The Pathless Sage
A/R: So this is where the fun begins. Mizuki will probably get his ass handed to him sometime soon and the real plot starts now. Think of the last two chapters as prologue.
I think I figured out what is wrong and why the first chapter looked like a wall of text. It should be fixed sometime soon. Now the fic looks like a wall of text to me, but it probably works out on the website.
Don't expect chapters to come out this fast all the time, this is just the beginning and I'm excited to be writing a new fic, so the chapters are coming out a lot faster than normal.
On with the story!
Naruto glared at his favourite teacher. It wasn't usually the case, he always got on with Iruka, though sometimes Iruka was more than a bit annoying for Naruto as he was the one that always caught Naruto after he played a prank. This time, however, Naruto had a legitimate reason to be angry at him.
"I'm telling you Iruka-sensei, someone's rigged the test. There's no way I didn't pass. I did half decent on the written test, I did okay on the Genjutsu, I did better than most on Taijutsu and I would say my Ninjutsu was a borderline pass. As far as the free test goes I had, by far, the highest score in the entire Academy. So tell me Iruka-sensei, how the hell did I not pass the Graduation Exam?" Naruto hollered at Iruka, for once, in more anger than he usually blessed Iruka with.
"Naruto, I can see that there is no reason for you to not have passed your Exam. In fact, in my opinion, you should have passed with flying colours and praise. But it's not my opinion that counts here, I can't do anything about the marks you were given by the markers, it isn't my place to argue." Iruka pleaded, though he knew he wasn't going to get anywhere. Naruto could be really stubborn when he wanted to be.
"So you're telling me to take this lying down? I have taken a lot of nonsense from a lot of people in my life, but this has reached a record low. What kinda bullshit is this?" Naruto screamed, but before Iruka could say anything, he whirled and stormed off.
"Oh boy, I get the feeling I am going to really regret this later on. Lord save us all, that boy can be a handfull." Iruka muttered to himself, before returning to marking the papers he was set to mark for the younger students in the Academy.
Outside, Naruto found a familiar face waiting for him, leaning against the collumn that supported the roof. Seeing Naruto approach, he too came towards him.
"Dobe, I need to talk to you. Come with me for a bit." Sasuke commanded, not bothering with a greeting, or asking whether the other boy had time on his hand or not.
"Not now Teme, I have things I need to take care of. If you need to talk about something, talk about it here and talk about it now." Naruto replied, also not caring for niceties.
"Fine. I'll tell you here. The Jutsu you used in the fifth Test, teach me how to do it." Sasuke said, taking on the same commanding tone again.
"Forget it, there's no way you could learn something like that." Naruto smirked.
"Why not? If you, a no name Dobe, the Dead Last of the Academy can learn a Jutsu like that, then why can't I, the Rookie of the Year, the heir to the Uchiha name, learn it? Besides, I have more need for a powerful Jutsu like that than you ever will." Sasuke shouted, not bothering to check if anyone else was in hearing range.
"Simple. Is your precious Uchiha brain too small for you to understand the concept of a Bloodline Limit? Then let me make it clear for you, only an Uzumaki can learn that Jutsu." Naruto hollered back, then proceeded to walk away from the shellshocked Sasuke. "Besides, I need to talk to the Hokage about something, I don't have time to be wasting on people as arrogant as you."
Naruto walked away calmly, leaving a dumbfounded Sasuke in his wake. "Where is the useless, hyperactive Dobe that he was until a few days ago?" Sasuke thought.
-TT-
Naruto was currently talking to Mizuki, one of the Chunin that was a teacher at the Academy. He wasn't away, as of yet, why Mizuki wanted to talk to Naruto, but he said he wanted to discuss something important. Had it been someone other than one of his teachers, Naruto would have flipped him off and walked away, but alas; it was one of his teachers and he was forced to listen to him.
"Naruto, I'm sorry you didn't pass the Graduation Exam. I was one of the people that was in favour of passing you, along with Iruka, but the other teachers were for some reason completely and utterly against letting you pass. I'm afraid me and Iruka couldn't do anything about the situation." Mizuki started.
Naruto was starting to have his doubts about whether Mizuki was going to talk about anything remotely important, or if he was going to just drone on and on about how unfair life was. He needed to get to the Hokage so he could complain and Mizuki was currently getting in his way, frankly.
