-Eight years later-

Akira

Standing in a lone corner was Akira, an eight-year-old boy with cerulean colored eyes glazed with a slight hint of boredom as he stared across the room. Lowering his eyes he played nervously with his long pale hair, forcing his body to remain calm. He had just completed what could have been the toughest test in all of the Elemental Continents, or so it has been claimed.

Not wanting to think of himself as cocky, he tried not to dwell on the fact that the exam was only moderately difficult to him. While there were some things that he had to search through his mind for, he had managed to complete the fifty page written test in less than three hours. It was mostly filled with long paragraphs or stories in at least five different languages that had to be correctly translated into the specified language.

Braille, English, even Arabic were just a few examples of the many languages used, some being long lost languages that Akira knew would downright confuse most, if not all of the other participants.

From his earlier observations of the large group of applicants, there was a 100% chance that more than half of them would fail this exam. It was quite a shame though, since the surveyors said that this was the easiest part of the test. Of course Akira already guessed that the so-called "requirements" for the test were just a sham.

A minimum IQ level of 102, a mastery of 2 or more languages, and having knowledge of self-defense were what was stated on the flyer. When Akira first saw it he was extremely skeptical of its authenticity. It was like the advertisement wasn't for real geniuses but people with a slightly above average IQ that know that hitting someone across the head with a baseball bat is one of the easiest way to defend yourself. Practically anyone could take this test.

The only thing that convinced Akira to take the test was what was written at the bottom of the flyer:

"The Great Owl will guide those of the purest heart to the world's riches. He waits for you at the Great Library in the Sky."

Next to itwas a stamped image of an owl of colossal size on top of a library.

That is what changed Akira's mind. The Great Owl is a great winged guardian of a library that holds scrolls and books containing all of the world's knowledge. There are more books in the library than any person could ever read within three life spans. The library is called the Great Library in the Sky. Given an opportunity to go to a place that only a select few are even allowed to view, jealousy was bound to erupt. Wars broke out due to the accusations of the library being in one of the Five Great Villages.

The only reason Akira even knew this inferior amount of information is because he discovered an ancient scroll under the floorboards of a rundown library a few months prior.

Finishing several hours before the time limit, Akira spent a few minutes scanning the room to see how others fared against the test before handing in his own.

More than half of the participants were practically pulling their hair out with stress, some even trying to cheat their way through the exam, but were quickly caught by the examiners.

When he finally turned in the test the examiner stared into his eyes for at least two minutes. It could have been just him, but it felt like he was probing deep into his soul. Thinking back to that moment Akira tried to see if anything was strange about the man.

The guy was a somewhat unique individual; he had black hair that wasn't a centimeter past his ears, gray eyes, and a prominent scar on his forehead. He had skin darkened by the sun showing he did a lot of outdoor activities to alter his original color. A lanky muscular build complemented this.

His eyes showed something more, however. Though they were grey, they were dull, as if he had no reason to be there. It was what he saw in his eyes that really caught Akira's attention. They were the eyes of a century year old man who held years of knowledge that just begged to be shared with the world. The way he portrayed himself was most likely a façade for one to underestimate him. He knew that if he were to look inside the man's mind he would find knowledge that would surpass even the greatest of elders.

The man reminded Akira of himself because of that. Even at the young age of eight Akira knew that he was different - reading books for people more than twice his age due to the shortened length of children books, studying in grades far above anyone his age because the normal teachings in school were too easy, and he knew far more than someone twice his age.

Akira just hoped that he impressed the Great Owl with his vast knowledge of languages. This was probably his only chance to really impress the deity.

Before Akira continue with this thought the examiner from before called for attention.

"We have graded all of the tests and we are not sorry to say that only twelve of you passed. So you can all cry and drag your asses back home because they aren't wanted here." Guessing he wanted to leave a memorable exit, the man threw all of the graded tests up into the air before walking out the door.

Raising an eyebrow in the direction of where the man left Akira looked around to see that the most of the participants left with a mixture of angry and sad expression on their faces. The few that stayed were the ones who Akira assumed had passed.

