Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction. All recognizable characters in this work belong to esteemed writer Masashi Kishimoto. I don't own Naruto.
He walked to their meeting place, the same dead root that he had emerged from seven years prior. Seven years or no human contact, interaction, socialization, no friends, no bonds… He felt really dead.
It was in those seven years that he truly realized: he was alone.
But it wouldn't be that way for long, that is what he told herself every day. Every day, for the first four years or so. But after a while, he stopped, he wondered, and he realized. Was it really such a good idea to go back into the past and behave as if nothing was wrong? Behave like he had any other time, as though he hadn't just met his friends for the second time?
No, they will not be his friends. He lost his friends long ago, he reasoned. Even if they looked the same, even if they acted the same, they were not the people he had come to befriend. The people he made bonds with, the people he belonged with, were long dead. Making friends with their less mature lookalikes wouldn't stop the pain. It would only increase it, and make Naruto realize exactly how empty he was.
He was going back, to fix things. To change this bleak future into one where everyone was alive and smiling.
But he was going to be alone, again.
Over the course of the seven years he had been training, he had plenty of time to think about what he would do with this gift. Many scenarios went through his head, but each time he found himself yearning for outside input. Input that no one could give, because he was the last living person on the planet.
He walked up to the meeting spot and saw the Sennin, sitting/floating in his normal position. He was staring at a seal of intricate design on the floor. 'That must be it,' he thought silently.
"Alright child. This is it. Before we begin there is some information I must divulge to you. I really tried to make this as flawless as possible but there is a chance very, very minor chance that you might cross dimensions itself. I hope it doesn't come to that but I am warning you beforehand. The chances are less than 0.5 percent but you have to be prepared for anything."
"Alright Sennin-sama. But even if I go back they'll never be my friends I grew up and made bonds with." He said his voice raspy from continued disuse. "I do hope that they'd be same but they won't live through the same experiences my friends have so anywhere I go I'll be a stranger in familiar place. And I'll save them even if it costs my life. It's all that matters."
The sage sighed and hoped that this time the child might keep his promise. "Alright Naruto, I am transferring my entire chakra into your body. Doing this there might be a chance of awakening Indra's gift. As you are of Asura's Bloodline chances are low. This is the last chance for humanity, Naruto so don't fuck this up. Now stand inside the array."
He stepped inside the array, and everything within the diagram's circumference began to glow. Naruto sent a small look at the Sennin. "… What will happen to you?"
Hagoromo closed his eyes and his head tilted forward slightly. "I need not reiterate what you already know. Do what you must, Child of Prophecy, and be wary. I have helped you as much as I can, for it is now up to you."
His eyes opened with sudden force and golden light replaced his normally amaranthine orbs. He put both his hands on Naruto's shoulders and he felt the Sage's power filling his entire body. "Do not let preconceptions force you to ignore a dream, for they often hold more truth than the reality."
Those were the last words that were spoken before the blonde found himself at the mercy of time and space, as he felt every fiber of his being torn to shreds.
Naruto's conscience drifted, and he struggled to maintain coherent thought.
The urge of slumber, the lull and beckoning of the welcoming darkness tugged at his consciousness… Was he even awake? He paid no particular heed to his surroundings, he felt a comfortable lethargy settle upon his mind.
But wait, wasn't he supposed to do something…?
Ah, yes… he was going back in time. He was going back in time, to… What? What for again? He wanted to simply stay adrift, bathed in this comfortable light…
His eyes snapped open. He had to change the past, the future. Otherwise, everyone… All of his friends would die. They would all perish, and the burden would all on his shoulders.
Friends…
His friends…?
Naruto shook his head. No, his friends were gone. His family was gone. The people he had created bonds with were gone, never to come back. No matter who he encounters in this trek through time, they would be entirely different people. He would never again see the people he had come to love and cherish with every fiber of his being, for their existences were wiped from all but his memories. The moment Naruto chose to travel back in time, his bid farewell to seeing his old friends.
But that did not mean that he wouldn't be able to make new bonds.
His friends lived through different pains, different scenarios, different losses.
He would ensure that, this time around, none of his most precious people would have to go through the pain that they experienced before.
Not while he had the power to change their fate.
When Naruto awoke, he felt his entire body cry in protest. Blood was leaking continuously from his face and he continued feel half of the bones in his body were cracked. The right half of his face is completely numb and there were numerous cuts littering his body.
Weird thing is that none of those cuts are healing as fast as they should as if... His eyes widened in fear and shock. 'Kurama...'he called hopelessly inside his mind. 'Kurama-nii are you there? P-please... please I-I c-can't lose you. P-please.' he wailed inside his mind.
Thinking that he inhibited other body he searched for a reflection. Looking around he was in a bar and the calendar showed the date to be 10th of October. Spotting a washroom, he ran inside and climbed up to see his reflection.
The face that greeted him made him cationic with shock for a few moments. Raising his shivering hands, he touched his face and moved it slowly towards the mirror. The right half of his face suffered second degree burns except for his eyes. His left eye was swollen and has few cuts. But the most dangerous one was one which extended from mouth to ear. He knew somehow that the right half would have the same appearance if it's not burned. Hatred and anger filled his mind and for the first time he wanted to kill those bastards. Chakra pooled into his eyes and his reflection looked back at him with a fully mature three tomoe Sharaingan.
Naruto was jerked out of his sleep by blaring sound of his alarm clock. Taking few breaths to calm down his nerves, he pushed back those memories to the back of his head.
'Less than 0.5 percent, Sage's wrinkled ass. Both of them happened on that night. He was now in other universe and his Sharaingan was activated on the first night he's here. He was not particularly proud of what he did that night but he didn't regret even one second of it.
Jumping out of his bed, he cleaned up the room, rearranged the bed and brushed his teeth. He created a Shadow Clone to cook meals and arrange the baby bag for Souma.
He ran towards the baby who just started to wake up and made his presence known by wailing at the top of his lungs. Naruto picked him up and started rocking him forward and backward soothingly.
"Shh... Souma-kun, your nii-chan is here. Calm down, calm down." He said gently.
The kid stopped crying as he removed his diaper. Naruto was hit by pungent smell "Argh... Souma-kun what did Aya-nee feed you after I go to Academy? How can someone so small poop so much?" He complained. "Come on Souma-kun. Let's take a bath."
Filling the entire tub with soap bubbles he checked the temperature and placed the kid after removing his and baby's pajamas. He threw the soiled clothes into a hamper and gently lowered the toddler into the tub. He splashed the water laughing cheerfully as Naruto cleaned the kid thoroughly, laughing as the cheeky brat splashed water on him.
The bath took longer than expected and Naruto handed over the kid to a Shadow Clone. He drained the water refilled it. He bathed for a few minutes and walked out of the shower to see his breakfast prepared. Souma was dressed in navy blue shirt with grey shorts. He sweat dropped when he saw the words written on the T-shirt with orange coloring 'Back off... I'm pooping.' His clones have weird sense of humor.
After dressing himself with a white T-shirt with orange spiral on it, a cream colored hoodie and cargo pants, he ate breakfast and dispelling the clones.
