Chapter 1: Blood baths and shadow clones
Red. It was everywhere, Naruto scrubbed at his hair hard, he had school in mere moments and he was still covered in his last target's blood. Ever since an incident a year ago with the Inuzuka heir in his class Naruto had been extra careful to wash up as best as he could so he didn't smell of blood. In three days the genin exam would be held, and it was Naruto's last chance for freedom and out of the life that plague him, not that he hated ANBU it was rather...he hated the killings, the ANBU officers themselves he liked, but the only problem was that the team he had been first put on Ookami's team had all been disbanded and replaced by new members, the last to leave was Ookami two years ago. But all in ANBU knew that 'Kitsune' was the nicest and brightest ANBU assassin to grace the base's hall, and they all loved him for being so kind.
"um Kitsune aren't you leaving yet" Naruto looked up from the basin he'd been washing his hair in and groaned, if Snake had been the one to tell him he was running late for his morning activities then he knew he was late. "I know you hate to be disturbed after a assignment but...Well your usually gone by now"
Naruto sighed and turned the faucet off and shook out his spiky hair before going to his locker and taking out his civilian clothes which consisted of a black short sleeved muscle shirt, black cargo pants held up by a bright orange belt, black shinobi sandals, and a bright orange long sleeved jacket that he kept unzipped.
"KIT YOU HAVEN'T SLEPT IN TWO DAYS YOU'RE GOING TO COLLAPSE" Kyuubi said in what Naruto had dubbed his 'Big brother' voice. With a sigh Naruto raced towards the academy and held back a yelp when he stumbled and almost fell off the roof top he was travelling on.
"I think the council is trying to kill me" he groaned to no one in particular as he rubbed the grit out of his eyes, the lack of sleep was getting to him, even when he had been six he had never been asked to stay awake night and day while doing assassinations at night and academy work during the day.
"KIT MAYBE YOU SHOULD SIT NEXT TO THE SLACKER TODAY" Kyuubi said in a worried voice as he looked at how tired his small twelve year old body was handling all the work and the pressure that was being put on him.
"Who...Shikamaru? Why not I am kinda tired" Naruto said as he landed in front of the academy just as the bell rang. Naruto took a deep breath and then used all his stealth skills that he had acquired via ANBU training and being the resident prankster, and snuck into his classroom and in front of Shikamaru who was just barely awake. "Hey Shikamaru"
The lazy boy lifted his head up slowly and gave Naruto an annoyed look "What" he asked as grumpily as he could with the lazy drawl that ran in all members of his family.
"I was wondering if I could sit next to you" Shikamaru look at the blonde boy in pure shock, the only times Naruto ever sat next to him was when he wanted a nap, and even then he never asked he just sat down and went to sleep but the fact that Naruto was asking meant that either he was really tired or he just wanted company.
"Fine, but don't annoy me" the pineapple hair styled boy said and then turned away from Naruto as he sat down and laid his own head on the desk. Shikamaru sighed and waited for Naruto to ask him something like he always did before his nap but was shocked when after five minutes nothing was said and when he looked back he saw Naruto out cold.
Iruka walked into class and sighed happily, but when he scanned the uppermost rows of desks he sighed when he saw that Naruto wasn't anywhere to be found. He was quiet fond of the strange blonde who was loud, but shy as well as joyful but serious, he reminded him of himself when he was that age. "Sit down and shut up!" he yelled making the whole class quiet down and sit nicely at their desks. "Now please answer when I call you name..." after a moment or so Iruka got to Naruto's name and sighed "and Naruto Uzumaki isn't here"
"Ah sensei, yes he is" Iruka looked up at Shikamaru in shock and then indeed saw Naruto who looked unconscious with his head on the desk his shoulders rising and falling "But he's not just napping...I think he's sleeping deeply" Iruka stared at Naruto and then shook his head
"Shikamaru wake him up" Iruka said in a calm voice, he didn't know why but Naruto either came to class tired, over energetic or just downright annoying, but this time it seemed different even when he slept in class Naruto never seemed to sleep deeply as he was now.
"Ah Iruka sensei...I can't he really is sleeping" Shikamaru said as he continued to shake the sleeping boy hard, but with no avail Naruto just continued to sleep...well not peacefully but he just continued to sleep "Geez how long has it been since you actually closed your eyes and slept?" the Nara heir said in a bored tone. Unaware of the yelling and screaming going on around him Naruto just continued to dream not so peacefully.
