NARUTO

Nox Noctis Ingredior

Finishing Personal Business

Later that afternoon…

Ichiraku's Ramen Bar…

Naruto was once again downing his third bowl of ramen at his favorite stand in the village, enjoying its delectability while in the company of his sensei, Iruka, who had joined him on his celebrative visit to the most likely place you would find the blonde, and was also enjoying a bowl of his own. Naruto said that he would pay for all their bowls, saying that it was definitely his day of the week, the highlight of his entire life so far.

"Boy this is great!" Naruto exclaimed, pulling his head back and swallowing the broth in one gulp. Slapping it down with his chopsticks and spoon, let out a warm sigh, his breath laced with the scent of ramen. The young male then grinned up at Iruka. "I'm finally a Genin!"

"You sure are, Naruto," Iruka exclaimed, taking some noodles and popping them in his mouth. He slurped it up quickly, chewed and swallowed, then nodded to the boy with pride in his eyes. "I've never been happier to call you my student. Of course, I've always been proud to call you my student…"

Naruto received another serving of ramen from Ayame, who smiled happily at him and nodded. "Congratulations, Naruto-kun!"

"Thanks Ayame-chan!" Naruto replied, once again gorging himself on more of the delicious noodle soup. Iruka patted Naruto on the back, giving him all of the praises he deserved, while Ayame and her father smiled at him from the sidelines.

"You know, now that you're a Genin and all… things are going to be a lot different from now on," Iruka stated.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto looked up at the scarred Chunin. "Like what?"

"Well… for starters, I'm no longer going to be your teacher. You'll soon have a new teacher to boss you around and be your guide…"

"Hmm…I guess I can deal with that. Although," Naruto smiled up at him. "I'll always call you sensei!"

"Heh…" Iruka replied with a grin, glancing down at his bowl and mixing the broth a little. "You'll be on a team with two other of your fellow classmates, and be led by a Jonin, who you will call your sensei. On this new team, you will have work as a team, to train together, work together, fight together, and get along with each other. On this team, you will undertake missions…"

"It will be my bread and butter, Iruka-sensei, I know," the newly made Genin looked upwards ahead of him, smiling all the while. "I'm familiar with how the ninja system works. After all, I was taught by a number of great teachers… including you…"

Iruka looked at the boy again when he said this, blinking in surprise. He then smiled, his eyes shimmering in the honor of being called a great teacher by perhaps the lowliest of all of his students. The man punched him lightly in the shoulder. "So… I'm the best, eh? Who else have you had as your sensei besides me?"

"Well, there was Ero-Sennin… he taught me a couple of cool techniques, and taught me a lot about the world outside. There was also Baa-chan… although she was drunk most of the time. Still, she had a lot of interesting things to say," Naruto said with a shrug. "Anko-sensei was a great teacher too, in spite of her 'unique' training methods and wake up calls, like sneaking snakes into my bed and forcing me onto the ANBU Shuriken Range to collect kunai and other weapons while it was still in use. But… she was very kind to me… like you… and she felt the same way as me… alone, an outcast… a failure. But then, I've had a lot of other experiences with this kind of thing…"

His teacher's smile fell when he said the last bits, and Iruka turned away with a quick intake and exhale of breath. Focusing his attention back on his ramen, the Chunin went on to eat along with the boy for another minute more, before reestablishing conversation standards.

"You'll have a chance to make friends… you'll no longer be alone…"

"It seems for the best anyway…" Naruto replied in a shallow voice. "I've always been alone, rejected, tossed away… etc. Konoha despises me more than Madara Uchiha. You can thank the village elders for encouraging support of the villagers' hatred of me…"

Iruka smirked. "Tsk… well, I doubt they will be a problem now…"

"Huh? Why's that?" Naruto asked, looking up at his sensei through cold, unrestrained eyes, indicating he had removed his mask of happiness.

"Well, due to a sudden and unexpected misfortune, the estate they were staying at was hit by a avalanche of rubble. The whole cliff-side the estate was built into caved in on them last night," Iruka stated.

