Answers to Review:

Alec McDowell: First of all, I want to thank you for the review and for reading this. Second, Hinata has her reasons for avoiding Sakura. It won't be revealed until later on, of course. I always liked a fast Naruto. It kinda balances out his strength and speed. Lastly, the reason why Sarutobi is so careful when it comes to having them together in one place is in this chapter. Maybe that'll clear some things up. As for the Academy, you're just gonna' have to wait a bit longer.

NarutoLuver896: Thanks for the review. And don't worry, they'll meet and become friends. Sakura won't like Sasuke in that way so don't worry about that. Naruto finds out about the Kyuubi in this chapter. Naruto and Sakura are gonna' rivals in the aspect of becoming Hokage. Sakura won't back down and we all know Naruto will not give up. And yes, Naruto will be slightly smarter in this fanfic.

DarkItachi22: Here's the chapter. Mikoto's character is brief and to the point.

Monsay: You'll find out what Mikoto thinks here.

ChokeBee: Thanks for reviewing! Hmm, you're right. Their thoughts are not as childish as they should be but I always thought that they were both pretty smart for their age (Sakura book-wise and Naruto battle-wise). I'm just giving them a little more in this. Jiraiya will bond with both of them as time goes by – unknowingly be them, of course but he'll have a bond with both of them. Naruto's character won't be pitiful and small, you'll see that in this chapter.

To everyone else who reviews/alerted/favourite-d this, thank you! Here's chapter five!

Hokage Tower- October 11

"Hokage-sama, do you really mean for me to take Naruto in? As in have him live with me?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

It's not that he hated the boy. No, he thought of the boy as a younger brother he had to protect. However, his hectic work hours and ninja carrier prevented him from being home for long. There's also the fact that Kakashi lives alone, and has no idea how to communicate daily with someone who lives with him. His father left him at an early age and Kakashi never really grew up with the love of a family. So, he does not know anything about caring for a little kid.

Besides, Naruto had a place of his own. The orphanage had burned down one night two years ago, and all the kids that had been situated there were either adopted or the Hokage had given them their own apartments because the other three orphanages that were scattered around the village had been completely full. So, the Hokage had given Naruto his own apartment suite and the boy has been living there since.

"I know what you're thinking, Kakashi, but I trust you with this. Last night's events show just how much you care for the child. There's no one else I'd ask of this."

Kakashi looked up and stared at the Hokage. "How about Yugao? She has experience with kids. She's only had Sakura for a year and they're already inseparable."

The Hokage hummed, rubbing his chin. "Yes, you're right. Sakura's turning into quite the girl." He stood up and walked over to the window. "However, we cannot allow Naruto and Sakura to meet."

The Anbu in front of the desk frowned. "With all due respect, sir, why would you want to keep them apart? Only Sakura knows the truth behind the Kyuubi attack, and even then the information you gave her was limited. Sakura lives in the western part of the village while Naruto is in the eastern. I understand her seal is weak but why go to such lengths?"

Sarutobi gazed out on his village, his eyes looking but not seeing. He thought over Kakashi's words. He had already told Yugao last year the reason for their separation. He guessed explaining it to Kakashi, the Yondaime's previous student and one of Naruto's Anbu guardians, wouldn't hurt.

"All of the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki were of Uzumaki blood. The first one was the Shodaime Hokage's very own wife, Uzumaki Mito. When she grew old, she chose someone to be her successor as the village's Jinchuuriki. Uzumaki Kushina, Naruto's mother and your sensei's wife, was chosen. Unfortunately, certain events that are still very unclear to me happened and the Kyuubi was sealed inside of Uzumaki Naruto, Kushina and Minato's son. The Uzumaki clan was deemed as the only ones to be able to hold in the Kyuubi no Yokô without any complications to their inner or outer physique."

"The tests results that were made on Sakura when she was brought in said that she was not of Uzumaki blood. Hell, she's not even close." Hiruzen paused then turned around to address Kakashi. "Because of this, I'm not sure if Sakura is able to hold in the Kyuubi or if the Kyuubi did something to her blood. Everything was going fine, even better than I imagined, until last year in the Kumo-Hyuga incident. The Kyuubi seemed to have forced its way out of Sakura's chakra coils and because of this, her seal weakened."

