9: The Beginning
"GET BACK HERE YOU HEATHEN!" Inoshishi roared as he gave chase to the bane of all Konoha Anbu, one Uzumaki Naruto. Said blond just laughed and kept going, gaining more and more ground as he sped through the streets and over the roof tops of the village. What had he done this time one might ask? Nothing in particular. It was only a small amount of icthing powder he'd saved from his prank on the Inuzuka clan. But apparently, given his standing orders from Hiruzen to keep up his pranks on the village Anbu, seeing as how an entire squad hadn't been enough to catch one five, now six year old child, was a disgrace to the village, and the Hokage, which now had the Anbu improving by leaps and bounds, thanks to the blond whirlwind, his jokes were not appreciated. Bar the training they were getting.
The only one he wouldn't dare pull a gag on was Neko, seeing as how she had earned her place on the Wall of Shame one time too many with the underwear debacle of last year. Yes, there was now an Anbu Wall of Shame, featuring all of Naruto's favorite victi - er - mutual pranksters. Hiruzen's personal favorite had to be the picture of a very harassed Inu, one Hatake Kakashi, and a battered and bruised, but happy, Uzumaki Naruto. That particular photograph featured both males literally covered in dirt and grime, and just a little garbage, how that happened Hiruzen didn't know nor did he want to, but apparently, Naruto had taken a shine to the little orange book that Kakashi seemed to have glued to his hands.
So, without warning, Naruto had snatched the book up, much to Kakashi's dismay, and proceeded to read it while Kakashi gave chase...it was a very short chase, Naruto having been given The Talk one month prior to the chase, and the young blond had stopped mid leap from the roof tops to tumble to the ground with no small amount of blood running from his nose.
Yes, this was the one time, in the year of pranks that Hiruzen had set upon the Anbu, that Naruto did not come out on top. Rather the boy had just made the mistake of overloading his young mind with a book of pure, unadulterated, uncensored smut before he could be stopped.
Naruto had gone tumbling from the roof, hit the ground rolling, and bumbled right into an alley that was full of garbage cans ready to be emptied...which turned into a game of nine pins, featuring a blond bowling ball. Kakashi had sighed when Naruto rolled out of the alley, completely traumatized, and retrieved his book, dusting it off slightly. Unfortunately, Pakura, Yoshino, and, surprisingly, Kurenai Yuhi had come along right at the wrong moment, and saw him taking the book from the boy.
The resulting misunderstanding had lead to said Jonin's worst beat down in Konoha history, save for only Jiraiya's near death at the hands of his blonde teammate, Senju Tsunade.
When the two of them had been brought to the Hokage's office, Naruto was covered in dirt and garbage from his "Alley Cat Strike", and Kakashi was sporting a brilliant black eye, a torn portion of his mask that revealed the beauty mark on the left side of his face just under his lips, and a torn vest. Hiruzen couldn't help but put the picture of such a scene on the Wall of Shame, since Kakashi was one of his Anbu.
Today, however, was one of his more lax days for pranks. It was early, he hadn't had anything for breakfast yet, having gotten up early to to line the Anbu uniforms with the powder before the next shift started, and had sat in silence up on top of the Hokage Monument for a good thirty minutes before anything happened. Inoshishi, who had squealed like the animal his mask mirrored, had come after him first. Right behind him were Neko( Naruto had passed her over once again) Karasu, Raion, and Kuma, all of them squirming whilst giving chase to the blond prankster.
Naruto's laughter echoed across the village in the early morning light as the sun just started rising above the monument, revealing the orange and black cland shinobi in training, a Nyoibo on his back, and two steel tessen strapped to either side of his hips. To top off his look were a set of greaves on his shins, and guards on his wrists, and a pair of green goggles over his forehead in place of a hitai-ate.
Not only was running from the enraged Anbu good fun for the young blond, but it was excellent combat training. Neko never actually struck him with her blade, but the sheathed weapon was more than a small worry for him. That thing hurt like hell!
