Author's Note: Hello, sorry that I did not get this chapter up over the weekend. Halloween was crazy this year and some friends and I decided to hit the streets of Beijing to do some partying American style. Anyways, this chapter is a little longer than usual but I hope you enjoy it. Please R&R. Oh, and unfortunately I do not own Naruto. =(

Chapter 3

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Two and a half years have passed since the devastation of the Kyuubi's attack. Konoha was slowly rebuilt and life eventually returned to the norm for a hidden shinobi village. Missions were contracted, ninja fought and died, and a new generation was being groomed for service to the village at the ninja academy. Most importantly, the plans the Yondaime Hokage had enacted years earlier with his most trusted advisers was finally bearing fruit.

The Ninja of Kumogakure had begun their advance from the border of Lightning Country into Fire Country two weeks ago. The Kumo Shinobi, confident of the element of surprise, slowly made their way towards the final destination. The army did not travel too quickly because tired Shinobi are worthless on the battlefield and can only be used as canon fodder. Unfortunately for these ninja, a certain super-pervert had been keeping a very close eye on their movements since the moment they left the gates of their hidden village and alerted Konoha to the impending attack as well as other vital information such as troop strengths, speed, approach vector, and who commanded the army. The knowledge of who commanded the army as well as the other information was essential to mounting a proper defense. The days were now gone when a Kage would directly lead his men into battle; instead a brilliant ninja with the potential to one day become Kage would usually lead the attack while the Kage provided counsel from the safety of his village.

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In Konoha

"Hokage-sama! Kakashi-sempai has arrived from the fronts to debrief as requested." stated a young ANBU with a bear mask. "He asked that I inform you that he yielded command of the army to Jiraiya-sama after the initial battle."

"Very good Bear. Let him in please."

"Yes sir!" said the ninja as he walked out of the office.

Moments later Kakashi entered the office with a serious look on his face that few people ever saw.

"Ahh Kakashi! I am glad to see that you were unharmed during the assault. What do you have to report?" asked the elderly Hokage.

"Sir, I am happy to report that so far the plan is working flawlessly. First contact was a great victory for the leaf. They outnumbered us three to one, but we pulled it off! Sir,…. do you remember the first time we talked about the prospect of war with Kumo?"

"Yes Kakashi, I do. To which aspect of the meeting are you referring?"

"At the time I could not understand all the planning that the Yondaime put into facing this threat. But sir, sensei was right, about everything; every part of our preparations was a key factor in our victory."

Sarutobi began to softly chuckle. "It is simply amazing that Minato's genius continues to protect this village even after he has been gone for so long" said the Hokage. "Now if you wouldn't mind I would love to hear the specifics of the battle!"

"Of course sir" Kakashi replied. "We made contact with the enemy roughly two hours after sunrise four days ago on May 3rd. Since they assumed we had no idea they were marching towards Konoha their vanguard was quite small and ill prepared for attack. I, along with the rest of the ANBU assassination squad successfully neutralized them without alerting the main army to our presence. Umm… I assume you don't want to know the particulars of the assassinations?"

"No, the methods are not important during this meeting, you can file a report later."

"Yes sir. Anyways, after neutralizing their scouts our Shinobi waited patiently to spring the ambush we prepared. Approximately ten minutes after disposing of the vanguard the main army appeared. With the ambush we were able to eliminate at least one fourth of their Shinobi, as well as scatter their forces throughout the forest, effectively cutting each group off from reinforcing one another. This led to small pockets of fighting all over the place. I doubt if any one of the skirmishes included more than four or five squads from either village."

"Hmmm… interesting." interrupted Sarutobi.

"What is sir?"

The old man took a deep puff from his pipe before explaining. "Well, now it makes sense why Minato insisted that Tsunade return to the village. He agreed with her proposal that we train one person in each squad to be a proficient medic and require all ninja to know at least the most basic healing jutsu."

"Umm… sir I'm not sure I understand the connection it makes to the widespread chaos in the forest."

"Just think about it Kakashi."

