Thanks for the reviews everyone. Here is the next chapter in the tale. I will note that there is a time skip to age 7. Just thought people would like to know. I figure you wouldn't like to hear how he was taught to walk, talk, and other things we all figure out how to do when we are growing. I will note as well, that I will try to keep things as Canon as possible. I thank those who have given me tips on that. I will respond to reviews through e-mails as to not show favoritism in the fiction and keep the story to where most of my words are. I will respond though to a question asked by more than 10 people. So, now that the pleasantries are over, on to the Fanfiction.
(7 years Later)
The sun hangs high in the sky, shining brightly upon the village of Konoha. A cool breeze blows gently through the streets, giving a serene feeling to the village. Birds chirp merrily in their trees, seeming to try and add a tune to the area. One would say that this place was calm and everything seemed just right in the world. Everywhere, but the Hokage monument, which the once proud faces of the previous leaders, now defaced with strange, colorful markings. A flash of orange blurs by on the street as some men wearing the standard ninja gear chase after it. As they fade into the distance a cloth is lowered and a boy stands with a wide grin, scratching the back of his head in amusement.
"Can't believe they fell for that," the boy states as he chuckles to himself. He tucks the cloth in his pants and turns to run. He runs smack into the chest of a taller man with a large scar on the bridge of his nose. The boy laughs nervously; backing slowly away, as if he made any sudden movements the man might attack.
"What was that about falling for something?" the man asked, a scowl dawning across his features. The boy steps back further, only to trip on something and fall. "You do realize you are going to clean up that entire mess, right Naruto?" he asks, his voice going dangerously low. The boy nods nervously, still trying to back away, reaching for his belt.
"I will," states Naruto, catching the cloth in his hands, before smirking once again. "If you can catch me, Iruka," he states before throwing the cloth at him. With the momentary distraction, he begins to run again.
Naruto runs as fast as his legs can carry him, knowing that Iruka would soon be on him. He knew he was out of tricks at the moment, and all he had left was to put Iruka off the trail. He makes a few erratic turns before ending up in what appears to be a dead end alleyway. He runs up the wall before leaping off it to catch a ladder previously out of reach, and begins to climb as if the hounds are on him. Once he gets to the roof, he runs to the edge and begins to slide down a gutter to an open window of an abandoned apartment. He moves to another room in the apartment, just in time to avoid being seen by an extremely angry Iruka. Naruto tries to hold in his laughter at Iruka barely missing him. After a few more moments, Iruka runs off. When Naruto figures he is safe, he lets out a sigh of relief.
"Another successful prank and escape," Naruto states, starting to stand up. He chuckled softly to himself, before walking out from behind the wall. As gets to the window, he is roughly grabbed by a hand and pulled from the window. As Naruto follows the arm forward, he locks eyes with a very angry Iruka. "Stupid clones," Naruto muttered.
"Naruto," the scarred chuunin angrily spoke. He was gripping the boy by the front of his shirt. He raised his hand, getting ready to point at the monument. Something about the boys face though made him stop. The boy flinched, not as someone who be knocked upside his head, but someone who was about to take a full-fledged beating with the intent of ending his life. The worst part was that the boy, who always seemed happy no matter the situation, was looking like he would accept the beating. A dam inside Iruka had broken, and the man just set the boy down in the abandoned apartment, and stepped inside with him. He decided that he would go easier on the boy, but knew he should deliver a punishment. He made up his mind, saying in a calm tone, "You will clean that mess you made, starting now."
"Yes sir," Naruto sighed in relief softly. This had to be the least severe of his punishments, and he was willing to accept a fate like this. The alternative may very well kill him one day. He had nearly died at least 17 times, but he was sure he had died at least once and returned. He could never understand why until the event when he was sure he had died.
2 years prior
Naruto ran as fast as his legs could carry him, but the adrenaline in his system was losing its effects. He began to feel the cuts and bruises on his body and began to lag along. His pain made his thinking return to the pain and lose track of how to escape. As he turned a corner and reached the end, he found a dead end. 'How ironic,' was his thought and he turned to look at the mob sinking to his knees, in defeat. The mob began to close in a circle around him, drawing weapons and other implements of his own torture and pain. Then the world became a whirl of pain. Knives were stabbed into him, pitchforks shoved into him, and fire torched his skin to a crisp. The sad thing was that he knew most would be dead by now, but somehow the wounds on his body continued to heal at an exponential rate. 'Someone please help me,' was his last thought, before the pain made him blackout.
