Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto. Wish I did. Then I would know all about the whole Madara-is-dead-is-not-dead thing and I would laugh at your pathetic attempts to figure out the truth. But life is hard like that and thus it is Kishimoto who laughs at your pathetic attempts. Some theories are just downright retarded and funny, no offence really. Just that this will be and has been one interesting week. The suspense has been countered with the theories.
Sorry but I the delay has been part lack of inspiration and part don't know what to do. You know the whole I want this to happen yet I don't know to do this thing right?
Hope you enjoy the chapter. I wasn't really feeling…youthful when I wrote this. Oh and this story is not yaoi if I haven't already said that. Some people might assume things from this chapter.
Chapter three: Training
Soft splashes echoed in throughout the halls that were Uzumaki Naruto's mindscape. Naruto didn't particularly like the sound. He used to be Namikaze Minato, who was considered to be the greatest ninja in the world. Silence was a ninja's best friend and the splashes although soft were definitely not silent.
But for now, Naruto didn't particularly care. It didn't really matter because the person, no, the thing he came to see should already know he was coming.
In the back of his mind Naruto made a mental note to find a way to get some direct way to his destination. He considered himself smart and knew that the
Finally Naruto came into what looked like a large basement of a boiler room. Pipes hung from the ceiling and the floor was flooded over with water. At the other end was a huge gate, complete with metal bars that ran from the floor to the ceiling. There was a lock on the gate with a paper that had the kanji for seal written on it.
Naruto walked forward with tentative steps, not sure that he really wanted to meet with the being that he knew lay behind those bars. Both his feet made soft splashing sounds. It was during one of these steps that he chanced a look at the water on the floor. Ocean blue eyes stared back at him; a reflection from the water. Idly he raised a hand and ran a finger across the whisker marks on his right cheek. It was still so surreal being in what was his son's body.
When he looked back up he found himself staring straight into large blood red eyes that were bigger than him and had slits for pupils. An intense pressure descended on him at that moment, a pressure he hadn't felt for years. Whether it was five years (age of this Naruto) or around sixteen or seventeen years (age of Naruto who sent him here) he did not know, but all the same he had felt it before.
Then he had been filled with adrenaline so it didn't affect him as much as it should. Now, it really did make him feel like a five-year old child. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he forced the fear away. There was no reason to be afraid. He wasn't the one locked up. The pressure remained but Naruto calmed down by calling on his former life's experience. At least the Naruto in this body didn't have to go through this. He could only imagine what the strongest of the bijuu's killing intent could do to an actual five-year old.
As he continued his approach of the bars, the red eyes began to move upwards as if their owner was standing up. The darkness gave way too light as soon as Minato touched one bar of what he now knew was a cage, revealing a gigantic fox with blood red fur and nine tails swishing madly behind it. Naruto felt small, not afraid-small but just small. Well maybe he also felt a little fear.
"Hello Fox. I'll admit that I never wanted to see you again and I'm sure you didn't too; well maybe you did just so you could eat me, but here we are. It seems our fates are still interconnected. So no hard feelings cause of the sealing thing right?"
The Kyuubi no Yoko gave a growl that shook Naruto's bones.
"You're Yin half says hello by the way."
It was like an explosion. The fox's roar was deafening and its chakra came out like a shockwave hitting Minato full on. All Minato saw was red, literally. He was sent flying back through the room before slamming into the spot on the wall just above the entrance.
As he fell back down to the floor in a daze, he already knew that something was different. He had felt the chakra run through him as in actually go through his body. He sincerely hoped that this couldn't be felt outside his body or the roof would be crowded with Anbu. The blonde stood up and turned to face the fox with a glare. Strangely he didn't feel pain or any kind of soreness but he wrote that down to this being his mind.
The fox glared back, its legs shaking slightly before just collapsing on its haunches. "I knew it" Apparently it couldn't do that too many times.
Naruto threw his arms into the air and comically ranted. "WHAT THE HELL FOX! IF I KNEW THIS WOULD BE YOUR WELCOME I WOULD NEVER HAVE COME! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!" The fox rolled its huge eyes.
"Yondaime Hokage how is it that you inhabit this body?" The Fox asked. Kyuubi's voice was definitely scary but what made the blonde's eyes widen was something else.
"Wait a second. How did you know I was the Yondaime? I haven't said anything about it."
One of the Kyuubi's tails appeared over its head and the fox used it to point at his 'host' lazily. Naruto looked down and finally noticed that the ground was much farther away from his head than it was a few minutes ago. Also he was no longer Naruto. He was the Namikaze Minato again, the Yondaime Hokage complete with his white and red cloak.
"Oh so you just wanted to confirm that? You could have just asked you know?" The fox rolled it eyes again grumbling about annoying bags of flesh.
"You have not answered my question." The fox said.
"Well it's not like you asked nicely." The Fox visibly showed its frustration by growling even more fiercely and glaring in such a way that if looks could kill, every last bit of Minato would be wiped out of existence down to his very soul.
Minato raised his hands in a sign of peace. "Relax Kyuubi. I did not come here to argue with you. As for why I am here, well let's just put it down to divine intervention."
"I see"
'Huh? No 'what the hell are you talking about fleshbag?'' Minato thought, but he pushed it away. Who knew how old this demon was.
"Now for my question. You see Fox, my son whose body I know inhabit is practically dead or he was brain-dead. Some Konoha-nin did this to him but no one wants to tell me why. They tell me lies because your chakra burned the memory of the attack away from my mind and they know I don't know and I just can't go up and say, 'I know you're lying!' because I'm a five-year old who isn't known for knowing such things. I know you know so tell me."
When the Kyuubi's glare got worse he added, "Please?"
The glare didn't drop but the demon fox spoke, "That is not my story to tell fleshbag. The one to tell you is hidden away somewhere in this place. But you won't find him. He will find you."
Minato's quick mind had already figured out who that person had to be and realized that it would definitely be better if that person sought him out instead of it being the other way around.
"I'll tell you one thing though. It involves a certain individual called Madara, Uchiha Madara."
Minato's mind flashed back to that night.