Teuchi, who was listening in nodded his head, turning away from his pot of boiling broth to look at the pair. "Yeah, and I heard a lot of their guards were caught up in it as well… poor fellas…"

"You can say that again," Iruka said, shaking his head. "Too bad they had to be there that night…"

"Hmm… too bad they got caught up in the wake of that avalanche, you mean," Naruto added absentmindedly without a hint of emotion, looking back at his ramen and taking his cup of green tea into his hands. Blowing on it, he then took a sip. "They all had it coming…"

Iruka looked down at the boy startled, even Teuchi and Ayame looked at the boy in shock at the way he said it. "Naruto! How can you say that?"

"Easy… I hold no regrets or sympathy, and speak my mind without the need for such petty withholdings. After all… we're talking about three pro-war politicians, who have caused nothing but trouble for this village…"

Iruka glared at him, while Teuchi and Ayame just watched. "Naruto! That's treason against the village to talk like that! Danzo and the village elders cared for nothing more than this village's wellbeing! They protected it with their lives!"

"You think so, huh?" Naruto replied in monotone, looking up at Iruka with his stoic, unmasked face. The look surprised the Chunin greatly, and he eased away at the look of discoloration and death he could see in his eyes. "Does that include trying to overthrow the Hokage many times before, as a lot of the rumors around the village have suggested. Danzo went against Old-Man Third many times before, not only recruiting enemies of our village to help overthrow him, but also encouraging revolts within our own nation and using other conflicts to help gain power. He, and the elders, also used the excuse of the 'demon spawn' to encourage hatred towards me and to try and kill me, as well as to enforce their campaign against the Hokage for his seat and retirement?"

Iruka remained silent for a moment, giving Naruto a considerate stare, and to try and find an argument behind his statements. However, as it turned out, he couldn't find any. Naruto 'hmphed', and turned back to his ramen. "That's what I thought. Good riddance to bad apples…"

"How do you know so much about this?" Iruka asked, returning to a normal seated position. "About them… and what they've done?"

"That's a rather empty question, it's already been answered," Naruto replied coldly. "They've practically told everyone to stay away from me, and I tried to find out who was the cause for the villager's deep hatred and loathing of me. The elders intended to turn me into a weapon of Konoha by isolating me and enraging me, to not only become strong enough to be a threat against others, but to turn people's nightmares into a reality. They wanted to show them what kind of demon I was!" Naruto spat to the side in disgust. "It's rather ironic, wouldn't you say?"

Ayame looked at Naruto with sadness leaning over a bit and laying a hand on his spiky hair. The boy felt her gentle grasp and moved into it, getting all the warmth he could from this gesture of sympathy. Teuchi just stood back, looking on, as well as Iruka.

"I learnt to live alone that's for sure," Naruto said coldly. "I scavenged off the streets, dealt with bullies and lived in the alleys. It was hell. My only way of reprisal was pulling pranks to get people's attention, while at the same time keeping in the dark whenever those who intended to hurt me hunted me down…"

Iruka looked up at Ayame and Teuchi, who looked at him in silence, before they all looked back at Naruto and neared him to comfort him. Ayame's hand on his shoulder was soon joined by Iruka's, who patted Naruto on the back as he cried dry tears under the shadows of his lowered head.

"Things will change, Naruto-kun," Ayame spoke. "You don't have to beat yourself up anymore…"

"Just be strong…" Iruka said.

Naruto looked up at them, his dull blue eyes gaining a bit of light as he met the smile of those closest to him. These three, Ayame, Teuchi and Iruka, were some of the only people he could truly trust, and no one else.

The by looked upon them with silence and lack of any emotion, before his thoughts and feelings gathered and he smiled up at them in return.

"Thank you…"

He moved his knuckles up and rubbed it against his head-band plate, the forehead protector gleaming in the light of the store. Naruto grinned happily at them.

"I will protect all of them to preserve their happiness, even if it costs me my life…"

That night…

"S-Stay away from me!" a terrified cry sounded over the forests, as one white-haired and pale-faced Mizuki retreat through the trees. Leaping from branch to branch, he attempted to cover a greater distance at a faster pace to escape the assassin pursuing him.

