Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. But if I did, oh the possibilities…

Six years passed and Naruto grew from babe to boy. He grew up amongst the village's lingering resentment from his prisoner, whom he did not yet know he held. Sarutobi did his best to give Naruto a fair shot at life, outlawing all mention of Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki. Even so, it was known by much of the village. And their resentment carried down to the younger generation, even if the children didn't know the reason.

Still, he at least grew up safe. There was one assassination attempt when he was approximately two months old. The ANBU slaughtered the six would-be assassins before they even got within sight of Naruto. Afterwards, Sarutobi made sure that every last citizen in Konoha knew that the ANBU had violently prevented an assassination attempt on the boy, and that Naruto was under his personal protection. No one was stupid enough to make another attempt on the young jinchuuriki's life again after that.

So he grew up safe, if ostracized. Hatake Kakashi stopped by when he could, seeing his sensei in the boy. Though such visits were few and far between given his duties as an ANBU Captain. Jiraiya tended to stop by briefly during his sporadic visits to Konoha. Naruto also struck up quite a rapport with the owner of a ramen stand and his daughter. But those visits tended to be restricted to the times Naruto actually ate at the stand. But, admittedly, he did eat much more ramen than most.

Then there was Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage. He took a keen interest in Naruto, for reasons he was reluctant to share with the boy. In fact, there were only a handful of people who actually knew the full truth behind his reasons. Although most assumed it was because of the Kyuubi, which was admittedly partially correct. Whatever the reason, Naruto certainly was happy to find spend time with the old man.

In fact, the boy was heading to see him at that very moment. He was currently running through the city streets, squirting between legs and scampering under obstacles with agility that was quite impressive for a child of his young age. It didn't take him long to reach the Hokage tower. And once he was inside he didn't even stop to listen to the receptionist before sprinting up the steps

The Sandaime heard the familiar protests of his secretary before the door burst open and the diminutive blonde streaked into his office. He wasted little time in leaping onto the Hokage's desk. And Sarutobi took a bit of guilty pleasure in seeing the stacks of paper on the desk go flying. Sure he'd eventually have to re-sort the papers and fill them out. But for now he had an excuse to put it off a bit. "So Naruto-kun, what brings you here today?"

The duo spent the next half hour together, something that had become a bit of a habit for the two. Sarutobi spent most of the time during these sessions to ask Naruto how his days were going. Not only was it because the wizened old man held a genuine interest in Naruto's life, but it was also a way for the Hokage to ensure that the boy was treated fairly. There were a couple of times when Naruto had mentioned in passing that an establishment within the village had inflated prices, kicked him out, or some similar offense. The owners of those shops inevitably found themselves talking with ANBU soon afterwards, and none of them repeated the offense.

Eventually, however, they reached the point where Sarutobi had to bid goodbye to Naruto in order to attend to his duties as Hokage. Naruto took the news with his usual cheer, just a hint of disappointment leaking into his expression. Then the boy hopped onto the desk, preparing to leap back down to the floor. However, he managed to firmly plant his foot on a piece of paper that had been lying on the desk. As he shifted his weight to leap the paper slid across the polished wood, throwing Naruto's foot out form under him and sending him into a tumble that Sarutobi knew would send him careening off the desk. So his hand snapped out to catch Naruto by the back of the shirt, only to come to a sudden halt as Naruto slapped his hand against the edge of the desk and steadied himself.

Sarutobi was confused for a brief moment. Naruto's reaction shouldn't have been fast enough to catch the edge of the desk, not with the angle of the fall. Then he realized how it had happened, even as the boy hopped down onto the floor. "Oops…sorry Ojii-san."

The Hokage gave the boy a kindly smile, "It's not a problem Naruto-kun. Here," he held a slip of paper out to the boy, "take this."

Naruto's eyes lit up as he snatched the piece of paper from the Hokage's hand. "Thanks Ojii-san, you're the best!" And with that the young boy scampered out of the room.

Sarutobi sat still for several moments, ensuring that Naruto was out of earshot. Then, "Mujina."

The ANBU member appeared kneeling in front of his desk a fraction of a second later. "Here, Hokage-sama."

"Relieve Inu, inform him that I would like to speak with him."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

The ANBU member disappeared in a swirl of smoke and leaves, only a slight rustling of the curtains providing a clue as to the direction he'd taken. It only took a few seconds for Inu to show up, though he was much more relaxed than Mujina had been. The silver-haired ANBU captain was one of the few ANBU members comfortable enough around the Hokage not to adhere to the strict protocols the rest of the Black Ops did, and in this instance he opted to lounge casually on the couch. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes Kakashi, take a look at my desk."

