A/N-
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'ITALICS'- THOUGHTS
'BOLD'- POWERFUL BEING/JUTSU
Naruto and his usual group of friends were eating lunch at Ichiraku Ramen, which was currently being run by old man Teuchi's dad. Naruto was happy that the restaurant was a family business; he couldn't wait twenty-something years to eat the glorious Ichiraku Ramen after all. It was the food of the GODS!
Kaguya quite liked ramen as well, so it was legitimately the food of the gods.
Naruto was so engrossed in his ramen-induced delirium that he did not notice the deadpan looks he was receiving from his group of friends- namely Mikoto and Fugaku. Ever ignorant to the disbelieving eyes of his friends, Naruto continued to gorge himself and reminisce.
It had been a year since Academy started, and they were all in their second years. Being the exuberant ball of energy he was, Naruto had immediately set about befriending his entire class. He had largely succeeded as well; even the ever-so-cold Hiashi Hyuuga would give him a small smile whenever they met.
But two of his best friends were sitting with him in the shop, enjoying tasty food. However, the other two had eaten only one bowl each. Mikoto had taken Tomato Ramen while Fugaku had taken the 'Mystery bowl of the day', true to his whimsical character. Minato was off studying somewhere, the big nerd.
Fugaku Uchiha watched Naruto with something akin to worship. During the lunch break of the first day of the Academy, Naruto had sought him out and befriended him. The boisterous blonde would not take no for an answer, and Fugaku relented, albeit hesitantly. And hence was born one of the oddest relationships ever seen on the face of the Elemental Nations.
FLASHBACK, LUNCH BREAK, FIRST DAY OF ACADEMY
Fugaku sighed as he sat on the swing next to the Academy. He reflected on the happenings of the day and wondered where he went wrong. Fugaku had observed little groups and cliques forming in the class, but he was sadly left friendless. Was it his fault? Was his personality so off-putting that none of the kids wanted to be near him? He was always told by his clan to 'clean up his act and stop acting like a child.' An ironic thing to say to a child, but it had some truth to it. He wasn't an outcast per se, but it was still irritating to hear all the same.
Perhaps it was time for a change? Maybe he should be acting more like the rest of his clan? If he acted all cold and stoic, would he fit in more? Yes, that seemed right. At least his clan would be happy, and he would get friends. It was settled, then. From tomorrow, he would-
"Hey, who's that on my swing!"
Fugaku was cut off from what was possibly the most crucial decision in his life by a loud voice. Fugaku would have grown up stoic and cold if things had gone differently, as an Uchiha should. He would be betrothed to the clan heiress, birth two of the greatest traitors in history, and lead his clan to ruin. Thus would be his Fate.
But as always, Fate was brutally shoved aside by a loud ball of blonde and orange.
"Hey, don't ignore me, ya know!"
Fugaku was stunned as he took the intruder's form in. Bright blonde hair, cool azure eyes, and three whisker marks on each cheek. It was instantly evident to the Uchiha exactly who this person was. The Senju heir, Naruto. Naruto was wearing an orange T-shirt with the Senju and Uzumaki crests on both sides and black trousers.
"Oi!"
Correction- An irate Senju Naruto, who was currently glaring at Fugaku.
Still stunned, Fugaku shakily pointed a finger at himself.
"Me?"
"Of course you! Who else is here, idiot!"
Fugaku was still trying to respond to Naruto, who was tapping one foot on the ground and pouting indignantly. He was sporting such an adorable expression that any middle-aged woman in sight would have squealed in delight and scooped the boy up to cuddle him.
Fugaku regained his bearings somewhat and replied. "My most humble apologies, Naruto-san!" he told Naruto, who was taken aback at his intensity, "I was merely introspecting on this mysterious beast that is life and all its beautiful nuances. Thus I did not realize that you wanted to swing!"
Naruto looked at him in confusion, not understanding a single word the boy spoke. He was technically older than eighteen, but he still didn't know all those big words! What the hell did they feed these Uchiha? It was of no matter anyway; Naruto had a job to do.
"Fugaku, was it?"
Fugaku tentatively nodded. He braced for the verbal lashing that would no doubt come, as it always did. Many found him obnoxious or weird, and even kids didn't hesitate to inform him of this fact. Any moment now, Naruto would also insult him. It was just a matter of when.
"You're cool! Let's be friends!"
