A/N: In this story, not the entire Uchiha Clan was massacred. More like half or so, with the last half being on watch. This is purely to have Itachi in it more naturally. I also don't own Naruto, I make no money from this story. In addition, I haven't really finished all of Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. I'll hit some of the main points from canon, but not all of them and will probably be googling those points since it's been a while. And since this is A.U. This will have some OOC. And things will probably change otherwise too. Not beta'd so mistakes are mine. Please let me know what you think if you want, but this is really just for me.

Naruto: The Kitsune Shinobi

Summary:

Naruto always knew there was something different about him. After all, why would the villagers hate him so much, if it wasn't because he wasn't like other children. Besides, other children don't get glared at by the majority of the village adults, denied necessities, and insulted. That's not including the times he's gotten beaten.

And he can't ask any of his protectors because they're the only ones that are nice to him besides Jiji and the Ichiraku family, and he doesn't want to scare them off and make them feel the same as the rest of the village. Also, all four of them are super awesome and cool ANBU- the only ones in the village who can catch him after a prank, other than Iruka- and he'd rather not annoy them with such a minor thing as that.

However, it's on his seventh birthday that he meets the reason for this animosity. He was a jinchuuriki. For the Lord of Bijuu: Kyuubi the Nine Tailed Fox. And some truths revealed to him and give him some things to consider.

It's after this meeting that Naruto makes a decision. One would think he would be angry... he is. Quite frankly, the entire thing is BS and neither he nor the fox are to blame for it... But he can't change things in the past. He can, however, set a course for himself towards the future. Knowing now that he'll never be accepted as Hokage, his dreams shift. And this shift leads to changes. Good or bad, he'll discover that later. For now, he's going forward embracing what he was always ridiculed for. Especially if it means he can help the precious people he has now... and the ones he'll collect along the way.

Paths change and bonds shift. And Naruto the Kitsune Shinobi blazes a path forward from the shadows of the sun and moon.

Prologue: The Meeting

Naruto Uzumaki. Seven years old and an orphan. He isn't the sharpest kunai in the pouch, but he's not the dullest either. He's not as stupid as he portrays too almost everyone except for a very select few. He's observant enough to notice the sabotage in the academy, despite being in the academy for only two years. Normally children entered when they were seven or eight, especially with the war over, but Naruto caused too much chaos when he had extra time on his hands, so he went in a couple years early. Which was a good call thanks to the previously mentioned sabotage. At this rate, he'd graduate with the children he would have been joining for his first year normally... If he graduated at all.

He's also noticed the glares and insults directed at him by the majority of the village. For a village with some of the best Shinobi of the fire nation, even the shinobi weren't all that subtle and they had gotten into trouble with his protection squad because of it. Especially if they called him a demon brat... which if he could get into the library to read up on demons, would probably be a huge clue to his situation. The librarian wouldn't let him though. Stupid bat. Back to the point, he wasn't treated the same way as other children. And if he didn't go with one of the only four ANBU he trusted completely, he also wouldn't eat food that wasn't rotten or spoiled. And he would be charged triple what anyone else was. So, it was clear that he was different from other children. And this wasn't how orphans are normally treated either. It was just Naruto who was treated like this.

So, maybe something was wrong with him? Maybe it was because he was blonde? No, otherwise the fourth wouldn't be as praised and beloved as he had been. Naruto had the same shade of blonde as he did. Honestly, Naruto would think he and the Fourth Hokage were related if it wasn't for the fact that he wasn't lucky enough to be related to his hero. Also, he's almost certain that Jiji would have told him. But as far as he knew, the old man knew his parents but wouldn't tell him until he was older. For his own good, Jiji had said the one time he had asked. And while he totally wouldn't normally leave it at that, Jiji and Dog had both been so... sad, at the mention of them. And Naruto had decided to drop it with no intentions of ever bringing it up to them ever again.

But why would the village despise him the way they did? Naruto was brought from his thoughts at the presence of an ANBU nearing him. He sighed. It looked like his 'escort' had finally tracked him. And when the ANBU- not one of the four he trusted- arrived, Naruto felt dread when he mentioned the Kyuubi Festival and said he'd be tailing him through it. That's right, he was actually seven now... And he was going to be alone at the festival. Somehow, he didn't expect he'd be making it home that night.

Naruto had no idea just how right he was about that feeling.

