"Treasures"


Night had settled in blanketing the forest in darkness. The only light being that which came from the moon, and even then the little light supplied was not enough to allow for effective travel through the forest. You could barely see five feet in front of you. It was like a haze enveloped the area, hindering nighttime movements. It was rather quiet, not even the crickets made sound. It was as if he was completely along here in the clearing. Naruto was leaning against a tree looking towards the stars from between it's branches.

Blood soaked his pants. Those wolves had done a number on him. He had gotten attacked, and by some miracle finally managed to outrun them before settling here for the night. His leg wasn't in too good of shape from a particularly nasty bite he received from one of his younger assailants, but he wasn't complaining, it would probably heal by daybreak, but he couldn't stay here that long.

Naruto sat up before reaching and pulling a wrapped bundle from his inside his jacket. It was small and gave off noise as he inspected it. He took the cloth away from the item revealing an amulet secured within a crystallized structure. It was ornate with all kinds of jewels along its surfaces with a large deep crimson gem lodged within the center of the amulet. One of the wolves had it in its jaws, call it compensation. "Who would even put this thing in a rock anyway?" he thought out-loud to himself. Flipping the crystal around he sighed grumpily and placed the item back in his jacket. Standing up, albeit with a little difficulty, he made it to his feet, and slowly made his way through the forest towards home.

The Northern forest of Konoha was a lot darker then the other sections for no real reason other then it just was. Apparently a few people went missing in this part of the forest but no-one could figure out what happened to them. Many thought monsters roamed the area, and took anyone they found just passing by. Because of this most people would flat out avoid this area, but not Naruto, that was why he came here. He came here to be along in a place no-one would think to look for him at, and sure as hell wouldn't risk themselves going into. Every night for the last year he had come to that same clearing. The large tree at the center was immense compared to the others. Its branches were thick and you couldn't see through them except when you were laying against it. There was a small opening that allowed for star-gazing. Not too much, but enough to satisfy his needs. He had been using the tree to practice throwing kunai, seal application, and had been training in the clearing with the few dummies he had lying around. He had to get a head start and work harder then anyone else if he was to become Hokage one day.

It was strange, but it felt as if he had some weird luck. Ever since he started training there he had found all kinds of things like the necklace in the past year. It was as if someone was just dumping this stuff around the forest. It was strange to just litter items about, especially since it only seemed to be happening in this area. Though thinking back on it, no-one came here, so who would tell them not to if no-one found out. This area was basically abandoned after all. That left Naruto as the sole one responsible for cleaning up the place. This crystal was gonna go on his shelf with all the other cool stuff he found from tidying the forest floor. A lot of the stuff was cool, and to him that made them all his little treasures. They would remind him of the good job he was doing cleaning his second home. It's not like he had any other hobby really. He wondered about the kind of person who would leave them there. Maybe they ran a nik-nak shop somewhere in the village. He shrugged off the thought and continued his trek through the forest.

Night – Northern Forest

"I swear I didn't walk that far out. It doesn't normally take this long!"he yelled to himself a little frustrated.

He didn't know how long he'd been walking, maybe an hour, maybe two. One thing was for sure though, he should be out of the forest by now. The sun hadn't even peeked over the horizon. It was like time had stopped, and the path continued on forever as if he was walking in spirals. This was beyond strange. Naruto's leg had healed fully, and he was moving at a normal speed now, if a bit hastened. The forest remained quiet, but the trees seemed to 'look' at him as he passed, he stopped walking. He must have got lost and took a turn without noticing. If he couldn't make it out of the forest, he was gonna have to stop somewhere for the night. A thought entered his mind. A shack he built to store his hunting equipment and hide out on his birthday. "Now which way was it?" After orienting himself he decidedly figured out which direction he needed to head. Turning himself in the direction he needed to head he began jumping through the trees, completely unaware of the attention he had attracted, and the sound of snapping tree branches echoing off the forest floor where he once stood.

The shack was worn pretty heavily. Although he had only built it two years ago when he was twelve, it was kinda coming apart. I guess you can't blame him though, he was after all only twelve. "I really need to fix it up, I don't want my stuff getting rained on." he muttered exhausted. It took a while to get there and he was beat. Opening the door, he stepped over some fallen books, and picked them up before setting them down on to the desk they fell from. Looking around he noticed stuff was on the floor and knocked over. "Someone's been messing with my stuff? I thought no-one came here. Now I've gotta get a lock." shocked by the odd occurrence he set about cleaning up the place. Despite keeping some of the stuff he found at his apartment, he kept the bigger stuff here and in a cave a bit further east. A lot of the stuff was just too big to drag all the way home. He leaned the puppet against the wall, and stood the mannequin back up next to his locker. The small patched up bear laying on the ground was set on top of the desk next to the wood flap he used for a window. "There we go, all clean." He smiled to himself letting out a chuckle at his accomplishment. Undressing, he removed his clothes and replaced them with the spare pajamas in his locker before lying down and succumbing to sleep.

Dream?

Naruto was in a large house. It was styled Gothic Victorian style. Standing in the center of a large space he looked around. An old couch covered with an aged beige cloth and a singular chair covered in dust. There was a large stair case going up one wall, then another then another, a door was located near the center of each wall where the staircase stopped then proceeded to go up. Looking up the stair case had to go up twelve stories, and the ceiling was glass panes allowing light to shine down lighting up the room and various landings. There was a darkened hallway lit up by candles with a large metal door at the end, gated off by bars. There was also a hallway with an obsidian door at the end, with nothing lighting it up. He went up the stairs holding onto the railing the whole way up. Reaching the first landing he made it to the first door. It was an ornate wooden door as tall as Naruto, which was strange. There was a plaque on the door with unreadable text making the rooms purpose indeterminable from outside. Continuing up the stairs he found himself at a large steel door, it was locked. It had the word "Laboratory" written across it's front. Continuing further he reached the next door with the words "Memory Storage" across the front. "What even is this place?" he muttered, confused by the odd assortment of rooms.

