Naruto: The Summoned Soul
By I.K.A. Valian
Disclaimer: I Don't Own!
Chapter One
Let me just start off this auto-biography of my life by saying that it is, technically speaking, only half of my life. Yes, my body is now only thirty-two years old, but my mind is over eighty. I know. It sounds ridiculous. But consider the world of shinobi we all live in, where the use of the Shinobi arts makes impossible things possible. So it was with me and my 'creation'. Truly, I was created in this world. But my soul, for lack of a better way of describing the essence that is me, was plucked from an entirely different world where in I was already a fifty year old man.
I won't delve into my previous life, seeing as it isn't really relevant to this world or any experiences that would be relevant to you, the readers. So, I'll just start this story of my life at the time it started in this world, during the Third Great Shinobi War. I was 'conceived' as a thought experiment by scientists and seal masters in Iwagakure. What would a perfect shinobi look like? That was the great question. Their answer was a sculpted mass of flesh that had no weaknesses or emotions. A literal killing machine that could not be sensed in any way, shape, or form until you saw the results of its dastardly deeds.
That was how I was conceived, anyway. Fortunately, the Tsuchikage shut the program down before it could get farther than asking the question. I personally like to think that he feared what the fruits of their labor would create more than he feared losing the war. After all, a perfect shinobi would always be killing, stealing, spying, and so on. And any hidden village who gained such a powerful ally would end up top dog, and after a while, the only dog in the world with a bone. That would mean the perfect shinobi would have no one left to kill, or fight, or spy on, or cheat, or steal secrets from… except that this is the perfect shinobi, so he'd just turn on his masters, Iwa in this case, and start a revolt. Not the ending that the Tsuchikage looked forward to.
Sadly, the scientists and seal masters working on the project believed like faith-blind idiots that their research and project would win the war against Konohagakure and secure Iwagakure's place as the pre-eminent power in the world. So they accepted the Tsuchikage's orders to stop their work and happily ignored it to continue on in secret with the hidden blessings of powerful, and wealthy, political interests now paying for it instead of the Village Hidden by the Rocks. I later came to learn that the largest benefactor of this research was one unscrupulous old man with visions of grandeur living in Konoha, but that was eventually dealt with much later, after the scientists were all dealt with.
So, now you good readers should be asking, how did I go from a concept in the minds of a few deranged men to a living breathing person? The answer came in the waning days of the war against Konoha. The Konoha Hero known as the Yellow Flash had already nearly won the war for the Village Hidden in the Leaves during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge and there was just one more battle before Iwa called the war off. The scientists and seal masters working in a secret base were far from finished working out the kinks in their theory, but they felt like they could accurately predict and control the creation of a 'perfect' shinobi. One who would be more than a match against the Yellow Flash. Poor fools.
Those stupid men rushed their research and skipped over vital experiments in order to get their damn trump card before the war was over. Everyone in the elemental nations knew that the war would be ending soon. Iwa was bleeding badly and Konoha, though also bleeding, was not looking so bad in comparison. Money was running low and unlike Fire Country, the Iwa Daimyo wasn't as happy to prolong the war any more than it needed to be. The Fire Daimyo, for his part, was watching his Konoha ninja capture key trade routes and vital river ports that would, inevitably, make the war effort look like an investment in a fortune ten times larger than the cost of it.
And so the stupid men, blinded by their faith in their infallibility, had the misfortune of their lifetimes. They succeeded. None of them lived beyond their experiment's completion, which was a resounding success according to their projections. Better even. They'd brought the exact amount of each element it takes to create a human body and used sealing arts to combine them and one final ingredient into a living breathing person. The final ingredient was captured by a lone seal that reached out across time and space and found me, specifically, my soul. The seal plucked my soul from my body just as I was falling asleep in bed, ready to dream happy dreams or whatever it is I dream about.
Just as the seals were going off with big flashes of light and loud sounds, disaster struck. I did say that the scientist and seal masters all died. They didn't die from the experiment, but from the one person they least expected nor wished to see at that moment. He had a bright shock of yellow hair and deep blue eyes. It didn't take long for the man to lay waste to the entire facility that the Iwa men were working in, but it was already too late to stop the experiment. Namikaze Minato, Elite Jounin of Konohagakure, could only watch amazement and fear as I was born into the world.
The stupid men should have performed those other experiments, or at least done the math. They'd miscalculated the power requirements and that, in turn, messed up how the seals would have needed to be drawn. Ideally, the soul would have been drawn randomly from the Pure World, where all souls that depart from this world go for their eternal rest. No, instead their stupid seal had to reach out to the nearest dimension with a soul in it and randomly, by all the chance of the universes, latched onto me. On top of that, I was born into this world as an infant, instead of the full grown man the Iwa scientists were expecting.
I suppose I shouldn't complain too much about their stupidity. If I had turned out as they'd expected, then Minato would have likely killed me to prevent me from becoming a threat. But because I was just an infant, admittedly a weird one with deep, forest green hair and amber eyes that seemed to glow in the fire light of burning wreckage, Minato's heart softened. The first daylight I saw in this world was from the arms of Minato as he exited the underground lair of the scientists. Several dozen exploding tags he'd placed throughout the facility detonated when we were a safe distance away, erasing all existence of how I was brought into this world, for the better I say.
Minato brought me back to Konoha, delivering the deranged scientists 'perfect' shinobi into the hands of their most hated enemy. As a side note, I should point out that I am far from perfect. That didn't mean I wasn't potentially dangerous, not for being an infant of dubious creation, but for what I represented and the possible potential I contained.
There are some strange things about my body here that are completely different from the one I had from my previous life. Where before I had a decent memory, here my mind was like a recording machine with the switch permanently fused into the record position. I can remember everything that happened to me from the moment Minato lifted me off the cold stone floor. Logically, the 'perfect' shinobi would have perfect memory, so obviously, that was one of the traits programmed into my body. The scientists hadn't expected a soul to come back with its experiences intact, let alone from a completely different universe, so while a fresh soul with no understanding would not have understood anything that it observed, I perfectly comprehended everything I was experiencing right away.
