Author's Foreword – I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi does.
I lifted the opening from Guyver Naruto because it's such a good starting point, but the plot-line was veering very closely to Kitsune's Power, so I won't be expanding it. Sorry.
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Strength Of Will
Prologue: Naruto
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Naruto grumped as he crawled through the bushes at the base of the Hokage monument, searching for a spot out of the cold drizzling rain.
He growled as he thought about the bully who had destroyed his room and the matron who had blamed him and thrown him out.
How was a five-year-old meant to…
Naruto's thoughts cut off as he found himself looking at a small cave one barely waist high to him, but it was shelter and without hesitation, he wriggled into it.
The inside of the cave seemed very smooth. A ninja would have recognised it immediately as artificial, the walls and roof formed by Doton techniques.
A paranoid ninja would have noticed the security seals.
A prepared ninja would have anchored a rope to one of the trees outside and had team-mates ready to pull him out at an instant's notice.
Naruto wasn't a ninja, despite his desire to be one.
As such, it was a total shock to him when the ground beneath him suddenly opened, dropping him down a long chute and into a reinforced glass pen inside a large chamber lit by seals set into the ceiling. Unsteadily rising to his feet, Naruto leaned against one of the walls for support, only for the glass to slip out of the decayed fastenings and shatter on the ground.
For a long moment, Naruto held his breath as he waited for the inevitable angry shouting, but to his surprise, nothing happened.
Carefully avoiding the worst of the glass, Naruto moved around the room, staring at the odd shelves and their contents. Strange liquids, internal organs and even less-identifiable objects floated in various jars, then he blinked as he saw something on a low shelf, something that intrigued his curiosity.
A jar which was at just the right height for him to grab wasn't filled with weird liquids or strange shapes, but with a dozen or so things that looked almost exactly like a piece of candy that Naruto had once picked up from the floor and eaten before the matron could notice.
A slight twinge in his midsection decided his action and Naruto grabbed the jar from the shelf, knocking the lid off. Lifting it up, he popped one into his mouth and started chewing. The fruity taste wasn't like anything that he had tasted before, but he liked it so as soon as he had swallowed the firs pill, he grabbed two more and resumed eating.
Once all of the pills had gone, Naruto carefully put the lid back on and put it to the shelf that held several other empty jars before snuggling down in a corner of the room. As he dozed off, his last view was of the label of the jar, a label that he couldn't decode because he could not read.
Experimental Medicine 139
Chakra To Strength Augmentation Pills
Converts Chakra to biological augmentation
Effect lasts approx 24 hours +/- for single pill
Each additional pill doubles time of effect
Notes – Requires Jonin-plus-levels of Chakra to avoid lethal chakra depletion
Effects only work on pre-pubescent subjects.
Status - Failure.
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The ANBU slithered down the pipe with ease, red eyes taking in all the traps designed to take out those who knew how to use chakra and using that knowledge to render them incapable of triggering. Reaching the bottom, he somoersaulted to the ground and looked round, almost instantly spotting the sleeping child.
"This is Itachi." He half-whispered. "Target located, status asleep and unharmed. Current position seems to be in an abandoned outpost, handwriting on the jars matches that of the traitor Orochimaru. Please advise."
For a long moment, he remained motionless, then he gave a sharp nod.
"Understood."
Pulling out a prisoner scroll, he carefully draped it over the sleeping boy, then applied some chakra, causing the scroll to drop the the ground as Naruto vanished. Re-rolling it, he leapt up to the ceiling and swarmed up the vent, emerging just by a wolf-masked ANBU, who was keeping guard along with a large dog.
"The science team is on its way." The canine-themed ANBU reported. "All traps dealt with?"
Itachi nodded once, then vanished in a swirl of black feathers that evaporated as they fell, leaving no trace behind.
"Show-off." The wolf-masked ANBU shook his head slightly.
"He has the right to be." The dog pointed out. "He has the skills to back up his display. He has the potential to be an Alpha."
