Author's note: I do not in anyway own Naruto! please review!
Chapter two: The Heart of a Hokage
Naruto ran faster something inside him was forcing him to push himself. He should've run the opposite direction, he had to train to get stronger. But instead he found himself following his two sensei's. he froze in his tracks, Kakashi stood waiting his arms folded, Jiraiya was no where to be seen.
"Kakashi…" Naruto said prepared to flee.
"Naruto…I have a mission for you." Kakashi said deadly serious. Naruto relaxed and watched his sensei seriously.
"Follow me." Kakashi said turning and took off again Naruto quickly followed. The two stopped on the steps of a massive temple that looked like it was in ruins. Jiraiya turned and smirked when he saw Naruto standing next to Kakashi.
"Iruka taking a nap I take it?" he said. Naruto nodded.
"Naruto your mission is to follow the exact orders of the head priest of this temple, Jiraiya and I will be defending out here." Kakashi said. Naruto stared at him for a minute.
"Naruto go." Kakashi commanded, Naruto gritted his teeth but the simple look in Kakashi's eye told him not to even bother arguing.
"Hai." Naruto said and took off into the temple. He was amazed the inside was as bad as the outside.
"You!" a voice from ahead shouted. Naruto tensed as another masked priest came rushing forward. The man seemed to watch him then stopped.
"Kakashi sent me." Naruto said cautiously. The priest nodded and led him down the corrider further to a room where a large amount of priests waited. Two stood out from the rest, they were unmasked, one looked more like a giant than a priest while the other looked extremely young.
"Head!" the priest that was leading Naruto called out. The youthful one came over a smile on his face. He wore plain black robes and his hair was brown and long.
"Hello Uzumaki Naruto we finally meet face to face." The man said smiling at him. Naruto stared at him. How did this boy know him! The giant walked over and stared at Naruto as well.
"That's him?" he asked and the boy nodded.
"I could not see him and not know who he was, Naruto forgive me but now is not the time to explain, I take it that Kakashi sent you to me?" he asked. Naruto nodded confused his mouth hanging slightly open.
"Close your mouth boy you look like you're a fish out of water." The giant said. Naruto closed it and glared at the man.
"Naruto…Go with Goya here, he is going to guard someone precious to this temple from there take your orders from him." The boy said. Naruto nodded and began to follow the giant but the boy grabbed his arm.
"Wait a moment, I have a question to ask you." The boy said and Naruto paused looking at him.
"The 4th Hokage, do you hate him for what he did to you?" he asked bluntly. Naruto looked down at his feet, the 4th Hokage, Yondaime, the man who had sealed the nine tailed fox within his body. He was silent for a few moments before he raised his eyes.
"When you're a Hokage you have to do what it takes to protect the people of your home. He did it, it cost him his life, he could've ordered for me to be killed, because if I die then this monster dies along with me. But he didn't. so no I do not hate him." Naruto said and the boy beamed at him.
"Alright, go protect…." He said and Naruto resumed following the giant of a man. The man lead him down another corridor, and Naruto realized he had no clue how to get out of the temple, he looked around then realized that the corridor looked new.
"This is where most of us stay." The giant said. Naruto stared at him and almost walked right into the man when he suddenly stopped by one the doors. The man turned and stared down at Naruto as if he was looking for something, his eyes took in the bandaged arm, the tired eyes and the way his breathing was slightly off.
"Go in there, you guard from within, if I die take him and get to safety." The man said opening the door.
"Him?" Naruto questioned but the man shook his head.
"Go in boy, you'll understand in time." The man said grabbing Naruto's left arm and pushing him into the room. He shut it and Naruto heard the door lock. Sighing Naruto took in his new surroundings, the room was painted gold and looked more like a hospital room than a bedroom he glanced around further, the room was decorted in such a fashion that showed off wealth. Then at last his eyes went to the figure on the bed. He froze his body began to shake.
"I…impossible!" he said in shock walking over to the figure. It was a blonde haired man, his hair naturally spiked. He looked young in his middle or early twenties, but there was no mistaking that face. The face Naruto had always looked on, on the mountain range in hidden leaf. This man on the bed was none other than the 4th Hokage.
"Hey kid you alive in there?" the giant's voice said from the other side of the door.
"This is!" Naruto shouted.
"Yes, but he hasn't woken up at all in 13 years…whatever you do, do not make a sound from now on kid. They are here."
Naruto blinked but kept quiet he moved to stand by the end of the bed prepared to fight if need be.
outside the temple
"Kakashi was it really wise to bring him here?" Jiraiya said his eyes narrowed, he knew the enemy was close. Kakashi sighed.