An eleven year old Naruto dressed in his Kitsune uniform stood before the Hokage and the two elders of the council. For five years now he had been serving as the leaf village's number one assassin: Kitsune. His job-to spill the blood so other ANBU didn't have to.
"Ah Kitsune we heard about your job last night, good job" the female elder said to the alert killer who stood straight. Lately he had been going on less and less unit missions and more and more solo missions-although if the council knew about how he and Kyuubi spoke to each other all the time-then who knows what would have happened, so instead of answering Naruto went with the ever helpful nod.
"Now Kitsune we have something to discuss with you before you leave on your next mission" the male elder said entwining his fingers on his stomach and leaning back giving the ANBU a proud look.
"As you know you started at the academy two years ago to the day...now there is something you haven't been told about your time at the school...and your future" the Hokage said sadly as he looked at the young boy that used to be known as Naruto Uzumaki. "As you have noticed, we receive you report cards monthly-there is a reason behind this, it was decided five years ago that at the age of twelve if you can't become a genin then you will be locked in ANBU for the rest of your days, and will be trained by only the highest ANBU officer, but if you do become genin then your ninja life is totally your own, you can choose how far in the system you can go, do you understand-you fate will be sealed at the end of the genin exam one year from now" Kitsune nodded once again and he was then given his assignment and then dismissed.
"KIT WE ARE TOTALLY SCREWED" Kyuubi said in a tired voice as he went over the deal in his head once again and all Naruto could do is nod in return.
Iruka sighed and walked up to Naruto and hit on the head...hard. The slowly like waking up a bear Naruto's eyes flickered open and he yawn silently and turned his exhausted eyes to his sensei, too tired to even be afraid of the anger the older man was emitting-not that killer instinct really scared him, if a person was surrounded by it daily they learn to get used to it
"Naruto are you awake now" Iruka asked in a fake sweet tone, Naruto was about to answer when he merely collapsed back into the dream world where Kyuubi stared down affectionately at the young boy who lied in front of his large cage.
'Sleep now Kit, for tonight you will have no rest'
Iruka's eyes widened as he watched Naruto give him a look with blurry eyes before his head slammed back on the desk, "Kiba go tell the front desk Naruto has fainted"
The dog boy nodded and raced off, and mere moments later an ANBU with a rat mask was picking Naruto up "I will take care of him"
Iruka and the whole class all nodded still shocked that Naruto was being escorted by an ANBU not even Sasuke-who was the last surviving Uchiha got an ANBU escort when he fainted, which made the said Uchiha furious.
"Wow, the idiot got an ANBU escort who'd have guessed" Kiba said playfully, he didn't hate the kid, he rather liked him Naruto was his regular skipping buddy, the only problem was that sometimes when the wind blew pass Naruto Kiba got the strong scent of blood, and not the own kids, it was the foul stench of someone else's.
"No I think it's something more than that" Shikamaru whispered so only the dog boy could hear and then pointed to Iruka who had a worried look on his face and he stared at the spot the ANBU officer had disappeared with Naruto in tow. Kiba frowned and then shrugged before patting Akamaru for comfort.
When Naruto woke he saw he was in his ANBU base room and his ANBU uniform was laid out on the end of his bed newly clean with a scroll perched on top. When he look around he saw Rat sitting down reading a book next to his bed.
"Rat what are you doing here" he asked in a sleep laced voice as he slid his mask onto place. He felt uncomfortable around other ANBU ninja if he didn't have his own unique mask in place.
"I was to watch over you; apparently you fainted at the academy today, Kid that was very dangerous, what if it was someone else on duty...they could have found out who you really are" Rat said sighing, Rat was the eldest ANBU officer, at the age of thirty three Rat had watched over Naruto ever since he had come to ANBU and had taught the young child everything he could about tai-jut-su and in return he had learnt the legendary 'Kitsune's true identity was that of the seven year old Kyuubi jailor Naruto Uzumaki.
"I know, I know, but I didn't sleep yesterday, and I got in this morning, where am I suppose to sleep with my duties" Naruto sighed as he changed in his ANBU uniform, and then placed his civilian clothes in his locker. Rat watched as the young boy rested his masked forehead on the locker door and couldn't stop the wave of sorrow that washed over him. When the young blonde boy had come to ANBU he had stuck by Ookami and his squad, but like all good squads, they all disbanded and left the unit, and 'Kitsune' became an ANBU for hire, and many teams wanted him.
"Kitsune, I can't tell you what to do, but I must ask, what will you do if you fail" Rat asked passing the young boy his half blade with he promptly strapped on his back so that it was easily accessible.
