AN: I used to think over-the-top abuse would not be believable in the situation Naruto is in, but in my bid to incorporate some real-world elements into the story, I remembered anything remotely associated with demons was looked down upon with extreme prejudice. The Spanish Inquisition executed anybody even accused as being a witch, or consorting with a dark power, more often than not killing innocents. Even the Hokage, respected as he is, would not be able to fight against the inherent fear and superstition in the people (he is old, give the tired man a break. When we get old, we become weak). In ancient Japan, in order to ward off evil spirits or demons, they bought wards and charms, they exorcised spirits if there was any hint of bad luck, and executed those who were seen as 'demonspawn' or being related to a demon in any way. In other words, people's thinking was highly influenced by such fears, and we all know what fear does to people.

After the jump!

-3 Years Later-

The Clans of Konohagakure were revered as the oldest and most powerful in the land. The Hidden Leaf Village employed more ninja than any other ninja village, and was one of the five great Hidden Villages of Japan.

The Clan homes were spacious and sprawling, making up more than half of the village. Winding corridors and hidden trapdoors were characteristic of these homes, testament to the paranoia so inherent to shinobi life.

The many exotic Clans of Konoha practice ancient arts passed down generation after generation, and these hidden techniques are protected jealously from the scrutiny of other clans. The Uchiha and Hyuga are the leading clans of Konoha, with powerful hereditary Bloodlines, like the Sharingan and Byakugan. Since the creation of Konoha, and the subsequent extinction of the Senju, another prestigious clan, the Uchiha and Hyuga have pursued a bitter rivalry in politics and the ninja arts.

It was into this world of clans and politics that Hinata Hyuga was born. She was the eldest daughter of Clan Head and Council Elder Hiashi Hyuga, and Clan Heiress by birth.

A pity she never seemed to exude the strength shown by her younger sister, Hanabi. In contrast, she was weak in body, always seeming slower at grasping ninja techniques, and lacked the confidence of a leader.

Weakness was never tolerated.

Her body shivered with exhaustion, her knees threatened to buckle. She had pushed herself to the limit, but it was never enough. Her father's expectations were high, too high, and she would never meet it. She stood facing her sister, barely holding her stance. Her younger sister stayed in her combat stance, eyes never straying from her opponent, hands raised to ward off any attack. Even in her exhaustion, Hinata marveled at Hanabi's perfection. She betrayed not a single hint of tiredness, contrasting with the hyperventilating mess Hinata was at the moment.

The match had barely lasted ten minutes. The Hyuga Elders were seated around the match area, their eyes judging, calculating. The lavender pupils that showed ownership of the legendary Doujutsu, the Byakugan, showed disappointment as they roamed to Hinata.

It had always been like that; the stronger sister was obviously Hanabi. They had been pitted and compared against each other ever since they were born. And always, Hinata was only fit for disappointment. This match was called by her Father, who had long loathed the weakness Inherent in Hinata. It was to decide the true inheritor of the Hyuga Clan, and the end result was never disputed.

Now, Hinata was fighting with every fibre in her body to just succeed, at least once in her life. Gathering her last reserves of strength, she launched herself at Hanabi, palms poised for chakra infused Jyuken strikes. Deftly dodging the sloppy attack, Hanabi countered, batting away her arm with an elbow strike and getting into position to end the battle.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms!" Hanabi shouted, initiating her clan's signature technique.

Two... Four... Sixteen... Thirty-two... Sixty-four... The strikes beat down on Hinata mercilessly, closing her chakra pathways and paralyzing her body. Defeated, she slumped to the ground, unable to move a muscle.

The Elders were shocked to say the least. That a girl Hanabi's age could perform the technique so flawlessly was unheard of. She had barely seen five winters, but yet was already hailed as a clan genius.

"It is decided then. Hanabi is the victor. She has thus won the right to lead the Hyuga Clan. Hinata will be transferred to the Branch house immediately, and will be branded with the cursed seal by the end of week." Hanaoko, one of the Elders, calmly stated.

Seemingly satisfied with the outcome, the Elders filed out of the area, leaving Hinata where she lay. Last to leave was Hiashi, who lead Hanabi out of the area.

"Once again, you show your unworthiness. This marks the end for my expectations of you. From now, my only daughter is Hanabi; I wash my hands of you and your failures." Hiashi said, facial expression cold and unchanging.

Finally, Hinata was left alone and on the ground, tears streaming down her face. Once again, she had failed. Exhaustion claimed her, and she fell into a troubled sleep.

A dark figure, having witnessed the entire scene unnoticed, melted into the darkness. For a moment, his hitai-ate was revealed, on it engraved the symbol of Kumogakure, then the shadows swallowed him whole.