Fugaku stared wide-eyed as his jaw dropped in shock. Here was a boy his own age, and he wanted to be friends with him? The jester of the Uchiha clan? It was too good to be true, but Fugaku was still an innocent child. He always wanted friends, and there was one right in front of him. Hesitantly, he ventured-
"You're serious? You want to be my friend?" he said, his voice betraying the vulnerability he felt. Fugaku's entire future hinged on Naruto's reply, not that either of them knew.
Naruto grinned, and it was the widest grin ever. Blue eyes twinkled with mirth, and the reply came.
"Of course, I am!" Naruto excitedly stated, "It's refreshing to see an Uchiha without a stick up their ass, ya know?" Naruto extended his hand, and with it, an offer of friendship.
Fugaku stared. Fugaku stared hard. He couldn't even refute the insult, as it was true. And Fugaku shook his hand, laughing all the while.
"The heavens have decided!" he swerved in place. "The Poetic Platoon will make their mark in the world!"
"Na-Kyun, this one's weird, pyon." Kaguya spoke from within.
"I know, I like him!"
"Umm, 'their'?" Naruto asked, questioning the plural verb. It almost sounded like-
"But of course, noble squire! We shall start the Perfect Organization of Outstanding Poets, woo fair ladies, and conquer all that is to conquer!" Fugaku exclaimed, a maniacal gleam in his eyes. "Let us make more friends and tell them about our vision!"
"THE P.O.O.P WILL BE HUGE IN THE FUTURE!"
"BWAHAHAHAHA! That's rich, pyon!" Kaguya laughed as Naruto had a sense of impending doom in the future.
If only Naruto knew what he had gotten himself into...
Since that day, Fugaku had been trying to rope Naruto into forming the Perfect Organization of Outstanding Poets, to no avail. They were friends, even best friends, but Naruto always firmly refused any notion of a poetry club. And the name, P.O.O.P, was just begging for a misunderstanding.
"Boss!" Fugaku exclaimed with stars in his eyes, "We must work together to make the P.O.O.P grow!"
Naruto spat out his food, and he thumped his chest to avoid choking. Mikoto moved over to him and gently patted his back to comfort him. After recovering somewhat, Naruto sent her a thankful grin and glared at Fugaku. He missed her face turning slightly pink at this gesture.
A 'Phukkk!' sound in his head told him that Kaguya had spit out her sake as well.
"Dammit, Fugaku! Call it something else, not P.O.O.P!" Naruto glared at him, "You're gonna get us beaten to a pulp! And I'm not even a member!"
"The Bard's Organization?" Fugaku ventured.
"That translates to B.O, idiot!"
"How are you even a poet, Fugaku?" Mikoto shut him down, sighing in exasperation. "Can't you see the stupid acronyms you are making?" She was used to the boy's antics, but that didn't mean that he could just spout out nonsense like this.
In the meantime, Naruto had forgotten all about the previous conversation. He had moved on to his next bowl of Ramen, blissfully ignorant to the outside world.
"How can one five-year-old eat so much…" Were the thoughts of the Uchiha heiress as she watched her best friend eat. While most people would balk at the notion of the prim and proper Uchiha Mikoto eating at a Ramen stand, she herself was a regular here.
And it was all thanks to the blonde boy currently gorging himself on his twentieth bowl of Shrimp ramen.
While Mikoto was flashing back to fond memories, two shadow clones somewhere in Konoha did their job in silence.
FLASHBACK, LUNCH BREAK, FIRST DAY OF ACADEMY
Mikoto Uchiha knew who she was. The Uchiha Heiress, the pride and joy of the clan. She was hailed as a prodigy and was expected to be a powerful and important Kunoichi in the future. The daughter of Kagami Uchiha, the most powerful Uchiha in decades. She had the expectations of the worlds on her shoulders, all at the tender age of four. She was expected to study, graduate at the top of her class, become Jounin with haste, get married to someone of strong blood, and then produce an heir to the clan.
It was what any clan heiress was supposed to do. It's what she was expected to do, what everyone told her to do. From her mother to her caretakers, everyone told her the same. That she would become a beautiful woman in the future and she would bring glory to her clan.
No one asked her what she wanted. Mikoto was trapped in her life. Even at four years of age, she knew this. She had no real freedom of choice. Her father could and would do anything for her happiness, but the expectations still remained.
Even at the Academy, she was sitting by herself, eating her bento. All the kids of her age had gone off to play without even inviting her, as they were probably told to keep a distance from her, being an Uchiha and all. Her clan's reputation among the village was less than stellar. They were seen as arrogant snobs who simply stole techniques others worked so hard to master.