"We've never had two Jinchuuriki of the same Bijuu before. It's unknown to us what could happen if a Bijuu's chakra was divided and sealed into two completely different people. That's what I'm afraid of. If Naruto and Sakura were to meet, what could happen? Will the Kyuubi try to force its way out of Sakura's chakra coils, like he has already done, and try to influence Naruto? Or will it be the other way around? Can Sakura even stand being so close to another Jinchuuriki without her seal losing control? These and many more questions influence my decision to keep them separated."

Kakashi frowned even further. "But Hokage-sama, do you plan on keeping them apart forever? The village is big but not huge. They will surely meet at some point, especially if they're both planning on being Shinobi."

Hiruzen nodded and sat down in his chair. "No. I have a plan for them, Kakashi. They will not be separated forever. I plan on waiting until they're ready to face the ninja world. In fact, that's where you come in, Kakashi." Kakashi raised his eyebrow in question. "If you agree to my offer, I want you to train him daily. Maybe by the time I plan on having them meet, they'll be able to have a certain amount of experience under their belt. Yugao has already started training Sakura. It's up to you, now."

Kakashi sighed and looked off to a wall. "What about Jiraiya-sama? He's Naruto godfather." He knew he was making up excuses now. His insecurities were catching up with him. He already lost everything that was dear to him. If he got attached to Naruto and somehow lost him, he wasn't sure if he'd survive the heartache again. He was still hurting from Obito and Minato-sensei's deaths, and Rin's defection. He didn't think he'd be able to cope with another loved one's leave.

"Jiraiya is too busy tracking Orochimaru and supervising Konoha's Spy Network. He can't take care of Naruto, no matter how much he wants to."

Kakashi sighed again and looked up to the Hokage. He nodded, and was suddenly filled with the feeling of distress.

Konoha Streets- October 26

"Get back here, Naruto!"

"No way, old man! You're gonna' have to sweat to get me!"

"You need to stop pranking people!"

"Like hell I will! It's too fun!"

Naruto laughed and ducked under another villager. He looked back over his shoulder to stick his tongue out at his new guardian playfully. The blonde turned around and quickly jumped over a cart that had been crossing the road. The owners of the cart yelled after him but he ignored them. Naruto grinned as when he saw Ichiraku's Ramen only a few hundred feet away from him. He sped up, completely forgetting about his guardian.

Naruto was so caught up in thinking about the ramen he was about to eat that he didn't notice an arm had stuck out until he was grabbed by the back of his shirt. He came to an abrupt stop then hung on the air, panting slightly at the exhilaration. He looked up to the person that was holding him captive and gulped. "Uh, hiya, Purple-chan." He chuckled nervously as Yugao raised a single eyebrow.

"Can I ask why you're having so much trouble catching this kid, Kakashi?" Yugao turned to the winded, reassigned Jonin. Kakashi waved her question away, falling to the ground face-first comically.

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "He's just old, that's all."

Yugao chuckled and put him down on the ground. "Whatever, kid. See you two around. Come on, Sakura, it's almost time for dinner."

At the mention of someone else, Naruto looked over to Yugao and noticed for the first time the girl standing by her. Sakura looked up at Yugao and nodded, quickly saying a goodbye to the still downed Kakashi before following her into the evening crowd.

"Who was that?" Naruto asked curiously as he watched the two females disappear into the crowd, his eyes following every detail of Sakura's movements. Kakashi sat up and rubbed the back of his head. He heard Naruto then looked in the direction the kid was staring at. He thought back to what just happened before his visible eye slowly opened wide.

'Shit! Gotta' avoid answering Naruto's next set of questions.' Kakashi looked around quickly, moving his head back and forth in search for a distraction. Naruto snapped out of his daydream and looked at Kakashi like he had grown another head. It was hard to tell if he did have another head now with his head moving from side to side so fast, though.

"Uh, old man, are you Okay?"