It had been three years since Naruto made his intentions to become a ninja known to the Hokage. Since then, every time the Hokage came back from his missions, he would teach Naruto a few more chakra exercises and test him on his skills. Overall, Naruto was... average. The Hokage would not risk sending to the Academy with the Clan children; he knew he could not go against the Clan Elders wishes.

Naruto's chakra control was dismal, his taijutsu poor, and had absolutely no aptitude for genjutsu. The only thing he seemed to passed in was ninjutsu, as he had already mastered somewhat the Bunshin, Kawamiri and Henge jutsus. The only thing that Naruto had was his immense chakra reserves and stamina. Sarutobi knew in his heart Naruto could not possibly become a good shinobi, but he kept this in his heart. Naruto's dream was all he had, and it would be far too cruel to take that away.

The past years had taken a heavy toll on Hiruzen Sarutobi. He could no longer keep up with the mission schedule, often returning to Konoha battered and close to death. He knew the Council were eying him, waiting for him to give up being Hokage, waiting for him to give in to his weakness. In that respect the Council resembled power-hungry vultures. There was talk amongst them of who would emerge as the new Hokage. To Sarutobi's knowledge, three factions had emerged in the Council. Former candidate for Third Hokage Danzo Himura, Clan Head Hiashi Hyuga and perhaps the worse and most power-hungry of all Clan Head Fugaku Uchiha. A deep distrust between the shinobi had formed due to the factionalism, and Sarutobi feared the unity of Konoha was threatened.

Unity. That was the core principle of the Will of Fire. To trust your comrades implicitly, even to the point of death. The power struggle occurring at the top of Konoha's hierarchy was shaking the foundations of the village; already, political relations with the other Hidden Villages was deteriorating. 'If this devolves into a full-out civil war, Konoha will definitely be destroyed by our enemies.' Sarutobi thought. 'In the unforgiving world of the shinobi, weakness is unforgivable. Division among Konoha's ranks would no doubt attract hordes of enemies to our gates. Even the Shogun would see this as an opportunity to get rid of us.'

Shaking his head to clear his mind of such grim thoughts, the Third Hokage made his way to Naruto's apartment. He had allowed the blond child to make an abandoned building on the outskirts of the village his home, and had secured the perimeter with seals to guarantee Naruto's safety; this way, he was allowed some peace of mind when he left on his missions. Today, he had an appointment with the blond, and it would not do if he were late.

"Damn it! I just can't get this jutsu right!" sighed an exasperated Naruto. The Hokage had been out of town for a month now, and the blond was getting bored of training. He had snuck into the Uchiha Clan compound to pull off some pranks, and hopefully steal a meal or two - luckily for him, he managed to steal something far better than a free meal. As he was sneaking through one of the Uchiha houses, he found a clan scroll lying about. To his delight, it contained their famous Goukakyo no Jutsu (Great Fireball Jutsu)! In his excitement, however, he became sloppy, and so was discovered by the Uchiha sentinels. They were unable to identify him due to him utilizing his Henge no Jutsu, but still went out of their way to kill him, firing jutsus left and right, and destroying much of their own property, while failing to even injure him completely. 'Fools... serves them right' Naruto chuckled.

But now, he was at an impasse. No matter how hard he tried, he could not conjure up anything more than a wisp of smoke. He was sure he had memorized the hand seals perfectly, but it was his damned chakra control getting in the way again. For the past day and a half, he had been running himself to the ground with his training, never pausing to eat or sleep, and it was taking a toll on his body. He was now feeling an emotion he rarely felt: anger.

Sure, he felt frustrated often enough. Sometimes, when he would partake in his contemplative bouts he would feel sadness. But he rarely felt anger, even toward the villagers who abused him, or Clan shinobi that tried to separate his head from his body. After all, he had been shunned his entire life, so such actions did little to irk him. In fact, he felt lonely more than anything else.

Now, the anger surged through his veins, borne out of a refusal to accept the fate the outsiders in his life condemned him to. They saw him as a monster, thought he could never succeed, and he was proving them right. The fact that he could not succeed in replicating such a technique meant he was every bit the failure he tried his hardest not to be.

This would not do; he was supposed to be the strongest.

With a final strangled cry, he made the hand seals, then pumped every bit of chakra he had left into the technique, not even bothering to mold the chakra into any recognizable form. To hell with concentration, he would do it his way. What followed was the most gigantic fireball he ever saw. He was lucky the Training Ground was situated far from any populated areas, as the fireball was easily as tall as a building. It roared through the forest, scorching the ground and setting the trees alight. Weak from chakra exhaustion, Naruto strained to get out of the Training Ground as fast as possible; he was prohibited from even setting foot in the Training Grounds, and the commotion he had caused would likely bring more ninja upon him.

Adrenalin fueled his desperate flight back to the safety of his home. He would be killed if he was caught in such a position. As he crossed the threshold of the seal barrier the Hokage had set up to protect his home, he immediately slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Hard work pays off... sometimes.

AN: read and review Please!