There's more than two hours left before the Academy starts but there are few things he needed to do. Placing the bento in his bag, he sent a clone to the Academy to keep his bag there. He took Souma to the Sarutobi Compound where a tiny little woman stood at the gate.
She has a round, kind, slightly anxious face and dark brown hair drawn back in a messy bun at the back of her head. She looks to be in her late thirties, there are already the beginnings of crow's feet around her eyes, and she has a white apron tied on over her clothes. She squinted at them nearsightedly, somehow managing to give a warm smile through all the squinting.
"You're early today Naruto-kun." She commented takings Souma from his hands. "Today is the first day of your final year at the Academy isn't it Naruto-kun? I hope you do well. Ah Hiruzen-sama requested you to meet him when you arrive."
"Thank you Aya-nee. Did you know what he wanted to talk about?" Aya shook her head.
"No, Naruto-kun. He didn't tell me anything. Just to send you to the parlor when you're here." She replied.
Shrugging slightly, he jogged through the gravel path and reached a traditional Japanese home. At Genkan, he removed his shinobi sandals and placed them on the shoe closet.
A faint bitter smell of tea leaves with hint of something he recognized. 'Jiji must be preparing for my interrogation.' he thought wryly.
It is an herb used for making a person tell nothing but truth on consumption for few minutes. It is completely tasteless but produces slight odour. Carefully he walked on the tatami floor, he reached the room where Hiruzen is sitting in front of a Daisu and Ro on zabuton. There's another zabuton laid on the opposite side for him to sit on.
"Pardon me, Sarutobi-sama. I'm not appropriately dressed for Asa-cha." He bowed down slightly.
"I was the one who didn't inform you beforehand, Naruto-kun. So pardon me. And please sit down." Hiruzen instructed.
Naruto bowed again and Hiruzen imitated him. A silk cloth was laid in front of him with Chaki (tea cup and plate with woods chopsticks) and chakasu (tea scoop). Both of them folded the silk cloth in two triangles and used the cloth to clean the cup and scoop in very precise moments.
After cleaning, Hiruzen pushed a bowl of sweets in the middle. "Please have some sweets Naruto-san." He said picking a sweet from the bowl and placed it on the plate. He wiped the chopsticks with the cloth.
After they both ate sweets, Hiruzen took the bowl in front of Naruto and said calmly. "I would like to serve you a bowl of tea." He said carefully pouring the powder and boiling water into the bowl. He repeated the same steps to his bowl and placed it back in front of him.
"Thank you for the tea, Sarutobi-sama." After drinking the entire bowl, Naruto raised his head and asked
"Not that I'm complaining Jiji. But why am I here?" Naruto asked as the ceremony is over officially completed. "You surely didn't call me to share a cup of tea."
"Naruto-kun, I want to know what really happened last year." He asked calmly. "Please don't lie about it. I'm not an idiot. I trained you myself and knew you better than anyone. What really happened?"
Naruto sighed slightly. 'So he didn't believe me completely, huh?' he thought wryly. 'But he'll now. After all he didn't know I'm immunity to all poisons and drugs known in Hi no Kuni.'
"I'm not lying, Jiji. Yes, I understood that you're asking about my kidnapping." He said looking into his eyes, keeping his tone even. "I may omit few details but deliberately never told you any lies, jiji."
'First stage of interrogation. Look for signs of abnormal behavior. If a person is lying he'll never look straight into your eyes, he raises or lowers his voice. He denies knowledge or try to convince overtly you his innocence. Pass' Hiruzen thought irritated. 'Lemme check if he made up the story or it's truth.'
"Ok Naruto-kun, can you describe the day for me, please?" He asked keeping his irritation at bay.
Naruto suppressed the raising of right eyebrow and raised his left one. "It's Friday evening and Academy was released at three in the evening. I sent a clone to Ichirakus and went to Maito-san for training. Learnt that he's out on mission, You, too are busy in Council meeting on that day. So I went to Training Ground Three to practice my Taijutsu. Using a large Kunai shaped rock as a checkpoint, I started running laps over the training ground. Then Umino-sensei came to me and requested me to follow him. I discreetly checked his chakra and it came out positive. Enma-sama ordered me not to use Senjutsu more than three hours per day. I practiced Senjutsu for two hours in the morning. I should've checked his presence and I paid for it in scars."
'According to Yamanakas, our brain is divided into two portions. For those who are right handed, left half of the brain is visual cortex and the right half is the creative cortex. If a person is asked to describe a scene he has viewed, he'd raise his left eye to visualize the place and speak about it. If he raises his right eye, he was clearly creating the place in his mind.' Hiruzen mused. 'Wonder who taught him that tid-bit?... and how on earth is he immune to valerian root mixture, I never know. Well…. time to pull out the big guns.'
He then pulled out a black colored book with symbol of four lines, two parallel to each other on it. Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly as Hiruzen hummed and turned the pages of the book which he clearly understood as Bingo Book of Kirigakure. On closer observation, the publish date printed on it was just two-months shy of Mizukage's supposed assassination. 'What the hell are you trying to pull old man?'
Hiruzen then closed the book and then pushed it towards him. "Please open the book to page 69, Naruto-kun." He requested.
Naruto raised his eyebrows and turned to the page specified. Jiji has habit of showing him recent powerful shinobi from recent Bingo Books and usually asks him to formulate strategies from the info in the book. 'Well I never knew that this book has been printed. Probably wasn't distributed because of end of civil war. Hmm… who might it be?' he wondered
His eyes nearly widened in shock as he saw the photo on the Bingo Book. It was a side profile of a hooded child with a mask covering his lower half of his face. His body was entirely covered in a shimmering black cloak. It was the photo from the infiltration mission which he collected Yagura's along with Sanbi's chakra to design a seal with which he broke the baby-faced Kage from Obito's control. If not for the Bō staff gifted to him by Enma, the boss summon that he carried everywhere in that photo, he would have gotten away with it. But now he has to confess at least partially something about his tryst in Mizu.
He must have taken lot of time as jiji took the book from his hands. "You must have caught some cold, Naruto-kun. As you didn't say anything lemme read the stats."
Name: Currently unknown
Alias: Shinigami no San Kekkei Genka (Shinigami of three bloodlines), Kyōakuna Ryū no Kiri Hankō (Merciless dragon of Kiri Rebellion).
Age: Estimated below ten
Rank: High A-Rank probably Low S-Rank, Elite Jōnin
Field Partner: Terumī Mei (Leader of Terrorists).
Affiliation: Kirigakure Bloodline Terrorists.
NotedKills:
Bachito Daikuro (high A-rank Jōnin)
Karatachi Samewa (high A-rank Jōnin)
Souhon Nugurisame (mid A-rank Jōnin) – Assisted
Souhon Tanaka (mid A-rank tokubetsu Jōnin)
Mission Record:
Undetermined D-ranks
Undetermined C-ranks
Undetermined B-ranks
Undetermined A-ranks
Undetermined S-ranks
Description:
Face Unknown, lithe body structure with a height of approximately 131 cm. His chakra was his beacon which is as cold as glacier.
