Hello and welcome to the first chapter of Naruto: the apprentice, a few usual things before we start.

1. Naruto is not my intellectual property and I make this claim for the entire publication of this fan-fiction.

"Normal speech" "thoughts" "Demonic"

Naruto: The Apprentice.

Chapter one – Log damn it!

Naruto trudged towards the Academy at a snail's pace, he knew he'd be on time or maybe even a few minutes late for class but he didn't mind, it wasn't like anyone had high expectations for him anyway but it was the current class subject that made him reluctant to turn up to class the past few weeks. He was halfway through his first year at the academy now and the class had started to learn to feel for and draw upon their chakra. Things had gone as one might expect, aside from some of the children from prominent clans already having done this with their families, some students picked it up quicker than others some took a little longer, though by the middle of the second week into the exercise, everyone had managed to draw upon their chakra to some extent. All except Naruto, he could feel it, he just couldn't draw upon it no matter how hard he tried or how long he meditated, which wasn't long given his hyperactive nature.

The class had since moved on to the First chakra control exercise, the leaf balancing technique, Naruto however was unable to progress, much to his classmates amusement and the Instructor, Iruka's annoyance. Now into the third week of trying, and failing, to draw upon his chakra, Naruto was starting to think it was never going to happen. Seeing the Academy building a short distance ahead, the blonde sighed and decided to quicken his pace and just get the day over and done with.

Naruto sluggishly entered the building and headed for his usual class room, arriving within a few seconds he could hear Iruka's lecture on the other side of the door. He sighed and pressed his forehead against the door gently, his eyes closed as he composed himself. After a moment he held his head up straight, opened his eyes and plastered the goofy smile he had practiced and perfected as he slid the door open and stepped into the room.

"You're late, again!" Iruka scolded him as he entered the room.

"Hehehe Sorry Iruka-sensei, I woke up late" Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head as he stood there awaiting the inevitable lecture he was sure to get.

"Naruto, you are lagging way behind the rest of the class, your grades are abysmal and your attendance is so sketchy that I truly wonder if this isn't all some big joke to you. At this point you should have been able to draw on your chakra like everyone else in class" Iruka paused to shake his head at the boy "I don't think you have what it takes to become Shinobi … You have until the end of the week to prove me wrong, otherwise I'm afraid you'll be dropped from the academy" Iruka stated seriously before sighing "Take your seat, Naruto"

The class sniggered and muttered to themselves quietly as Naruto made his way up the steps and into his usual seat on the back row, sitting down he sighed and zoned out the rest of Iuka's lecture. Until he heard Iruka's call for the class to make their way outside to the Academy training grounds. He got up out of his seat and headed out with the rest of the class.

"Okay class, everyone find a leaf and continue with the balancing exercise, Naruto, follow me please" Iruka instructed as he lead Naruto over to a quiet area. Once there Iruka looked down at Naruto and spoke.

"look, Naruto, I meant what I said back in the classroom … but I also know you want to become a shinobi more than anything, so you need to show me some real work ethic and knuckle down in your studies so that I don't have to drop you from the class. You need to grasp the concept of drawing on your chakra as quickly as possible" Iruka explained.

"I know, I know … I can feel it, I just can't bring it forward" Naruto sighed with frustration.

Iruka nodded in understanding "Okay, let's try something different then, sit down"

Naruto sat down, cross legged and looked up at Iruka, actually paying attention for once; acting like an idiot wasn't going to help him here.

Iruka took a knee in front of Naruto and smiled "Right, Now I want you to sit still and meditate, feel for your chakra, you should feel it build up within you, when you do, stay calm, and keep feeling for it until you feel like you can shift it and then you start to gently draw upon it until that warm feeling spreads throughout your body, when you get to that point, come and get me, but I want you to stay here and work at it until you get it" Iruka stood back up and looked down at his blonde student with a stern look "I'm treating this as an assignment, Naruto, If I see you goofing off, throwing a tantrum or not giving it 100% of your energy and effort then you will be dropped from the accademy … do you understand?"

Naruto looked up at Iruka with wide eyes "you can't be serious!" he protested in utter disbelief of this ultimatum laid out before him.

"I am serious, Naruto" Iruka spoke as he looked down at the blonde with a look of concern.

Naruto snarled "Yeah!? Well just watch me! I'm going to complete this task and prove you wrong!" Naruto barked out at Iruka as the man simply walked back to the rest of the class.

'I'll show him! I'll show everyone' Naruto silently swore to himself with a deep scowl. The blonde fell back onto his butt with a dull thud and took a moment to calm himself down. Finally after a quiet moment to himself, he crossed his legs and placed his hands in a prayer position and began to try and feel for his chakra.

An hour later.

Iruka was walking between his students; giving advice where he felt was needed but mostly kept the students on track with the chakra control exercise. He paused for a moment to look over at Naruto further away and frowned 'Come on, Naruto, I know you can do this … I just hope your problem doesn't have anything to do with that thing' he thought to himself as he noted how hard Naruto was actually trying, he had been sat still for about an hour, in fact he hadn't moved at all which was miraculous. Iruka turned away when he heard some students messing about.

Naruto.

Naruto couldn't remember how long he had been at it … it felt like an eternity and he had long ago tuned out all ambient noise so he could further concentrate, he delved further deeper within himself, chasing that flicker of light, he couldn't see it of course, it was just how he explained it to himself, he had been chasing it for what felt like an eternity but he remained calm and persisted onward, deeper and deeper.

Then he felt it, slowly at first, a warm spark igniting for a moment, he reached for it but stopped just as he was about to viciously pull it towards him he opened his eyes to find himself in an abyss of black … the only illumination was a small flickering white orb-like flame in front of himself, he looked around and found nothing but the little white flame giving off a gentle glow, it had the most peculiar calming aura that seemed to gently caress at Naruto's very soul.