Naruto looked out the tiny window on the wall next to his bed and sighed "If I fail to become a genin then I shall come back to this base where I will never leave" he said in a monotone voice. If Naruto had bothered to look at the fellow ANBU officer he would have seen a ridged strained form.
Rat stared at Kitsune in fury, he didn't know how the council could even think of damning a person to ANBU for the rest of their life, he had spent a good eleven years in the force and it had changed him some but Kitsune had been in for six and he was beginning to lose some of his hyper activeness, it wasn't much but Rat could see it, so to be told that the genin exam was make it or break it...it was absurd.
"Kitsune...do your best" Rat said before leaving the room and began stomping into the rec room, but when he passed an old room he stopped and walked in smiling slightly under his mask. He was now standing in the very room he first met Kitsune in: Ookami's room. He remembered that day fondly.
Hawk walked next to him, telling him about the new recruit making him just sigh, he didn't want to have to deal with another annoying recruit who wasn't broken in yet. "And then there is the fact that he is only six years old" Rat stopped and his hands snapped the clip board he was holding "Rat?"
"Take. Me. To. Him. Now" he said anger laced in every word. Hawk who had gotten used to the senior ANBU's anger just waved it off and then began to start towards the living quarters of the ANBU base.
When the female ANBU stopped Rat noticed that they were standing in front of Ookami's living quarters and loud crashing and banging sounds were being echoed out of the room. "Kitsune again" Sounds of panting and then the same crashing and banging echoed through the halls again.
Rat pushed open Ookami's door and saw a young boy in a fox mask in Boar's usual Tai Jut-su stance surrounded by Ookami's usual team. Rat took in the young boy's height and was shock at what he saw; the child couldn't be any older than seven at most. Ookami sighed and walked over to him.
"Rat, this is Kitsune" the young ANBU captain said as he gave the elder ANBU a scroll signed with the Hokage's stamp. "He will be under our care for the new few years, his training instructions are in the scroll" from the tone Ookami was talking in he didn't like the rules that the young ANBU was confined to.
Rat gave the boy a once over and nodded "Very well let's see what he can do"
Naruto walked into the Hokage council room making many of the Jonin and Chunin gulp as they saw him. Every knowledgeable ninja knew about his alter ego, he had the highest kill rate in all of ANBU, which made him scary to others. Naruto sighed and stood at attention in front of the two people who had made his last six years hell and the one person who had given him some hope.
"Ah Kitsune on time...like always" The male council member said in sick glee, they had just been reading over the young boy's school report for the last month and he and his fellow council member were very happy by what they saw. The boy was doing poorly: between being too tired to do well in the logic and tactics part of class and then been too worn out to pay attention in the Nin Jut-su the boy was passing on his Tai Jut-Su grades alone, and why they were great after years of perfecting them he won't pass without the logics part, which meant that after one week the young child would be sent to the hardest task masters and taught every type of assassination Jut-su he could master so that he could become a weapon.
"Yes milord" Naruto said in a toneless voice, he learnt very early on that if he took any type of malice or tone with the council he would be submitted to such terrifying missions that it took weeks of sleepless nights to get over what he had to do, once the council had made him kill innocent children just because they were tied to a missing nin and they thought they were exchanging information.
"Kitsune your assignment for the night is for you to take out the missing Nin: Daiki Yamagata, he is a little too close to our village for our liking, he originated from the Village Hidden in the Grass so be careful of..."
"Poison attacks" The Hokage looked at Naruto with warm eyes, he should know by now that Naruto would know what to expect from each of the different countries ninja and from most ninja in the bingo book, he had after all studied the newest edition cover to cover.
"Yes, but also remember Daiki is also known as the swamp ninja for a reason, it is said he can control all type of plants and bend them to his will" The Hokage continued looking Naruto in the eyes-or the two holes in the ANBU mask-to get across how serious the situation was. The fact that all the ninja he sent Naruto after could kill him in seconds always made the elder man nervous, but everytime Naruto came back and gave his report he was safe with hardly a scratch on him, but was covered in his opponent's blood.
"Understood" Kitsune said nodding and the Hokage couldn't help but smile at the teasing tone that flowed out of the twelve year olds voice, it was a good thing the young boy's spirit hadn't been broken yet, he was simply just to fun and when he was in a playful mood...the Jonin of the village had to pay for it.