The ANBU spent several moments looking at the desk from his prone position before rising to get a better look. He walked around it in a slow circle, his cyclopean gaze sweeping across the polished wood. Then it came to rest on the left edge desk, and Kakashi came to a sudden stop. "Was that-"

"Yes, Naruto's handiwork. He did it subconsciously, and left without realizing what he'd done."

"Amazing...for all his faults you can't deny that Orochimaru certainly knows what he's doing."

"Too true." Kakashi instantly regretted his words as Sarutobi lapsed into a painful silence for several long moments. Even after all these years, the wounds the snake had left upon his sensei were still fresh. Every day Sarutobi wondered what would have happened had he done things differently…had he done a better job with Orochimaru at a younger age, had he paid more attention to the man as a jounin instead of unintentionally granting him free reign to do as he pleased, if he'd had the strength to kill the traitor all those years ago instead of watching him run by. Even after half a century as a shinobi the mistakes he'd made with Orochimaru haunted Sarutobi more than anything in his legendary career. But it was the present that mattered, so Sarutobi Hiruzen snapped himself from his musings. "You know who to find I assume?"

"Yeah, I'm on it." And with that Kakashi blurred from sight as he sped out the window, headed for the dense forests surrounding Konoha. Sarutobi knew it would take a while for Kakashi to return, so he visited the vault located in the basement of the Hokage's Tower. He withdrew a folder before returning to his office, a scarce handful of seconds to spare before two ANBU appeared in his office. One was, of course, Kakashi. The other an ANBU wearing a tiger mask. "You wanted to see me Hokage-sama?"

"Yes Tenzo. Look at my desk, tell me what you notice."

It didn't take Tenzo long. "There's a two-inch wooden projection protruding from the left side of your desk. I've never seen it before."

"That's because it wasn't there before. It was created with Mokuton."

"Hokage-sama, I can assure you that I never-"

"Relax Tenzo, I know it wasn't you. It was created by Uzumaki Naruto."

Tenzo frowned, though the expression couldn't be discerned from behind the mask. "How can Naruto utilize Mokuton? He's descended from Minato, he has no relation to the Shodai."

"Neither do you, at least not naturally."

Tenzo's surprise was evident despite his mask. "Are you saying that Orochimaru performed the same experiments on Naruto as he did on me?"

"No, he went further." Sarutobi picked up the envelope, staring at it for several seconds before fixing his gaze on Tenzo. "The contents of this folder are an SS-Class secret. They document the experimentations Orochimaru performed on a pregnant Uzumaki Kushina. You are not to reveal them to anybody, including Naruto himself, without my express permission."

"I understand Hokage-Sama." Sarutobi paused for a second, then handed the folder over. Tenzo wasted little time in reading the contents, his surprise evident from his posture if not his masked face. "This is…are you sure that this is accurate?"

"The examinations and tests were run by Tsunade herself. I am confident that they are correct."

"This is…incredible." He raised his eyes, locking gazes with Sarutobi. "And you want me to teach him?"

"Yes, you're the only shinobi in this village who truly understands Mokuton." Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, blowing out another puff of tobacco smoke before continuing, "You're also an exemplary shinobi. Naruto has lived a difficult life and I believe he's reaching the point in it where he could use a source of guidance, more than I'm able to provide with my duties as a Hokage."

"I understand. Do you want me to approach him as a regular shinobi then?"

"Yes, change into your standard shinobi gear and find him. I'm sure you'll do well."

"Do you know where I'll be able to find him?"

A grin spread slowly across Sarutobi's features, "I have a pretty good idea."

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Naruto practically flew out of the Hokage's Tower, sprinting through the streets at breakneck speeds. The slip of paper he'd been given by the Hokage was clutched to his chest as though it were a priceless treasure. In truth…the priceless part wasn't too far off. The Hokage didn't give one of these to Naruto often; and until today only on special occasions, which left Naruto somewhat confused as to why he'd been given one now. The slip of paper was a voucher, a promise by the Hokage to pay for an all you can eat meal at Ichiraku's Ramen.

He reached the ramen stand, hopping up onto a stool and waving the voucher excitedly. "Teuchi-san, a Miso Ramen please!"

