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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.
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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?
A/N: The genin exams are in this chapter! Although it's a bit rushed, it should cover the distance on Naruto's life in Konoha at least until this point. Hope you enjoy the chapter.
Talking
'thinking/flashback'
Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu
'Kyuubi Thinking'
Chapter 13
The Return of the Golden Leaf
After six grueling years of discipline, the twenty four year old soul begins anew….
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The gust cold air had blown over the entire of Konoha by dawn as the young blonde awoke from his humble abode. Naruto used to hate mornings, but because of his self disciplined lifestyle, Naruto had learned to at least get used to it without much frustration.
The young blonde woke up to the songs of the birds that traveled through the gale blowing over the forest. At night, the forest was as menacing as a lions den. But in the mornings, it was as peaceful as a sleeping lamb. Naruto then stood up with his azure eyes ablaze, began stretching for his busy day today.
"Now that's done, what day is it today…"
The young blonde spoke as he calmly walked over to his calendar posted opposite his bed.
Naruto's living space has changed over the past six years. His bed was now a proper futon that he managed to scavenge and repair from outlying enemy shinobi in the forests of Konoha. His map was drawn well and pinned on the wall that was at the left side of his bed. He had a new set of clothing in his make shift dresser just opposite his bed. Most of the clothing were things bought from traveling merchants that occasionally passed through Konoha. Naruto also managed to acquire a new set or should I say, sets of tools for his life as a shinobi as they hung on his wall beside the dresser for him to pull out quickly. His weapons were naturally, spoils of battle from the countless enemy shinobi that attempted to spy on his village. Across his bed space was another open air room where he had a makeshift table over a small stove that stood in the center where he would cook his meals while his bathroom was the river and bushes outside.
"So it's that day already. Better get ready."
The young blonde said as he saw the marked date on his calendar. He had marked the dates of great importance concerning the future on his calendar. Currently, the date he saw was the turning point of his life, the genin exams. Naruto had trained hard for this day. However, until now, he wasn't so sure how to do the exams. It was either pass and evade the entire forbidden scroll incident, or fail and go through it like last time.
The wise young blonde took to the kitchen and made himself a quick meal of salted fish that was wrapped in leaves to prevent from rotting and prevent ants from eating away at it. he then peeled off the leaves and boiled it in the stove as he placed several leftover vegetables that he procured last night during his hunt for dinner, and placed the lid upon it to let it cook while he made himself some fresh green tea. He acquired the skill of tea making from his mother who taught him proper etiquette and manners during his days in Soul Society.
When the smell of boiled fish and vegetables filled his nose, he took off the lid and poured on his bowl the stew that he created. Ever since he had lived in the forest of death, he had eaten much healthier food aside from ramen that he devoured regularly. It gave him strength and nourishment as well as enhanced his already keen senses and mind. The young blonde had grown to liking healthier foods because of this fact.
While the blonde ate his meal and drank his tea, his tenant then asked his master.
So have you decided on how to approach the test gaki? It should be easy for you since you've mastered the basics and have about the full strength you can have with your current body. Just a couple more years and you can have the full strength of your soul materialize from your body so you would be able to show up in our shinigami form.
In an instant a Kage Bunshin appeared beside Naruto and began cleaning up the mess as the young blonde took to the nearby river to bathe.
'I think it would be best to just do it like last time. The forbidden scroll has a lot of jutsus that I can learn for the missions later on. Although we didn't spend much time to practice jutsus and kido, but with my perfect control of chakra, reiatsu, and youki, it would be a cinch to perform them. I do have the next few years for that. Besides, I still have to learn how to expand my control over the balanced energy of chakra and reiatsu.'
His furry tenant agreed. Naruto took a quick bath and put on his boxers once more and stood on top of the river. He wanted to warm up before he headed off to the academy so he can stay sharp for the road ahead. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he prepared his right hand in a one-handed seal for his trademark technique.
"Yosh, Ikimasho! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Thirty clones of the young blonde appeared around him all eyes shut. When they simultaneously opened them, crimson slit ones replaced the flaming azure ones as their fangs and claws grew. Without delay, they took to the original for his early sparring session. Naruto used the Taijutsu skills he learned from his father and mother as well as the shinigami academy bare handed fighting skills that he picked up as he punched the clone in front of him and took the arm of another and broke it in two places. He understood the pain his clones received and winced slightly indicating that he performed the moves correctly. He went through several grapples and striking combinations without using his fangs or claws at all. All he needed were his eyes. Though it wasn't exactly like the Sharingan, but it definitely had similarities as he could see things in great detail to the tiniest dust particle as everything around him began slow down greatly for the young blonde to react with the right timing and movements.
His senses, in this form, also increased as he could feel things in a three mile radius that grew stronger as it got closer to him. He could smell things much farther away that even the Inuzuka clan would be envious of and hear much sharper than normal. And it was a good thing he was in this form. By the time he defeated his last clone, he hid in the bushes and masked his youki just in time for four chuunins to arrive. They were on patrol of this area for quite some time now.
