Naruto: Alone...
Jesus, another twenty reviews within one day of posting? This must be a good one... hope I don't mess it up. Also if you're wondering whats taking me so long with the updates, I've recently gotten dangerously addicted to the 'Elite Beat Agents' game.
Well speaking of mess ups, lets see what you all thought of my story in your reviews;
DragonMan180- Well, let's see here. I'm not sure exactly what to do with that. The former part seems like a good idea so I may use it, the latter... yeah I think I may have an idea.
FictionReader98- No, Itachi will remain Itachi... but let's just say that in this chapter he's going to be given a second reason to kill his clan.
shikamaru the nerd- Hmm... no sorry, that would be nice but too Mary-Sue.
RobotPirateNinja- Well I said it once I'll say it again, don't try to use real world Psychology in Naruto, trust me you're life will be much easier.
larsbars08- No its not that type of story, I don't really like those anyway. And also... he's street smart, but he's not book smart.
Omegaguardian- Well thank you, it is an honor to hear that you think this is going so well. And please, if I do end up beginning to ruin it, stop me! Also tell your friend he has a lot of catching up to do :)
Tyrchon- Yeah, really all I had to do to find inspiration for Naruto's street skills were to look at an area like New York. If you're on your own you either learn to steal, very well, or you hope to God that you're ancestors were Italian and join one of the Five Families.
Wolf among sheep- Another nine out of ten, I'm racking up the points!
nwfairy- Yeah, I rather enjoy stories that actually have a back story, so yeah.
The Silver Flash- Well he isn't Hokage for nothing. And yeah Itachi's going to be evil.
ZoneshifterD- Well actually that wasn't forced, I figure if you live on the street for over two you gotta learn how to get good at pickin' people's pockets, especially if most of those people are ninjas. Also the entire 'Defiled' thing, its just that if you wanna get someone in trouble you got to make it sound evil. 'Pervert!' just says that pervert, but 'Defiled' can say a number of different things (Rape, Sexual Abuse, etc.) Also I would think that since the Konoha Military Police were seperate from the regular nins they would not have as much power (afterall, if they have equal power why create an entire division for them?) so therefore they wouldn't be able to kill him without probable cause (which they could not create with the lack of forensic technology we have seen thus far).
Ecchi-ANBU- And it should go without say that since I'm Italian I can call upon... a 'favor'...
Well let's get on with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!!!
Chapter 3: The Chase and The Results
Konoha Market District - Approaching Noon
Itachi Uchiha had to say, that for a kid who hasn't even yet begun to attend the Academy, that Naruto Uzumaki was very difficult to locate. When he first began the search part of his mission he thought that he would be able to locate the six year old boy in no time at all. After all, he was six, he wouldn't have the ability to stay in his hidding place forever, he was bound to get bored eventually... however, he never met a six-year old like Naruto Uzumaki.
The young ANBU captain had been searching the city all morning for this brat, yet there was absolutely no sign of him. He tried in dark alleys, the only thing he found there were rats, cats, and a few insects but no six-year old brat. He tried garbage cans, figuring someone that small would be able to hide in one pretty easily. But the only things he found were trash, and a copy of Icha-Icha Paradise.
"Proper resting place for this smut." Itachi mentioned idly as he closed the lid on the trash can.
He then checked some of the older building in Konoha. Figuring that the kid may have taken up refuge in one of them empty, destroy, old, or otherwise, buildings. He searched through all of them, and yet still not a single trace of the brat. He went so far as to transform into a sucker and place himself in an alley to lure him out. Though that idea failed when he ended up being chased by a bunch of old, dirty cats, one of them Itachi swore looked like it was the daimyo's wife's cat. Itachi made a mental note that he would get to the Hokage and tell him about that. Itachi looked at one of the clocks hanging in a shop nearby. It was noon, and by the time it had passed Itachi was just about sick and tired of looking around for the brat.
It was as Itachi began making another pass around the market distract when Itachi suddenly heard the sound of glass crashing, and followed it. Itachi ended up on the roof top opposite a butcher shop, and he saw that one of the windows had been busted open with a butcher knife. Itachi's eyebrows raised as he listened in on comments like 'Give that back you rotten thief' or the best in his opinion 'I'll break your damn legs you little son of a bitch!'. He then saw none other than the target, Naruto Uzumaki, rush towards the other, unbroken window, and crashed through it as another butcher knife went past his head.
