Naruto: Alone...
Wow, this one is becoming popular really fast, I like that. Anyway, I got one question that was asked over and over again in the reviews, and I'm going to answer it in my response to the reviews.
Speaking of which, let's get rolling with those;
GhostOfZeon- Sorry but Naruto will not be doing that too often, or that often at all for that matter.
Harteramo- Well that's another goal of mine completed. The first one was get someone to do a spit take (done), and now I've made someone cry, awesome.
RobotPirateNinja- Yeah not exactly there pal. You see, Naruto is still unable to use the Kyuubi's chakra (Ero-sennin hasn't come around yet). Also, Naruto doesn't enjoy killing, the reaction you saw when he spat on the guy's face was merely influence from the fox's chakra, and like I said he still hasn't learnt how to use it (I can barely wait for the next chance I get Ring a bell?). And also, Naruto isn't the type of kid to do that. I think, in the canon, though Sarutobi did play a role in his life, it wasn't a major influence. So just wait and see what I have planned.
Wolf among sheep- Wow, a 9/10, I must be doing well.
DragonMan180- Well if you think about it, in some situations, it is a very logical decision to kill something before it can start trouble.
shikamaru the nerd- Maybe.. or maybe not.
Feneris the Elf- Thank you.
FictionReader98- Well I hope you like the way he comes out.
Well how's about we stop this and get on to the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!!!
Chapter 2: Sarutobi's Move
2 Years and 3 Months Later
We overlook the city of Konoha once again. After almost six years after the Kyubi's attack, Konoha's morale had recovered and its productivity increased very well. More buildings and areas that were devasted during the Kyuubi's violent attack were reconstructed or reformed. Markets were now booming, as it seemed as though war and disaster were slowly becoming a distant memory. Yes, overall Konoha improved greatly... but there was still one individual that was a thorn in the side of the Military Police and the buisness owners of Konoha.
Naruto Uzumaki, now also nicknamed by citizens of Konoha as the 'Street Fox of Konoha', has been a part of one of the largest streeks of thefts in Konoha. It all started one day, two years and three months ago the Street Fox had stolen a loaf of bread. Now ordinarily this crime is looked down upon by the Military Police, they rather use their members for higher ranked crimes. But with Naruto Uzumaki being the one stealing the bread, things changed.
In the report the Chunin who had chased Uzumaki, it read: "Though we were very close to apprehending Naruto Uzumaki, he skillfully chucked a kunai at the ground in front of us, causing us to stummble, not only over the kunai, but over each other". The embarassment that the Military Police suffered, not only from the ninja populace, but from the entire poplulation of Konoha, was great. Soon, Naruto became a part of several thefts across Konoha. Anything that he could get his hands on, that was useful to him, he got. Food, drink, books, even Shinobi equipment like kunai, shuriken, and ninja wire were not safe.
Anything outside those catagories were safe though, for it would appear that Naruto Uzumaki knew better than to go for the big stuff like clothes, ninja scrolls, explosion tags, or large amounts of money, for those things could actually land him in hot water with the Kage. Though many believe him to be nothing more than a convict, theft is the only crime one could convict him of. Crimes such as arson, homocide, genocide, breaking and entering (he would always steal during the day, when it couldn't be considered trespassing in a stores property), could not be found in his record.
Even when he would be chased by the military police, he would use only non-lethal methods to disarm, distract, or discourage a ninja, or to discontinue a chase. In fact, the only wounds a ninja would suffer would either be a scrape, a bump, or a severly injured pride. At first, Naruto could be easily caught and forced to give back what he stole, in some cases he was given several punches across the back of the head. But he never learned that lesson, and always came back to steal. And now, in recent months, he has been able to out run the Chunin who have chased him, severely injuring the pride of the shinobi.
If only one could view such a chase as an Uzumaki chase, one would be able to see the level of cunning, speed, agility, and stamina... "NARUTO UZUMAKI, GET BACK HERE!!!" Oh one appears to be starting as we speak!
Streets of Konoha
We now watch as we see Naruto Uzumaki barreling down the street, with two random Chunin chasing him, again. Naruto held in his arms a rather large loaf of bread, it would appear as though lunch time had rolled around once again for Naruto. Naruto was wearing... well very poor clothing, most of it looking like it had been gotten out of a trash can. They were, or what appeared to be, the tattered remains of a brown t-shirt, a former pair of cargo-pants, torn off at the knees, and very old wooden sandals.