That didn't mean I was happy about it. I screamed. A lot. I sort of feel bad for Minato now that I think back on it since he had to deal with me all the way back to Konoha. I believe I gave him pause when he was thinking about any children he wanted to have, not that finding out what his son would have become like would have improved his feelings on the subject. I'll get to that part of my story later.
I remember the ride back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Minato didn't need to run very far, as far as I could tell. He would jump, fling something into the distance as hard as he could, and then there was a bright yellow flash, and we were not in the same place as we were before. This process continued for some time, which I will freely admit that during that time, I was screaming bloody murder. If Minato wasn't a ninja, I'm sure his ear drums would have been ruptured.
"Easy there, small one," he'd told me some time during the journey. "We're almost to your new home. I'm sure you'll love it. It's called Konohagakure. It's where I live and all my favorite people and places are. If you give it a chance, you might like it too."
The only response he got out of me was more screaming, not that I understood what he was saying at the time. The reason I was screaming wasn't because I didn't understand what was going on. Logically, I knew I was in the body of an infant, I was being carried through the air by a man I didn't know, and we were practically flying by magic. The man wasn't trying to sound threatening and what I saw in his eyes was only kindness. No, I was screaming because I didn't understand why this dream had turned into a nightmare.
At the time, I had a slight fear of small, tight spaces. Being held so close and still by Minato had sent off warning bells throughout my body until I couldn't stop myself from screaming. I just could. Not. Move. The emotions and terror flowing through me was just too much for me to contain in such a small body, which was another oddity that I didn't understand. Add all of that on top of the fact that I was confused about everything going on around me, even if I could understand it, left me in a foul mood to end all foul moods.
So I cried the whole trip back to Konoha. I swear, even if I was being held and crying so hard my eyes were screwed shut, I've never seen anyone run so fast through the village as I saw Minato running to the Hokage tower. As we breezed past the different people calling out to Minato, all I could sense were blurs. And then we entered the building itself and ascended the stairs so fast that the record has yet to be beaten as far as I know. To this day, I don't know why Minato didn't just jump through the Hokage's office window.
As soon as we entered the Hokage's office, Minato essentially thrust me into the arms of some brown haired woman who looked like she was getting on in the years. I was still screaming my head off and the woman, who I later learned was Sarutobi Biwako, could only stare at me and then Minato in bewilderment. Then something clicked, and Biwako slumped me over her shoulder and started bouncing while humming some tune I'd never heard before. I screamed some more, but slowly, inevitably, the terror left me and the confusion didn't seem to matter as much. My eyelids grew heavy and then, I was asleep.
Thank God for that woman. Now, for another quirk of my designed biology. I don't just remember things I'm conscious for, oh no. Those Iwa scientists went for the full package deal. I remember absolutely everything I sense, that includes my time spent unconscious. So, I heard and remember the conversation that followed the Calming of The Babe.
"Honestly, Minato," Biwako said, "How can you expect to raise children if you can't even handle one screaming baby?"
"I'm hoping that my child won't be so… fussy," Minato said. He turned to the Hokage, who sat behind his large desk with his hands clasped in front of him and a very amused expression on his face, and made a short bow. "Hokage-sama, I've taken care of the Iwa research facility. There was no evidence of who was supporting them, so the reports from Iwa claiming that the Tsuchikage stopped the research years ago isn't impossible, but it can't be proven either. I've destroyed the facility and all of the research with paper bombs, so it won't be a problem any longer."
"It only took you three days to find and destroy everything?" The Third Hokage asked. He smirked and added, "If anything, I'm even more convinced now than I was before."
"Hokage-sama?" Minato asked uncertainly.
"When the war ends," the third began, "and it will end. When the war ends, I'm going to be announcing my successor and stepping down from the post of Hokage. I'm going to name you my successor, Minato-kun."
"I… what?!"
"I have no doubts that you are the right man for the job," the third said. "You're very talented, you've got the experience and strength, and most importantly, you are well respected and loved by the populace. I've asked and all of the elders actually agree with me, even that old bat Danzo. I don't know what you did to catch his fancy, but in a few weeks it won't be my problem anymore." The third laughed jovially at the bewildered blond in front of him.
"Ahh… uhh… yes, Hokage-sama," Minato said. It was clear from the tenor of his voice that he wasn't entirely sure this was happening. "Thank you, Hokage-sama! I'm honored that I would even be considered for the job."
"The honor is mine, Minato," the Hokage said. "Truly, to have met a ninja as capable as you is a once in a lifetime chance. I have no doubts that the village will not only be safe, but prosper to even greater heights in your more than capable hands."
Eight months later, there was a very big event in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The Nine-tailed Demon Fox was unleashed upon the village where it rampaged for a short time. Almost as soon as it had appeared, though not quick enough to keep a chunk of the ninja population alive, the giant nine tailed beast was attacked by the Fourth Hokage, Minato, riding atop the largest toad anyone had ever seen. And then, the fox and the Fourth Hokage were gone in a giant yellow flash.
At the time, in the orphanage I was placed in, I watched the adults run around like chickens with their heads cut off. Some fainted from the stress of the waves of potent demonic chakra, others threw up, and a few tried to take charge of the situation. Me, I just cried. What the heck was an eight month old infant expected to do. Even now, the memory I have of that night sticks out as one of my most terrifying experiences.
Sometime later, the Fourth Hokage was found on his last leg, just about to die. Beside him lay the dead bodies of Biwako, Uzumaki Kushina, and several ANBU. The only one not about to die was a wailing infant with blond hair, blue eyes, three whisker marks on each cheek, and a spiral seal on his stomach. The Fourth made it known he desired for the boy to be seen as a hero because it was through Naruto that the feared Nine-tailed Demon was held in check. Having said this, the young Hokage died.
Shortly after the funeral for the Fourth Hokage, which everyone in the village attended, the Third Hokage was re-instated as to the post. His first order of business was to create a law that no one but Uzumaki Naruto or the Hokage could reveal what exactly Naruto held within the seal on his stomach. He hoped that by keeping the beast a secret from the younger generation, they'd over look the fact that Naruto was a Jinchuriki and allow the boy to have a semblance of a normal childhood. Something most Jinchuriki don't get. Secretly, he suppressed any and all connection that Naruto had to the Fourth Hokage, in the hopes that it would protect the young boy from the aspirations of those who would seek revenge against Minato. With that done, Naruto was sent to the Happy Valley Konoha Orphanage.