Looking back, he could see the masked culprit chasing him. Dressed in a black trench-coat with a hood, and wearing a red and white mask of unidentifiable origins or identity, he pursued the Chunin without restraint. This caused the Chunin to grit his teeth in fear and increase his speed.

Reaching into his pouch, the Chun spun around briefly, and with a good arm, threw five or so balls wrapped in sealed paper. Upon impact of a tree branch he had just passed by, the balls exploded into clouds of blinding flashes and smoke, blinding the pursuer. Mizuki, hoping this would hold him off, continued with all due haste through the trees. He directed his attention towards the outer wall of Konohagakure, intent on making it to the nearest entrance and escape.

Wrapped around him, Mizuki was all set and read to leave. He carried a small back-pack with enough supplies to last him a week's journey, and on top of that a pair of Windmill Shuriken for defensive purposes. He also carried a large scroll at his side, strapped to him by a belt. It was a forbidden scroll he had managed to pinch from the Hokage's office; one of a large collection he knew held untold secrets that would be useful to him.

"I don't need this!" he yelled in his head. "I don't need this stinking village! Konohagakure has been nothing but trouble for me! I've had it! Once I get out of here, I'm going to... huh?!"

He stopped on the branch he was one and looked up, eyes widening as he saw the assassin in the black cloak glaring down at him from a branch above. His coat blew in the wind, and he barely moved as the tree creaked slightly. Mizuki stepped back, horrified.

"What! How the hell did he get in front of me?" Mizuki shouted.

The assassin stepped forward, throwing his arms forward and spreading them out a little, extending his fingers and flicking his wrists, a set of kunai appearing between the fingers in both hands. The kunai appeared with simultaneous 'zip' sounds, their blades flashing and the seals on their handles giving them identification.

'I blinded him with smoke and flash pellets! How can he still be chasing me?'

The assassin crossed his arms over his face, continuing to glare the man down through the slits in his mask. Mizuki gritted his teeth and reached onto his back, slapping a tag onto one of his massive Windmill Shurikens and gripping its throwing ring.

"Fine!" he growled. "You want to play? Take this!!!" With a roar of anger, the man stepped forward and threw the shuriken from his back, the blade spinning rapidly through the air, chopping through the wind loudly as it shot at its target.

The assassin side-stepped slightly on the branch, throwing one of his readied knives at Mizuki, who moved his head away just barely in time, still grinning confidently. At the same time, the giant Shuriken thrown at the assassin, struck the branch just inches away from him, slicing straight through it, and causing a chain reaction. As the branch began to fall, the seal on the Shuriken flashed once, before suddenly going off in a massive explosion. The blast caught the assassin inside of its fiery radius, and took a chunk out of the tree it detonated close to.

Mizuki watched in awe as the explosion consumed the assassin and grinned, holding up a clenched fist. "Ha! Gone down in flames! It's a fitting end for a demon!"

His laughing was cut short thought when he felt something cold and made of steel press up against the side of his neck, and he froze. Eyes wide and suddenly, with sweat dripping down his face, he glanced behind him slightly in fear. Through his peripherals, he saw in a mix of shock and terror, the masked shinobi that had been pursuing him, standing right behind him.

"I-Impossible…" Mizuki growled. "I-I saw you die! You couldn't have escaped that blast in time! You were moving too slow!"

It was after glaring at the unmoving and stoic assassin for a few seconds longer, did Mizuki eventually see how the masked attacker had done it. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the markings on the kunai the assassin held in his hand. Though they were a bit fuzzy in memory, there was no mistaking it. He recognized it from the markings of the kunai he saw in the Hokage's Office in the Sealed Cabinet, only with a couple more seals added onto it that differed it from that particular weapon. But he recognized the others…

"No way… that's…" He looked up into the slits of the mask, and even though the mask obscured the face completely, through the eye-slots, Mizuki could see the shimmering of bright blue eyes, and the way they were glaring at him unheeded. Mizuki gulped and turned around, sweating profoundly at this point.