"I thought I felt something here. It didn't feel right. It felt…evil…"
The tallest one said. The others were on edge as they searched the river and outlying trees and bushes. Just before they left, they heard something rustling in the bush closest to the riverbank. The shortest one threw a kunai towards the bush. When they carefully inspected what it hit behind the shrub, they sighed in relief as they saw the dead form of a medium length snake with the kunai stuck to his head.
"A snake…somehow I don't feel completely relieved. This forest is too creepy. Can we get another assignment? This place gives me goosebumps."
The brown haired man said to the tall one who just scratched his head and sighed in agreement. All four then left the river and out of the area. Naruto on the other hand was watching from the top of his home on the tallest branch as he saw their retreating forms.
"Good thing I made a Kawarimi. It seems that our position will be compromised any day now. Better train back in the old grounds I used to train in."
The young blonde then leaped down in the open center where he landed softly on the branch that lead to his bed space. He then took to the room and opened his drawers.
"Since we're going to do the genin exams, might as well change outfit."
The young blonde then looked through his drawers and took out the clothing he was to wear for the day. After he put them on, he took a last look at his home. For six years he had lived here. It won't be long before he leaves this place. The young blonde then turned his head towards the direction of Konoha as his flaming azure eyes became cyan.
"It's time to go wild. Ikimasho dattebayo!"
With that battle cry, he shunpo'd his way to the academy.
----------o)0(o----------
The entire classroom was as rowdy as ever. Several would be genins were chatting away or just tending to themselves. Chouji sat beside his best friend Shikamaru and ate his chips while the lazy black haired boy mumbled 'how troublesome today was.'
Ino and Sakura as well as most of the girls in that room swooned over the brooding raven haired boy in blue shirt and white shorts. Sasuke was brooding because he was bored. All he wanted to do was take the exam and head home so he can train to avenge the deaths of his clan and for wounding his parents.
Kiba was busy playing with his dog Akamaru while Shino was being the loner he always was.
Aside from everyone who was busy chatting away to pass the time before Iruka would arrive, one person was deep in thought. After six years of constant 'coincidences', Hinata had gotten along with Naruto quite well. Though her overall shyness hasn't faded, she at the very least was able to converse with Naruto without stuttering in the very least unless it was an embarrassing situation. Though many did not realize this since the two were meeting only coincidentally, they had become close friends. Hinata looked over at the crowd of girls and danced her eyes over the entire classroom as she stared blankly into the room. She sighed since her crush was nowhere in sight.
'Naruto-kun isn't here yet. I hope he graduates this time. If he passes, then I'll congratulate him. Maybe I should make breakfast for him so we can eat together before we're given our teams? Yes, I think I'll do that.'
Hinata's heart fluttered as a shade of pink coated her face at the thought of being that close to Naruto. As their minds drifted off into their own worlds, a noticeable young blonde entered the classroom. They turned their heads once more to see the young blonde that entered. His blonde locks of hair were combed down as his bangs poured over his face. He was the spitting image of the yondaime if it were not for his whisker birthmarks that lined his cheeks. He wore a black sleeved undershirt with the hiragana for 'white lightning fox' written in cyan at the front. Over it was a white sleeveless jacket with hood down that partially covered the insignia in the back. The insignia had the white kanji for wind in the center with several blue kanjis for fire encircling it with black flames encircling the inner circle of text. He also wore black sleeveless gloves, black pants that were bandaged at the ends with his black tabi boots.
The genin hopefuls that saw the young blonde enter were shocked at the unpredictable new look of the Naruto. Some of the girls started to take notice of the handsome blonde. If it were not for his loud and rowdy persona, they would have instantly fallen for him. Hinata blushed as she saw his new look.
'Kami, he's handsome! But Naruto-kun's always been handsome. Maybe…just maybe…I can ask him out this time…but what if he rejects me?'
Hinata struggled whether to ask him out or not as the young blonde walked towards his seat. Shikamaru was feeling suspicious of the new Naruto. He knew he was unpredictable, but to this degree, it began to raise eyebrows on even the stoic Shino as the bug master adjusted his shades. If it were not for those black spectacles, they would have seen his eyes widen slightly as he analyzed the young blonde. Shikamaru on the other hand, was not as silent as Shino and asked the blonde bluntly.
"Hey Naruto, What's with the new outfit?"
The young blonde turned around to fix his flaming azure eyes at the knowledge hungry ones of the lazy Shikamaru. For a second, it was a cold war between them as Naruto struggled to give no hints whatsoever to the perceptive lazy genius while Shikamaru in turn began analyzing the young blonde.
'Naruto is one thing…unpredictable. No matter how much I analyze the guy, he just seems to be an enigma. It's like predicting the weather. You can only predict so much but eventually something unexpected happens. I have absolutely no clue of the guy but my intuition says that something definitely is up. I need more data on him.'
Naruto then gave his foxy grin at the lazy genius and said,
"I decided that since we're going to be genin today, I'd put on my best for today so I'd look cool!"