We made music trying to outcry the each other. I like to think I won, but for the sake of fairness, I'll just say that those crying contests were really only one sided. Naruto had no capacity to think as I did, at the time.
It took me a year after always listening to the people around me to learn the language. Frankly, I believe that is a slight against the stupid Iwa scientists who thought that they were making the 'ultimate' ninja who'd learn as fast as any Sharingan wielder. Idiots. So twelve months after being 'born' into this world, four months after Naruto was born, I finally learned to understand what everyone around me was saying.
I am sad to say that my crying lessened dramatically after that. As much as I enjoyed torturing the poor souls who attended to me with my piercing demonic wails, that isn't the reason I was sad. No, I was sad because the people around me immediately took notice and removed me from Naruto's presence, believing I had been cowed by the presence of what they termed the 'demon' baby.
I was placed in a new room, with older children. That was most certainly not a good thing, as it turned out, because the older children, with their child mental capacity, decided that I looked, smelled, and sounded weird. Needless to say, no one ever tried to play with me and I usually sat in a corner, by myself, on a rug, playing with blocks and secretly listening to the adults watching us.
This routine of playing by myself, being insulted by the big kids, eating, and sleeping, became my reality surprisingly fast. When I was about one year and five months old, I overheard some of the adult's gossip. I usually listened to the older people talking so that I could learn more of the language.
"I can't wait, Shishu," said Haru. I'd come to believe Haru was the nicest adult in the place. She was always taking a little time to play with me just before her shift was up. "In three weeks, I'll never have to deal with that little monster ever again!"
"Oh goodness," replied Shishu. She leaned forward and placed a hand on Haru's shoulder, a smile on her face. "I envy you so much. Dealing with that thing is harder than people would think! It's only made worse when you think that somewhat cute exterior is just trying to trick us into thinking that it's not really a demon."
I see, they were talking about Naruto. I continued to play with my blocks while I listened. I didn't want to raise any suspicions that a one and a half year old could understand next to everything that was being spoken. I'd learned my lesson when I'd stopped crying, and I kind of liked the status quo for the time being.
"Shhh!" Haru said. She quickly reached up and put a hand over Shishu's mouth. "Don't even talk about talking about that. My neighbor was abducted by ANBU right in front of me when all he was doing was complaining to his kids about how 'it' had killed their grandparents."
"Wow…" Shishu said, her eyes wide in shock. "The Third wasn't kidding when he made that law."
"No." Haru heaved a heavy sigh. "I can't wait to get away from this place. All this stress about what I can and can't say is driving me nuts."
"I'm sorry," Shishu said. "You're always so happy when you work with kids. I'm sorry that… thing is taking that away from you."
Haru narrowed her eyes and a slight snarl crossed her face. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I'd later learn that what I was feeling was called Killer Intent, or a projection of anger, hate, and loathing along the body's natural field of chakra. It was like how the sun could create Aurora Borealis's when solar flare energy was channeled along the earth's magnetic field. At the time, I didn't know what I was feeling, and so I just pushed back against it. It was like the most natural thing in the world to me and I continued to push until I didn't feel that foreign presence pushing down on me anymore.
This conversation changed my opinion of Haru fairly quickly. Naruto hadn't done anything to deserve this anger. I, strangely, didn't feel betrayed by Haru, but rather, I felt sad. I was sad that Haru was so caught up in herself that she couldn't see past her own emotions.
Several months later, I was brought into the play room and found we had a new addition. He was blond, had blue eyes, and these whiskers marks on his cheeks. The moment I saw him, because until this time, I hadn't actually laid eyes on Naruto, a flash of recognition ran through me.
Yosh! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like cup ramen. I like it even more when Iruka-sensei buys me ramen from Ichiraku. What I dislike is the three minutes it takes for cup ramen to cook. My dream is to surpass the Hokage and then have all the people of the village acknowledge my existence! Dattebayo!
I am from another world, spiritually and mentally. This fact must be accepted for anything from within my life to be believed. Starting with this first moment of eye contact with the young child named Uzumaki Naruto. I knew him from my original world. Up until this point, I'd assumed I was in the afterlife or some such thing. Or it could have been possible that I had fallen into a coma. While the second possibility was still viable, that didn't detract from the fact that in my world, Uzumaki Naruto is the main character of a coming of age story about Ninja. None of my experiences up until this point in my life had given me an inkling of where I was or what was going on around me. So blind was I to the possibility of my new reality that I didn't even connect the story of Naruto to the name Naruto.
Take a moment to think about it for a moment. Imagine if one of you awoke one day in the world of Icha Icha. I imagine Jiraiya of the Sannin would enjoy that very much, but realistically, consider how the characters of that world would react to your presence. How would you react to your foreknowledge of the plot? That is why it must be believed that I am not of this world spiritually, because otherwise, when I say that I felt like I had gone off the deep end, dove into the abyss of insanity, and drowned myself on the bile of lunacy, I would sound… well, nuts.
I suppose all Ninja are a little crazy. The best are a lot crazy. The worst have moved beyond crazy and embraced insanity. Still, my claim is true. I come from and remember a world in which the story of Uzumaki Naruto was something to read and enjoy. And now, I am living in that world.
If you believe that it is possible for my body to be the successful result of a bunch of Iwa scientist's attempts to create a perfect shinobi. If you can accept that my soul was born, grown, and taken from another dimension. If you can agree that this world's most recent history is a fictional story, then the story that I am going to tell you will not sound so farfetched.
When I saw Naruto that first time, I remembered the animated retelling of Naruto the story. It was the point where Naruto introduced himself to his prospective Genin team after graduating from the Konoha Ninja Academy. The memory flash lasted less than a moment, but the shock from realizing exactly where I was caused me to freeze up while staring at Naruto. I stayed this way until Shishu knelt down in my line of sight and asked, "Anba, what's wrong?"
Up until this point, I'd yet to speak a single word. Oh, I had started communicating, but it was mostly by body language and pointing. So when Shishu asked me what was wrong, I blinked at her and walked away. I was already considered a strange child to begin with, so I saw no reason to change that. Strange people have more fun anyhow.