"But seeing as you're the only person that didn't pass this year, I know of a special Graduation Exam that you can take," hearing that, Naruto perked up. If Mizuki didn't have it before, he certainly had the young boy's attention now. "It only becomes available if only one member of a class doesn't pass the Exam. All you have to do is prove your worth by taking the Scroll of Sealing from the Hokage Tower, run away with it and learn a Jutsu. If you can do that, you pass the Special Graduation Exam."
Something told him this was a trap, that this was stealing, that it would land him in serious trouble. Going against his better judgement, Naruto took off to find the Scroll of Sealing.
-TT-
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, faster than it had ever been in his life. Though he didn't stick around to find out what happened, he hadn't left early enough to not hear the Hokage sending out the ANBU with a serious order.
"Bring the boy and the scroll back to me, both unharmed. I will deal with the thief personally." Those were the direct orders of the Hokage to the ANBU.
Naruto's blood had ran cold as he heard the tone of the Old Man's voice. He knew he had done something wrong, so terribly wrong, but he couldn't go back now. His instincts told him from the very beginning this was a trap and once again, his instincts were correct.
Naruto didn't hang around long enough for the ANBU to find him before he took off, completely masking his presence and his trail. He wouldn't be caught, not by the ANBU, not by Iruka, not by anyone, no matter what happened. He would stay hidden and complete this Special Graduation Test.
He sped through the forest, jumping from tree branch to tree branch, as the sound of pursuing ninja slowly became more and more distant. He was losing them, he was using his only talent: evasion.
Coming to a small clearing, ringed with tall trees, within the forest, Naruto stopped to take a rest. His breath came in shallow, ragged pants. He ran as fast as his feet would carry him through the forest to get there, but he could move no more.
Deciding to learn the Jutsu now, rather than leaving it until later to do it, Naruto slowly unravelled the massive scroll. The scroll opened with a slight glow but no resistance.
As Naruto sifted through Jutsu after Jutsu as they got harder to execute and more taxing to maintain, poring over complicated diagrams and puzzling explanations, his eyes ran over something that shook him to the soul.
There, on the Scroll of Sealing, was a handwritten exerpt next to a Sealing Array that made his eyes water and his blood boil like molten fire.
"Dear Naruto,
If you are reading this small piece of writing I had time to leave and you are seeing the Sealing Array that has been placed on this Scroll, then I assume you have succeeded me as the Fifth Hokage.
First of all, I wanted to apologise for leaving you with something as heinous as the Kyuubi, knowing that the Villagers would resent you for it. I am sorry for leaving you with such a difficult life, for cursing you to a Hell on Earth, but it had to be done.
I had to do something to protect the Village and the only thing I could do was Seal the Kyuubi away in a child, so the Chakra Network wouldn't be as developed as an adult's, so that the Kyuubi could be properly sealed. As you know, I had to give my life to make the Seal, so I didn't have the liberty to experiment on as many babies as I wanted to. I had to get it right the first time, so the only baby I trusted to contain the Kyuubi was my own.
I'm sorry I had to do something so criminal, but it had to be done. Your Chakra Network was already developed for a baby who was just born, so I had to place a Seal on you to make sure your Chakra was accepting enough for the Kyuubi to be contained.
This Seal, however, had the adverse effect of sealing your potential away, as well as a Bloodline that you had seemed to inherit. When you read this Naruto, I want you to place your hand on the Sealing Array and pump a little of your Chakra through your arm. No matter how old you are, I'm sure your Chakra has already accepted the presence of the Kyuubi and you are ready to receive your true powers.
Upon activation, the Seal will also give you Ryuujinjakka, your Grandfather's precious nodachi. It's a Uzumaki clan heirloom, wield it with honour.
And always remember, me and your mother loved you, for however long we got to know you.
-Love, Minato Namikaze, Fourth Hokage, Your Father."
Gingerly placing his hand on the Sealing Array, he slowly pushed a little Chakra into his hand. The Seal did the rest. Rapidly, it drained Naruto of Chakra completely and he suddenly became aware of a vicious presence in his body.
Before he could think any further of this presence, the Chakra was slammed back into his system, but the Chakra was strengthened tenfold, causing his Chakra Network to expand. He could feel the fire in his veins, the raw power that was coursing around him, he could feel his mind expanding, his senses improving and sharpening.
Not long afterwards, he collapsed from the stress and pain of having so much Chakra pumped through his system.
A/R: Evil, evil cliffhanger. I know, that was mean. I couldn't help it though, so too bad. The fun begins now and I will start writing the next chapter as soon as I can.
If you liked reading the story, please review, it helps me out and motivates me to write a lot more. Thanks xD