He picked himself up and grabbed the large piece of steak he had managed to grab and ran off down the street as the butcher came out with a knife in each hand. Two Chunin made it to the scene a few moments later, and upon learning what had just happened began running down the street after Naruto. "GET BACK HERE NARUTO UZUMAKI!" Was their battle cry as they went after him. Itachi followed the chase on the rooftops with his Sharingan activated, picking up on the smallest of movements made by the target.
As the chase entered the five minute check point Itachi made several observation's about Naruto's running form. He was fast, not fast enough to lose Itachi, but definetly fast enough to keep further than an arm's length from the two Chunin. His actual form was.. well imperfect would be an understatement. It was practically disastrous, though there were traces of a ninja's running form in it, they were few. It looked like he just stole a glance at one of his pursuer's running forms and tried to imitate it.
But, despite the obvious lack of form, the kid was proving to be naturally fast. With some training at the Academy his speed would probably improve even more. Currently his speed was around that of a Chunin, perhaps even a moderately experienced Chunin, which was allowing him to pretty easily outpace his pursuers.
'Is this running speed really what all the fuss is about?' Were Itachi's thoughts as he continued watching. He assumed that his speed would raise to at least a newly recruited Jounin with the proper form. He watched as Naruto slipped into an alley, and the two Chunin followed. The ANBU watched as the Chunin searched the alley for him, only to find no sign of him. They ran off, the search now apparently over. Itachi sighed as he performed a one-handed ram seal and disappeared in a burst of speed.
Meanwhile in the 'empty' alley, a garbage can began shaking around, until the lid popped off and Naruto's head popped out. He searched around till he was sure that the alley was empty. He climbed out with the steak in between his teeth. When he got out he spat the meat into his hand and smirked towards the entrance.
"Suckers." He said as he took one step behind him before bumping into Itachi. Naruto leapt back and around so that he was facing Itachi, with a very shocked look on his face. "Hey how did you get behind me!?" Naruto shouted as he pointed towards Itachi.
"That does not matter, what does matter is that I'm here to take you to Hokage-sama." Itachi said as Naruto raised his eyebrow.
He had heard of this Hokage guy before, lots of the Chunin who chased him scream at him that the 'Hokage' should've killed him while he was in the crib. Now Naruto may not have been taught anything in his short six-year old life, but he was sure that you didn't want to meet anyone who would kill you. So Naruto backed up to the garbage can and glared at Itachi.
"Screw that!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his hand down on the side of the lid of the garbage can, causing it to flip over.
Itachi's eyes widened as he saw the kunai, that was tied to the lid with some ninja wire. Naruto tore the kunai from its place and flung it towards Itachi's head. Itachi moved his head to the side to dodge the kunai, and smirked at Naruto, that is until Naruto flung the garbage can lid like a frisbee towards him. Itachi bent over backwards in order to dodge this metal projectile... but then Naruto did something he could not have now, or could not ever have expected. Naruto ran up to him, cocked his leg back, and kicked Itachi in the... sensitive area between his legs.
Itachi went from bending over backwards to dodge, to falling onto his back because his legs gave out from under him. Naruto smirked as his move worked, he saw a woman do this to a guy who was touching her chest once, and he had the same reaction as this guy. Naruto ran out of the alley, and then down the streets of Konoha, to get away from the now stunned Itachi.
'... Taijutsu... high D-Rank... the kid has... weapon skills...' Itachi thought as he began sitting up, thanking Kami he had such a huge chakra reserve to help ease the pain. '...but... that kind of move... is completely below anyone... who seriously considers themselves a ninja.' The ANBU said, momentarily forgetting he was dealing with a six year old child. Itachi stood and when the pain had finally died down, the chase had begun proper.
'Also I have to admit the kid is pretty clever, hiding a kunai in such a spot... makes you wonder if there are other spots like that in Konoha.' Itachi thought as he was catching up to Naruto. Meanwhile, Naruto was having a blast, Not only had he gotten to test out that technique, but he also got to keep his meal! His smirked withdrawed however when he felt someone behind him.
He stopped and turned around, not seeing anyone. He shrugged and faced foward again, only to be greeted with the site of Itachi in front of him. Naruto jumped back ten feet and looked on at Itachi.
"What the hell, the guy I watched get kicked stayed down for at least an hour! How did you get up so quickly?!!?" Naruto shouted as Itachi sweat dropped.
"It does not matter, I'm here to take you to Hokage-sama." Itachi said as Naruto began panicking a bit, but then he got an idea... it was simple, but if this guy was so easy to kick in the sack then this would be a piece of cake. Naruto was about to pull off his trick.. until he saw something very disturbing behind Itachi... something that made his blood turn cold, and sweat uncontrolably.