Teuchi accepted the voucher from Naruto, a kindly smile on his face as he turned to prepare the order. "Oh, the Hokage gave you one of these…what's the occasion?"

"I don't know, he just gave it to me. Kind of odd…but I'm not complaining!"

Teuchi chuckled, "When have you ever complained about free ramen?" Naruto could only shrug, the man had a good point. Teuchi had the ramen ready soon enough, placing it on the counter in front of Naruto. The boy dug in without hesitation, the ramen disappearing at an astonishing pace even as Teuchi turned to prepare the next order. The pattern held for quite a while, Naruto practically inhaling bowls of ramen as fast as Teuchi was able to place them in front of the boy.

Naruto didn't slow down in the least until the ninth bowl, and even then it was only due to the young man in shinobi gear sitting down next to him. Naruto may have been hyperactive and a bit flighty, but he was also smart and observant. He'd long ago noticed that for whatever reason many people in the village seemed to dislike him. He'd noticed that whenever he ate at Ichiraku's Ramen the booth seemed to empty, not filling again until after he left. And he'd noticed that at establishments such as this when strangers did eat at the same time as him they almost always left at least one empty stool as a buffer unless there wasn't enough room for them to do so. This new arrival had taken a seat on an adjacent stool, and Naruto was the only other customer present. Something was going on.

The man turned to face him, allowing Naruto a chance to take in his appearance. He was built fairly solidly, and looked like he couldn't have been much older than twenty or so. He had standard shinobi attire, dark eyes, brown hair; his most distinguishing feature was easily his hitaite with its two projections crawling down the side of his face. "Are you Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto grew even more nervous. Very few people paid much attention to him, and those were all people he knew fairly well. And when people did…there was generally an undercurrent of tension, of hostility beneath the surface. But here…here he sensed a genuine curiosity, even a bit of sympathy. This situation, it wasn't what he was used to. "Yeah, that's me."

The man offered a soft smile, extending a hand towards Naruto. "I'm Tenzo, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Naruto accepted the proffered handshake. "Umm…nice to meet you?"

Tenzo chuckled slightly. "No doubt you're wondering why I'm here." Naruto nodded slightly. Tenzo's grin took on a bit of amusement. "What do you think about this?" He ran through a few hand seals, gathering his chakra all the while. A wooden figure could be seen rising form the counter when he finished, forming itself into a miniature sculpture of Naruto.

Naruto's eyes lit up during the display, his voice coming as an awed murmur. "The Shodai's Mokuton….amazing."

"And if I were to tell you that you could do this too?"

"Impossible, I'm not related to the Shodai."

"Never speak in absolutes kid. I'm not related to him either."

"Then how did you-"

"Some things…should wait until you're older. But you can learn Mokuton, and I can teach you."

Naruto stood still for several moments, slightly in shock at what he was hearing. He'd had some basic training to this point. The Sandaime had gone out of his way to ensure that Naruto started some physical conditioning at a young age, as well as giving the boy some basic taijutsu scrolls and a few pointers. And every once in a while Jiraiya would stop by and check on him, often dropping off a few scrolls when he did. But this…what Tenzo was offering was far beyond any chance he'd received so far. So he did the first thing that came to mind, leaping off his barstool and catching Tenzo in a flying hug. The bemused man chuckled slightly, "I take it you agree then…"

"Whencanwebegin!"

Tenzo blinked for a few moments as he digested the rapid statement. "Umm…I can leave whenever you're ready. You'll need to pack for a trip though." And just like that Naruto was gone, sprinting through the streets on his way back to his apartment.

Tenzo watched the boy for a few seconds before turning back to the Ramen shop, noting the look he was getting from Teuchi. "Is there something you'd like to say?"

"Yes." His voice was dead serious as he looked Tenzo straight in the eye. "I'm not exactly sure why you have such a sudden interest in the boy. But he's lived a hard life because of the burden he carries, much harder than he deserves. He's the brightest, most innocent, purest soul I've ever met. And if you're planning on hurting him I swear-"

"Don't worry, Naruto and I have more in common than you could possibly imagine. I wouldn't dream of hurting him. Now if you'll excuse me, I should probably ensure that he packs everything he'll need." With that Tenzo nodded slightly in acknowledgement to the shopkeeper, then disappeared in a swirl of leaves and smoke.