"Oh, you know…its fun, its part of my plan…to start a war…to bring peace…"
"He is the reason you sealed me into the body of your son and because of that I want to propose a deal."
Minato raised a blonde eyebrow. A deal with the Kyuubi no Yoko didn't sound too appealing.
"I will lend you my power without any complaint as long you dispose of Uchiha Madara."
"How generous of you," Minato replied, his words dripping with sarcasm.
"You know you need it, human." Kyuubi finished. The two stared at each other for what seemed like hours before Minato assumed his thinking position which consisted of him crossing one arm over his chest, supporting the other arm with the crossed one such that the supported arm held his forehead between his thumb and index finger. His head was bowed.
Two minutes later, Minato spoke. "I believe we can work something out, Kyuubi."
…A week after Naruto's recruitment…
"Danzo-sama, I am here to report on the progress of Ne member Hai (ash)." A man in a falcon mask and a black cloak knelt before the war-hawk.
"Proceed."
The man stood up at attention. "As you know Danzo-sama, he has only been able to come in for training three times due to the fact that the duty of watching him changes hands from Anbu who are our agents to others who aren't. In that time, the boy has shown that he will become a very promising ninja."
Danzo grunted in acknowledgement.
"On the first day, he was drilled in physical exercises. He has shown more than what a five-year old is capable of." The nin held out a report of the drills Naruto did. Danzo flipped through the pages, nodding his head.
"Continue."
"He came again the day after the next. We worked on chakra exercises. The boy unlocked his chakra remarkably quickly but his chakra control is poor. It will need a lot of work. This is due to the boy already having almost Kage-level reserves."
"Hn"
"Even though his chakra control is poor he has shown the potential to improve it greatly. He will most definitely become a ninjutsu expert." He handed Danzo a second report which the man went through pretty much just like the first one.
"On the third day we introduced him to taijutsu and weapon's skill. In the taijutsu portion the boy's performance was excellent. He will be a very mobile fighter. What he lacks in strength he makes up for with speed using it to catch his opponent's off guard. His reflexes are remarkable. In a few years, maybe a few months they could be superhuman just like-"
"Konoha's yellow flash," Danzo finished.
The Root member nodded. "Yes Danzo-sama. With his weapon's training the boy has shown potential to become proficient with swords but has shown a propensity for dual-wielded weapons seen from the likes of Asuma Sarutobi and-"
"Namikaze Minato," Danzo finished for the nin once more. If the nin felt any annoyance there was no trace of it.
"Hai, Danzo-sama."
Danzo flipped through the third report. "It says here that the boy has a fire affinity?"
"Hai, Danzo-sama, it is odd considering his heritage but we believe it to be a result of the Kyuubi's chakra in his system. It is a very strong affinity at that. You could say that his chakra is highly flammable. His chakra did not just light a fire at the tip of the chakra paper. The paper sort of exploded into flames."
Danzo chose not to comment that the boy's codename also had two meanings now. He had first given him the codename Ash because this boy would be the ashes a completely new Konoha would rise from. The change that was needed, not Sarutobi's 'will of fire'. Now it also spoke of the boy's ability to turn almost anything to ash.
"I see. What of his mental training?"
"Hai has already lost himself to anger once when I brought up the villager's hatred to him during his training. We used that to prove that he draws on the Kyuubi's chakra when he experiences negative emotions. However given a bit more training he will possibly be able to control such emotions and with more training completely lock them away."
"I see," Danzo said. He began to walk away. "Continue his training. Make it more intense. The boy is strong, even now and he will only become more powerful."
"He will be my strongest tool."
…Six months after Naruto's recruitment…
Naruto or Hai as was his codename faced off against another Root nin who was roughly the same height as him if only a little taller. The blonde haired Root operative was dressed in battle gear that almost completely resembled Konoha Anbu's but his vest armor was jet black in color as well as not having the leaf symbol anywhere on him. On his face was a white mask with three jagged black lines on each side of it where his cheeks would be. He also had a ninjato sheathed on his back.
His opponent for the day was dressed almost exactly like him, the only differences being that the other nin's mask had three markings around each eye-hole and that he had a tanto on his back. His hair was an inky black, a sharp contrast to Naruto's bright blonde.
This would be the fifteenth Root nin he had been pitted against as part of his training but the first who was actually his size. Danzo really loved working Naruto to death. Granted Naruto caught things really quickly but making him fight with a kenjutsu expert the first time he was given his blade was a bit over the top wasn't it?
Naruto had left himself blank, learning all that Danzo and his other instructors had to teach him. He had done this because it was what everyone in Ne was expecting of him. If he was shown how to throw a kunai differently from how he had done it in his past life, Naruto would use that method only adding his past skills into the mix where they could truly benefit him. Even so, he thought his fighting style greatly resembled his other one as the yellow flash. Danzo wasn't the type of person to hold his hand every step of the way. He had to be creative to survive in Ne.
This method had worked nicely seeing as they all believed he was some kind of genius who was amazingly creative and surprising with his attacks and defense. Danzo was probably thinking that he was most definitely his father's son.
Said man stood off to the side of the underground cavern that served as one of Ne training grounds. The whole headquarters was just some underground cavern such that it was amazing that it hadn't been found by anyone, more so by a Hyuuga.
As if on some unspoken signal both Root nin exploded with movement. Both released a barrage of kunai and shuriken. The weapons clashed in the air, each blocking the other projectile's path. The two were not far behind and within seconds they were engaged in a fierce taijutsu battle.
Naruto's three punches were deftly blocked by his opponent who then ducked under the next before jumping up intent on making his right knee connect with Naruto's chin. The blonde stepped back while blocking the knee with his two hands. The other Root nin continued on the offensive unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks that Naruto either dodged or blocked. A part of Naruto wanted to grimace. He had let Root train his body but his mind was another matter. It showed him all of the openings his opponent left open and begged for him to take them. As the yellow flash he had been the type of nin to take you down after three or more attacks. His fight with Madara had been a good example of this.
Hai knew that seeing these openings was a good thing but right now it was highly annoying. And he couldn't reveal that annoyance since as a Root nin he was supposed to be the perfect soldier. His son was so getting it when he went back up there.