As for Naruto himself, he looked like any six-year old would, well except for the bad clothes and him being 'kinda' skinny. His hygene didn't appear to be too poor, as there wasn't too much dirt and grime covering him. Though he wasn't muscular you could see little amounts of muscle, for the baby fat that should have covered him still was not there to hide the muscle. Earlier Naruto Uzumaki had snuck out of one of the alleys (how he does this out of nowhere no one knows) and into the local bakery. He then grabbed the loaf of bread he now carries and then ran out of the store, with the owner running out and screaming. "Help its the Street Fox, he has stolen from my bakery again!" This immediately brought the two Chunin who were chasing Naruto to the scene.
And now, for the rest of the chase... "Haven't you guys given up yet? You can't catch me now!!" Naruto shouted back at the two Chunin, and to aggravate them more, he began slapping his rear end, causing huge veins to show upon the two Chunin's foreheads.
"We'll get you, you little brat!!!!" One of the Chunin screamed as they both sped up. Naruto snickered as he began twisting and turning, ducking and dodging his way through the large groups of people in the street. He even went under one teenaged girl's mini skirt on an occasion.
"Nice!" Naruto shouted as the girl blushed profusely.
"HELP! PERVERT!" The girl yelled as she ran off, and the two Chunin ran after Naruto, blushing at what he did.
"That fox is gutsy..." One said while the other simply nodded along with him as they continued their chase of Naruto. Eventually they got to a very crowded street, so crowded that there was absolutely no room for Naruto to get through. "HA! We have you now Street Fo-" One of them began as Naruto leapt up into the air, and landed on top of one of the pedestrian's head, and began leaping across the large amount of civilian heads, like cobble stones in a river. "-ox?" The same Chunin finished as he stared as Naruto leapt across the group of people. The two Chunin looked at each other and shrugged as they began doing the same as Naruto, only because they were heavier most of the civilians collapsed under their weight as they leapt off.
Eventually, Naruto made it across the civilians, and ran off, the Chunin made it shortly afterwards, and sped off after him. After about five more minutes of running Naruto figured he was in the clear, so he began picking up speed, to begin the process of losing his would be convictors, when all of a sudden a third Chunin jumped in front of him, with his arms stretched open, ready to capture him. "I have you now Street Fox!" The Chunin shouted as Naruto smirked and ran right up towards him.
Naruto got within six inches of the guy and, using his leg as a pivot, spun completely around him and as he got behind him he put his foot on the third Chunin's back, and pushed off. Not only did this send Naruto off, with a little higher speed, it also sent the third Chunin foward into the other two Chunin who, figuring the third one would capture Naruto, didn't anticipate this turn of events, and they fell on each other. They all got up and sped off to try and get Naruto again, no way were they letting him get away again.
Meanwhile Kakashi Hatake, a recently retired ANBU member, walked out of a bookstore, with a melancholy grin on his face. In his left arm he held a plastic shopping bag, the contents of his small and rectangular. He walked over to a trash bin outside the bookstore, and took out the object, and slammed the bag into the can, as he brought the book up to his face and began laughing maniacally. "At last! At long last!" He said as he began crying a little. "The latest issue of Icha-Icha Paradise is mine!" Kakashi shouted as he held up the book in the air, as if it were some kind of glorious treasure.
Kakashi then leaned up against the wall of the building, flipped the book open to the first page and began reading. He was slumped up against the wall, standing as still and as silent as a statue, except for the occasional turn of the page and perverted giggle. He heard shouts coming from the end of the street and let his arm drop and he looked up to see the commotion. He watched as Naruto came barreling down the street, with the three Chunin, with patches of dirt on them from their fall, chase after them. "Hmmm. So that's what an Uzumaki chase looks like." Kakashi said as the chase flew past him and he brought his hand back up to his face...
Only to find his precious book not in it. Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow as began looking around; he checked the ground, his other hand, around his feet, his pockets, and even began digging in the trash can for it. He then began trying to look for Genjutsu, maybe it was that Chunin Kurenai, practicing her Genjutsus on him and his books again... which annoyed Kakashi to know end that she was actually that good with a Genjutsu. Then all of a sudden, Kakashi heard Naruto start speaking, and turned to look down the street, to see Naruto Uzumaki... with his new book open.
