him anyway as he was the jinchūriki, or human vessel of the Nine-Tailed Fox—an open secret classified as S-rank by the Sandaime Hokage, in an effort to withhold the truth from the poor child who already had much on his plate.

This did little to prevent the villagers' alienation of the jinchūriki, although it did shield him from the worst of the physical and verbal assaults, helpfully precluded by the ANBU squad the Hokage had assigned to watch over him.

The villagers continued to isolate him as he grew up, preventing their children from befriending him and denying him services, food and shelter. The sole exception was the owner of a ramen stand, Teuchi, and his daughter Ayame.

In the same year he was old enough to be kicked out of the orphanage, Naruto began training to enter the Academy. At first it was just running around the village, but as time passed, it evolved to push-ups, sit-ups, handstands and throwing shuriken. Every day, the number of repetitions increased until he was exhausted. But even as he collapsed on the concrete, he ended every day with a smile knowing that he had spent it well improving.

After countless applications and pestering his grandfather figure, the Sandaime, he was finally allowed to enter the Academy at age nine—a year earlier than his peers.

Even so, his teachers were ruthless, withholding teaching materials and kicking him out of classes for the slightest reason. The boy never knew why, and ended up failing the two-year course. Where he was supposed to graduate at eleven, he failed the final exam and had to retake the year's course. By then, his peers of the same age had just finished their first year, so he had to take his final year together with them.

Fortunately, he had a nice instructor this year—Umino Iruka. Although he saw Naruto as a nuisance in class due to all the pranks he pulled and disruptions he caused, the chūnin recognised it as Naruto's attempts to seek attention due to his lonely childhood.

Thus, he decided to treat Naruto better and taught him properly, never throwing him out of class. He even took on the role of a surrogate brother, occasionally treating him to ramen after school.

All things considered, Naruto was still a happy boy. However, he was treated as the dead last in class because he could not graduate the previous year.

The reason was simply this: Naruto could not perform the Clone Jutsu, one of the three basic Academy techniques that every student was required to execute in order to graduate as a genin. For that, he was deemed a failure by his teachers and peers. But no one realised that it was because he had too much chakra to control it properly, a result of what he was holding in his body.

A carefree child, Naruto wasn't particularly concerned about that and instead, chose to focus on the other shinobi arts such as taijutsu and fūinjutsu, which did not require much chakra control.

Regardless, it was soon time to graduate as the year passed by quickly. Once again, the Genin Exams were held, and the passing criteria was the ability to perform the Academy Three: the Transformation, the Substitution and the Clone.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" an instructor called.

Naruto stood up nervously and entered the examination room, where two other chūnin, Iruka and Mizuki, were invigilators.

Iruka gave him a small smile. "Naruto, show us the Transformation Jutsu."

The Uzumaki nodded and formed the Ram seal. "Henge!"

Chakra flowed around him and smoke filled the air. When it cleared, it revealed the Yondaime Hokage.

"Good job," Iruka said, noting it down. Now that he thought about it, Naruto did have an uncanny resemblance to the Fourth.

Mizuki ordered, "Execute the Substitution Jutsu."

Naruto swapped with a chair nearby without the use of hand seals.

"Impressive," Mizuki stated, giving him the point as well as extra credit.

Finally, Iruka said, "Perform the Clone Jutsu, Naruto."

Naruto gained a determined look on his face, for he was not going to fail this time.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" In a plume of smoke, a clone appeared beside him. Specifically, on the floor and sickly pale.

Iruka shook his head, sighing. "I'm sorry, Naruto. You have failed this jutsu and will have to retain again."

Mizuki reasoned, "Let's not do that, Umino-san. He did try his best, and even made a clone, albeit non-functioning."

Iruka pinched his nose bridge. "Look, we can't pass him if he can't complete a basic technique like the Clone Jutsu. Other students made perfect, functioning clones so there's no reason for us to have double standards. I'm afraid he has failed again and will need to be sent back to the Academy. Naruto, you are dismissed."