As Naruto raced slowly towards the gates he passed a group of academy student who just so happen to be Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino. Not sparring the another glance he continued towards the village gate, he hoped to kill the ninja as fast as possible so he could get a few hours of sleep before he had to go to the academy in the morning. Kiba watched the figure moved at speeds unseen by the noticed he wasn't even trying and his jaw fell open making him noticed by the others who were also in states of shock. Shikamaru hadn't stop staring at the spot where he had raced by, Shino's eye brows were a little higher than normal and Choji's chip packet had fallen to the floor forgotten in his shock and obvious awe.
"Well that was different" Shikamaru said as he recovered from his shock but the saw Akamaru and Kiba's wide eyes and gave the Inuzuka a irritated look, what the hell were they starring at, "What's wrong now" he asked in annoyance and then tried to see what Kiba was.
"That...ninja, he wasn't even trying he was just jogging when I listened to his heart beat all I heard was a steady beat, it wasn't hammering like when a person begins to run and it wasn't like a roar like someone overexerting themselves, it was like when a person walks, steady and perfect" The group of students looked at Kiba and then looked back at the direction that the ANBU had raced off in and shuddered.
"I'd hate to have him as an enemy, it'd be a huge drag" Shikamaru said before starting off towards his favourite hill intending to watch some clouds before heading home. Choji scurried after his friend while the two animal users just stood there watching the same spot for a few moments before parting.
Naruto walked down the street the only light to guide his way was the one form the full moon his hands covered in dry blood, his mask speckled with it and his arm guards smeared with it. Sometimes he thought that maybe the council had made him only learn Tai-Jut-Su and weapon mastery because they wanted him to get covered in blood nightly. Because Naruto was so deep in his musing he didn't spot the white puppy and his owner racing up the street until they were mere meters in front of him. "Oh. My. God" Naruto looked up and saw the pale face of Kiba Inuzuka looking back at him and that's when he realised what he probably looked liked covered in blood.
"Your that ANBU guy who passed us today" The dog boy whispered as he clutched his puppy to his chest, but unlike his master Akamaru was struggling to get towards him and when he broke free from his master's grip he bounded into the masked ninja's hands effectively getting two bloody hand prints on his white fur.
"WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW, DOGS REALLY DO LIKE US, IT SEEMS INU'S PARTNER WASN'T A FLUKE" Kyuubi's voice said as he spoke about the Inuzuka that had been on the same team as Naruto for three whole months before he and his owner dropped out of the unit to live in the Inuzuka compound again.
"Akamaru?" Kiba asked in confusion, the ANBU then walked straight up to him and Kiba notice he was a few centimetres taller than the elite ninja who the deposited the dog in his arms before patting the white pup on the head twice. As the blood covered ninja walked off Kiba watched him with awe in his eyes "He is so cool" he whispered and Akamaru yipped in agreement.
Naruto continued walking down the village until he reached the Hokage tower where he jumped up and grabbed the balcony ledge and then vaulted himself into the room. One of the best things about getting back into the village late was that the two council members would be in bed and Naruto would be able to give his report without the two of them breathing down his neck and giving him proud almost happy stares at what he had become. When Naruto silently entered the room he felt his left eyebrow twitch as he saw the old man giggling as he read "Make out Paradise"
"Old Man...You're a Pervert" The Hokage yelled out in shock and threw his book in the air as he saw Naruto standing on the balcony with his arms crossed his mask pushed up to the side of his face so he could see the amused smile and fire that danced in his eyes. The Hokage coughed a little before pushing his little orange book away before giving Naruto a warm look.
"You may take your mask off now" Naruto sighed happily and took the mask off so and then turned it so it was face up and he was starring in a blood speckled fox mask. The mask meant a lot to him, it not only reminded him of his 'Big Brother' but of his Idol and Hero-The Fourth Hokage. "Naruto you are aware the exam is in one week" Naruto nodded and he kept his eyes down "I don't want to pressure you, so I'm going to keep this quick, is the target gone" Naruto nodded once "Is a cleanup crew needed" Naruto's eyes became haunted and he nodded once again The Hokage sighed and then clasped his hands in front of him "That is all you may go" Naruto nodded once more and then raced towards the ANBU base where rat was waiting for him. Naruto collapsed at the senior ANBU's feet and then allowed his friend to pick him up and carry him to the shower where he was placed in the spray fully clothed.
