Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the associated characters, locations, jutsu, etc. The only thing I own is the plot of the story. If there is any plagiarism of any form it was completely unintentional.
"Sometimes human places, create inhuman monsters."
Stephen King
Konohagakure, 5 years ago
"From this moment on, the son of the Yondaime Hokage, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto, has been found guilty of his father's murder and is now an S-rank criminal!" Whispers could be heard among the crowds, some of them had confused faces, while others seem to feel nothing but anger, not to the council, but to Naruto himself. "However," Danzo said with certain disgust in his voice, which made the entire stage go silent, "Due to his status as the Village's jinchuriki, and a request from the Hokage himself. He is not to be killed, nor harmed by any means. His status as a criminal is merely a formality it seems." Danzo ended the phrase with evident disappointment in his words. Gasps of surprise erupted among the crowds as the council retreated back into the Hokage Tower. As they were walking back the Hokage approached Danzo and spoke without turning to face him.
"I once again doubt that the information is reliable, as the details given to me are sketchy at best."
"Hiruzen, what would I gain from fabricating evidence to frame young Uzumaki?" He responded in a calm voice. "Even though I disagreed with the Yondaime's idea of leadership I hold no grudge against the boy. Do you really have so little trust in me?"
"I never said you were the one that I didn't trust."
"Each and every one of the ANBU under my command is completely loyal to me. In all of the years they have served me they have given me no reason to doubt any of them."
"I know that you have complete faith in them, but even you have to admit the situation is much to suspicious. More than 2 years after the murder, a weapon appears containing old, dried blood that belonged to Minato and Kushina, along with a partial fingerprint that matches Naruto's. As far as the origin of the weapon, I've only been told that it was found in an old storage room."'
"Even if it seems impossible all of the facts add up to only one possible suspect, their son."
"But why would he do it? They were his parents! And he never showed any sing of hatred towards them, not once."
"Hiruzen, the council has made their decision. Like it or not, the boy is now a criminal, even if his freedoms are rather extensive."
"I still disagree... and Jiraiya will not stay calm when he finds out his godchild has been accused of the murder of his parents."
"Then I trust you will take care of him, after all the Hokage must do what is right no matter the consequences. Unless you wish to give up the title?"
"I will handle him."
"Good. Now, there are some important matters I must attend to, excuse me." Having said that Danzo slowly walked away with the constant tapping of his cane on the ground, leaving the Hokage behind as he stared up at the morning sky. Then an ANBU appeared in front of him and bowed down.
"Hokage sama! Uzumaki Naruto was not found in the surrounding forests! We have found no trace of him other than his hitai-ate, which was on the main road, 20 kilometers way from the West Gate."
"What? It is impossible that he could exit the Land of Fire so quickly. The other ANBU said he fled merely half an hour ago, and the journey through the forests takes at least one day. How did he get away?" He said as he turned to look at the forests in the horizon.
30 Minutes Ago
Shit! I shouldn't have waited until the last minute. Now it is only a matter of minutes until they catch up. Naruto thought as he was frantically dashing through the trees. He quickly turned back to see if any of the ANBU was close, but he immediately crashed against something which made him fall to the ground.
"Ahh! It hurts... What was that?" He said as he rubbed the small lump in his head.
"You should really watch where you're going. You might crash into something, again." A deep voice said as the man walked over to him.
"E-Ero-sennin!" Naruto said surprised. He was about to say something else when Jiraiya pulled him up to his feet. He formed a hand sign that transported them both into a very weird and desolated rocky mountain.
"You gotta believe me! I-I didn't do it, someone is framing me I-"
"What? Why would I think that? Of course you're not the one that killed your parents."
"Exactly! Wait, you believe me?"
"Absolutely, you don't even come close to the intelligence needed to murder a Kage."
"Thanks... Hey wait a minute, I-"
"Just be quiet for a second. Aside from the obvious there is another reason I brought you here. There is someone who wants to speak with you."
"Huh? Who?" He asked as he followed Jiraiya.