Kakashi looked at him at the mention of his nickname, his eyebrow twitching. When the two had met again last week, Naruto had stated that he looked old because of his grey hair and he didn't show his face. Ever since then, the name got stuck to him, and it seemed as if the blonde wasn't going to let it go any time soon.

Kakashi stood up and patted Naruto's head. "Let's just go get some ramen."

"Oh, yeah!"

"But you're still gonna' be punished for pranking that man."

"Tch, you're no fun."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. Inwardly, however, he was beaming. It might be weird for a normal kid his age to be happy about getting punished but Naruto wasn't normal. He was an orphan who had been forced to live on his own at the mare age of five with no one to look after him. He was lonely and could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Some kids might call him lucky but he thought otherwise.

He felt lonely. No one was there to look after him. He felt vulnerable and used pranks as a means to attract attention. Naruto felt like a nobody.

Until Kakashi showed up.

It happened out of nowhere. One morning, he was just having ramen for breakfast – he had forgotten to ask the Anbu that was usually in Hokage-jiji's office to go do his grocery shopping – when he heard knocking on the door. He opened it, to see Kakashi standing there. He had greeted him then told him to get dressed and pack up his stuff. Naruto had looked at him as if he had grown two additional heads before following his instructions.

The Jonin had taken him through the village, Naruto prodding him the entire time about their destination. Kakashi had only chuckled then led him into an apartment. The blonde had looked around, silently wondering what to expect. That's when Kakashi had dropped the bomb on him.

"Welcome home, Naruto. You'll be living with me from now on."

Naruto blinked and looked up when he felt his hair was being ruffled.

"You alright, kid?"

Naruto grinned at Kakashi. "Yeah!"

Next Year- Konoha Streets

Naruto sighed and kicked a rock further onto the dirt road. He had a frown on his face while his eyes glistened in boredom. Kakashi had left on a mission, so their training sessions were cancelled. It was a weekend so the Academy was closed, too.

The blonde smiled at the thought of the Academy. He has been attending the Academy for three months now. The grades had come in a few days ago, and he had been pleased when Kakashi looked at the report card only to find that the blonde was excelling in all of his classes. He wasn't the best because Uchiha Sasuke had that spot in the class. But he came in a close second. And he was proud of that. He had a good reason to. Someone was looking out for him and teaching him. Naruto wanted to make Kakashi proud.

And what better way to do it by showing him his enthusiasm of becoming a Shinobi?

"Hey there, brat."

Naruto quickly turned around at the voice but a sharp pain at the back of his neck prevented him from identifying the person. His eyes closed and the last thing he felt before passing out was the pain of hitting the back of his head against the dirt road.

When he opened his eyes again, Naruto tensed and looked around the room swiftly. A sharp pain erupted at the back of his head and he whimpered, reaching up to clutch his head. He looked around again and frowned at the darkness around him. "Hello? Kakashi-sensei, is that you?"

He was met with silence, making his frown deepen. Naruto stood up while rubbing his head. He reached out behind him and found the wall. He stepped back and leaned his back against it. His shining blue eyes scanned the area quickly, trying to distinguish something around the darkness.

The lights turned on, and he had to close his eyes to prevent them from stinging. He slowly opened them and blinked several times, adjusting them to the light in the room. He looked around the room, and found that his wrists and ankles were bound by anti-chakra ropes to the wall. He looked up, his blue eyes meeting cold dark ones.

"Uzumaki Naruto,"

Fugaku grinned sinisterly at the scared boy. He turned to his youngest son and nodded. "Alright, Sasuke. You want to prove you're better than Itachi? Kill this kid."

Sasuke stared at his father for a long moment before looking over at the blonde against the wall. "But, Otou-san …"

Fugaku scoffed and turned his back to Naruto, facing his son. "If that won't motivate you then I will tell you this. Listen closely because I'm only saying this once. This kid is a monster. He's a demon who has killed over three-fourths of our clan. His hands are stained with Uchiha blood. You must kill him."

"But, he's just a kid. He's the same age as me. How could he kill so many people?"