The sound of a door slamming open came from downstairs, followed by a loud screech of something inhuman. Naruto dared not move lest whatever it was finds him. He heard it moving downstairs down one of the hallways. The sound of something carving into the wood floor as it moved made Naruto tense with every movement the 'thing' made. Naruto crouched and made his way up the stairs quietly to avoid detection, trying to put as much distance between him and whatever had made that noise as possible. He passed many doors and was about two to three floors below the top floor when he heard the thing screech again and make its way loudly up the stairs. Panicked, he opened the ninth floor door, entered, and shut it quietly behind him, locking it in the process. It was making it's way up the stair case and there was no telling where it was going or if it had seen him. He stood up and surveyed the room for hiding spots. The room was large with many other doors. There was no time to explore them. There was a large round table in the center with a map of an unknown region on it. Various papers, vanilla envelopes, and assorted accessories across it's surface. To his left was a wood footlocker sitting against the wall. Towards the back of the room past the table was an entrance to another room. When he entered this area he found stairs going down five steps and an open space with strange devices and storage lockers. Not knowing if the thing was coming for him, he opened the seventh locker and closed the door.

Shortly after he heard the door in the other room slam open and heard the sound of wood cracking. Looking through the grates of the locker he was now trapped in, he saw the wooden footlocker from earlier fly through the rooms entrance and crash into one of the towering devices before falling apart from the impact, contents spilling forth across the worn wooden floor. The sound of blades slicing through wood could be heard getting louder as his heartbeat quickened. A shadow formed at the entrance and slowly a figure made it's way into the room.

His heartbeat stopped.

End Dream?

The sun shone through the gaps between the windows flaps and it's makeshift frame. Naruto woke up as the sun shined in his eyes and with a jolt abruptly sat up panicked, and looking around. "What the fuck was that?" he spoke, a bit scared with the odd dream he had. He couldn't recall some of it oddly. What….what did he see in there again? As he thought about it he slowly but surely realized he couldn't recall anything but the room he found himself in, and the hallway with the torches. Typical dream honestly, you can't normally remember your dreams. He felt something rubbing along his side. Looking down, he saw the bear from earlier laying against him in bed. "I swear I put you by the…" Looking over at the window he noticed that indeed, the bear next to him was the same bear. "I must have grabbed you while I was sleeping or something." The desk was next to the bed after all. Standing up, he placed the bear gently back onto the desk, and began dressing back into his normal attire. He grabbed his stuff, exited the shack and began making his way home.

"That was a weird night I just had." he stated while preparing to make his way past the dense trees of Konoha's barrier forest. He didn't even notice the deep cuts along the outside of the shack as he closed the door and made his way home…

With The Third Hokage

Hiruzen Sarutobi the legendary God of Sninobi, was normally extremely calm and prepared for anything. He is a very calculated and careful individual who would strike down his villages adversaries with the power of his godly arsenal of abilities and experiences. He had nothing to fear, nor did his village under his watchful eyes.

At least that is what he thought. Turns out they had plenty to fear. What he was not prepared for were the influx of disappearances happening around the village. They happened without warning, and zero traces were left behind. When these incidents started he responded quickly, dispatching ANBU squads to survey the area, figure out what was going on, and issue preventive measures to protect the citizens of Konoha. Have the ANBU persuade civilians to stay inside, and keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. He had Jonin patrolling the village at night. He even had Izumo and Kotetsu start to close the village gates at night and had extra security stationed at the gates. Izumo and Kotetsu would remain inside the gates and report anything out of the ordinary While the ANBU would settle in trees outside. All of this had reduced losses considerably, but disappearances were still occurring and there were still no answers. People were disappearing before their very eyes and they couldn't do anything about it.

What made it worse was when he went to check on Naruto last night, he wasn't home. When using his crystal ball it acted as if he was out of range. With a range stretching all the way to the trees just outside the village, this set off all kinds of alarms, and he had sent four squads out into the forest to find him. Only two returned and neither were successful in finding him, one however did mention a pack of wolves which seemed to have been dismembered. One of the wolves had trace amounts of Naruto's chakra laced between it's teeth. The wolves didn't kill him, but he was definitely injured.

Whomever or whatever was out there could be in possession of their Jinchūriki. Naruto wasn't dead that was for sure. Kyuubi would have been freed and that would be a much harder target to miss. The sun came up an hour ago, and with it no answers came. There were likely more cases, and yet if he looked he was sure he would find no leads. He needed an edge, something that could trap whomever was responsible and corner them so that he and his shinobi could move in to execute the dangerous individual.

"Hokage-sama!" the owl ANBU announced as they appeared in the middle of the office on one knee. One of the shinobi sent to find Naruto.

"Yes Owl, what is it?" Sarutobi urged the ANBU to communicate his message.

"Naruto has returned Hokage-sama!"

Sarutobi sighed "Thank God" relief flooded his features. At least Naruto was safe.

With Naruto

The village was in view at last. Finally seeing the village walls, he broke out into a run excited to finally be back home. Running around to the gates, he noticed they were closed and hollered to whomever would be standing on the other side "Hey guy's let me in!"

Kotetsu looked around before turning to Izumo "Did you hear something Izumo?"

"It sounds like Naruto's back from his little expedition. We should probably let him in." he says, not moving from his spot, filling out some paperwork, his pen hovering in irritation above the paper as he made eye contact with his partner.