"How can the council do this to do" Rat asked as slowly took of the ANBU issued armour to leave Naruto in only a black muscle tank and a pair of boxers. Naruto gave Rat a pleading look that the elder man knew so well. So with a sigh he left the now partly clothed boy in the running water and had to hold back a sob as he saw the young boy bury his face in his knees and begin to sob as the water running off him turned a deep shade of red. Rat closed his eyes as the painful sobs wracked his body; never in all his years as an ANBU officer had he ever heard such a heartbreaking sound. To hear such a sound coming from such a young innocent boy almost broke his heart. After a moment the sounds subsided and Naruto walked out dripping wet and covered in the red tinted blood.
"I'm okay now, I just need some sleep" Rat nodded and watched as the twelve year old walked off and disappeared around the corner, it was times like this that he always wanted to know why he chose to stay in ANBU and continue to serve the old controlling council who deemed it necessary to try and break a young child because of the creature he was keeping away from the village.
"KIT, YOU SHOULD REST IN THREE HOURS YOU HAVE TO WAKE FOR ANOTHER DAY AT THE ACADEMY" Kyuubi said in a sad voice as she watched Naruto stare at his semi stained hands, the fox knew that the child had a problem with the blood that he was covered in daily. "REMEMBER SOON WE'LL BE OUT"
Naruto nodded dumbly and then stared at his hands once again before turning his face into the pale moonlight hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before he had to drag himself to school the next morning.
A week passed and nothing surprising happened, Naruto would go to school after having a maximum of four hours of sleep and would go through the day in a haze effectively only demonstrating his Tai Jut-su skills perfectly while falling asleep in all other classes. There was only one person he avoided-Kiba Inuzuka-after the dog boy had seen him covered in blood that night he had made sure to stay away from him while his scent carried his victims. The after getting yelled at by Iruka Sensei, he would then run back to the base where he would the change before racing towards the council elders where he would be given a mission, he'd go on the said mission and kill a missing nin, then in the early hours of the morning he'd stumble back into the village and then sit in the hot spray of the water to try and wash the blood and the stench off his body. Now the day of the genin exam had arrived and Naruto was...late. Iruka looked around the classroom for his favourite blonde and sighed when he noticed that the loveable goof ball wasn't there.
"Everyone it seems that Naruto Uzu..." a large poof of smoke blew through the classroom startling the classroom into silence. When the smoke cleared Iruka couldn't help but beam, standing in the middle of the classroom was his favourite blonde. Naruto who look half asleep was grinning at Iruka while Rat had a hand on his shoulder to steady him. "Never mind" the academy teacher said happily.
Rat bent down and whispered in Naruto's ear and then nodding once Naruto took the only available seat...right next to Kiba. The Inuzuka spared a look to the blonde next to him and was shocked to see the young boy's appearance. It looked as if his clothes were put on in the dark, he had dark circles under his eyes and his skin was pale, but the thing that made Kiba the most shocked was the foul odour of blood wafting off the boy. Normally Kiba would get an inkling of another person's blood scent on Naruto but for the most part the kid smelt like a forest or a swamp-not revolting but natural. But at this moment Naruto smelt like he had just bathed in another person's innards, but unlike his master Akamaru wasn't scared but...sympathetic, this was proven when the tiny puppy leapt from his perch on his hooded head and landed next to Naruto's hand and nudged it with his nose before whining a little. Naruto gave the little puppy a fond smile before scratching behind his ear for a little bit and then his eyes went back to the board where Iruka was telling them about the test. It turned out the first test wasn't Naruto's strong point...a written exam. But when the young blonde read over the questions he saw that all the questions or problems were ones he had faced before. So slowly and carefully with Kyuubi's help Naruto answered each one from how he fixed the solution from his past battles.
When Iruka picked up his answer sheet and read over the first few answers he gave Naruto a confused glance before moving on. Once all the papers were collected Naruto and the rest of the class found themselves out in the shuriken practise field.