"He may look like a kid on the outside, Sasuke, but he's a demon. I'm assuming the Academy already explained about the Kyuubi no Yokô attack eight years ago, right?" Sasuke nodded slowly, his eyes landing on Naruto. "The Academy lied, then. The Yondaime didn't kill the Kyuubi. A being made of that much chakra cannot be killed. So, he did the only thing he could. He sealed it inside a new born baby." Fugaku turned to Naruto, whose eyes widened when he drew a kunai.

"The Kyuubi no Yokô was sealed into him. He's the Nine-Tailed Fox!"

Uchiha Compound- Main Household

Itachi walked into his home from the training grounds, Uchiha Shisui right behind him. Itachi froze once he noticed all of the lights were off. Narrowing his eyes, he walked deeper into the house. He slipped through all of the rooms silently with Shisui right behind him. They ended up in the living room door. They could feel a chakra signature inside; one Itachi was fairly familiar with. He slipped through the door, and froze on his tracks when he saw his mother on the floor, her hand and legs tied by chakra ropes and gagged with a piece of cloth.

"What the hell happened here?" Itachi asked as he ran inside, kneeling down by his mother. Shisui took out a weapon, searching the room for an enemy. Mikoto shook her head and started fighting against her restraints. Itachi pulled out the gag from her mouth and asked again, "What's going on here?"

Mikoto panted as she glared over at the room next door. "Fugaku got Naruto-"

"What! Where! What's he going to do with Naruto?"

Mikoto turned to glare at her oldest son. "Shut up and listen to me, Itachi. I know the kid means a lot to you but you have to listen." Itachi frowned and nodded at her to continue. Mikoto sighed and looked down. "You know I supported Fugaku in his plan to overthrow the Hokage and overpower the council in order to control the village. I didn't agree with some of their plans, though. I especially didn't believe in their plan to kill both of our Jinchuuriki just to please the civilian portion of the village."

Mikoto frowned, looking up at Itachi with pleading eyes. "I tried to stop him, Itachi. But he overpowered me, took Sasuke and Naruto, and went down to the basement. I don't know what he's doing but if Sasuke's training regime says anything, it spells out murder."

Itachi tensed and glanced over at Shisui. The older Shinobi nodded back at him and Itachi looked down at his mother. He gave a defeated sigh. "I'm sorry, Kaa-san, but what I'm about to do is inevitable." Itachi pressed a pressure point in his mother's neck. Mikoto's eyes rolled to the back of her head and she slumped to the ground. Itachi stood up, walking over to Shisui. "We're going to have to start our plan earlier than expected."

Shisui frowned. "The plan is still in-progress, Itachi. We can't afford to do this now."

Itachi clenched his fists and turned to the hall leading down to the basement. "I know this, Shisui but we cannot let my father hurt Naruto or keep brainwashing Sasuke. We need to initiate the plan right now." Itachi turned and started walking down to the basement, hiding himself in the shadows and disguising his chakra signature. Shisui frowned and sighed.

"I'll start at the other side of the compound."

When Shisui heard Itachi's 'Hn' of approval, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Uchiha Compound- Main Household Basement

Naruto stared up at Fugaku in shock. His eyes were wide with surprise and fear, along with a hidden understanding.

So, this is why everyone treated him that way. This was the reason why everyone hated him. The monster inside of him killed their families, friends and lovers. They mistreated him, taking revenge for taking away so many things from them. It all made sense now. This was why he was so alone, why only a handful of people were actually nice to him. He understood everything now. Everyone wanted their revenge on him.

And the Uchiha were no different.

"I…I can't believe this," Naruto looked up at the sound of Sasuke's voice. "It can't be, Tou-san-"

Fugaku rudely interrupted him. "Well, it is, Sasuke. Now, if you want to prove that you're better than that traitor brother of yours, kill the demon brat. Do the Uchiha proud and kill him!" Fugaku barked at his youngest son. Sasuke flinched slightly then looked over at Naruto. The blonde shook his head quickly, silently pleading him not to hurt him.

