Naruto: Alone...
Hello my loyal readers, I don't know what's been going on, but I've been getting idea, after idea, after idea for this story. Anyway I've been thinking on how I can get Iruka to be supportive of Naruto, if at this point its possible at all, I've had a few ideas, some more rediculous then others. I've come down to this last one, hopefully it works just fine. But that's beyond the point, at any rate, I've decided to time skip the story again, I felt as though it was the best thing to do, since so many of you seem to be getting rather twitchy.
But, onto the reviews;
VFSnake- Woah man, calm yourself. Anyway, on the entire blaming him thing, just wait.
rasengan86- Well I figured that since Naruto's and Kyuubi's minds are 'linked' it should be able to interfere with that sort of thing.
DragonMan180- Well think about it, he was basically tied to the cross, so since the Kyuubi was far behind him he wouldn't be able to see it.
Angel of Choas- No super powers, NO!
Tashio- Because, as Naruto assumed, should he be caught spying on or stealing something so important, people could really get him.
ArmorofGeddon- Hehehe. Sorry for the joke then, but it was funny huh?
pyro-chan the dragon king- Who could forget 'Its over 9000!'?
iunno, I haven't noticed that till recently, I'll try to fix it.
ZoneshifterD- Then I hoped I fixed Itachi's OOC in that last chapter. And I'm sorry you didn't like it.
Artemis Ignitan- That little push did not, so I hope that answers your question.
NoOne- Actually, as far as I understand, the sensei suffix is used for all teachers, even if they're not your teacher... as far as I understood.
madjestervince- Have I heard of ytmnd, who hasn't heard of ytmnd?
Sauronia- Thanks, its always nice to hear a compliment.
FictionReader98- ... You catch on quickly. And yes, you're partially correct, the Konoha Council will indeed find a way to use this against Naruto... one step foward, two steps back. Hmmm... I'd say at this point it would be difficult for Naruto to get control at this point (especially considering all the times Naruto has now come into contact with Kyuubi's chakra). Actually Itachi snapped out of it after the first bite. Since Itachi was consciously trying to break the Genjutsu, and with the combination of the sheer amount of pain inflicted by the bite, it would have caused overall collapse of the Genjutsu.
Akitetsyu- Well you forget that such a thing is impossible unless they are a ninja, but once Naruto becomes a ninja... well I'll consider it.
Well now that's over with, let's continue with the next chapter of Naruto: Alone!
Chapter 9: One Step Foward, Two Steps Back
That Very Night- Council Meeting Room
Sarutobi as well as many other members of the Konoha council were patiently, or in the case of the Inuzuka representative impatiently, waiting for the arrival of Fugaku Uchiha, for they could not begin a meeting without him. The meeting, they all expected, would be about the number of ninja in Konoha, the status of Konoha versus the rest of the Shinobi world, population of Konoha, and it would somehow work itself into crime, which would ultimately lead to a discussion about Naruto.
Sarutobi, despite how grim the situation was every time Naruto would walk onto the sidewalk, was beside himself with amusement, seeing how he could ruffle the feathers of most of the clan heads of Konoha so very easily. He knew, however, that as long as nothing huge happened, Naruto would remain safe. However it would seem, irony, would come into play tonight. As they sat patiently, a group of ANBU ran into the room, startling many of the council members and making Sarutobi jump a bit.
"Woah, woah, woah, hold up fella. Can't just come barging in on a meeting like that!" Tsume began shouting as the ANBU ran straight for the aged Hokage and stopped right in front of him.
"Hokage-sama, the Uchiha clan, they've been killed!" The ANBU shouted, effectively shutting up Tsume's rant about respect and making many of the council members whisper around to each other. "We've already sent several ANBU squads to search the city for possible suspects." The ANBU said as most of the council still whispered. They all knew what this could mean, after all, there were very few with the power to kill off an entire clan... many thought that perhaps Orochimaru had returned. In fact, it was that thought that was running through Sarutobi's head, making him feel more tense then he had ever had been... not since the night he confronted Orochimaru in his lab and found out...