"Fine fine… I'll go get him." Kotetsu quickly walked over towards the gates.

"Hey, hurry up!" shouted an irritated voice from the other side.

"Hold on Naruto, I just got to… press this here." he pressed his hand into the large button next to the gate, it split apart and pulled equal half's in opposite directions with enough room for a single person between them. "You find anything interesting out there for show and tell Naruto?" Kotetsu with his hands on his hips stood there smiling and waiting.

"Yeah,...check this out!" he grabs at his jacket and fishes out the crystallized amulet, presenting it to Kotetsu who, intrigued by the odd find, grabs hold of it. "Do you really just find this stuff lying around?...You aren't out there making them just to impress me now are you?" he teases lightheartedly handing the crystal back.

"Pfft, you wish senpai. As if I'd make anything for you." he said scratching the back of his head and laughing while Kotetsu fell into a deep dark depression. 'He didn't have to say it like that..' thought the sobbing Kotetsu. The trauma was too much to bear.

"Kotetsu, quit messing around and let him in!" Izumo dispassionately hollered. 'no-one cares.'

"Fine fine, come on in Naruto." stepping aside he let the boy in through the person-wide gap, before closing it behind him.

"You know about the disappearances right? Maybe you should stay in the village for a while, we'd feel a lot better if you did. You gotta become Hokage, and you can't do that if you get kidnapped." he said, a bit mockingly, but serious all the same.

"It'll be fine. As if anyone could kidnap me. HA! I run from you guys all the time, and you can never catch me!" he exclaimed thinking back on all the pranks he had performed and gotten away with, especially on these two.

"You should listen to him Naruto. What will happen when you're not fast enough, then what are you gonna do?" Izumo butted in rather seriously.

"You guys worry too much. I'll be fine." Came his stubborn response. They didn't look at all convinced.

"Well anyway I'ma head to Ichiraku. Catch ya' later!" he waves before walking off.

They watched him as he went before Izumo spoke up. "Ramen for breakfast?"

With Sasuke—Same Time

Sweat trickled down his forehead as he stopped to catch his breath. It had taken some time but he was finally done. "That took a lot longer then I was expecting, but at least I got them planted." Reaching for a cloth in his pocket, he wiped the sweat away. "It's gonna take a while, but I'll get these fields bloom once more." The crops of the once great Uchida had wilted had died, but Sasuke had plans for them. "And what better way then with tomatoes!" He had spent the better part of the previous day gathering the many bags of fertilizer, and seeds. The tomatoes would be grown just like his mother had taught him. That being said, these weren't his first plants, he had a couple of others he had set up just to see if he still had a green thumb. They were already harvested, and produced amazing quality tomatoes. 'Mom was the best when it came to these sorts of things.' Thinking back on when he used to help her in the garden brought tear to his eyes. If he could set up the proper infrastructure, he would be able to open a business selling fruit and vegetables. Perhaps even herbs, but It was all just a though at the moment. Setting everything up wasn't too hard, actually setting up the trellises was what took the longest time, having built then from remnants of a dilapidated shack from the backyard of an old friend he knew before…

"Itachi…" Just saying his name filled him with a rage he could barely withstand, why did the name even have to pop up in his head. After everything he did It was a miracle he could even go on. Stabbing the shovel in his hands down into the dirt, he left it there and trudged inside. He had spent a lot of time working on the fields, and was in a good mood after all the progress he made. A single thought about his 'brother' ruined all of that. The main hall of the agriculture building was immense. It had taken some time to get the place back up and running. Tables and chairs were split into pieces and large holes as well as burn marks scattered the walls of the building. Some wood, and some paint really did the place a service. He could still remember the bodies lying limply against walls or sprawled out on the floor. Shoji ripped and splattered red, as arms dangled through holes in the paper between the frame. 'I'm going to kill you... I'm gonna get stronger, I'll avenge my clan, and I'll restore it to it's former glory!' he proclaimed his desire's in his mind. "I'll rebuild the garden, I'll grow strong on my own, and no-one will stand in my way."

Looking around, he realized the time of day judging by the amount of light shining through the port windows lining the upper walls of the hall. "Let's go hunting, I needed to test my new traps anyway."

With Naruto—Later

After eating with Ayame and the old man, Naruto went home. It was still early so he could probably head home and work on his seals. He had joined the academy early, and had failed the final exam five already. Having picked up seals early on, he did excellently with them. It was like he had inherited knowledge on them or something from the great beyond. Still though, the clone technique was what held him back. He just couldn't form them like everyone else, and that was what got him every time. It was as if something was preventing his chakra from flowing the proper way it needed to, and when he had brought this issue up to Mizuki- sensei, and showed her how he did it, she said that he just wasn't putting enough chakra into it, and would tell him to keep at it.

He wasn't sure what he would do about it. All his clones came out white as a ghost, and looking like they were on the brink of death. Not for a lack of trying mind you, but he had to keep at it if he wanted to pass. The finals were in two weeks so he still had time. He was gonna show them that he could do this stupid jutsu,Naruto Uzumaki, was totally ready to become a ninja, and then when he was ready he would become Hokage, and everyone would have to accept him then.

Pulling a wooden box from under his bed, he opened it and took his calligraphy tools from it. He sat down and began working on his latest seal. It was a storage seal for liquids specifically so that he could store loads of water and just drink from the seal itself. It was almost finished, and would be very handy when he started going on missions. A couple of hours into working on it, he decided to stop after having made decent progress, and began working on that damned clone jutsu again.