The Wolf-masked ANBU sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I hope the geek squad get here soon. I hate the rain."
"So do I. Wet humans don't smell good."
"Hey!"
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Itachi landed outside the Hokage's office and tapped on the window before sliding it open and dropping off the windowsill.
"Hokage, mission complete and we found another of the traitor's hidden storerooms." Itachi presented the scroll and Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
"Excellent. Since the Orphanage is no longer safe for him even with the former matron now answering to Inoichi, I think it is time to give him a place of his own. Fortunately, his father earned enough money that I can use it to purchase a flat for him and set up a regular stipend, meaning that no-one will be able to try to claim him for themselves."
Itachi carefully didn't respond to Hiruzen's implication that Danzo was maneuvering to seize control of what could potentially be Konoha's greatest asset.
"Where should I put him?"
"On the couch over there." Hiruzen pointed. "He won't have been the first to have slept on it."
Itachi nodded, then in a blur of motion, unrolled the scroll above the sofa and released Naruto from it, flicking the scroll up as he did so. Naruto fell less than a hairs-width onto the cushions, the minuscule drop not even registering to his sleeping mind and Itachi rolled the scroll up and pocketed it.
"Dismissed." Hiruzen said as he picked up a brush and began writing, then he tapped a small button on his desk.
"Ah, Kirito, I want to know what small apartments are currently owned by Konoha as safe-houses and are currently unoccupied."
"Hai!"
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Naruto drowsily stretched as he drifted towards wakefullness, although the languid laziness that affects those neither awake nor asleep permeated his every muscle.
"Finally awake, are you?" An amused voice asked and Naruto opened his eyes, looking round at the room he was in. "How do you feel?"
"…hungry." Naruto finally decided. "Who you?"
"My name is Hiruzen." The oddly-dressed man behind the desk smiled.
"You old…" Naruto mused, brow crinkling in thought. "…Grandpa?"
Hiruzen chuckled. "Yes, you can call me that if you want, Naruto. After all, I am far older than you are."
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Hiruzen stared in disbelief as Naruto finished off the fourth platter of food placed in front of him.
"Are you sure he isn't from my clan?" The waiter asked jokingly as he looked approvingly at the young blond boy.
"No, he isn't an Akamichi." Hiruzen shook his head in disbelief. "No matter how much he managed to eat…"
"Who were his parents?" The waiter asked. "Or should I not ask?"
"Traitors." Naruto grumped before Hiruzen could reply. "Bad place woman told me. Parents did bad thing when I was born and were exe… exe… killed."
"She lied." Hiruzen made a mental note to reassign Ibiki to work alongside Inoichi in interrogating the woman who had been meant to keep watch over Naruto. "Your parents were great ninja who I was honored to know."
"Who were they?" Naruto asked guilelessly and Hiruzen hid a wince as he realized that he needed to negotiate the conversation very carefully if he was to retain the trust that Naruto was tentatively offering him. The waiter vanished, leaving them alone and Hiruzen leaned closer to Naruto, prompting the younger boy to do the same.
"Naruto, your parents were such great shinobi that many in the other villages hated them for being so good. If they knew you existed, they would try to kill you before you could become even half as good as they were. Now, I will tell you, but only when you are old enough to defend yourself against them. When you reach sixteen or become a Chunin, whichever is first, it is then that I will tell you who your parents were."
Naruto frowned. "But you're old… what happens if you die before I become chunin?"
"I'm not that old…" Hiruzen protested, then he paused as he saw Naruto's glower. "…but I will make sure that several of my most trusted ninja also know, so that if something does happen, you will still be able to learn about them."
Naruto pouted, but finally nodded. "…okay."
Hiruzen leaned back in his seat, then looked up to see the Waiter hovering in the doorway, holding a platter of sweets. With a nod, he motioned for it to be placed before Naruto. As Naruto gave a cheer and began scooping up spoonfuls of pudding, the Waiter leaned close to Hiruzen.