He took a tentative step toward the flame, in response it flickered slightly, growing slightly larger in its size and intensity. Naruto's eyes widened slightly and slowly reached forward, however as his arm outstretched and his fingertips stroked the flames, he recoiled, falling to his back as it blasted into a roaring white inferno before burning down into an energetic light blue-green flame with an almost ethereal glow.

"Iruka-sensei never mentioned this …" Naruto whispered as he picked himself up and brushed off the non existent dust from his clothes before looking at the now blue flame, his eyes wide he felt a pull to it, not forceful, but inviting. Naruto hesitated for a moment before he reached out and grabbed the orb-like flame.

Blue-green flames streaked around his hand and snaked around his arm, working its way around Naruto's body, igniting him in the blue ethereal fire, it didn't burn or scorch him as one might expect, but it was warm, calming …. Powerful.

Iruka.

Iruka's attention was sharply pulled toward Naruto when he felt a strange pressure permeate the surrounding area, it felt like chakra … only stronger and all encompassing, he felt the invisible wave pass through him. He turned his head to find that even his students felt it.

"Iruka-sensei … what is this feeling?" asked one of the students.

"I don't know, it's nothing I've ever experienced before" Iruka answered before he slowly started walking toward Naruto who still hadn't moved. Iruka moved forward slowly "Naruto …"

Naruto.

Naruto raised his arms as the ethereal fire danced across them energetically, enveloping his entire body slowly. He felt a calmness he had never before felt and closed his eyes, reveling in its comforting embrace.

As he slowly relaxed into this … well, whatever it was, he slowly started noticing things he didn't before. He could feel the presence of things around him and something larger than the others moving toward him at a slow pace. He frowned, concentrating harder until he could feel that presence moving toward him and he felt what it felt … a feeling of confusion and the slightest twinge of fear but the feeling that shone out above the others was concern. He played with this feeling and figured it was like an entirely new sense of sorts like how he could smell, taste and see. He didn't quite know what to make of this new sense.

He continued to feel the presence coming toward him when he felt several others appear, four to be exact, surrounding him and all at once he could feel so much fear, it felt as though it were going to suffocate him.

Iruka.

Iruka took a few more tentative steps towards Naruto when four Anbu appeared in a diamond formation around his student in battle ready stances.

"Iruka-san, Get the rest of your students back inside the academy Immediately, we will take it from here" Spoke a dog masked Anbu with silver-white gravity defying hair.

Iruka blinked and turned to the rest of his students "All of you! Inside, now!" Iruka called out before turning back towards Naruto who he noticed still hadn't moved.

"Inu-taicho, this doesn't feel the same as It's chakra" One of the Anbu commented from behind her cat mask, her long purple hair swishing slightly as she tilted her head toward the Anbu captain.

"That's because it isn't that, it's something else entirely" Came a lazy voice in response as the captain moved forward slightly, shifting his hand beneath his dog-faced mask for a moment as if to adjust something before placing his mask back correctly.

The other Anbu stood ready but visibly relaxed at the announcement as their captain took a few lazy steps forward and looked the boy over critically.

"Boar and Hawk … secure a perimeter around the academy, no one leaves, no one but Anbu and the Hokage enter, I don't want any altercations from civilians or shinobi passing by who may feel this" the captain ordered lazily but with a tone of authority that could not be denied.

Both the named Anbu operatives nodded and disappeared from the scene, leaving the two Anbu and Iruka stood a few meters away from Naruto, still in the same position.

"Taicho, what is it?" asked Cat tentatively, still looking at him.

"Well … I'm not entirely positive in my assumption here, in fact it's more like a stab In the dark but … I believe this boy has somehow achieved what so few others have, in fact I can only think of three people in the history of the village who have achieved this" Dog spoke with wonder, a drastic change from his usually stoic lazy attitude.

"And that would be what Anbu-san?" Iruka asked as he took another step forward.

"What I mean is, this feeling that is radiating from young Naruto here is a potent mix of his own chakra and natural chakra from our surroundings" Dog explained.

"Y-You can't be serious!?" Cat asked, shock clear in her voice.

"If my eye is correct then we are currently in the presence of a sage" Dog said just loud enough for Cat and Iruka to hear.

Iruka recovered surprisingly quickly "Should we inform Hokage-sama?"

"I doubt there's any need for that, there's a good possibility he's already on his way, the signature the kid is giving off is hardly something that can be ignored, I bet even the civilians can feel this, we felt it from two blocks away and it rolled over us like a tsunami, I can literally feel the natural energy rolling off him in waves" Dog explained as he crossed his arms over his chest and relaxed his stance completely.

"I've never seen him sat so still" Iruka commented after a long moment of silence. Dog just nodded in response and Cat simply stared at the orange clad kid through the eye holes of her mask.

"The only three people in the history of Konoha who could enter sage mode are the Shodai and Yondaime Hokage's and the Gama sannin Jiraiya" Dog spoke quietly enough for cat and Iruka to hear before he continued with a small shake of his head.

"It's totally unheard of, for someone to grasp sage mode by accident and by a child no less, without turning to stone … this shouldn't even be possible!" Dog spoke in awe of the sight before him.

Iruka suddenly slapped his forehead and groaned "That's why!" he groaned out.

"Something you wish to share?" Dog asked turning to look at the academy teacher through the holes of his mask. He kept most of his attention on Naruto but he knew that any information right now could help them in this situation.

"He's been struggling with the beginner's chakra exercises since we started them, I thought he was just lagging behind but clearly he's been tapping into the wrong source of chakra … well that's my educated guess" Iruka spoke quietly as he folded his arms over his chest and stared at Naruto intently.

"That's probably not far from the reality of the situation; however, Hokage-sama may have a better insight into how this happened" Dog spoke as he nodded toward the Hokage who was walking toward them from behind Iruka.