Criminal Data:
Destroyed an entire village of Tachibana, killing the entire population of the when as his initiation into the Bloodline Terrorists. Children of that city was unaccounted for most likely brainwashed to serve under those terrorists. Stole important information from Kage Tower and is the most dangerous asset for the Bloodline terrorists. Least merciless of those scum, Shinigami was the partner of those criminal's Leader and their spy master. Never engage this shinobi unless with at least dozen high A-rank Jōnins. Flee-on-sight.
Noted Skills/specialization:
Sealess jutsu: Wind, Water and Lightning up to B-Rank jutsus. Even for those above B-Ranked ones that number of hand seals are cut at least by half. Known to be able to use even one-handed seals. Three Kekkei Genkai Ice Release, Lava Release and Boil Release
Able to use any weapon but was partial to Bōjutsu (High A-class). Can fight toe to toe in Kenjutsu against one of the Seven Swordsmen of Bloody Mist (High A-Class).
Above Average Medical Skills (High B-Rank) and excellent Genjutsu specialist (Mid A-Rank).
Stealth specialist, can infiltrate even Kage Tower and only reason he's seen is because he was there to assassinate Mizukage but was chased off by him.
Has enough knowledge of Fūinjutsu to use in field. Extent unknown
Bounty:
Alive: 75 million ryo.
Dead: 60 million ryo.
"One hell of track record ain't it, Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen said lighting his pipe. "I think I saw that staff on his back somewhere? Hmm… where did I see it?" He said putting on some ridiculous thinking posture. "Ah isn't it the staff given to you by Enma when you started Senjutsu training with him?"
Naruto didn't say anything and just sat silently sipping his tea with his bangs covering his eyes. "I thought that you might have run off the village unable to bear the hatred or might've gone to collect information. Hell even if you've decided to run away from the village I'd have felt better and would've made sure that you are not classified as missing nin as you didn't complete the academy. But…" Hiruzen took a deep breath to control his breathing and set his pipe down "out of all things you've done, you choose to go to Kirigakure no Sato to fight in fucking bloodline war." He said trying to hold back his tears.
"What if something happened to you? What if you are injured, hurt or god forbid killed? I lost one of my sons and other left me all alone to be one of the Twelve Guardians of Fire leaving me with my grandsons, Naruto. I lost my wife to Kyūbi and saw my daughter-in-law lay her life down to protect Konohamaru from assassins. I think you as my own Naruto. You mean to me as much Konohamaru and now Souma does. These old bones cannot take an other loss, Naruto-kun. I know you are a reasonable kid." He shouted. "So the truth now."
"Alright Jii-san. I'll tell the truth." He started. "It actually was true that my entry into the civil war was through that village. It started with me and Teuchi-san going to that town to buy supplies. The herbs he needed for his new recipe is present there. I really never wanted to join Kiri resistance or anything but something that happened on that day set off my patience and well I have time so hear about my introduction into the rebels."
It has been six hours since Teuchi and Naruto reached the village of Tachibana. It was a normal village with population less than five hundred members. Teuchi left Naruto at the inn to bargain prices with local dealer and he decided to take a nap. He regretted it when he was rudely wakened by splash of water to his face
"Dammit ji-san." He cursed the laughing man. "You got my mask wet." He glared at the man who looked more jovial and happy than usual.
"Hated that thing anyway, kid. Why on earth do you cover your face 24/7 I never know. Hope I may see it one day. But enough of that…. We're lucky to buy goods at this time. It seems that few monsters have been caught by the shinobis here, so they gave us fifty percent discount. Their execution was scheduled at six in the evening and the village was overjoyed. They invited us to join their celebration"
"Hmm… Sounds interesting. Our caravan leaves at eight and I'm bored and have nothing better to do. So why not?" They were joined by an old woman who's the keeper of the inn they are staying in. She was a short knobby old woman with gentle smiling face which were filled with wrinkles that came with age.
"I'm just super excited to see those monsters get what they deserve!" She admitted to Teuchi. "I lost my husband and all of my children when those bastards came to the village I used to live in and slaughtered them all." She shook her head as memories entered her mind. She resisted the urge to cry and let a smile develop on her face. "I don't know why I stayed alive. I guess it was so that way I could live long enough to see all those monsters die. That's what they get for killing so many innocent people. That's what they get for killing my family"
"That's the day I'll never forget jiji. If instead of going out to the 'celebration' and if I just stayed in the hotel, I would've never known the real depths of human depravity." Naruto said his eyes clouded as if he is reminiscing about something terrible. "But mostly I learned the monster, that hid within me. The monster I was capable of being. That woman, jiji, is around your age and was so cordial and kindhearted throughout our stay in that place. Did you know what happened to her?"
Hiruzen looked disturbed at the emotionless voice which his pseudo-grandson spoke in and shivered. Naruto opened his eyes and looked at him straight in his eye and this time Hiruzen shivered visibly looking at the eyes which lost all traces of emotions and looked like hardened sapphires….
"I'm sorry for your loss." Teuchi said in soft tone. "Losing your family and being all lonely sounds like hell on earth. Hope your family find peace in afterlife knowing that other person will never harm an other person."
They proceeded to walk through the alleyway they were in. After making their way to the other end, they entered a large square. They were apparently now in the center of the village.
Both noticed something in particular in the square. On one of the buildings was a large, black screen. There was nothing visible on it at the moment but it seemed as if something would be later. They were both confused. They turned their attention to one of the passers-by: a young man with no hair.
"Do you know what that is?" Naruto asked him.
"You're here for the celebration in the evening, right guys?" The man questioned. Both Teuchi and Naruto nodded, causing him to chuckle. "Well, you're in for a treat then. It's going to be taking place here and that thing up there is where the magic will start."
"Really?" Naruto's eyes widened in response. "How?"
"You'll find out, kid. Just enjoy the show tomorrow. It's at five o'clock in the afternoon, so make sure you're here." The man replied with a chuckle.
The man proceeded to walk away after answering the question, leaving both of them confused and concerned.
After waiting for an hour, the screen on one of the buildings lit up. All eyes were focused in on the screen. The screen displayed an image of a man in his forties. He had long, unkempt, brown hair that went to his neck and had similarly-colored brown eyes. He wore a black skin-tight, sleeveless gi and wore dark blue pants. On his gi were two pockets that had scrolls sticking out of them. Around his neck was a Kirigakure forehead protector.
"That's him. That's Samewa." The old woman explained. "He is one who is carrying out the noble mission of eliminating those filths from the face of earth. He is also cousin of our Mizukage." On hearing those words Naruto then remembered that still Civil War is going on in Kiri and felt heavy stone drop at the bottom of his stomach. He hoped his fears will not become a reality.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen of Tachibana. I trust you all have been having a good day. Just like I have." The man, Samewa, asked from the screen. People across the square cheered loudly in response. There was a pause in the video, as if he predicted there would be a loud applause. The video then started to play again. "As you all know, my name is Samewa and I assume you all know precisely why I'm here. I'll be down at the square in just a few moments, but before we begin, I think you all should meet the pieces of shit we're going to watch die today."