Naruto's shoulders slumped as he walked out of the room, heading for the swing set in front of the Academy. From here, he watched as a huge crowd of parents flooded the entrance of the Academy, congratulating their children on their graduation as genin.

Spotting him from afar, Mizuki walked up to him.

"Sensei…?"

"Naruto, don't be so sad. I have another way for you to pass. Are you interested?"

He perked up immediately. "What is it, sensei?"

"Well… it's a secret assignment for genin, so you must not let anyone else know, okay?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

Leaves and branches scattered into the air as Naruto broke into the forest line, panting hard. He had successfully removed the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage Residence but was fairly certain multiple shinobi were on his tail. Perhaps evasion was part of the test?

Realising he still had arrived early to the rendezvous point, Naruto decided to open the scroll and learn some techniques. The first he came across was the Shadow Clone Jutsu, a technique invented by the Nidaime Hokage to create corporeal clones.

This'll replace that annoying Clone Jutsu, and it looks pretty easy too! thought Naruto happily.

He practised forming the hand seal and committed the technique to memory.

He was about to move on to the next jutsu when he sensed a presence thirty metres away.

It's Iruka-sensei, Naruto thought, unknowingly recognising his chakra signature. He sealed the scroll and waited patiently.

A few seconds later, Iruka appeared. "It's over, Naruto. Return the scroll," ordered the chūnin sternly.

"You got me, Iruka-sensei," Naruto replied cheerfully, "Do I pass now?"

"What do you mean? Who said you'd pass once you steal the scroll?" Iruka demanded.

"Well, Mizuki-sensei said so… Oh, he's here!" Naruto said, detecting the other chūnin's presence. There he was, standing on the branch of a tree with two fūma shuriken strapped to his back.

"Naruto, give me the scroll!" Mizuki shouted.

The reality of the situation quickly dawned on Iruka, who took a step towards Naruto. "Naruto, don't listen to Mizuki. He's a traitor that just used you to get the scroll!"

Naruto's gaze switched between both instructors as he hugged the scroll to his chest.

"Iruka is just lying to you because he doesn't want you to have the scroll," Mizuki said, "In fact, they've been lying to you all this while. Since that decree… everyone knows except you."

Iruka's eyes widened. "Mizuki, stop!"

The chūnin sneered. "The decree made it so that no one could tell you the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was inside you. The fox spirit that destroyed this village twelve years ago has taken over you. Naruto, you are the Kyūbi no Yōko."

Naruto was frozen in place. Now he knew why they stared at him as they did. His body was trembling, the feeling of hatred rising within him. He could feel something within surfacing.

Mizuki smirked and grabbed multiple projectiles, launching them at Naruto. "Die, demon!"

Iruka shoved the blond away, taking the barrage to his back. He slammed against the tree and coughed up blood.

Naruto watched on in helpless horror. "Iruka-sensei—"

"Naruto, just run!" Iruka urged. He would die before letting Naruto get in harm's way.

Just as Naruto scrambled to his feet, Mizuki picked one fūma shuriken off his back and threw it at him, certain that there was no longer anybody to save him.

As the shuriken shot towards him, a golden sheen swept over Naruto's face, his eyes suddenly alert with seriousness betraying an age beyond his years. He quickly halted and spun to face Mizuki, his palms together before him as if in prayer.

"Amitābha," he invoked solemnly, an aura of light enveloping his body as he stretched his arm towards the oncoming threat.

Aureate beams exploded from Naruto's body, blinding Iruka and Mizuki momentarily and repelling the fūma shuriken with a massive shockwave.

When their vision cleared, Naruto was cloaked in what appeared to be chakra of yellowish hue, with several black orbs floating behind his back.

Iruka's eyes widened. "Naruto—"

"What the hell did you do?" Mizuki yelled, still blinking repeatedly in an attempt to clear the spots in his eyes.

"Stay away from my sensei," Naruto growled.