To tell the truth, the fact that no one knew that I was capable of adult reasoning and logic, let alone thought patterns, was a boon. I was so confused and lost at that moment that I don't know what I would have done if anyone had expected anything more from me than playing with my blocks. And play with my blocks was what I did for the next week while on the inside I was thinking over everything that being in this world meant.
There were ninja here. There was Naruto here. Ninja and Naruto. Naruto and Ninja. Ninja Naruto! Naruto Ninja! Now, I lived my whole life before this point in peace. The world I came from was relatively peaceful. Yes, there were uprisings and hotspots of violence around the planet, but continent wide warfare had ended ninety years before I'd come to this world. The most stressful things most people worried about were lawyers and politicians, who also happened to be lawyers in most cases.
Here, there most recent war of any consequence was under a decade ago and tensions were still intolerably high. I brought up the memories I'd recorded from my arrival and realized for the first time that it was the Yondaime himself that had rescued me from the people that created me. I worked it out in my head that the Third Secret Ninja World War had just ended a little under three years ago. People died every day fighting each other over… whatever it was ninja fought over. It was a cold pall that fell over me as I put the pieces together and realized that this world was much more violent than the world I lived in for the first fifty years of my life.
After that week of introspection had passed, I'd concluded several points. I was unlikely to ever go home, so I would have to make a new life for myself here. This was a world of bloody violence and darkness; it wouldn't be going too far to say that this could be called a dark age compared to the world I'd just come from. There was no guarantee that this world's fate would even remotely resemble that of the story from my world, so I'd have to pay close attention to what happened around me and react to things as they happened, just like anyone else; I would have to keep my knowledge of the story plot secret and use it sparingly. Finally, even though I'd already lived through five decades of life, I was still enthralled with the idea of jumping around like a ninja. I just had to get me some of that.
I was going into this world with fifty years of experience. I'd have insights into the way things would work before anyone else in my age group. I would be able to read into situations better than others, and on top of the years of experience I already had, I also had my memories of the story from back home. If this wasn't some sort of playground in heaven, I didn't know where I was. Scratch that: I could be in some kind of torture chamber in hell.
So it came to pass that on my second birthday, I chose that moment to speak my first words. Shishu put a small cupcake down in front of me with a candle sticking out of it and all the other orphans had gathered around me to sing the birthday song. All of the other orphans save Naruto, of course. He was already being ostracized, but being two years old and "illiterate", I had no say in the matter. I swore that would change today.
I blew out the candle and all the adult caretakers cheered. The other orphans did as well, some of them wondering what I had wished for. I figured there was no reason to keep them in the dark.
"It was no wish, but a promise," I said in clear, articulated words. The room had fallen dead silent and everyone's attention was now on me, but I pressed on. "I will become a most powerful Shinobi and work so that no one has to lose a loved one. No more orphans. Ever."
Then I stood up, grabbed my cupcake, and pushed my way through the silent crowd. I made my way to the other side of the room, where Naruto sat. He didn't seem to be very aware, but considering he was just shy of a year and a half. Still, I ripped a piece of my cupcake off and put it down in front of the kid.
Naruto, being a typical sixteen month old, wasn't even fazed by the appearance of the food. He just laughed, grabbed the cake, stuffed it into his mouth, and continued laughing as he did his thing. That was fine by me. It was a nice cupcake, though.
That was the last time anyone celebrated my birthday in the Happy Valley Konoha Orphanage. After that stunt, I started getting the evil eye from the other orphans and the caretakers. Shishu seemed to be the only one who didn't overtly distrust me, though I could tell that she was watching me with the same distrustfulness as the others when she thought I wasn't looking. At least I had the ability to rationalize what the adults were doing and accept that it was their fear that was causing them to act this way rather than some innate dislike of me. The other orphans had no excuse though, they were just a bunch of assholes.
After my second birthday, I started my training. I figured, why not get started early. If I was going to be a super ninja of awesome sauce, then I would need to get in as much training as possible. Plus, having ten years of training over my fellow genin when I graduate from the Academy would just make things easier for me overall.
Unfortunately, there isn't much a two year old can do to train when you're watched over constantly by adults who think you're just goofing off and need to be punished for running around the small, but rather spacious front yard of the orphanage. So I was told to go sit in a corn, but not one to give up lightly, I figured if I couldn't do anything about the physical side of being a ninja, I could work on the mental side. Half of any ninja battle, as any good shinobi will tell you, is chakra control. Currently, I had next to zero.
So when I wasn't running, catapulting, tumbling, rolling, or jumping all over the place like a hooligan hopped up on speed, I was sitting in a corner with my eyes closed focusing inward. The concept of chakra had never been foreign to me. In my old life, there were plenty of people who claimed to have utilized their Ki, which is the only thing I could equate it with. So, working along those lines, I focused my mind on the energy that should, theoretically, be flowing through me. One might consider it cheating, but I was also using the Naruto story as a reference on chakra as well, but ninja are nothing if not cheaters. It took a while, but days turned to weeks, and then months, I started to feel this pulsing energy inside of me, like it was linked to my heart, only it wasn't blood.
One day, about seven months into my self-imposed training regime, another of the orphans approached me and asked me, "Hey, Anba."
I opened one eye and saw a young brown haired boy named Gosu standing before me. Behind Gosu was his group of lackeys that were his 'enforcers'. Gosu wasn't a bully in the traditional sense because he treated people fairly for the most part. If he asked you a question, or told you to do something, most kids answered or performed without question under the threat of violence that his larger than average frame implied. He was the oldest orphan in the building now, the previous oldest orphan having left to join the Ninja Academy two months previous, all of which meant that Gosu was the de facto leader among the orphans. This status of leader by age was something of a tradition in the orphanage, I'd come to learn. Gosu had been under the thumb of the last leader and received the majority of the punishment that entailed.
The last guy, Tensuke, was a bully in the traditional sense. To go from an asshole like Tensuke to Gosu was like going from an evil dictator to a populist civil servant. Still, most people remembered Tensuke and his reign of terror. Because of that, they respected Gosu's authority, even though he didn't really do all that much to keep up the image. Sometimes I wondered if Gosu despised the way Tensuke's presence still haunted him even when the older kid was no longer around.