Naruto said as he unknowingly gave the good guy pose to the lazy genius. Shikamaru just sighed out his favorite phrase. Of course, he was still suspicious of the young blonde despite his lazy appearance. Naruto for that moment inwardly was sweating since he knew how intelligent Shikamaru was and did not want to say anything about how it feels to have died and became death itself along with having the Kyuubi sealed in him. Naruto then turned around and saw his seat. It was the same seat beside his princess to his right and his old crush to his left. Naruto wanted so much to hug her but knew he just needed to get over this day and then he could be with her at least secretly.
Hinata blushed at how close she was to him and began to hide her head as her blush grew wider.
'Naruto-kun is so close. I think I'm going to…No! Pull it together!'
When Hinata managed to win over her depressed conscience, she sat straight up to talk to him. But before she could utter a word, he walked over to Sakura and waved his hand as he said,
"Ohayo Sakura-san!"
The cotton candy haired girl turned around and gave him an evil glare before returning to swoon over the brooding raven haired boy.
'I knew it. She's still the same then and now. Good thing I stopped chasing her a long time ago. Anyway, Sasuke's brooding. Typical…since he lost his clan and found out it was his brother who committed the crime, he still is power hungry. But at least this time there's some light in his eyes. Kami-sama…please help me save him this time.'
Naruto then promptly sat down as he let out a sigh. He then turned to look at his beautiful lavender eyed girl and gave her a charming smile. She blushed into a shade of crimson as the blood rushed to her head while she hid her face in embarrassment.
'Still cute as ever. I wonder how she's been doing the past few days?'
"So Hinata-chan…"
The blushing Hyuga turned to face him as she struggled to hide her blush.
"Do you think you'll pass the genin exam?"
Hinata looked away as she twiddled her fingers and replied,
"Ano…I'm sure I'll pass the test Naruto-kun."
Naruto smiled as he said,
"That's great Hinata-chan! I'll pass the test and become the next Hokage!"
He said as he pumped his fist in the air like an idiot. Sakura and several other girls including Ino who were nearby, had veins throbbing. If it weren't for the entry of Iruka sensei, they would have beaten the shit out of the young blonde. Instead, they sent many bone shivering stares at him which made the normally collective blonde shiver. Iruka then coughed which silenced the crowd as they returned to their seats. It was the biggest day of their lives…At least for everyone else aside from the young blonde. Naruto had gone through this test before and just wanted to get his hands on the forbidden scroll to learn from it. He learned and mastered the jutsus of his parents but he knew that they weren't enough since there were so many jutsus that they had forgotten and some of which where on the forbidden scroll. It wasn't a gamble this time since he knew exactly how to deal with this situation.
"We will now start the final exam. If your name is called, come to the classroom next door. The subject will be Bunshin jutsu."
Naruto wasn't panicked this time as a tiny smirk emerged on his face. Shikamaru took notice as he eyed the blonde carefully before the lazy genius was called in the next room as well.
Many had entered the room next door and returned with the hitai-ate strapped on them. Sakura had hers where her ribbon was, Ino had hers on her waist, Kiba had is on his forehead as well as Shino and Sasuke. Chouji would have his modified to fit his style. Naruto just stared out blankly as he waited for his name to be called. That is until he felt the presence of his princess timidly approach him. Naruto looked over and saw her wearing the hitai-ate around her neck as the light of the sun shone on it.
"Ano…Naruto-kun…you're not nervous?"
Naruto then smiled at her and said,
"Not really. It's great to see you wearing yours already. You really made it."
Hinata blushed at his comment and praise.
"Ano…Naruto-kun, you're so brave. How can you be so confident?"
Naruto looked deep in thought as he scratched his head. After thinking rather deeply, he then said,
"I guess it's because I'm not afraid to fail this test since I'll just take it the next time around."
Hinata marveled at his confidence. Though somewhat misplaced, he was confident in a way that just came naturally. She always admired that from him.
"Uzumaki Naruto…"
A voice hollered out. Naruto then calmly strolled to the next room.
"Looks like it's my turn Hinata-chan."
The young blonde then stood up from his seat and began walking to the next room.
"G-gambate Naruto-kun!"
Hinata managed to say before he left the room.
'I said it! I really said it to Naruto-kun! I feel stronger now! I hope he makes it…No he will make it. After all, it's him. I'll be waiting outside for you Naruto-kun…I believe in you."
Unfortunately for her, he wasn't planning to pass this test. As he strolled into the room where Iruka and Mizuki were waiting, his tenant decided to ask the question that has been pondering the fiery kitsune's mind since the morning.
Gaki, how do you intend to learn the entire forbidden scroll when you only have a few seconds to do so?
Naruto then smirked to his tenant as he mentally said,
'Don't worry too much. We'll pull through.'
Naruto then took to his stance as the two chuunins watched the blonde eagerly. One was watching him hoping he would pass while the other one wanting him to fail.
And just like before, Naruto willfully made a pathetic version of his clone. he even made the same expression as before when Iruka scolded him.
"Iruka-sensei, his movements and stamina are good, and he did replicate. Maybe we can pass him."