After a minute of intense thinking, the light in Kakashi's head switched on. "Ok, I think I might understand. With both sides spread so thin, squads without a medic in the immediate area would basically be out of luck."

"Exactly Kakashi" said the Hokage. "For example, in a skirmish between five squads from each village there would be five ninja capable of either fighting or performing battlefield emergency healing to keep the others in fighting shape. This is a distinct tactical advantage over an enemy who would most likely be unable to heal their wounded."

Kakashi was simply stunned. "Incredible, I can't believe that sensei would be able to predict the importance of having those medics."

Well Kakashi is there anything else to tell me?"

"Yes sir. I was lucky enough to find myself in combat with the Raikage's nephew who happened to be leading their forces. He was an incredible ninja but his leadership skills were somewhat lacking. Would you like to hear about the fight?"

Yes Kakashi. I think learning as much about the commander as possible is quite important, please begin" stated the old man.

"Well I found him….

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Elsewhere in Konoha

"I'll show that damn brat!!" whispered a livid middle-aged man as he cleaned a bucket's worth of jello from himself and the floor. "I can't believe he got me with that trick again."

Naruto's formative years were brutal. The first two and a half years of his life were absolutely terrible. He was always alone, always hated and always hungry. Except for during the occasional visit from the third Hokage or Hiashi Hyuuga, Naruto never saw anything but fear or hatred in the eyes of the people around him. Since Sarutobi was unable to take the boy in, he had arranged for the boy to live in an orphanage on the southwest corner of the village. The Hokage tried his best to protect Naruto; he even went so far as to threaten the owner of the orphanage, a man named Tsuchi, that if the boy was mistreated he would completely cut their funding. Unfortunately, however, both he and the owner knew it was purely a bluff and it did nothing to prevent them from beating and starving the young boy.

The only thing running through the orphanage owner's mind as he cleaned up the jell-o was, "How am I going to get rid of that demon without dealing with the consequences?"

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Hokage Tower

"I see, well Kakashi that certainly sounds like an epic battle. Now then, what else can you tell me about the overall battle?" asked the Hokage.

"Well…roughly an hour after the fighting begin Kumo's army was crumbling quickly. Most of the army retreated as hastily as possible once the ninja began to realize that even if a general retreat had been called, it would be impossible to get word of it."

Kakashi took a short pause before continuing his report.

"As the enemy disengaged our ninja began to reorganize at the staging point to await further orders. Once our Shinobi had re-assembled, I sent out Hunter-Killer squads consisting of one tracker, one medic, and two heavy combat specialists to eliminate any threats they could find. They were given clear instruction not to take unnecessary risks, however, just prior to handing command over to Jiraiya-sama I recalled all of the teams after two days of hunting."

The Hokage nodded. "Yes, that was a very wise decision Kakashi. Sending out hunter squads is a good strategy to employ when the enemy is in chaos but can be counter-productive if allowed to continue after the enemy has had a chance to regroup. Furthermore, since Jiraiya followed the first wave of ninja to leave Kumogakure it is impossible for us to know at this time if they have reinforcements on the way. While it is doubtful that Kumo would send multiple waves of troops when they thought they held the element of surprise, it is indeed possible. Very good Kakashi."

"Do you have any idea of the casualties yet?"

"We have some idea sir. It appears as though Kumo suffered close to five hundred casualties while we have one hundred and thirty-seven reported casualties, ninety-four dead, forty-three wounded. Fifteen of the wounded Shinobi are in critical condition and nine of which will never be Shinobi again."

"I see, thank you Kakashi. You did an excellent job in command and your actions saved an untold number of lives. Rest at home for the night, and tomorrow please report here before heading back to the border. I will have a scroll ready that I need you to deliver to Jiraiya."

"Yes sir." Kakashi turned to exit. Before leaving he turned his head to look at the Hokage. "Oh and thank you sir, I have been missing my books, (cough), I mean bed."

With a knowing smile, Sarutobi replied with a simple "Your welcome."