"Heh… I never thought this day would ever come… where I would be beaten by the reincarnation of Konoha's Yellow Flash…" He closed his eyes. "What a way to go out…"

In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi was standing by the center window that sat right behind his desk. From here, he could be seen looking out over the village of Konohagakure, hands behind his back and his pipe in his mouth. Although, at most times there would be a smile of pride gracing his lips as he stared over the rooftops of the village, but at this moment, there was a frown of fatigue and discourage etched on his lips, as he stood there gazing at the night sky.

Not too long ago, he was informed that the Forbidden Scroll of the 4th had been stolen from his office, and shushined into the night. All the Chunin and Jonin available had been alerted of this, and were dispatched into the streets of Konoha and all around it in search of the scroll and the perpetrator responsible. The village was on high alert, now in search of a thief and possible traitor.

For half-an-hour the search had been in progress, and the Hokage was beginning to worry for the worst. It was until he heard a silent clatter behind him and, without turning around, closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"So the perpetrator has been dealt with, I presume?" the Third asked, sensing the mysterious presence behind him joining the noise. He turned around slightly, looking out of the corner of his eyes to see a masked, short figure wearing black propping the scroll against the desk placidly, and look up at the Hokage silently. Sarutobi hummed satisfactorily to himself before turning back towards the window. "Thank you, very much…"

The short figure bowed slightly and turned, ready to exit out the window and out of the office before any of the Chunin show up. However, before he could leave, the Hokage spoke up again, this time with a smile on his face.

"It wasn't your first taste of delivering justice at night, now was it Naruto?"

The figure stopped immediately in his place, though maintained his position of movement on the window-sill. Sarutobi turned to him, still smiling and breathing on his pipe. Though, neither of them moved from there.

"You think I wouldn't know?"

The assassin sighed, but didn't move, as he replied. "Nothing escapes your wise, old eyes, Oji-san. Guess I should try harder to make it so…" the boy assassin replied in an exhausted, monotone voice.

"But you can't always deal justice this way, Naruto," the Hokage spoke up again, this time a bit more seriously. "You're still young; you've got your whole life ahead of you. Don't do stuff that will get you into trouble, and possibly get you killed if you're not careful. Tread carefully, and if there are any more problems, just ask for help from friends, or even me… and I'll try to resolve them…"

"I know…" Naruto replied, looking over his shoulder. "But as strange as it seems, I like it this way…"

"A lot of people feel the same way sometimes, and wish they could do what you can do," Sarutobi stated. "But try talking about it instead; use your voice to resolve conflicts instead of violence. 'Words can be even sharper than kunai.' You of all people know that better than anyone else…"

"But my justice isn't just for the betterment of myself," the boy continued. "It's for the well-being and preservation of all of Konoha. Even though nobody knows it's me, I will do it just so that the people can live on, and perhaps realize something through these acts. But then again, if it's to protect them, then I'm willing to lay down my life for them. For you, for Iruka-sensei, for Ayame and Teuchi, for Ero-Sennin… even for those who hate me…"

Sarutobi's smile grew back into focus at this. "Spoken like a true Hokage," the old man exclaimed quietly. "You're a lot like your father and mother…"

"Heh… so Ero-Sennin says…"

There was silence for the next minute, until the Third spoke again, removing the pipe from his mouth and breathing out deeply.

"You've earned yourself a lot of credit for returning the scroll to me, Naruto," the Hokage stated. "But, even though your actions last night were justly and I'm sure a lot of people would praise you for it, you still killed three Konoha elders and officials, and killed over a dozen of our Village's Ninja…"

"ROOT and the officials were corrupt. Present this in a case with their history of service and direction of allegiance, and I'm sure that'd pass in our court," Naruto replied. "Just cover it up. I doubt anyone would miss them…"

"I was going to deal with Danzo anyway, and perhaps put the other elders in their places for all their treatment of you, and charge them for insubordination in other shinobi matters," the Hokage stated, smiling slightly. "But I guess it doesn't matter anymore. Just… be careful from now on Naruto, and take care…"

His words fell on ears, but Naruto had left the moment he finished. Sarutobi just shrugged it off, knowing that this was the boy's way of showing he understood.

TO BE CONTINUED…