Karasu was another worry. That man was so could at curving his shuriken that he'd managed to clip the blond on more than one occasion, which resulted in Naruto being pinned to a wall or tree, and ended in his capture. Not today! He thought as he ducked beneath the throwing stars. He flew toward the ground at breakneck speeds and bounced off the balls of his feet before his pursuers had a chance to corner him.
As he lept back into the air, Neko was bearing down on him with her sheathed katana. Naruto reached for his Nyoibo, blocking her strike before whipping around in a windmill strike that would have gotten anyone other than a Jonin rank shinobi, and perhaps a few high ranked Chunin. Neko was used to his attacks, however, and knew that he never meant to harm them, only to make them back off before high-tailing it. Which is exactly what he did.
Inoshishi(Boar), growled as he landed on the ground, "He's headed for the Uchiha district!"
"I'll head him off," Karasu said, "No one's getting on the wall today!" Karasu, also known as the young Uchiha prodigy, Uchiha Itachi, had never been had by the young blond until then. This case being the only time that Naruto had targeted him, and not expected to find itching powder in his sandals and pants legs.
Actually, he quite enjoyed the blond's pranks whenever they weren't directed at him, or when he failed to get him as he had numerous times. For a time, it seemed as though the boy had given up on him as he had Yugoa, but the moment he had donned his clothes...
Itachi vowed never to underestimate the blond Jinchuuriki ever again. Kami only knew what he would be in for if his father or little brother ever found out about this mishap.
As it happened, said younger brother was once again trying to one up his elder brother. Uchiha Sasuke had decided to go for an early morning jog to get in some extra training before Academy. Seeing Naruto getting chased, and outclassing the resident Anbu in speed was enough to get the young heir to step up his training. Not two days ago he had managed to perform the Fireball Jutsu in front of his father, and earned a small amount of acknowledgement from the man. Sasuke wanted more of that. To be recognized. To be out of his brother's shadow, and be a shinobi his father could be just as proud of as he was of his brother.
Suddenly, who should drop into his path but his unofficial rival, Uzumaki Naruto. "Morning, Teme!" Naruto grinned, giving a half-assed salute.
"Dobe," Sasuke nodded in greeting with a smirk, "A little early to be getting in trouble, isn't it?"
Naruto snickered, "Trouble? What trouble?" He grinned, "You're only in trouble if you get caught!"
"NA~RU~TO!" Inoshishi roared as Karasu landed right next to the blond, and picked him up by the scruff of his neck.
"I'm in trouble!" Naruto yelped, quickly performing a hand seal, popping out of existence with a puff of smoke, leaving a log in his place.
Neko came in and bounded into the trees. A brief struggle, and a loud curse later, the purple-haired Anbu came down with Naruto bound and gagged, glaring daggers at the woman, and promising retribution.
Inoshishi grinned behind his mask, "Looks like you lose this round, Runt." He said, absently scratching his neck. "Now wall of shame this time."
Naruto just grinned at him from behind his gag. A small thing that set the five shinobi on edge. And for good reason. A moment later, the blond started to balloon out to ridiculous proportions before, and Sasuke had the sense to take cover, he exploded. Neko got the worse of it while Itachi covered his masked face with his arms, but the rest of the team were now covered in a splatter of multi-colored paint.
A loud, boisterous laugh sounded from Sasuke as he saw his brother get covered in paint, and nearby, Naruto, sitting on the Uchiha clan compound's wall, was nearly rolling off as he laughed himself silly. "GOT'CHA!"
=x=
One year to the day of his best agent's failure, Shimura Danzo had had to double his efforts. Keeping his men off of Hiruzen's radar was much harder than he had anticipated with the aid of Kakashi, and Itachi. He had lost many. But it was not enough. Not enough at all to stop his plans. He was nearly ready. Soon, the village would be his, and his old comrade would join the First and Second in oblivion.
"Fu, Torune," Danzo said, calling his two best, youngest Anbu. The two flashed into existence before him, kneeling. "What of the Uzumaki boy's bloodline?"