Samewa walked backwards and revealed four figures that were tied-up behind him. Each of them had chakra-suppressing seals on their foreheads. It was hard to really identify anything about the five except for some general comments about their appearances. One was a bald man with scars running down his face. The second was a woman with short brown hair. The third was a man with short black hair, but also had feminine features on his face. The fourth was a young girl with long white hair that went to her back.
"There's a little girl there!" Teuchi gasped.
Their companion's eyes narrowed in hatred and she spoke. "A little girl? She's nothing more than a monster who if allowed to grow up will slaughter everyone indiscriminately." Her eyes glowed with sadistic glee. "I wanted to see that demon killed and her head on stake
As if agreeing with her, the audience that was around them started to boo. A few of them were chanting angry phrases that were incomprehensible due to the sheer volume and anger in their voices. A few phrases, however, stood out.
"KILL THEM!"
"SET THAT GIRL ON FIRE!"
"I WANNA SEE THAT BALD GUY'S HEAD ON A STAKE!"
"What… the… fuck?" Teuchi's eyes were wide. 'How can they say this crap? They didn't even do anything for fuck's sake!'
"Ji-san." Naruto held his hand in tight grip fingers digging into his skin. "Please do refrain from saying anything. This crowd wanted them to die, so anything we say will be lost on them." He said calmly dragging him out of the crowd. They stood at the distance where they could see everything. Teuchi started to say something but refrained when dark red eyes looked at him displaying the hatred on the proceedings.
"So let's start introducing you to these lovely people, don't you think?" Samewa questioned the audience as he walked over to the bald man. "So, you are Kenshin, right? Of the Hemo Clan? The clan that has a kekkei genkai that allows you to manipulate other people's blood? I've heard that if somebody went against somebody of your clan, you could drain their entire body of all their blood if they had even one open cut for you to take advantage of." The executioner then got into the man's face. "Don't you wish you could do that to me now? Drain me of all my blood? Kill me? Cause I know your clan was particularly bloodthirsty. Killed many of innocent people."
"My clan only killed when ordered by the Mizukage." The man, Kenshin, replied with a grunt. "We were a loyal clan to Kirigakure. Always had been!"
"Loyal, huh? Funny. Yagura-sama knew just how loyal you piece of shits were. Your clan was caught planning a coup long before those fucking rebels tried anything!" Samewa exclaimed.
"That's a lie-" Kenshin was about to say before Samewa pulled out a kunai knife and stabbed the man in his shoulder. "AH!"
"I don't approve of liars, asshole." Samewa hissed as he dug the knife deeper into the man, causing him to scream more.
The audience started to cheer even louder as the screaming grew louder. Teuchi was now looking very pale.
"This is wrong…" He mumbled to herself.
"Anyway, let's move on" Samewa said. The executioner than walked over to the woman with the brown hair. "Ha. You're Kemuri Kimiko. You are one of those fucking smoke assholes that burned Kibo village to the ground!"
"I… I… I didn't do anything. I promise!" The woman, Kimiko, pleaded to the man. She was in tears. "Please, believe me. I-"
"STOP FUCKING LYING!" Samewa screamed as he stabbed her with his kunai knife in the arm. She screamed in pain, which only caused him to go deeper. "I SAW YOU BASTARDS DESTROY MY FAMILY! I THINK IT'S ONLY FITTING THAT I FINALLY GET TO SOME REVENGE ON YOU!"
Samewa eventually stopped torturing the woman and moved on to the next person – the feminine looking man with short black hair.
"And you are one of those Ice Release Yuki-clan shinobi. Daisuke was your name, right?" He asked
The black-haired man, Daisuke, gave no response. This prompted Samewa to punch him in the face. Teuchi winced at watching the action and tears started falling from his eyes.
"Speak when addressed." The executioner ordered.
"… I have nothing to say to you." Daisuke spoke with anger.
"… Your death will be slow. I'll make sure of that." Samewa grinned as he then moved over to the final person in the room – the little girl. "And here we have sweet, sweet Kaguya Mari. How old are you?"
"E-Eight." The girl, Mari, answered quietly. The word was mixed in with sobs.
"Eight, huh? You must have been born around the time the rest of your clan was slaughtered by Yagura's troops because they tried to attack the villages in Mizu no Kuni. That was a great day. We got to rid the world of your evil, evil clan!" The executioner noted. A sadistic grin developed on his face as he noticed the little girl's sobbing intensify. "Why so sad? Were Mommy and Daddy killed that day?" He received a small nod in affirmation, causing his grin to develop further. "Are you ready to meet them? Cause you'll be spending the rest of eternity in hell with them!"
"Well, ladies and gentlemen, those are the four pieces of shit that are going to die today." Samewa stated. He turned his attention away from Mari and looked back forwards, as if he was addressing the audience. "Today they'll feel our pain and they'll be hung tomorrow morning. Now we'll come in"
The crowd began cheering loudly. Samewa, noticing the cheering, grinned as he made a gesture with his left hand in an attempt to pump up the crowd further. They responded back with more cheering.
Immediately, the video stopped playing. On cue, a large cyclone fell down from the sky and into the center of the square. Civilians that were standing around the area moved away to avoid getting hit. Everybody stared intently at the center
When the cyclone vanished, a group of individuals were present now in the center of the village. Tied-up and unable to move were the five hostages: Kenshin, Kimiko, Daisuke, and Mari. Surrounding them were a group of masked Kirigakure shinobi. Standing in the front of the group was Samewa. The man was wearing the same attire as he had in the video. The only difference, however, was that he was now holding a large axe in his right hand that he was holding up with no effort.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I hope you enjoyed the little video I had planned." Samewa spoke to the crowd. He received cheering, giving him his answer. His grin seemed to widen. "Good. Very good. Then, why waste any time? Let's get right to work! Let's make this a slow, fun process!" Unable to watch anymore Teuchi walked back to the inn.
"Wanna know what ran in my mind at that moment jiji?" Naruto said coldly. "That moment I decided that no one will see the light of another day." He looked at him with red eyes pinwheels rotating lazily in them. "I did that exactly. Gave Teuchi-san a slip and freed the hostages. There's a bit with Fūinjutsu and everyone who wished for death are killed. Frankly speaking they are tortured and…. well burnt alive. Ameterasu was a good inspiration for that fire. Each and every one of the village burned seven days and seven nights before they died. I created a seal in such a way to ensure they didn't die before that. All those below fifteen years were spared. As I wore a black cloak and killed mercilessly, I was called Shinigami, and seals made it possible to use Bloodline elements. Rebels found me and rest is history."
"Naruto..." he started calmly.
"Jiji, I am really sorry for not telling you the truth and ran off to other place. But I don't regret any of my actions." He said bowing down. "My lapse of self-control didn't happen again and I saved many innocent people. So can I do anything more for you."