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Orphanage six Months later

The staff was absolutely fed up with the demon boy, and the day had finally come for the orphanage manager to enact his plan that would rid the world of a certain demon once and for all. After half a day of chasing the boy, the manager of the orphanage finally caught Naruto hiding under the steps leading into the back door. After mercilessly beating him, Tsuchi tied Naruto's wrists together and suspended him from a large spruce tree in the orphanage's play area. After making sure that the rope securely bound the small boy, Tsuchi called for all of the older boys to assemble outside.

Naruto hung from the rope crying as the pain in his wrists continued to reach new levels. Though he did not weigh much, the bones, ligaments, and tendons within his wrists were not strong enough to hold the continuous pressure that was being exerted upon them.

Tsuchi turned to the boys once they had all gathered aroundNaruto and himself. The boys varied in age five to fifteen, and with a scowl on his face and an evil glean in his eyes Tsuchi began to speak. "Boys do you see this thing in front of you?" he asked.

"Yes." Replied the group of boys all with a hint of confusion in their voices.

"He is the reason why each of you are orphans!" Tsuchi proclaimed. The man smirked as a collective gasp escaped from the group. "Yes, his parents betrayed and attack the village; his parents killed all of your parents in cold blood."

Tsuchi gave the boys a moment to process the blatant lie he had just told. "That…, is why I am giving you an opportunity to pay him back. I know how upset it must make you to know that your parents were murdered, but now you have the chance to avenge their deaths. I am going inside, don't make too much noise."

Tsuchi smiled inwardly as he saw the rage in the eyes of most of the boys. "That demon will not survive the night" he exclaimed laughing openly now.

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Pure, unbridled, constant, pain, that is all Naruto knew. It seemed like an eternity since the group of boys had begun their assault. Boys five times his age were repeatedly hitting him all over his body. There was not a single part of his body that did not ache. By this point, his wrists, nose, and several ribs had been broken. His arms had been dislocated from their sockets, and his kneecaps had been devastated as well. Naruto felt death fast approaching, however he was not afraid. In fact, he welcomed the relief it would bring.

Naruto finally blacked out from the pain. When he awoke, he found himself standing in what appeared to be a sewer. Though he was somewhat confused about how he had gotten in a sewer, and more than a tiny bit scared, he started to walk down the large hallway. After walking for several minutes, Naruto suddenly found himself standing in a gigantic room with a gate that reached from the floor all the way to the ceiling. As Naruto approached, the gate melted away allowing him access to what awaited within.

Naruto detected that there was something or someone else in the room and cautiously advanced. When he was about 20 feet away Naruto noticed that the middle of the room was occupied by a beautiful young woman, with hair that was a light brown with a hint of red, who appeared to be around twenty-two years old. Tears streamed from her eyes as she wept into a light blue pillow.

This greatly confused Naruto. 'What is someone as beautiful as her doing in a place like this? And why is she crying?' Naruto asked himself.

Naruto nervously proceeded to walk towards her. "Umm… excuse me." Naruto said in a weak voice. The sudden sound of another person's voice startled the young woman. She turned and stared at her company. Are you all right?" he asked more boldly.

The woman began to walk towards him and this scared him greatly. Instinctively he hid his face from her because the only time strangers ever approached him was to hit him. He wanted to move, to run away, but his feet seemed to be stuck to the ground. When she finally reached him he prepared for the worst but could have never in a million years prepared for what happened. Suddenly, he felt something warm wrap around him almost like a blanket but it was much heavier. Naruto opened his eyes to see the young woman holding him in a tight embrace.

"Naruto-kun… don't be scared I will never hurt you!" said the young lady as she held him close. "I would rather die than see you ever be hurt again!"

Upon hearing her proclamation Naruto's eyes shot open in surprise. Never before had he believed someone could care for him so much. Here was a woman he had never met that cared more for his than anyone else, even the old man.

"Wh... Who are you? And why don't you want to hurt me like everyone else?" asked the young blonde.

"Naruto my name is Miya. I do not wish to hurt you because you are very important to me, and I love you very much."

"You love me? How can you love me if we have never met, and where in the world are we?"

