Deception: Chapter 3
Six Years Later
A hooded man strolled leisurely down the heavily worn path that lead to the main entrance of Konohagakure no Sato. His black hood kept his appearance completely hidden. The only thing that about the man that could be discerned was that he appeared to be quite tall. Hands stuffed in the pockets of his traveling cloak, he exuded a heavy aura of confidence. To the casual observer he appeared to be completely unaware of his surroundings. In fact, this is exactly what the group of bandits hidden in the trees on either side of the road thought as well.
The bandit leader smirked from his position in the branches, hidden from view. It was almost too easy. A lone traveler with absolutely no protection or knowledge of his surroundings. The man also appeared to be stupid enough to not even be on his guard. The bandit leader unsheathed his sword and gave the silent signal to advance.
The hooded man stopped suddenly as his path became blocked by what appeared to be a group of bandits. He noted that there were ten of them and they had him completely surrounded. Despite his situation, the mysterious man's posture remained the same. The bandit directly in front of him appeared to be the leader. He stepped forward and addressed the man.
"Listen up fucker. Give us everything you've got, and we'll think about letting you live." He smirked and raised his sword for emphasis.
A sigh came from the man.
"Oi oi, I wouldn't try that if I were you." The man's voice was deep and gruff.
"Oh? If you haven't noticed, there are ten of us and only one of you. You don't even have any weapons! It seems you're to stupid to realize the situation you're in."
The man's only response was to sigh again.
The bandit leader became angered by the lack of fear coming from the man. He gritted his teeth.
"Fine, have it your way! Attack!" The bandit leader snarled as he jumped forward, sword positioned to strike. His men quickly followed suit.
"I warned you..."
As the bandit leader's sword was about to reach its target, he noticed the feral grin under the man's hood.
Then the world turned red.
Kotetsu and Izumo were once again assigned to gate duty. Much to their annoyance, it appeared to now be a daily occurrence for the Chuunin duo. They sat in the booth by the main entrance to Konoha attempting to find ways to pass the time.
"Dammit! I hate gate duty! Why the fuck is it always us?!" Kotetsu finally yelled after their 1000th game of rock-paper-scissors. Izumo shrugged his shoulders and continued to keep a look out towards the road leading up to the gate.
"I don't know. There's nothing we can do about it right now though. Once we become Jounin we can pawn this shitty job onto someone else."
Kotetsu let out a groan.
"And when the hell are we gonna be Jounin? We've been Chuunin for eight years now! Even most of the members of the Rookie Nine are Jounin at this point!"
Izumo suddenly stiffened. Kotetsu noticed the change in his partner's demeanor and followed his gaze down the road. A lone man appeared to be walking casually towards the entrance. As he came closer, Kotetsu and Izumo realized the man was wearing a dark hood to cover his face and a matching cloak. The man finally reached the gates and ignoring Kotetsu and Izumo completely, attempted to walk straight into the village.
The Chuunin duo appeared in front of him, blocking his path. Izumo spoke first.
"What is your business with Konoha? We can't just allow any traveler to meander into our village on a whim."
"I'm returning from… an extended mission. I can't show my identity until I speak to Hokage-sama." The man reached into his pack and pulled out a headband, which he handed to Izumo.
Izumo inspected it carefully. The cloth was torn in many places and there were scratches in the metal but it was indeed a Konoha headband. Izumo looked carefully at the man one more time before handing him back the headband.
"Very well. Welcome back to Konoha."
The man nodded in response before stuffing the headband back into his pack and continuing his walk into the village. Kotetsu and Izumo turned and watched the man as he walked away. Kotetsu shifted uneasily.
"Izumo, did you notice?"
Izumo grimaced and nodded.
"He reeked of blood."
As the man slowly made his way towards the Hokage tower, he took the opportunity to scan his surroundings. Like always, the streets were filled with busy civilians going about their day-to-day activities.
This place hasn't changed at all... Still the same old shit-hole. Leaving here was the best decision I ever made.
His nostalgic journey down the main street of Konoha came to end as he finally reached the Hokage's tower.
The man took note of the open window on the top floor.
"This ought to be fun." He muttered.
With a flash of red, the man disappeared.