Hiruzen looked sad his confession and relighted his pipe. "I tried to protect you from horrors of war Naruto. But it seems I'm unsuccessful. Can you promise me to make friends again Naruto-kun?" he raised his hands to silence any protests. "I know what you have experienced Naruto. I know you spend lot of time near that cemetery. But now you are strong enough. You promised me to make friends when you are strong enough, didn't you? Fulfill that." He ordered.
"Jiji…" he started. "No excuses Naruto-kun. By the end of year try to bring at least five friends…" he stated. "And that is an order. Academy starts in two hours. Do you want to stay till then?"
"No Jiji. I have to go." He said. "Thank you for your hospitality." He bowed and walked out.
In the most famous flower shop of Konohagakure no Sato, Yamanaka Flowers, a light blond haired girl sat reading a fashion magazine. She has a beautiful heart shaped face, long platinum blond hair, blue-gray almond shaped eyes and pouty lips. She's currently wearing light orange color t-shirt with grey shorts and was humming quietly to herself.
The Yamanaka flower shop had four kinds of customers, the Ninja here for the rare poisons her father didn't let her anywhere near, the gardeners that knew exactly what they were here for, the husband here to pick up their weekly tribute for their wives. And then there was Ino's favorite customer, the lost boy looking for a flower to impress the girl he liked.
It was always so romantic seeing those boys go out of their way to impress the girl they liked. Ino sighed wistfully into the bouquet of yellow daffodils she had been preparing for a local businessman that was a few days late for his anniversary. "I wish Menma would bring me flowers someday, I bet he wouldn't forget our anniversary."
Not that they had an anniversary, he had gone so far as to turn her down every time she asked him out. Not that she was alone in that endeavor, he had turned down every girl that had asked him on a date gently. 'He's so cute and polite. Not like the asshole of his brother who could freeze even hell fire with a look.' she thought darkly. 'There's no way in hell any asshole like him would get a girl to love him under any circumstances. If they did I pity those girls.'
In several other Universes, many girls sneezed with Ino among them.
She completed her work for the day, but her mother ordered her to look over the shop till she comes back. 'There's only one hour forty minutes before Academy starts and I wanna look beautiful for my Menma-kun.' she wailed internally. 'Hope Mama comes back sooner.'
Her thoughts were interrupted by chiming of the doorbell signaled the arrival of the customer.
"Hello!" Ino greeted, bouncing off the countertop and onto her feet, she put on her best customer service smile. "What can I… oh it's you." Her smile vanished, and she folded her arms across her chest. "What the hell are you doing here?" She shouted on seeing the asshole brother of her crush.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto pinched his nose. Remembering his promise with jiji, he put aside his Inner Sasuke and replied calmly. "Good Morning Yamanaka-san. I'm here to buy some flowers."
"So who's the unlucky person you are giving flowers to?" She asked as he's not being himself. "Meh... I'll know it by tomorrow."
"It's for a friend, Yamanaka-san. Please could you hurry up. I'm already late in seeing her." He said keeping his temper at her immature attitude. "She's just immature... She's just immature." He mumbled under his breath.
"Must be for that tomboy Fu. She pretends to be friendly but still a backstabbing bitch. I mean who makes friends with that Ice Princess Mito and you of all persons except to get close to Menma-kun?" She mumbled but Naruto clearly heard it.
"At least she's not a waste of space like you Yamanaka." He said his eyes hardening slightly.
His tone didn't raise but Ino felt chills running up her spine. Her mind registered his words but she couldn't shake her fear for nearly a minute.
"Who the hell did you think you are?" She shouted. "You are a friendless, talentless, cold hearted asshole who'll amount to nothing. Your parents threw you out because you are a disgrace to their family. And..."
"Shut up." He ordered, for first time malice coloring his tone. "You said what everyone thinks about me didn't ya? Lemme tell you what a real kunoichi, not those stupid Chunin level ones the Jōnin level ones like Mitrashi Anko, Uzumaki Kushina, Mikoto Uchiha, Kurenai Yūhi, Yūgao Uzuki, Tsunade Senju, hell even your own mother think when they look at you... Step out of the counter." He ordered.
Ino walked out of the counter before the words are registered in her mind, her legs shivering at his voice. 'Mama... Where are you?' she cried scared at the gaze of the boy in front of him. He grinned maliciously looking up to her as she's slightly taller.
"My, my what do we have here? Ah a new Academy student. Hmm... Academy student might be an insult, I guess." He placed a finger under her chin looking up and down at her. 'It's not a look of a pervert.' Ino recognized. 'It's look of disdain when the scientist is given a faulty specimen.'
"My, what a good chakra control?" He said as if it were an insult. "Not surprising as she has chakra pool of eight-year old child with body of eleven years' one albeit an anorexic one." Ino lowered her head in embarrassment not even able to summon anger at his words. "Bet you a thousand ryo that she'd suffer severe Chakra exhaustion after using a C-ranked jutsu she mastered five times. No it may be four times."
"What a soft hand, these are... Did she have advanced healing abilities. Hmm... not possible looking at those measly chakra reserves. No scars too... Skipping out tai and shurikenjutsu training huh?" He said coldly. "Non dexterous fingers?" He wondered as he twisted her fingers, making her cry out in pain. "Never bothered to practice Ninjutsu except for clan jutsu I bet."
"Oi, she's Yamanaka Inoichi and Benten's daughter it seems. Damn my respect for them went down few notches. Hmm... I think Benten must have tried to curb her tendencies. That's the only reason she might be working here in this dirt." Ino's anger flared. But he's right. Without her mother's persuasion she'd never have set a foot in this place. She tried to speak but he rolled over her. "But I think Inoichi spoiled her too much. Why on earth is he once Head of T&I I never know if his own daughter is this way. A spoiled bratty little bitch. He might've never said no to this girl in her entire life if I'm not mistaken." He said venomously. Ino is now crying openly. Yes, her father always indulged her. Be it shopping, her dieting or her infatuation for 'Menma-kun' or anything. Only thing he asked is to be friendly with Shikamaru and Chōji. And looking back she treated them like subordinates instead of friends. Shika has to be forced to be in her presence and Chōji tolerated her silently. She tried to beg him to stop but he continued uncaringly.
"My, my what a long beautiful hair." He said fisting it and buried his nose in it. "Hmm... good conditioners and smelling shampoos are used. Looks like it'd been taken care of well. Before she could comprehend, he was suddenly behind her and placed a hand on her neck and pulled back her hair strongly. "Wonder if I need a kunai to her throat to kill her or just a good pull to snap the neck." He said applying little bit pressure. Tears appearance in her eyes as she tried to escape. Scoffing at her attempt, he released her and pushed her away. She stumbled before righting herself with the counter. "Any enemy worth his salt would find you in a moment just by the smell of your shampoo."
He squeezed her bicep making her whimper in pain. "Is this really a body of Kunoichi-in-training? I've seen patients with anorexia stronger than this. If this is the future of Kunoichi from Konohagakure no Sato, I'd say we're doomed."