"I overheard earlier that he was getting a place of his own and a stipend." He half-whispered. "I think it would be best to have him near my clan's place since judging from his appetite, he'll need a constant supply of cheap, nutritious food if he isn't to end up raiding bins."
"…you may be right." Hiruzen finally agreed, mentally reviewing the property files he had leafed through earlier and discarding the flat that he had originally intended to have Naruto inhabit.
Still, having Naruto possibly learn from the Akamichi rather than the retired shinobi he had originally been counting on could prove very useful in the future. After all, it would also lead to Naruto learning from the Yamanaka and the Nara clans, meaning that he would have a ready-made conduit for regular reports on Naruto's mental health.
Of course, he would need to meet with the three clan-heads to arrange matters, not least to warn the Yamanaka clan not to try to use any of their signature jutsu on the young Jinchuuriki.
Returning his attention to the restaurant, Hiruzen blinked as he saw Naruto digging into a bowl of fruit, the dessert having been polished off during his ruminations.
"He really does have a healthy appetite." The Waiter chuckled as Hiruzen stared in shock.
How had such a little boy eaten so much?
Had the orphanage been starving him?
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Naruto flopped onto the bed, and sprawled out, luxuriating in the feeling of a mattress that wasn't stuffed with straw but was some sort of soft substance he'd never encountered before.
Jiji had given him the keys to the flat and made a point of introducing him to the nearby Akamichi family (who were huge… in both senses of the word). In exchange for a tenth of his stipend, the Akamichi clan had agreed to let Naruto eat as much as he wanted at their Feasting Hall once a day, twice if he helped out with the chores.
Naruto had also made a new friend, a good-natured boy named Choji who was larger than him, but didn't have as much stamina. Choji and him had helped the Akamichi chefs to prepare what had seemed like several tons of vegetables, but the resulting stew had been filling and very, very tasty.
During the meal, Naruto had also met two men who were close friends of Choji's dad. Inoichi had seemed really cool (and he was blond! Awesome!) while Shikaku had seemed lazy, but had cracked a joke that had almost caused Naruto to drown in his stew due to him laughing so hard.
With a smile, Naruto closed his eyes and relaxed in the embrace of his bed.
Perhaps being thrown out of the orphanage had been a good thing, after all.
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"He cannot read." Shikaku offered as he accepted a refill of his sake. "You may need to teach him properly."
"I saw how much he ate." Inoichi commented. "How much is he paying you for guest-status?"
"It's an investment." Choza countered. "Sure, he's paying us, but only a fraction of what we'd normally charge."
"He's already made friends with Choji." Shikaku mused. "Soon, he'll encounter Shikamaru and Ino… with his parentage and his status, he has a great deal of potential, both as a Shinobi and politically… I am impressed, Choza. That's a very clever maneuver you've pulled off. I take it you'd like us to help?"
Inoichi glanced at his two team-mates. "Alright… what have I missed now?"
"With the right foundation, he could put both his parents in the shade." Choza raised his eyebrows at Shikaku, who nodded.
"I can find someone who can create an exercise regimen for him. As for his fighting style… I'll have to research. His father's style relied on his reflexes being even faster than the sharingan could counter. His mother used Chakra constructs to enhance her style… this will take some thought."
Choza chuckled. "How many people have the chance to say that they've trained their future Hokage?"
"…what?"
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Author's Afternote – Naruto ate over a dozen pills. That means that the effect will last at least 4096 days (one, doubled twelve times) or just over eleven years. However, since the effect stops during puberty, there is an upper limit not dependent on the number of pills consumed.
As for the effect, Naruto is having part of his chakra (and Kurama's) redirected so instead of using it for techniques, it is being used inside his body to augment and enhance his physical growth. Since chakra is dependent on physicality (including nutrition) and mental acuity (being able to actually think), Naruto's going to get a very unexpected boost that he didn't get in canon.