When Naruto awoke he found himself face down in a dank sewer. He sat up quickly, immediately looking for any sign of the mob. He noticed then that the place rumbled with a groan. Then he heard the faint humming of a girl. How he could tell it was a girl he wasn't sure, but he was positive that it was a girl. Naruto got up, and began to traverse the halls. As he walked the halls he noticed sets of metal gates, each locked, and marked with numbers. Eventually he came to a large open place that seemed to have no ceiling. What made this particular place fear worthy was the extremely large cage that seemed to hold something extremely powerful. What truly surprised Naruto was that inside the room was a teenage girl. Not something to be fearful of, seeing as the girl was in tattered clothing. She seemed to be humming a tune softly. The tune seemed calming and yet haunted, like the wind blowing gently through the trees in the dead of night. The truly amazing thing was the waters by his feet seemed to flow softly in time with the song. The song slowly came to a finale, and the girl turned to look at Naruto.
"You must be my container," the girl stated calmly, as if this was an everyday occurrence. "Not much to look at I suppose," she stated with a certain disdain. She walked over to the bars of the cage. "Leave me," she stated in a cold tone, before disappearing into the darkness within the cell. Naruto wasn't sure what to make of this, but suddenly felt tired and his eyes began to become heavy. He collapsed into unconsciousness unceremoniously. He awoke in a dumpster in the alleyway that he was beaten in. The image of the girl was ingrained in his memory though, as was the haunting sound of her voice.
Naruto sat up, but suddenly realized the absence of something one should have after a beating. Pain. It was unnerving, and somewhat comforting at the same time. He checked himself for wounds, only to find none. Something had happened to make him whole again, and that scared him more than anything else. He knew he should be dead, or at least dying. He should feel pain, or have a mark, or something to represent his suffering, but alas there was nothing. The only way he could tell it wasn't a dream or a hallucination, was the blood dried on the alleyway street that was unmistakably his. Naruto got up and ran home in terror. Something was amiss and he needed time to recover his wits and think.
(Back in the Present)
While Naruto had been reminiscing about the past he had also been cleaning the monument. It helped to take his mind off the chore, as it would make it go faster in his mind. All things considered the work was almost done after an hour or so. Iruka was standing guard over him, looking at him with a worried expression. He wasn't acting like the cheery ball of sunshine everyone had come to know and expect. It wasn't like him to stay silent for more than a minute, and not jump around or complain about having to do menial labor. So he decided to put back on his act once again so as not to disappoint the scarred chuunin. He finished the last stroke and huffed.
"Is that all, Iruka-sensei?" he asked, childish annoyance filling his tone. "I finished the monument, so can I please go home?"
"I suppose," he states, snapping back to teacher mode, scowling at him. "Make sure you never pull a stunt like this again, or I'll make the punishment far more severe next time. Now before you go home, I'd like to offer you a meal, seeing as you did the work without complaint. My treat, to show I can also be kind as well as strict," he states as his scowl slowly fades to a smile. "So where do you want to go?" the scarred chuunin asked, knowing already the answer.
"Ichiraku!" the boy shouts without hesitation, almost jumping in joy. "Come on," he states, already having placed the cleaning tools away and already heading in the direction of his favorite restaurant. Iruka looks at the boy for a moment confused but shrugs off the moment of silence as a fluke, and follows the boy to Ichiraku with a bit of a grin at the boy's youthful exuberance.
When the pair arrives at Ichiraku, Naruto plops down in the seat and prepares for his meal by ordering his usual of 4 bowls to start. Iruka sits down next to him and orders a single bowl of beef ramen, his expression one of joy and contemplation. As the two receive their orders, Iruka turns to see an atrocity and blur of motion as the boy eats at lightning quick speed. He stomach churns a bit at the actions of the boy as he begins to wonder how the boy can even taste the food. Something in the back of his mind nags him to ask a single question about the silence at the mountain, but he decides to ask a different question altogether.
"Naruto," Iruka says trying t get the attention of the boy. The boy looks up with noodles still trailing from his mouth. "What makes you want to be a ninja?" he asks Naruto with a curious expression. He notices the boy take a moment to finish his noodles and think on the question. He then speaks after a few moments.