It happened quite suddenly. Tsunade had just started her daily attempts at managing the mountain of paperwork that seemed to appear magically on her desk overnight.
One second she was alone in her office, and the next second she wasn't. With nothing more than a silent flash of red light, a hooded man appeared in her office. There was no sound that announced his presence. She hadn't sensed him at all. Before she could react, five ANBU members with tantos drawn surrounded him. The man raised his hands in the universal signal of surrender. Tsunade finally gathered her wits and stood up from behind her desk.
"What is the meaning of this? Who are you and how did you get in here?"
"I'm sorry, but I'll need to speak to you privately before I can reveal anything." Came the gruff reply. Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
"And why should I trust you?"
The man sighed.
"Because if I had wanted to harm you, you'd be quite dead by now. I had a full second before your ANBU noticed my presence, and another half second before they arrived and surrounded me. Plenty of time."
Tsunade grimaced. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. He had caught them totally unprepared.
"Fine. ANBU, leave the room." She ordered.
One of the ANBU stiffened.
"But Hokage-sama are you-" He was quickly interrupted.
"I said leave! I am a Kage and perfectly capable of protecting myself."
The ANBU who had spoken hesitated slightly before bowing.
"Hai, Hokage-sama. We'll wait outside." The ANBU agents disappeared.
She turned back towards the mysterious man.
"Now. Tell me who the fuck you are, and what the hell you want."
He sighed again.
"Oi oi, I thought you'd be a little nicer than that. Considering it's been six years since I last saw you."
Her eyes widened before narrowing at the stranger.
"What the hell are you talking about?! Who are you?!"
"I guess it makes sense that you don't know. I mean you did see me die and everything."
The man slowly reached up and lowered his hood.
Tsunade gasped as the man's face was revealed. She stared at him in shock, not believing what she was seeing. There was no way.
"What… what is the meaning of this?! You're not him! I saw the body! I read the reports! I FUCKING BURIED HIM MYSELF!"
The man shifted uncomfortably.
"Yeah… sorry about that. I knew the council wouldn't let me leave, so I faked my own death. I can give you proof if you want me to."
He spread his arms out to either side of him and took a deep breath.
"My name is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto. I am the son of Uzumaki Kushina and the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze. I was a member of Team 7 and trained by Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan as well as Jiraiya of the Sannin. I accompanied Jiraiya to convince you to become the Godaime Hokage after old man Sarutobi died. I won your necklace when you bet that I couldn't finish my Rasengan technique in one week."
He followed up his speech by pulling said necklace out from his pack and throwing it on the Hokage's desk.
Tsunade tried to process what was going on. She grabbed the necklace and inspected it closely. It was authentic. Which would explain why she was unable to find it these last six years.
As she finally realized that the boy she had considered a son was still alive and well, tears began to fall from her eyes. She ran around the desk and wrapped Naruto in a hug while sobbing into his chest.
"You were dead! The ANBU! The Council! All the villagers saw it!"
Naruto stroked her hair softly to try and calm her down.
"Yeah, it's a really long story. I'll tell you everything about where I've been tomorrow, but today I just want to rest."
Tsunade finally finished crying, releasing Naruto from her hold and taking a step back. Upon closer inspection, she finally began to notice the changes to his appearance that had occurred in the last six years. Some of which were not exactly… normal.
Naruto had finally hit his growth spurt and was about as tall as Jiraiya. His hair had grown longer and wilder, closely resembling the style of the 4th Hokage. He was slightly more broad-shouldered than the Yondaime had been, and Tsunade blushed slightly as she remembered the muscles she had felt under his heavy traveling cloak. These were changes one would expect from someone who hadn't been seen since before they had hit puberty. However, the rest of the changes were not.
His beautiful cerulean eyes had turned blood red with fox-like slits for pupils. His whisker marks had become darker and more pronounced. His canines had elongated slightly and were readily visible at all times. She also noticed that his formerly all-blonde hair now held streaks of red.
"Naruto… What happened to you?"
He stared at her blankly before realization dawned on his face.
"Oh, you mean the fox characteristics? They're a side effect of the training I went through with Mina-chan."
She gave him a confused look.
"Who is Mina-chan?"
Naruto waived his hand in dismissal.
"Don't worry, you'll meet her tomorrow when I explain everything."
