7 years later

Naruto Uzumaki darted toward the Academy. He was very late today. And today was a day he couldn't be late. Today was the day all that hard work and talking to Jiji and Smoker-san finally payed off. Today was his graduation exam. Today was the day he became a shinobi.
'It wont matter'
'Yea it will! I'll be the best shinobi this village has. And then Everyone will accept me!' Naruto thought in response to the creepy high voice in his skull. Wait? A voice? Didn't Jiji say something about that once?

"If you ever hear a voice inside you that seems off. Come to me. You are important Naruto-Kun, and such voices are dangerous." The Sandaime inside Naruto's memories puffed smoke.

Naruto sped up the pace, the exam will wait.

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Hiruzen dutifully filled out the paperwork that came with his position. In his mind however he was thinking of Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki was in many ways a mystery to Sarutobi. Most of the time he was a happy-go-lucky child who had large dreams of being accepted by more than Hiruzen. But there were times…Hiruzen thought back to a fight that happened three years ago, where Naruto made his first, if extremely shy, admirer.

"Haha look at her! Her eyes are so weird. I bet she is blind! Why would a blind girl wanna be a shinobi?" A younger boy shoved a small girl into the muck. His friends kicked more mud onto the girl to cover her jacket. "She doesn't even see all the mud on her! Do ya? Can ya see?"

"Moron, you are talking to a Hyuuga, of she can see. Thinking they are better than all of us, just cuz of their different eyes." A random genin walks up and slams his foot into Hinata's stomach. Tears start to fall from her eyes. "That's right little hyuuga bitch, cry." He pulled his leg back for another kick when a shout interrupted the attack.

"What the hell are you doing?" A small boy, with sun-kissed blond hair, intensely cerulean eyes, and a furious expression on his face stood at the entrance of the glade.

"Brat, go back to your mommy, and shut up." The genin sneered at the boy.

"Mommy? The kid doesn't have a mommy! He's an orphan and nobody wants him!" one of the younger bullies laughed after saying that. Naruto's eyes flashed maroon and a sick smile started to form on his lips.

"I will enjoy this.." his voice, once high and boyish, was overlayed with another darker voice.

The young boys staggered back as the blond appeared in front of them. "Slime don't get to have fun. And you, you are slime" Naruto punches the genin as he kicks out at the young boy who pushed Hinata. He smiled as the genin flew into a tree from the force. The young boy flew to the other side of the grove. Quickly the rest of the bullies and the Genin bolted out of the area.

Suddenly, a blur appeared between Naruto and Hinata. "Step away from the heiress Uzumaki-san. I am not permitted to allow you access."

"Where the hell were you Hyuuga?" Naruto asked the Hyuuga man in front of him.

"I was gathering groceries, as I was supposed to. Did something happen?" Ko asked confused. He had shunshined toward the grocery and back. He was only gone ten minutes, surely nothing bad could have happened in that time.

"Ya idiot! Hinata-chan was getting bullied! But don't worry, I took care of it." Naruto proudly declared.

"The Hyuuga are in your debt then, Uzumaki-san. Come Hinata-sama, Hiashi-sama will want to know about this." Ko gathered his bags and gently placed his hand on Hinata's shoulder. Before they disappeared, Hinata said "T-Th-Thank You Uzumaki-san."

Hiruzen remembered the aftermath well. The following council session, or as Minato called them in his notes, vulture gathering, the blonds blood was demanded for "harming his betters". Hiruzen had to disband the session in order to have order. Hiashi interestingly enough asked to adopt the boy privately afterward, with Fugaku asking the same. Fugaku claimed that from the report, the boy had either the Sharingan or a trait like it. Hiashi claimed that the Hyuuga were honor bound to take care of him as he took care of one of theirs. Hiruzen stated that instead of adopting the boy, they would have dual-wardship as soon as Naruto became a genin.

The door bursting open interrupted his reminisces. "Jiji! I just heard a creepy voice in my head!" The boy he was just thinking about blurted as soon as the door bounced shut.

"What did you just say Naruto-kun?" The Professor asked seriously.
"I was runnin, and thinking about you helping me with that new Justu, and then I heard it. It said it didn't matter what I did… and it was weird and high pitched and You said to come to you if anything like that ever happened." Naruto rambled.

"I see. Well, today is your graduation exam, go take that, then come back. By then I'll have a plan and more information Naruto-kun. Thank you for obeying me." The elderly Hokage gently ruffled the youngster's hair with a smile.

Naruto unconsciously leaned into the affectionate gesture, basking in the praise of one of his only companions.

"Naruto-kun, there are other things we must talk about when you graduate. There have been a few developments with your situation." Hiruzen baited the hook, to ensure his young shinobi would be motivated. "But I won't be able to tell you until you are a genin of Konoha."

"Jiji, when you say situation, you mean my adoption situation right? Jiji someone wants me?" Tears started to pool in his eyes.

"Naruto-kun, of course people want you, that's not why you haven't been adopted yet. You haven't been adopted yet because of other factors. I'll explain after your exam. Here, take this note to Iruka. It will excuse you from the written portion that you are undoubtedly going to interrupt." The elderly man handed the youngest person in the room a note, before sending him off to begin his journey as a shinobi of the Leaf.

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Naruto smiled as his kunai and shuriken sailed true. With a solid thump of metal hitting wood, he passed the throwing portion of the exam. Now all he had to do was the three jutsu, then he would know exactly who wants him.