"What's the situation, Dog?" Sarutobi asked as he glanced between his ANBU and Iruka and then curiously over to Naruto. He heaved a heavy sigh and a bored, almost annoyed look graced his features as he raised his pipe to his mouth.

"What's he done now?" The aged leader asked in a deadpan tone causing Iruka to gawk slightly at his words.

"Well … from what we have been able to deduce … sage mode" Dog spoke in an equally bored tone.

"Aww shit" Sarutobi cursed under his breath as he rubbed the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb for a moment before looking very tiredly at Dog "Did you secure the perimeter?"

Dog nodded in affirmation to which Sarutobi nodded back and let out a sigh "Right, all of you stand down … best sort this situation before it escalates into a shit storm or worse"

Iruka and Dog watched as Sarutobi walk past them and towards Naruto at a leisurely pace.

Naruto.

Just as the he could feel the fear before, now he felt a new presence, strong and protective, he stilled his mind, focusing on this one being and felt a deep sense of calmness from it, almost comforting and then in a single moment a flash of despair and regret that made Naruto feel a small sense of loss before it was quickly replaced by an overwhelming, almost smothering feeling of what Naruto could only describe to himself as happiness and pride … he wasn't entirely sure. Naruto reached out with his new found senses as much as he possibly could and found this new presence to be slowly moving toward him. That was when Naturo figured he knew this presence well … he guessed it was instinct or something to do with this chakra of his.

Sarutobi

'There's no doubting it … nine years of age and he has grasped the basics of becoming a sage … amazing' Sarutobi mused to himself with a light smile as he slowly strolled towards Naruto with his pipe in hand. He stopped a few feet away from the blonde child and smiled to himself at how it looked so unnatural for the little whirlwind to be sat so still.

Suddenly Naruto shot up from his seated position to Hug Sarutobi, the powerful chakra dissipating in seconds "Jiji!"

"OH! Hello Naruto-kun!" Sarutobi greeted in surprise.

Naruto stepped back with a grin on his face "How come you're here?" Naruto asked, the grin on his face not faltering in the slightest.

"Well … why don't you tell me what you were doing just now, say … over a bowl of Ichiraku ramen?" Sarutobi offered a kind smirk at the blonde.

"YES!" Naruto jumped about excitedly causing Sarutobi to laugh.

"Alright, alright let's get going then shall we?" Sarutobi spoke before turning to Iruka and the dog masked Anbu "Full reports tomorrow, dismissed"

Ichiraku.

Naruto and Sarutobi sat at the small Ramen stand waiting for their orders when Sarutobi broke the silence.

"So what were you up to today, Training hard I hope?" Sarutobi spoke.

"Yeah … well … Iruka sensei has the rest of the class practicing to mould their charkra … I was still stuck trying to feel for mine but I think I definitely got that down today!" Naruto spoke excitedly and with a tone of pride.

Sarutobi looked at the boy thoughtfully; he knew this conversation was going to be somewhat awkward so he decided he wouldn't beat around the bush.

"To a degree, yes you did, Naruto-kun" Sarutobi spoke.

"Eh? But I felt it inside me and all around me!" Naruto started to explain.

"Yes you did, I have no doubt about that, however you were only using minimal amounts of your own chakra … you should not have been capable of sensing anything around you … you have unknowingly accessed natural chakra, do you understand so far?" Sarutobi paused.

Naruto looked at him with a frown "So … none of that was real?"

"Oh it was, it was … however you …. Hmph, how do I explain this … you have your chakra" Sarutobi started, making a gesture with his finger and looking at Naruto, to which he nodded in understanding.

"Every living thing has chakra, even the tree's the soil, the air we breathe … now when you were feeling for your chakra today … you didn't just tap into your own, you tapped into the very nature chakra that surrounded you" Sarutobi smiled seeing the blonde boy finally understand.

"Is it bad?" Naruto asked with a slight frown.

"It can be dangerous if you're not trained how to use it properly, unfortunately there is only one man I know of that can teach you how to wield nature chakra as it is so complex that I myself was never able to harness it, even the man who can teach you is not perfect at it, however he does hold the title of Sage" Sarutobi explained somewhat seriously.

"Sage?" Naruto questioned, pulling a weird expression at the word.

"A sage is someone who has mastered the art of Senjutsu … heed my warning Naruto-kun, by all means learn to mould chakra but please don't draw on Nature chakra unless I am present or until my student arrives to teach you the art of Senjutsu himself, if you mess up … you could die, do you understand? Its dangerous stuff you have stumbled upon but you should be able to feel the difference between your own chakra and that of nature … however, I cannot take that chance and therefore I am pulling you out of the academy immediately-"

"WHAT! THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Naruto protested, jumping up from his stool.

"Let me finish!" Sarutobi spoke calmly and gestured for Naruto to sit back down.

"As I was saying, I will be pulling you out of the academy to oversee your training personally to make sure you don't blow yourself up or turn to stone, I will allow you to access nature chakra so your body can become accustomed to it, you may gain extra sensory abilities as you progress through this, you will not, however, access nature chakra without my presence and express permission and you will never use it to perform jutsu until I give you permission" Sarutobi said with a smug smirk on his face to start but his face becoming stern once more.

"You … YOU! … Are going to train me? The Hokage himself is going to train me?" Naruto mumbled as he stared at the man sat next to him like he was some form of god.

"That is correct … however I expect you to give me your full attention and obedience at all times, no whining, no quitting" Sarutobi spoke firmly, pointing a finger at Naruto to further illustrate he was deadly serious, like a parent warning a small child. He saw Naruto nod slowly and thought about everything he knew of the boy, an attention starved child that acted out as a result, yet at the same time he was a child who was dealt a horrid hand at birth and his treatment by the villagers was a contributing factor to his rebellious and attention seeking ways. Most would simply say that Uzumaki Naruto was an undisciplined brat with no respect for anyone or anything.