Mizuki said to Iruka. Naruto knew however that Mizuki was just being cynical. Iruka however needed to abide by the rules.
"Mizuki-sensei, everyone is able to produce at least three replicants. But Naruto could only produce one that will merely be a bother. I cannot pass him."
'Everything's going the way it used to. This time, I'll make sure you don't get hurt Iruka-sensei.'
Everything went as planned. He failed miserably like last time. As the several parents gathered around their children, Naruto sat in the swing near the shade like he did last time.
"Kyuubi, even though I met my parents already, it's still sad that I never spent my childhood with them. I really wished that I could have met them earlier. How different do you think my life would have been if I met them earlier?"
Naruto said as the thought brought up hidden feelings of anxiety. The young blonde had many feelings that swirled in his heart. Kyuubi could only sigh since there was nothing he could say to the blonde that would cheer him up.
The young blonde then snapped out of his depressed state when he looked to his right and saw Mizuki standing there smiling at him.
'Looks like it's time to get to work.'
Behind the crowd where many parents gathered around their children in delight, two figures were busy staring at the sad blonde in the distance.
"Iruka…I need to talk to you later."
The old warrior said as the two people in the shade left. Iruka then responded to the Hokage's command.
"Yes sir."
However, oblivious to Iruka and Sarutobi, another was paying attention to the young blonde as well.
'Oh no…Naruto-kun…you were so confident…But why is Mizuki-sensei with you?'
Was the thought of the Hyuga heiress as she saw Naruto and Mizuki walking away.
----------o)0(o----------
Sunset had begun as the young blonde and the blue haired man sat at the balcony of an abandoned building. For Mizuki, it was the opportunity to get the broken blonde to do his bidding. For Naruto, it was the opportunity for him to gather jutsus from the forbidden scroll.
"Iruka-sensei wasn't being mean."
Mizuki said hoping to take advantage of the young blonde's crippled state.
"Then why does he keep on picking on me the most…?"
Naruto said imitating his past.
"He wants you to become truly strong, Naruto-kun. Since you two don't have any parents."
Mizuki said to the young blonde. Naruto knew better that he wasn't being sincere with him but played along anyway.
"But…I wanted to graduate."
The young blonde said as his memories of this day from his past life replayed in his mind. It was still painful seeing Iruka-sensei get hurt and how he found out about the Kyuubi. It was a pain he remembers well, but is now strong enough to overcome.
Mizuki saw the sad desire of the young blonde and made his move.
"Fine."
Naruto tried his best to look as surprised as he could when he looked directly at the blue haired man and said,
"What?!"
Mizuki smirked at his luck.
"I'll tell you a big secret."
And so Mizuki explained to Naruto what he had to do to pass. Naruto of course knew what he had to do and listened. After Mizuki's explanation, the young blonde then took off to his home while Mizuki stood there with an evil smile.
As the sun and moon traded places, Iruka was too restless to sleep in his bed from thinking about the conversation that he had with the Hokage that afternoon.
Flashback
"Iruka…"
The wise old man said.
"What is it Hokage-sama?"
The old warrior just sighed as he looked at the painted sky.
"I understand how you feel, but Naruto grew up without knowing the love of a parent, like you."
Many flashbacks filled his mind as Iruka saw his parents dying at the tail swipes of the Kyuubi while he was being taken away from the battlefield. It panged his heart with a loud echo that he realized what he just did to Naruto with his legalism. True he needed to follow rules and regulations, but he didn't need to take it so far that it would hurt the young blonde's heart.
"You're probably right Hokage-sama. I should have been nicer to him. I'm really sorry."
The brown haired chuunin said with a downcast look in his eyes.
"No need to apologize to me. But I think you should apologize to him instead."
"You're right Hokage-sama. I think I'll just do that."
Iruka then was about to leave to his other responsibilities when Sarutobi asked him.
"Iruka, have you visited Naruto lately?"
Ikruka turned his head to the old warrior and replied.
"No Hokage-sama. Naruto has been doing quite well actually and he always insisted to go home on his own so I never really bothered. Is there something wrong with him?"
Sarutobi just shook his head. If Iruka had known were Naruto was staying, his senses would have definitely been rattled and he would seek revenge upon the villagers who burned down the young blonde's home.
"No, not all. I just wanted to know from you. Naruto has been working hard lately and yet I feel he's been hiding things from us. I'm sure you've noticed his change in attitude."
Iruka gasped quietly as it hit him harder than Gai's punches. Naruto's sudden change in attire, his attitude towards studying and doing exercises. Even his personality and how he has been relating with others has changed quite a bit. It wasn't much to be noticeable, but he has been acting this way for quite some time now that it began to bother Iruka. He was glad that it wasn't only him who seemed bothered but at the same time he was worried about Naruto.
As the Hokage left to his duties, Iruka kept pondering upon what this could all mean. What was going on with Naruto?
End of Flashback
A sudden sound of banging returned the scarred chuunin back to reality as he got up from bed and heard the voice of a familiar man shouting at the door.
