Here´s another chapter of The Yellow Serpent, hope you like it!
«Hokage-sama, Naruto Uzumaki is here to see you.»
The hokage perked up at this, as he was not used to having Naruto make visits to him often after his apprenticeship started. He called for the secretary to allow him to enter, while he stored away the documents he had on his desk. As the boy entered his office, he stood up with a smile.
«Naruto, good to see you here. It´s not often you stop by without it being mission related.»
The blonde smiled at the old man in front of him, he had always been very kind to him. he bowed respectfully before he talked. «Sadly, Hokage-sama, this is not a social meeting. I was talking with Itachi-san the other day, where he told me that the Anbu was asking about acquiring me for their services.»
The hokage knew what was coming next, and to say he was thrilled about it would be lying.
«So let me guess, you want to know if that offer still stands?» At this Naruto nodded, and the Hokage sighted while pulling out a folder from his desk.
«You know, they have been asking about you since the time Itachi joined them, but are you sure this is the right time to go into Anbu with what has just happened? And don´t drown yourself in this and forget about your sister.»
Naruto sighed at this, and crossed his arms with a defiant look on his face.
«Don´t think i am doing this just to drown myself in Anbu work to get over the fact that sensei left.
I´m not some little snotty brat who sits in the corner crying that he got left behind. The only reason for taking this now, is the fact that Itachi requested me to be a part of his squad after my initiation is complete, and now is as good a time as any, seeing as i have no other obligations.»
The hokage couldn´t argue with that, but there was still one point he had failed to mention. But as he opened his mouth to speak, he was interruted.
«And, yes i have thought about my sister in this. I know how Anbu works, there will still be a while before i will be put on long term missions. And even when i get those, she is old enough to take care of herself until i get back.»
It was clear that this was something he had given some serious consideration, and seeing as Anko had already left him to join Torture & Interrogation, he needed to find his own place in the shinobi roster. And putting the two prodigies of Itachi and Naruto on the same Anbu squad was sure to make a squad that could take care of anything.
Itachi and Naruto had been neck on neck during their entire time from when they joined the academy. They both graduated at the age of 8, and after some talk, the council managed to change up the teams so that they both got put together. After that they both had amazing results for gennin, and managed to pass the chuunin exam on their first try at the age of 10. After this, they started to drift apart, as Orochimaru picked up Naruto, while Itachi entered Anbu at the age of 11. Anbu wanted Naruto as well, but Orochimaru had sunk his claw into him, and fought tooth and nail to keep him as a student. Minato, the hokage at the time, had the last word in it, and after talking with his son, he agreed to let him stay as a student of the sannin.
After this they continued to excel in their own right. Naruto took to Orochimarus learning like a fish to water, and did everything that was asked of him. Meanwhile Itachi did great in the Anbu, and after only 2 years was promoted to Anbu captain.
—
After getting the hokage´s blessing in joining Anbu, and receiving the information on where he was supposed to meet for the intitiation into the the elite squad, Naruto headed home. He did not get far however, before he could hear some yelling from further down the road. He smacked his face and shook his head before he jumped off to where the voices came from. He knew those voices…
—
«Coming through! Move out of the way!» she yelled at the civilians in the street. She just needed to get through this street, so that she could get to her hiding place. No one would be able to find her there.
Unfortunately it would not be so easy, as she was suddenly yanked back by the collar of her shirt, and all of a sudden was face to face with pale blue eyes that clearly showed their annoyance. Uh oh….
«Aiko Uzumaki, what in kami´s name have you gotten yourself into now? I swear, you attract trouble just by breathing.» Aiko only smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head.
«Hi, Oni-chan. Didn´t know you were in the area. heheh.»
«Oh, Naruto-san, i see you caught her.» came from behind them, and Naruto turned around to look at the winded academy instructor Iruka Umino. He was wearing the standard shinobi uniform with his chuunin vest, had long brown hair in a ponytail, and a scar across his nose.
«Yes, i´m sorry for the trouble my little sister has been causing. Whatever did she do this time?» Naruto replied. «Hey, it is not my fault that bucket of paint fell on Mizuki´s head.»
With a sigh, Naruto smacked the girl over the head. He didn´t even bother to ask where she got the paint bucket from, as somehow it seemed like these things appeared out of thin air when she started one of her pranks.
«Apologize to Mizuki from us would you Iruka-san? i will take my sister home and talk to her about this kind of behavior. Maybe she will learn this time?»
At this Iruka nodded and bid the Uzumaki siblings farewell. Naruto then decided to drop his sister on the ground, and started to walk away.
«Eh? Oni-chan wait up!» Aiko ran after her brother, and walked by his side as they headed home.
Naruto looked down at her, and shook his head. His sister was such an airhead, and always ended up getting in trouble. But she was also the only thing he could not stay mad at.
He could still remember the day the Kyuubi attacked the village like it was yesterday. He had never felt such an evil aura in his life, and the monster was enormous. He could still remember his mother was to give birth to Aiko that day, and he couldn´t be there during the birth.
He was with the old-man (third hokage) at the time, when the fox appeared out of nowhere and started rampaging around in the city. Then his father appeared with a bundle in his arms, and told him to take care of his little sister before he disappeared. That was the first time he saw her, with her blue eyes, and that little tuft of red hair on her head.
After a while, the noise from the village died down, and people were yelling about his father taking the beast away. Naruto believed that to be the last of it, but then his father came back to pick up Aiko, and took her with him. He could see on the old-man that something bad was about to happen, but he was not able to run for his family before he was stopped. That was the last time he saw his father alive.
He later found out that his mother had died that night as well, but they had managed to defeat the Kyuubi. He and his sister was left without parents. After that, they had lived on their own, with the old-man visiting as much as he could in-between his duties as hokage once more. But it was mostly to see how Aiko was doing. A lot of attention was put on her, leaving Naruto only with the attention of his master Orochimaru. He was not one to sugarcoat things, and explained to the boy exactly what had happened that night, and why his sister was involved.
After this, he threw himself into training and studying, and this was when Orochimaru had approached him with all the genetic things that he told would make Naruto more than a normal human. He knew this was something his father would never approve of, but the man wasn´t around anymore. He needed this to take his training further, and so he became what he is today, almost a carbon copy of his master.
There was one thing he kept hidden away though. And that was something he had broken into his old home to get a hold of. His fathers notes, and the Uzumaki clans sealing scrolls. Maybe he could find a way to reverse what had happened. He knew now that it was impossible, but he could still do something about the monster that was sealed inside his sister.
Speaking of his sister, she was now skipping in front of him, in her blue shirt and black shorts. Her red hair was now down to her shoulders, and she had one bang hanging down on each side of her face. She was not tall for her age, but Naruto contributed that to her unhealthy love for ramen.
If only some of the things he told her would actually stick inside that head of hers.
He had told her about their parents, as he felt she needed to know about them, but he did not tell her about the Kyuubi. He had no idea how to tell her, and quite honestly, he still couldn´t understand how his parents could leave her with that thing. Was there really no other way of doing it?
He knew he had to tell her soon. After all, she was taking her gennin exam in two weeks. This was the reason he had decided to join Anbu now.
So not a lot is happening up until now, but i feel i need to build up a few things in this story before i start it for real. After all, there are some changes from canon. Hope you liked it. Until next time.
-Zhilay