Looking at the boy, Sarutobi reflected on the truth of the situation … Uzumaki naruto was a Neglected orphan and starved of the right sort of discipline and love that even most of the other orphans in the village had received through the bonds of friendship they made. Naruto had none of that, no parent or guardian to scold him when he misbehaved or praise him on his accomplishments and as a result he had grown to the age of nine with a slightly warped sense of right and wrong. Sarutobi decided it was high time somebody fixed that starting now.

"Also" He spoke, clearing his throat for a second as he got Naruto's attention once more.

"What?" Naruto asked just as Ayame set down their orders in front of them, it took all of the blonde's effort not to dig in straight away but he knew this was a serious conversation with serious repercussions for himself so he would abstain from the food of the gods for a few more moments.

"No more unsanctioned pranks either! You will be given orders by myself and I expect them followed as if you were a fully fledged shinobi, you will act professionally if and when you attend meetings with myself and you will start dressing in attire fitting for a shinobi … we will work into these things slowly so do not worry too much about all this, now … lets enjoy this meal before it gets cold" Sarutobi spoke in a soft but firm tone and finishing by picking up his chopsticks and looking towards his own meal.

Naruto thought on what the Hokage was telling him, looking into his bowl of Ramen he frowned before looking back at the old man.

"This … sounds great and all, Jiji, but … what if I don't … what if I can't keep up?" Naruto asked, clearly unsure of himself, after all it had taken him nearly three weeks to draw on his chakra and he technically hadn't even done that right.

"Underestimating yourself eh, Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi laughed as he set his chopsticks down.

"No, I just-"

"Yes you are, however let me remind you that you have today achieved a feat that only three in the history of the village have done before you, the Shodai and Yondaime Hokage's knew how to achieve Sage mode as well as my own student Jiraiya … you may have stumbled upon it by accident, but it took extreme training for those three to reach a level where they could access sage mode … Under my tutelage you will learn the basics of controlling your access to nature chakra, but you will need to study under Jiraiya to learn anything beyond accessing it" Sarutobi spoke to Naruto with a kind smile.

"But what if I'm too dumb to learn what you have to teach, I'm not that smart and I don't want to disappoint you" Naruto muttered with a look of defeat.

Sarutobi looked at the boy with a slight frown "Tell me Naruto-kun … if you were to pull a prank on say … the Inuzuka clan, tell me how you would go about it?"

Naruto sat for a moment, his eyes searching his half eaten meal for the answer when he suddenly looked up at the Hokage with a look of confusion "Sneak in at night when they are all asleep and place stink bombs inside seating cushions, they'd be too busy blaming one another to notice as the stench would be coming from exactly where they were each sitting" the blonde shrugged as if it were simple.

"So you use their greatest asset, their sense of smell to prank them?" Sarutobi questioned and received a nod in return from the blonde.

"Using your enemies strength to exploit a weakness … and you call yourself dumb, my boy your pranks have given you the invaluable know-how to cause anarchy and chaos to an entire clan with such simplicity, that's something only a highly methodical and intelligent person could do, we just need to expand the scope of that intelligence beyond just mere pranks" Sarutobi said quietly with a smirk.

"I try my best" Naruto grinned cheekily, happy to receive praise for one of his pranking plans.

Sarutobi gave naruto a hard stare for a moment "Don't even think about it"

Naruto sighed in exasperation "Fine"

Sarutobi chucked and they both went back to their meal.

Academy.

Iruka had, after Naruto left with the Hokage, decided to continue the class for the day with lectures on the village history though he could tell the class was uneasy and restless with the day's event and he was sure they all wanted to know exactly what was going on. He was about start questioning the class when the Inu masked anbu appeared in the corner of the room and walked over to Iruka casually to deliver a message quietly.

"Is this permanent?" Iruka asked after a moment of whispering.

Inu nodded and whispered in Iruka's ear once more before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Iruka sighed "Alright class, many of you are wondering what happened on the training ground this morning with Naruto, unfortunately you will have to ask him that next time you see him as that information is currently not being given to me … he will no longer be taking classes with you all unless it is physical assessments, spars or exams" Iruka announced loudly.

"That's unfair! We have to sit through lectures but he gets out of it!?" came the voice of a random student.

Suddenly the classroom was abuzz with angered chatter and a few insults were thrown around the room aimed towards the blonde.

"OI!" Iruka shouted with a harsh glare, silencing the class.

"This is not a debate, it is not a discussion … this order has come from Hokage-sama directly and it is not your place to question him or his decisions, do I make myself clear!" Iruka spat harshly at the class, sending a lot of them into shocked silence.

Seeing Iruka anoyed was a regular occurrence, however seeing him openly enraged like that was a rarity and the students knew then not to push him further.

A girl sporting a red dress and bubblegum pink hair raised her hand.

"Yes, Sakura?"

The girl, Sakura lowered her hand "If he is not coming back then where is he going?"

Iruka sighed as he knew this would cause dissent and animosity towards the blonde when he was next with the class "He is under the tutelage of Sandaime-sama for the foreseeable future due to certain circumstances"

"WHAT!? He's getting special training from Hokage-sama!? What a waste!"

"Alright listen up! This has nothing to do with any of us and it is not our place to question it, you all felt that chakra rolling off Naruto this morning, that is why he is receiving training from Sandaime-sama" Iruka explained to the class.

"But why?" Asked another student.

"That is up to Naruto or the Hokage to speak of, not me, now were getting off track" Iruka finalised before turning back to the blackboard and continuing with his lecture.

Naruto.

Having finished their meal a short while ago, Naruto was being led into the market district by Sarutobi himself, people bowed before the Hokage and offered greetings before looking at him with well hidden disdain. Sarutobi placed a comforting hand on his back as he walked beside him.

"Ignore it, one day they will realise they are wrong about you" Sarutobi spoke quietly so only Naruto could hear.