He saw his opponent's kick coming from a mile away and let it impact him in the chest. The blow made him made him fall on his back and he slid away from the boy before using his momentum to flip backwards onto his feet. His opponent rushed him arm outstretched in a punch. The blonde swiftly caught his arm before using it to throw his opponent over his shoulder. The other Root nin hit the floor harshly but rolled to into a crouch just in time to catch Naruto's sort of bicycle kick to the face which Naruto had used the momentum of his throw to execute.
From the sidelines Danzo nodded his head almost imperceptibly. 'Well played, Hai-san'
No sooner had Naruto's foot made contact with his opponent's face than he turned into a puddle of some black substance. 'Is that…ink?' As soon as Naruto finished that thought a miniature white tiger with black lines that looked they were drawn on it crashed into the area Naruto had stood in. It had been slow though and obviously wouldn't have caused much damage but apparently it succeeded in making Naruto jump in the air. Shuriken flew at him towards areas on his body that would have dealt a lot of damage.
Without a second thought Naruto's hands formed a cross-shaped hand signal and an identical copy of him burst into existence in a puff of smoke beside him. The clone grabbed Naruto's arm and threw him to the right removing Naruto from the path of the projectile weapons and placing itself into that path. The original Naruto landed on the ground safely while the clone disappeared in the same way it appeared.
His opponent was a metre away from him the minute he touched the ground, with a tip-less tanto drawn. The blade was pulled back to ready to slice Naruto in two. In response Naruto had already pulled out his own ninjato placing it just in time to block his opponent's lunge with his blade.
Danzo watched as the impact pushed Naruto back about two meters. He could feel the pride bubbling in his chest as he watched the two combatants. Sai, the codename for the nin battling Naruto was steadily getting driven back by Naruto or Hai.
The knowledge that he had managed to get six-year olds to battle at high-genin to mid-chunin level was highly satisfying. Sure there was a time when genin in Konoha had fought at this level but now thanks to Sarutobi and his foolish ideals the village had grown soft. Close to a half of the genin graduating this year were completely incompetent and the numbers would only grow. To him, you needed to be able to do more than perform a couple of D-rank jutsu just to become a ninja.
Why, if he was Hokage it would be trial by fire. His genin would be fighting at Sai's level. Naruto on the other hand, he wasn't sure if there would ever be a nin like him, save for the Fourth Hokage. With a perfect mind and body it was as if the Namikazes' were made for combat. With the Uzumaki vitality and stamina added to the mix, you got something way better. His eyes followed the large fireball that approached Sai. It looked like he would have to stop this fight soon.
Sai dropped back down from the ceiling which he had stuck fast to, to avoid the inferno Naruto had unleashed below. He had to jump up albeit low just to avoid Naruto's tanto which nearly severed his legs. Naruto used the momentum of the swing to spin round and round in what looked like a tornado like move. Sai unprepared for such a move ended up with Naruto too close to him. He barely managed to raise his blade again to block, this time using both hands to steady his tanto. It worked. Sai wasn't cut into two but the impact sent him flying. Sai rolled on the ground harshly, his tanto thrown even farther back. Danzo gave another imperceptible nod. It was as he had expected.
Naruto set himself into a stance to guard against any incoming surprise attacks. He didn't know what that tiger had been made of but it was still freaky. Whatever it was the technique looked like it was still incomplete seeing as his opponent hadn't made any more of those things again. Naruto had won; he knew it and the other nin sure did also. The blonde had simply much more firepower than his inky-black haired opponent and he hadn't even used Kyuubi's chakra yet.
As Sai stood up albeit a little shakily, Danzo slammed his cane down on the floor thus making both young Shinobi cease all movement to stand at attention.
"Both of you walk with me. We have much to discuss." He turned round and walked away without waiting for them to follow. Soon enough the two were walking behind and on either side of Danzo, both of their swords sheathed.
"There are important issues that must be dealt with Hai-san, such as me allowing you to go on missions now." The trio turned a corner.
Hai acknowledged that with a stiff nod at his superior. "I believe that you have shown impressive increase in skill and power thus you are ready for the outside world."
"How long can you sustain a Kage bunshin?"
"I can sustain only one shadow clone for three and a half days without the Kyuubi's chakra, my Lord."
Danzo nodded. Three days was almost supernatural. Neither he nor even the Hokage were capable of that feat. "Excellent, that will be just enough time. For these missions I have assigned you a partner. His codename for the duration of your partnership is Sai." The two young Root nin spared each other a glance.
"You will accompany each other on almost every mission. Thus you need to know every little detail about each other. You will know the other's weakness and strengths. You will be brothers in everything but blood." The two spared each other a longer glance. Naruto didn't worry about this. This guy couldn't hate or be annoyed with him if he was being trained to lose all his emotions.
They reached at what was like a cross-road of corridors where Danzo stopped and turned to face both of them. It was deathly quiet but he was used to this already. Half of the time Root felt like it was deserted.
The old war hawk looked down on the two. "You may take off your masks."
Hai took off his, revealing a young round face with messy blonde hair, whisker marks on both cheeks and ocean blue eyes. Danzo's frown was unnoticeable. He felt something whenever he saw those eyes. Those cold blue eyes that were devoid of emotion yet were filled with determination. Danzo just didn't know what it was he felt.
Sai took off his mask revealing short jet black hair, ink black eyes and pale, extremely pale skin. Naruto/Hai didn't know what to make of his new partner. The boy showed absolutely nothing. Beneath his emotionless exterior Naruto grimaced. He could tell that he would have fun with his new partner. Sai stared at Naruto as if he had never seen blonde hair and blue eyes before.
Yep, a ball of fun he would be.
"I leave you both to become acquainted." Danzo finished and he disappeared without another word. Naruto began wondering how to start off what was destined to be an awkward relationship when Sai turned and marched off back to where they came from; back to the training room.
Obviously he expected Naruto to follow him. 'Of course' Naruto thought dryly.
…A year after Naruto's recruitment, Naruto age: six…
Naruto sat on the floor of what was Sai's quarters with a brush held between his fingers. The room was small and extremely Spartan, only consisting of: a bed, a desk with a lamp and a small cupboard.
