Kushina sighed. Tomorrow was the day Naruto would be taken under Danzo's wing. She frowned, upset that the old warhawk would be near her son, but she knew it was for the better. She knew that eventually Iwa or Kumo would put things together and figure out who Naruto's father was. He needed to be ready for it. Sighing once again, she walked over to Naruto's room and knocked.
"Naruto! Time to wake up! Today is the day you begin training," Kushina said, followed by a yelp then a thud. The door swung open and Kushina was almost bowled over as her son ran past her in a rush, attempting to put on a shirt as he ran.
"Sorry, mom!" he said, before quickly pouring himself some milk and making some toast. Kushina smiled in exasperation, glad that her son was still the ray of sunshine he always was. It's a shame that might not last.
"I'm ready, Mom!" Naruto said, quickly jumping in excitement. Kushina smiled, and nodded. She grabbed his shoulder and used the Shunshin no Jutsu to quickly move to the Hokage Tower.
"Old man! We're here. Bring Danzo," Kushina said, frowning. She still wasn't happy about the scenario she was in. The Hokage nodded, also frowning. Motioning to an ANBU, they vanished, and quickly appeared with the crippled looking old man. Naruto's face crinkled.
"That guy is going to train me? He is an old fart!" he complained, but froze when he felt some Killing Intent (KI) targeting him.
"I'll have you know that I am one of the most powerful ninjas in this village." Danzo said, a hard stare fixed on the boy. Kushina glared at him.
"Stop scarring my child! At least train him first…" she mumbled. Danzo gave a curt nod. He hobbled over to Naruto, grabbed his shoulder, and vanished in another Shunshin no Jutsu. Kushina sighed for the millionth time.
"I'm sorry, Kushina," Hiruzen said. Kushina nodded. She just hoped that her boy would be fine.
~Hidden Root Base~
"Wow! This is huge!" Naruto said, looking at the massive underground training room. Danzo smirked.
"Yes it is, now, first things first. The basics. Do you know what chakra is?" Danzo said, getting straight to the point.
"Oh! Is that the cool ninja magic?" he said excitedly. Danzo smiled slightly. It's been a while since he was able to see the naivety of youth.
"It is not magic, but ninjas do use it. Chakra allows ninja to do a variety of things. Illusions, using the elements to our advantage, healing people, and even strengthening our own body. The Ninja Arts often use chakra in one way or another. Speaking of Ninja Arts, it is split into different categories. First, Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Fuinjutsu and Iryojutsu. These six fields of the Ninja Arts are the most important. For now, we will be working on Kenjutsu and Taijutsu. Taijutsu is the arts of hand to hand combat. I will be teaching you my personal fighting style, the Shinkū Ken. Your mother will probably teach you her kenjutsu, the Uzu no ken, very deadly if I remember correctly. Anyways, I will be teaching you the katas for my taijutsu. Ask questions if you get confused. No. Complaining." Danzo explained what he was going to be teaching the boy. He would learn all of the academic things from his mother and the academy. His job was to make him strong.
Naruto nodded at his new teacher. Danzo entered a stance, telling said boy to mimic him. Naruto nodded, and quickly try to mimic him, attempting to be serious. Danzo frowned, he immediately spotted multiple mistakes in the stance.
"It needs to be wider, knees bent more. Good. Back a bit straighter, no not like that! Good. And open palms, not fists. This style is focused on pressure points and weak points, designed to swiftly cripple an opponent." Danzo corrected Naruto, each correction earning a swift slap against the body part that needed to be straightened. Naruto frowned, opened his mouth, but then remembered what Danzo said. No complaining. He sighed, and they kept at it.
~A Couple Hours Later~
Naruto was exhausted. They have been at this for who knows how long! Danzo, seeing the exhausted and near collapse child, raised his hand to stop. The moment he did, the young boy fell on his butt, breathing heavily. Danzo smiled, though it looked more like grimace.
"You are doing well. Tonight, I expect you to be studying plentiful with your mother. Now, let's go," Danzo said, grabbing the boys shoulder and vanishing in a Shunshin.
~Hokage Tower~
Naruto shook his head, trying to get the nausea from the high speeds to calm slightly. Once he gathered his bearings, he looked at the Hokage and smiled widely.
"Hokage-jiji!" he exclaimed, running to give the chuckling old man a hug. Danzo smiled slightly, though it was quickly hidden behind his cold facade.
"I'll be going, Hokage-sama. Naruto, I will see you tomorrow." Danzo vanished again. Hiruzen called for Kushina, who quickly arrived in another Shunshin.
"Hey, Kaa-san!" Naruto said, smiling at his mother. Kushina smiled.
"Let's go home, Naru-chan," she said, causing Naruto to pout. They quickly left in another Shunshin, Naruto not nearly as fazed as the last two times.
~3 Years Later~
An eight year old Naruto could be seen sparing with his teacher, his form perfect. Dancing in circles around his teacher, he quickly jabbed at a painful pressure point, causing the man to grunt. Another followed, this time in a stun. The man froze, but quickly shook it off. The man struck at Naruto, his longer arms overpowering the boys feeble attempt at a block, hitting a pressure point in the arm, causing the boy to cry out. The jumped apart, both looking at each other square in the eyes.