"To sum it up, you're a useless anorexic fan-girl who'd be dead weight to her team. A spoiled bitchy princess-wannabe who most likely will get her team killed because she spent her time stalking her 'love'" he spat that word as if it's a poison "instead of training seriously. They'll have to risk their lives to protect you because you wasted your time dreaming about 'Menma-kun'. If they fail, the best case is that you too will be killed with them. Wanna know the worst one? Information will be extracted from you and you'll be forced into the brothel. A place where men twice, sometimes thrice and may be more times older than you will force their semen into your little body the rest of your life. Many people love that after all. In that place you'll die knowing your Prince in shining armor will never come. At this point that only good thing about you in this wretched life is that you are heir to Yamanaka and gossip queen. Hmm... gossip queen isn't a good point those. Who knows when you babble out a village secret? Just fucking grow up Yamanaka." He growled out.
The shop was completely silent except for sobs of a girl. Naruto looked impassive but on close observation, you could see that he too was really distressed.
"Benten-obasan. Come here. I know you're there" he said calmly.
Ino looked tear-stricken as she saw her mother who walked in. Benten was a beautiful lady with light blond hair and blue-gray eyes. With sharp royal features and air of regality around her, it is clear where Ino got her beauty from. She wore a dark grey work Kimono covering her D-cup breasts, large hips and small waist. She also wore with black shirt, brown pants with shinobi sandals.
"How long are you here, Mama?" Ino asked meekly.
"From the moment I entered the shop, she's here, Yamanaka-san" Naruto replied in a resigned tone. "I am sorry Benten-obasan. And I'd understand if you don't want me to be here again. But please is my order ready. I'll pay even thrice the price."
Ino for just one moment wished that her mother would kick Naruto out of the shop. But she kneeled down and held his face in her dainty hands. She kissed his forehead and smiled at him lovingly "It's on the house, Naruto-kun. And you didn't start the argument. And you were always welcome here Naru-kun." Naruto looked at her tearfully and hugged her. Few moments later, Benten released herself gently from him embrace and entered a room. She came out with bouquet filled with Asphodels and there's a single red rose in it. Ino's eyes widened in disbelief and shame hit her hard when she understood the meaning of the bouquet.
Naruto placed few ryo bills even when Benten protested and nearly ran out with the bouquet.
"Wait Naruto-kun. Here's your money. But I need you to do me a favor. Ino's in your class right? Give it to Iruka-sensei if Ino comes late to the class." She handed him a letter. "Do this and consider your bill is paid."
With a sigh Minato started once again working in his paperwork. Now while normally it was something Minato hated with passion, this time he found it distracting enough. Something that would made him forget a little about the entire problem he now had. It has been a year since he talked with Naruto in the hospital but they're nowhere getting close to him. Menma and Mito said that Naruto usually came to classes and slept whenever they walked near him. Not surprising as he does sleep or give cold shoulder whenever anyone tries to talk to him except for two to three students. On seeing that his face was uncovered, he looked eerily similar to Menma and they tried to befriend him. He simply rebutted their offer for friendship.
Going to Ichiraku Ramen stall was not productive at all. He left Shadow Clones there and trained somewhere else. He really doesn't want to go to Sandaime-sama. Log knows how a man cherished as Kami no Shinobi will react to his presence. He rounded up all the bastards who tortured his child but funniest thing is that nearly all of them except for very few were sent to Orochimaru as lab rats two years ago. No doubt, definitely Hiruzen's work. And all of them are bought in brain dead, no better than a vegetable.
The Jinchuriki of Nanabi Fu didn't know where he lives either and he's her best friend. He decided to use the crystal ball used by Hiruzen to watch this year to be graduation class as it is only time he could watch his estranged son Naruto.
He recalled that Hiashi's eldest daughter was starting the Academy this year and was placed in his son's class. That struck up Hyūga didn't want his daughter to attend the Academy. He pawned her off to Kurenai Yūhi after disinheriting her. He further made it sure that she won't attend Academy by not giving up his rights on her till she's ten last year. Hiashi once wanted his daughter to enter the Academy and if she is weak, he'd have her branded with Cursed Seal.
All those plans went to hell two years ago when an unknown assailant bought the entire clan to its knees and killed half of the Main House and cut off the hands of few of the remaining members, shaving off their hair excluding the children but not before forcing them to erase the Cursed Seal. He was a criminal under the law as he killed Konoha Shinobi but if he's caught Minato will make sure that he will go unpunished even if he was to go against the entire clan.
The Hyūga clan was protected by all Kages of Konohagakure no Sato as one condition they were to join Konoha was that no Kage or Daimyo shouldn't interfere with the clan matters. The act of enslaving their own family was despicable by any standards. The Main House didn't say anything about the assailant but the Branch family ones called him a God among humans. He challenged the entire clan and crushed them like bugs using just Taijutsu. The remaining details were not revealed to outsiders but the description of the man was made public.
He is tall and pale-skinned man with hairless brow ridges and white hair reaching his waist. His bangs were short hung to left side of his face with a chin-length lock which hung from the right side of his face. He also had small, horn-like protrusions on his forehead. He wore a light, full-length kimono with a pattern of six black magatama around a high collar and dark pants. He had his sword in its sheath strapped to his left hip. His eyes were dark brown and he has a tattoo of dark crescent moon on his left hand. There was no facial match of the man in entire Elemental Nations and the clan claimed that he is not using Henge. Well there are many different types to hide from Byakugan so can't say it's his real form though.
Usually no students are allowed into Academy above nine years old but Kurenai begged him to allow Hinata to be admitted into the Academy as she's a good Kunoichi if shy. Minato without any hesitation signed the required documents which were taken by the tearful but thankful kunoichi.
Hiashi tried to block her but it is useless. He signed off the clan rights along with his own on her under genjutsu developed by Kurenai which she developed against Byakugan users. This made Hinata a clan member just by name and if she wanted she could change it. The clan leaders were left frothing at mouths but unable to do anything, left the Council calmly.
Using Hiraishin, he flashed home leaving a Shadow Clone to complete his paperwork for today. Kushina would love to see her son even if it is through the ball.
"Kushina," he called his lovely wife " After completing the chores do you wanna watch Naru-kun in the Academy?"
She raced down the stairs. "I already completed the chores Minato-koi. Natsumi-chan is out playing with Konohamaru-kun and Hanabi-chan in Sarutobi compound. So let's see how he is."
It has been three weeks since they saw the boy. This was the first day of the Academy and he can see Naruto clearly. And he could also see his children easily.
The ball was activated with a dragon hand seal and he got good look over the class room. The students were rowdy as usual. With exception of a pale skinned long haired beautiful girl, tan skinned mint haired girl, brown haired serene girl and his daughter every Kunoichi in training were flocked around his son Menma asking him out for dates. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere than here judging by the look on his face.
The pale skinned girl wore a sleeveless Kimono styled blouse that was dark blue in color and held closed with a black obi over a short-sleeved mesh shirt with a pair of dark blue shorts and brown shinobi sandals. There was Uchiwa symbol on the back of her blouse proclaiming her as an Uchiha clan member. She has heart shaped face with doe like eyes and pouty lips. She has sharp nose and was currently looking at the other girls in disdain. This is Satsuki Uchiha, known as Suki to her friends and the daughter of Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha.