Currently Sai sat before Naruto and both were surrounded by a mountain of scrolls and books. There was barely enough room to stretch and Naruto needed to stretch…so badly, but he would sooner get bullied by a villager than complain to his emotionless partner. At least Kyuubi wasn't awake right now or the Fox would have driven him mad just for the sake of it. Sai worked without complaint, his face devoid of emotion.
It was one of his newer goals in life next to killing Madara and saving the Shinobi world. Sai would smile, grit his teeth, laugh or cry before the blonde kicked the bucket.
Said boy's hand was moving over the paper flawlessly with practiced ease while Naruto's own hand was trembling. They were practicing the obscure art of sealing. Naruto had requested this of Danzo a week ago and he could swear that the old war hawk had been trying not to smile. The old man was probably thinking 'Like father like son' or something like that.
Naruto's reasons that he had told to Danzo were that he wanted know more about the seal on his stomach and any complications that may arise from it but in truth he just wanted a reason to practice sealing without anyone (any Root nin specifically) giving him problems.
The war hawk had agreed wholeheartedly agreeing to even tutor him. It figured that Danzo knew about sealing seeing as everyone had that seal at the back of their tongues. Naruto himself had one but he had long ago figured out how to break it when the need arose.
Sai had joined him and the two had established a sort of scratch my back and I'll scratch yours deal where Sai would help Naruto with his calligraphy and Naruto would help Sai with the theory.
Naruto needed the help seeing as he had spent what felt like an eternity in the death god's belly fighting against the Kyuubi's yin half non-stop. It was a bit scarring to be killed painfully by a large fox like a million times. Believe it or not it was the stuff his nightmares were made of.
Anyway, he had lost skill in drawing kanji and he was in a new body that was several sizes smaller.
The blonde could swear Sai was using this chance to thoroughly annoy him seeing as how Sai was drawing a kanji every thirty seconds and Naruto was taking a full fifteen minutes to draw a kanji that Sai deemed worthy of being used for sealing. He'd see how Sai liked reciting thirty laws of sealing in two minutes then, the bastard.
Though, he couldn't complain any more about his partner. Both already felt like the other's brother in the six months that they had worked together, just like Danzo said. He was pretty sure Root nin weren't supposed to form such bonds but he was also sure that he wouldn't be a Root nin forever and he wouldn't mind his silent emotionless and humorless partner following him.
Though, it would be a shame to leave really. Root and Danzo had grown on him.
With a mental sigh Naruto turned to face the mountain of scrolls he had to go through before he could leave to go home. It looked eerily familiar. A second later Naruto realized one thing.
'Once a Hokage, always a Hokage
…Two years after Naruto's recruitment, Naruto age: seven…
Naruto stood in a clearing with Sai crouching behind him. They were in Iwa in the mountainous region surrounded by trees and twenty mud clones from two Iwa Anbu-nin. Naruto stood in a stance with a kunai in both hands while Sai was calmly drawing on a scroll with an ink brush with his left hand. Sai was naturally right handed but that arm had been rendered useless. It was Naruto's fault really.
These particular Iwa Anbu-nin used senbon and Naruto had deflected one of those senbon right into Sai's elbow. He didn't know what he hit but Sai's hand shook every time he tried to use it. What were the chances that would happen?
As such Sai was forced to draw with his left hand which Naruto was thankful for because he really didn't need to run all the way across the countryside. But Sai was semi-ambidextrous therefore his right hand was still way better and faster than his left.
"Sai, if you could hurry up, I would greatly appreciate it." Naruto whispered over his shoulder.
"You should be more patient, Hai-san. It is not good to be desperate in such battles. I believe your instructor showed you this?" Sai said without looking up from his drawing.
"I'm not desperate. I mean we're surrounded by Iwa Anbu-nin who have better knowledge of the terrain than us and we are seven-year olds. How could I be desperate?"
"Then you should have no trouble at all holding them off while I provide our means of escape."
Behind his mask, Naruto sweatdropped. He always forgot that Sai had no idea what sarcasm was. He would have to explain the concept but now was not the time. Sai was right. There was no way they could escape on foot because as Naruto put it, the Iwa Anbu had better knowledge of the terrain. Even now, the ground they stood on was gently sloping due to them being in a mountain range. Sai's ink birds were fast, really fast and due to their small size he could easily maneuver them past the mountains. Naruto put his game face on.
The Anbu-nin were in many ways like them. They were silent, always to the point and extremely efficient in their jobs. It was just their terrible luck that they encountered them. Sai and Naruto were going back home after successfully eliminating an Iwa tea consisting of a Jounin and three genin. That team's nin had deserted their village for one reason or another so of course Iwa was also looking to kill them. The Anbu-nin had caught them in the act and now they wanted to know just who had entered their country illegally. Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that Danzo had known this would happen hence why he sent them after some random nuke-nin.
Naruto returned his kunai to his pouches and completed a sequence of hand seals in a speed impressive for a kid his 'age'. He held the last one a tiger seal and breathed in deeply.
The mud bunshin tensed.
"Katon: Basuto Kasai!"(Fire release: Burst Fire)
Naruto pushed chakra from his mouth through the mask where it ignited. Fireballs about the size of Naruto's head began flying rapidly from the boy to his targets. The first clone moved to dodge but before it could flinch, the intense heat and force baked it to dry earth and knocked is torso right off.
(The fire of such techniques isn't ignited in the mouth if I remember correctly. Like in Sasuke vs Itachi, when they both did fireball jutsu it ignited right in front of their lips.)
Naruto turned in a full circle destroying all the clones in two seconds. He finished above Sai's head who did not even look fazed that his hair had almost caught fire.
That was the first technique Naruto had created in this life. Katon: Burst fire fired off fireballs more rapidly than the Uchiha's mystical fire phoenix jutsu thus making it way harder to dodge and dealing even more damage.
Naruto didn't stop there. His hands formed a cross-shaped sign and five life-sized replicas of him appeared in puffs of smoke. Immediately he and his clones moved about into a formation where two were in front of Sai, two were behind him and one on each side of the Root nin.