"Hey what's this?" Naruto said as he flipped the book page. "And he cupped her precious orbs into his hands and... what's this word here?" Naruto said as he looked it over. "I can barely understand a word of this, the words are too big... oh well, it will have to due. Afterall I need something to keep the fire lit tonight." Naruto said as he closed the book, and Kakashi sweat dropping as he heard Naruto declare his book to be kindling for his fire.
Kakashi sighed as he scratched the back of his neck. "Greaaaat... I just really wanted to relax today... guess that plan's out the window for now." The silver-haired Jounin said lazily as he got down into sprinter's position, and then sped off towards the thief.
Naruto continued running from the Chunin chasing after him, though after a while he figured he should lose 'em quick. Afterall he was getting hungry, and had a book to break in. So Naruto began looking to the streets in front of him, and saw a melon cart crossing the street. Naruto smirked as he sped up, and as he was within five feet of the cart, he leaped onto the other side of the cart, bent down to pick up a melon, and then pushed off the cart, much in a similar way he did with the third Chunin.
"MY MELONS!" The owner of the cart yelled as the melons began pouring out of the cart and rolling down the street towards the Chunin. The Chunin, who were moving to fast to avoid them, tripped on some of the melons, causing them to fall into the melons, and had to watch in horror as everyone kinda pointed and laughed at the now melon covered Chunin.
"Man, we're going to get it now..." One Chunin said, know that the head of the Military Police Department was going to bite their heads off for this.
"Yeah, we'll never hear the end of this..." Another Chunin said, knowing that they were going to be teased by other ninja, members of the department, and civilians of Konoha. Then all of a sudden, Kakashi leapt over them, onto the side of the fallen cart, and leapt foward to continue the chase. "Hey wasn't that..." The Chunin said as he got up.
"Kakashi Hatake?!" The other two Chunin said as they looked on. They looked at each other and nodded, and leapt off to try and catch up, knowing that the chances of Naruto's escape were now almost next to none.
Naruto continued running down the street, the book in his left hand, the melon in his left arm, and the loaf of bread in his mouth. The corners of his lips were pointed upwards, indicating he was happy for his success in getting away from the three Chunin. He continued running until he felt a strange presence behind him, and nearly choked on the bread he held between his teeth. There was this one-eyed guy wearing a flak-jacket, chasing after him... not just chasing him, but actually catching up to him!
Naruto began panicking as he looked around for an alternative escape route, he obviously wasn't about to out manuever this guy so... 'There!' Naruto thought as he saw a ladder on the side of a building. 'There it is!' He thought again as he tossed the book into his left hand (it wasn't grasping the melon) and grabbed the rail of the ladder with his right, and began climbing at a mile a minute. Kakashi arrived just as Naruto reached the top, and with the skill only a Jonin could possess he ran up the side of the wall.
When Kakashi reached the top he looked around, expecting to see Naruto somewhere around, but he didn't. He continued scanning the rooftop till he spotted his Icha-Icha Paradise book, laying next to the ledge. Kakashi looked down at the book as his eye curved into a 'U' shape, before he walked over to pick up his book. The scarecrow picked up his book and dusted it off, before turning right back to the page he was reading. Before long, the three Chunin who had been pursuing Naruto caught up, before they also began scanning the empty roof for the blond boy.
"Kakashi-san, where is the Street Fox?" The Chunin asked as they expectantly awaited an answer from Kakashi.
Kakashi turned to them, a dead pan look in his eye as he shrugged at them. "Beats me, I lost him." Kakashi said plainly as the three Chunin sighed.
"Well... let's go back to the department then, thank you, Kakashi-san, for your help..." The first Chunin said as all three bowed to him, and then disappeared.
Kakashi stared for a moment before turning back to the ledge. "I would like to thank you for returning my Icha-Icha Paradise to me. Its the latest issue and I would've been inconvenienced to have to go out and buy it again." Kakashi said, to seemingly no one. "You know, I didn't see the entire chase, but you look like you pretty well outran those three stooges back there, and even managed to swipe my book for a bit... you'd make a pretty good ninja." Kakashi said, his eye turning towards the ledge instead of his book. "Well, enjoy the rest of the day then." Kakashi said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
On the other side of the ledge, we see Naruto, the bread still in his mouth, and melon still in his left arm, hanging by his finger tips on a window's ledge. He was shaking slightly as he released a breath he was holding in as the Jonin left. Naruto pulled himself back up to the top of the building and then looked back down the side. He smirked as he got out a ratty old glove, with a rusted, metal plate on the back. He forced it on with his teeth and walked over to the ledge, and jumped over the ledge.