"He has yet to activate it," Torune said, "We've watched him train every day for the last year, and nothing stronger than the Grand Fireball Jutsu has come from him. Pakura, however, seems to have grown stronger even as she trains the boy. She has already killed three of our men that you have sent to assassinate her and kidnap the boy."
"I am aware of those failures," Danzo droned, "What I want to know is if she or that brat will be a problem during our operation?"
Fu shook his head, "She could be troublesome to deal with, but nothing we need to worry about. Her Jutsu are to large-scale and damaging to be used in a closed-in area like the village...get her in the open, though, and I doubt any of us would stand a chance, except perhaps yourself, Danzo-sama."
Danzo grumbled. The Shakuton woman would indeed be a problem if she unleashed her skills on his men, if she was out in the open, then that gave her all the means to annihilate his forces before he would have the chance to take down his rival and take control of the village.
"And the Uchiha?"
"Four of them, including Fugaku Uchiha, have the ability to use Mangekyou Sharingan, Danzo-sama." Torune said, "And it is as you suspected about Shisui. His eyes indeed possess the ultimate Genjutsu. It is he that is keeping his clan from unrest."
Danzo nodded, "Then he'll need to be dealt with." He said, tapping his cane in thought, "I will deal with him myself. His eyes will be an asset to my plans should things go accordingly. That fool we call a Daimyo would benefit from a few suggestions."
"What of the Police Squads," Torune asked, "With the Inuzuka and Hyuuga on their side, they might pose a problem."
"Terminate them," Danzo said.
=x=
Hiruzen felt a air of unease as he sat at his desk going over the day's paperwork. Something was off despite the calm of the day, the scuffle between Naruto and his Anbu aside.
As he lit his pipe, the newest member of his Anbu entered, "Kinoe-kun?"
"Sir," the tiger-masked Anbu bowed, "Danzo is preparing to make his move."
Hiruzen rose, "Anbu!" Five shinobi, the ones Naruto had painted, now crisp and clean, flashed into the room, "Where and when?" Hiruzen asked the young man.
"On the eve of the Kyuubi's attack." Kinoe said with disgust, "He plans to try and force the boy to change."
Hiruzen growled, "That will never happen again on my watch." He snapped, "Have all of Fugaku's squads on alert, and keep watch over the Uzumaki compound tonight. Pakura-san should be informed, but make no mention of this to Naruto-kun. It is his birthday after all."
=x=
A strange air hung over the village as the day wore on. For one Naruto Uzumaki, it was a day that he normally dreaded for one reason and one reason only. It was the day that he had been attacked last year. His birthday.
If not for Pakura, and the kindness of his friends, he would have stayed home to avoid any sort of contact with the outside world today. His adopted mother had promised the boy his very first birthday party, and he had invited all of his classmates, though Sasuke said he might be able to come, if he wasn't training. Sakura, of course, would only come if Sasuke was there. Naruto, knowing the boy was just trying to act cool, knew he would come. Despite the rivalry between the two, they were friends. Bad friends, but friends nonetheless.
Shikamaru and Chouji would come for sure, Chouji for Pakura's cooking, and Shikamaru because his mother would threaten him with a frying pan if he didn't go. Which meant that Ino Yamanaka would most certainly come as well. Kiba was a given, he loved parties. As for Hinata?...He was sure she would be there, but she tended to give him a wide birth. It was fine with him, not that he didn't like the girl, but she kind of weirded him out sometimes when he caught her staring at him.
That, and whenever he was writing to Temari about something, she tended to get a little depressed. Kiba, having caught the blond in the act of writing a letter in class after finishing his assignments, had snatched it away proclaiming that he was writing a love letter. Naruto had roared that he was writing a letter to his friend from Suna.
Iruka, having taken the letter from the Inuzuka heir, read what he'd written out loud. It was nothing embarrassing, far from it. It was just Naruto telling her about his friends and his time in the village. Kiba had then felt a little bad because Naruto had described him as a really good friend. Now Iruka was making an example of him. Of course, that stopped the moment he read the name of the recipient of the letter; Kazekage Temari.
