Copyright: Take what you will from this, but I own nothing...sadly...

Satoshi's Apartment

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted after his friend didn't answer the door, "Naruto! Hurry up! You're already late, dobe!"

"What are ya doing here teme?" Naruto asked from the closed window of his room, "I'm playing hooky, piss off."

"Come on Naruto..." Sasuke hated it when Naruto was this stubborn, "I'll help you with your shuriken jutsu..."

"You suck at that too!" Naruto shouted, causing Sasuke to pout. When Naruto peeked out his window, he saw Sasuke standing there with his head looking down at the floor, "Alright...lets go!"

"Atta boy Naruto!" Sasuke happily cheered when Naruto jumped down, "Now come on!"

"Alright just stop being loud!"

"I'm loud..." Sasuke muttered under his breath as the two of them passed through Konoha's streets, "Naruto should really listen to himself sometimes."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing dobe..."

"I heard that!"

Konoha Academy

"Naruto...Sasuke..." Umino Iruka said when he spotted the boys in question enter his classroom, "So you're going to be early from now on?"

"Early!" Naruto shouted at Sasuke, to the chagrin of several girls in the classroom, "You said I was running late!"

"Well...we would've been late if you hadn't come..." Sasuke muttered, "So I wasn't lying...from another way of looking..."

"Don't let him talk down to you like that Sasuke-kun!"

"Guess so..." Naruto agreed and turned towards the several girls who glared at him, "What are all of you looking at!"

"Just ignore em Naruto..." Sasuke told his friend, slightly blushing from embarrassment concerning the unwanted attention that most of the girls gave him, "I'm fine everyone..."

"Okay Sasuke-kun!" They all shouted like an excited crowd who'd been blessed by Kami himself. Between Naruto and his "fan club", Sasuke just grumbled and took his seat next Shino.

"Hel...hello...Naruto...kun..."

"Hey Hinata, what's up?" Naruto asked as he walked past the pale-eyed girl. When she turned away and poked her fingers together, Naruto looked away discouraged, "Nevermind..."

"Well looks like everyone's here, so we'll start early for once." Iruka said to himself, "If Naruto would like to sit down."

"Oh...sure!" Naruto shouted and quickly sat next to her. Causing her to gasp and look at him with widened eyes, "No one was sitting here right?"

"No...no...no one's...sitting...there..." The girl stuttered and handed something to the boy, "Would you...like...a...Tamagoyaki (rolled omelet)?"

"Eh...okay..." Naruto said and accepted the strange food. He smelt it briefly to make sure that it wasn't poisoned and nibbled on it. Assured that it was safe and delicious, he quickly gobbled it down, "This is good...thanks Hinata."

"Oh...it's...nothing..." Hinata stuttered while warmth made her face more pink, "Mother...cooked it...but I wasn't...too...hungry..."

"Sheesh Hinata, he liked it." Sasuke chuckled from the other side of Shino, "Nice thinking."

"Sasuke!" Iruka shouted, bringing the class' attention to the Uchiha, "When was the Konoha Military Police Force formed and for what purpose?"

"The Police Force..." Sasuke thought for a moment and remembered what his brother had told him, "Eh...it was created by the Nidaime and organized by Uchiha Miroku to enforce the law of the village. Lets see...at the time, Konoha was still developing with constant infighting between newly joined clans and already present ones..."

"Very true Sasuke, good job." Iruka complemented, "Sakura! Why would we need an enforcement agency for shinobi?"

"To ensure that they don't go against the wishes of the village or the shinobi code." The pink-haired girl answered and gave a quick smile to Sasuke, "Like Sasuke-kun pointed out, before the police force was made there was a lot of underground fighting between different clans. To enforce cooperation and ensure that the village did not destroy itself, the Nidaime and the Uchiha created the Military Police Force-"

"Wait a minute!" Naruto shouted, "Wasn't this all during the First Shinobi War? Why would clans be fighting each other while we're at war with other villages?"

"Don't interrupt me Naruto!" Sakura shouted and threw an apple at Naruto, "Baka! Don't ask stupid questions!"