Naruto sighed; he was still trying to get his head around all of the new information and understand exactly what he had done and how it differed to everyone else. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the Hokage guide him into a high end clothing store.

"Right then, here we are" Sarutobi spoke, gaining Naruto's attention.

"Huh?" he looked around noticing he was in a store "What are we-"

"Remember our chat over ramen, one of my conditions was that you dress appropriately for a shinobi in training and I will not hear any complaints on the matter" Sarutobi explained before leading him further into the store.

"Now then, I am giving you a chance to choose for yourself what to wear but if I see you cannot pick appropriate clothing then I will be forced to pick for you … now then, where is the store clerk?" Sarutobi spoke as he looked around the store until he spotted who he was looking for.

"Ah! Kaiko-san, I have need of your expertise" Sarutobi called out.

Naruto turned around to find an old man walking towards them with the aid of a cane, his hair was short, combed back and dark grey and he wore a pair of elegant glasses. He also wore white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to just beneath his elbows, a measuring tape hung loosely around his neck. He watched as the man gave a short bow to the Hokage.

"Good to see you again Hiruzen, my old friend, what can I help you with today?" Kaiko spoke, his voice was like silk and he gave Sarutobi a nod of his head before setting his sights on Naruto who recoiled slightly at his gaze.

"You will no doubt hear of this before the next meeting anyway so I may as well tell you, I have decided to take on young Uzumaki Naruto here as an apprentice" Sarutobi spoke as he guided Naruto forward.

Kaiko looked down directly at Naruto, sizing him up as the boy squirmed under his gaze. He let his lip tug upwards slightly as he looked up to Hiruzen.

"Well now, I never thought you'd take another student … aren't you getting a bit old for this?" Kaiko mused, receiving an annoyed glance from Hiruzen in return.

"We're actually here to have Naruto outfitted properly for both training and as my new apprentice" Sarutobi explained, Ignoring the playful barb of his long time friend.

"I see … his current attire leaves much to be desired for a shinobi lifestyle" Kaiko as he looked over Naruto's orange jumpsuit with disdain.

"HEY!" Naruto snapped "This is my favourite set of clothes!" he spoke as he tried in vain to smoothen out the creases in his jacket.

"I take it was the only thing the other stores would sell you, correct?" Kaiko asked with a raised eyebrow and slight smirk.

"Well … yeah but-" Naruto started to answer until Kaiko interrupted.

"It was sold to you, in the hopes that it would get you killed on a mission … its far too brightly coloured for you to stay concealed" Kaiko explained as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Oh" Naruto murmured, crestfallen.

Hiruzen gave him a hard stare and kaiko mearly shrugged it off "If you want to have him as an apprentice Hiruzen, you can't keep coddling him and sugar-coating things like this for him, he needs to understand the way the world that he's stepping into works, I have seen the new generations, believing it to be a glorious and heroic life and it's those same kids that come home to a grave or not at all" Kaiko spoke as he reached for the tape measure hung around his neck.

"Okay then, let's get started! What did you have in mind?" Kaiko asked Naruto with a slight smirk.

Naruto looked up at him and shrugged "I don't know … I don't know this kinda' stuff"

"Alright … well it has to be practical so no bright colours, I'll retrieve some items I believe will work well for you" Kaiko nodded to the boy before disappearing into the back of the store.

Sarutobi looked down at naruto and sighed "I must apologise, Naruto-kun, He is right, I can't treat you like a child forever … however this also means you have to act in accordance to your new position, so your usual attitude to others must change and you will call me Sarutobi-sensei or simply Sensei from now on whilst we are in public"

"Do I have to?" Naruto whined slightly.

"I'm afraid so, being my apprentice will come with certain responsibilities and behaviour that I expect you to live up to, you must understand that whilst I am training you, your behaviour, good or bad, will be a reflect on myself as a teacher and as Hokage, I cannot have you making a mockery of my leadership" Sarutobi explained gently but firmly as he sat Naruto down on one of the chairs close to the changing rooms.

"I understand … I think … if I act badly, then it makes you look bad?" the blonde inquired with a thoughtful expression as he looked about the store properly for the first time.

Sarutobi simply nodded in response to Naruto with a smile before he spoke once more.

"I was originally only going to get you ready for graduation so I could keep a close eye on this new ability of yours but I'll make you a deal … you keep out of trouble and depending on how you progress, I will allow you access to the Chunin section of the library" Sarutobi offered.

"A library? …. Urgh no thanks" Naruto paled slightly at the thought of reading.

"So you don't want access to the Jutsu library reserved for Chunin?" Sarutobi mocked disappointment.

"Wait … jutsu!? Oh I want it! I'll be good, I promise!" Naruto sat up straight, staring wide eyed at the Hokage.

"Deal" Sarutobi smiled and looked to Kaiko as he arrived with his assistant who seemed to be carrying a stack of clothes.

"Here's a selection of items you may find appealing, Naruto-san"

"Thank you Kaiko-san" he replied as he stood up and bowed rather stiffly, clearly not used to such an action before moving over to the pile and going through it and examining each article carefully before he turned to look at Kaiko.

"Could you help me? I don't really know what I'm doing" He asked with a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

Kaiko stepped forward and smiled "Certainly … I think you should try these" he offered as he picked out a pair of black cargo pants that would fit him nicely with plenty of pockets and room to move unrestricted. He then picked up a simple black zip-up jacket and handed it to Naruto before speaking once more.

"Simple, breathable and flexible, you'll want to wear some form of armour beneath or over it maybe? That's entirely up to you; I can also have the Uzumaki clan crest added wherever you want it on the jacket" he informed Naruto as the blonde took the jacket and felt the material before his head snapped back to look at kaiko.

"Uzumaki clan crest? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked curiously, he was certain there was no Uzumaki clan in konoha.

