A short brown-haired boy around one year old ran along behind six adults. The boy, being only one year old was struggling to keep up with his fellow Clan members. This was Hashirama Senju, heir to the Senju Clan, and, unknown to anyone else, was actually Hashirama's reincarnation Naruto Uzumaki. He didn't know how he'd gotten reborn as his past life, but right now he had other things to worry about. Hashirama scowled as his older relatives got further and further ahead of him. It wasn't his fault he had shorter legs than everyone else, he was only one year old for Kami's sakes! The brunette stared incredulously as his family members left him behind.
He'd tried focussing a bit of Chakra to his legs to help him speed up, but there was only so much that could do with his small size, (not to mention the damage he could cause to his still growing leg muscles by trying something so advanced without much higher Chakra Control) and he didn't dare call out, for fear that he would attract the attention of unwanted enemies. Eventually, Hashirama found himself completely alone in the forest, and in enemy territory no less! The boy paused for a break leaning against a tree. He took as deep breathes as he could, while trying to sense the other's Chakra signatures. Suddenly three dark figures jumped down from the trees and surrounded him. Hashirama gasped, automatically falling into a crouch and pulling a kunai knife out of his weapons pouch. By the glowing red eyes he could see, it was obvious which Clan these men belonged to.
Uchiha. One of the men sniggered, "well, well, well, look what we have here, if it isn't a little Senju all by himself" he sneered, causing the other men to chuckle ominously. Hashirama tried to stay calm, but their red Sharingan eyes staring directly into his own were really starting to freak him out. They weren't even blinking! Up until now, the only Uchiha that Naruto had faced had been Sasuke, Itachi, Obito and Madara. Sasuke he'd always had a measure of trust in because the boy had been his best friend, Itachi had always been terrifying due to his cold façade and frightening intelligence in battle, even though he'd been a pacifist and double agent. Obito, he'd never really been scared of the man, more like angry at him for causing his parents deaths, and even then the guy hadn't been that bad in battle anyway.
Now Madara, he was truly terrifying in battle, but once again, Naruto had ploughed through like everything else. But these Uchiha were nothing like them. These Uchiha were more than willing to kill him just because of who he was and it terrified him to no end. Suddenly, with a speed he hadn't seen since his new life started, two of the Uchiha rushed at him and grabbed him by the arms, causing him to drop his kunai in the process. The boy frantically tried to escape their hold on him, twisting every way he could but the men just tightened their hold, causing him to wince as the bones in his arms creaked. Suddenly it all came crashing down on him just how outclassed he really was. He was just a toddler, barley out of babyhood and he was expected to win against these people?
Hashirama was terrified, and it caused him to increase his attempts to escape, "no, let me go!" he cried, thrashing and trying desperately to get free. The Uchiha standing in front of him, possibly the leader, grinned sadistically at him, and reached behind his back. The boy's eyes were drawn to the gleam of metal as a deadly sharp kunai was slowly drawn out of the man's weapon pouch. Tears of fear began to gather in Hashirama's eyes as he stared at the deadly weapon, "no, please, don't hurt me, I wasn't doing anything, I-I was just passing through, p-please, let me go!" the boy begged, now starting to panic. As the tears fell down his face, one of the Uchiha holding him snickered cruelly, "it looks like we've got a crier here guys" he said. The leader chuckled, "now, now, no need to cry little Senju, we're just going to do you the favour of getting rid of one of those arms for you- you don't need two arms after all, do you?" the men all chuckled again, as his torturer drew a long, deep cut along the entire length of his forearm.
The boy flinched from the sharp sensation of pain in his left arm, struggling not to cry out in pain. Suddenly, and without warning the kunai was stabbed into the palm of his left hand, causing him to scream at the sudden agony that wracked through his arm. Hashirama was shaking with terror and pain. He was going to die. Oh god, he was going to die here. These men were going to torture him to death in the most painful ways possible. He would never see his mother again. He would never get to meet Tobirama, or his other baby brothers. He would never get to meet Madara and try to keep him on the right track. He would never get to do any of those things. Hashirama choked on a louder scream as the man twisted his injured arm and more tears flowed from his eyes.
His sobbing, ragged breaths echoed through the clearing. Naruto had never felt so much agony in either of his lives- not even Pein stabbing his Chakra rods through his body hurt this much. Hashirama's vision began to go dark, as he felt himself fall into a pain induced unconsciousness. Suddenly, just before the darkness claimed him, he saw a large red blur shoot into the clearing, causing the Uchiha who had been torturing him to jump away from him. He fell limply to the ground, bashing his shoulder against a rock with a sickening crack. He was ripped out of his near-unconscious state as even more pain shot through him and a louder tortured scream escaped from his mouth. Oh god, it hurt- it hurt so much. Why couldn't he even fall into painless unconsciousness now? Why did he deserve this?
