Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Gone but Not Forgotten

Chapter 2: History

Angel's Fury

When it was reported that Uzumaki Naruto was finally about to take the genin exams after almost 3 years of absence, it swept the village like a thunderstorm. It was constantly on the villagers' gossip-men and women alike- as to what the young heir to the Yondaime's legacy would be like after almost 3 years of absence.

Because for almost 3 years, the young hero of the village of Konoha left together with his father's sensei, the old Toad Sannin Jairaiya for a journey that neither the Hokage himself knew about. When they first learned about the young heir's disappearance, the village and the council went berserk and immediately told the Hokage to create a search party to find his son, to contact the neighboring village and ask for reinforcement and such. But much to their chagrin, the Hokage did not do a single thing. He simply sat down and let destiny take its course.

On the 2nd year of the heir's disappearance, a rumor sprouted that there will be a civil war in Konoha. Nobody knew who started it or if its true, but some say that it was almost big and powerful enough to overthrow the Hokage himself. It was only prevented when the Sandaime stepped up and let the villagers see the letter that the heir left for his father, tested and guaranteed Naruto's. It says that the heir is going away for a while together with Jairaiya to explore the world and to know things that no book can teach him.

And nobody can fault the child for going away, they all knew that the young heir thirst for knowledge and going away was the only thing he knew to find and learn things that nobody inside the village knew about. At such a young age, the young heir had already exhibited the trait of the Uzumaki genius. The Uzumaki Clan was well known for the efficiency and ability to learn things. At the age of three, even before the other children around his age should, he had already thought himself on how to hold a kunai and shuriken and shoot it bull's eye to it's target about a hundred meters away. He had exhibited accuracy and far sightedness. At the age of four, he can already perform the basics of his father's technique, the Hiraishin no Jutsu and at the age of five, he had already mastered the Resengan after a week of non stop practice. He had exhibited quick learning.

Naruto with all the things that he had learned both from school and at home and also from the numerous adventures he had with Jairaiya, still thirst for knowledge. So it was not surprising that at the age of six, he sneaked to his father's- the Hokage's- library for almost a year every night and read some of the scroll jutsus. After his father learned about it, he quickly punished him not as a father to his child, but as a Hokage to a rebelling ninja, he had submitted Naruto to torture for a month. During those times, he was tortured not only physically but also mentally. After a month, he left the place without a scratch. He had learned how to tap to Kyuubi's chakra and memories and had already learned constant contact with him.

Over the years Naruto continued to grow, soak up knowledge and become powerful with the help of the different teachers that his father and the other council members assigned to him, though the Sandaime adamantly refused to allow Naruto to stop going school now that he had other teachers. So, Naruto went to school on days and went home or to the training grounds to meet one of his teachers for the said day.

And it was no surprise to the villagers nor to the Hokage himself that Naruto was already on the graduating class who were all 3 years his senior. But what surprised the villagers and the whole Konoha together with its allies is the fact that a day before his genin exams, Uzumaki Naruto left Konoha together with the Sannin Jairaiya.

Therefore it was quite normal that the villagers are ecstatic when they heard the news that the heir is back together with Jairaiya. And as the day of his arrival slowly arrived the people began to speculate what kinds of changes the blonde child had acquired. Some say that he'll still be the same prankster child that they all know of and that perhaps by now, the young mischievous child knew hundreds of pranks to pull out to them. Others think that the child could be more mature and serious now that he had seen the world, but others argued that the child was traveling with Jairaiya who is known to be-if not more- childish as the heir. There were a dozens still, but no one knew for certain what happened and so, they continued to speculate.

But when the day of Uzumaki Naruto's arrival arrived, they prepared themselves for the worst, but they certainly wasn't prepared for this.

Uzumaki Naruto, 12 years old and only son and heir to the fourth Hokage closed his eyes and tried to meditate the last bits of sleepiness away from his system. But his meditation was so rudely disturbed by a loud and not to mention frustratingly pink girl of a teammate named Sakura. Gods, how he hated that voice.

"NAAARUUUTOO!" Sakura all but bellowed on her teammate's ear as she saw him closed his eyes. It was currently almost ten in the morning and their perverted sensei for quite a while now was late yet again for about 3 hours. She was the first one who arrived followed by Sasuke and Naruto and now after 3 hours of baking in the morning sun, she is losing her patience even in front of her beloved Sasuke-kun and seeing her blonde teammate closing his eyes and thinking that he's going back to sleep, she shouted at him to wake him up.

"What!" Naruto shouted at her. His cold emotionless azure eyes boring unto her soft naïve green ones. "Look Sakura, I'm currently not in the mood for this shit so please go away if you don't have anything important to say to me. Understood?" His voice was dangerously soft as he whispered these words to her. He smiled inwardly as he saw her shaking form.

But before Sakura could even answer-which she possibly can't- Kakashi already intervened.