"More chakra this time. Alright, Let's go!" Positioning his hand he formed the three hand signs required and put as much chakra into it as possible. An audible puff went off as smoke filled the room. When it cleared the sad results stared back at him. It was laying on it's back this time. "this is even worse than the last, DANG IT." he exclaimed, frustrated at why he couldn't get this one jutsu right. He was doing it just like how Mizuki-sensei had taught him, but it just wasn't working. He kept at it for a while without any real success, before he knew it was noon. "Maybe Iruka might know what I can do…" He would have to ask him tomorrow. I can make all these seals, but I can't do a simple clone jutsu. Maybe Iruka-sensei will let me pass if I show them to him, Heh."

Stowing his tools away, he pulled a scroll from under his bed, channeled chakra into the seal across it's center, and it unfurled revealing multiple books all relating to the same thing. Fūinjutsu was the one ting he could take pride in. While his continued failure at the clone technique kept him down, he could bring himself back up by practicing what he knew. These weren't standard beginner books either. These were intermediate to expert category books that he had been using to create a lot of his techniques. It came naturally to him, and that gave him an avenue where he could excel. Maybe he could have someone make a clone of him, and he could just unseal the clone when it comes time?

His hands hovered over the first book. A journal he used to document all the seals he had made or discovered. Seals ranging in uses from storing stuff to absorption of impacts to making items harder to destroy. There wasn't anything crazy, but it was a start in his mad journey. Opening the journal, he began to write the details of the water storage seal he was making. First drawing it's shape, and then detailing it's effect. '...The seal allows for infinite water storage. Seal does not accept solid masses, and could be used to filter polluted liquids.' Finishing his thought, he closed the journal and opened up the closest book to him, a book about barrier Fūinjutsu. Barrier jutsu was hard to perform, the best he could do at this point was project barriers from seals on his gloves. At their best they would allow you to block a punch or a weapon strike. This book covered larger barriers like the 'solid chakra formation' which formed a large rectangular barrier room that required cooperation with one other person to make, or the 'bell house' which silenced all noise from within the bell. Many of these techniques would be useful when he started missions, and would allow him to protect himself and his team more effectively. He would have to thank Ayame for getting these books for him.

"I need to find a way to use these abilities offensively. Though I guess that can wait till I've been put on a team." He would have a sensei then who would be able to teach him cool jutsu he could use to make up for his primarily defensive and support abilities. "I wonder who I'll have on my team. If I pass that is…" The doubt was weighing heavy on his heart. feeling dejected, he stuck his nose in his book to keep his mind off the near uncertain future.

Afternoon

Leaning back in his chair he stretched his arms as far back as e could, and yawned. While the textbooks were useful, there was only so much you could read without getting exhausted. Glancing at the desk clock he realized that it was almost seven, and he had yet to make anything for dinner. He had a couple of things he could use, but noodles were basically his only choice. They were all he could afford, and they lasted forever. Ramen it is then.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A light knocking nudged against the silence of the room. Gentle rapping struggled against the hollow apartment door.

He rose from his seat immediately to go greet his unexpected guest. 'Who could want to see me at this hour?' Gently grasping the knob, I turned it and on the other side of the door… was a letter?

The letter was pink with a heart on it, there was no return address, and otherwise seemed pretty normal. '' Closing the door behind him, he went and sat down at his desk, and began to open the letter. The letter came open rather easily, and when the letter was finally freed from it's paper prison, he unfolded it before reading...

Thud. Thud. Thud.

A tapping sound disturbed the silence of the room. Loud knocking disrupted his thoughts as he looked towards the door in annoyance.

He rose from his seat immediately to see who thought it was a good idea to just slam away at the surface of his front door. 'Who the hell has the fucking nerve?' Grasping the knob rather quickly he opened the door and was greeted by the sight of his 'best friend.'

"What in the hell do you want Sasuke?" Sasuke just stood there Uchida smirking™. Suspicion weighs in heavily as he makes eye contact, the dastardly bastard looking smug as ever. He was carrying with him at his side, a covered wooden basket, blanketed with a dark red, and heavy fabric bearing the symbol of his lineage. "Hmph…like I need a reason to visit you dobe." he said holding up the basket, he brought it's weight to the ends of his fingers gesturing for him to take it. "I brought food, feel honored that I'm sharing it with you." Naruto squints his eyes at Sasuke not believing him, but decides to take it anyway. Taking a hold of the handle, he lifted the cloth cover revealing an assortment of foods, but mostly tomatoes. "Thanks" he said, before gesturing for Sasuke to enter his apartment. "I was just about to make food, and it looks like your gonna be helping me."

"As if I would leave the cooking up to you, lest I wanna die from food poisoning." Taunted Sasuke in that 'better then you' fashion he seemed to be talented at. He followed Naruto into the kitchen before halting his pace as if remembering something "Oi Naruto, this was laying on the ground outside." Extending his arm, he present a letter. "A letter?" Surprised, he took it from Sasuke, and stared at it "Who would send me a letter like this? Oh maybe it was Sakura, she must have finally realized how much better I am than you!" He exclaimed smiling widely at Sasuke, posing victoriously. "Think what you want dobe." he deadpanned.

Slipping his finger under the lip of the envelope, he slowly slid his finger across, opening the envelope perfectly. Inside lay a flawless white paper, signed in a different unrecognizable language. The same was true upon opening it. Whatever was said was a short message, no more then three lines, and ending with a red heart. 'what language is this?' "Hey Sasuke" he called, Sasuke having walked into the kitchen to ready the instruments he required looked up questioningly. "What dobe." he said a tad bit aggravated with having been interrupted. "I can't read this, do you know what it says?" he says handing the letter to Sasuke. He took one look at the paper and seemed confused "Who the hell are you flirting with dobe?" "Can you read it?" he asked impatiently. "It's not even in our language dobe, what made you think I could read it?" he deadpanned. "I just hoped you could…" wilting, he dropped to his knees. "It's probably just a pity letter anyway. Come on, are we cooking or what?" he drawled, a bit irritated for some reason.