"Hey what's that over there!?" Naruto shouted as he pointed in a direction behind Itachi, a look of fear mixed with panic on his face.
Itachi sighed as he looked the kid square in the eye. "If you think that old trick will..." Itachi said until he felt a familiar presence behind him, one he felt at least three times a day when he was in Konoha. He turned around and what he saw confirmed his suspicions. "Oh no, its..." Itachi began until...
"ITACHI-KUN!!!" A herd of girl's screamed as they ran up to him. Yes, it was the Itachi Uchiha fan club! "Itachi-kun where have you been!" One fan girl shouted. "How was your last mission!?" Another shouted as Itachi just stood there and looked at them. Itachi learnt long ago that when dealing with fan girls, if you run it makes it even worse. He looked behind him and sighed as he saw that his target had once again evaded him. Itached performed half of the cross shaped seal, and a Shadow Clone of himself appeared beside him.
"Please aim all questions towards him, I have a mission to complete." Itachi said as he began running down the opposite end of the street, not only to find Naruto but to also get away from his fan club. As he left, his Shadow Clone was suddenly being smothered, glomped, and kissed by the Itachi Uchiha fan club.
'He must've gotten pretty far by now.' Itachi thought as he ran down the street/got glomped by fan girls. Itachi continued running down the streets, and he kept on looking around. He was about to give up on his own search, that is until the smell of meat cooking came across his nostrils. Itachi looked around until he realized the smell was coming from an alley. Itachi raised his eyebrow and walked down the alley. He continued walking, following his nose to where he would hope to find his target. Eventually he reached a shaw/
Itachi raised his eyebrows at the strategically placed cloth; with the smell of roasting meat behind it it likely meant someone was living there. Even if it was just the Uzumaki child, who knew if he had the place booby trapped. Itachi pulled out one kunai and slowly walked past the shaw. Itachi gave the area a once over before he was satisfied that he was alone, and safe from any sudden tricks. He walked around and noticed the fire burning in the center, the meat burning upon it, still a little raw. Itachi began searching for Naruto until he stummbled upon something, a patch of grass... that looked like it had been moved from somewhere.
Itachi bent down and removed the grass, and saw that underneath it there were papers with crudely drawn passage maps of roads and alleys on them. As Itachi inspected the papers, he came to realize that, as crude as these may have been, they were the lay out of Konoha's various streets an alleys. Dotting the paper was red dots, likely areas where traps had been set.
'This boy is quite smart: he's not only placed traps all over Konoha, but he's also made out maps to memorize so he can immediately access them from memory... and judging by the detail of the alleys, he also knows quick routes around Konoha.' Itachi thought as he put the papers back down onto the ground and covered them back up again. He stood up as he heard a gasp come from the opposite end of the hide out. He turned to see Naruto Uzumaki coming in, with what appeared to be a few fish in his hands.
"How the hell did you find me!?" Naruto shouted as the fish were dropped to the ground. Itachi simply pointed to the meat cooking over the fire and Naruto sweat dropped. "Well, you aren't going to catch me!" Naruto shouted as he ran down the alley from which he came. Itachi sighed as he followed him, right to a dead end, the only exit was blocked by a wooden fence.
"You can't run now Uzumaki..." Itachi said as he watched Naruto rip off a section of the fence, crawl through it and then place the section back on. "... or maybe you can..." Itachi muttered as he jumped over the fence, to see Naruto climbing up a ladder. Itachi sighed as he jumped up to the rooftop, just as Naruto reached the top. Naruto looked at Itachi in shock as he ran to the opposite side of the roof and jumped off the ledge. Itachi sighed once more and walked to the ledge.
Naruto slung to the ledges of the windows of the rooms just below the roof. He hoped to God that this trick would work, he only had one more up his sleeve after this one. Though those hopes were destroyed when Itachi suddenly leaned over, and looked at Naruto upside-down. Naruto looked up to see Itachi just standing on the side of the building, nothing attaching him to the building, just standing on the side as if he were standing on the ground itself. Naruto gulped as he looked at Itachi's upside-down face.
"Really, is this the best you have?" Itachi asked as Naruto gave him a scowl and let go of the window ledges. Itachi looked down to see Naruto pull out a ratty old glove and force it onto his hand. As he got the glove on he grabbed a clothes line, and slid down it for two seconds, and not even waiting to hit the wall, he let go, and landed in a dumpster. Naruto jumped out of said dumpster and ran over to the fence at the end of the alley, which also had a loose section of board. Itachi sighed as he jumped off the side of the building, and on top of the fence.