"At this point this is the only safe place for Naruto is…" Kakashi trailed off then he moved his head protector up.
"They're here!" he shouted and launched into battle as ninja stars landed where he had been standing. Jiraiya smiled.
"Finally they are making there move." He made several hand signs and then he too took off into battle.
the main room
"Head, we must get you to safety!" a masked priest said to the boy. The boy smiled serenely and shook his head.
"No, if I leave that will draw more attention to anyone that stays behind. We all made a vow to the priestess 13 years ago that we would protect. Now I am prepared to die." He said with a smile. The other priests looked away before all of them turned as two men in black robes with red marks on them walked into the room.
"Well met Nagi." One of the men smiled. The boy grinned.
"Well I suppose then that I must at least put up a fight," he said and screamed flinging a orb of yellow chakra at the men. One vanished and began to slaughter the priests before they had a time to even react. The other man caught the orb and it vanished.
"A healing attack is not wise Nagi." The man said, the boy sighed and knelt his hands going through a rapid series of hand signs then he touched the ground. A moment later the temple shook.
hokage's room
Naruto jumped and started to yell out what was going on when he heard a series of metal clashing against metal right outside.
"Damit…" he whispered taking out a kogai and stood waiting. He heard something like someone gasping for breath then there was a loud thud. Naruto slid himself into a fighting stance. Then second thought it, he grabbed the unconscious hokage and quickly began forming a ball of chakra on his hand. One thing about wearing himself out earlier, was that he no longer needed two hands to perform the attack. The door was kicked down and two men in black robes stood there. Naruto knew exactly who they worked for, if he had been alone he would have charged at them in anger but instead he tightened his grip on the hokage and turned slamming the ball into the first man knowing the blast would knock the other away.
"RASENGAN!" he screamed then took off past the men running on pure instinct. His right arm was erupting in so much pain that in almost blinded him. He knew the two men were right behind him he stared in shock as he saw a window up ahead, shielding the hokage's body with his own he leapt from it and took off into the trees.
"You're not getting away that easy boy!" a voice said from above and two shurikens came from above again Naruto didn't even think he whirled in the air slamming roughly with the Hokage in front of him into a tree taking the shurikens into his back. He cried out but turned facing his enemy.
"Heh…if it isn't the nine tails brat." The man said, somewhere the other man must have run off. At least that's what Naruto hoped for he stood at least a slight chance against one but none against two.
"What the hell do you want!" Naruto shouted. The man laughed.
"You mean besides you and the two tails, whom we have already retrieved…we got word from someone we placed inside this temple that the 4th hokage was still alive. Naturally we can't let that man live." He said laughing, Naruto growled.
"He hasn't woken up yet!" he shouted. The man shrugged.
"There is always that chance that he does boy. Now, move aside and run away, I'll chase you after the hokage is dead." The man said taking a step forward. Naruto reacted instantly he quickly formed more chakra onto his hand though he knew it was weaker than the last he waited till the man was right in front of him then again thrust it into the man's stomach sending him flying back.
"Rasengan!" Naruto shouted again panting this time. The little amount of chakra he had gained from being asleep was almost out. And when it was he would only have his fists and his body to protect the hokage. He watched the man intently, the man straightened and sighed.
"Being stubborn I see, it doesn't matter. I'll kill you." The man said and rushed Naruto who quickly grabbed the hokage and started running.
"Heh running away little brat!" he heard the shout at the same time he felt a blast of chakra connect with his legs he fell landing hard on a tree branch the body of the hokage landing a few steps away from it. Crawling Naruto blocked the Hokage's body with his own as shurikens rained from the sky. He screamed in pain as they ripped into his body. But he turned his eyes filled with hate when the man landed near by.
"You have almost no chakra left boy give up." He said. Naruto glared then charged at the man only to be kicked back right into the hokage. He watched his enemy closely not noticing that the hokage's body twitched and his eyes flickered.
"This is it boy, your death and for what? A man you don't even know." The man said with a sinister smile.
"It doesn't matter if I know him or not, he is from hidden leaf, and it is a Hokage's duty to protect his people even if he has to die. Besides…this is my way of ninja!" Naruto shouted.
"Heh then die brat." The man sneered. Naruto smiled and used the last of his chakra.
"Rasengan!" he screamed putting everything he had into the one final attack. But the man dodged it, Naruto stared in shock. It was over, he thought as the man walked forward. He didn't have the strength to fight anymore. His arm was an agony of pain he couldn't even raise it anymore. He knelt barely able to stay upright in front of the hokage facing the man.
"Goodbye Uzumaki Naruto!" the man shouted raising a blazing hand of chakra above his head ready to slam it down onto to Naruto…