Kaiko pointed at the white swirling crest on Naruto's left shoulder "You mean to tell me that you're wearing the Uzumaki clan crest and you had no idea what it was this entire time?" Kaiko asked with a deep frown.

Hiruzens brow furrowed as he heard this and decided to interject "Naruto, surely Iruka has mentioned the history of the Uzumaki clan and their relationship with Konohagakure no Sato?"

Naruto looked back at Sarutobi and shook his head "Nope, I actually woke up one day and this thing had been sewn onto my jacket, I thought it looked cool so I just kept it, I had no idea it was a clan crest, it just reminded me of the red swirly thing on the back of the Chunin and Jounin vests" Naruto answered honestly.

"It would seem you are out of touch with the curriculum at the academy, my old friend. Perhaps it should be brought up at this week's meeting" Kaiko spoke sharply towards Hiruzen.

"Oh no, my old friend, much sooner than that, be at the council chambers for 4pm today, this is a situation I want rectifying today, I will not let this slight against our history and theirs go unpunished" Sarutobi quipped as he packed his pipe with fresh tobacco.

"Okay … so I'll take these then … I think" Naruto spoke as he set aside the rest of the clothes.

"Okay then, now I just need your measurements and we can place the order and discuss your clan crest" Kaiko spoke as he got to work immediately. He took Naruto's measurements much to the blonde's confusion and slight annoyance.

Kaiko stood up straight and draped his tape measure back over his shoulders "You can keep this set of clothes you have picked out, you'll be needing something to wear immediately, they are a few centimeters out, but that shouldn't reduce mobility for you … as for that rag you've been running about in, please have it incinerated, it's visually offensive and needs to be destroyed"

Hiruzen smirked awkwardly as he balanced his pipe between his lips and stood, ready to depart the store once Naruto was ready. He looked at Kaiko and gave him a curt nod of his head.

"Thank you for your service today, young Naruto will require at least ten of these outfits … send the full bill to my clan estate, I will see you are paid in full and then some" Hiruzen spoke as he ushered Naruto, now dressed in his new training attire, out of the store and onward to their next destination.

Naruto walked along side his new sensei when a thought occurred to him, and being the impulsive character he was, he couldn't keep it to himself.

"… Sensei …" he said, the word sounding mildly foreign coming from the blond.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"When we start training, what exactly will you be teaching me?" the blonde asked inquisitively and a hint of excitement.

"Well for a start I will be making sure you know how to control your own chakra and then we are going to push into Physical training before we even start to approach your new found talent" Sarutobi spoke as he gave Naruto a somewhat Pensive look before he spoke again "We will also discuss what you would like to learn at a later date, however, I won't always be available to train you personally, so expect a Jounin to instruct you in my place on a regular basis and show them the same respect you would for me" he finished.

"Oh oh oh! I wana learn how to do all sorts of super cool stuff!" Naruto declared, buzzing with excitement.

"Learn what I have to teach you first, Don't get ahead of yourself" Sarutobi sighed as he placed his pipe back between his lips.

Naruto just smiled as he walked beside the old man when another thought occurred to him.

"Sensei, will I be attending this meeting with you later on?" the blonde asked curiously as his brow furrowed in contemplation.

"hmm, why do you ask?" Hiruzen looked at the boy, awaiting his answer, truthfully it was a subject he had just moments ago been debating himself whether or not Naruto was yet mature enough to attend the upcoming meeting.

"Well … I want to know why we weren't taught about the Uzumaki clan in the academy and since I am an Uzumaki, shouldn't hear the reason?" Naruto explained thoughtfully.

Hiruzen winced slightly "That is a fine point you have, truth be told I was debating this just moments ago … I believe you should attend, if you can act accordingly, these meetings can be strenuous on the nerves at the best of times" Hiruzen explained "You need to present a certain Image within the council chambers if you ever want to be taken seriously, You will not be permitted to speak unless asked to do so, do you understand?" the old man warned firmly as he brought his pipe back up to his lips.

Naruto nodded thoughtfully as he strolled along side his new sensei. He was still absorbing all the information and trying to come to terms with all he had learned today.

"I should dress appropriately then, for the meeting?" he asked as his face scrunched up slightly.

"You should, if you plan to become Hokage one day, this will be the first council meeting you will be privy to, therefore people will remember the first impression you make" sarutobi started to explain "Make an ass of yourself and you will find it difficult to change that image of yourself, especially to the clan heads"

"Right, I should head home soon and bathe then" Naruto muttered to himself.

"Then you should get going" Sarutobi spoke before calling out "Inu!"

Naruto jumped slightly when an Anbu appeared knelt before him and the Hokage, his head bowed.

"your orders, Hokage-sama?" the Anbu spoke.

"Accompany young Naruto here back to his apartment and make sure he arrives at my office by 3:30pm today, You are to assist him in preparing for an upcoming council meeting" Sarutobi spoke with authority.

"It will be done, Hokage-sama" the Anbu spoke as he rose to stand, revealing to Naruto the porcelain mask of a dog and gravity defying silver-grey hair.

"I'll be off then" Sarutobi spoke and a puff of white smoke later left Naruto alone staring up at the Anbu who stared right back from behind his mask.

Naruto spent a few moments staring at the unmoving Anbu before him "So ugh … You're going to help me?"

The Anbu stared at him from behind the mask for a moment "Yes"

"Okay … Cool … I need to head back toward my apartment, so-" Naruto began when the Anbu stepped forward, placing a hand on the boys shoulder. Not a second passed as Naruto instantly felt queasy having appeared outside the front door to his apartment with the Anbu.

"Ugh … what the hell!?" Naruto managed to grumble out as he dry heaved a few times.

"Shunshin no jutsu, body flicker technique … we're at your apartment" The Anbu spoke.

"Ugh … A little heads up if you're gonna do that again!" Naruto growled as he started to regain his balance.