Nibbling lightly on his top lip Akira made his way over to the messy pile of papers. He figured that if his percentage was higher than 60% then he passed the test. Given the difficulty of the test and his mastery of all of the languages used in the test, Akira was sure than he scored in the 90%-100% range.

With the help of the other candidates, Akira was able to find his test in roughly three minutes.

Akira looked down at the paper and gasped at what he saw.

100% - Good work kid, now all you have to do is win the match and you get to meet the Great Owl himself.

It was gracefully yet somehow lazily written. The words were close together, making it seem like the person didn't want to move his arm too much as he was writing. It was the handwriting of the strange examiner from earlier.

Though that conclusion didn't dwell in Akira's head too long. What kept ringing in his head was the comment. A large smile soon appeared on Akira's face. He's done it. He passed the first part of the exam. Only one more thing stood in the way of him meeting the Great Owl, only one more step before he could finally see what caused such great commotion so long ago.

Looking around Akira searched for anything that could give him a hint to where the next test would be held.

Spotting an examiner Akira leaned against a wall and watched her. She had light brown skin, green eyes, and a athletic body. This was complemented by a deep, brown colored, hair that fell to her back, silky and on the shiny side. She appeared to just be looking around and making sure that the other participants didn't do anything rowdy.

After a few minutes the examiner gave one last glance around the lobby and walked down a long corridor.

Bingo.

Akira stealthily followed the women, not wanting the other participants to know of his discoveries. This was still part of the test, everything Akira did could count against him. Putting all of the stealth knowledge that he had forth he planted himself against a corner whenever he saw her body tense up and even went as far as taking his shoes off so he wouldn't make any noise as he followed her.

Waiting a cautious five minutes after she left through large double doors Akira stealthily crept in, taking note of how quiet and dark it was.

This was it. This was his time to shine.

Naruto

It was late at night; the owner of the shop had just closed up for the day just a few minutes ago.

Creeping behind a barrel of cantaloupe was a young boy who looked like he hadn't eaten in days. His body appeared to be just border lining anorexia. The boy's bones were slightly visible to anyone who cared to look. The horrid orange jumpsuit he had fished out of the pile of unwanted clothing on the brink of disposal was several sizes too big, riddled with holes and what was more than likely bloodstains.

His mind was focused now on his current mission: Finding food. He had already snuck himself in, now all he had to do was pack as much food as he could into a bag.

Grabbing a trash bag he quickly began shoving a variety of food into the bag. Instant Noodles, eggs, tomatoes, and milk, are but a few of the things that Naruto stashed in the plastic bag.

Just as Naruto was about to leave, a middle aged man crept behind him with a broom in hand. Raising the bristled part in the air the man brought it down on the child's head with as much force as he could produce.

"You rotten demon, get out of my damn store!"

Naruto barely heard this as held his head in pain. Looking back, he saw the anger and disgust in the man's eyes. Hastily grabbing the bag, Naruto took off with a dash. He knew that if he wasn't quick then others would soon join and a mob would form.

Taking a shortcut Naruto made it home relatively safely. Fortunately for the young boy the shop keeper stopped chasing after him a few blocks from the shop.

Panting heavily, Naruto set down the bags in his rundown apartment. It wasn't the ideal living environment for a child but it was better than nothing. Besides, the Third Hokage got him this room free of charge, despite the protests of many. If he was somehow given the grace of a better home, it would be for hard child labor or payment and Naruto was currently unable to do either.

The apartment came with the barest of essentials. There was only one bedroom and bath. The living area was sparse with only a rugged, beat up sofa and a short coffee table. There was an old TV that rarely worked and only shows black and white when it did manage to work. In the kitchen was a mini fridge, an old microwave, and a small oven. Because of the difficulty of cooking with outdated appliances Naruto didn't own many cooking utensils except for a pot and pan, a few plates and cups, and several eating utensils.

Miraculously the Third Hokage convinced the landlord to allow him running water, but only cold water as the landlord refused to give him anymore than that, telling him promptly, "If the little thing wants warm water, he has to heat it himself."