In the cover of the forest surrounding them, the Anbu-nin were amazed. They were facing a child or a midget who could create Kage bunshin and utilize deadly Katon jutsu. Plus, when he moved those Kage bunshin into that ingenious formation, they had moved in such a manner that they no longer knew who the real one was. Even more astounding was that this midget had created five shadow clones and did not even look the slightest bit winded.
The other nin he was guarding could do ink creations by drawing on a scroll. Definitely impressive. Not to mention that they had taken out targets they expected to have a little trouble with, with minimum trouble.
The boar masked Anbu-nin jumped from his cover to above the trees and threw a kunai with an exploding tag. The second he appeared two sets of eyes of the clones locked onto him. The kunai was aiming for Sai's right so the Naruto in that position jumped up grabbed the kunai from the air and threw it back before it could explode right to where he knew the Anbu-nin would land.
The explosion and the dull thud that followed told him that his maneuver had worked.
The other Anbu-nin who had an eagle mask rushed forward, aiming to take advantage of the space left behind by that Naruto and eliminate Sai. The other Narutos were quick to react. One moved directly into his path and blocked his blade with two kunai. The next second, a Naruto clone slammed into his side with a painful left foot.
The Anbu-nin rolled on the ground. Naruto grunted. Unless he used the Kyuubi's chakra such kicks wouldn't cause any real damage through that armor.
The Anbu-nin tried to get back to his feet but he was immediately peppered with a barrage of kunai and shuriken. Unfortunately he just poofed into smoke and small boulder appeared. Every Naruto was back in their original position wary of any incoming attack. All that had happened in thirty seconds.
A voice boomed in the trees surrounding them.
"Doton: Kujo Joushou Iwa Chuuseki!" (Earth release: Destructive Rising Rock Pillars)
Rock pillars erupted forcefully from the ground in a straight line uprooting and breaking trunks of trees. Solutions to their current predicament ran through Naruto's mind. He didn't curse. Root had stripped away that habit.
The only technique he had that was strong enough to stop this technique was the Rasengan but he couldn't do it. One, because him doing that here in front of these two Iwa-nin would only cause more trouble and two, because he hadn't got a chance to even practice it. There was always someone watching him.
So he alerted Sai of the coming danger, giving his partner seconds to get a hold of his brush and scroll before Naruto grabbed him and jumped into the trees.
"Sai, you still can't draw while moving, can you?" Naruto inquired as they moved swiftly from branch to branch.
"No, Hai-san," Sai replied. "Not at the speed you require us to move."
Around them, Naruto's five clones were deflecting kunai and any attacks from their opponents but slowly they were getting destroyed. The Iwa nin really knew their own terrain.
"That's not good. They have powerful techniques and I don't know Raiton jutsu."
"We may have to make a last stand somewhere here where I can finish this. You have to use 'that'." Naruto gave an imperceptible nod. 'That' was the Kyuubi's chakra and he never liked using it because it felt so good to use it. The power boost was intoxicating. He felt like he could do anything. Anything included killing his comrades and not feeling a thing but elation because of it. That and after using the Kyuubi's chakra he would feel like someone had poured a liter of acid into his body.
It could be worse. The Fox could try and force more of its chakra into Naruto's chakra stream but their deal meant that Kyuubi had to be a good little fox in exchange for Naruto killing Madara.
"Kit, earth spear twelve o'clock!" It could also see what he does and speak to him at any time.
Naruto looked up. Indeed, a spear made of hard earth was coming straight at his face at unimaginable speed. He was in the air and the moment he touched down on the next branch, it would impale him right between the eyes.
Sai, who was beside him was far enough that he wouldn't be able to help in time. Naruto was sure that the spear was harder than his sword.
"Do it!"
Naruto closed his eyes as if accepting his fate.
In truth he was concentrating and almost immediately his heart rate sped up. His adrenaline levels spiked tremendously. Time slowed down and when his eyes re-opened Naruto saw everything in slow motion. It was like he was floating in the air. Everything became so clear and his arms burned with energy. His right foot touched down on the branch and in that moment the earth spear was less than an inch in front of his mask. It didn't matter though because Naruto felt like he had all the time in the world.
He pushed off the branch to the right and the spear passed his head harmlessly.
(Just think Wanted, the movie)
As quickly as it all came, the energy rush disappeared and time sped up again. Naruto was brought back to reality just in time to hear one of the Anbu-nin yell "THE HELL!"
That was his Kekkei genkai.
For generations in the Namikaze there was always one person who had panic attacks, maybe two. It was a bit rare. As far as they had known, the panic attacks had no cure and would plague them until they died. They could only tone them down with anti-anxiety pills.
In his former life as Minato, he had been the first one in his lineage to know them for what they really were. It came to him when he was trying to save a comrade from a lightning fast lightning technique from a Kumo nin. Truly one's true power is revealed when protecting those precious to them.
He hadn't told anyone about it. Not even Jiraiya, his mentor. They only knew that he would get tired after showing off his amazing reflexes. The bloodline was also the reason he could do the Hiraishin. Killing an army even with such a jutsu in two seconds wasn't possible with human-level awareness. Dodging the current Raikage's punch was not as easy as he had made it look.
As the yellow flash he had to look cool.
The problem was that it took so much concentration to start and was so taxing when it was over. Maybe it was because he had done it when he was so young. Minato knew it wasn't passed on directly so his son's body couldn't be completely adapted for it. He didn't even know how he had come to really have it but he had one possible theory. That the physical energy of his son's body had adapted to his own mental/spiritual energy and somewhere along the way he got his Kekkei genkai back.
He had also never bothered to name it.
Now as he the weariness began to set in Naruto knew he had no choice but to rely on the Kyuubi. The two burst through the edge of a forest and into a gently sloping field with boulders everywhere. The moon shone brightly such that Sai, he and the Anbu-nin could see everything clearly.
Behind his mask, Naruto's eyes became blood red with slits for pupils. His sight became even clearer. Naruto and Sai turned to face their pursuers. The blonde realized that he would have to use a little more skill if he was going to keep Sai safe enough for his partner to provide their means of escape.