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Tenzo didn't manage to catch up to Naruto until the boy was almost to his apartment. That elicited a bit of surprise from the ANBU member, he set a blistering pace by the standards of a six year old. Of course, given what he'd recently learned of the boy it wasn't quite as surprising as it could have been. And even more to the boy's credit was the fact that he didn't seem surprised by Tenzo's sudden appearance, seemingly indicating that he'd noticed the older man coming. Of course, it wasn't as though Tenzo been making any particular effort to conceal his presence. But then again, even what an ANBU did subconsciously was enough to escape the view of most without training in the shinobi arts. The boy had potential, that much was undeniable.

Naruto glanced up at his new sensei's arrival, "Tenzo-san…you followed me?"

"I wanted to make sure you packed well for this trip, I've been told it's your first time out of Konoha?"

"Yeah…but why do we need to take a trip anyway?"

Tenzo simply smiled wistfully, "You'll know when we get there. Now come on, let's get you packed." The older shinobi, however, simply stood back and watched as Naruto flitted about the apartment to gather everything he intended on bringing. And he had to admit that he was, once again impressed. He'd expected Naruto to pack like, well, a six year old; trying to bring as many useless things as he did ones he needed. Instead, Naruto packed very efficiently. He brought simple and reasonably sturdy clothing, a set of practice kunai and shuriken, food well suited to travel, physical training scrolls from far-off locales that simply had to have been dropped off by Jiraiya, survival gear, and overall put together a collection of items not that dissimilar from what Tenzo himself had packed.

Once Naruto was all packed and ready to go Tenzo led him out of the apartment complex and through the gates of the village. What followed was a walk of several hours through the woodlands that frustrated Naruto to no end. He bombarded Tenzo with a series of questions…virtually all of which regarded the upcoming training that he was about to receive. Tenzo, for his part, refused to answer any of them until after the two reached their destination. And when Naruto asked why simply replied that he'd understand after they arrived.

It was evening by the time Tenzo finally announced that they'd reached their destination. He placed one hand on Naruto's back, gently guiding him into a lush glade of trees. The young boy spent several seconds staring in wonder, the setting sun beautifully illuminating the exquisite landscape. And…something else. Something else he could feel, but that he couldn't quite describe.

Tenzo's voice came in a soft, reverent tone. "The Shodai's Grove. This is the place where Senju Hashirama mastered his Mokuton Techniques. And a place where he'd often go to think…about his duties to his village, duties to his clan, everything of importance. Can you feel it? This is a place where nature runs rampant, where any wielder of Mokuton can feel its strength. It is…a comforting presence, a calming one. This, Naruto, is where you will learn the Mokuton techniques first perfected by the Shodai Hokage. This, is where your training as a shinobi will truly begin."

"Amazing…" and then, abruptly, the quality of Naruto's voice changed. The soft, reverent awe gave way to obvious and unbridled excitement. "So what are you going to teach me first?"

Tenzo shot the kid a slightly surprised glance, "You want me to start now?"

"Yeah!"

"Aren't you forgetting anything?"

A puzzled frown spread across Naruto's otherwise exuberant features, "Like what?"

"Food, shelter, making sure the area is secure…" Tenzo had to suppress a chuckle at the look of sudden, dawning realization that spread across Naruto's face. It appeared that the kid could be rather single-minded at times.

"But you don't have a tent, what will we use for shelter?" A bit of a one track mind, he amended, but one that worked quickly and missed little.

"Patience, Naruto, follow me and I'll show you." With that Tenzo set off through the forest, weaving his way through the trees and underbrush along a path that had long ago become familiar to him. His destination was in sight about five minutes later, a moderately-sized and simply designed cottage near-seamlessly incorporated into small grove of trees growing beside a burbling stream. "This cottage was made by Senju Hashirama himself. It was his sanctuary, where he'd always come whenever he needed time away from the distractions of the village."

Tenzo stepped forward, opening the door as he led Naruto inside. The interior of the cottage was furnished and decorated with simple, yet masterfully crafted, pieces that had done an astounding job of resisting the ravages of time. Maybe the place was a bit dusty, a few colors a bit faded, but other than that it was in just as good of shape as it had been since the day of its construction.