Naruto twisted his arm around, and as he fell... he grabbed a cloth hanging wire and began sliding down it. As he reached the wall he positioned his feet and legs in front of him, and they stopped him from ramming into the wall, a lesson he had to learn the hard way. He looked down to see and very old spring mattress, with several shoe prints on it, on the ground below him. He let go of the wire and fell down, landing on top of the mattress. Naruto got up off the mattress and made his way to a section of fence at the other end of the alley.
Naruto bent down, and put his lunch on both sides of him, and pulled a section of the fence out of the fence, and then grabbed his meal and walked through, placing the fence section back on as he made it through. He walked down a few alleys till he reached an opening with a familiar shaw closing it off. Naruto moved that shaw to reveal the former Red Dragon hideout. The entire hide out itself had gone over quite a bit off a change. There was no longer any dead bodies laying around, though there were still spots of blood.
In one corner, there was a small make-shift tent, made out off torn, damaged, or otherwise ruined blankets. In another there were ninja equipment, slightly rusted and blunt kunai and shuriken stacked on top of the other, and some ninja wire lay there. In the middle of the hideout there was a fire going, with two rabbits being roasted over it. You see whenever Naruto couldn't get something from the city of Konoha, he got from the woods. Whether it be food, water, or even baths (he took them in the rivers).
Naruto sat down beside the fire, and got out a kunai he had in one of his old pants pockets and cut the bread in half, and the melon in several pieces. Todays meal would be roasted rabbit sandwhich a la king, with some melon slices. Naruto stared at the meal for a little bit before bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around his knees and lowering his head. He would have to repeat this same routine for lunch and dinner... like every other day in his life.
Council Meeting Room
The Hokage was smiling happily as he entered the council meeting room. It was only a few months before the beginning of the new Ninja Academy year. Many of the clan head's children were to enter this year, those included were the Uchiha, Hyuga, Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Haruno, Aburame, and Inuzuka. The Hokage held in his wrinkled right hand, a file, and in this particular file contained several documents on one Naruto Uzumaki. If there was a time for Sarutobi to make his move, it would be right here, right now.
Sarutobi walked into the middle of the room, right into his usual spot, and smiled at the clan heads. Said smile caused shivers to go up many of the clan heads backs, the last time they saw that smile was about two years ago when he was able to slip Naruto Uzumaki out of getting in trouble for stealing the loaf of bread. If the smile was an indicator of what would soon happen, then it would not be good for them. "What is going on Hokage-sama, I thought we already went through the clearance meeting?" Shikaku said as others nodded along with him. The clearance meeting he talked about was a meeting in which a select number of children would be accepted to the Ninja Academy that year, many years, there would be too many to fit in, but this year, there were not as many as normal, so they had room.
"Well." Sarutobi said as he threw the files in front of Shikaku on his desk. "I would like to propose one more, a late entry wouldn't you know?" Sarutobi said as Shikaku raised his eyebrow and opened the folder. At first his eyes widened, but then that shortly passes as he began going through the pages that were in the file. After a while Shikaku threw the file back to Sarutobi and leaned back in his chair. "So what do you think Nara-san?" Sarutobi asked the Nara clan head looked at him.
"Well, he appears to have potential, but how can we be sure that he really could pull through?" Shikaku asked as the clan heads raised their eyebrows.
"Who?" They all asked as Sarutobi continued.
"Well I figured that the information in this folder would be enough, but if even you have your doubts Nara-san, then we may need to take an extra step, to prove his worth." Sarutobi said as the clan heads began practically leaning over their desks.
"Who?!" They all asked as Shikaku continued.
"A formal test may help Hokage-sama." Shikaku said as the Fugaku Uchiha practically leapt onto his desk.
"Who in God's name are we talking about Hokage-sama!" Fugaku shouted as the other clan heads nodded as well.
"Why Naruto Uzumaki of course, why do you ask?" Sarutobi said as an uproar of disapprovements began growing in the room. They all shouted and complained for what seemed to be hours before they all shut up and Sarutobi cleared his throat. "Are you quite done yet?" Sarutobi said as Tsume, actually, jumped on top of her desk.
"Are you crazy?! Are you actually saying that we should give that thing the training it would need to kill us all?!" Tsume shouted as there were many cheers of agreement to go along with her.