"Okay students, the second exam is the Kunai throwing test, each student will be given ten kunai and for each kunai inside the target you will get a point, do you understand" Iruka said with Mizuki standing next to him smiling in a comfortingly way which made a lot of the student a lot more confident than they should have been. Half an hour later it was Naruto's turn, "Okay lastly Naruto Uzumaki" Iruka said warmly, it wasn't a hidden fact that the only two things Naruto was good at was weapons and Tai Jut-su it had been said by his previous weapon teacher two years earlier that he had more talent in this one area than the top three kunai throwers in the whole grade. Naruto walked up to the fresh target and closed his eyes so that he could imagine that it was one of his targets. Then with a grace much like a fox hunting Naruto's took a deep breath and let all ten kunai loose. Ten loud THUNKS echoed out of the field and the when Iruka looked at the target his mouth dropped open much like the rest of the class, it was a perfect kill, two in the heart target, four in the stomach target and four in the crotch target: all dead centre, all bullseyes, but when Iruka turned to congratulate the young blonde he saw a sad smile on his face, Iruka cleared his throat getting the attention of the whole class including the sad blonde "Perfect score Naruto good job" Naruto nodded and they all went to the Tai Jut-su fields the whole way the whole class was talking about how Naruto beat even Sasuke's score at the kunai throwing-said boy was silently summing at the back of the class. Iruka stopped at the edge of the Tai Jut-su arena and turned to face the class "Okay this test is fairly simple, you will each get to fight either myself of Mizuki Sensei, you will all have a five minute battle, in that battle you must try to hit us as many times as possible, every time you do you get a hit although depending on the type of attack, the points may change, which means if it was a difficult move to pull off the you will get extra points the same rule applies to the power behind the attack" Iruka said in his 'lecturing voice'
Naruto sighed and sat down at the base of one of the tree trunks and started to watch the matches, he knew that doing so well on the kunai test had probably been a bad idea, but after years of going on missions where accuracy was everything, that it meant life or death, he couldn't miss a target otherwise he would have a break down. One by one the battles were ended, many of the scores were low, under five at most, that was until Kiba Inuzuka gain a seven by showing off his strengths, of course that was beaten by Sasuke who managed to scrape in a eight, so by the time it was Naruto's turn everyone was waiting to see what the class enigma could do. Naruto stood opposite Mizuki sensei that had a smile of his face and then got in relaxed position and waited for the signal. When Iruka gave the signal Mizuki rushed forward and tried to punch Naruto in the face only to have the younger ninja grab his wrist and then smile before his foot came straight up and slammed into his chin, the strength of the attack sent the chunnin flying to edge of the arena why Naruto just brought his foot back to the ground unaware of the two ninja watching from the upper window. The class looked to Iruka who smiled "The strength of the kick alone was a two and add in the difficulty and flexibility needed to perform such a move means that Naruto's score is at four and only a minute has passed" The class looked at Naruto in awe never before had they seen the blonde fight in Tai Jut-su mostly because he was either asleep, thrown out of class or ditching. Mizuki fiddled with his jaw for a second checking that nothing was cracked before he faced the young blonde once again, getting kicked in the jaw by the class clown was not something he would have expected, but he was training to be a ninja. Mizuki jumped up and was going to do and air attack when Naruto did a perfect back flip to avoid it, the rushed forward with a speed that made Sasuke bubble with fury and punch his sensei in the stomach making all the air leave his lungs and then followed up by using his shoulders as a fault and when he was coming back down he flipped in the air and slammed his foot on the back of the elder ninja's neck sending him into the ground so hard it cracked the ground. The whole class stared at Naruto like he had just danced the hula in a grass skirt, and Iruka just smiled "Well that put's Naruto tied with Sasuke, you still have two minutes left" Mizuki had now pull himself from the floor and was now rushing to get to Naruto only to have his throat gripped tightly and then he felt his legs get swung out from underneath him and his back hit the floor and then his head followed suit making a loud cracking noise as it hit the ground. "Naruto that last moves make eleven, you have the highest score in the Tai Jut-su department" Iruka said in a proud voice.
Mizuki got up and watched as Naruto dusted off his orange jacket and then walked into the classroom silently without so much as a backwards glance. Up in the uppermost classroom one figure was smiling widely why the other one had a proud glint in his eyes "See what'd I tell you, he had that in the bag" the smiling one said nudging his companion happily.
"Yes but he hasn't ever studied Justus's and even with his scores on the other exams he won't pass unless he can at least do a clone technique" the two masked ANBU sighed and then disappeared before reporting back to their senior officer...Rat.
Naruto sighed and started to go back to sleep, while Kyuubi chuckled a little about how badly he had beaten up his sensei-who was now holding an ice pack to the back on his head, and about how he was going to have to give a really good excuse as to how he knew what to do. Naruto just sighed again and shuddered as vision as to what would hopefully be his last ANBU mission for a long time flashed through his head. The council had sent him up against three missing nin and in the end Naruto had to rely on his speed and his half sword which was a foot long at most and had to cut them multiple times so they bled to death, it was a messy and very painful death, and it resulted in the victims screaming for mercy as Naruto became covered in their life blood, the very blood that Kiba could smell on him at that very moment.