It didn't really matter to him though. As long as he was able to survive it didn't matter.

Naruto rummaged through the bag, looking for something that could be quickly heated and easy to digest seeing as he hasn't eaten for a while now. Finally he found it, Ramen, his favorite meal, mainly because it was one of the easiest things to cook.

He placed a pot, filled halfway with water, on to the stove, turning it on. Bored now that he was forced to wait for the water to boil Naruto sat on the beat up pillow placed beside the poor excuse for a coffee table. He began fidgeting with his fingers while waiting patiently, a rather uncharacteristic action for the normally hyperactive boy. It would only be a few minutes before he was able to enjoy his food, but minutes felt like hours with how hungry he was.

A thought came to his mind. What was he going to do tomorrow? Sure since he had no parents he could do what he wanted, but that doesn't mean he has the luxury to do as he pleased. As a child, a cursed child at that, he was very limited to doing the things that he wanted.

At the moment, mischief was not an option considering that an angry mob was probably roaming the alleys searching for him. He thought about the park, but sitting alone and watching other children play didn't seem very appealing right now. Furthermore, if he tried to interact, the other children will be pulled away from him and he would be told harsh words by the parents who wanted nothing to do with the demonic boy.

An idea suddenly popped in his head, why not go see Iruka - his favorite scarred sensei. When Naruto first entered the Academy he was worried that Iruka would just like all of the others, avoiding him like a plague and treating him like some scum. It only took a few months before Iruka finally saw the truth.

He no longer saw Naruto as a demon but as a child who had the misfortune of being the village's scapegoat. When you think deeply about some of the problems he was blamed for, you'd notice that he barely had the ability, or even the resources, to perform such tasks. How could a child cause all that destruction that he has been blamed for, much less a baby that was on constant watch majority of the time, from the moment he was born?

Since then, Ikura has done as much as he could for the boy. When presented with free time, he would occasionally pass by Naruto's home and check up on him to make sure his health wasn't deteriorating too much. If he had extra money he'd stop by and give Naruto a bag or two of food and maybe give him some old clothing that the villagers were kind enough to give him (of course he didn't say it was for Naruto). Though it wasn't much, it was better than letting the boy go around stealing and rummaging through junk to get his resources.

Thinking of this brought a smile to Naruto's face. That's all he could do really, just smile. Not think about the bad things in his life, but smile.

Walking over to a cracked window Naruto gazed upon the wonderful view of the Hokage Monument. That was the only thing that made the entire apartment enjoyable, the view. There you could see all four of the past Hokages. The one that Naruto loved the most was the giant carving of the Fourth Hokage's face.

To Naruto he was the greatest Hokage of them all. He was the one after all to defeat the Nine-Tailed Fox, the thing that has caused his life so much anguish.

Naruto stood up to finish preparing his meal at the sound of boiling water.

Naruto only had one dream, to become Hokage. Naruto didn't care how long it took or how hard it would be to do it, he just wanted to be Hokage. The reason for this was very simple, he wanted respect. He didn't want to be known as the "demon brat" his whole life. No, Naruto wanted to become Hokage so then everyone would respect him.

He also didn't want to be just some regular Hokage either; he wanted to be the best, even greater than the Fourth. He would be strong yet kind, hard willed yet kind hearted, and smart yet modest. He wanted to be all this and so much more but Naruto knew that it would be a long road ahead of him if he were to be either of these things especially with his below sub-par ninja skills.

That was why Naruto trained. He trained every day whenever he had free time. When it was the middle of the night and he was still awake he would be most likely found in the forest training. Kicking trees, practicing his aim, punching- anything that Naruto thought needed to be worked on.

Naruto sighed as he slurped up the last of the ramen broth. With a spark of determination in his eyes Naruto put the dirty dishes away in the sink and walked to his bedroom.

He lifted up a loose floorboard he pulled out a pouch filled with all of his ninja supplies and several scrolls Iruka-sensei had given to him about the defensive and offensive forms taught at the Academy. Attaching them to his pants Naruto was ready.

It was time to train.