Walking a Different Path

By: Jolly

A Naruto Fanfic

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Author's note

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Gotta love inspiration! This will be a MUCH longer chapter than the first. The reason chapter one was so short is I wanted to give myself a base to build off of. I hate reading and writing short chapters. They always feel like cop outs...

Okay, less yacking, more writing! Chapter two away!

Enjoy!

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Naruto slammed the door to his apartment and stomped toward the kitchen.

'Shit, shit, shit! I know better than to let stuff like that get to me! Now what am I gonna do? Sakura's probably gonna tell the whole class what happened!'

During his mental rant, he filled a kettle with water before tossing it on the stove to boil. Grabbing half a dozen cups of ramen, he sat at his table and sat back to think as he waited.

'Is that such a bad thing?' a voice asked.

Naruto jumped to his feet, knocking his chair to the floor as he looked around his apartment with a kunai in hand.

"Who's there?!" he yelled to the seemingly empty apartment.

A guttural laugh filled his head. 'That kunai isn't going to do you any good, Kit. Unless you plan on stabbing yourself with it, that is,' the voice said again. Naruto's eyes widened as he realized that the voice was coming from inside his head.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked seriously.

'I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune that attacked Konohagakure 12 years ago and what I want is for you to stop being the village's whipping boy. It not only harms you, it disgraces my memory when those ignorant villagers attack you for nothing more than their own fears,' the voice growled.

"Kyuubi? That's impossible! The Yondaime Hokage killed you!" the blond yelled.

'You're being too loud, Kit. If anyone were to hear you, they'd think the worst. Guess it's time for you and I to talk face to face,' Kyuubi said.

Naruto felt a tugging in the back on his mind just before he blacked out.

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He awoke an instant later inside of what looked like a sewer. He looked around him to check for threats.

"This is your mind, Kit. You're not going to find anything threatening in here."

Naruto turned his head towards the tunnel the voice had come from and started to make his way towards it. He came out into a large room with a huge door made of metal bars. In the center of the door was a tag that read 'seal'. However, it wasn't the door that inspired awe, but what was behind the door.

On the other side of the bars appeared a pair of crimson eyes that looked down at the blond figure before them.

"Kyuubi... so it's true. But how? Why are you sealed inside me?" Naruto asked, confused.

"12 years ago, I was forced to attack Konohagakure by someone with a grudge against the village. Unfortunately, it's impossible for power of a mortal to kill a being made of chakra, therefore your Hokage sacrificed his own life to seal my soul inside of a newborn baby; you. You are what is known as a jinchuriki; a demon container."

"But why me? Couldn't you have been sealed inside of some other person?!" Naruto asked, starting to get angry.

"Unfortunately, no. If he had tried to seal me inside of anyone other than a newborn, I would have broken free, thus killing my container and continuing my rampage. A baby's chakra network is unformed and malleable, thus able to endure the strain of containing such a volatile energy. An adult's network is already formed and rigid and would have been shattered had a chakra such as mine been sealed in it. You really were the only choice..." the fox said with the slightest hint of regret in his voice.

Naruto was silent for a long time as he looked at the ground in front of him. Finally he brought his gaze back up to the figure behind the gate. "So why do you care what happens to me? I mean, you're a demon! Is it just because it's an insult to your memory if I get hurt?" he asked with anger in his voice.

"Just because I'm a demon doesn't make me insensitive. I'm stuck inside you until you die or release the seal binding me of your own free will, which would also kill you. I've watched you all these years from inside your own mind, and I'm honestly disgusted with the actions of the people of your village. You're like the kit I never had, so when they hurt you it makes me angry. I don't understand why you want to be the leader of people like them," Kyuubi said with disgust. "And making them respect you isn't a good enough reason!"

Naruto closed his mouth as Kyuubi said the last part. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, why does it matter if all those idiots think of you as the embodiment of me? Think about it; do you really care what they think? Do their opinions matter in the slightest? Have you ever listened to what they told you?"

Naruto thought about it for a bit. "I... guess not..."

"Tell me, out of everyone in this miserable village, who's opinion actually matters to you?"

Naruto thought again and came up with his answer fairly quick. "Well, I guess Old Man Hokage, Iruka-sensei, Old Man Teuchi, Ayame-neechan... umm... that's it."

"Four people. Out of everyone, just four actually treat you like a human being instead of a demon."

Naruto eyes shot open in realization. "You mean they all know?! But why didn't anyone tell me?!"

"I don't know, Kit. That's something you'll have to ask the Old Man. In the meantime, answer me this: Do you still want to be Hokage?" the fox asked.

Naruto turned his head to the side, remembering all the times he'd been attacked by angry villagers, all the times his apartment had been ransacked and firebombed, all the angry glares. All because of something that wasn't even his fault. An image of the Hokage Monument flashed in his mind. He made his decision in an instant. Looking up at the fox with conviction in his eyes, he answered.

"Hai. I will become Hokage. I'll protect this village and everyone in it with my life, just like the Hokages before me did! I'll do it, because this is my home. I don't care if I never get respect from the villagers, because the only ones who matter are the people that have always treated me like me. I'll still become the greatest Hokage ever!"

Kyuubi looked down at his container and couldn't help but smile. "I see. In that case, if you're ever in need of my assistance, ask and I shall lend you my chakra. Now it's time for you to return to the real world. Your dinner is ready." With that, Kyuubi pushed the blond out of his own mindscape.