"Yes, Gosu," I replied.
"He is acting up again," Gosu said. "I talked the grown-ups into letting you deal with it, so you don't have to be in time-out anymore."
Gosu was, of course, talking about Naruto. I took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll get right on it," I said as I stood.
I quickly walked off toward where I knew Naruto would be. He'd likely be in the yard out front, screaming his head off and just being difficult to deal with in general. The adults would, likely, still be trying to calm him down with a combination of veiled threts and promises of treats. They wouldn't act for fear of setting the Nine-tails free, not that anything short of stabbing Naruto to death would have done so.
At first, the blond kid had been rather easy to deal with. Even the adults who despised him for reasons they shouldn't have didn't have trouble getting Naruto to go to sleep or eat. All he did was sit around all day, spit, eat, poop, sleep, and laugh with a smile on his face as if he were happy to see even the sun rise.
Then he learned how to talk four months back and he hadn't shut up since. At first it was amusing, hearing some of the weirdest things that Naruto said. "I eat purple," was still one of my favorites after he'd gotten into the finger paint. Of course, that was one of his more lucid attempts at talking which didn't involve the traditional screeching that made nails on chalkboard seem appealing.
As soon as I exited the door, Gosu and his gang behind me, I immediately heard the screeching. It sounded rather whiny, meaning that he was throwing a tantrum. I marched around the side of the building and went straight passed Shishu and the other adult trying to calm Naruto down and moved to stand right in front of the crying blond.
It was sad, really, that I, at almost three years old, was the only adult capable of getting a crying kid to cooperate in an orphanage run by people who lived their entire lives dealing with children who didn't want to cooperate. Sad, but reality can be sad sometimes.
"Anba," Naruto wailed, "go away!" The blond tried to push me away from him, but I knocked his hand to the side. That only made the crying boy pull out the stops and unleash the screech. "I don't wanna go inside! Me no wanna! No!"
I just continued to stare at Naruto with a firm resolved look. Behind me I could practically feel the way that Gosu, his gang, and the adults were staring at my back. I swear, it's like they've never dealt with a whiny two year old tantrum before.
"No!" Naruto screamed.
I continued to stare.
"NO!" Naruto screeched.
Stare.
"N-no!" Naruto wailed.
Soul piercing stare.
Naruto's wails tapered off and he started to whimper. He looked up at me, almost pleadingly. I arched one of my eyebrows and extended my hand out to him. Slowly, hesitantly, Naruto reached out and grabbed my hand.
"It's time for dinner, Naruto," I said. "We can play some more tomorrow."
"Okay," Naruto said, his tantrum completely forgotten. He stepped out of the sand box and trudged toward the back door of the orphanage. Specks of sand scattered every step he took as the remnants sticking to him fell. When Naruto was back inside I turned and gave the people staring at me a look as if to ask them, 'what are you looking at?'
"Th-thank you, Anba-kun," Shishu said. I nodded and followed after Naruto, consciously ignoring the whispering behind my back. I knew what they were saying anyway. It was a mixture of awe of me for being able to control the 'demon' and disgust of me for being a 'demon lover'. Truth be told, if Naruto was a demon, then I'd like him anyway because he would be the gutsiest demon shinobi ever born and controlling him is easy, because he's just a two year old throwing a tantrum.
Every day, I exercised harder, ran faster, jumped higher, and pushed myself farther. I didn't always get put into time out once the adults realized what I was doing. Why they thought I was being an obstinate kid for so long, I don't know. Maybe it was my association with Naruto.
The days passed into weeks into months. When Naruto turned three, I found him visiting with none other than the Hokage. When I tried to approach, two ninja appeared out of nowhere and forbid me access to the room Naruto and the Hokage were talking in. As annoying as that was, I decided that I should just go wait outside. I wanted to practice using my chakra anyway.
That funny throbbing energy I felt flowing through me all those months ago was indeed my chakra. When I pushed it, pulled it, willed it to do what I wanted, it felt like a rush of power like nothing else. The first time I pushed chakra out of my body I hyperventilated myself into passing out because I thought I had pushed all of it out and I had inadvertently committed suicide. When I woke up, I was in my room and Shishu was there to scold me for being so foolish as to use chakra without supervision.
After that day, I experimented with my chakra all the time until I felt confident in my ability to push it out of my body in any amount I wanted. Today, I wanted to try pushing chakra into my feet and see if I could get it to stick to the wall of the orphanage. I walked outside and stood next to the wall. I lifted my foot and pushed it against the wooden siding before pushing chakra to the sole of my foot.
I heard the chakra, actually heard it, cause the wooden paneling to groan under the strain. I pulled my foot and it was like my foot weighted twenty pounds extra. I grinned and went to lift my other foot off of the ground to take the next step.
Now, before I continue, let me just say that when ninja walk up walls or trees or whatever other surface they're walking on that defies gravity, they are not, in fact, defying gravity. In actuality, the ninja are strengthening the muscles in their legs and back that will allow them to remain standing straight with chakra. Training in the wall walking exercise makes this strengthening a subconscious effort so that when an experience ninja walks or runs up a wall, it just appears like gravity has stopped working for them at that moment.
Unfortunately, I had no idea about this fact and immediately fell back to the ground. When I felt myself falling, my concentration faltered and my other foot released the wall as the chakra dispersed. I ended up on my back, staring up at the sky. It was a bright, sunny day to day. The sky was really blue and only a few clouds were present. It wasn't necessarily hot, since it was October the tenth, but it was still warm enough to wear shorts, which I was.
It is in this position that the Hokage found me when he opened the window and stuck his head out. Apparently, I'd made more noise than I thought I did when I fell. The Hokage looked down and saw me laying on my back. He grinned and said, "Naruto, I believe I've found your friend."
"Ehhh?!" Naruto's little two year old head stuck out of the window shortly thereafter as he looked down too. "Oy! Anba! What are you doin down there?"
"Trainin," I said simply.
"That's Anba, grampa," Naruto said. "He likes to train a lot. He's really cool."
That revelation made me stop to think about what I was hearing. I was cool? Naruto thought I was, at any rate. Since when had I gone from weird little kid to 'cool'? Even in my previous life, I was not 'cool'. Dorky, maybe, but not cool.