"Ma ma, Naruto-kun … I was just doing as ordered" The Anbu's voice sounded behind him.

"Feh! Whatever" Naruto scowled as he opened his front door and walked inside, leaving the door open for his "guest" to enter behind him.

"I know it's not much to look at and I'm not the tidiest of people but make yourself comfortable, I'll be back once I've had a shower and changed into my new clothes" Naruto spoke as he walked off down the hallway of the apartment, leaving the Anbu alone in the main living area.

Inu looked around the apartment with a critical eye, from the kitchen area littered with empty instant ramen cups to the posters on the walls and then to the old beaten up couch at the far side of the room that looked like it was one rough sit from falling to bits. He took note of the water damage on the apartment ceiling and an infestation of black mold that had sprouted as a result. He took a few steps further into the apartment before turning to close the door, taking note of the cracks around the door locks and multiple holes in the door frame, signifying several past repairs. Inu then turned to the kitchen and stepped toward the small fridge and opened it to inspect its contents, immediately shutting the door and shaking his head to try and clear his nose of the scent of spoiled milk.

"Kami Above, the T&I cells have better living conditions" Inu murmured to himself with a shake of his head.

Looking around the living area once more, he noticed that the walls had been repeatedly painted over and could just make out the reasons why faintly through the newer layers of paint, his fists tightening slightly at the sight before he moved on to make several more observations. He looked over to the small square dining table and noticed a few open scrolls and sheets of paper sprawled over the table and moved closer to inspect what he was now looking at, expecting to find, at the very least, notes and diagrams pertaining to Naruto's academy studies. Instead his eyes fell upon several tattered scrolls and diagrams of different construction manuals, engineering projects and other such things.

"curious, why would he study these of all things?" Inu asked to himself quietly.

"I found those a few months ago in a dumpster, after spending weeks trying to understand what I was looking at, I figured they may come in useful for building some new kind of traps and tools for Shinobi use … I haven't had much luck yet but I do have a project in the works that could turn out to be quite useful" Naruto spoke as he entered the room, still drying his hair with a towel but otherwise dressed and ready to leave.

"You understand these notes?" The Anbu asked naruto, turning his masked face to stare down the boy.

Naruto blushed slightly admitting "Not entirely … but I have learned a little bit" he spoke as he walked over to his couch and removed one of the cushions to retrieve a small box from a hole that had been cut out from beneath. He brought it over to the table and placed it down and opened it to reveal a box full of small disheveled and old tools and one item in particular that Naruto picked up out of the box and held up to show the Anbu "This is still in its prototype phase"

Naruto held up an apple sized metallic sphere to show the Anbu what he had been working on, he wasn't sure if he should even be showing anyone but he had been so proud of what he had accomplished so far that he felt a need to show it off a bit.

"Okay … what does it do?" Asked the Anbu.

"Well … it umm … it explodes" Naruto said sheepishly.

"That's it? Why not just use explosive notes?" Inu spoke as he continued to watch Naruto's nervous behavior.

Naruto looked at the Anbu with puzzlement before he answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world "When it explodes, the metal casing fractures and is forcefully thrown outwards to cause a lot of damage, well, at least it did when I tested the previous prototype"

Inu blinked behind his mask at the small blonde boy who looked so unsure of what he had created and having heard what Naruto had told him, it seemed to be quite the dangerous weapon.

"And how many have you tested?" Inu asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Two so far, this is the third and most powerful one yet … I haven't shown anyone this before and I don't even know if it would ever be useful" Naruto spoke with a slightly downcast tone as he stared at the sphere in hand.

"So it fragments during detonation and the casing turns into high speed shrapnel?" Inu elaborated.

"Huh?" Naruto stared up at him confused.

"It goes boom and sharp bits of metal fly everywhere" Inu rephrased.

"Oh, yeah that's it! And this is just a prototype! I want to create ones that spew fire or! Or water!" Naruto spoke excitedly as he placed the sphere back in the box and went to put it back in its hiding spot.

"Naruto, are you sure it's safe to keep that in your couch … in your apartment?" Inu asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"What? Oh yeah, yeah … it's not even armed" Naruto assured the Anbu with a wave of his hand.

Inu actually sweat dropped at that last statement before shaking his head, honestly he was impressed but he didn't know if it were a good idea to encourage Naruto to be building bombs in his home.

Hokage tower

Sarutobi was just returning to his office after leaving Naruto with Inu and was looking through some of his old records till he found exactly what he was looking for and pulled the bulky manila coloured file from the shelf to read the title and smiled "Neko!"

A scant moment later a cat masked Anbu appeared in his office, knelt and waiting.

"Could you deliver a priority message to Umino Iruka at the Academy to meet with me at 3pm this afternoon in my office, also I will need him to bring a full copy of the academy curriculum spanning all classes, thank you" Sarutobi requested as he had flipped open the folder to scan its contents.

"I'll see it done, hokage-samma" Neko spoke before a puff of smoke signalled her departure.

Sarutobi walked back over to his desk and sat down to scan over the file in more detail as he awaited Iruka, looking at the clock on his wall, he saw he would be waiting only a half hour until the Chunin's arrival.

Naruto and Inu

Naruto had finished up at his apartment and was now dressed in his new clothes, consisting of the black cargo pants and zip up jacket. Before Inu could whisk them away once more via the body flicker technique, Naruto had rounded on him and dodged the Anbu's grasp.

"No chance, im not arriving to that meeting feeling sick! We have plenty of time, we can walk there!" Naruto snapped with a frown towards the Anbu.

Inu stared at Naruto, his hand still out stretched "As you wish, let's go"

They both started their journey towards the Hokage Tower in relative silence, inu noticed while walking that Naruto kept his eyes forward down the main thorough way, his training kicked in and he made a cursory scan of the surrounding area with as little movement as possible. It was then he noticed that as Naruto walked by, people shifted away from him and a lot of them gave him scornful looks, one person in particular, a chunin snarled at the blonde and spat on the road in his general direction. Inu's fists tightened as he felt his anger slowly rise until Naruto spoke, breaking him of his thoughts.