It didn't happen often, but every now and then they would get together like this, cook, and hangout. It was a lot better then being alone, and gave them the chance to talk about their training. After eating they hung out on the walkway. Sasuke broke the silence "You better not fail dobe, I'm gonna need you there to clean my shoes after I'm done kicking ass." smirking, he sipped away at his cola. "If anyone's gonna be cleaning shoe's its m- MY shoes that will be getting cleaned Sasuke!" he shouted in defense. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips before the chuckles burst forth from his core. Calming down, he gave Sasuke a once-over "You don't have to worry about that Sasuke. As long as I can get this clone technique working I'll be fine." Sasuke, still smirking, rose a brow at that. "Your still having trouble with that?" he questioned, It was no secret the issues the blonde had. He knew Naruto knew the technique, but despite performing it perfectly the outcome was out wrong anyway. "We could always do the henge thing I suggested." Sasuke offered, though he knew what Naruto's response would be. "I'm not swapping my clone with yours Sasuke, Iruka – sensei would probably notice it anyway…"

While Naruto would have loved to take the idea, he knew it wouldn't work. It was the thought that counts though, and he was glad that Sasuke would offer it. They weren't friends after all, they just hung out with each other, ate together, and sometimes had sleepovers, but that didn't mean that they were friends. They hated each other, and considered each other rivals, and both Sasuke, and Naruto agreed with this line of thinking.

Naruto paused before turning towards stiffly his rival. "Oh yeah.. did you try out my prototype seals yet?" Sasuke leaned back against the railing recalling the seals. "Yeah, the bug trap wasn't bad. Doesn't work on ants though, which was part of the reason I tested them out. Your just lucky I already had that part sorted, otherwise I would've lost my tomatoes." He nodded his head in a way that Naruto assumed was some brand of praise. "Maybe once you've got the kinks out you could start selling them" he offered. Naruto smiled widely at that, before replying "That might be a good idea actually hehe…" He hadn't thought of doing that actually, and with the range of seals he planned on making he could probably start a small business with them. "I'll think about it."

Sasuke separated himself from the railing before stretching. "I'ma head to bed, don't stay out too late dobe. You know what happened last time." He spoke before heading inside, presumably to the sleeping bag he had left there last time. "HEY! That wasn't even my fault!" the blonde yelled back, irked at the raven haired bastards statement. He slumped releasing a loud audible sigh. "To bed it is."


Everyone in class was absolutely giddy. No one could blame them though as this was the day they would take their final exam, receive their ninja headbands, and finally begin their long journey down the road of a shinobi.

The written exam had been performed the day prior, and the combat exam was done this morning. At least ten students had already been dragged to the testing room for their final test, and eight of them had returned with award winning smiles as they flaunted the headbands they had worked their butts off the last four years to earn. From the lessons in wilderness survival to the combat classes, to even the seemingly less useful classes like sewing, or calligraphy, they pushed forward, and when all was said, and done succeeded.

Despite the resounding excitement most of his classmates were feeling, nervousness was the only emotion that Naruto could possibly begin to comprehend. Having spent the entirety of the week studying, and practicing everything he needed to, there was still one thing that plagued his mind, and he knew would cause issues on this day.

The clone technique. He still hadn't been able to perform it correctly even once, and while practice had made his attempts ever so slightly better, his clones still didn't come out right, and it would no doubt lead to complications, or even worse him failing. He just couldn't comprehend why he couldn't make a single damn clone, it was as if something was interfering with his chakra, and interrupting the formation of the clone, but he had no idea what.

As the next group returned from the exam room, Iruka walked in behind them and waved him over, smiling encouragingly. "Naruto, your next. Come with me." He followed directly behind him, trying to mask the fear he felt plastered across his face. The negative thoughts were wearing on his nerves, and were interrupting his concentration, and if this kept up he wouldn't be able to perform at all. "I just gotta believe… Yeah that's it. If I believe everything will be fine, it'll be okay. I'll pass this test, I'll make that clone in one shot, and I'll be one step closer to becoming Hokage, Believe it!" he psyched himself up as much as he could, and began walking a little more confidently, alongside Iruka this time.

Unfortunately confidence didn't much. The pressure in the air intensified as chakra flowed through his system, emanating around him, and channeling into a single movement.

Pooft

A thick smoke about his height appeared next to him, and a couple seconds later said cloud dissipated revealing the results of his months of hard work. A slowly dying clone lying on the ground as it's very spirit slipped through it's lips in it's final moments before vanishing. The sight broke his soul instantly as he returned his attention to Iruka who didn't seem pleased with his results. "Naruto… you failed." he told him, weight tugging at his heart as he delivered the news to his downtrodden student. With heavy feet Naruto left the exam room. Iruka watched him go in concern knowing how much this meant to him, and his fellow teacher, unbeknownst to Iruka, merely smirked as they watched the boy walk away is despair 'Perfect!'

He felt terrible. This made the sixth time he failed the exam, and it was all because he was such a failure at that stupid clone jutsu. As he walked past his class, he peeked in and saw the joyous faces of those who had passed. He scowled wishing in envy that he was the one wearing the headband, and not them. He locked eyes with Shikamaru, who waved at him, and he merely waved back before picking up his pace, exiting the building, and leaving his celebrating class behind.