"Iruka-sensei, wake up!"
Iruka snapped out of his gaze and opened the door and saw the slightly panicked form of Mizuki. He could only fear the worst.
"What is it?"
The brown haired chuunin said to his agitated comrade.
"Please come to Hokage-sama's place. It seems that Naruto-kun carried the Forbidden Scroll out."
Iruka was shocked at this turn of events.
"What! The Forbidden Scroll!"
Was the brown haired chuunin's reply of panic as he tried to absorb what he just heard. How could have Naruto stolen the Forbidden Scroll out of the Hokage's nose? But another thing that puzzled him was that Mizuki knew who carried it out. But he put that aside knowing that the Hokage must have seen Naruto before he snuck out of reach with the scroll.
Meanwhile, in the forests not to far off from the village, Naruto sat there with the scroll laid down and opened for him to read.
"It was pretty easy for me to snatch the scroll from oji-san. I wonder how long it's going to take for them to find me."
The young blonde said as he opened the scroll wider to read the contents.
"Let's see, the first technique is…Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Yup, I'm done with that. Let's see, what else…Hmm. Kage Shuriken no Jutsu. Otou-san already taught me that. What else…"
As Naruto searched the large scroll, he realized that a good portion of the jutsus that he learned from his training with his parents, were written in the scroll. As he searched deeper, he saw several other techniques that interested him. He was already proficient in wind jutsus and average in fire and lightning, but he needed to know more than just nature manipulation.
Gaki, this will take at least a year's worth of training to master them.
His foxy tenant grumbled.
"Don't get your fur caught in its cages. I just need to learn these ones."
Naruto said as he inscribed in his black book the jutus that he wanted to immediately learn. They were at least jounin level techniques but for Naruto, it was going to be a breeze. When Naruto finished sealing the inscriptions in his tome of knowledge, he then took out a jar of ink from his pocket, opened it and formed handseals. He then whispered,
"Sumi Bunshin no Jutsu."
A clone made ink emerged from the jar. Naruto's tenant smirked as he said,
So that's the plan. Ink clone made from the knowledge of the Forbidden Scroll. You're becoming more kitsune-like everyday.
Naruto then mentally instructed his clone. The clone began to run his hands through the entire scroll as it memorized the way the ink blotted down on the paper. When he finished performing his task, the original gave him the book and said,
"Now that you've copied down the entire scroll, I want you to head home and rewrite yourself on the black book."
The clone then took off leaving the young blonde with the large scroll.
"Since I still have time before Iruka-sensei and Mizuki finds me, I should practice the variant of the Rasengan I've been trying to accomplish. With the Futon Renkudan in combination with the Rasengan, I'll be able to use Rasengan at longer ranges giving me a better chance of winning. Another thing would be to practice the Enkou Bunshin that I just found out from the scroll along with the Raikou variant."
Naruto then made twenty clones and they began to focus on performing the moves. As the young blonde kept himself busy, the many shinobi summoned to the Hokage began to complain about how dangerous the scroll was in his hands. Sarutobi gave them the command to find him and they left instantly.
Iruka traveled throughout Konoha in search of him. He panted in desperation looking for him.
'Where did you go Naruto?'
Iruka panicked knowing that his favorite student was out there with a dangerous object that could spell disaster if he didn't make it in time.
He dashed along the streets and into the forests of Konoha where he knew Naruto could be during his training days. It was only a matter of time till he saw the blonde lying down in the small clearing with several scratches and dust all over indicating he's been training hard. And just beside the blonde was the Forbidden Scroll. He then marched towards the blonde. When he got within arms length of Naruto, he then placed his hands on his hips and said,
"Hey Naruto!"
The young blonde then sheepishly grinned as he scratched his head and replied,
"Looks like you caught me Iruka-sensei. I only managed to master one jutsu. If I show it to you will I graduate?"
Iruka was astonished at the dedication of the blonde. He wore himself out training hard so that he can pass the genin exam. He was touched at the display of determination that Naruto showed. Even though the young blonde always showed this kind of determination everytime, it always touched the brown haired chuunin's heart. But then something struck him from the words of Naruto.
"Who told you such a thing?"
The young blonde knew what would happen next at this point and readied himself for what would happen next. He then re-enacted the scene once more as he joyfully replied,
"Mizuki-sensei did! He told me about this place and this scroll!"
Iruka was shocked at how manipulative his colleague was and how cruel he was to take advantage of the poor boy. Everyone knew that Mizuki hated the young jinchuuriki but never showed it outright.
And just like before, Mizuki's kunai came flying at the back of the brown haired chuunin. Naruto then decked the man to the side allowing them to avoid the kunai now stuck to the wall.
"I'm surprised that you found out about this place."
The blue haired chuunin said from his perched position above them in a tree branch. Iruka glared at him coldly as he got up while Naruto inwardly smirked.
'Another successful mission. Iruka-sensei, hopefully you will forgive me for deceiving you for the past six years. But I only did it for your protection. Maybe someday, I would be able to repay the favor. Looks like its time for me to wrap things up.'