The old man shook his head, trying to get rid of such vile images, and turned to the ANBU captain of that group, knowing that he, perhaps, knew of Orochimaru's style of killing. "Tell me... were they disfigured in anyway? Besides normal weapon or jutsu damage?" Sarutobi asked as the ANBU captain shook his head no, causing great relief in not only Sarutobi but many of the clan heads. "Then tell me, how were they killed?" Sarutobi asked as the ANBU captain sighed.
"Simply put they were all just sliced up... we found only one survivor..." The ANBU captain said as he shook his head. "It was Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi-sama's younger brother." He said, bringing relief to many clan heads, relieved to know that there were still Uchiha in Konoha. "When we found him... it was weird, it was as if he was in a comatose state. He wouldn't respond to us verbally, and didn't even seem to notice us... he just sat there. We took him to the hospital before we came here." The ANBU said as Sarutobi took a deep drag of his pipe.
"Hmm... that would mean the one who did the killings had a high mastery of Genjutsu to do such damage..." Sarutobi said to himself as he looked back up to the ANBU. "Speaking of Itachi, did you find his body amongst the other corpses?" Sarutobi asked as the ANBU simply shook their heads no.
"No Hokage-sama, Itachi-sama's body was not amongst the massacred Uchiha's... but we did manage to find two clues to who may have done the killings." The ANBU said as everyone began paying attention. "First off, we found a pool of blood, and a trail of blood leading out of an alley, we presume it to be Itachi's since there was no body near it, meaning that he may still be alive somewhere." The ANBU said as everyone noticed him shake a bit. "The next clue came from some ANBU who were stationed near the Uchiha district... they said that... they sensed... a small bit of demonic chakra... and only for a second..." The ANBU said as Sarutobi got a worried look on his face.
'Uh oh...' He thought as it happened.
"Looks like some of our caution was well placed Sarutobi-sama; by the sounds of it our resident demon-in-waiting has decided to destroy the Uchiha clan!" One of the council members shouted as others either began shouting, either in agreement or disagreement.
"The Uchiha's were one of our most powerful clans, they couldn't have been killed easily. If the ANBU sensed demonic chakra coming from their compound, then it all ties together in a nice little bow: the only thing we know of that could possibly destroy an entire clan in one night is that little demon" Tsume said in a somewhat low tone as Shikaku Nara raised to his feet.
"What are you talking about, he's just a kid! How could a kid kill an entire clan?" Shikaku responded to his fellow shinobi as Tsume turned towards him.
"Don't you think it was possible that this entire time the demon was just taking his time, waiting for a time that we would be completely vulnerable to his wrath?" Tsume said, sounding irritated, as she turned to Shibi Aburame. "What about you Aburame, you agreed with a lot of us years ago that the kid was a threat." She said as Shibi looked at her before standing.
"As true a statement as this is... I find that I must disagree Tsume-san." Shibi said, shocking everyone in the room with his statement. "As Shikaku said, the boy is just a child, with limited ninja training, even if he could draw upon the fox's power, I very much doubt he'd know how to use it to commit such heinous acts." Shibi said as Sarutobi nodded. "Also, the ANBU said that they only sensed the chakra for a moment, and a small amount at that, if he truly did commit the crime then they would've sensed a larger amount, for a longer time. After all, it would even take a demon a while before being able to kill an entire clan. Besides, the severe damage to Sasuke Uchiha could have only been done by a highly advanced Genjutsu, one the likes of which the child should know, or should be able to perform with its limited chakra control."
"Finally, the question of 'why now' must be raised. The Uchiha aren't weakened, or haven't been weakened since the fox's initial attack. It seems... peculiar that a clan, who's specialization in Genjutsu, and weariness of Naruto Uzumaki as the fox's bearer is well known, would find themselves the victim of even a surprise attack at such a peak in their power." Shibi finished his statement, sitting back down as a small murmuring rang throughout the room.