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Naruto awoke once again, still standing exactly where he had been when he blacked out before. Behind him on the stove, he could hear the kettle whistling as the water inside boiled. He quickly turned off the stove and took the kettle and poured the water in the cups he had opened earlier.

As he ate his dinner at a sedate pace, he thought about his conversation with the Kyuubi. Finishing his meal, he made a decision. One that would change his future and shake the foundation of the village.

'No more mask. No more taking crap from the villagers. No more screwing around in the Academy. It's time to get serious.'

As he laid down to sleep for the night, he decided he was going to see the Hokage the next day and straighten out a few things.

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Sakura made her way through the village towards her house while thinking about what had just happened. As she passed through the market section, she remembered that she needed to pick up some more kunai and shuriken since her last set was almost completely worn out. She stopped into the weapon shop on the main street and walked up to the counter.

The clerk looked at her with a smile. "What can I get for you today, young lady?"

Sakura returned the smile. "Can I get a set of kunai and a set of shuriken, please?"

"Sure thing. Just give me a minute to get your order together. We just got in the new shipment," the clerk said as he went into the back room. As she turned to browse the rest of the shop, Naruto's words flashed through her mind.

'...try actually training every once in awhile......what makes you think he'd want a weak girlfriend?'

She turned back towards the counter and called out to the clerk. "Sir, could you make that four sets each? I just realized I've been neglecting my training lately..." 'More like always...' 'Shut it!'

He peaked his head out from the doorway with a smirk. "Sure thing. One Uchiha/Uzumaki Special coming right up!"

Sakura's face twisted in confusion. "What do Sasuke-kun and Naruto no baka have to do with my order?"

The clerk's voice came out from the back room as he gathered the order. "Sasuke-san and Naruto-san come in every week and get four sets of kunai and shuriken each. They're two of my best customers after Tenten-chan."

Now Sakura was really surprised. Weapon sets weren't cheap. She could understand how Sasuke could afford that many every week, but how did Naruto?

"How can they afford to buy that many every week?"

The clerk brought out her order in the form of eight weapon pouches and placed them in a bag. "We have a recycling program. For every weapon you bring back, we take off a certain amount on your order. The same goes for the weapon pouches. We take the damaged and broken ones and melt them down to make new weapons. And since we just reuse the pouches, we can afford to keep our prices lower. The two of them usually bring back every weapon from all eight sets, so they only pay a fraction of the price. I take it you're interested in participating in the program, too?"

Sakura's eyes lit up at the prospects this opened up. "That sounds wonderful! How do I sign up?"

The clerk pulled out a clipboard with a sign up sheet. "Sign here and you're good to go."

She quickly read over the form and signed at the bottom before paying for her purchase.

"Come again!"

"I will!" she said with a smile.

As she made her way home, she started to get tired due to the weight of her baggage. "Ugh... maybe Naruto was right. I do need to train more..." she stopped at a bench to rest for a minute. As she sat there, she heard a familiar voice from down the street.

"Sasuke-kun, why don't you have dinner with me! That annoying Forehead isn't around so you don't have to hold back your feelings for me anymore!"

Sakura turned her head to see Ino clinging to an annoyed looking Sasuke's arm. Her blood started to boil in fury seeing this, but before she could get to her feet to go confront her rival, Naruto's words rang through her mind once again.

'...try treating him like a human being, not some festival prize...'

Those words were like a bucket of cold water being dumped on her brain. She took a deep breath, stood up with her baggage in hand and made her way calmly over.

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Sasuke's day just seemed to be getting worse by the minute. First the dobe had challenged him to another fight, then he realized he'd forgotten to bring the used weapons to recycle with him that morning. After going home and getting the bag he'd forgotten, he hadn't even made it halfway to the shop before Ino had latched onto him arm like a limpet. The only way it could get worse was if he ran into Sakura. Then he'd be forced to listen to the two banshees argue over him for kami knew how long.

"Sasuke-kun, why don't you have dinner with me! That annoying Forehead isn't around so you don't have to hold back your feelings for me anymore!"

Sasuke just ignored the girl and kept walking towards the weapon shop. He caught a flash of red and pink out of the corner of his eye and groaned. It really wasn't his day.

"Let him go, Ino-pig. In case you can't tell, he really doesn't want someone hanging off his arm right now."

Ino's eye narrowed at her rival. "Not a chance Forehead! I'm not letting go of Sasuke-kun so you can make your move. Sasuke-kun and I's love is too strong to be torn from us by you!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, even though she wanted to throttle the blond. "Whatever, Piggy." She turned to Sasuke with a smile. "Hey, Sasuke-kun. Do you know any good places to do weapon training?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in surprise. The lack of high-pitched screeching was a welcome change. He noticed she was carrying an identical bag to the one he had and guessed that she must have just came from the weapon shop he was heading to. He gave a slight nod to the pinkette.

"Try Training Area 4. It's got the best variety of targets," he said while searching her expression for any signs of this being an act. He didn't see anything other than the urge to punch Ino on her face.

"Thanks Sasuke-kun! See you Monday at the Academy!" With that, she walked passed the two of them and made her way to her house.

"That was weird... Oh well! Her loss! So Sasuke-kun, where do you want to go for our date?" she asked as she turned her attention back to the raven-haired boy. Sasuke poofed as he turned into a log right in her arms.

"Dammit! Where'd he go?" Ino yelled as she started searching for the boy.

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Author's Note

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There! Chapter two complete! I feel good about how this story is coming along. Read and review! Let me know what you think! I'll try to keep the updates coming at a good pace.

Looking forward to writing the next chapter! Ja-ne!