Whoah, wait what? Fieryknight6241 isn't dead? That's so cool! Fieryknight says that he's glad that he's not dead. At this point I really don't have any excuses. I'm just really lazy. I choked out this chapter in about 30 minutes so it probs sucks.
Anyway, LOOKING FOR A BETA. My old beta left me cuz I didn't post a chapter for like half a year. So... Yeah.
And the chapter title? 70's song references brah. See Old guys? I'm not that young!
This chapter... Danzo...
I know. Creepy right? And if you haven't gotten the hint yet, LET THERE BE ANGST! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!
6:00 PM
Naruto blew out 7 birthday candles. Alone. Again.
He sighed. He was going to spend his birthday alone again. He didn't want to bother the old man Hokage. He was too busy managing the festival. He was grateful, already, for the cake the old man bought him every year. Naruto dug into the sweet dessert.
After he finished, he left his apartment to go get some ramen at Ichiraku's ramen stand. Ramen always cheered him up.
Naruto navigated through busy streets, filled with shops and games. At last, he spotted a warm yellow light, and a big, illuminated sign reading, "Ichiraku Ramen Stand."
Teuchi was waiting for him.
"Oi, Naruto-kun. I've already prepared a bowl for you. This one's on the house. It's your birthday today right?" Teuchi smiled.
"Yeah, you better believe it! I'm gonna kick ass today!" Naruto proclaimed.
"Oh? Who's ass are you going to kick?"
"Well... I'll get to that later!"
Teuchi laughed, amused at the young blonde's tactics.
Naruto chatted animatedly with Teuchi for hours, for lack of anyone else to talk to. Suffice to say, it was the most fun Naruto had probably ever had on his birthday.
After a long and detailed description about who's ass he was going to kick and how he was going to do it, Naruto yawned.
"Haha! Old jiji! I'm gonna go to slee- I mean, I'm gonna go train to be as kick ass as possible!" Naruto exclaimed.
He yawned again, which kind of ruined the effect.
Teuchi smiled warmly. At first of course, he had been hesitant to allow the boy to eat at his stand so regularly. He was afraid Naruto would scare away customers. What with his... condition. But Naruto ate more than the rest of his customers combined, and, over time, the old wizened man came to realize that to the boy, his stand was a safe haven. It was the light in the darkness that was a jinchuuriki's life.
Teuchi had kindled a relationship with the boy. A bond. A bond of trust, so strong that it could only be broken by Teuchi or Naruto. The other villagers mattered not.
Naruto slipped off the stool and waved his second favorite jiji goodbye.
"Bye!" His voice echoed.
He walked onto the dark, lamp lit streets with his hands in his pockets, whistling.
On his way back to his apartment, though, the cold stares were worse than usual. Everyone shied away from him, or went out of their way to make him miserable. He caught whispers of demon, and monster. He ignored it though. He was used to it. It was nothing he didn't hear on a daily basis.
After a while, Naruto turned onto his street, tired, and ready to jump into bed.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
"Haha! When I catch that demon, I'm gonna kill him!" A slurred, gruff voice resonated through the empty street.
The sound of someone throwing up could be heard.
Another laugh.
"Hey demon! Get out here so I can slaughter you!
Naruto, lacking the sense to stay quiet, gasped, alerting the men to his presence. Slowly, they turned around to face the small blonde, malicious smiles gracing their faces.
The men each pulled out a kunai and stalked toward the small boy.
Naruto, wide eyed, turned around and sprinted in the other direction, desperate to keep away.
Why, why why why!?
They had never attacked him like this. Never. They shunned him, whispered about him, shoved him around, but even the most drunken ones just punched him a few times.
Naruto stumbled and tripped over an eroded part of the road. He landed painfully on his knees, tears running down his face.
"Hey look, we found a little demon boy!" The men had caught up.
The sound of an unsheathing kunai rang through Naruto's ears.
20 kunai lodged themselves into Naruto's back, and laughter could be heard. The men stabbed the blonde with unabated fury with a maniacal glint in their eyes.
Pure, unadulterated pain spread through Naruto's body like a wild fire. He could feel warm liquid dampening his clothes. He slipped in and out of consciousness. He was in too much pain to even scream. The blonde boy was reduced to a series of painful rasps.