Sasuke clenched his fist as he looked at his fellow classmate then glared up at his father. "Very well, Tou-san." Fugaku grinned then handed Sasuke the kunai. Sasuke turned to Naruto, a smirk appearing in his face. He walked closer to the boy. Naruto began to struggle against his restraints. He pulled and pushed but could do nothing as the older boy walked closer to him.

"Please, Sasuke, don't do it. I haven't done anything wrong-"

"Silence! Sasuke, hurry and kill him." Fugaku glowered, and his son nodded. Sasuke raised the kunai above Naruto's head then swung down. He stabbed Naruto in the shoulder, making the blonde cry out in pain. Sasuke pulled the kunai out then stabbed it in Naruto's chest. Fugaku cackled hysterically in the background as he heard Sasuke stab the blonde, and Naruto grunt or cry in pain. "The scars, Sasuke! Cut the scars." Fugaku grinned, a maniac look in his eyes.

Naruto's ragged breath got caught in his throat when he heard the older man's words. 'No, anything but the scars. They're sensitive- Gah!' Naruto screamed in pain when Sasuke forcefully held his head in place and traced the scars on the left cheek with the kunai. A few seconds of this then the young Uchiha turned his head to the other side, cutting and tracing at the other three scars there.

All the while, Sasuke was enjoying the praises and compliments his father was sending him. 'Finally, I'm better than Nii-san. Tou-san finally acknowledges me!' In his haze, Sasuke started cutting fast, deeper and harder. 'I'll make you proud, Tou-san. I'll make you forget about Nii-san and have you focus on me!'

Naruto grit his teeth in pain, blood rolling down his forehead, mouth and cheeks. 'Why isn't Kakashi-sensei here, yet? He said he was never gonna' let something bad happen to me. Where is he!' Naruto felt Sasuke getting rougher and reduced his screams to grunts and whimpers with tears running down his eyes. 'I don't care who it is, I just want someone to help me!'

"Stop it, Sasuke!"

Two sets of eyes turned to the newcomer, the dark pair widening when he saw his older brother holding a katana to his father's throat. Itachi glared at his younger brother. "Step away from Naruto, Ototou, and drop that kunai."

Sasuke's hands started shaking in anger. "Let Tou-san go, Nii-san."

"Then step away from Naruto." Itachi threw back sharply, his Sharingan activating. Sasuke tensed and turned back to Naruto. His dark eyes hardened and he plunged the kunai into the blonde's stomach. Naruto coughed out blood at the moment of impact and started to close his eyes slowly. Itachi cursed, let go of his father and ran over to get the blonde.

Itachi caught Naruto in his arms and lifted him up before turning to his family, ducking under a kunai Fugaku had thrown. Itachi glared at both males. "Why would you do this! He's just a kid!" It was rare for them to see Itachi so riled up.

Fugaku glared back. "He's the demon-"

He was interrupted when a cloud of smoke surrounded Itachi. Itachi came out of the cloud of smoke and ran up to his father, grabbing onto his shoulders. "Bunshin Bakuha," The Itachi grabbing onto Fugaku's shoulders exploded, sending Fugaku flying into the wall.

"Tou-san!" Sasuke yelled only to fall down to the ground when the real Itachi knocked him unconscious. Itachi turned away, lazily throwing two kunai to his father's head for a double-tap. He climbed the stairs to the kitchen and stopped when he laid eyes on his still unconscious mother.

"Where's Fugaku?" Itachi turned his head to the side to see Shisui covered in blood. The older Uchiha's eyes landed on Naruto and they hardened. "Who did this to him?"

Itachi sighed, "Sasuke. Tou-san made him do it."

Shisui clenched his fists then swiftly lodged a kunai into the back of Mikoto's head. "Let's go report to the Hokage."

Next Day- Root Anbu Headquarters

Danzo gritted his teeth in anger as he paced slowly around his office. He wasn't angry. No, he was furious. First, he had received word of Orochimaru having to move his main headquarters because Anbu had raided his last lab. Second, one of his Root members almost got caught in a traitorous act. Last, the Uchiha clan had been Massacred yesterday.