"Inu-san, I am used to it, let's just get where we are going" the blondes voice came out even, if a little strained.

"How did you …"

Naruto turned his head to look at the Anbu out the corner of his eye.

"I can just … feel your anger … if that makes sense, this sense thing only started happening this morning and I have no idea what it is or what it means but I can feel all of their hatred and exactly who its aimed at" Naruto spoke lowly as his head dipped down as he trudged forward at a faster pace. Soon both the blonde and Anbu were at the entrance to the Hokage tower.

As the secretary spotted Naruto, she stood, her mouth already opened to spew forth a scathing insult and tell the boy to get out before she felt a slight pressure, she held herself back just in time as she Spotted the Dog masked Anbu walk in behind the object of her hatred and turned his masked visage toward her, head bowed forward slightly as if a beast waiting for prey to move before it charged. The secretary, a mousy brown haired woman in her late twenties looked toward the blonde and let her face reflect exactly how she felt. With a click of her tongue and a sneer she spoke with a sharp tone.

"The Hokage is about to go in to a council meeting and will be unavailable for meetings today or any time in the near future for that matter!" she snapped, as she tore her eyes from the duo and sat down furiously as she began to aggressively sort a stack of files.

Naruto looked at the woman with a blank stare for a moment before he simply walked past her and toward the council chambers on the next floor.

The secretary growled under her breath as he walked passed and was about to stand up and kick the boy out, Anbu be damned. That was her plan before a cold voice from directly in front of her caught her attention.

"If I were you, I'd start looking for alternative employment" and with his piece said, Inu walked away to catch up with Naruto and make sure he wasn't blocked by anyone else in the building.

When Inu caught up with his charge, he found the boy stood a little further away from the council chambers, sat on the edge of a chair and waiting patiently. Inu looked from the boy to the entrance and took note that several councilors were waiting in the hallway as the meeting hadn't started yet.

"I guess we are early" Inu commented lazily as he leaned against the wall opposite to where Naruto was sat and once again observed the usually hyperactive blonde, trying to pick up on how the boy was dealing with this, clearly the boy was still coming to grips with this situation and was going to take some time to process everything that had happened and things that were going to happen. In all honestly, Inu empathized with the boy, he had his doubts about lord thirds decision to bring Naruto into this meeting.

'More like a pit of vipers' he thought to himself bitterly, his gaze shifting to a few councillors that had noticed his charges presence and were whispering curses between them.

"Oh! Hello Naruto! I didn't think to see you at this meeting" came the familiar voice of Iruka as he arrived, carrying a thick manila coloured folder.

"Iruka-sensei? You're here too? Naruto asked with a little bit of relief in his tone.

"Lord Hokage invited me, I'm to present this file for the council meeting today, If you're here then I assume you have some idea as to that this is all about" Iruka explained as he reached up and retrieved a scroll out of his flak jacket and held it out towards the blonde boy.

"What's this?" Naruto asked, hesitating slightly before taking the offered scroll.

"Ah … it's um … well, Naruto, open it later on and you'll see, just please know, it was the best I could do on very short notice, if you need help with obtaining more of what that scroll contains then don't hesitate to ask, you may not be taking my classes anymore but you are still my student and I will help you in any way I can" Iruka spoke with a small sympathetic smile.

Nauto looked between the scroll and Iruka and nodded as he placed the thin scroll in his jacket pocket "Thank you, Iruka-sensei, I promise I will take a look as soon as I have some free time"

Iruka couldn't help but grin mischievously "Well if all it took to get you to actually study was to have you removed from the academy, I'd have tried it months ago! Haha!"

Naruto scowled playfully "Well if your lecturing wasn't such a snore fest then maybe I would have studied a bit!"

Iruka laughed "You should have listened to my history lecture on the previous Hokage better, Naruto, if you had, you'd remember that Lord third is touted as "the professor" so you're going to get lectured either way!"

Naruto's smirk disappeared completely into an almost sickened expression "Log damn it!"

"It's starting" Inu spoke up as he looked toward the council chamber doors to see them opening and councillors start to shuffle inside.

Naruto got up to follow but stopped when he felt a hand on either shoulder and looked left and right to find both Inu and Iruka holding him back as they stared at the open council chamber.

"Naruto … best behavior, no messing, no joking, no shouting and speak only when spoken to, do you understand?" Iruka spoke seriously, his hand still on the blondes shoulder as he stared ahead with a determined gaze toward the open doors.

"Stay seated at all times, if you are asked to speak, you may stand to do so, otherwise keep quiet and observe closely, Lord third is taking great risk in this meeting by letting you attend, don't tarnish his reputation or faith in you" Inu stated softly.

Naruto was quiet for a moment before nodding "Let's go"

And with that said, an Anbu, a Chunin academy instructor and a Blonde entered the room, the doors closing behind them with a loud click.

So this is the first chapter of Naruto: The apprentice. This story is about two years in the making, trying to fit several ideas and set a direction, I won't be giving any spoilers about the future direction as there are possibly several different paths I can take this story down, depending how I set up the story in previous chapters. I never intended the first chapter to be so long but once I started I decided to keep going and give myself (what I feel and hope to be) a good strong foundation to start with, in my humble opinion. My plan is to eventually have this turn into a Naruto X Hinata pairing before the cannon story however I'm going to try and let their relationship develop as naturally as I can without rushing it or making it seem cheap and tacky like a certain pervert's novels.

I've already begun work on a second chapter, can't guarantee all chapters will hit the 10k mark but I can try.

I would appreciate any reviews and constructive criticism you have, I hope you have enjoyed what I hope is an exciting start and I thank you for taking the time to read