The Hokage smiled at Naruto and waved as he pulled back into the room. Naruto waved with a silly grin before he dove back in. I heaved a sigh and pushed myself back to my feet. I glared at the wall as if it were mocking me. Maybe running to start getting up the wall really is a better way of doing it.
So I ran at the wall and got one foot onto it before I had to push off and back flip. I had forgotten to push chakra to my feet. Well, try, try, and try again, as they say.
This time, when I ran at the wall, I pushed the amount of chakra to my feet that I remember applying the first time. I managed to get up five steps this time before I felt myself falling back again. I released my chakra and kicked off the wall so I could flip twice and land in a crouch.
My heart was pounding what felt like a million miles an hour. I'd just run up the wall! I wall walked! Ran! Whatever!
Grinning, I ran at the wall again. Pushing chakra out of my feet was harder than with my hands. I remember Story-Kakashi telling his genin team that if you can master tree walking, then theoretically, you have the chakra control necessary to master any jutsu. I know there are jutsu out there that require greater chakra control still, but it may as well be true. Pushing the precise amount of chakra out of my feet to stick to the wall without blowing the wall up beneath my feet or not sticking at all was hard. It felt like I was wearing bricks in my sandals when I ran up the wall and I felt heavier above my waist as gravity tried to pull me back down. I think the only reason I didn't fall back down onto my head is because I was running up the wall instead of walking. And it was fun to succeed so fantastically using chakra to actually do something for the first time.
I was grinning like an idiot and still taking shots at running at the wall when Naruto and the Hokage emerged from the front of the orphanage. I'd just jumped off of the wall from my sixth try, having gotten ten steps up the wall this time, when they rounded the corner of the building and I heard Naruto exclaim in wonder.
"Whoa!" Naruto shouted in that way two year olds shout overdramatically. "That's so awesome, Anba! Teach me! I wanna do it too!"
I was breathing hard from the exertion and grinning like an idiot as I turned to face Naruto and the Hokage. I bowed slightly to the Hokage, who nodded back to me. "Naruto, first you have to learn how to use chakra," I said.
"And who might I ask is teaching you how to use chakra, Anba-kun," the Hokage asked warmly. I had to do a double take when I looked at the Hokage because I swore there was a very calculating cold look in his eyes the first glance. It was gone when I looked the second time.
"No one is teaching me, Hokage," I said. "I'm teaching myself."
The Hokage smiled but I couldn't help noticing the twitch of his right eyebrow. Was he hiding his reactions or sending out false reactions? Considering that he was the Hokage, probably the second. But why hide your reaction to a three year old? Either it was an old habit of an old ninja or he didn't trust me. Maybe both. In any case, it appeared that the Hokage was pleased in some way.
"Ne, ne, Grampa!" Naruto shouted, tugging on the Hokage's sleeve. "Teach me how to be a ninja, grampa! I wanna be a ninja like Anba too!"
The Hokage smiled kindly as he looked down at Naruto and ruffled his blond hair. "If you really want to be a ninja, then you're going to have to work hard every day to get stronger. Look at Anba. He's been training every day."
"But Grampa!" Naruto whined. "Anba's been training forever! I wanna be a ninja now! Now! Now! Now!"
Naruto crossed his arms and made his angry pouty face. I struggled to control my face to keep from showing my amusement at Naruto. From the Hokage's reaction, whom was clearly amused, I gathered that he thought both my efforts to appear unamused and Naruto's attempt to pout were both very entertaining. I sighed in annoyance, though mostly at myself.
"Naruto," I said, "there are no shortcuts to being a ninja. If you don't work for it, then you'll never become a ninja. The best ninjas who ever lived had to train hard every day. And even when they get to be the best ever, they still train so that they can stay the best."
"Anba is correct, Naruto," the Hokage said. He laid one of his large hands on Naruto's head and smiled down sadly. Then, as if coming upon an idea, the Hokage lifted his head and hummed to himself. "I have an idea, Naruto. Why don't you and your friend Anba come with me to the Hokage Tower?" Naruto's head snapped around fast enough that I was wondering when it would fall off. His big blue eyes, if possible, were even bigger and tearing up. "That way you can see what it's like to be a ninja."
"Really?!" Naruto asked.
"Yes, Naruto, really," the Hokage said. He looked up at me and asked, "you'll come too, won't you Anba?"
I nodded. I was still feeling tired from running up the wall. I guess that I used up a lot of chakra, so I'd need time to get my energy back anyway. "Of course. But only if I can call you Old Man."
The Hokage threw back his head and laughed loudly. After several seconds, during which Naruto and I started to laugh as well, the Hokage patted me on the head as he pull himself back under control. "That will be fine, Anba. You may call me 'Old Man.' I am rather old, I believe, so the description is an apt one." I grinned sheepishly as I followed the Hokage and Naruto beyond the front gate of the orphanage.
"Can I call you 'Old Man' too, grampa?!" Naruto asked excitedly.
"Haha," the Hokage barked. "Yes, you may, Naruto. But don't forget, I am the Hokage. Don't be surprised if others think you're disrespecting me when you call me that. The same goes for you, Anba."
"But you said you're an old man, grampa, err… I mean, Old Man!"
"Yes, Naruto, I am an old man," the Hokage explained patiently. "But that doesn't mean that others don't respect me enough to not call me so. And some people think it's rude to call attention to their age. You shouldn't call people old just because they are."
"Eh?!" Naruto spun around and pointed at me. "Why are you being mean to Gram-Old Man?!"
"I asked permission," I said.
"And I said it was fine for you both to do so," the Hokage said. "And I'm the Hokage. So if I say you can call me Old Man, then it's okay."
"Wow!" Naruto said, once again in that overdramatic way two year olds speak. "You're the best Old Man Hokage ever!"
The Hokage chuckled lightly and rubbed Naruto's head affectionately. "Come, Naruto, Anba. We're almost there." The Hokage pointed to a tower down the road. Behind the tower stood the Hokage Mountain with four heads carved into it. As we walked, Naruto asked and the Hokage explained about the heads of the four Hokage who served Konoha over the years. He talked about his teachers, the First and Second Hokage and how the Fourth Hokage had saved Konoha from the evil Nine Tailed Demon Fox.