She would be lucky if she got some friends while in the Academy. She was a normal girl, after all. She wanted good friends to spend her time with. She only acted cold as her clan demanded it. Underneath it all, she was still an innocent little girl.
"Boss, where are we going? Our compatriots are in that direction, not this!" A loud voice exclaimed, and she immediately recognized him- Uchiha Fugaku.
The weirdest member of the clan she had met. The boy was an aspiring poet, and his behavior was seen as 'juvenile' by the clan.
"I know. I thought I saw someone come here. It doesn't hurt to check." Another equally loud voice said, which Mikoto didn't recognize. "And don't call me boss!"
She did, however, recognize the face that followed.
Right in front of her, Fugaku trailing behind him, was Naruto Senju. The heir to their rival clan, said to be extremely prodigious and the wielder of the Mokuton. But why was he coming here? With Fugaku? Were they here to tease her?
"There you are!" Naruto exclaimed as he chanced upon who he was following. She was a girl, Mikoto if he remembered correctly. She was wearing a deep blue high collared shirt with the Uchiha Fan and light grey trousers, the same as Fugaku.
Upon seeing the Senju heir, Mikoto went on alert. He had to have some ulterior motive for approaching her. Even her own clan's children didn't seek her out to talk. What could a rival clan heir want?
"Why are ya sitting here by yourself?" Naruto asked, tilting his head in confusion.
Mikoto, for all her thoughts, was still a young child after all. She wanted friends, much like anyone else. But an inkling of doubt remained.
"Oh, and why should I tell you, Senju?" She snarked, reverting back to her clan's ways.
Naruto just sighed. He should have expected this. No normal Uchiha would just freely interact with a Senju, kid or not. That's what he wanted to fix, to integrate the clan into the village more and hopefully prevent the massacre. Fugaku befriended him quickly, but that guy didn't come under the category of 'Normal Uchiha.'
Naruto gave her a disarming smile, which seemed to work, judging from the relaxing of her posture.
"I was wondering if you wanted to be friends, ya know!" Said Naruto, "I already found Fugaku here, so what's one more, eh?"
"But why would the Senju heir want to sit with me?" Mikoto asked, still skeptical.
"Why not?" Naruto waved her off, "I don't care about what clan you're from. All I see is a lonely girl, so I came over." Then he looked at her pointedly, with a wisdom well beyond his years. "What do you want?" he asked, "Not as Clan heiress, but as Mikoto. Set aside all the politics and games for a moment; What does Mikoto want?"
What did Mikoto want? She wanted to be free; she wanted to make a name for herself. She wanted to get out of the shadow of her clan. But most importantly-
"I want to be friends…" Mikoto whispered quietly, like the vulnerable child she was.
"That's great!" Naruto cheered, happy to make a new friend. He didn't know what came over to him, but he felt some sort of connection to Mikoto. Naruto felt as if he knew her somehow but couldn't place her. Shaking his head, he began.
"I'm Naruto, as you know, and this is Fugaku." Naruto gestured to the boy, "Why're you sitting here by yourself?"
"..." Mikoto mumbled quietly, looking at her lap.
"What was that? I didn't catch it."
"I said that no one wanted to play with me." She murmured while pouting, "They thought I looked too angry and stuck-up."
"What're ya talking about? You're such a cute girl, how could they say that?" Just like that, Naruto dropped the bomb. She was a cute girl, as cute as Hinata's little sister was.
Let it be known that Naruto found her cute as one would find a toddler, not as a woman; he was mentally eighteen, after all. That would be creepy.
Too bad the others didn't know that tidbit, thus prompting various reactions from them.
Fugaku was shell shocked, not having expected the Senju heir to so brazenly call the Uchiha heiress cute. That shock then turned into respect, as his 'boss' was already wooing fair maidens at the age of four.
"Naruto, you dolt." Kaguya sighed from the seal. That dense idiot didn't know what he'd just done. Naruto found Mikoto cute as one would a small child, but he forgot his own age. 'He's going to become a heartbreaker in the future if this goes on.'
But the most interesting reaction was from Mikoto herself. She had gone completely red, with steam erupting from her ears. She had expected insults and jabs from Naruto, but not...this! He called her cute! She knew she was cute, everyone in her family and clan told her so. But it was different coming from a boy! A boy her age, with hair the shade of the sun, calm blue eyes, and adorable whisker marks…
No! Stop! Cease! She was the Uchiha heiress, she would not gain a childish infatuation for someone just because they called her cute. She wasn't that easy to charm, damn it!