"It's rude to interrupt when other people are speaking Naruto," Iruka said reprimanding the fuming Naruto, "But that is a good question. Why would Konoha shinobi fight each other when the entire village was already at war? Anyone?"

"Cause no one understood what it meant to be a village yet." A lazy kid in the back answered for the class to hear, "Remember that at the time, Konoha had only been around for a decade or so...other hidden villages had the same problem. People who were born and raised under the warring clans era still carried that mentality with them to their new villages. In fact, loyalties were still kept along clan lines even inside the villages. The founding clans took time work out any form of cooperation or understanding, especially if they were former enemies. But new clans would commit covert actions to subvert the ruling caste of the founding clans to advance their own statuses."

"Thank you Shikamaru," Iruka said, surprised to hear the Nara boy speak for once, "And there's your answer Naruto. To summarize Shikamaru's explanation, the clans of the village didn't understand that working together was the best way for their village to become strong."

"Iruka-sensei..." Naruto started with a raised hand, "Does that mean that the Police Force was created to consolidate the village's shinobi into a singular mindset?"

"Somewhat..." Iruka answered, unsure about letting this line of conversation continue, "To remind Konoha clans that they were shinobi of the village first and members of their clans second. Sometimes what a clan believes is right for itself may in fact be harmful to the entire village, so said clan must be willing to work as part of a collective rather than an individual."

"Or else they'd be killed if they were by themselves." Naruto bluntly stated, "Isn't that what happened to the Shinkan clan?"

"You were paying attention during that lesson?"

"The parts that weren't boring."

"Weren't boring eh?" Iruka was both annoyed at Naruto's joyful obnoxiousness and happy to learn that Naruto was starting to some of his lessons seriously, "In that case students since Naruto thinks that half of the first ten years of Konoha's existence were boring, we're going to have a pop quiz!"

"Naruto!"

"Troublesome..."

"Damn it..." Sasuke muttered, "I was hoping to get out early today..."

"We are here to learn stuff right?" Naruto asked, "Besides, this'll be easy."

"Did you lie about paying attention half the time?"

"Actually, I wasn't paying attention at all." Naruto boasted with a laugh, unable to hear Hinata's quiet warning, "Because I diligently learned about it from history scrolls at home!"

"Naruto..."

"What's up Hinata?" Seeing Hinata look past him, he gulped and turned to see his smirking teacher looking at him with crossed arms, "Iruka-sensei..."

"In that case..." Iruka started, "You'll get the highest marks on this quiz, right Naruto?"

"Believe it!" Naruto shouted, taking the sensei's challenge right as he received his copy of the quiz. "Iruka-sensei! Who cares what the Shodai's wife's hair style was!"

"Dobe..." Sasuke couldn't take it anymore, he had to bury his face into his palms, "Hope Itachi's doing something more exciting than this..."

"Hokage-sama!" A messenger knocked on the office door of the Sandaime Hokage, "Two anbu are here to see you."

"Send them in." Sarutobi Hiruzen warmly said as he hid away a journal filled with "completely innocent pictures of women" and nodded to the masked ANBU that entered his office, "Remove your masks boys, you're among friends now."

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Itachi replied respectfully, he bowed and offered a sealed scroll along with his companion, "We have a report from Kani."

"I see, thank you boys." The Hokage said as he took the scroll from Itachi and broke it's chakra-laden seal, "Nice to see that at least one of your seals work."

"I try my best Hokage-sama." Satoshi replied with a chuckle while he stayed on his knees, "Hows the prankster?"

"If I'm not mistaken, he started an in-depth discussion concerning Konoha's history."

"I'm sure that it was very informative-"

"Particularly on a subject that didn't bore him." The Hokage took Naruto's quiz from his desk and handed it to his guardian, "I'd say that the resultant pop quiz can be attributed to you?"

"Guess so...I'll have to talk to him later..." Satoshi began before he read over Naruto's score, "Wow...he did really well! Good job Naruto!"

"Satoshi, we're in the middle of a debrief."