"Good work, Naruto," Danzo said, smiling at the young boy. It's been forever since he was able to have a student, and needless to say, the young boy really mellowed him out. Over the past 4 years, Naruto has grown in leaps and bounds. He joined the academy three years later, placing him in a class with much older students. However, it did not matter, as he quickly was identified as a child prodigy. He wasn't alone in this regard, as there was another student in his class that rivaled his genius. Itachi Uchiha, a young girl that constantly was right there next to him at the top. They graduated last week, both top of the class.
"Thank you, Danzo-sensei, I am going to go visit Itachi-chan, tomorrow we find out our teams" Naruto said, earning a nod from Danzo. Vanishing in a Shunshin, Naruto quickly arrived outside Itachi's house in the Uchiha clan. Quickly applying a Henge, Naruto knocked on the door politely. The door swung open, revealing a young woman holding a baby.
"Menma?" the lady asked. Smiling, Naruto let his Henge slip for a second before reapplying it.
"Hello, Mikoto-chan, is Itachi here?" he asked politely. Naruto had to wear a Henge around the compound, as many Uchiha disliked him. Menma was Naruto's code name that was used when he used his Henge. Speaking of his Henge, Naruto didn't really change much about himself, except his eyes and hair, both now black like an Uchiha. He also hid his whisker marks. However, Mikoto accepted him because she was best friends with his mother. She smiled at Naruto.
"Itachi is in the back training, it's good to see you!" she said.
Nodding, Naruto quickly went out back into the training field, before stopping to watch Itachi practicing. She was in the middle of her throwing practice. He sat, smirking slightly as she jumped up into the air, spinning. She threw her shuriken, hitting all the bullseyes of them all, then quickly ricocheted a shuriken off another to redirect it into a hidden one behind a bolder. It barely missed.
"You're almost there!" Naruto called out, releasing his Henge causing the girl to quickly turn. The moment she saw Naruto, a small smile appeared on her face.
"Naruto-kun!" she said quietly, excited to see her rival/best friend. She walked over to him and gave him a light hug. She pulled back and smirked slightly.
"I will complete that exercise! Just because you completed it before me doesn't mean you can act all high and mighty," she said, the small smirk still on her face. Naruto smirked back.
¨Well hurry up! I can have my rival falling behind.¨ he smirked right back at the girl. She huffed. Itachi was pretty for her age, her raven black hair tied up in a ponytail. Her dark eyes seemed cold usually, but around Naruto and her mother, they were warm and filled with happiness.
"Whatever, Naruto-kun," she said, before dragging him back inside. "We are having lunch," she said, leaving no room for argument. Naruto simply nodded, happy to oblige. After a quick talk with Mikoto, a small lunch of sandwiches were placed in front of them.
"So, Itachi-chan, who do you think will be on our teams?" he asked politely. Itachi shrugged, taking a munch out of her sandwich.
"Hn," she grunted indifferently. Suddenly, a gasp was heard in the kitchen and Mikoto came running out.
"Did Itachi just hn? I am so proud! She is finally becoming a proud Uchiha!" she squealed, hugging Itachi. Itachi sighed as Naruto started laughing.
"Mother, I thought you didn't like the hn?" she said. Mikoto smirked.
"I don't, I just like embarrassing you!" she said happily. Itachi pouted.
"Whatever, Mom…" she mumbled. She laughed at her daughters expense. Naruto just sat happily, knowing this was home away from home. He stood up and bowed.
"I thank you for your company, I will be going home now," he said formally, before he turned and stuck his tongue out at Itachi. "I told you I could be formal!" he said, causing Itachi to giggle and roll her eyes.
"Whatever, see you later Naruto-kun," she said. Naruto smirked and vanished in a Shunshin. He quickly appeared in front of his home. Walking up the steps to his house, he opened the door.
"Mom! I'm home!" he called out. No answer. Naruto frowned, and walked inside. His mother usually responded cheerfully. He checked the kitchen. Not there. Then he checked her bedroom. Not there either. Frowning, he walked by the laundry room. It was closed. His nose sniffed, and he froze. Blood. He looked down at the base of the door, and stood shocked. Blood was slowly seeping out from underneath it. He quickly pushed open the door. What he saw terrified him.
"Mom. . .?" he said, taking in the bleeding form of his mother. He quickly ran over to his mother and looked for a pulse. He couldn't find one. He looked at her neck, where a small needle was stuck. He sat still for a second. Then, a small pulse of red chakra came from his body. Followed by a stronger one. Then another.
"MOM!" he roared in anguish, the red chakra being replace with a wild black version. His eyes blackened, his pupil turning a sharp violet. The ground rumbled from the vast amount of chakra coming off of him. Quickly, some ANBU appeared next to the boy and quickly knocked him out, cutting off the chakra output.
"Damn, we should've taught him some anatomy. She is still alive," they said, pulling the small needle from her body, "a false death strike, and all this blood is fake. I wonder who did this?" they said, vanishing with them to the hospital.
~Root Base~
A black figure was knelt before another shadowed figure. The kneeling figure spoke.
"Danzo-sama, you were right. The boy does have it," the figure said. Danzo nodded calmly. It seems his fake death stunt worked. He smiled slightly. The power of the leaf would be restored.