Mizuki scoffed. "You're just an Academy student who couldn't even graduate! How dare you talk to me like that, demon scum?"

The traitorous chūnin unleashed a shower of metal on the two, emptying his entire arsenal of shuriken and kunai.

With a wave of his hand, the black orbs shot forth and formed a shield in front of Iruka and himself. Once the rain of steel ended, the shield transformed back into orbs which rocketed towards Mizuki and swiftly surrounded him.

Closing his fist, the orbs rotated and expanded rapidly, blasting Mizuki off the tree that he had been standing on in an explosion of white light. The traitor plummeted swiftly, knocked out cold as the orbs returned to their positions behind their master.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto cried, turning around. The chūnin was rather badly injured, with multiple weapons sticking out of his body.

Attending to Iruka, Naruto felt a warm energy pass through his body as his chakra cloak receded towards his hands. Iruka's wounds closed without a trace, leaving only steam to rise from where Naruto had healed him. As the golden chakra dissipated, the only thing it left behind was a mysterious white circle on the palm of his right hand.

"Thanks, Naruto…" Iruka said, pausing to cough, "This time, you pass."

"Eh? I passed?" Naruto asked in surprise.

"Yes. After I get myself patched up, how about a bowl of ramen? After all, you did save our lives."

"Make that ten bowls, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto agreed happily.

"I foresee a hole in my pocket," Iruka said with a mock sigh.

"Ah, hold on." The chūnin untied his own headband, securing it around Naruto's head.

"Congratulations, Naruto," said Iruka, smiling softly. "You're a shinobi now!"

Naruto gripped his new headband in awe and wonder, before grinning widely. "Thanks, Iruka-sensei! You're the best!"

Iruka ruffled the blond's hair, before getting up slowly and calling for help.

Soon, an ANBU team arrived and took Mizuki into custody. Iruka and Naruto, on the other hand, were separately summoned to the Hokage's Office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up, noticing that Naruto had entered his office. "Ah, Naruto-kun. I called you here to explain what happened earlier. Iruka had already given me his preliminary report, but he mentioned seeing something he couldn't explain."

"Jiji… if I'm to be honest, I don't know what happened either. It was like something possessed me, and I started saying things I didn't understand, and then I was filled with so much power, it felt awesome—"

The Sandaime Hokage raised a hand. "Sorry to interrupt, Naruto, but I'm going to need details. What did you say?"

Naruto paused for a moment, struggling to recall. "A- Ama- Amita—"

"Amitābha?" Hiruzen supplied.

"That's it, jiji! And then a huge explosion of light—"

The Hokage stopped him again, taking a moment to contemplate this revelation. He was not the Professor for nothing. "That's… odd. Do you know what could have triggered it?"

"This happened after…" Naruto faltered, his expression darkening as he recalled what Iruka's headband had overshadowed. "This happened after Mizuki called me a demon and told me to die."

Hiruzen's face softened apologetically. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Naruto-kun. I only hid it to—"

"It's okay, jiji. I understand, I really do." Mustering a forced smile, he said, "After all, what could I have done? A younger me wouldn't have understood the implications of being the Kyūbi. Now I know why the villagers did what they did, and really, how can I blame them?"

"Naruto!" Hiruzen stood up from his desk and hugged the boy fiercely as tears streamed down the genin's face.

"Do not be mistaken. You are only the Kyūbi's jinchūriki, its vessel and jailor, not the Kyūbi itself. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. You are the only thing keeping Konoha from that beast's destruction. You have never deserved a single thing the villagers have done to you!"

Naruto wiped the tears from his face. "So, jiji… I can't explain it, but even now I somehow feel… stronger. More… alive. Do you think it was the Kyūbi that gave me this power?"

"I don't know, Naruto. It's too early to say, but… I don't think so. Iruka mentioned that the chakra you exuded and healed him with was bright yellow—almost golden—and felt warm and protective. Those aren't qualities typically associated with the Kyūbi. Also, jinchūriki who undergo the initial stages of transformation usually lose their power upon returning to human form, so it would not account for your continued feeling of strength and vitality, or the mark on your hand that Iruka said manifested after you healed him," mused Hiruzen.