"What's going on here?"
The young blonde said as he feigned innocence. Mizuki smirked at his luck. To him it was killing two birds with one stone. Iruka then faced the blonde and said,
"Naruto, no matter what, don't let Mizuki get his hands on that scroll. It's a scroll full of forbidden techniques. Mizuki used you so that he could get a hold of it!"
The blue haired man made an evil grin as he said,
"Naruto, Iruka is afraid of you possessing that. Let me tell you the truth."
Iruka then shouted in dismay.
"Don't!"
Mizuki did not bother to listen though and continued anyway.
"A rule was created after the incident that occurred twelve years ago. It's a rule that only you Naruto, cannot find out about."
Naruto looked at the blue haired chuunin with curiosity while still feigning innocence.
"Stop, Mizuki!"
Iruka screamed but his former colleague continued hoping to paralyze the blonde's heart.
"It's the rule not to say that Naruto is the Kyuubi no Yoko. In other words, you are the nine-tailed demon fox who killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village."
Inwardly, Naruto rolled his eyes. Kyuubi laughed at the scene that unfolded. As the young blonde fell to his knees, Mizuki took the chance and began twirling one of his large shurikens and shouted with hate,
"Die Naruto!"
The spinning blade went flying at the young blonde to decapitate him. Iruka then leaped over to guard Naruto, but was intercepted by the quick movements of the young blonde who grabbed the shuriken and threw it at the branch that Mizuki was perched on. The branch was sliced up leaving Mizuki to fall onto the blanket of grass hard. Iruka was shocked at the sudden speed and strength of the blonde. As Mizuki stood up from his battered state, Naruto looked at him coldly with flaming azure eyes as a sudden blow of killing intent chocked the blue haired man for a second.
'How did he do that? How could a bastard monster fox like him be able to move like that? And what is this intense killing intent! I can barely breathe.'
As the blue haired man panted hard with sweat pouring down from his face, Iruka could only watch as the tables suddenly turned.
"Iruka-sensei isn't like that. The fact that he tried to save me proves it! And you tried to kill him and me. I'll never forgive you…I'll kill you!"
Fear began to paralyze the blue haired man as his arms and legs wobbled from fright as the young blonde began to form a cross handseal and shouted,
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Instantly, a large smoke erupted and covered the field. When it finally cleared, hundreds of clones of the blonde haired boy were seen surrounding the now pale faced Mizuki as he managed to get up still shaking.
Naruto gave no room for hesitation as all the clones without falter pummeled the traitor to the ground. Several sounds of bones breaking were heard as Mizuki's girlish screams died down with the unconscious state of the blue haired man from the beating he received.
"Are you alright Iruka-sensei?"
The young blonde asked as he approached the smiling brown haired chuunin.
"I'm fine Naruto. How about you?"
The young blonde then scratched his head as he gave his foxy grin.
"It'll take more than that to hurt me."
Iruka was surprised and happy to know that Naruto was becoming stronger and stronger by the day. Though he was still worried about how he took the sudden revelation from Mizuki, he still smiled seeing how brave the young blonde was this night. Iruka then said to his blonde companion.
"Naruto, come here for a second, I'd like to give you something."
The young blonde agreed knowing what would happen next. When he opened his eyes, he smiled seeing the bare forehead of Iruka. He knew what had happened. And like before, he hugged the man and said thank you. Iruka just laughed as he said,
"C'mon Naruto, it's getting late. Let's head back to the Hokage and give him the scroll. We should also drop Mizuki over at the hospital on our way there."
"But why should we take him back to the hospital? That teme deserves to rot here for all I care."
Naruto said as he pouted. But eventually he agreed and they both entered the Hokage's office and returned the scroll.
"So it was a trap from the start by Mizuki. I can't blame Naruto for this one since Mizuki was the one pulling the strings. And if it weren't the efforts of Naruto to take down the man, he would have been long gone with all the secrets of the Forbidden Scroll. Not bad for a first mission as a genin."
The old man somberly said to the nodding blonde from his understanding of the situation. Though he did see the battle that took place from his crystal ball, he still wanted to hear the report directly from them.
"Since that's done, why don't you rest for the night Naruto. It must have been a hard for you after what just happened."
Naruto sheepishly agreed as he let out a loud yawn.
"How about I take you home Naruto. We could have ramen on the way before we get there."
Iruka said to the young blonde. Naruto just smiled as he rubbed his eye and said,
"That's alright Iruka-sensei. I already ate before the thing with the Forbidden Scroll happened. And I'm tired already. All that fighting has made me sleepy." Naruto sighed. 'Actually, I'm tired from all the training with those new jutsus. I wonder if I can combine them with kido? Ah, whatever. I really need to sleep.'
Naruto then bid them good bye and strolled out. Iruka was going to follow the young blonde but Sarutobi urged him otherwise.
"But Hokage-sama he—"
"No means no Iruka. Have more faith in him. He can handle himself just like you did when you were his age."