No, he wasn't mad about the Massacre. He was enraged at the fact that the ones who committed the Massacre were Itachi and Shisui Uchiha. Yes, Shimura Danzo had been the one to propose the annihilation of the Uchiha clan if Sarutobi's negotiations were to fail. Itachi had been the one assigned to do the Massacre because of his loyalty to the village. Everything had gone according to plan.

Beside the fact that one of Konoha's Jinchuuriki and Uchiha Shisui had been a part of it.

Fugaku's youngest son had attacked the village's male Jinchuuriki .While that wasn't something the Goikenban had planned for; it didn't really work against their favour. It only made the Massacre happen earlier than planned. However, the timing of the Massacre was something that had been crucial in Danzo's other plans. He had been planning on stealing one of Shisui's eyes for a while now. But it's impossible now that he's out of the village and on the run. The only one who would be able to contact Itachi and Shisui would be Jiraiya. But that old toad sage answers directly to the Hokage and Hokage only.

There was no way he could get Shisui's location.

Or was there….?

Danzo let a rare smirk cross his face. "Contact Orochimaru. I must have a word with him." He told the Root member in the room. The masked man bowed then disappeared into the shadows. 'Shisui will regret accompanying Itachi on this mission.'

Konoha General Hospital

"So, it's true. I do have the Kyuubi no Yokô sealed inside of me." Naruto stated as he looked down at his hands. He looked – and felt – like a mummy at the moment with all of the bandages covering over half of his body. He looked up at the three men in the room. He specially narrowed his eyes on Jiraiya who – after ogling and flirting with the female nurse – had formally introduced himself. "Well?"

Hiruzen sighed and nodded. "Yes, Naruto. The Yondaime Hokage sealed the Kyuubi inside of you-"

"Why?"

Sarutobi blinked several times, slightly surprised at the barely hidden sorrow in his tone. He hated lying to the boy but it was for the best. "We ourselves don't know. We weren't there with the Yondaime when the sealing process happened. I'm sorry,"

Naruto grimaced, the bandages wrapped around his nose and cheeks rubbing against his slightly healed wounds. "It's Okay, I guess."

Jiraiya chuckled and slapped Naruto on the back, receiving a grunt of pain in return. "Cheer up, kid. Look on the bright side; you'll have more power and strength than anyone else your age! Don't you want to be a ninja?"

The blonde perked up at that. "Of course! I'm gonna' be the best Hokage this village ever had! So, you better watch out, Hokage-jiji, because I'm taking your hat next!"

The Sannin gave a small smile as Naruto started ranting about what he was going to do when he became Hokage, or how he was going to achieve that goal. 'Konoha better watch out. Looks like we have two Jinchuuriki obsessed about being Hokage. If this is what you were aiming for, you hit the nail right on the head, Minato, Kushina. These kids are an exact carbon copy of you two. Of course, they're much cuter.'

"Oi, Ero-Senin! What're you smiling at?"

"Why you little-! Don't call me that!"

(Hey! This one took me longer than I thought it would. There's nothing to blame besides my laziness. By the time I'm writing this, it's 6:30am and I'm running on an hour of sleep. That is the time when I got off my lazy ass and finished writing this chapter. I think my mind works better when it's night. Hmm….

Anyway, I'm sorry if the fight (if you could call it that) between Fugaku and Itachi is brief and to the point. In the manga and anime, they show Fugaku and Mikoto dying out of a simple swipe to the throat/head with a sword. I didn't want to make too much of a change in the massacre (though I guess having Shisui survive is a big enough change already).

Quick thing about Shisui's character. I looked him up in different kinds of places and no one seems to have a good description of him (Besides the Naruto Wiki). I'm going to be building up his character because he has a huge role in this.

I'm making Danzo suffer! I have lots of plans for him in the future, so watch out for Root.

Naruto met Jiraiya. You guys didn't think I would leave Naruto's godfather out of his life. Tch, where would the fun in that be? Next chapter is a time skip, and I'll show more of Sasuke's thoughts about the Massacre, Itachi and Naruto. 'Till next time!

7th Creature

P.S: It might take a while for chapters to come up. My band's going through a hard time right now and that's my priority this summer. So, I apologize beforehand if chapters are coming in too slow.)