The poor boy looked absolutely confused.

"Never mind, Naruto, you've been through a lot today. Why don't you go home and take a rest? Let this old man figure things out. After all, tomorrow's your team assignments," said Hiruzen warmly.

Naruto nodded. "Alright, jiji."

Naruto stepped into his tiny home, greeted by the colourful language scrawled all over his front walls.

Ignoring them, as he had become very good at doing over the last few years, he shut the door and jumped into bed. At least now he knew why they were writing those things about him.

But what really happened earlier?

Frustrated, he buried his face in his pillow and fell asleep almost instantly.

Drip, drip.

Opening his eyes, Naruto found himself in what seemed to be the basement of an industrial plant, with pipes running across the walls and ankle-height wastewater flooding the floors. The corridor he was in led to a giant room, where a huge gate stood.

Plastered on the centre of the gate was a parchment with the kanji for "Seal" inscribed on it. Nearing it, Naruto could hear the low growling sound of an animal—one in suffering but refusing to give way for its pride.

A glowing red eye appeared in the darkness behind the gate, startling Naruto who took a step back in the water.

The growling transformed into malicious laughter. It then became clear that it was not a gate, but a cage.

The creature within emerged, revealing itself to be a titanic orange fox. Recognising the creature, Naruto took further steps back as he took in the sheer size of the bijū.

"Y-You're the Kyūbi!" Naruto remarked, somewhat accusingly.

"I fail to see your point, human. Yes, I am the Kyūbi, and you're merely the latest of your ilk to have the misfortune of hosting me."

Naruto scowled. "You… you were responsible for getting me into this mess! For making the villagers hate me, for killing my parents! You…!"

The Uzumaki struggled to find words that expressed what he felt about the beast towering above him. Standing before him was the source of all his sorrows, the source of every trouble had ever faced in his childhood.

"I hate you!" Naruto screamed, "Why did you have to ruin my life?!"

The beast roared in return. "Let's be clear about this, you brat. You were the one who ruined my life by imprisoning me with your unworthy flesh. If you want someone to blame, blame your father. Or better yet, blame the rest of your filthy race—power-hungry flesh-bags with an insatiable bloodlust even greater than mine! They could never leave my kind alone over the centuries, out of their stupid wars!"

Naruto was taken aback. "What do you mean, my father? And you're saying that humans were responsible for repressing the Bijū?"

"Your father was the one that sealed me into you. And all this sealing nonsense started with that first clown, the Shodai Hokage! He had the bright idea one day that Tailed Beasts needed to be sealed into humans and given out like bargaining chips to stabilise the balance of power in the Elemental Nations. So then everyone wanted a piece of us. I just gave them what they asked for!" the Kyūbi snarled.

Naruto stood in silence for a moment. Despite his desire to hate the beast, he found himself incapable—no, unwilling to do so. From the depths of his heart, a well of sympathy, against all hatred, sprung.

"So… you were a victim just like me," Naruto murmured.

The fox growled, clearly hating the word "victim". It hurt his pride, even if it was true.

"You were bullied into submission by the people around you. That's something I can relate to—"

"I was not bul—"

"How about we work together?" Naruto cried. "Show these bullies what we've become? That they can't just do as they please!"

The audacity of this brat! The beast made to growl, but paused in thought. No, that would mean him relying more on my chakra, which would weaken the seal over time. Then at last, freedom will be mine!

"... Fine. As my jinchūriki, you'd better not disgrace me with your weakness. I'll lend you my strength. That's far better than you using that…"

Jubilant, Naruto did not even hear that last part of his sentence. He was far too busy cheering at winning over his demonic ward.

"Alright! We'll be fighting buddies then! What's your name?"

The Kyūbi was visibly stunned. None of his jinchūriki had ever asked, nor entertained the thought that he might have a name that wasn't "the Nine-Tails" or "the Demon Fox."