"DON'T WORRY KIT, I'M SURE HE'S JUST CONFUSED AS TOO WHY YOU SMELL LIKE THAT" Naruto agreed with his demonic tenant and then turned his attention to the one ninja who wasn't in ANBU who actually paid attention to him.
"Okay the final exam will be on the clone Jut-su" Iruka said and a lot of the students scoffed at the jut-su while Naruto groaned and slammed him head on the desk in front of him, it couldn't have been on the transformation Jut-su or anything else it had to be on the one jut-su he couldn't do at all, fate hated him.
One by one the students entered the classroom and one by one the exited with a headband on all smirking, smiling or squealing in joy as they were promoted to the rank of Genin, but when Naruto's own name was called the blonde didn't rush into the examination room but instead trudged in a way that would make even Shikamaru look enthusiastic. When he entered the room he saw a chair seated in the middle of the room, making his brow furrow in confusion. "Naruto sit down before when start the exam we have some questions about you written test" Naruto gulped and slowly took his seat. "Okay Naruto it's not that your answers were bad or anything it's just well" Iruka said trailing uncertainly looking to Mizuki for assistance.
"Well your answers are from the point of view of a assassin not a ninja, all your answers are one that would end up with the target dead, and in some of the questions we were hoping the answer would state that you would end up capturing the opponent for questioning, sometimes the elimination of the enemy isn't the answer everytime" Mizuki said to Naruto who couldn't fathom the idea of keeping a target alive, years of being the council's weapon had done that to him.
Naruto made a noise of agreement and then stood up as the instructors asked "Okay now Naruto you must create three suitable battle clones to pass considering you psychical prowess this should be easy" Iruka said with a smile on his face, Naruto gulped and with shaking hands got them in the correct position, he isn't know why the council hadn't let him learn the techniques, but all he knew was that no matter how hard he trained to perfect his chakra control he could never create one suitable clone and now he was asked to create three, he was doomed. But welling up all the relevantly small skill he had Naruto moulded his chakra and then released it creating a large explosion of smoke. But when it cleared Iruka's hopes were dashed when instead of three clones a single terrible clone was laying on the floor next the young blonde who looked like the world was destroyed. "I'm sorry Naruto...you fail" To the blonde the world had just died, with those five words Iruka had just sealed him to a life of unnecessary killings and long nights filled with nightmares. Mizuki watched Naruto and saw his eyes widened and then grinned as his plan formed.
Naruto sat on the swing sideways as he stared longingly at the group of newly appointed genin and their parents. He would never have that now, he had one chance and had blown it, and now he was going to be the council's perfect little killer for the rest of his shinobi life, and he would never truly have friends, the ANBU respect and fear him too much to want to be his friend, it was times like this he missed Ookami and his first ANBU squad. Naruto lowered his eyes as he heard the harsh whispers that two female villagers were saying about him and his demon big brother, it always hurt to hear the villagers talking about him like he was nothing but trash, normally Kyuubi was there to help him but at that moment Naruto had blocked all ties to his 'big brother' he didn't want to consoled he wanted to feel terrible and with Kyuubi being kind and tender and all soothing like he knew he wouldn't stay that way long. While he was in his pit of despair Naruto didn't notice the sad smiling face coming up behind him.
"You know he only means the best for you" Naruto looked up shock at the sound and then saw Mizuki smiling down at him "Iruka Sensei I mean" the elder chunnin said as an afterthought, Naruto nodded and then looked down in disappointment.
"Yeah well sometimes I don't think so, sometimes I think he's out to get me" he muttered as he opened his mental gates to his older brother who immediately swamped him with the feeling of love and comfort-the very thing Naruto had been dreading-although now he couldn't help but feel all warm and happy. "And I really wanted to pass, I needed to pass" He said whispering the last part almost so softly that the other sensei almost didn't hear it.
The blue haired ninja grinned to himself and then gave a dramatic sigh and put a hand to his forehead in a woo is me like move "Then I guess I'm just going to have to tell you then" Naruto looked up questionably and then cocked his head to the side when Mizuki smiled warmly "There's another way to become a genin" Naruto's face split into a bright grin and he gave his sensei the most hopeful look he'd ever given anyone.
"OH THIS IS GOING TO END BADLY" Kyuubi thought as he sensed the evil intent wafting off the chunnin next to him, but kept his thoughts to himself as he felt his charge's excitement and pure joy. "I JUST HOPE HE DOESN'T GET TO HURT"
Iruka looked at Naruto's beaten up form and then noticed that the strange boy didn't look scared or guilty that he had the scroll, in fact Naruto looked completely and utterly at ease with the fact that he had found him. "Found you" he said in an angry voice. Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned up at him happily.