Finding a seat on the swing-set, he began to think about his options. He still wanted to be Hokage, but how could he do that now. The only way to achieve his dream was to pass the academy, but if history said anything it would be that there was no chance for him to do that. Tears begged at his eyes, but he refused to bend to their wishes. He was strong, and this was merely a setback, he would just have to find another way.

Whisper's made their way to his ears as the parents of the other students fawned over their children's success, picked them up, and brought them home. Parents of those that failed came, and helped pick them up out their sad place, lifting their spirits, counseling, and encouraging them the best a parent could. If only he could have something like that. As he was staring at the ground blocking out the sounds around him, a shadow cast itself across it, glancing up he saw the sympathetic inviting face of another of his teachers, Mizuki, the one who helped Iruka in the exam room today. "Hey Naruto, I'm sorry about how the test turned out for you. I wanted to check up on you, and see how you were feeling. I know how bad it can be when failure sets you back from your dreams." she spoke smoothly with a warmth that was uncommon for Naruto, and it made him feel safe in his teachers presence.

She seemed to stop, and think for a moment while Naruto seemed to cheer up a little bit. "Hey" she said while leaning down closer to him and whispering. "What if I told you… that I knew another way for you to pass, and become a genin?" Naruto jerked, sitting straight as his wide eyes locked on to his teachers beautiful green pair. 'Another way to pass?!' He abruptly stood from the swing causing Mizuki to back away a bit to make room for him. He spoke excitedly "Another way?! How?! Tell me!" She just smiled brightly at him with her eyes closed. "Alright then, Are you sure? It's pretty challenging… hmm.. alright alright so here's how you do it." Her smile only widened as his excitement only grew with her explanation of what he would need to do.


The first step was easy. All he had to do was sneak into the Hokage's Tower, find his secret hiding spot for the villages secrets, and steal a giant scroll everyone would easily notice went missing. Okay so maybe it wasn't that easy, but nothing was gonna to stop Naruto. This was his last chance to become a genin, and even the Hokage wouldn't be given a chance to stop him.

Crouched down, he sneaked through the halls towards the big mans office. Light filtered through the crack of the door, and illuminated the hall directly outside the office. 'Gramps must still be here. Probably still doing paperwork hehe.' Holding back a silent chuckle, he made his way to the door, and peeked in. Sure enough there he was filling out papers, and he did not look happy. "Damn paperwork… I should just Katon you to oblivion." he ground out clearly upset. The bookcase to his far right suddenly fell over as Tora the cat jumped from atop it. "Ugh you stupid cat!" he yelled as he went to gather the fallen books, as Tora hopped on his desk, and began to piss all over his finished stack. 'Maybe now's my chance' pushing the door open, he walked up behind Hiruzen. Having heard someone enter his office, he turned his head to be greeted by the sight of Naruto with a wide smile stretching from ear to ear. Suspicious as to why Naruto was here so late, and grinning so widely, he asked what the boy was doing, and if he needed something.

If possible, Naruto's grin grew even wider as his hands formed a familiar hand-sign, and the Hokage's eyes widened significantly as he reached for the boy to stop him. "WAIT, WAIT, WAIT! NARUTO!" But it was too late for the old fool.

"Oiroke no Jutsu!" Poor Tora was caught in the blast, as the Hokage flew back.


It was cold, and a lot darker then normal. The trees seemed to lean down, and grab at him with their branches as he ran through the woods stumbling every now, and then. The scroll on the blondes back was massive, and weighed a lot, however lugging it through the woods would be worth it in the end if it meant becoming a ninja, and becoming able to achieve his dreams.

Reaching a familiar clearing, he sat underneath the tree he typically did, took the scroll from his back, and began examining it. A symbol lay bare across one side of it bearing the title 'Scroll Of Seals' in thick red lettering. This was the object Mizuki-sensei desired Naruto to retrieve. His goal was to learn one jutsu from the scroll before Mizuki arrived, and if he could, then he would pass, receive his headband, and become a genin. Channeling chakra into the symbol, a white glow surrounded the scroll, before it began to unfurl and float before him.

"Wooah.. that's Awesome." Grinning, he began to examine the scroll. The scroll seemed to have many 'locks' on it. Seals designed to be opened with blood, chakra signature, or even both, while some seemed to be readily available to be viewed by anyone. Thinking back, how did he even open it? 'You'd think they'd seal the whole scroll like that, but I guess this is an exam scroll after all. Mizuki sensei did say I needed to learn one of these.' Opening one of the readily available seals, another scroll popped into existence from the seals inner pocket. There was one problem though.

'Fucking clones?!' It was yet another fucking clone technique, but this time it was an advanced version of it, Shadow Clone Jutsu. He instantly dropped it to the ground. 'Fuck that noise.' Reaching for another seal, he pulled out yet another scroll, and opened it. 'Again?!' Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu this time "No." Another one, Great Shadow Clone Explosion.Groaning, he looked into the sky "Kami... ARE YOU TRYING TO TELL ME SOMETHING?!" Teeth ground together before he eventually calmed down. Sighing, he gave in to his fate. 'Fine I'll give it a try… Shadow Clones here we go...' he thought as he picked up the scroll again. Reading through it he took note of the differences between it, and it's less advanced form. It required more chakra, and there were a few changes he would have to make regarding the internal flow of the chakra he would be using. Nodding, believing he understood it for the most part, he began to channel chakra before releasing it, summoning large smoke clouds.

"Bullshit"

Never before had Naruto seen such bullshit. On his first try literally ten perfect shadow clones popped into existence. Granted he was only trying to make one, so yeah he needed to work on that, but where was this jutsu when he needed it earlier today? Raising his arms in excitement he began dancing with his clones who were also freaking out that they existed.