"Yo!" He said in his usual joyous greeting as he looked down at his team on the bridge. He readily accepted Sakura's-who quickly recovered upon hearing the soft pop above the bridge that signaled the arrival of their sensei- scream of 'You're late!' with a smile on his face-though Naruto think it is because of the curve on his one eye. Then he surveyed the members of his teams. There was Sakura who was at his feet gasping for breath after screaming at him for god knows how long, then Sasuke who was also looking at him from below and the last was Naruto who was seated at one of the bridge's railing just beside Sasuke.

He let out a sigh of frustration as he saw that Naruto was not looking at him but at the water below. It's not like he wanted to have the blonde's attention but Naruto looking at the water with a far away look on his eyes was never a good one. It could only mean one thing; Naruto was frustrated.

From the stories that the Hokage and the other teachers that once thought the Uzumaki heir before he went away with Jairaiya, they all described him as a cheerful, mischievous child that would drive you crazy with his curiosity and questions, for Uzumaki Naruto with all the knowledge that he had, was still a child and was completely naïve.

But the moment he stepped inside the training grounds it was as if he became another person altogether. Gone was the cheeky prankster blonde boy that the villagers know of, and enter the cold, expressionless, witty, conniving and sadistic blue eyed ninja that could easily outwit, and outlast all of them with just a blink of an eye. Some could even swear that the child's eyes held an insane look every time they use a high level jutsu.

And during those times when it seems as though Naruto was nearing his edge, they could see a monster that they helped created. But all of it was thrown in the wind the moment they saw those deep blue eyes light with life and fire again.

And looking at Naruto now, with all his cold demeanor ad snappish nature, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder what possibly could have happened in all those years of journey that could have transformed the cheery child that they all knew about. Or perhaps, the cheery nature was just a mask that hides his true dark nature.

Letting out and exasperated sigh, Kakashi went down and walked towards his blonde student.

"Kakashi-sensei, wait!" Sakura tired to warn her sensei but to no avail, the next second all they knew was a bright flash of light followed by an earsplitting explosion.

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Uzumaki Arashi sighed in boredom as he signed yet another paper in the mountainous stack of pile beside his table. After signing the damned shit of paper, and placing it in the neat pile next to him with the help of his ever present secretary, Arashi stood up and walked towards one of the many windows in his office. He sighed yet again.

"Hokage-sama…anou… are you… okay?" Kimiko hesitantly asked him with a concerned look on her face.

Arashi smiled at her. "Do not worry, Kimiko-san. I am alright; I am just worried about my son's state."

At this, Kimiko's face creased with worry as she curiously asked him. "What do you mean to say, Hokage-sama? Is something wrong with Naruto-kun? I have seen him this morning with his teammates, and he doesn't look injured or hurt to me."

"It is not his physical state that I am worried about Kimiko. It is his mental and emotional state."

"What do you mean Hokage-sama, are you saying that Naruto-kun is… that he's… crazy?" Kimiko asked incredulously, saying that last part in a whisper.

"I am not saying that my son is crazy Kimiko, it is just that there are so many nights that he almost doesn't sleep. Ever since I sent his brother away together with Iruka in a diplomatic mission to the Water Country, he changed. He doesn't eat enough, sleep enough, talk enough and if he ever talks, he's always angry and detached. At night, I'm almost afraid that he'll come straight to my chambers and…" Arashi couldn't continue anymore.

"Hokage-sama!" Kimiko shouted, enraged. "Why must you think like that to your son? Naruto-kun could never do that!"

"You don't know him like I do, Kimiko. What you see is just a mask that he'd practiced over the years." He looked his secretary in the eye who was still standing beside his table, a few loose papers still in her hands. "Sometimes, things are not what they seem. He's not stable, Kimiko."

"Hokage-sama! Are you implying that… that… Naruto-kun is a danger to our village?" Kimiko asked her eyes wide while clutching the papers close to her chest as if they could protect her from the harsh truth that's plaguing her.

"I am not saying that, Kimiko, because as of the moment, he is not. He is like Kazekage-sama's own son, Gaara of the Sand. We must tread carefully or else we'll gonna feel the wrath of Kyuubi once again. Tread carefully or else we'll fall."

"And, what do you think we mu-" Kimiko stopped mid-sentence as a loud explosion erupted at the bridge, where Team 7's members are gathering together.

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As the smoke slowly dissipated, much to Sasuke and Sakura's delight, Sasuke saw 4 outlined figures. The first figure was the tallest and the closest to them while the farthest was of a boy in his Sasuke's age which Sasuke recognized-while Sakura was screaming her head of about her sensei and her teammate in trouble- as Kakashi-sensei and Naruto. But the figures between Kakashi and Naruto was one he didn't recognize.

It was the figure of

AN: Thank you so much for reading and please review!