Why!?
He had done nothing! Nothing to merit this sort of punishment. He stayed in the shadows, tried not to draw too much attention, but everyone seemed to go out of their way to hurt him.
Where is Jiji? Naruto thought, Why isn't he coming to save me? Does he hate me too? Does everyone secretly hate me? Even... even Iruka-sensei? And Teuchi-san?
And then the feeling of betrayal set in, the worst feeling of all. Hardships could be fought. Despair remedied by success. Loneliness eased by friendship. But the feeling that all your friendships were fake, achievements meaningless, and hardships overwhelming, was the worst feeling of them all.
His assailant's eyes suddenly glazed over.
The assault stopped, but the rage, hate, and pain continued, overwhelming Naruto and causing him to pass out. The last thing he remembered was a flash of orange light, and then everything exploded.
=O=
3 days later: 10:30 PM
Naruto awoke with a start. His skin burned like a small wildfire, spreading through his entire body. A terrible headache tormented him, causing him to feel terribly dizzy. A soft white blanket covered his small, childlike frame, and he slept on a comfortable bed. He lay in a small dark room, lit by one lightbulb. Cement walls surrounded him, with a steel door opposite to his bed.
"Finally awake, I see."
Naruto turned toward the voice, his eyes landing upon an old man. Bandages covered the man's right eye and wrapped around his head, giving him the 'wounded old man' look. He leaned heavily on a wooden cane, his wrinkled hands shook, as if he could collapse any time.
"Whe- Where am I?" Naruto rasped.
"The Hospital."
"Ko-konoha hospital?"
"Depends on how you define "Konoha Hospital."
Young Naruto was mystified, but decided not to press, as he felt like he was being burned alive from the inside.
Danzo said, "We hide in the shadows; the unseen protectors of Konoha . We are the base of the tree that is the village hidden in the leaves."
"Now, for the reason you are here, laying on a bed made from the finest silk. Being treated with the most advanced medical treatments."
Naruto's eyes widened in confusion. He still had no idea what had happened. What had put him in a hospital bed.
"Tell me, Naruto Uzumaki. From birth, you have been silently loathed by all those around you. Hated. Feared. Baseless accusations directed at you on a daily basis. Do you enjoy this, Naruto? Do you enjoy being slandered by those who should protect you?"
A single tear rolled down the blonde boy's cheek. He tried to keep it back. He tried. He really did. But he couldn't stop. Images, memories flooded into his mind. Wrongdoings, all amplified by the old man's words. Subtle hints of hatred that he had long since pushed to the back of his mind swarmed him.
Why should I take all of this. This hatred? Suffering? Jiji said to forgive the villagers but why should I? what have they done for me?
And then tears of sadness turned into tears of white hot rage. The kyuubi's chakra flooded into Naruto's body, rejuvenating his body. His wounds orange glow appeared around him, burning off his bandages. Naruto's eyes saw only red. He sat up and jumped off the bed with a feral grin.
BANG.
The sound of Danzo's cane hitting the ground echoed around the cement walls.
The kyuubi's chakra disappeared, and the blondes eyes turned from red to blue.
"You will not take revenge against the villagers."
The statement was delivered so calmly, so naturally that Naruto was immediately silenced.
"I can train you, yes. You will be so powerful that no one would dare attack you. Approach you. Not that they would know where you are. Become strong, and something like this will never happen again. But should you harm Konoha, I will kill you. Understood?" Danzo said sternly.
"Why?" Naruto whispered, "Why do you love this village?"
"Konoha is my home, Naruto. As it is yours. We shinobi are tools to be used for our homelands protection and prosperity. Nothing more, nothing less. Why would you want to join me then, you ask? All I can say is this. In this world, power is everything. The weak die. The strong survive. Do you wish to be weak, or strong, Naruto Uzumaki?"
"I want to be strong. I will survive." The boy's eyes burned with fiery passion. He would not stay with this man for long, he reasoned. He had no use staying with an old man who was blindly loyal to his village. This was but a stepping stone. He would grow. Evolve. Survive.
Hints. Hints hints hints. Hints at what really happened placed all over the story. Hints! Oh I love hints. If you piece it together, feel free to leave a review telling me what you think. All will be revealed... in a few chapters.