His hand formed the cross-shaped seal and there were suddenly twenty Narutos. Ten moved to protect Sai while ten moved to attack the Anbu-nin, five for each.
The Anbu-nin had become more cautious. The blonde haired one had moved extremely fast. So fast in fact it reminded them of someone else who had blonde hair just as bright. But it couldn't be. This person couldn't be his son. Konoha was a bunch of tree-huggers so they would baby a seven-year old son of the Hokage not train him.
They weren't given much time to think on the matter for the clones swarmed them. It wasn't in some mob fashion. Each attack was well timed and planned. Each wielded two kunai with amazing skill. One would come in low while the other would come in high. One would suddenly break off from his target to the other startling that Iwa nin when he was suddenly facing six of them.
Expelling them was difficult for they could move and fight just as well as their creator could. And when they did expel one another one would appear. In the commotion, they just could not tell which one was making them. They appeared without the tell-tale smoke. The Anbu-nin only survived by the use of their destructive earth techniques.
But seriously, it was as if this midget had moved on to another level. There was also that malevolent chakra radiating off of him that screamed bloodlust.
The boar masked nin created an earth wall which rose to block a stream of fire from Naruto. The wall only hardened and cracked. He didn't get a chance to relax for another Naruto appeared standing on top of his wall. It unleashed a barrage of fireballs down at him and he had to back flip to get away, the flames creating small craters in the ground as they followed him. He estimated that the boy could shoot two fireballs every one second. Where the midget got so much chakra from he had no idea.
When the Anbu-nin stopped his back flips landing in a crouch, he heard a faint sizzling sound beneath him. He looked down and that was the last thing he saw.
A tag beneath his foot exploded and the fireball engulfed him. A few meters away the force from the explosion ruffled Sai's hair and raised the edges of his scroll but Sai didn't even flinch to show that he had noticed it. He was close.
The Anbu-nin amazingly was not burnt immediately. He was thrown straight up into the air like a rag-doll, with several third degree burns in his body.
Naruto appeared above him and brought his foot down. When it connected with the man's forehead, there was a loud cracking sound. The force of Naruto's Kyuubi enhanced axe-kick, broke the man's mask and skull and probably sent a few pieces digging into the man's brain. The Anbu-nin crashed into the crater formed by the explosion.
Immediately he went down, the other Naruto's surrounded the last Anbu-nin and let loose a barrage of fire-jutsu. Even Sai could feel the intense heat. The flames created what was like a mini-tornado and each had to shield their eyes.
Sai suddenly spoke, "It is finished Hai-san."
Naruto had no idea how he could say that calmly but they needed to get out of there quickly. Surely someone had seen the little fire display or taken notice of the massive fire output. He pressed his hand to the ground and closed his eyes for a second. He was right. Reinforcements were quickly approaching. Expected time of arrival: five minutes.
The flames died down leaving scorched earth and a cracked dome of earth. "He's still alive, kit."
'Hn' Naruto thought.
Sai's creation came out of the scroll. It was a bird, a black bird big enough to carry the two of them. "Took you long enough," Naruto wanted to say but at that moment the dome crumbled and the last Anbu-nin was crouched on the ground panting, his arms pressed onto the earth. Naruto tensed.
Three earth dragons burst from the earth and destroyed almost all the clones before Naruto could blink. One slammed down on him but he had already jumped away doing a perfect back flip onto Sai's bird. Sai himself was already on and he willed his bird to take off into the night.
However they weren't going to get away that easily. Sai's ink bird needed time to pick up speed and Naruto didn't like how fast the dragons were coming. He didn't worry though for he had one trick up his sleeve.
Down below the Iwa nin was snarling. They could not and would not be defeated by brats even if one had more chakra than most Iwa jounin.
He was so focused on his targets that were flying away that he didn't even react to the shadow clone that erupted from the ground behind him. The clone plunged his kunai through the armor and into the man's spine. In a spray of blood he fell forward, paralyzed.
He could only watch as the clone turned him over and slit his throat.
The earth dragons fell away crumbling into dust. Naruto confirmed the memories of the last clone before crouching. It was over. Sai's ink bird weaved through the mountains with almost nauseating speed.
"That may have been you're best battle yet kit." The Fox was grinning inside him.
'Why do you call me kit? You know how old I really am right?'
"Do you know how old I am?"
'Hn…Good point'
"That may have been your best battle yet, Hai-san. Do you want me to downplay on your performance when we report?"
"I think I really like that boy." The Kyuubi grinned.
'That…doesn't sound right.'
Naruto practically felt the Kyuubi draw in breath to yell obscenities at him and pulled up a mental barrier before he was given the mother of all headaches.
… Three years after Naruto's recruitment, Naruto age: eight…
Sarutobi stood on the roof of the Hokage's tower admiring the sun as it rose over the walls of his village. His hands were held behind his back and his signature pipe hung from his mouth. Beside him was a weasel masked Anbu who stood at an inch shorter than him.
"He's at it again, isn't he?"
The Anbu gave a short nod before glancing behind him at the Hokage stone faces. "How many units are pursuing him as we speak?"
"Two Hokage-sama," was the quick reply, "Only unit four and unit five are left standing. He has once again effortlessly demolished the new recruits and is giving the veterans a hard time."
Sarutobi chuckled, "He's very artistic isn't he, Weasel-san?" he said between chuckles before he just burst out laughing. Weasel was an Anbu never really known to show emotion but the shock only his body language displayed was enough to be put in the records.
Suddenly the chuckles turned into violent coughs that had the professor go from clutching his ribs to clutching the railing. The Anbu beside him was alarmed but realized he could only wait for the coughs to subside. This was new. He hadn't known that the Hokage was sick. The old man had been acting differently over the past few years; a good example of the strange behavior was the laughing just before.
When they died down he spoke, "Hokage-sama, are you alright?"
The professor rose back up to his full height and turned to the Anbu making his subordinate feel very small. His expression was extremely stern. "Itachi," the use of his name did not go unnoticed by the Anbu, "You will not speak of this to anyone. Do you understand?"
Itachi reluctantly nodded, "Hai Hokage-sama"
Just then Itachi's earpiece acted up. A voice came over the line.