Naruto listened with rapt attention and I must admit that I too was enthralled with his story. The Third Hokage was, if anything, very qualified for the job. After serving as village leader for so long, even a rock would have picked up how to be a public speaker. I'll just say that the man could tell a hell of a story.
Once we arrived in his office, we got to watch as the Hokage did paper work. Naruto and I got into one of the supply cabinets when the Hokage had to go into a private meeting. The secretary outside scolded us after we made paintings on the wall. I still, to this day, think my rendition of the village in whiteout had to be worth something. It was a work of art! Maybe if it exploded…
At the end of the day, Naruto and I were with the Hokage in his office. The sun was going down and sent orange light through the window to light up the far wall. The Hokage was busy doing paperwork. Every so often Naruto would take a break from running around the room, pretending to be a ninja, to ask the Hokage a question. I was given a brush, some ink, and a scroll and let go nuts. That beauty, I'm thankful to say, has a place of honor in the village archives.
Naruto eventually took a seat on the small couch on the side of the room. Five minutes later, he was out and snoring up a storm. By this time, the sun had gone down. The light in the room came from what I believed was a light bulb screwed into the center of the ceiling with an ornate cover over it. It was hard to tell if it was a light bulb or some kind of seal work that glowed, at least from my position on the floor.
"Ahhh," the Hokage sighed as he sat back. "Anba."
I looked up from my 'artwork'. Seeing the Hokage make a 'come here' motion, I rolled up the scroll and stood. When I got close, the Hokage patted his leg and I hopped up.
"Naruto's a bundle of energy, wouldn't you say?" the Hokage asked.
I nodded. Where was this going? "Yes. He has limitless energy, though sometimes he just passes out and doesn't wake up till the next morning, like this."
The Hokage hummed in agreement. I then caught a glimpse of the scroll laid out across the Hokage's desk. At the time, I couldn't read, but after I did I learned that it was a report from the border of Fire and Lightning. One of the border patrols had come across an envoy from the Raikage asking for an audience with the Hokage to conduct treaty negotiations. My attention was drawn from the scroll on the desk when the Hokage grabbed my arm not too tight, but strong enough to ensure I had nowhere to run. The grip could have been interpreted as a safety measure to make sure I didn't fall.
But it quickly dawned on me that the Hokage was as close to a super human as one could get, even as old has he is. He would have no trouble catching me before I even tipped over. The Hokage had set up a trap for me and I'd walked right into it. I even sat right in his lap. He'd probably been testing me all day.
"Anba, do you mind if I ask you a question," the Hokage asked.
I nodded, not sure I could trust my voice to keep the rising fear from my voice. Was the Hokage going to kill me? Did he think I was some kind of enemy? I admit, I did remember being picked up and brought to the village by the fourth Hokage, but I was a baby. It'd be impossible to be some kind of plant at that age.
"You treat Naruto like a younger brother," the Hokage said. I glanced at Naruto's sleeping form as the Hokage continued speaking. "You also are training to use chakra. Just why is it you are doing these things? You're also clearly terrified at this moment. What are you afraid of?"
I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself down. It didn't really work and my heart continued to thump like a raging drum in my chest. No doubt, the Hokage was reading my pulse with his hand on my arm as well.
"I… I…"
"Take your time, Anba."
I took another breath. "I remember the trip back to Konoha." Just for a millisecond, I felt the Hokage's hand tighten painfully on my arm. But then the pressure was gone.
"Go on."
"I remember everything," I said, "even when I'm asleep. I don't have any visual memory of it, but I can remember your conversation with Minato when you told him you were going to nominate him for the position of Hokage. I remember crying a lot. I remember being sent to the orphanage and every day of my stay there, even my sleep there." I hadn't taken my eyes off of Naruto for a moment. "He looks a lot like him."
"What was that?" This time the Hokage's hand did tighten.
"I can remember in vivid detail the man who brought me to Konoha," I said. "Naruto looks a lot like him. His eyes are wider apart, though, and his nose is blunter. His lips thicker and he's still just a little kid, so he doesn't have the adult skull structure he'll have later in life, but I'll bet that it'll be similar to… him, too."
"You speak as if you know who Naruto's father is," the Hokage said, his voice low. Even I could sense a warning when I heard it. But did it mean that the Hokage wanted me to speak aloud or to hold my tongue? Maybe a mixture of both.
"I just know who he looks like," I said. And just like that, the Hokage loosened his grip a little.
"You're very perceptive, Anba," the Hokage said. "Perhaps too perceptive."
Aw, crap. The Hokage was going to do away with me, or something. Well, if I was going to die, again, maybe I could ask the Hokage some of the questions that had been burning my mind ever since I arrived.
"What I don't understand," I said, as the Hokage raised his hand, "is if I can remember everything, why can't I remember who my parents are, or my time in the womb? Did I just get born out of thin air? Did my mother or father have green hair? Who was the one with amber eyes in their family? Why is the first thing I remember fire and the Fourth Hokage carrying me back to Konoha?"
"You don't know?"
I had a guess, at that point, that I was somehow summoned to this world from my old world. Talking about my old world would only lead to far too many problems, so I was going to avoid that. I assumed that it was the Iwa facility I heard Minato talking about while Biwako coddled me in my sleep that had been the cause for my arrival, but saying that I thought it was the people at some Iwa facility that brought me from my old world to this one would likely ensure my death. Claiming ignorance because I should be ignorant would save me a lot of trouble.
"No," I said. Now tears were falling down my cheeks. I don't mean to exaggerate, but I was terrified that this was the end for me at the time. "I remember Minato talking about destroying some Iwa Facility, but if that's where he found me, then why can't I remember it. Who were my parents? Why can't I remember anything before fire and… his face?"
The Hokage loosened his hold on my arm and said, "Anba, please calm down." I forced myself to take a deep breath and tried to control my sobbing. "I'm glad that you can remember so many things. You're one of the unique individuals in this world who has a photographic memory. That means you can remember everything you experience. And I'm glad that you're perceptive enough to figure out an SS-Class secret that no one else has figured out."
I took another deep breath as I felt relief wash through me. I wasn't going to be tortured to death.