No one could deny the logic of Shibi's arguement, though some in the room were more doubtful of it than others. Case in point was when a different ninja representative stood up, drawing the attention of the council chamber.
"Hokage-sama, if I may?" The representative asked slowly, Sarutobi nodding his head towards the ninja. "As we all are well aware of Naruto Uzumaki, or Street Fox as they call him around town, is a master of stealth and can stay hidden for long periods of time. It could be that the fox may have had enough power, even while keeping it down to kill the Uchiha's. Let's not forget that not every member of the family are great ninjas, so we cannot account for mass numbers alone. Its possible that he slipped in amongst the Uchiha and did away with them silently when he could, and that the great amount of energy that the ANBU felt was the child being forced to temporarily release its energy in order to survive." The sole representative's argument brought more mutterings to the chamber, Sarutobi taking a deep breath as he watched the discussions continue.
'... I can't lie, on the outside looking in this looks increasingly worrisome for Naruto... he's the only person in the village with a known source of demonic chakra within him, putting him as the only conscious person to have been there while the massacre would've been taking place...' Sarutobi thought, stroking his beard slightly as he tried to think. 'Still, even if what I believe is true, and Naruto is innocent... that again leaves him as the only conscious person we have that could inform us of what happened...' A sigh escaped the old man's lips as he turned his attention back to the room. 'Whatever the case, we need to bring him in and figure out what he knows.' Sarutobi thought as he took whistled loudly, gaining the attention of the bickering council members.
"If you all will be quiet, I'd like to propose something." Sarutobi said as most of the council went silent as Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe. "We'll bring Naruto here and interrogate him. If you all think you're so sure about this, then we'll ask Naruto himself." Sarutobi said as Tsume stood.
"Fine enough, but its not like we can just ask 'hey, did you murder an entire clan tonight' without expecting him to lie about it." Tsume said, Sarutobi nodding in concession to this point.
"We'll bring Ibiki-san into the picture, he should be able to tell whether or not he's lieing or not. After all, he's never failed us before." Sarutobi said as everyone nodded, Sarutobi turning to the ANBU. "I want you to bring Naruto Uzumaki in alive. Physical harm to the boy is to be avoided if at all possible." Sarutobi said as the ANBU nodded before disappearing suddenly. Sarutobi sighed as he sat down, he then looked at the council members. "Now then, the only thing left to do now is wait for their return." Sarutobi said as the council members sat, and began waiting.
Streets of Konoha
Naruto ran through the alleys of Konoha, ducking and dodging between alleys, sometime jumping into garbage cans to avoid some ANBU who were scouting through the area. Naruto didn't know why these masked men were running through Konoha, but he could only guess that it had to do with Itachi killing his clan. Having more than once gotten involved in the loop that was crime, Naruto knew that he was probably not exactly going to be in for a good time if they brought him in... being the only living person to have come out of the district and all. When Naruto saw that the streets were emptied he snuck out into the shadows of the street. He needed this street route to get to the alley that lead directly to his own, after all, the one that he normally took to his hide out from the Uchiha district was saturated with ANBU activity.
Naruto was half-way down the block when all of a sudden about three shadows appeared behind him. Naruto turned around to see three ANBU standing behind him. They all stared at him for a moment before front most one took a step foward. "Naruto Uzumaki, we are here to take you to the Hokage." The ANBU captain said as Naruto stared at him for a moment. Naruto remembered the time Itachi told him this, and it went better then expected, so Naruto nodded.
That was when things screwed up. Two of the ANBU walked behind Naruto, one of them grabbing both of his arms and pulling them behind his back, while the other began forming seals. "Wait what the hell is this!" Naruto shouted as the ANBU captain sighed.