The mint haired girl who was chatting mile-a-minute with his daughter was Fu. She arrived at the gates of Konoha two years ago after being treated as an outcast in her home village Taki. She was content to live freely in the forest in outskirts of her village until the council sent assassins after her. She managed to lose them after many days and reached Konoha. They initially thought she was a spy but under rigid and advanced mind walks, they saw her life and was surprised how she could still smile after all she experienced. Maybe that's why Naruto could connect with her so freely. She was a petite, tan-skinned kunoichi who wore an orange clip in her short, layered mint green hair that matched her mischievous lotus petal shaped eyes, which was also orange. Her outfit consisted of a short sleeveless white midriff shirt with fishnet armor underneath, long white armlets, and fishnet shorts with a short white apron skirt over it.
The brown haired girl sat next to Satsuki and was painting something in her sketchbooks. She was once one of the students of Kurenai Yūhi. The last living Main Branch member of the Kurama clan, Yakumo was born with frail body and exceptional ability to mold yin chakra. Her other persona, Ido, frightened Kurenai and she asked him for help. He managed to use a seal which created a symbiotic relationship with the other persona and she was admitted to the Academy. She has round face with gentle almond shaped eyes, thin lips, Roman nose and gentle face. Her hair is straight on one side, but on the other side it is in a braid. In addition, she sports a clip with two circular designs. For her outfit she wore a pink kimono held closed by a pink sash with two pockets on the front. She also wore violet baggy pants and red mesh armor underneath her kimono, along with sandals that were orange in color.
His daughter Mito looked similar to Kushina when she's younger. Waist length red hair, round cute face, small lips but inherited his blue eyes. She wore clothes similar to her friend Satsuki except for different colors. She wore a sleeveless Kimono styled blouse that was yellow in color and held closed with a black obi over a short-sleeved mesh shirt with a pair of cream colored shorts and brown shinobi sandals. There was spiral symbol on the back of her blouse proclaiming her as an Uzumaki clan member.
All four of them sat near the corner of the room. Hated by remaining girls in the class and distant towards the boys because they turned down the offers for dates, they are known as next coming of Ice Queens of Konoha or simply Ice Princesses. As far as Minato knew, they were the only kunoichi in the Graduating class who took their roles as kunoichi seriously. Even if they toughened the Academy syllabus it seems impossible to get rid of fan-girl epidemic.
Naruto was nowhere to be seen as he usually arrives few seconds before the bell. Kushina took the ball and kicked him out of the room saying that she'd love to hear what her daughter is speaking and will call him when Naruto-kun arrives.
"Ne, Suki-chan." Yakumo called her softly. "Stop glaring at those girls. Did you complete the homework given to us by Iruka-sensei?"
"Ah yes, Yakumo-chan. Nii-san helped me with my homework and taught me how to perform fireball better. I need to learn another C-rank jutsu to pass, but I have a year to do so. And Don't they have any shame? These brainless fan-girls the very reason why kunoichi of our nation are laughing stock in the entire Elemental Nations. In other nations if the kunoichi is a fan girl she'd be demoted and stripped of her rank or will be made to undergo remedial training." She growled out "When I become the Hokage, I'll pass that law."
"Just cool down Suki-chan." Fu chirped brightly. "They will come around after their first higher C-rank mission. I hope they won't be killed in that mission-ossu. Naru-chan says that if they don't get their act together, it's a certainty. I hope they survive. They will see the error of their ways I can be friends with them-ossu."
"How on earth did you manage to get my cold as ice brother as your friend, I never knew Fu-chan. And he is right on that matter though-ttebasa. I hope it doesn't come to that."
"Hmm. But he is weak too. That'll be pot calling kettle black." Suki said in matter of fact tone. " He skips classes does the bare minimum to pass and never takes anything serious."
Mito glared at her while Yakumo-chan shrugged. It is true and it perfectly describes Naruto's behavior in the class, so she couldn't refute that. She thought that Fu might protest but she sat there without saying anything. Few moments later, she laughed out merrily unable to contain her mirth.
"Naruto-kun, weak." She laughed out. "Those two words should never be used in same sentence unless there's 'not' in between. He is easily the strongest Shinobi in our class at least when it comes to sabotage or assassination missions. You know the entirety of ANBU force, the Inuzuka tracker squads, Hyūga clan members and finally one of the Densetsu no Sannin (Three Great Ninjas), Orochimaru himself tried to track him and failed. It has been going since last year but yet they didn't know where he lives. You can see Naruto only if he wanted to be seen. It is the mark of an assassin. And he trained in Ninjutsu under Sandaime-sama and learned Taijutsu under Maito Gai himself. He doesn't bother with the class that's all."
The remaining three girls are stunned at her words. It is true after all. 'So why does he hide his skills?' all of them thought
"Troublesome." A lazy voice drawled out behind them. They turned back to see a boy with narrow brown eyes and a typical expression suggesting he is either bored or irritated. He has shoulder length black hair tied in a spiky ponytail. His face was slightly round with baby fat and has sharp nose. He is looking at them now in irritation. He wore a short-sleeved grey jacket with green-edged sleeves and the rudimentary Nara clan symbol on the back, under which is a green-lined mesh armor T-shirt with brown shorts. This is Shikamaru Nara, son of Yoshino Nara and Shikaku Nara. He is heir of Nara Clan.
"Can you troublesome girls calm down? Geez I'm trying to sleep here." He said lazily.
"Shika..."a rotund build boy said softly "I'm sorry for him. He didn't get enough sleep today and was kicked by Minamoto-san and Haruno-san trying to get to your brother, Uzumaki-san. So he's slightly cranky." This is Chōji Akimichi, son of Chōza Akimichi and Chio Akimichi the Akimichi clan heir. He donned a green, short-sleeved haori with a long, white scarf over a light-green shirt, with the kanji for "food" (食, shoku) on it. He also wore black shorts, hoop earrings, and bandages around his legs and forearms. He had apologetic expression on his face which has red swirls tattooed on them. "Ino-chan didn't disturb us today. Surprising."
"And reminding me of the blond who defeated me in shōgi." He said irritated. "He's damn slippery and I still didn't have my rematch."
"Naruto-san defeated you in shōgi?" Chōji asked surprised. "When did that happen?"
"It has been one year, two months, six days and fourteen hour twenty minutes I lost to him. You were ill with cold on that day and I escaped my troublesome mother and Ino. He was lying on the grass watching clouds on the spot I found. Seems irritated and asked me to leave. Me being lazy challenged the troublesome blond to a game of shōgi. The loser must leave the place without any complaint. He took thirty minutes to gain the entire board and other fifteen minutes to capture my King." He said in same irritated tone. "He then proceeded to kick me out of that place before I could demand a rematch. The next day he isn't there at all. I am still waiting for that rematch."
"Hmm... and you couldn't find him again after that day. Interesting. But he sometimes hangs out with Kiba and I, helping us with our training and Taijutsu. You can come along with us."
"Hold on, hold on. Why does beating you in shōgi that important?" Satsuki asked bewildered. Chōji simply smiled and took out four shōgi-ban and immediately arranged the boards.