"Uzumaki, Naruto. You are up first." Iruka sensei smiled at him as he walked up. "C'mon Naruto. Give me a substitution, hedge and then three Bunshin."

With a confident smile, Naruto made a cross handsign "Kage Bunshin Jutsu!"
A blast of smoke, and there were seven Narutos around. Swiftly, they each started Substituting with chairs, each other, and even Iruka once. Finally they each held up the ram sign before transforming into ANBU agents, Iruka, Hiruzen, and Ko Hyuuga.

"Very good Naruto! All that training with Sandaime-sama paid off didn't it? Here. Ramen is on me tonight." Iruka tossed the young boy his new headband. After years as his sensei, he knew exactly what being a shinobi meant to his favorite student. It was his escape, his key to his dreams. He also knew exactly what Naruto was. He was the Jinchuuriki of the Nine Tailed Fox. He was the jailor and prison of the most powerful entity in the Elemental Nations. He never understood how others could treat him terribly. The easiest way to break a seal is to damage the material it is drawn on. Its why few shinobi ever had seal tattoos. The last thing anyone wanted was the seal to be nicked, and all of a sudden the shinobi had a sword sticking out of his arm. Or worse.

"Catcha later Iruka-sensei, I gotta meet Jiji after this. He is gonna be so excited!" Naruto darted out the door, waving at his classmates as he passed.

Naruto quickly entered the Hokage Office portion of the Academy. He waved to the nice secretary, and pressed the door open. "Jiji! Guess what! I did it…" He cut off at seeing the other people in the office.

The elderly Kage smiled and opened his arms. "Of course you did Naruto-kun. You trained and trained. You deserve this."

The first of the two men, a middle aged shinobi with pale eyes and long luxurious hair, smiled at the young man. "You know, my daughter is taking the exam right as we speak. If she passes, you may even be on the same team."

The second of the men looked at the boy with an appraising eye. "How did you pass the bunshin portion of the exam child?"

"I used Kage Bunshin mister!" Naruto proudly declared.

"Kage Bunshin? And you managed three of them? Impressive at your age, even Itachi couldn't preform three of them that young." The man turned back to Hiruzen. "I definitely solidify my request."

"Noted Fugaku, Hiashi what of you? Do you solidify your request?" Sarutobi puffed his pipe as he locked eyes with the Hyuuga clan head.

"He is a great child from what we at the clan have seen, and he seems talented. But it would be more simple in the long term to not adopt him. He may join the clan at a later date. Especially if what we discussed comes to pass Fugaku-dono."

Fugaku gave a small smile, " We shall definitely see. I will leave that choice to him though. Hokage-sama, permission to leave? I have a meeting with Shisui about his patrol in two minutes."

"Dismissed. Both of you. Fugaku, it will be official in less than an hour. You already signed the paperwork." The Hokage smiled at Naruto as his eyes widened when the two clan heads left the room.

"He.. He wants to adopt me? The Uchiha clan head wants me?" Naruto stammered as he sat in the chair vacated by the Hyuuga.

"Not just him. The Hyuuga clan petitioned for your adoption as well. However I suspect that they came to an agreement behind closed doors. As it is, all you need to do is sign a piece of paper, and you will be Fugaku's adopted son." Hiruzen pulled the mention paperwork out.

"But doesn't he already have kids?" Naruto asked.

Hiruzen's eyes saddened. "He once had two children Naruto-kun. But an incident a few years ago involving Kumo and the Hyuuga ended in his youngest son's death."

"How? All we know is Sasuke didn't go to school anymore. We thought he dropped out." Naruto didn't understand the whole politics of the village system.

"We don't know what happened that night Naruto-kun. We only know that the Kumo ambassador was dead, as was Sasuke Uchiha. We assume they killed each other." He didn't mention that the Hyuuga heiress was in the process of being kidnapped.

"I can't replace his son though jiji. I know that. I don't wanna be a replacement either. " Naruto looked at the paper.

"You won't be. The Uchiha have always treated their children as gifts. That is due to their traditions, and the fact that the Uchiha didn't use to have so many children around. You will be treated just as any Uchiha child."

"Okay Jiji, if you say it is a good idea, I'll do it." Naruto grabbed the pen and signed his name on the line that Hiruzen indicated.

"Good Naruto-kun. You will keep the Uzumaki name, and simply be a ward of Fugaku. If you want to add Uchiha later, we can. But right now, there is something else I must tell you." The hokage became serious in an instant.
"I'm listening Jiji" Naruto locked his gaze on his grandfather figure.
"Naruto-kun, what do you know about the Nine-Tailed Fox?"

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Shisui paced Fugaku's office. He didn't understand what his patrol had found, but it could not have been good. He didn't understand how it could have been good.

Fugaku entered the office and motioned to the chair. "Sit, Shisui. Explain why you are pacing."

"We found something. Or, we found someone."

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Kakashi opened the hidden chamber in his living room. He slowly climbed down into the crevasse and shut the hatch behind him. He walked down a long tunnel that opened into a large room. The walls were covered in weapons armors and scrolls. On the farthest wall sat three pedestals. The left most held a sword in a scabbard, the right most held a single scroll. The middle however was where Kakashi's eye locked. Encased in glass were two objects. A ceramic dog mask and a single piece of cloth. He spoke to the mask and strip of cloth. "He graduated today. You failed. But one day. One day I will find you. I swear it."

Kakashi quickly turned his back and left the room.