"But you didn't answer my question," the Hokage continued. My breath hitched in my throat. "Why are you training so hard? Why are you so nice to Naruto? I believe I know why you're so afraid, but I'd still like you to say it out loud."
Was the Hokage trying to give me therapy?! Holy crap! Therapy Jutsu really did exist!
"I'm training," I said, hiccupping once, "so that I can get strong enough."
"Strong enough for what?"
"To find my family." It came out rather pathetically, which is probably what sold the Hokage. The truth is, I was pulling this out of my ass and hoping to God that the Hokage swallowed it.
"I see," the Hokage said. "And Naruto?"
"Everyone in the orphanage doesn't like him," I said indignantly. I sniffed loudly. "The adults don't like dealing with him and the other kids think he's a crybaby and a loser or something. It's pretty pathetic that I'm the only one who can get him to cooperate anymore. After a while… it sort of started to feel like I needed to watch out for him. Before Gosu, the head orphan was a real asshole that liked picking on the younger kids. I could fend for myself, but Naruto was too little. So I just protected him too cause he doesn't deserve to be treated that way. I even had to kick one of the adults in the shin when she tried to take Naruto's food away while he was throwing a tantrum. It wasn't his fault he was upset! The adults kept glaring at him, shaking their fingers, and yelling. I wanted to cry and scream with Naruto. And I-"
"That's fine, Anba," the Hokage said. "I can see that being treated right means a lot to you."
"I don't like people who use their power against the weak," I said vehemently. I craned my neck to send my best three year old glare at the Old Man. "Having power means you have responsibility to use it for the good of those who are too weak to fend for themselves. Anyone who doesn't deserves what they get."
For a moment, the Hokage gave me an appraising look before he nodded. "I agree with you, Anba. In fact, one of the core beliefs in Konoha is that the strong protect the weak. I'd be a poor Hokage if I didn't agree with you."
I lowered my head and stared at my hands. I knew from the Naruto story that the Hokage had just lied to me. I had no doubt that was part of Konoha's core beliefs, but I also knew that if nothing else, Root did prey on the weak. Not that I was supposed to know anything about that at this point.
"Anba, you never told me why you were afraid."
I blinked. I forgot about that. On top of that, I wasn't even afraid anymore. Had that little speech about bullies made me lose my fear?
"I was afraid you were going to kill me," I said quietly. For a moment, I thought that the Old Man hadn't heard me, but after that moment passed, I heard him chuckling.
"Really now?" the Old Man chortled. "You've got quite an imagination there, young man."
I grinned and laughed myself. Deep down, I know that I likely had come close to being killed. The Old Man had said I was too perceptive. Something about my sob story must have put the Old Man at ease. I wasn't going to screw around with that good will so I just went along with it.
"So does this mean that you're not angry with me?" I asked hesitantly. "Cause you grabbed my arm really tight."
"You're a smart young man," the Old Man said. "I was worried that you were lying to me. I would have been very angry with you if you had been, but I wouldn't have killed you. You are smart, but I think you over think things a bit too much."
Translation, I nearly killed you, but I like you so I'm no longer worried you are going to turn on Naruto or Konoha. Now you should stop thinking about it so I can wrap this up and go to sleep. Message received, Old Man.
"Yeah," I said with a short nod. "I do think a lot. If I'm going to be a ninja, then I gotta be smart, so I can figure out all the enemies before they can get me."
"Haha, yes of course," the Old Man lifted me from his lap and carried me to the couch. There he lifted Naruto, who immediately wrapped his arms around the Old Man's neck. With both of us in his arms, he left his office and began the trip back to the orphanage. "Anba, I want to ask a favor of you, from one old man to a young man."
"What is it?"
"Please keep watching out for Naruto," the Old Man said. "It would mean a lot to this old man if you would. I have no doubt that you will one day be a powerful ninja. Naruto too. But to get that far, I fear you will have a long and very hard road to travel. Would you do that for me?"
"Of course, Old Maaa-" I broke off as a yawn overtook me. Wow, I was exhausted. I was barely holding on to consciousness when I was laid to bed. Before I knew it, I was asleep. I remember hearing the Hokage talking to Shishu about Naruto's treatment, but she defended the staff of the orphanage and the other kids.
It's only because of my freak ability to record what I hear even when I'm asleep that I knew why the adults treated Naruto and I with a much colder shoulder after that night. The Hokage hadn't liked when he heard that Naruto wasn't being treated well, and had said something about it. Rather than make our lives easier, it only increased the pressure on us. I don't fault the Old Man for speaking up, I would have too, but you'd think the adults would respect the Hokage's orders better than this.
I couldn't go out and train anymore and Naruto began to get picked on by more than just kids. The adults seemed to get some sick pleasure out of punishing Naruto for no reason at all. And since he's just a little kid, Naruto couldn't really do anything to stop them. I tried to help, protecting Naruto as much as possible by staying near him as much as possible. It seemed the others in the building feared me for some reason. Maybe they thought I'd sic the 'demon' on them or some other stupid idea like that.
Despite my best efforts, though, I always seemed to get outsmarted every so often and separated from Naruto. When I'd go to find him, he'd be alone, but just that much more quite than before. He seemed to want to say something, but was too terrified to open his mouth. It didn't take a genius to know the others in the orphanage were threatening him with something. I could only guess what at the time.
Two months into this new regime of torture, ninjas came. They collected all of our things, mine and Naruto's, and took us away from the orphanage. I looked back at the building as it vanished into the distance and smiled when the other kids were being taken away from it as well. And then the adults were taken out, though they were taken out with their hands bound together.
I smiled as I put two and two together. Maybe our torment would end now. At the very least, we wouldn't have to live with complete monsters watching over us every day, which was a step up. That day marked the beginning of my independence in Konoha.
A/N: So here was, I believe, my first attempt at a SI that had a viable, in story reason to exist. No mystical bullshit about reincarnation or anything like that, just pure human hubris and corrupt science at work. Granted, there is still the mystical bullshit of Chakra involved, but meh, in universe consistency. It didn't take long before I realized I was setting up something of a Gary Stu character, which kind of put a dampener on story advancement. But I still have a couple chapters from this lying around, so look forward to them.
Like the idea? Hate it? Feel inspired by it? Let me know in a review!
~I.K.A. Valian