-Naruto the Kitsune Shinobi-

Naruto ran, aiming for the Forest of Death. It had always been a safe haven for him before his normal ANBU guards, the four he trusted, had been assigned to his care the year before. Before that, they had separately been his guard occasionally. He always knew he was safe if it was them on guard duty. And tonight, he really wished at least one of them hadn't been on an emergency mission. He shook himself out of that thought as a kunai sliced his arm, adding more injuries to his current collection of numerous cuts, scrapes, gashes, and bruises. He felt relief at the sight of the fence ahead of him. Not even a majority of the shinobi that were a part of the mob would follow him in there. According to Snake, most of the ninja in the village were fearful of the forest due to the many enormous and overgrown predators that would gladly eat anything that entered their domain. Naruto was a firm believer that the risk of being eaten was worth escaping the homicidal mob chasing him. He was close to the fence, and he was determined to make it. And make it he did... He landed on the other side with a pained grunt. His ankle was sprained- if not broken- due to the sloppy landing. One of the hunters had succeeded in clipping his leg with a rock just as he had gotten to the top of the fence.

It wasn't his worst injury by far. So, he ignored it and continued to run. His blood however went cold when he heard three of his hunters jump over the fence. 'Crap!' he thought, the panic starting to settle in. But he pushed it away. He was near certain that he knew this forest better than whoever was calling him demon child. So, with that new determination he continued his run. It lasted a while longer and he had successfully lost two of the three pursuers. The last one though, he was good. Naruto was barely able to stay ahead of the man, having changed his course slightly. He knew he wasn't going to be able to stay ahead of the other for much longer, and this would be a desperate gamble to get the other off his trail.

Then it happened, as he knew it was bound to do. A kunai sunk through the back of his shoulder, and the small blonde cried out in pain as the impact and his momentum sent him somersaulting forward and into the middle of the clearing. The action jostled the wound even more and caused him to bite through his lip in an attempt to keep the next scream in. The fall had also severely sprained his ankle, if not outright breaking it. He heard the man laughing behind him as he entered the clearing. He was saying something about how he would be the one to rid their home of the blight on it. Cerulean blue eyes began to tear up as the adrenaline was starting to wear off and his fear began to build, a natural reaction. He had to hurry, before he became completely unable to save himself. He staggered and limped to the edge pitifully- which made the man laugh even louder. Naruto was at the edge before he stumbled again.

He ignored the gloating, focusing on the area around him... His hearing was strained for the one sound that would mean he still had a chance. As the man continued his rambling and it was the only sound Naruto could hear, he began to lose hope. Then, just as the man got to the center of the clearing, Naruto heard it. The chittering and rustle of leaves. His hope built swiftly at the sound. He knew that sound. He didn't let it show as he watched the man approach him, still talking. Naruto had calmed just enough to want to roll his eyes. Not only was this man not giving him any useful information, but he was supposed to be a ninja. The only time a ninja should ramble like this is if they were aiming to stall, and the man wasn't going to receive any back up from his two friends. He was about 99% positive. There was that 1% that they could but it was unlikely in this place. And chances are these three men wouldn't be making it out. At least not in one piece. The bright side? He couldn't be held accountable as they had been the ones to enter the Forest. Snake said that anyone who entered was accepting the risks that came with the admittance. That was his saving grace to escape punishment for something that wasn't his fault.

He watched the man with wary eyes. The man grinned raised another kunai. "You're dead demon!" He shouted, before giving a crazed laugh as he lunged at the boy. Naruto threw his hands before him in hopes of giving himself some protection... It was unnecessary as the only scream to fill the night air was his attackers as a large centipede the size of a large building dropped into the clearing right between the two of them. It's multiple beady eyes on the thing that had disturbed its rest. Naruto didn't stay around. He used this to his advantage to limp deeper into the forest. It was only about 10 minutes later that he came into another clearing. This one had a large tree in the center and doing his best to focus on his surroundings, he tried to tell if there was anything there that would kill him. But it was completely silent. Not even the wind rustled the leaves. A high-pitched scream shattered the silence and Naruto rushed for the tree. At its base was a hole just big enough for him to crawl into. A den, he realized. And throwing caution to the wind as the ninja who had been chasing him screamed in rage about him, he dove in, ignoring the pain that came with every move that jostled his wounds and the kunai in his shoulders. The den was larger on the inside and deeper. He went to the furthest dark corner he could find and curled up and listened as he fought the darkness encroaching his vision.

He could have sworn he heard his name being called. But the only people who cared about him were gone on an important mission or were stuck doing work. None of them would be coming for him tonight. He decided it was just his imagination before he lost the battle to darkness.

-Naruto the Kitsune Shinobi-

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Pale features scrunched in annoyance at the sound as he tried to ignore it and return to his slumber.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

He really wished that noise would go away.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Go away!

Silence. No dripping.

'Finally!' two voices groaned in appreciation. One was his own internal voice. The other was... unfamiliar to him. 'Time to wake up Kit.' the voice drawled.