"Ok, ok Naruto I know I should have expected all of these questions let's start with the simple ones and work are way through, shall we?" asked Miya.

Naruto simply nodded as he stared into her soft burgundy colored eyes, giving her his undivided attention.

"Ok, how do I explain this to a three year old?" Miya asked.

Naruto shrugged, "I don't know. Just tell me and maybe I will understand" He suggested.

"Fine, we are inside of you; this is your soul." Miya explicated.

Nani!!!!! Why is it so filthy and depressing?" Naruto asked.

"Well I believe it is because of the horrible things that you have been forced to endure. Even though your physical injuries heal, they leave emotional scares that are hard to overcome. To answer your next question, I was one of your mother's closest friends before she died. I loved her so much and I promised her shortly after you were born that I would love and protect you in any way possible."

"S-so, so you mean my parents didn't just abandon me like everyone says?"

"Of course not Naruto," said Miya as she hugged him tightly once again. "They both loved you very much. Unfortunately, your mother died shortly after you were born."

"What about my dad? Is he alive somewhere?"

"I'm sorry but he also died the night you were born fighting against the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Don't tell this to anyone, but he was the greatest Shinobi to ever fight the demon." Miya responded.

Although the young blonde was slightly downtrodden to find that both of his parents were dead, he was greatly relieved that they had not simply abandoned him, and in fact, loved him deeply. Furthermore, he burned with pride that his father had been such a great man and ninja.

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Meanwhile at the Hokage Tower

The aged Hokage sat quietly in his soft office chair smoking. He was enjoying a rare treat in the form of a short reprieve from paperwork. A small smile tugged at the edges of his mouth. 'At least there is one good thing about war,' he thought, 'there's no need for paperwork.'

The Hokage was forced from his thoughts as someone knocked loudly at his mahogany door. "Enter" he called, and instantly two Anbu black-ops entered the office. The one on the left wore a dog mask while the one to the right sported a bear mask.

Immediately Sarutobi knew that something was wrong. "Report" he ordered calmly.

"Sir," said Kakashi from behind his dog mask, "Uzumaki has been attacked."

Sarutobi's eyes filled with fear and anger. "Where, by whom?" he demanded.

"We found…

"No time, tell me on the way"

"Yes sir" the two Anbu responded as the three ninja jumped from the window behind the desk. "We found him bound by his wrists from a tree behind the orphanage where he lives. There were at least twelve other boys mercilessly attacking him."

"Who did you leave to take care of the boy?"

"Yuugao is waiting with the boy. It is not safe to move him in his condition. This is the closest he has ever come to dying" Responded Kakashi.

The fire in Sarutobi's eyes steadily intensified as the severity of the beating finally hit him. "Tenzou, find Tsunade and bring her to the orphanage. You should be able to find her at that bar near Ichiraku's ramen stand. I see her there every time I take Naruto to eat ramen."

"Yes sir"

"Oh and Bear, I don't care if this is her day off. If she refuses, tell her she has five minutes before I revoke her mednin license."

With a nod the young Anbu took to the rooftops to expedite his search.

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Naruto's Mindscape

"Wait a second" Naruto demanded, "Umm… if you are a real person how are you inside my soul?"

"That is an excellent question, but one that I am afraid will have to be answered another day" replied Miya.

"Nani?!?!? Why???"

"Because Naruto, you are too young for some things to make sense, but I promise you that I will explain everything one day when you are older."

Naruto nodded his head as a simple gesture of acceptance. "Umm… Miya-chan, do you think you could sing me a lullaby? I feel really tired."

"Ahh, that's because I have been channeling my chakra throughout your body to protect you from those boys." Miya explained. 'Though I can't do much or my chakra would kill those children and Naruto would be blamed. I can't believe that old bastard took things this far.'

"Ok Naruto I will try to sing a lullaby, but I haven't heard one in years."

After thinking for a few minutes Miya could only remember the sweet tune of a song long forgotten by mortal ears, a tune that was heard long before the Elemental nations existed.

So she held the young boy in her arms and began to hum softly in his ear. Within moments, Naruto peacefully fell asleep in a warm embrace for the first time in nearly three years.