"Right...sorry..." Satoshi apologized and followed Itachi's joined fingers towards the Hokage's worried expression, "Is there a problem Hokage-Sama?"

"I am afraid that my suspicion is confirmed. What do the two of you make of this?"

"The Snake is forming a power base in Kani," Itachi stated as the Hokage listened, "All we found were testimonies and coincidences...but there's at least enough to warrant keeping an eye on Kani for any activity."

"Indeed...anything further would be seen as an act of war." The Hokage gravely agreed, "It seems that the Snake chose well. A full search of the Kani would require full squads, something that other villages would see as an act of aggression, particularly Kumo."

"Or Yuga and Shimo."

"Yuga? I thought that they'd dropped out of the shinobi world?"

"A hidden village never "drops" out of the shinobi world." The Hokage said to Satoshi, "Yuga may not have an active military, but they will have the finances to quickly hire and supply mercenaries and missing-nin. Furthermore, their alliance with Kumo still stands and tension remains strong after three years."

"The Hyuga Incident?"

"You'd know better than I Satoshi," The youth gulped while the Hokage finished reading the report, "Enough, I will not bore you youngsters. Go home and rest, I will alert you when your services are needed."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" Both said as crows peeled away from their bodies and left nothing behind while a flock of crows flew out of the open window.

"Impressive as always." The Hokage smiled, "Kage? You may give your report."

"Hokage-sama..." A before unseen Anbu wearing a black mask rose from the Hokage's shadow and bowed before presenting a scroll, "The Ero-Sennin sends his regards."

"Thank you Kage." Sarutobi took the scroll and broke it's Konoha seal, "How did those two perform?"

"Very well sir, they complement each other in combat." Kage reported while Sarutobi sat and lit his pipe, "Unsurprising since they were in the same Genin squad."

"Indeed, the bonds from those endeavors never break." Sarutobi briefly recalled the days of his youth when he fought alongside Danzo with youthful fervor and valor, "They sour and thin out a little at worst."

"What do you want Shunshin to do?"

"Move in on all known associates of Snake." Hiruzen commanded upon handing Kage the resealed scroll that Itachi and Satoshi had left him, "Take them alive for interrogation if possible, otherwise ensure that they cannot continue their operations."

"Terminate them?"

"If you must." He hated for unnecessary blood to be shed, but this was not the first time that the Sandaime Hokage had to make such an order, "If they expect death then maim or seriously cripple them. Be sure that the Snake knows of our awareness."

"Hokage-sama."

"What word from Jiraiya I wonder?" Sarutobi asked himself while reading the scroll that his former student had sent him. Jiraiya's messages were always brief and too the point to save paper for "his research". However, once the Hokage deciphered the content of the letter...it spelled a single word that Sarutobi hoped to never hear of again, "Akatsuki..."

"I think I blew the test..."

"Who cares if you did."

"My dad will." Sasuke lamented to the bored Naruto while they walked through the busy streets of the market section, "He always wants me to be just like Itachi-"

"Sucks for him."

"What does that mean?" Sasuke asked his frowning friend who stuck his tongue out at a woman who looked offended by Naruto, "Don't you want to be like your niisan one day?"

"Like him? Nah! I'm gonna be better than Satoshi!" Naruto boosted proudly while Sasuke groaned, "Cause the Hokage is the greatest ninja in the village, so when I'm Hokage, I'll be the best. Including being better than Satoshi."

"Why am I even surprised?" Sasuke asked himself, "So you don't think that I'll be like niisan?"

"You shouldn't have to." Naruto said as they neared the gates of the high-walled Uchiha Compound, "If you waste time being like someone else then you'll never be the best that you can be. Sure, you can try to learn from your brother and all that...but it's stupid for your dad to try and make you like your brother."

"Maybe..." While what Naruto was saying did sound reasonable, Sasuke still felt uneasy about the idea, "I just want my dad to tell me...I'm his boy. Don't you feel good when Satoshi tells you that he's proud of you?"