'But he said it so nonchalantly, so genuinely…'
All the while, Naruto was confusedly looking around, wondering why no one was saying anything. Had he said something wrong? Nah! Mikoto was cute, way cuter than other small kids he knew. So that can't have been it. Nope. Not a chance.
"So, whaddya say, Princess?"
POOF
Mikoto's head erupted in steam, her cooling blush now back in full force. Princess? What kind of a name was that? She had read her fair share of fairy tales in her short life. Was he doing this on purpose, to get a rise out of her? One look at his face disproved that theory; he was looking at her like a curious kitten would. She didn't think he was being mean, but that meant he found her cute. Mikoto didn't know how to respond, and so she went with the basics.
"D-D-Don't call me that!"
"What, Princess? But you are a princess, aren't ya?" Wasn't she the Uchiha princess or something?
Mikoto sputtered indignantly. This fool was insufferable! "Yes, that! Don't call me that!"
Naruto was undeterred, "Okay, Mikoto-chan then!" He said, grinning madly.
Mikoto was really glowing by this point, "No! Don't act so familiar with me, we've just met, you oaf!"
"Then let's be friends, so I can call you Miko-chan, Miko-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, completely missing all the meanings his words could have, while still calling her Miko-chan.
"Fine…" Mikoto muttered, but then gained some defiance, "But remember!" She said, pointing at him, "I'm only doing this because I have no choice, humph!" she huffed, turning away. Then she muttered in a slightly subdued voice with a mild blush, "I-I-it's not like I want to be your f-friend or anything, I-idiot."
Naruto heard this, and he just smiled at Mikoto. Compared to the challenges he had faced while making friends, this was cake! Didn't want to be his friend? Easily fixed. Half his friends were people who had actively tried to kill him; this wasn't even a challenge.
"Looking forward to it, Miko-chan!"
"Don't call me that!"
FLASHBACK END
Since that day, the two had been the best of friends. Always sticking together whenever possible, and doing homework together. They even trained together, and worked on making each other strong. They were everything from best friends to sparring partners.
Since Naruto was known as a kind, friendly, and generally nice person, along with being the Senju heir and having the Mokuton, he was a very popular young man. Mikoto, just by hanging around him, was unknowingly improving the image of her clan in the eyes of the village.
Even her father, Uchiha Kagami, was encouraging her to hang around the blonde boy more. Though Mikoto had no way of knowing what Old man Kagami wanted from this, she was content in being allowed to remain his friend.
Her confusing feelings about Naruto had only grown. Her face would heat up whenever he smiled at her, and she would feel giddy whenever he called her 'Miko-chan'. She was only five years old, where most girls believed that boys were icky. She, however, was a clan heiress and was more mature than the civilian girls. She didn't understand these feelings and was too embarrassed to talk to anyone.
But it wasn't a bad thing, so she continued to grow closer to her best friend.
Somewhere in Konoha, two shadow clones dispelled in puffs of smoke, their jobs done.
"Ahh, that hit the spot!" Naruto cried excitedly, his stomach full of ramen goodness. Then he saw his two friends, looking at him with identical flat looks.
"What?" he asked. Seeing as the looks remained, he turned to Mikoto, "Miko-chan, what happened?"
Mikoto sighed fondly, a small smile on her lips. "We were just admiring the amount of ramen you can eat, Naruto-kun." She knew better than to lecture him about his eating habits. He never gained any weight, and the last time she had called him out, it had turned into a disaster.
That was a day of glasses, pointers, blackboards, and textbooks on general relativity that she would love to forget. How an idiot like Naruto could manage to prove, scientifically, that ramen is the food of the gods, she would never know.
Her little white lie seemed to have worked wonders, as Naruto started beaming. "Aww, thanks, Miko-chan, you always flatter me." he said, scratching the back of his head. Then the dense oaf dropped another bomb.
"Miko-chan is best girl, believe it!" He really meant it. Out of all the kids he'd known in both lives, Mikoto was the best. She was so well mannered and polite, unlike the brats in his academy class. She was a really good friend.
Fugaku fell from his stool.
Kaguya spit out her sake again.
Mikoto got a full-face blush, and she started stuttering. Curse this idiot! Curse her traitorous heart, skipping beats like that!
Don't get her wrong, by now, even Mikoto knew that Naruto was dense as a brick. She could discern that he never said anything with an ulterior motive; he was a pure soul like that. But that didn't mean she wasn't affected!
"D-don't say things like that, Idiot!" She swatted his arm with a red face, "It's embarrassing!"