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Several hours later Naruto awoke to find that he was still cradled in Miya's arms. He softly hugged her around her waist and yawned.

She smiled down at the little blonde in her arms but there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Did you sleep well Naru-kun."

Naruto nodded as he rubbed his eyes. When he finally looked up, Miya saw that he was crying.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" she asked as she once again pulled him into a soft embrace.

"Are those mean boys still hurting me? I don't understand why they all wanted to hit me so much" he explained between sniffles.

"Don't worry Naruto you will be fine. The Hokage is here and he is getting you looked over by the best medic in the world as we speak."

"Really???" Naruto asked with amazement. "Where did he find such a good doctor?"

"Actually, he was her Jounin sensei when she was a brand new ninja."

Naruto smiled brightly at Miya's explanation. "The old man is so cool. I want to become Hokage just like him someday."

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Outside the Orphanage

"How does he look Tsunade?"

A blonde women with an absolutely enormous bust looked up at her sensei. "I'm sorry sensei. The boy's in a coma and there is nothing I can do to help him out of it."

A single tear trickled down the Hokage's aged face. "The boy looks up to me so much and yet all I have done is fail him time and again. Please help him in anyway possible... I owe it to his father."

"His father sir? I thought no one knew who his parents were."

"Not exactly, his heritage is just a well guarded secret."

After a few moments of silence, Tsunade adopted an exasperated look, "Well… are you going to tell me or not?"

"No, not until Jiraiya returns from the front, I would prefer to tell you both at once."

The two Shinobi were interrupted by the Anbu with the dog mask. "Sir, what should we do with the prisoner?" pointing to Tsuchi who had assumed the fetal position at Kakashi's feet.

"Take him to the holding cell in the tower basement. We will deal with him once Jiraiya returns."

"Yes sir."

Sarutobi turned back to Tsunade. "Is it safe to move him?"

She nodded. "Yes we should get him to the hospital."

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Konoha Hospital

Naruto was comfortably situated in a bed on the fourth floor of the Hospital. The Hokage had assigned Kakashi's Anbu squad to guard duty until Naruto was free to leave. Unfortunately, he had yet to wake from his coma and it had been almost a week since the incident. Both Sarutobi and Tsunade visited the boy multiple times a day.

As they both stood beside the sleeping boy, a tear made its way down Tsunade's cheek. "Sir, I'm afraid I must give you some bad news."

"What is it?"

"Sensei, most of the time, if a patient doesn't wake up within the first week they more than likely never will." Tsunade said quietly.

To Tsunade's astonishment, the old man actually began to smile upon hearing her news. "Oh Tsunade, if only you new this boy the way I do. He will be up and about soon enough."

"Sensei I understand if you have faith in the boy but you have to face the facts."

"Alright Tsunade," Sarutobi replied, "I tell you what, I'll bet an S rank mission salary that he wakes within the next two days."

Tsunade was shocked by the amount of faith the Hokage was showing in the small boy. "I hate to bet on the fate of this boy but you have a deal. That money is too easy to win to pass up" she answered.

"It seems as though the two of us can never have a conversation without an interruption of some sort" the Hokage whispered. "Bear what do have to report?"

"Hakage-sama, Jiraiya-sama has just returned from the border and he has something important to speak with the two of you about" reported the Anbu.

"Thank you, Bear. Please inform Jiraiya that we will be along directly."

In a swirl of wind and leaves the ninja was gone.

The two ninja quickly made their way to the door. "We should probably hurry sensei," stated Tsunade, "Jiraiya still tends to go cranky if made to wait for too long." With one last look back Tsunade closed the door. "Good Luck Naruto. For once I hope I lose a bet.

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Author's note: Hello again. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If my were expecting or hoping for Naruto to learn Miya's true identity as the Kyuubi no Kitsune I am sorry but I have an excellent reason for withholding that information from him at this time. It is quite simple really. No three year old is mature enough to learn that he has a demopn trapped inside. Miya will reveal the truth when he is old enough to understand the events from the night he was born. Anyways, take care.