"OH YEAH!" Fueled by his immediate success, he set ahead learning any other jutsu he could. There lies an unanswered question though, why could he make these shadow clones, but not the regular ones? He would have to figure that out later.


This was a bad idea.

'I came out here for a scroll, so wtf is this?' A fire stream spew forth from her hands as they engulfed the large eight-legged creatures that thought they could ensnare her. In retaliation they launched metallic thread at her which could've pierced her torso had she not dodged. Despite the fire melting their skin away, a metal skeleton revealed itself underneath as they continued their onslaught, glowing red eyes piercing the night as they begun charging through the flames without fear.

"Mizuki! jump!"

Jump she did as a large earth dome encompassed the nest as it rose from the dirt, sealing the spiders away for the time being. She turned her attention to Iruka who had suddenly appeared. His hands were planted to the ground as he let out a labored breath. "That was..ah.. close huh?" His bright smile attempted to mask his exhaustion, but the shaking of his arms gave away what he was feeling. Smirking she replied "Yeah, you might've just saved my ass." They just smiled at each other, and made to leave.

Unfortunately the spiders had other plans.

As they turned to leave, the dome began rumbling, and cracking, before what could only be described as a blast of heat blew a hole through the rock. The shell fell as the glowing red mandibles of the creature seemed to cool down, it's eyes following their movements as they hopped to the trees to avoid flying debris. "No one told me the wildlife here was this crazy." Mizuki had never seen such bullshit before. Iruka hung upside down on a branch as he prepped a Fūma Shuriken encased is raging fire. They prepared to go on the offensive as the termi-spider's crawled out of their hole.

"I'll sear the one in the back, think you can knock back the other two?" Iruka questioned to the white-haired kunoichi. She merely smirked in response as she began casting her next move, already thinking about her next.

Iruka wound up the massive star before releasing it, sending it soaring towards the first spider, as Mizuki brought her hands up as she bent the earth ripping chunks out of the ground, before hurling them just behind the shuriken with a forward thrust of her arms. Energy began forming in their horrific maws as they charged up to counter their attacks.

The fuma flew past the first two before slamming into the thirds metal frame just as it released it's attack, causing it to detonate in the spiders face, catching the other two in the blast as the chunks of earth launched all three back into their hole. Waving through hand-signs, Iruka fixed the earth dome, and signaled for Mizuki to follow him, as they made a break for it. Reinforcements were gonna be mandatory, and the Hokage would have to be informed of these dangerous creatures living not that far from the village border.

"What are you doing out here Iruka?" Mizuki asked, playing dumb to the ordeal that was going on as she attempted to calm her nerves from the one she just experienced. "Hokage-sama has organized a search party for Naruto, he stole the scroll of seals, and everyone is out here looking for him." he replied as he launched off another tree branch. His thoughts were in turmoil 'why would you steal the scroll Naruto, you want to be Hokage right? So why would you jeopardize your chance at even becoming a ninja?' In truth he blamed himself. If he had just passed Naruto, maybe he wouldn't have done this. 'No, that would be like sending him off to commit suicide. He wasn't ready yet, and I couldn't just do that.' He knew Naruto could somewhat handle himself, but he wouldn't send him out into the world without all the tools he would need. That would be like sending a samurai out into the world with a steak knife. They wouldn't last long.

Unbeknownst to Iruka, a grimace marred Mizuki's face as she realized the situation she was now in. There were likely dozens of groups scouting the forest, and if she didn't get to Naruto before them she would be screwed. All they would have to do is ask him why he stole it, and Naruto being the honest upcoming Hokage aspirator he was would tell them everything, and her goose would be cooked. Looking over at her 'friend' she had but one thought on her mind. 'I gotta get us split up before 'anything' happens.' They raced through the trees, the pillar of smoke, and fire forming behind them seemingly forgotten.

Then it began to rain.


Laughter filled the small clearing as the small blonde reveled in his odd streak of successes. The huge success with the shadow clone jutsu was but the start of his streak. There were texts for medium to high level sealing techniques as well as various other techniques that he would be able to undoubtedly utilize in his future career as a shinobi of Konoha. There was no way they could fail him now, especially after acquiring these techniques, and being as adept as he was in a decent amount of the academies curriculum's as well as his sealing practice. He stood, and began to stretch out, loosening the joints after the last half hour of reading sealing transcripts. His gaze roamed the tree line, as he wondered where Mizuki-sensei was. 'I thought she'd be here by now, It's been a couple hours. This was the meeting place right?' he thought to himself as he dug a small wrinkled piece of paper out of his pocket, and read the instructions she gave him earlier, confirming that this was indeed the meeting place. The moon began to dim as the clouds moved to obscure it. Droplets pattered lightly at his head before they started to come down a bit faster. "Really?!" Quickly grabbing the scroll, and closing it, he ran to the small shack situated at the edge of the clearing. Hopefully there were no holes in the roof, he wanted to escape the rain after all.

Reaching the door, he began fiddling with the knob. He grasped it's bronze shell, and slowly opened the wooden door with a harsh creaking, before delving into the dark room, and closing it rather abruptly behind himself. A small light was on already, a small bulb hanging from the ceiling by a chain that just barely illuminated the center of the dark room, with but a thin string to turn it on or off.

There weren't any signs of water which was a relief, the room was rather creepy however which set off his nerves. It would have to be fine for now until his teacher arrived, and it was a lot better than standing outside in the rain. Leaning the scroll against the door frame, he examined he room he had found himself in. The place had obviously been abandoned, cobwebs littered the large crate racks. Tall shelves filled with randomly sorted supplies lined the back of the room just outside the range of the light. An office desk sat in the corner of the room with a small illegible name plate sat atop alone. He made his way to the small desk chair, and sat himself down. The gentle patter against wood had turned violent, and informed him that he would be here for awhile. Sighing, he began to relax a bit, trying to make himself comfortable as he settled in for his prolonged stay. "I'll just close my eyes for a little bit." He closed his eyes, laying his head down on the desk, deciding to take a nap while he waited for the storm to pass. Rather quickly snoring filled the room, and with that all thought left him as he found release in the land of dreams.