Tsunade gave a hesitant nod. She walked back towards her desk and started rummaging through drawers. Naruto watched as she appeared to look for something.
"What're you doing?"
Tsunade responded without looking up from her search.
"I'm looking for the papers to reinstate you as a shinobi of Konoha. Except I don't know which forms to use for a presumed dead man who suddenly shows up after six years."
Naruto shifted uncomfortably upon hearing her answer. He scratched the back of his head nervously.
"Uh yeah, about that…"
Tsunade paused when she heard the slight hesitation in his voice. She looked up at him.
"What is it?"
He sighed.
"I didn't come here to join Konoha again."
She stared at him blankly.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm offering my services to Konoha in return for payment."
She gaped at him.
"WHAT?!"
Naruto gave her a hard look.
"Look, I'm no longer a Konoha shinobi. My allegiance lies elsewhere and that won't change anytime soon. I've been ordered to come here and offer my skills to Konoha, so that's why I'm here."
Tsunade once again gaped at him in shock.
"What the hell are you talking about? Konoha is your home! What about your dream to become Hokage?"
Naruto's eyes flashed angrily and he bared his fangs.
"Konoha WAS my home, but not anymore! As for becoming Hokage, I gave up on that stupid dream a long time ago."
Tsunade was taken aback by the emotion he displayed. When she thought about it, she couldn't blame him. She remembered how the villager's cheered his "death" and celebrated in the streets.
"I'll drop it for the moment, but I WILL convince you to stay. Now tell me, what do you mean by offering your skills?"
Upon hearing her question, Naruto gave a feral grin that sent shivers down Tsunade's spine.
"I hear you guys are at war."
A familiar silver-haired Konoha Jounin meandered lazily down the main road leading towards the entrance into Konoha. He had just finished another solo S-Rank mission and was returning to the village for some well-earned rest. He had one hand in his pocket and the other supporting his favorite orange book as he continued to read while he walked.
Kakashi Hatake had been quite busy since the loss of two of his students six years ago. He had refused to ever become a sensei again and dedicated himself towards as many missions as he possibly could.
Kakashi could not have been more than a few miles from Konoha when a sudden stench was picked up by his enhanced sense of smell. He paused and tried to identify the smell. Suddenly his eyes widened in surprise. He placed his book in his pocket and quickened his pace to a sprint.
As he got closer, the smell became stronger. There was no doubt about it now. It was the smell of blood.
After a minute or so, he finally stumbled upon the source of the stench. His eyes widened in surprise.
There were corpses strewn all over the road. Blood drenched the ground and was splattered on the surrounding trees. Kakashi slowly walked closer to inspect the bodies. He quickly realized that someone, or something had massacred them completely. Throats torn out, claw marks, and missing limbs made that quite clear. Kakashi felt sick to his stomach when he saw the faces of the men. They all held a look of pure horror, they're eyes locked onto whatever it was that had killed them so violently. By the looks of the tattered remains of their clothes, they appeared to be common bandits.
Further down the road, he saw another body pinned to a tree with kunai through his hands and feet. He had a gaping hole through his chest. Based on the slight difference in clothing, Kakashi guessed this man had been the leader of the group. Suddenly, the man gave a slight cough and blood flew from his mouth.
Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized the man was still alive. He rushed over, removing the kunai and lowering the dying man to the ground.
"What happened here? Who did this to you?"
The man gave another weak cough. He reached up and grabbed Kakashi's arm with a blood soaked hand. His terror-filled gaze connected with Kakashi's one visible eye.
"He… slaughtered us… like pigs… and… enjoyed it…" The man's breath hitched and his hand fell from Kakashi's arm. He watched as the life left the man's eyes.
Kakashi realized he had to return the village quickly and warn the Hokage.
AN: Naruto is back! But who is he working for now? And who is Konoha at war with? Don't worry! These questions will be answered.
I'll most likely be showing what happened during the last six years through flashbacks later on in the story, but I haven't decided yet.
I've also decided to make Naruto's personality slightly darker. For the most part he's the same, but due to the Kyuubi's influence he's become more bloodthirsty.
I already have Chapter 4 planned out so it shouldn't take too long. Once again, let me know what you think and share any ideas you have. I'm open to almost anything.
Until next time.