Sarutobi said interrupting the brown haired chuunin. Iruka was still hesitant at first, but after seeing Naruto in action tonight, he complied with a weak smile on his face. Naruto was becoming stronger and stronger everyday that they could rest assured that someday, he was the ones who would be protecting them. When the brown haired man left for his home, Sarutobi placed the scroll back in its place and began to gaze upon his crystal ball as he saw the young blonde stop in the middle of the road. Suddenly, the young blonde bolted so quickly that in two seconds, he was already outside his treehouse.
Sarutobi was shocked almost out of his skin.
'Naruto said to us that he was tired from all that fighting and training to master that one jutsu. Wait a minute…I'm such an idiot!'
Sarutobi slapped himself for his own incompetence.
'He said master, not learn. But still, the Hiraishin no jutsu was lost with Minato. How could he have learned such a technique in such a short span of time? It's even more advanced than Shunsin! I have no choice but to question him tomorrow when he becomes an official genin.'
The unsuspecting blonde entered his den and stretched out his limbs. The fight was a neat warm up for the young blonde since it was a very long time for him to face living opponents. He looked over the bed were his book lay. As he flipped through each page carefully, he began to see a pattern somehow in the way they were arranged.
'Hey Kyuubi, I just realized that there's a certain passage that contains a pattern of some sort. It starts with the instructions for zanpakuto release and the next passage is the Shiki Fuijin. Then next to that is the celestial gates and then it continues on with several shadow related jutsus.'
His tenant looked over the passage and smirked.
Interesting. The way you arranged the passage, this is the incantation for the youki release.
Naruto raised his eyebrows as he looked through the passage. The way it was written was curiously different from the other ones. It had a pattern in a way that the sealing language actually made sense and he could read it like any other book. The newfound discovery made a conclusion in his mind.
'The seal is a language when written carefully. If everything has a word related pattern, then it could be read. When read, it could also be a magical incantation of some sort. The effects would be definitely arcane.'
Naruto was pondering on how it would affect him until he realized something he missed from his tenant.
'Wait a minute, Youki release? As in demonic power type?'
His fiery tenant grinned and then replied,
Youki release meaning I can have more influence over your chakra. What this means is that when you activate the release, you would be able to convert your chakra into youki. This will allow you to perform Youkai or Hanyou jutsus. Normally, humans are not able to perform these types of techniques because of the strain it would put on their body. But if you, a jinchuuriki, can release the normal parameters that create that strain, then it would be just like performing any other jutsu. But I warn you, this release is not without restrictions for a reason. Even the purest of souls get engulfed once they tap into it.
Naruto once again pondered hard as he lay in his bed in just his underwear. It would be a great risk, but like every risk, there is a price to pay. He didn't want to become power hungry and gain power like Sasuke. It would be dishonorable to Kami for him to lose sight of his reason for obtaining power. Instead of taking this risk, he decided to leave it be for now. He still had to understand the language and where it stemmed from. Luckily, he had the entire day to do so since it would be a while before he is assigned to his team.
As the young blonde slumbered, he was in his dream world once more. There he stood on the yondaime hokage's head in his kitsune form. He looked over the midnight scenery and wondered how come it's always night time here? The bright full moon in its glowing luminescence hovered clearly over the entire village. Every house and building was covered in its soft glow as the stars twinkled in the sky and the universe of his world seemed to revolve around this place. Though most hated him, he was too kind and pure to hate them back. He understood the pain they felt during that day because he too lost many precious people during the battle with Aizen.
It was solemn in his dream world as silence encompassed the village. No one was outside except him. Everyone seemed to be either missing or indoors. Somehow, he was rooted to his spot and could not leap down onto the ground below. Naruto tried and failed several times before he stopped.
"It's pretty useless to move from here. So what's the purpose of me being here on this monument if I can't go down?"
Naruto knew that he was on top of the monument and was there because he was to protect the village. But if he couldn't go down to their level, then how is he supposed to protect them? The kitsune then looked up and was amazed at what he saw. It was Soul Society. It was then he got the answer. He was the medium between the physical plane of his world and the spiritual one. His purpose was clear. The reasons he died and became a shinigami and the reason he was reborn in Konoha once more as a shinobi.
"If I am to protect this village…this world…I need to have endured hell itself so that others can say 'it was a cinch for me'. I endured sadness and overcame it. I endured pain and conquered it…at least to a certain degree. I overcame loss many times. Though it hurt more than everything else, it was worth defeating it. Weakness holds no real meaning anymore since I overcame those odds. I fought and won over my own soul and faced death itself. Yet despite all that I conquered, I'm alone. Then again…the hero is always alone. He's always one step forward and never a step back. That's why they are so unreachable. It's a lonely road to be a hero, but when your journey is done, everyone else is much happier. Selflessness and love and commitment are the keys to becoming a hero."
The kitsune looked back down upon the endless night that was Konoha. As he sat there perched, something…or someone crept up behind the white fox. He shivered since he knew that there was no way to defend himself from his glued place. A hot wind began blowing down his neck. He was even more frightened. He never noticed what was there in the darkness as it crept this close to him. Terror racked his heart. He had never felt so terrified in his entire life. The breath that blew down his neck managed to enter his nose. It was the smell of sulfur and surprisingly, the Konoha Fire Lily that grows all year round. He then felt a smooth scaly object entwine around his tails.