Itachi looked down to see a sewer lid jumping around as it fit itself back into place. Itachi sweat dropped as he realized what this meant... 'I'm going to have to go into the sewer...' The ANBU thought as he sighed. Meanwhile Naruto was trudging through the sewer. Moving around with the hopes that he could lose this guy before...
"Freeze." He heard behind him. He turned around to see that indeed Itachi was a few feet behind him. Naruto began chuckling which kinda creeped out Itachi.
"Hey I gotta say you're good, only a few guys actually followed me all the way down here." Naruto said as his face became more serious. "But no one has ever caught me after... this!" Naruto shouted as his hand shot down into the sewer water, and yanked from it a kunai. Naruto then threw that kunai towards Itachi's head, Itachi merely ducking his head to the side.
The Uchiha genius looked at Naruto, who looked about as frustrated an angry a a six year old possibly could. "So now you see you really had no chance of escape. Now you're coming with me." Itachi said as he took one step, and then fell. Itachi looked down to find himself waist deep in... something... Itachi scooped up mud. Itachi Uchiha had just fell into a mud hole.
"HA! I knew that stuff would come in handy!" Naruto shouted as Itachi looked up at him.
"You can't possibly be serious? This is just mud, I can get out... of... it..." Itachi said as he placed his hands against the walls, straining against the mud pit as he tried to pull himself out, the suction of the pit keeping the ANBU sucked right into it.
"I found it in the woods while I was hunting. My meal got caught in so I lost it, but I found a perfect trap!" Naruto shouted as he jumped over Itachi's head. "Now you'll never catch me now!" Naruto shouted as he ran back down the sewer's tunnels.
Itachi stayed there for a second, shaking slightly, clinching his fists, and then he began laughing. He laughed and laughed and laughed till he was blue in the face. When Itachi's temporary moment of insanity was over he turned his head to face the tunnel Naruto had run down. "I've made my decision..." Itachi said as he looked down at his waist. "But now I have to figure out how the hell to get out of this..." Itachi said as he began trying to pull his way out of the mud. "This may be a bit harder than I thought..." Itachi muttered as he continued to pull.
Meanwhile Naruto was back at his hide out, enjoying his meal of steak and fish. Naruto was eating the steak pretty slowly, after all Naruto didn't get good pieces of food like that everyday, so he learnt how to enjoy it while he could. Then the sound of water dripping came from the other side of his hideout. Naruto reached for a kunai he had used to skin the fish and jumped up and turned around... and was treated to a sight he had not expected to see.
From the waist up, Itachi Uchiha, ANBU captain, looked perfectly normal. But that was not what was knocking Naruto for a loop. From the waist down, the only thing Itachi was wearing... was a pair of boxer shorts with the Uchiha Clan symbol on them. Now this was going to defeat Naruto for three reasons;
For one thing, the boy was still only six years old. For another, six year olds found nearly everything funny, and finally: no one in Konoha couldn't possibly keep themselves from breaking out into laughter at the sight of the great Itachi Uchiha in his boxers.
Naruto collapsed to the ground, laughing while he held his ribs and rolled around. Itachi just sighed as he walked over, and picked Naruto up by the collar and began carrying him through the alleys. After about five minutes Naruto stopped laughing, and he was now pouting, he had been caught. But Naruto noticed something, that this particular alley led to a community place where there were a bunch of people with the weird fan thing on their backs.
"Bet you five-hundred yen we run into someone you know." Naruto said while smirking as Itachi glared at him for a moment before sighing.
"Yeah I know..." Itachi said, though he said he knew... he didn't know just how right Naruto was. As Itachi walked out of the alley he was treated to the most horrifying sight of his life. Itachi had managed to find his way right to the middle of the Uchiha Clan Compound at its busiest time of the day, and managed to walk out right into the middle of many of his non-ninja relatives, who immediately became as mirthful as Naruto had been mere moments ago. As the ANBU began taking his walk of shame down the street, Itachi pulled five-hundred yen and was about to give it to Naruto before Naruto pushed it back.
"Please, this is enough of a treat for me." Naruto chuckled out before Itachi began walking down the street. He was laughed at no matter where he walked. Needless to say, Itachi's ego took quite the pounding that day. Though the calm Uchiha didn't show it, he hardly had any pride left inside of his body. At this point he was actually going to be quite happy taking this kid to the Hokage's office, and get him out of his hair.