Just as the boy drifted off so too did the light recede as darkness encompassed the old shack's interior. Old does not mean abandoned, and with time he would do good to remember that. Darkness consumed the shack. There was no light as it's source had up, and vanished, there was no chair, yet the boy remained suspended. Shadows wrapped around him like arms reaching around him, and grasping, as if threatening to put out the last of all light. Twisting flesh crawled it's way out of the cracks in the floor boards, and began wrapping around the boys unconscious scroll was lifted from the ground, and drug to the rear of the shack, sharp scratching echoed as it 'walked.' Time was limited, and this was but a once in a lifetime opportunity that it would not waste. Taking the time, it allowed itself to glance back at the 'sleeping' boys face as it readied the room for the activities it had planned for it's unaware, and soon to be unfortunate, uninvited guest.


She didn't have to do anything.

As soon as the rain began Iruka had been there, but as it continued he had disappeared when she wasn't watching, and she had been left in solitude, alone in the rain. The rain drowned out all noise, and made visibility a mute point. You probably wouldn't be able to hear someones screams. There was no doubt it would interfere with the many squads sent out to recover the boy, and it might have even forced them to return home. The clearing wasn't far off now, and she'd be able to dispatch of him, take the scroll, and run. There was no turning back for her, and definitely not for the boy.

Racing through the trees she silently made her way to the clearing. Arriving, she jumped down, and looked around the best she could. 'where is he?' she pondered peeking through the dripping sky. "NARUTO!" she hollered, and waited for a response.

Striding closer to the center of the field she witnessed the silhouette of a shack appear at the edge of her vision. At she got closer the image filled out, and she recognized the structure. One of the old Konoha supply shacks they used during the great war. They were used for food, and weapon supplies, as well as impromptu interrogation rooms. While she hadn't participate during the war, she had used similar shacks for meeting spots with her master. They made perfect hideouts due to the many security implementations placed on them that no one thought to remove post war.

If you entered one, no one would find you, and that was what made them advantageous.

She slowly walked towards the front entrance. The rain wasn't so much a bother anymore as it was an annoyance. Despite the assault heaven was currently imposing upon the earth, she could clearly make out the sounds of the forest as she took small strides towards the shack. This is why, when she began hearing rustling all around her, she stopped, and prepared to trick the squad of shinobi that had no doubt found her.

However they were not shinobi. It was not a shinobi, and it was absolutely famished.


He awoke abruptly, his chest spasmed as his body caught up with it's sudden shift. It was dark, and he was lying down, and while he couldn't see due to the light, if the soft feeling under him were anything to go by he assumed he was on a bed. Having not fallen asleep here, he assumed Mizuki or someone had found him, and brought him home or something. Blindly trailing his hands across the surface of his bed in a desperate effort to find the edge, he took note of a certain sensation.

Soft, squishy, and most certainly slimy. 'Eww, what the hell happened while I was sleeping? This better not be pee.' The gooey sensation he ran his fingers over was almost unbearable. Was it all over the bed? Having found the edge, he sat up setting his feet against the cold squishy floor. As his eyes began to adjust to the light level of the room, he began to pale, and edge himself back up onto the 'bed' as he began to take in the severity of his situation.

Red. The color of the walls was red. While the color might not stand out as unique, it was the reason for their color that made his stomach clench as his heartbeat began to escalate. Muscles. The walls were covered with flesh, and muscle that spanned large sections of their surface. He witnessed the 'veins' running along their surface pulse as something, probably blood, traveled through them. A constant heartbeat besides his own quickened one echoed within reach of his ears. He lifted his hands, they were covered in a dark red substance that smelled of iron. Actually, as he took in his appearance, he realized his entire body was covered in not only this liquid, but also a couple other kinds that he couldn't pinpoint the origin of.

"What the fuck?!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening in terror as he made to stand, and many tendrils wrapped around him pulling him back into the 'bed' holding him securely in place as he struggled to break free. The tendrils wrapped tighter, dragging skin, and squeezing bone as his body emanated cracking sounds. Fresh tears began to pour, and his breathing became labored as the hold became obscenely painful. "Don't. Move." A feeling came over him as he stopped struggling against his binds. Blinking the tears away he turned his head to see who was talking, but a hand redirected his face forward where a cloaked figure stood, looking down at them with seven glowing yellow eyes peeking through the darkness of their opened robe.

"Wha...w-what are you?" he asked as the eyes bored into his skull. "Well get to that, but first…" it's hold on his chin tightened as it leaned down closer to him. "But first I need a nest, and I think your corpse will do just fine as a home." He felt tendrils line themselves up along his spine as they pushed forward, and dug through his innards. He screamed as he felt the small tentacles running through his body, and around the cavity of his skull. They were right behind his eyes. "Ah yes, I think you'll do nicely." It remarked with dry mirth as it continued to plant itself inside him. "I just need to move a couple things around in here, and don't worry I don't want you to die, my nest has to be alive the entire time after all."

He felt his organs being severed as the sound of ripping, and tearing echoed from inside him. He was barely conscious now, he couldn't breath since it moved his lungs somewhere else. There was something crawling on the backs of his eyes, and he couldn't feel his left arm anymore. The being continued to hum the sweetest of melodies as it ravaged him, and honestly…

It was kinda soothing.