Hashirama panted weakly, shuddering from the pain in his body. Suddenly he felt warmth spread up arm, causing the sharp pain to recede and his head to clear a little. The boy clung to the warmth, drawing himself out of the pain-induced fog he'd been trapped in. As his vision came back to him, the red blur above his body began to take form. Short brown hair and dark eyes that were unusually concerned stared back at him. The young Senju blinked slowly, he knew those eyes, "T-tou-San" he muttered faintly, still drained from blood loss and his previous torture. The Senju Clan leader nodded when his son called out to him, "hai Hashirama, it's me, just hold still okay? My healing Ninjutsu isn't as good as others" he replied, his voice still hard, but with gentler edges as he spoke to his wounded child.
Currently, Butasuma was focusing on the large cut on the boys arm, as it was very deep and was where most of his blood loss had come from. Naruto felt himself calming, his father's presence soothing his still rapidly beating heart and slowing the blood being pumped to his injuries. His father had come. Even after everything, the man had still come to save him- he still loved him. Slowly the wound healed, leaving tender pink flesh behind, now a large scar on Hashirama's arm. The Senju Clan leader could live with his son having a scar, as long as he was alive. Next he moved on to the stab wound in his sons hand, "son, listen, the kunai in your hand has pierced all the way through your bone- I'm going to remove it, but it will hurt, so just bear with me okay?" he asked. Hashirama moaned slightly at the thought of more pain, but reassured himself that as soon as the knife was removed his father would heal his wound.
"Is it okay if I scream?" he asked quietly. Butasuma's eyes softened, "yes, it's alright, just be a brave boy for me, alright?" he softly stroked the boys hair for a moment. Once the Senju heir had given his acknowledgement in the form of a short nod, his father gripped the handle of the knife, "ready? 3… 2… 1- now!" in one quick movement, Butasuma ripped the kunai out of the brunettes hand. Hashirama let out another agonised scream, though this one was shorter. As he panted in a desperate attempt to draw air back into his lungs, the Senju Clan leader quickly went to work healing up the hole in his hand. A few more tears fell from the boy's eyes but he didn't do more than that. Soon the stab wound was completely healed. Last but not least, was Hashirama's shoulder. As he let his chakra scan the injury, Butasuma deduced that, yes, that hit his son had taken when he fell against the rock had broken his shoulder bone. The man frowned, there wasn't much he could do about a broken bone- he wasn't that good. So, instead, the Senju Clan leader healed it as much as possible.
By now, most of Hashirama's wounds were healed and the boy was in a fit enough condition to sit up. Being mindful of his sons shoulder, Butasuma gently helped his son into a sitting position. The boy looked at his father with a confused frown on his face, "why did you save me, I thought that if I failed I would disgrace the Senju Clan?" he asked, looking down. His father placed a hand on his uninjured shoulder, "because, no matter what happens, you are my son, and as your father, it's my duty to have unwavering faith in you, my child," he said. Hearing those words, the boy's eyes widened- they were almost identical to what his first father had said to him when they'd met in his mindscape! "but, as your father, it is also my duty to protect you until you're old enough and strong enough to protect yourself- and I will, no matter what!" he said passionately.
Hashirama looked up, "Tou-San-" he paused, eyes widening in shock. An Uchiha was still alive, and was moving in with a kunai knife to stab his father in the back! "move!" he yelled, grabbing his father's sword and pushing the man out of the way. His movements were instinctual, the actions of someone who reacts without thinking in order to save a precious person, much like what his first parents had done for him the night he was born. Hashirama lunged forward, a desperate need to protect his family driving his actions, and as he plunged the blade deep into the Uchiha's stomach, his mind was awhirl with thoughts, emotions and, on some level, shock. But right now his anger that someone had dared to harm his family again overrode everything else. The Uchiha was in shock, gasping and wheezing, but managed to choke out two words: "y-you, brat-" Naruto glared deep into the man's Sharingan eyes, "I will protect my home, my people, my friends and my family, if anyone threatens the things closest to me I won't hesitate to kill them, nor will they receive my forgiveness" he said darkly.
The Uchiha slumped to the ground, very clearly dead. As his rage faded, Hashirama's eyes widened, finally realising what he'd just done. He'd just killed someone. Holly Crap, he'd just had his first kill. Literally, as when he was Naruto, he'd never actually killed anyone. Now he'd just killed someone for the first time. His first instinct was to panic- oh god, what the hell had he done? Then it registered that the man who's life he'd just ended had tried to kill his father, and all his remorse faded. He'd meant what he'd said before, those who threatened his precious people would die, no way would he forgive them or feel guilty for the loss of a bastard like that.
Suddenly the adrenalin that had been pumping through his body faded, and the boy fell to the ground unconscious. The last thing he heard as his vision faded to black for a final time was his father's worried voice: "Hashirama!"
To Be Continued