"Fuck! The little shit did it again! I give up! I'm calling in Weasel-san to catch him. He's our only hope."
The Hokage turned to look at the stone faces. "I believe that is your cue." The Anbu operative only bowed before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.
Itachi couldn't tell anyone because if word got out that he wasn't well, then Naruto might just lose his only protector. Sarutobi needed to protect Naruto just so that the boy could continue doing these kind of things.
His coal eyes roamed over the vandalized Hokage-stone faces. Below the faces it read, "TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH HOKAGE-SAMA"
Sarutobi smiled. Naruto had done so many pranks over the years, got chased by almost every Anbu operative and done every punishment without complaint just so that Sarutobi would allow him to enter the academy. A display of his skills you could call it.
Sarutobi refused every single time because he didn't think he could live with himself if Naruto ended up in a hospital again just because he got stabbed by a kunai or something of the sort.
Well the blonde would get his wish today.
It had taken a while but Naruto was finally in the academy. Sarutobi had been really stubborn about it truly believing that Naruto must have a normal childhood before he became a ninja. If he only knew that Naruto was no longer a child…
Danzo had ordered Naruto to continue his pranks so that he really would look like a child and not a trained killer. It had been extremely fun. Kushina always did tell Minato how he was missing out. He was so sure he could give Kushina a run for her money now. Also Naruto was sure he was a training exercise for newly recruited Anbu agents.
But he was seriously worried for the old man. Something was wrong, terribly wrong with Sarutobi but the old man knew how to keep a secret extremely well.
When Naruto walked into class at the ninja academy, time seemed to freeze. All the shouting, playing, gossiping and chatting ceased. All seventy eyes turned toward him.
The blonde was wearing a baggy black short-sleeved shirt over a baggy white long-sleeved shirt with baggy blank pants and black ninja sandals. On the back of his shirt was the red spiral that signified the Uzumaki clan. He had a brown backpack on his back.
Naruto let his own ocean blue eyes roam over them all before he climbed the stairs towards the back and sat at the far left. Everyone's eyes followed him every step of the way. Once he was settled his cold blue eyes stared back at all of them. At this everyone returned to what they were doing as if he was never even there though Naruto heard his name in many of the conversations taking place. "Hey, it's that kid who's been terrorizing the village!" one whispered.
"Awww shit! You think he'll terrorize us also?"
"The hell I know! I heard that none of the Anbu can catch him!"
Naruto gave a small grin. That wasn't completely true. He focused on another conversation, one taking place at the other end of the class. It was a kid with short brown hair and facial markings and a small pup on his head. Definitely an Inuzuka.
"Why did we have to come so early," the Inuzuka whined after yawning. "A man needs his sleep you know." He finished this sentence by winking at one of the girls sitting in front of him making her face flush.
"You would not nearly be so sleepy if you did not stay up watching porn last night."
This came from a boy with dark bushy brown hair and pale skin, wearing dark sunglasses and a sea green jacket with a high upturned collar. No sooner had he said those words than blood rushed from the girl's face and into her fists. Everyone turned to stare at the boy with the pup incredulously. The females glared.
The guilty boy known as Inuzuka Kiba slid down his chair sweating bullets. "I didn't watch porn!" he tried to say but no one looked convinced. He murmured to Aburame Shino, the boy who had put him in this mess in the first place. "Man, why would you do that? In fact, how would you know that?"
Shino looked away while pushing his glasses up his nose. "How, you ask? Well…" he paused as if for dramatic effect, "I know everything." He said coolly while pushing his sunglasses up his nose. As the girls leaned over Kiba the glare still firmly etched on their faces, he looked for backup from his cute pup, Akamaru but there was not a single white hair in sight. Kiba wept.
Naruto chuckling turned to the next conversation. How an eight-year old had access to porn, he did not know. Jiraiya's books must have more influence than he thought.
The next people he focused on were sitting a few rows down in front of him, surrounded by the rest of the female population that was not pummeling Kiba. Both boys had exactly the same kind of jet-black hair in the shape of a fowl's rear end. Both boys wore the same blue shirts with the Uchiha fan crest on them. One glanced back at him feeling his stare. His eyes were coal black.
The Uchiha turned back to speak to his twin. "Hey Sasuke, that's the kid whose been pranking the villagers. The one only Itachi-nee is able to catch. What do you think of him?"
Sasuke replied, "Hn"
"I know, right? He must be pretty good. He might even make these four years at the academy interesting."
"That is Hiroshi, if we don't graduate early like Itachi-nee"
Hiroshi placed his cheek on his fist, making a collective gasp be heard from around them. "True…I don't know how I'll survive with all this. When do you think they'll stop staring, Sasuke-nee?"
Sasuke was in a posture similar to his twin's. "I don't know brother. But Itachi-nee said to act cool, ignore them and they'll go away."
"I don't think it's working."
"Relax Hiroshi. When has Itachi-nee ever lied to us?"
"I hope so, Sasuke. I really hope you and Itachi-nee are correct." He finished his statement by smoothing back his hair drawing a collective gasp from the girls surrounding them and someone squealed "KYAA!" in the background.
Naruto sat back in his chair with a bemused expression. 'Mikoto had twins? That's…interesting'
Naruto's highly trained senses picked up something. Below at the first row sat a girl staring at him with her white pupil-less eyes. Her hair was a short dark purple with bangs framing the sides of her face. Her stare was one of an inquisitive nature as if he was full of secrets. If that was true then she was definitely onto something. When he stared back, the girl noticed after two seconds after which her eyes turned cold and she turned back to face the front with all the pride in the world.
'Most definitely a Hyuuga'
There was a subtle tapping on his left shoulder. He turned to come face to face with Sai who was sporting a very plastic smile. His partner in Ne was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt with matching black pants and Shinobi sandals.
"Hello, my name is Sai. What is your name?"
"Ummm…Naruto."
"Naruto, is that seat next to yours taken?"
"No, not at all." Naruto said a bit awkwardly. Sai sat on his right and stared ahead with his arms resting on the desk. Naruto realized that Sai had probably never known his name before. As far as he knew his name had never been spoken once in Ne.