"You'll see." Jiraiya answered with a small grin. They walked for a couple of minutes until they came upon a large waterfall, but instead of water some sort of brown oil was falling down. There were several large stone statues of what could only be a toad all around the clearing. And sitting in the middle was a very, very, small figure.
"Fukasaku-sama?" Jiraiya called out. The small figure seemed to react as he slowly stood up, still being small.
"Jiraiya-chan?" The figure said as it turned around and removed the hood from its head.
"WHAT? A FROOOG!" Naruto said astonished.
"Well, this is the place from which toads come from, ma boy." The small toad said.
"Naruto, this is Fukasaku, the Toad Boss."
"What?! That little thing, but 'Bunta is live a million times bigger!"
"Yeah, 'Bunta-chan is quite big, but he is also quite proud and reckless. And by the looks of it 'Kichi-chan will be just like him." Fukasaku said as he chuckled.
"Fukasaku-sama may look small, but believe me when I tell you. He is one of the wisest and strongest around here. Fukasaku-sama, this is Naruto."
"Jiraiya-chan, I assume he is the boy of the prophecy." Fukasaku said as he glanced at Jiraiya.
"He could be, sadly I know his father isn't, and as you know Nagato wasn't him either." Jiraiya said with a sorrowful expression.
"Well, let's not dwell on the past..." Fukasaku answered as he looked over at Naruto.
"Wait a minute, what is this thing about the prophecy?"
"Ah yes, I forgot, you are as ignorant as Jiraiya-chan was when he first came here. Come, boy, there is someone who wants to talk with you." He said as he started to walk off, leaving Naruto and Jiraiya to follow. After some time they arrived at a large temple, in which a large and wrinkled toad was sitting still.
"Ōjiji-sama, Jiraiya is here, and he's brought company." Fukasaku said as he stopped in front of the giant toad.
"Who?" The toad asked as he looked down at them.
"Jiraiya."
"Who?"
"Jiraiya! The little runt that came here last time."
"Oh, Jiraiya-, yes, yes I remember now. And I assume that boy is your student?"
"Yeah, this is him, his name is Naruto."
"Ah, young Naruto, yes I remember now. Yours is a very important future." At this point Fukasaku and Jiraiya both walked away leaving Naruto alone. "You will become a strong shinobi, very strong indeed, and the beast inside you will be a crucial part of your strength. You will meet another boy like you but with great power in his eyes. Depending on both of your actions, this world will either be saved, or destroyed."
"Wait, what do you mean 'depending on my actions'?"
"It means that you should be wary in the path you choose to travel, for it can bring about dangerous consequences."
"But, what- AHH!" Naruto screamed as Jiraiya dragged him by the collar away from the temple. "Hey, Ero-sennin, let me go!"
"I can't do that, you'll just go bother the Great Toad Sage if I do. Besides we need to get started."
"Great Sage? But that guy was just babbling nonsense and... Wait, started with what?" He asked curiously as he planted his feet on the ground.
"Come with me." Jiraiya said, and this time Naruto followed willingly. They walked a couple more minutes until they came upon giant frog statues.
"What is this place?" Naruto asked puzzled.
"It's a long story, but I'll try to shorten it and dumb it down so that you can understand."
"Hey!" He said but was met with a wack on the head.
"No interruptions. Now, first of all, you know that chakra comes from every single person, right?" He asked and Naruto nodded slowly. "And if you manage to activate your chakra network you can utilize it as an energy source to strengthen yourself. Well, that is not the only kind of energy that exists in this world." Jiraiya said as he turned towards the statues.
"What do you mean?" Naruto said as he followed his gaze, and right beside a statue he saw Fukasaku meditating. He then stood up, turned towards a statue, and effortlessly lifted the massive monument. "What the hell?!"
"This energy is referred to as 'natural energy'. The toads utilize an ancient and special form of training to be able to absorb this energy and be able to use it for various things, such as increasing their own strength. This technique is known as Senjutsu." He said as Fusazaku slowly lowered the statue back to its original position. "I have not completely mastered this technique, so Fukasaku-sama will teach you." As he said this Fukasaku was hopping towards them.
"Well ma boy," he said as he landed in front of him, "let's get started."