"Uzumaki, this is simply protocol. If you don't resist we can promise that this will be all made easier." The ANBU captain said in that monotone that they were best known for... which strangely enough didn't make Naruto any better. Naruto saw things like this, older people would get these metal things on they're wrists, then being taken somewhere, and he wouldn't see them for weeks! Naruto wasn't about to get that done to him, not by a long shot! Naruto bent his knees down, causing the ANBU to bend over slightly, and then jumped up, slamming his head into the ANBU's chin.
A chunk of the ANBU's mask cracked as he stumbled backwards, Naruto immediately taking the opportunity to use his free hand to punch the other ANBU holding him in the throat, the elite ninja having been stunned by Naruto's earlier sudden strike and taking the blow directly to the throat. With a small choking sound the ANBU let go of Naruto and put his hands onto his neck, Naruto taking the opportunity to run like hell after having gotten out of their grasp.
As they watched Naruto run the two ANBU who weren't struck sighed as they looked at Naruto. "They always run." The ANBU captain said as the ANBU who were struck rubbed their chin and neck lightly, nodding to him that they were once again fine. "Alright then, let's go." He said as he motioned foward and they all began running. Meanwhile Naruto was running down the street at break-neck speed, desperately trying to get away from the ANBU. He looked back momentarily... and what he saw was semi-frightening.
He saw the ANBU behind him, swiftly gaining on him. With their cloaks covering all but their masks, it appeared as though that they were simply floating masks, chasing him down with a black haze behind them. Naruto ran as fast as he could, despite his, now one and a half years, at the Academy, plus all those other years of running for his life, he couldn't shake them. Naruto eventually decided that if he couldn't shake them by running, that maybe it would be best to just find a suitable hiding place.
Naruto made a quick turn into an alley, and the ANBU followed him. "Don't worry sir, I know this part of town, the kid's heading towards a dead-end!" One of the ANBU said as the leader simply looked back at him with, the others assumed, a stern glare. They ran into the alley, and began running down it, towards the turn that would lead to the dead-end. However, as they passed a certain point in the wall, it fell off, revealing Naruto, who was standing behind a piece of illusion cloth.
"Man Neji was right, this would come in handy." He said as he looked at the illusion cloth that Neji 'hinted' would be delivered to one of the shops across town. Naruto began walking down the alley, till he noticed something disturbing. There were masks, similar to the ones those ANBU were wearing, hanging off the wall... or he thought that they were hanging.
"Very tricky Street Fox..." A voice coming from one of the masks said as suddenly the black cloaked ANBU began peeling off from the wall. Naruto began freaking out as he looked behind him, to see the ANBU he thought he tricked, disappear in a plume of smoke. Naruto looked back to see them all standing there. "This time, net him." The apparent leader said as one of the ANBU produced a nin-wire net, and threw it towards Naruto. Naruto, though, quickly formed the Ram seal, and began focusing his chakra.
"Transform!" Naruto said in a tone that was filled with a slight amount of panic. Suddenly the area around him blew up in a cloud of smoke, and a small sparrow flew out from it, in between the holes in the net, and then blew up in a plume of smoke again. This time, Naruto came out of the smoke, and grabbed onto a window ledge. Then, using some fancy acrobatics, he slung himself to another window's ledge, and continued to do this until he was on the edge of the rooftop. He pulled himself up, and then began running across the roof tops.
Meanwhile the ANBU simply stood there and looked up towards the falling net, and the roof that Naruto had gotten to. Suddenly one of the ANBU growled as he picked up the nin-wire net. "A Transformation Jutsu... he's a little young to have gotten to that point in the Academy..." The ANBU mttered as one of the other ANBU sighed.
"Haven't you heard, apparently there's fan club of his that's made up mostly of this year's third year Academy students." The ANBU said as all the rest of the ANBU looked at him. "It wouldn't be entirely impossible for them to have taught the Street Fox a jutsu they had learned..." The ANBU said as the ANBU with the nin-wire net stared at him.
"But why? What would be the point?" He said as the apparent leader stepped foward.