'Kit?' Suddenly, Naruto realized that he wasn't alone. The small blonde shot up in alarm as he looked around, only to see himself in what looked like a sewer with a large gate. "Wh- what? Where am I?" Naruto cried, looking around for the source of the unfamiliar voice. "Who are you? Where-?" he began, only to stiffen as his eyes fell on the bars of the gate before him where two blood red eyes had appeared. Followed by a large, red furry body of a fox with nine tails. Naruto's breath caught in his throat as he looked at the larger-than-life creature before him. One he recognized from their history lessons. "Kyuubi no Kitsune." he breathed out.

'The one and only.' the fox rumbled with pride.

"But- but you're supposed to be-"

'Dead? Don't make me laugh. Only a demon can kill another demon. Puny, insignificant mortals could never destroy me.' the fox growled, causing the blonde to flinch a little.

"But how-?"

'While I can't be destroyed by your kind, unfortunately your species was resourceful enough to find a way to seal me.' the fox grumbled before red eyes met cerulean. So similar to the blue that adorned the man who had done this, but also so very different. Blue eyes that despite being bright, showed that their owner knew pain others his age shouldn't. 'Despicable mortals, harming their only salvation rather than caring for him as they should.' Kyuubi scoffed. Blue eyes widened in confusion. 'Settle down kit, there's a story you need to hear.'

And not know what else to do, Naruto did as he was told. By the time the Fox had finished, blue eyes shed more tears at what he had heard. Because somehow, he could tell the fox was telling him the truth. But he didn't know how to process the information he had been given. His parents. The reason the Kyuubi attacked. The sacrifice of the fourth. The decision the third had made that while meant with good intentions, had only condemned the boy to hell.

He wept for the lives lost. He wept for his village. He wept for those that were so precious to him. He wept for what could have been. But mostly, he wept for himself and the fox before him. Because while it wasn't fair to anyone, it especially wasn't fair to them. And yet, they were blamed for all of it. They were seen as one, rather than for the kunai and scroll they were. They were forced to carry the burden of the pain and anger and hatred of too many. And it wasn't fair.

Naruto stilled. No. Rage built up in him as the thought hit him. Not only was it not fair. It was bull. Total crap that it was the burden placed on them without their consent. Without their permission. That they were suffering the consequences of other peoples' actions. Then he slumped, because despite it being total BS, even with the truth presented, people would rather continue the cycle they knew, rather than accept they were wrong and start a cycle that would hurt their pride.

'What is your plan from here on out Kit?' Kyuubi asked, noticing the way the water rippled. Knowing the other's pain and thoughts as if they were his own. Feeling the tides on the verge of change.

"I'm never going to be anything but you to them. Maybe some will see past to the truth...maybe some already do. But most of them won't. There's no being the Hokage, not with this information. It'd be futile to even try. Even if I did have others on my side. It would never be accepted." Naruto paused. Then looked directly into red with fierce determination. "They ridicule me, insult me, and bear a hatred for us that we'll never truly be separate from each other. We'll never be free from those shackles, not fully. Someone will always hate us and what we are. What we represent. So, what if I merely embrace it?" he asked.

'Oh?' that sounded intriguing.

"I'll embrace the demon they see me as, but I won't allow them the satisfaction of being right about what we are. I'll be the demon they will never accept. One that's good. One that they'll have no choice but to rely on." Naruto said. Kyuubi was silent as he thought about what the child had said. Then he laughed. It was a long, deep laugh.

'Giving them no choice but to have to rely on the demon they ostracize.' he thought to himself. 'The villagers would hate that.' Kyuubi stopped laughing as he looked at the child. 'Allow me to help you with this new path you're going to take.' Kyuubi rumbled, getting a bright, mischievous smile in return.

"YEAH!" Kyuubi couldn't help but think things would get interesting from here on out. And he'd help his kit where he couldn't before. He owed the kit that much for the punishment of others that they were both going to have to shoulder.

That night, the Five Great Nations and the outlying countries shook as once destined paths changed and shifted onto a new course. Nothing would be as it once could have been.

A/N: There we go. I hope you enjoyed if you decided to read this. And I know the whole interaction with Kyuubi is OOC but I did say there would be some of that. I'm going on the path of Kyuubi knowing everything that had happened to Naruto and being fiercely protective of him. Also, the village would hate for Naruto to embrace the demon as that would mean their only real legal means of harming the boy- their words- would be useless. And if they had to rely on him to protect the village and their families... well that makes me laugh. Kill them with kindness against their will. As for any mistakes, I'll go through and fix as time passes.