"Well Inuzuka-san, if you were to look in this folder..." Sarutobi said as he threw the folder to Tsume. "Then you would see that he has much potential as a ninja, and shouldn't it be my job to help recruit any individuals who would help strengthen Konoha's military might?" Sarutobi said as many of the clan heads began groaning. Sarutobi, the old genius, found a loop hole in the original deal. He found a damn loop hole!
Fugaku Uchiha felt trapped: as Hokage, Sarutobi had the perfect right to just go ahead and give Naruto the okay to be enrolled in the Academy... though it would come at a great cost to potential support amongst the members of the council whom were still amongst his line of thought on future efforts. Fugaku smirked, realizing that Shikaku had just helped deliver to him a path to victory.
"Hokage-sama." Fugaku said as he smiled, causing all attention to be turned to him. "Though I do not like the idea of him going to the Academy, I must agree with you, a ninja with so much potential would do well in the Academy." Fugaku said as several clan head's mouths dropped. "However, I would like to have a formal test of the boy, as Nara-san said." Fugaku said as Sarutobi turned his full attention to Fugaku. "And... I would like to have my son, Itachi, be the one testing him." Fugaku said as Sarutobi sighed and took a drag on his pipe, while other clan heads raised their eyebrows.
"Very well, Itachi Uchiha will chase Naruto Uzumaki around Konoha, keeping an eye out on various skills and abilities he may show during the chase. Once he apprehends Naruto he will bring him to me and debrief me on the test. You all will be able to listen through the intercom system. Are we agreed Uchiha-san?" Sarutobi said as Fugaku nodded.
"Very much so Hokage-sama." Fugaku said as he bowed and Sarutobi called the meeting to a close. Sarutobi watched as Itachi appeared beside his father, and Fugaku whispered something in his ear, and he nodded. Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe, and then left to cut off Itachi before he got out of the Hokage Tower.
Itachi was walking through the halls of the Hokage Tower, on his way to the exit so that he could begin to search for Naruto Uzumaki. Itachi cared little about the fate of the boy, merely wishing to get this over with in order to continue his mission schedule. Though, his father's own little additional order made it's way to the forefront of his mind.
'Lie, make it impossible for him to show needed skills, anything short of injuring him. We need to keep this as under the cuff as possible.' Fugaku's voice rang out in the ANBU's mind. It was a smart strategy: make it look like you were open and willing to work with the Hokage, underhandedly make it so you get what you'd want in the first place, and all the while if the Hokage makes any noise about it, the elder man merely looks like he's challenging the honor of a high-class, very well known member of the ANBU.
Itachi was just about to get to the stairs when Sarutobi walked out of another hall and walked towards him, a smile on his face.
"Well hello their Itachi-san, how are this fine day?" Sarutobi said as Itachi just looked at him.
"Hello to you too Hokage-sama, and I am just a little annoyed with this test, it seems like such a trivial matter." Itachi said as Sarutobi nodded and smiled.
"Yes, well it is something that must be done, and I do wish you luck Itachi-san." Sarutobi said as he extended his hand foward. Itachi looked at it before extending his own hand foward and grasping the Hokage's. They shook each others hand for only a second before the aged Hokage pulled Itachi into him, Itachi going foward with a small 'Wha-' before the Hokage put his head right beside Itachi's ear. "Now you listen to me Uchiha." Sarutobi said as he tightened his grip on the Uchiha's hand, causing him to wince a little bit.
"You're father and I are hardly on friendly terms as it is, and he on even less favorable terms when it comes to Naruto Uzumaki. So, realize that while this examination is taking place my eyes and ears will be on you... if I notice anything funny, or if you even so much as fudge a single detail because your father commanded you to lie to my face, and to the men and women of the council... well, I'm the Hokage, I'll have you on watch duty along the walls for so long you'll forget what going out and doing an active mission feels like." Sarutobi said in a stern tone, Itachi just looking at the aged Kage before somewhat nodding. "Good, then be on your way lad." Sarutobi said, giving Itachi a smile before walking off.
Itachi watched as Sarutobi slowly walked off... before shaking his head a bit. Itachi was more than smart enough than to think that Sarutobi's little threat was empty. Given the choice between merely disappointing his father, and having his growth as a ninja stunted by a lack of missions... the choice was easy enough for the power driven Uchiha. Itachi began to run off, ready to begin his examination of the young Uzumaki.
CLIFF HANGER!!! R&R!!!!!