"He's not really my dad..." Naruto pointed out, "But yeah, I see what you mean. It's nice knowing that someone out there cheers you on and has your back. Isn't Itachi like that for you?"

"Yeah...but it's different..." As Sasuke wondered exactly how it was different, two guards in chunin vests appeared in front of the boys, "Inari? Koga? Hi guys."

"Sasuke, it's good to see you." Koga responded and turned his glance towards Naruto, "What is this thing doing here?"

"What's that thing on your face?" Naruto asked, pointing to the man's head with a cocky smirk, "Oh wait? That is your face? What's wrong with your face?"

"You little..." Koga snarled and moved towards Naruto, but stopped when Sasuke stepped in front of Naruto, "Sasuke...move."

"Naruto is my friend! And Itachi said that we could play!" Sasuke shouted while shaking but looking straight into the eyes of a shinobi who was four times his age and had killed many shinobi himself, "So...stop being a scared bully..."

"Sorry Sasuke, though I wouldn't advise befriending outcasts and weaklings," Inari stated, placing a hand on his comrade and nodding for him to return to his post, "Make sure that...Naruto is on his best behavior."

"It's not like I'm staying." Naruto grumbled as he stepped out from behind Sasuke and strolled through the open gateway with Sasuke following closely by, "You didn't have to do that."

"I know." Sasuke replied with a smile to his friend, the two of them looked back to see Koga angrily mouth something to Inari who stood and nodded while looking towards the boys, "If you want to stay the night, my mom really won't mind-"

"Relax Sasuke! It's not like your guards will kill me as soon as you're not around!" Naruto laughed with Sasuke nervously joining in, "Why's everyone so scared of Itachi anyway?"

"Cause he's the best in the clan?"

"Except that you're a bunch of overrated pretentious punks?"

"What does pretentious mean?"

"Someone who thinks that they're more important than they really are."

"So you're a pretentious punk?"

"Teme!"

"Dobe."

Author's Notes:

Going a slow pace for now, but the ball will get going in a few more chapters as far as the plot is concerned.

The show/manga never said when Sasuke's "fanclub" started, but I would've thought that it started before the Uchiha Massacre hence what you saw here. Whereas Pre-Massacre Sasuke is embarrassed and unsure about what to do with it...Post-Massacre Sasuke...goes from ignoring them to outright attempting to murder them (As seen from his tender care of Karin when Danzo held her hostage and his two attempts at murdering Sakura)

I had a really good reason for giving Naruto an "adoptive" parent and here it is. It always bothered me how Naruto never had any pivotal parental support for most of his childhood (where it would be the most important), but I can see why it happened the way that it did.

Jiraiya couldn't take the kid in without having him leave the village and not only is that a safety hazard for Naruto, but Jiraiya has habits that aren't good for a boy to grow up around like: gambling, pervasive behavior, sleeping with lots of women, brutal interrogations, spying endeavors and etc. Plus, despite all of those things, the fact remains that Jiraiya just didn't do it for some reason. I guess he decided that he'd put Naruto into more danger and waited till the kid was older...which makes sense.

Kakashi...I'm not so sure about. He knew that Naruto was his former sensei's son, but for some reason he basically ignores Naruto for most of his life too. Was it out of guilt for not protecting his sensei? Obito? Or for "letting Rin die" (AKA stabbing her through the chest)? True, he was in Anbu for an unknown amount of years, but seeing as that Anbu usually have their identities hidden and Kakashi is famously known as "Copycat Kakashi" throughout the Ninja villages...he probably left when Naruto was a kid and could've adopted him...but he didn't for unspecified reasons.

Kind of makes him a bit of a jerk...

Besides that, I can see why most other people wouldn't want to "adopt" Naruto considering how much they utterly hate him for having the Kyubi inside of him. So I just had the character of Satoshi adopt him and at least give him a home where he can be nurtured and not be so utterly alone for most of his life. Hence constituting a Naruto whose relatively the same as canon, except a bit more knowledgeble and un-handicapped socially and ninja skill wise.

As a result, we'll have Naruto as a more "effective" shinobi.

Later.