"What do you expect? They're kids, in a club. If there was someone you looked up... or in this case down to, wouldn't you do anything within your power to make sure he stays ahead?" The leader said as the other ANBU shut up after that. "Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if he did give them something in return... but what I'm not sure of." He said as he cracked his neck. "Alright, this time no mistakes, let's go!" The leader shouted as all of the ANBU began jumping towards the roof top Naruto left on, and restarted their pursuit.
Naruto was running from roof top to roof top. Thanks to the training he received it was now possible, albeit a bit difficult, to jump from roof top to roof top. Naruto looked behind him, and he could make out the slight outlines of the ANBU behind him. Naruto's eyes widened as he began looking around for a man hole. "No chances this time, got to go for broke." Naruto said out loud as he spotted a man hole and jumped down into the alley.
"FREEZE!" He heard as he looked up to see that the ANBU had already caught up with him.
"Jeez! What the hell are you all!" Naruto shouted as he picked up the lid of the man hole, and chucked it at the ANBU, who simply caught it and threw it aside. Naruto grimaced as he jumped down into the sewers. The ANBU stared as a sweat dropped appeared on two of the member's heads.
"We have to go down.. into a sewer?" They asked, seemingly no one except themselves, as the leader and the other ANBU member shook his head and sighed.
"No, we're not." The ANBU captain stated simply as he looked at the other members of the ANBU squad. "The kid's trick might work if we were fewer in numbers... but between all of us I'm pretty sure we could scout every every manhole in this city for his escape point. Men, spread out." The ANBU captain stated firmly, the rest of the squad nodding as they quickly disbanded, each of them leaping in different directions, each hoping to locate the Street Fox in some way.
Meanwhile, Naruto was in the middle of his hideout, quickly gathering up as many of the essential items of his as he could in the shortest amount of time possible, not wanting to stay in one place for long while the ANBU were out and about looking for him.
"I gotta get out of this place, before they get end up finding it!" Naruto shouted, remembering how he thought he had gotten away from Itachi, only to find that the guy was able to find him again... okay so he was roasting some meat which let the guy follow his nose straight to him, but hey, better to be safe then beaten. Then something happened around Naruto that made him jump. Out of the blue several roots began ripping out of the ground, twisting and turning, and making their way over to Naruto. As soon as he took a step back, Naruto's foot was quickly caught by a root. Then the roots began chaining Naruto up, forcing his arms behind his back, and locking them together, forcing his feet together.
Naruto fell to the ground, unable to move thanks to the roots that now, basically, imprisoned him. "Hmmmm... Hokage-sama said to bring you in unharmed. Given how stubbornly you've been refusing to cooperate, this will have to do..." Naruto heard a voice say at the opening of his hideout. Naruto squirmed around to see one of the masked ANBU standing there, with his hands staying in one seal. They then dropped to his side as he walked over, and picked up Naruto. "Hmm... you're pretty light... then again I'd suppose it'd be hard for you to be quite as acrobatic as you are if you were as heavy as the Akimichi." He asked as Naruto growled at him. Naruto then began writhing around, and even managed to bump the ANBU's head a couple times.
The ANBU, for his part, showed considerably constraint when dealing with Naruto, not a word muttered as he began to stride out towards the Council's meeting place, sending out a few clones in order to inform them of his success.
Konoha Council Meeting Room
The council members of Konoha were sitting around waiting for the ANBU group to show back up. Many of the council members were patient as they waited. Then suddenly the doors busted open, and everyone looked towards the door with expectation... only to find Ibiki Morino, and some purple haired girl, coming into the room. Most of the council members simply sighed, though Tsume groaned out loud as Ibiki raised an eyebrow at the response to his arrival.
"Wow, what a warm welcome..." Ibiki said as he shrugged his shoulders, walking over to position himself beside Sarutobi, whom was busying himself by smoking his pipe. The persons in the room would not be left waiting for long, as minutes after Ibiki's own arrival the doors to the room slowly opened...
The second 'meeting' on his life begins tonight...
R&R.