"Kurama, you brat. And don't you go around telling anyone else."

"Roger that, Kurama!" said Naruto, giving him a mock salute.

Kurama growled. "Don't make me regret telling you. Now, go back to sleep."

Naruto nodded with a smile, and before he knew it, the world around him faded away.

Kurama retreated into his cage, pondering on the deal he had just struck with his jinchūriki. Despite dealing in bad faith, he did have to admit that there was something different about Naruto. The Uzumaki's earnest plea in spite of himself—bah, to think that he would one day be fraternising with the enemy!—was all too naive. But still, he had seen what Naruto had unleashed against Mizuki earlier, and it certainly wasn't any power of his creation. His words, the light, the healing, those Truth-Seeking Balls, and that mark—those were reminiscent of a man who had died centuries ago, yet held a very special place in his heart.

Oniisan…?

After a late wake-up he would blame on the fox interrupting his sleep, Naruto sprinted to the Academy and made it just in time.

Naruto looked around and went to the only spot available—next to one Uchiha Sayuri. Irritated that her peace was disturbed, she looked up.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Teme. I graduated, just like all of you," Naruto replied, squatting on the table while glaring at her. "Why? Is there a problem?"

"Unbelievable. There's no way you could've passed," Sayuri remarked, staring at him with a deadpan expression.

Sneaking up from behind, Kiba pushed Naruto forward with glee. Panicked, he fell forward, his lips smashing into Sayuri's before he could regain his balance.

Their faces turned scarlet with embarrassment, before they recovered hastily and pushed each other away. Naruto wiped his lips thoroughly, feeling slightly sick.

The Uzumaki glared at the snickering Kiba. Within three seconds, he appeared behind the Inuzuka and had him in a hammerlock.

"Mutt boy, you'll pay for this," Naruto threatened. Kiba winced in pain, but still managed to reply snarkily, "Okay, I'm sorry! But you gotta admit, you two looked like you were enjoying it."

The last Uchiha glowered at the Inuzuka. If looks could kill—and they could in her clan—Kiba would've been incinerated in the flames of hell.

"Okay, stop talking!" declared Iruka as he entered the room. Naruto released the boy onto the floor and returned to his seat.

After the customary greeting, Iruka announced, "After four years, you have finally completed the Academy course. Good job!"

Applause resounded in the classroom.

"Well, I'm sad to see you all go, but some of you will still be seeing each other, and on a regular basis, in fact. I shall now announce the three teams."

"Starting from Team 7 since the other six are still in circulation, we have Uchiha Sayuri, Haruno Sakura—"

Sayuri buried her face while Sakura cheered.

"—and Uzumaki Naruto."

Sakura and Naruto joined Sayuri in slamming their faces against their tables, in what would possibly constitute their first act of teamwork.

"Your sensei is Hatake Kakashi. Team 8: Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Hyūga Hinata, your sensei is Yūhi Kurenai."

Kiba gave a loud "yahoo" while Akamaru barked in approval.

"Team 9 is still in circulation, so Team 10: Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chо̄ji and Yamanaka Ino. Your sensei is Sarutobi Asuma."

Shikamaru groaned at having to team up with Ino, who, since their childhood, had been "a troublesome blonde". Unsurprised and unperturbed, Chо̄ji resumed snacking on his chips, content that he had been grouped with his childhood friends.

Iruka smiled. "Well, that concludes your team assignment. Please wait here for your sensei to pick you up. I wish you all the best in your shinobi career, and till we meet again!"

Author's Notes: Do note that in this story, Uchiha Sayuri will hold an idol status among the kunoichi of their class, namely Sakura and Ino. Unlike in canon, they would not be romantically attracted to her, but rather, worship her. Naruto would also not be interested in Sakura. Additionally, the Gūdodama were not nerfed in terms of destructive power—canon has proven inconsistent, or more accurately, selective, when it comes to obliterating something upon contact or not.