"Eh, but It's true!" Naruto tilted his head in confusion.
Before Mikoto could retort to the compliment, there was a loud noise outside the shop.
SMASH!
A massive cloud of dirt came from the direction of the forest of death, and the kids rushed out to see what the ruckus was. After paying, of course.
There, in the center of the forest, going on was a fight of titanic proportions. A colossal snake was fighting against an elephant-like creature, and both the beasts had a rider on them.
Naruto recognized the snake instantly. It was the snake boss, Manda, but he had no idea what the other creature was. He clearly knew who was riding it, though.
"DANZOU!"
"OROCHIMARU!"
The two voices roared, and their beasts clashed once again. Danzou was fighting Orochimaru, but Naruto was not surprised. It was he who orchestrated it, after all.
It was a simple matter, really. Bad guys were often paranoid and itching to tie up loose ends, making it easy to play them. All it took was to create two shadow clones. One transformed into a snake summon, and one into a ROOT agent.
They then went to the opposing parties and threatened to expose everything to the Hokage. And voila, instant infighting.
The funniest thing is that Naruto didn't even know exactly what the two had done. But he knew that they had done something, and so it was a piece of cake. It also helped that each of his 'messengers' was cloaked in Rinne-Sharingan illusions.
Most of the eminent shinobi, including the Hokage, had gathered, witnessing the fight. Naruto's mom, Jiraiya, and Kagami were all there.
"How dare you threaten me after I gave you the First Hokage's cells, traitorous snake!" Danzou screamed, clearly insane. "You use my resources for your sick experiments on children, yet you have the gall to threaten me?"
The Hokage balked at this, along with the other shinobi. Grave-robbing, human experimentation, desecrating the body of a Hokage? These were all crimes punishable with the death penalty, and Danzou had just confessed to them. Now all that was left was for Orochimaru to-
"So what, you old fossil!" Orochimaru hissed angrily, riding on Manda's head, "At least I kill the children who are failures, But you, you abduct them from orphanages and train them into weapons!"
Orochimaru had just confessed while accusing Danzou of more offenses. Would Danzou-
"It was for the good of Konoha, stupid boy." Danzou declared in all his self-righteousness.
Having seen enough, all the shinobi spectating jumped into the fray and apprehended the two. The confessions were heard by half the village; their death was all but inevitable. Naruto smiled. In his previous life, Hiruzen had let Orochimaru flee and let Danzou fester for too long, all because of his personal demons. But now, he had to act in the public capacity as the Hokage.
His hands were tied.
The very next day, Orochimaru and Danzou were executed, and the two old coots Koharu and Homura were also punished. They were found associating with Danzou, hence were stripped of their positions and thrown in jail. They were out of the game now.
Naruto had made sure to extract and destroy all of Orochimaru's weird soul fragments with his Rinnegan.
Naruto hummed in happiness as he trotted on home after the public execution. Now that these two were gone, almost ninety percent of his problems were gone.
ROOT would be disbanded, releasing god knows how many people. Nono Yakushi would be released, free to run the Orphanage. Kabuto would grow up a happy child, untainted by both Danzou and Orochimaru. The Edo Tensei had already been destroyed by Naruto, thus making any resurrections impossible.
The Iburi clan would be untouched by the snake and would be dealt with by him in the future.
The Akatsuki would remain, Yahiko would stay alive. Pain wouldn't be born; Nagato would pursue true peace. As a result, Jiraiya would live. Orochimaru was dead, so Hiruzen would live as well.
The Uchiha massacre, Shisui's death, Danzou's Sharingan arm, Sasuke's tragic story, Itachi's sacrifice; it all would be prevented; no, it had been stopped.
Yamato-taichou would have a better childhood, along with Anko Mitarashi.
So many lives were saved, just from getting rid of two people. His problems were far from over, but for now, Naruto was on cloud nine.
That mood rapidly plummeted when he entered the compound, and the world came crashing down around him.
In the main hall were his mother, father, and uncle, with Mito-baachan sitting on the couch. But that didn't matter to him; no, he didn't even acknowledge the other members. His shocked, wide-eyed gaze was fixed on the small form sitting in Mito's lap.
As if sensing his thoughts, Mito turned to him, making the figure in her lap stir. Mito smiled at Naruto, face wrinkling with age. She then spoke the words which Naruto had been dreading.
"Ara, Naruto-chan is here. Come here, child." She beckoned, "Let me introduce you to Uzumaki Kushina."
A/N- Review please.