"To meet new people and protect others from harm. I want to become the greatest ninja in the history of the world, and have people look up to me and respect me for my ability. I'm tired of being looked down upon. I want people to see me for who I am instead of judging by my appearance. I want to be an inspiration and change the world for the better," the boy says with a grin so wide it almost assuredly is faked. Iruka knew though that this boy was innocent enough to believe he could do just that.
"And he'll do just that with that motivation," states the owner of the shop, placing another bowl of ramen in front of the boy. He inhaled it within seconds of it being served.
Naruto sat with the bowls of ramen he had devoured sitting in front of him. He had a different response he'd normally give of becoming Hokage, but he knew that this was truly the goal he wanted to achieve with all his heart. He wanted to change how people perceive through appearance and mannerisms alone. He wanted people to be judged by their actions and deeds, and was willing to give everything for that achievement. No one would change that destination, but the journey was what Naruto was looking forward to. The people he'd meet, the lives he'd change, and most importantly was that he would accomplish what was deemed impossible in this life. Changing the world for the better. The empty bowls in front of him would remind him things past that would aid his future. Everything in life should be treasured, even those things lost.
Iruka looked at the boy with a smile realizing the boy may well achieve what so many desperately searched within to do. This boy wasn't what others thought he was, a monster. This boy deserved the best, but was given the worst, but took it in stride. He reached across and ruffled Naruto's hair before getting up and paying for the bill.
"I'll see you at class tomorrow Naruto," Iruka states, before leaving. "See you later Teuchi and Ayame," he says, smiling at the owner and his daughter before turning to leave. Naruto waves to him as he leaves. As he does, Iruka passes a stranger who goes to sit down at the stand. A man with brown hair and golden eyes to be exact. Something about him seemed just a bit off, but not in a threatening way, just off.
After Iruka finally leaves earshot, the man turns to the boy and gives him a once over. He hadn't seen this child but he was sure this was the child of the Yondaime. No mistaking the resemblance. Sentra had finally had the opportunity to meet the child he would attempt to help as payment to Arashi. He waves to the owner's daughter before smiling at the kid.
"One fish ramen, please Miss?" he says with a warm smile and a wink. He then turns to Naruto. "Hey! Aren't you Naruto Uzumaki? The guy who claims he'll become the Hokage?" Sentra asks, looking surprised. "Kind of scrawny for a ninja," he mumbles to himself, loud enough for Naruto to hear.
"Hey!" Naruto yells pointing at the stranger before him. "Do you always go around insulting people?" he asks in a furious huff.
"Sometimes, but I can tell you'll be great. I just wanted the chance to meet the person who was managing all those pranks. I bet if you turn that skill toward being a ninja, you'll surpass many. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. Mikal Sentra is the name, a ninja of the Jouunin class," Sentra states, making sure to ensure no one was around to hear the name. "So I'd like to make you an offer. I heard you were looking to become a powerful ninja. What if I could offer you one of the most powerful jutsu in the entire world? What would you say?" he asks with a grin as he looked into the boy's blue eyes.
"I'd ask what the cost is," Naruto says suspiciously. All he heard in return was a short chuckle. "What's so funny?" he asks in a worried curiosity.
"Nothing. Just that you were smart enough to ask that question. Not many would ask the cost, jumping on the chance like a rabid pack of Inuzuka," he states going to an all out fit of laughter. After a moment he calms looking at the boy. "The cost is the effort for you. I don't give this offer often, but all you'll need to do is learn it and have the chakra capacity to perform the technique. So what do you say?" asks Sentra, holding out his hand to Naruto to shake on it.
Naruto looks at the hand, contemplating the weight of this decision. Something told him this would change things drastically for him if he accepted. Then he hears a strangely familiar tune in his head. The one the girl was singing from behind the cage. Something about the song eased his mind and he reached out and grabbed the man's hand. "I'll take the offer," he states calmly, but firmly.
The first official chapter of this story is complete. I hope everyone enjoys it. I will note that Kyuubi is female in this story, and also that Naruto will not be an idiot except as a mask to other people. He is not super intelligent, but does have common sense. He is as intelligent as any average kid in the group. I will note he is very inventive and spontaneous. Thanks for all the kind reviews and I hope to see more. Also publicly Minato is known as Arashi, but in private for the people who know they call him Minato. Take care, and until next time, have fun.