'Oh great. Just my luck, a snake…I really hate snakes.'
A shadow then loomed over the blonde as he glanced at the form of the shadow. It had wings.
'Even better…it flies…now this is officially a nightmare.'
He then shivered even more as his blood ran cold. It ran too cold in fact, for him to turn his neck around. He could feel the breath get closer and closer as he felt claws wrap around his stomach. The slithery serpentine had wings, sulfur for breath and claws. Naruto was scared even more since he knew exactly what was behind him—a fire breathing dragon. The kitsune swallowed hard thinking it was the end. The neck of the dragon was felt on the kitsune's left shoulder as the breath grew closer to his ears. Much to his surprise, the dragon wasn't going to devour him like he thought. It was in fact, hugging him and caressing him as he felt what was presumably the head upon his shoulder. When he managed to regain his senses, he looked at the dragon directly in the eye. The dragon was charcoal black in color with several purple and blue streaks that tattooed its body and shone in the moonlight. It was a beautiful creature. It was slender yet its ferocity was still felt. But even more surprising was its lavender eyes that gazed upon the blonde with love. Once again, the wise old Naruto got another stroke of wisdom.
"Even a hero needs someone to watch his back. I'm glad to know you have my back. Who might you be May I ask o great dragon of the night?"
The dragon the opened its mouth and muttered,
"I am Kuro Enkouryuu to you…Shiro Raikitsune."
The velvet dragon's voice was sweet and innocent yet confidence emerged from the pure voice. But unlike any other voice, it had a hint of femininity in it making the kitsune grow in his curiosity of the dragon. Suddenly, he could feel his body move to face the great dragon. Though it was naturally larger than him, somehow it never tried to impose its size and coiled itself when the kitsune faced it. In fact, it was somehow nervous of the kitsune.
'A dragon that's nervous of me…weird. If my kitsune form is my soul's affinity, then the black dragon must represent the soul affinity of my guardian.'
"Tell me, why are you, a great and powerful being, is afraid of me? I'm actually as friendly as I look. So why are you afraid of me?"
The dragon was even more nervous as it bowed its head shame. The dragon, who still wished not to face him directly, replied.
"Because we are equals."
The kitsune tilted his head in confusion at the statement.
"Because we are two sides of the same coin. You are the head as I am the tail. You are the one to protect them while I am to protect you. We both share the same path and are equally the same though we differ in personality as night and day. Because I am as dark as the night, I cannot be seen in this place. It is only possible for you to see me if I approach on my own since you were too busy to notice me in the background. I hope that I am not imposing you and being a burden."
The kitsune shook his head and protested.
"I doubt that. For a great and powerful being, you sure are meek. But I like that about you. You're meekness is one of your greatest assets. Somehow I know you from somewhere. Maybe in the real world I'll get to meet you."
"You already have. But it took you time for you to notice me. That's why I had to move so you can see who has been helping you and supporting you in the shadows. In the academy, I was the one who gave you hints on how to do what they tried to teach us when you could not get it right away. I always picked up your lost weapons and brought them back to your apartment. And in the future, I was the one who…"
The velvet dragon stopped leaving another curious look on the kitsune's face. He inspected the dragon with great care. It was then he realized who the dragon was. He smiled lovingly and said,
"I wonder how long it will take us to get close enough to truly know each other…Ryuhime."
The dragon smiled back as it approached the kitsune and coiled around him with its head leaning on his left shoulder. The kitsune in turn leaned his head upon the dragon's smooth black head as he rested knowing that everything was going to be alright.
As the young blonde slept and dreamt peacefully, somewhere in the sandy deserts on the outskirts of Sunagakure, a figure clothed in black kimono and hakama emerged from a tear in the dimension of time and space. As the dimensional rift closed behind him, he inspected his surroundings and let out a sigh of relief.
"For a second there, I thought I ended up in Hueco Mundo again. Urahara-san sure knows how to create dimensional portals. Anyway, I'd best find out where he could possibly be for all our sakes."
The orange haired teen said as he blurred out of his position leaving a trail of sand in his wake.
'Naruto-kun, the taicho of the ninth division. The self proclaimed Golden leaf. I hope that you're safe. I really hope you're here. We all miss you."
The orange haired youth said as he dashed along not knowing were to look. But these events all marked one thing, Naruto's life was a catalyst of change. He may not know it, but he changed a lot of people with his aura of charisma and purity. Because of him, Soul Society was never the same. And now his presence burns wildly in Konoha with the return of the golden leaf.
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It's done. It's pretty short and not much happened, but it should start the next arcs before his battle with the elemental gods. I am officially burned out. But I'm glad that it's done. The next one will be a confrontation and more insight on Naruto's training in Konoha and the selection of the teams. Maybe I can squeeze in how he and his team passed. Anyway, till the next update, Ja ne!