"Well at least these four years won't be completely boring." Kyuubi spoke up. Naruto took one look at Sai who was still staring ahead with a plastic smile. The blonde rolled his eyes. 'Sure'
A chunin with dark hair in a short ponytail and a scar over his nose walked in. He placed his books and papers on the teacher's table and then faced the class. His chest seemed to inflate in size before he let it all out.
"SHUT UP! All OF YOU BRATS!" All the noises stopped and every child faced the teacher obediently. Sai nodded his head muttering, "Amazing" prompting Naruto to roll his eyes again.
A roll call was called out after which they got to introductions of themselves and to the ninja life which was all sugar-coated. Still it did make a few children look nervous. Naruto knew that part of an academy teacher's job was to thin out the numbers in the class so that only those sure they could make it in this kill or be killed world would make it.
However, he did notice the teacher glance at him every now and then with narrowed eyes. It wasn't like the hate-filled glares from the villager's. It was more like the look Kushina would get every time she was introduced to someone new. A look that said, 'How much trouble will you be worth?' Back then everyone knew of her capacity for making practical jokes just like everyone knew about him.
Umino Iruka would be an interesting teacher.
Their first lesson was history where they were given a crash course on Konoha and the rest of the Shinobi world. Naruto was about to sleep through it when Sai passed him a paper with a Root code written on it. Naruto would have cursed Sai. He didn't want the stress of decrypting any codes now even though he could do it in the blink of an eye. This was supposed to be like his vacation.
Sai's message read, "I have been assigned this mission to accompany you for the rest of your Shinobi career." Naruto blinked. Danzo really wasn't kidding when he said they would be brothers. "I have also been reassigned the name Sai for this mission."
Naruto: "Do you have any more details?"
Sai: "Danzo-sama said you must stay in the Academy for the four years and that you should continue conducting your practical jokes mainly at night."
Naruto: "Did he say why?"
Sai: "He merely said that your efforts might be needed soon. You should try to keep the Anbu as occupied as possible during the chases that follow."
Naruto: "Understood. Anything else?"
Sai: "He also said that since we are be partners (Kyuubi snickered when he read this) I will most likely have to interact with our peers. He said you will be the one to coach me so that I may fit in."
Naruto gave a long drawn out sigh before Sai passed another paper.
Sai: "Danzo-sama said to remember what you fight for."
Naruto mentally nodded his head. Sai acted like his complete attention was on Iruka.
Naruto wanted to sleep but Sai's and Danzo's words had given him a lot to think about. He wanted to fight to protect the leaf but he just didn't feel comfortable doing that as a Konoha Shinobi, not after how they treated his son. Root was a better alternative but what Naruto had in store for the future might make it imperative that his ties to the shady organization be cut. It was a shame really. Naruto had come to like working in Root. There was an unspoken sense of companionship there even if no one ever showed emotions.
His plans would require him to possibly become a missing nin and Naruto was sure that Danzo would let him if he did not harm or was protecting Konoha. Call him retarded but Naruto had also taken a certain liking to Danzo. Not that they could ever become friends but that Naruto could trust Danzo with his life. That is, if his life did not endanger Konoha. The old war hawk wasn't as bad as he seemed.
With that Naruto set to work, outlining his plans for the future in a book. He scribbled in his book and ended up writing the names of all current Jinchuriki besides him. This was information that Danzo had given him access to because all of them were future possible enemies when he told him about them.
Now, Naruto wasn't so sure.
As Iruka lectured he walked around the class, pleased to see so many pupils quickly jotting down notes, but it was only a matter of time. When they relaxed was when things would really get rowdy. He came to be walk behind Naruto who was behind the class.
He didn't know what to expect from the blonde who had been playing pranks on the village just so that the Hokage would allow him into the academy. Now that he was here would the practical jokes continue or would they cease? How much trouble would he be worth.
As he passed Naruto he chanced a look down at the boy's book. He didn't really get a good view and the boy had shifted further blocking his view though not in a way that showed he was hiding something. However Iruka did see one thing; the name 'Mizukage' which had been underlined and the letter 'P' beside it.
…Danzo's Root Office…
Danzo sat at his desk looking over various forms he needed to fill. He always liked to think that ruling over Root was like being Hokage only with less power and far less paperwork. But now when he thought about it he realized how small the possibility of him becoming Hokage was becoming. He was old and Sarutobi was old. When Sarutobi died it was either then or never at all.
Danzo knew this and knew that if he didn't become Hokage someone he trusted would have to take the job. His thoughts immediately drifted to Naruto.
Danzo didn't know why he would rather the boy become Hokage. He didn't know if it was because he had trained him or if it was because the boy was powerful, or if it was because of his heritage or if it was because of the determination that shone in the boy's eyes even when the rest of his face betrayed no emotion.
For when the boy first agreed to become a Root operative, Danzo was reminded of Sarutobi when he had agreed to become Hokage.
It sort of made him understand what Sarutobi had felt at the time but when it was coming from Naruto, it was admirable. Again Danzo had no idea why that was. It could really be the heritage part. Namikaze Minato was the Hokage Danzo had respected most, other than Tobirama Senju. Danzo had admired the cold blue look in the young man's eyes before he would go to do battle. He had admired the fact that the man had created a jutsu to destroy Konoha's enemies. During the Third Shinobi war he had snuck away just to witness the havoc Konoha's yellow flash had wreaked on Iwa's forces. It was a…beautiful sight.
It was just too bad that the fool Jiraiya had got to train him. Danzo at the time would have killed for potential in a boy like that but no longer would he need to feel like that. He now had his son who had the potential to become even greater.
Danzo did not know why he trusted Naruto. He did not know why he admired the boy. He did not know why he never saw the boy for the Bijuu sealed in him or the weapon he was to become.
No, Danzo did not know many things concerning Uzumaki Naruto.
And as he sat within the confines of his office, he realized he was very eager to find out.
Hoped you liked it. Pairings undecided. Point out any mistakes you see. Oh and I'm still new to this but does anyone want to beta this story? Is that how it's done? If so know that I just can't pick anyone.