"Well one vs four match. If any of you guys manage to defeat Shika here will get unlimited meals at Yakiniku Q with plus one for a week." Chōji said calmly. "And Shika if you manage to win all these girls I'll hide you from Ino-chan and Yoshino oba-chan for a week. All the best and may the best player win."
"You are going down Nara." Satsuki said ominously. Yakumo grinned likewise with image of Ido shadowing her. Fu smiled sweetly while Mito bowed her head in sportiveness.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru groaned and the game started with Chōji setting on the timer. Twenty-five minutes passed away and the girls looked with an expression cross between awe and bewilderment.
"Time, Chōji?" He drawled out. Chōji simply grinned smugly and announced the results.
"Fu-san lost in nineteen minutes fifty-seven seconds, Kurama-san in twenty minutes one second and Uchiha-san and Uzumaki-san tied at twenty-three minutes fifty-nine seconds. Hmm...you guys made a record. Shika usually defeats everyone in his age group in below fifteen minutes even his own clan members. Guess playing four of you at the same time might've been a bit of inconvenience."
"A-and Naruto defeated y-you?" Fu asked as the remaining girls are still in state of shock. Shikamaru glared at her and slept. But they heard a mumble which sounded suspiciously like "more like annihilated me."
It stunned them all but none more than Kushina who's watching them. It is known fact that Naras have unmatched intellect and Shikaku himself said that in time his son has potential to be more intelligent than himself. And her Naru-chan defeated him. She couldn't be more proud but felt sad that she and her husband didn't help him in anyway. As if sensing her distress, Minato appeared in the room just in time to see Naruto walk inside the classroom. The bell rang immediately and he walked to the back of the class which was empty and slept.
The children immediately scrambled to the available seats leaving an entire row for Naruto. A tall pale skinned, curly haired boy was the only person except for Naruto who sat in that row. He wore a hooded gray jacket with black pants and is easily the tallest boy in the class. His entire body was covered and his eyes were hidden by sunglasses. Kiba was thrown from Menma's side by Ami and Sakura who occupied either side of him. He looked pissed off but sat beside Chōji. The remaining fan-girls not wanting to incur the wrath of their Founder and President, sat as close to Menma as possible. Before a fight for closest seats could escalate, Iruka entered the class, gently guiding a small girl with his hand.
The class immediately quietened when he entered. Usually it takes, Iruka-sensei at least few minutes and generous use of Big-head no Jutsu to calm all of them down. But all the class were looking intently at the new-comer.
Naruto woke up from his sleep to see what's so interesting. On seeing the girl his face went blank, upper half shadowed by his hair making it difficult to see his expression
She is small and pale, with short, thick dark hair hanging around her chin, making her round white face look even rounder. She wore a cream-colored hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem with navy blue pants. She looked down with heavy blush on her face due to attention she's receiving from her classmates
"This is a new student. She will be in this class, as well as in your year.," Iruka-sensei informed, gazing around at the class. There is a buzz of excitement around the classroom at this. Iruka waited patiently until the mutterings died down. Then he continued, squeezing the girl's shoulder, "Her name is Hyūga Hinata. Hinata-chan, please introduce yourself."
She raised her head and everyone got a good look at the smaller girl. She's really, really cute with pale pupiless round eyes with hint of lavender in it, a cute button nose and pouty lips. All the boys except for Shikamaru who's sleeping and Naruto ogled at her while the fan-girls glared at her. She 'meep'ed and put her head down blushing madly.
"KEEP SILENT." Iruka shouted using big-head no Jutsu.
"A-ano. M-my name is Hinata. I like zenzai, cinnamon buns, performing tea ceremonies and training with K-Kurenai sensei. I-I dislike c-crabs and s-shrimp and my c-clan. M-my hobbies are p-pressing flowers, making herbal medicines and cooking." She said bowing down slightly.
"Alright Hinata-chan," he said looked around the classroom for an empty seat. Finding none except for one row he sighed. Hoping that the kid would be kind to the shy girl. "Please sit next to Naruto-san over there. Naruto-san, please raise your hand."
In my eyes… you're a proud failure! When I look at you, I get an intense feeling in my heart… Because you're not perfect… Because you fail… you have the strength to get back up… Because I believe that is what true strength is…"
These were the words which played in his mind when he saw the chibi version of the girl he loved in his previous life. Out of all persons, she was the first person to acknowledge him and loved him for all his faults and inconsistencies.
Bile rose up in his throat and eyes burned with unshed tears. To control his tears, he let his hair fall over his eyes and let no-one see his face. Naruto knew that his parents are always watching him during the Academy and he let them. If they saw his tears, he didn't want to explain himself.
He blamed himself for a long time that he's the reason why Hinata will never be a Kunoichi. Hinata's ambition always have been merging of Main and Branch House. It's a mistake in Tsukyomi which he should have realized immediately. So he made a Main House members erase the Cursed Seal, killed every member who has knowledge of it and destroyed the records. He then proceeded to cut off the hands of every Main House member who killed Branch house family using it. He thought it'd be a gift for joining Academy to her.
But the unknown side effect is Hiashi preventing Hinata from attending the Academy. It ended up killing her dream. He started sending gifts to the girl from last two years. He littered Kurenai-sensei's apartment with surveillance seals just as he had done with all his friend's houses. Now seeing that she's allowed to attend the Academy, he was really happy until he remembered the dried husk of the girl whose life was lost during Tsukyomi.
'This time it'll never happen.' He promised to himself. 'Even if it kills me I'll make sure that each and every one here would live and be happy. I failed my nindo due to my foolishness last time. The future I saw will never happen if I have any say on it.'
Drying his eyes with Katon Chakra, Naruto raised his hand slowly, moving aside slightly, so she could sit beside him. She shyly waved at him. All for his iciness and glacial attitude, he was weak when his friends are concerned after all. He smiled at her brightly giving her a small grin shocking all the class. Hinata blushed seeing his smile and hid her face in her jacket.
"Hello Hyūga-san. My name is Naruto. Welcome to our class. Nice to meet 'cha." He greeted her and resumed sleeping on the desk immediately.
Iruka didn't know whether to be relieved that Naruto's not being his normal self and make the girl unhappy or angry that he's sleeping again. Giving it up as a lost cause, he pulled out the attendance register and started calling the attendance.
"Aburame Shino…" Iruka-sensei called out.
"Present sensei." Hinata turned towards the stoic boy and greeted him shyly, while Naruto continued sleeping.
"Akimichi Chōji…" "Present sensei."
"Akane Matsuri…" "Present sensei.
"Bandai Asa." "Present sensei."
"Beppu Etsu." "Present sensei."
"Bessho Tamako." "Present sensei."
The roll list went on till Ino's name is called. Naruto woke up then and passed the note from Yamanaka Benten to Iruka-sensei. Iruka read the letter and blushed slightly. He then started the class.
Sorry for late update. i was trying to find a beta for my stories but without any success. NamitheKing agreed but seems to be busy with exams. So here's the other chapter. As usual please read and Review.