"Man your quick sensei, I only had enough time to learn one of the technique's from the scroll, but that doesn't matter, I still get to be a genin right" Naruto asked happily as he held the scroll out to a confused Iruka who just stared at the demon jailor suspiciously.
"Naruto what do you mean" The tanned chunnin asked in a slow and careful voice, so that Naruto would get the impact of each of his words.
The young teen looked at his sensei in confusion and then cocked his head to the side "Mizuki sensei told me that if I managed to steal this scroll and learn one of the Jut-su's in here then I could become a genin, he was the one who told me about this place" The blonde added as an afterthought.
Iruka stared at Naruto in shock and fear before it all clicked, but by then he heard the tell tale whistling of weapons in the air, so with a strength that Naruto didn't know he possessed, Iruka shoved the boy out of the way and was then hit by several kunai. At the sight of his sensei's blood Naruto went into his ANBU mode and began to scan the tree tops until he saw the blue haired shinobi with two large shurikens on his back. The man sneered at Naruto and the blonde felt his anger well up again, the man had played him and made it seem as if he was trying to help him when in reality he wanted to kill him.
"You're the same" Naruto whispered as he looked at the determined and pain filled face that Iruka was now sporting along side with his glare, "Why can you see the truth" he yelled at the elder ninja shocking Iruka by the venom and passionate hate behind his words.
Mizuki sneered again and looked down at the demon jailor who had his hands curled into fists by his sides "Truth, please, says the kid who has been lied to since the minute you were born" Naruto knew what was coming and ignored Iruka who was yelling at the traitorous ninja to stop "You see, the truth is the Great Fourth Hokage was unable to kill the demon fox and instead sealed it into you, your are just demon spawn" he said in utter disgust.
Naruto saw red as he heard the mockery the traitor had talked about the fourth in, and Kyuubi snarled just as loudly, "KILL HIM KIT, RIP HIS VERY FLESH FROM HIS BONES" Kyuubi snarled loudly. Naruto looked over at Iruka and smiled to let the elder man know everything was fine, before turning and glaring at his ex-sensei making the elder ninja shiver for a moment. "Don't ever talk about the fourth like that"
Mizuki laughed and threw one of his giant shurikens and Naruto just stood and was ready to catch it when Iruka surprised him by jumping in front of him and took the giant weapon in the back. "I'm sorry Naruto, I'm so sorry" Naruto's gaze softened and he put his forehead on the chunnin's effectively shocking him into silence.
"It's Okay Iruka Sensei, It's Okay I forgive you" Naruto said before stepping out to face the traitor, "I swear to god, for touching my sensei like that: I'm gonna kill you" Iruka turned slightly and stared at his student in awe, never in the three years since he met the child had he ever heard Naruto promise something so forcefully.
Mizuki laughed and then started to spin his last weapon "Let's see what you got Demon Fox" he spat and then saw the child put his hands in a cross sign, and was confused: he'd only seen Jonin use that hand sign.
"Oh I'll show you what a true demon does, Multi Shadow Clone Jut-su" Iruka's eyes widened when suddenly the clearing was filled with over one thousand Naruto, each of them solid and all looking for blood, "Didn't I tell you I was going to kill you" the all chanted in unison and Mizuki didn't even have time to scream as the wave fell down on his punching tearing and maiming. When the clones dispersed Iruka was shocked to see the original Naruto staring at his shaking blood covered hands, then with a smile he walked over to the child and pulled him into a hug.
"Naruto...you pass" Naruto smiled happily before two lone tears escaped pass his eyes and he buried his face into his sensei's jacket, it was the first time anyone had hugged him and given him something that made him feel good after killing someone.
"GOOD JOB KIT, THE FOURTH WOULD BE PROUD OF YOU" Naruto smiled at the fox's statement, as Iruka tied his own forehead protector around his forehead, "YOUR FREE KIT, NO MORE ANBU...FOR NOW AT LEAST" Naruto inwardly laughed with his big brother and then smiled and hugged his sensei once more only letting go when he complained that he was injured and was going to faint from blood loss.
So What'd you think, just a bit of warning in the next few chapters everyone might think that this will be a KakaNaru pairing, not that it is not. Kakashi is a big brother father figure to Naruto and nothing more, I have nothing against this pairing and I had considered it for this story but I have decided to go to go with a different pairing.
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