The letter was to a girl, and she was Naruto's friend of a whole year from a foreign country. And she was the daughter of the Kazekage clan. Not to mention the daughter of a well-known Kage!
"How the hell did you score a babe like that?!" Kiba had roared once he learned of the girl and Naruto had shown them a picture of her and her brothers.
Naruto, having yet to have any sort of talk with Pakura, didn't know what he was talking about, and just grinned, saying, "She's just a really nice girl!"
Hinata hadn't liked the sound of that. Whoever this Temari was, Naruto seemed to care for her deeply. Not that she could complain, after all, what had she done to gain the blond's attention? And she was the daughter of a powerful clan, and Kage. What else was there to ask for in a girl?
Meanwhile, as the day seemed to drag on, Naruto sat writing yet another letter, this time he was sure that Kiba wouldn't try to take it from him. In her last letter, Temari had wished him a happy birthday, even though it wasn't quite time for it, yet. Naruto appreciated it, and said as such in his latest letter, wishing she, Gaara and Kankuro could be there for the party.
Over the course of the year they had met, Naruto and Temari sent letters to each other every week. Whether it be something that happened, like one of Naruto's pranks, or something like catching up with each other, or even how much they missed playing together. Pakura would still joke about him falling for the a certain "Sand Princess" to which Naruto overreacted accordingly.
When Academy finally let out, Naruto hurried home, not even bothering to stay on the streets, and opting for the safety of the rooftops to avoid another attack like last time. He made it home with little to no efforts, and landed in front of one of the Inuzuka Police officers stationed outside his compound. "Hi, Inuzuka-san!" Naruto called out happily, and the man smiled at him.
"Evening, Naruto-kun," he said, patting the boy on the head, "Happy birthday!"
Naruto grinned, and thanked him, not noticing the faint glow of a seal on his palm as he drew his hand away. "Thanks, I'll see ya later!"
The Inuzuka smiled kindly, "Indeed you will, Naruto-kun."
=x=
"I'm glad you could make it back to the village so fast, Jiraiya-kun," Hiruzen sighed as he took in his student, "With Danzo intending to unleash the Kyuubi once again, I didn't want to take any chances of Naruto-kun being hurt."
The tall man in front of him nodded, his stark white hair swaying, "It's not a problem...how is he?"
"Better now that he's had to loving care of a mother," Hiruzen smiled, gesturing to the wall where his favorite pictures hung, "He's made quite a name for himself within the Anbu ranks."
Jiraiya went over to the wall and chuckled when he picked up the first one that caught his eye, in which Naruto was holding up a certain bra and panty set, "I can see why." He said, smiling fondly, "I wish I could've been here to see this."
Hiruzen nodded, "I'm sorry, Jiraiya-kun. I know how much the child means to you."
"Do you?" Jiraiya questioned, "I was to stricken with grief when I heard about Minato and Kushina to know what I was hearing, yet you told me the boy would looked after and loved from the time of his birth, and I've come to find out that he wasn't only ignored or worse for the first five years of his life, but attacked. If I had heard that any sooner, I'd have come back and ripped you to pieces myself." He turned back to his sensei, "But that wouldn't do either of us any good. That boy loves you like a grandfather."
"He will love you just as much," Hiruzen told the younger man, "He already knows that he has a godfather, and that I kept you away from him - "
"You didn't keep me away, I ran!" Jiraiya snapped, "You can't take the blame for this one!"
"I can, and I have," Hiruzen smiled, "But the little rascal didn't care. He has Pakura-san, and he was delighted to know that he had another family member to meet someday. It's just happening sooner rather than later."
Jiraiya sighed and picked up another picture, this one showing Naruto standing triumphantly over a hog-tied Anbu wearing a bear mask. "It should have been six years sooner than this."
And things are about to get nuts!
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