Itachi finally reach the Hokage Tower, after having to walk through the entire Uchiha district in his boxers, he was glad to be able to finish this mission. He walked up to the secretary, who was sporting a blush on her face from the de-pantsed Uchiha, looked her straight in the eye. "I'm here to see Hokage-sama, could you tell him..." Itachi began as the secretary cut him off.
"He's been expecting you Uchiha-san please go onto his room." The secretary said as Itachi nodded and continued to carry Naruto by his collar. "By the way, the new look works for you!" The secretary shouted as Itachi began running up the stairs, hoping the Hokage wouldn't say anything about his attire, which was highly unlikely. Itachi walked up to the sliding door and knocked on it.
"Come in Itachi-san." He heard Sarutobi say on the other side. Naruto heard the same voice, and was a little shocked. He expected the Hokage to sound a little more powerful than that. As Itachi walked in he saw Sarutobi raise his eyebrow at him. "Don't tell you have fallen under the sway of Icha-Icha Paradise too..." Sarutobi said as Itachi shook his head no and Sarutobi sighed. Naruto kinda stared at the old man in fornt of him, this old coot was the guy who should've killed him while he was in the crib?
Sarutobi smiled as he looked between Naruto and Itachi. "So Itachi-san, how did the testing go?" Sarutobi asked as Itachi sat down in a chair, and threw Naruto into another chair. Itachi, tired, and grumpy, began his evalutation.
"Well... my evaluation of this kid is... good." Itachi said, trying to keep his modesty in tact, and he could've sworn he head some groans coming from somewhere. "Early on I found him stealing from a butcher, the chase between him and the Chunin that followed showed me that he had fairly good speed, that would only improve with proper form." Itachi said as Naruto just sat there with a melancholy grin on his face that just said 'Damn straight I'm fast'. "His Taijutsu... well he has good weapon skills, but other forms of Taijutsu..." Itachi said as he absent mindedly rubbed his sack. "could use some work." He said as Naruto practically jumped out of his seat.
"HEY WHAT DO YOU MEAN!? I got you down with one kick to your balls!" Naruto shouted as Sarutobi blushed and the sound of people doing a spit-take was slightly heard.
Itachi blushed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Anyway I'm willing to bet that his intelligence... is at least D-Rank." Itachi said as Sarutobi nodded. "But that's not to say that he isn't clever." Itachi said as Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "He might not be book smart, but the kid is clever... very clever." Itachi said as Sarutobi nodded. "His survival skills are obviously some of the best I've seen. To be able to grow up on the streets of Konoha, and survive for that matter, is amazing in itself. After all, you must know the learning arc with those conditions, right Hokage-sama?" Itachi said as Sarutobi nodded.
'Yes, I'm aware... you either learn and adapt or you don't survive to see tomorrow...' Sarutobi thought as Naruto's smirk grew even more at the praise.
"So I'm willing to bet that most lessons that would be taught to him he would pick up on, whether it would take a short time or a long time however I am not sure." Itachi said as Sarutobi smiled, feeling more and more assured of Naruto's chances.
"So... overall-" Itachi began as he lowered his head. "-he's a devious, cunning, theiving little kid, and by far one of the most aggravating people I have met in my entire life!" Itachi said as Sarutobi could just see in his mind's eye the smirking features of the council members. "So, with this in mind, I find Naruto Uzumaki to be well suited for a career as a ninja." Itachi concluded, Sarutobi's eyes widening for a mere moment, surprised to hear the Uchiha state this, before a small smile graced his lips, and he motioned for Itachi to continue.
"He has shown skills in survival, speed, weapon skills, and trap making that you don't normally see in any Genin. He has also shown that he is cunning, and deceitful when it comes to tough situations. So yes Hokage-sama, I would gladly say that Naruto Uzumaki would make a good addition to our ninja forces." Itachi said as Sarutobi smiled, nodding at the young ANBU.
"Thank you Itachi-san, you may get some replacement clothing in the ANBU locker room." Sarutobi said as Itachi nodded and made his way out of the room. As he left Sarutobi smiled that his plan had gone so well. Now there was only one thing left to do, convince Naruto to become a shinobi. "Hello there Naruto, I am Sarutobi Sandaime Hokage, and it is a pleasure to finally get to meet you." Sarutobi said as Naruto just kind of stared at him.
END OF CHAPTER! R&R!!!