Tenzo showed Naruto to the bedroom the boy would be using, as simply and functionally furnished as the rest of the building, before giving him time to unpack the possessions he had brought with him. While his charge was thus occupied he went to the room he had habitually stayed in since his first visit and unpacked his gear before going down to the kitchen to prepare dinner for the two of them. Much to Naruto's chagrin it wasn't ramen. And much to Tenzo's chagrin he had to listen to the young blonde wax on and on about the merits of ramen throughout the entire course of the meal. It was almost enough to make him decide to start making more ramen…almost. But in the end it took more torture than even an endlessly talkative, inquisitive, and energetic six year old could produce to force an ANBU member to change his mind. After the meal was done he gave Naruto a bit of time to settle down and explore the area, before sending the kid to bed. A feat he only managed to achieve by telling him that he'd begin Naruto's training first thing in the morning after a good night's sleep.

It seemed to be quite the elegant solution, at least until 5 AM the following morning when Naruto jolted him awake from a sound sleep. Tenzo groaned as he woke up, shooing the blonde away as he climbed out of bed to get dressed. He left his room to find Naruto, predictably, waiting outside the door nearly bouncing with excitement. He managed to convince him to wait just long enough for the pair to eat breakfast, and pack a lunch, before exiting the cabin.

Only then did they finally set out. Tenzo lead Naruto down a path that wound its way through the woods. It was barely discernable through the underbrush, hardly used and with no markers along its length. But nonetheless it was there, a continuous swath of ground free from undergrowth that snaked through the trees. After about a quarter hour they reached a clearing in the forest. A roughly ovular area free of the trunks of trees and shaded by the boughs that arched overhead. Tenzo lowered himself to the ground, sitting cross-legged as he waited for Naruto to calm down. And it was only then, after Naruto settled down to listen, that Tenzo began.

"Mokuton," he intoned, "is one of the most well-known bloodlines of Konoha. And do in part to its long absence and history, possibly its most revered. It was wielded first, and most famously, by the Shodai Hokage of Konoha who was said to have used it to create every structure in the village with a single jutsu. But he did not pass the ability on to future generations. And since his death only two have ever been known to utilize Mokuton. Myself and, most recently, you. It's a powerful ability, one that allows you to grow wood at a rapid pace in any shape you desire. And even capable of subduing the great bijuu. But the greatest asset, is the versatility afforded through the use of such few hand signs. It is necessary to activate it of course, but once the jutsu is complete one must only hold the final seal to maintain his control of the wood he creates no matter how extensive it is.

"As with most kekkai genkai the use of Mokuton is largely instinctive, but that doesn't mean it's simple by any means. Both water and earth chakra must be mastered. And then the two must be combined, providing the raw materials the trees need to grow while you provide the guidance necessary to shape it as you need."

"Umm…chakra?"

Tenzo paused suddenly. For a minute there he'd forgotten that he was speaking to a young boy who was barely a novice in the ninja arts. "Chakra, a mixture of physical and spiritual energy used by shinobi for a variety of purposes; most famously ninjutsu."

"Oh! You mean that stuff you create with those cool hand signs you make?"

Tenzo sighed…this was going to be more trouble than he'd first thought.

Authors Note: Phew…sorry for the long wait between chapters there. It was partially due to end of the year stuff for college (including finals), partially due to having to adapt to life at home once more, partially because my muse deserted me for a while, and perhaps a bit due to procrastination. But now I'm finding time to sit and right once more, and I have roughly 3.5 thousand words done for the next chapter of BotAC so that one shouldn't take much longer to churn out.

Several of you did, correctly, guess that Orochimaru gave Naruto the Mokuton. So an imaginary internet cookie to you all. But there is a bit more to the experimentations. After all, I wouldn't want things to be too predictable. How boring would life be then?

I also received a few reviews asking about the pairing for this story. I am planning on having one, though it is a bit of a ways into the future. I haven't decided who it will be with yet though. Another pairing with Yugito is definitely a possibility, as I still think there aren't nearly enough fics with her on this site. There's a chance it could be FemHaku as well, my second favorite pairing and also under-utilized. Or perhaps Fuu, the jinchuuriki of the seven-tailed rhinocerous beetle (that information was recently released by Kishimoto in an artbook). If you haven't realized yet…I kind of enjoy working with some of the rarer pairings.

One thing that is for certain though, is that the progression of the relationship will be more evident in this story. In BotAC a great deal happened during a period of time I skipped over, due largely to the circumstances of the story. In Culmination you'll get to read about when they first meet and onward. It's something I'm looking forward to writing now that I think I have a bit better grasp of the more emotional scenes. Well, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and that I haven't bored you too much with this not. So read, review, and eagerly await for the next chapter of Birth of the Araiki Clan.