Forewarning, I did not write this chapter to the best of my ability. Just wanted you all to know. I've been busy and everything just kind of fell in there. It could have been cleaner, and honestly I might go back and fix it up later, but it's good enough for now. Please, enjoy!
Chapter Three: The Decision
The conversation that occurred in the Hokage's office certainly hung in Naruto's mind, even as he washed the paint off of the faces of the Hokages. Never before had anyone ever offered Naruto anything... He had to fight his way to where he was. How was it that he was being offered a chance to not just be a hero, but essentially the protector of Earth and the galaxy.
"We're not going home until these are spotless, you know," Iruka called out to him, earning a look from Naruto.
"I know, it's not like anybody's there waiting for me," he grumbled lowly, scrubbing a little harder. Iruka seemed to hear this, and immediately softened his tone. He hadn't paid much attention to his words in that moment, and he regretted bringing the subject of Naruto's childhood into this.
I'm not even mad about it, not... not anymore. I've accepted it. Naruto thought silently, scrubbing his thoughts away. Protector of the Earth... demon of Konoha. Yeah, two vastly different titles. Why me?
"Iruka-sensei, you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Sure, Naruto." Iruka climbed down and sat down beside him. "What's on your mind?"
"If you could do something more than being a shinobi, would you? Being a shinobi means you save lives, but... what if you could step past that and be something even more?"
"Something more than a hero? What's brought this up?"
"I was just thinking, is all. The looks I get from the people in the village, it's infuriating. They all treat me like I'm some sort of demon. I want them to see me as more than that... it's why I want to become Hokage. I," Naruto froze, thinking about his conversation with Ben, Azmuth, and Sarutobi. Don't tell anyone... "I want people to look at me and see me as who I am, rather than a monster. Being the Hokage, it means I gotta work harder than anyone else in order to achieve my dreams. Even then, becoming a shinobi, it's not guaranteed. If there was another way of being seen by everyone in that kind of light, do you think I should do it?"
Iruka was stunned, hearing the doubt in Naruto's voice. He had never heard this from the boy ever in his time in the Academy. "It's not my decision if you were able to. It'd have to be a decision you make yourself, Naruto. I suppose the question that you should be asking is, what would be the difference if you were to not take this new path that's been offered to you."
What would happen if I don't? Hmm...
Naruto seemed to ponder about this, scrubbing away for a while, and once Iruka saw that the faces were all clean, he clapped his hands together. "All right, I think you learned your lesson... how about I treat you to some ramen? The good stuff?"
Oh, if only he knew how excited that made Naruto.
"WAIT! IF I KNEW THERE WAS RAMEN INVOLVED I WOULD HAVE HAD THIS DONE AGES AGO!"
Iruka facepalmed, sighing. Go figure, I should have said that an hour ago.
Azmuth's Ship
"I don't know why you didn't let me stay at one of those inns they have in the village. It'd be easier for them to find us, you know?" Ben pointed out as he laid his jacket on the bed and peeled his shirt off revealing the ghastly scar on his stomach. It looked like the lower left side of his abdomen had caved in and was far smaller compared to the other half. Ben's pain came every now and then, but most of the time he didn't feel it.
"It's more for your safety than anything, Benjamin. You are an outsider, and an outsider that looks far too out of place to go unnoticed."
"If I'm gonna be here for however long, I'm going to need to be out in that village, learning where everything is."
"We can come to that at another time, we don't even know if the boy will take the offer." Azmuth explained, hopping onto his chair on Ben's desk. They had this room set up specifically for Ben on long trips. It wasn't the first time Ben had been on this ship for more than a few days, so having a living quarter for him was essential. If it weren't for Azmuth visiting him in the room so often Ben wouldn't have anyone to talk to for the most part. Back when Rook still was his partner it would have been a different story, but Rook, he was in another galaxy now on some mission. Three years he had been gone.
"I'm sure he'll take it. It's a lot to take in all at once. The kid seems like he's smart, but given the circumstances it might be a bit before he comes around to the idea."
The Galvan nodded, and looked at Ben's scar. "How are you feeling?"
"Besides the usual fatigue, I'm feeling alright," Ben groaned as he sat down, closing his eyes. "I know what you're thinking, Azmuth, and please don't say it."
A low sigh escaped the Galvan's lips and Ben glanced over at him to see Azmuth reaching into a pod that came floating into the room. "If you do not wish to listen to reason, perhaps you can help me prepare your successor's equipment."
"Equipment? I never had equipment."
"The only equipment you ever needed was the Omnitrix. Young Naruto will need to ensure his life as a shinobi can be balanced with this."
"You already like him more than me, this is so unfair."
Azmuth chuckled at this, much to Ben's dismay, however, his mood soured as he saw the necklace he was wearing, holding a particular ring that the alien knew all too well.
He still carries that weight on his shoulder like it happened yesterday. Hopefully bringing him here will alleviate some of it.
The blond entered his dreary apartment and sighed, looking around. He could barely even call this place an apartment. It leaned slightly to the right with a small ten centimeter diameter hole in the roof that he often had to patch up himself with whatever rotting lumber he could find, the power tended to die every nine hours, and the hot water only lasted for about ten minutes at a time, but it was still what he had. The silence was killing him as he took his hitai-ate and laid it down on his table. Unzipping his jacket, Naruto proceeded to take a shower and then get into pajamas, laying down in a bed that didn't feel like his own. He laid staring at the ceiling for a while, touching his stomach where the strange markings were. I'm a shinobi now, but... it doesn't feel right, somehow. The looks on the villagers' faces when they saw me wearing it, it was like I offended every single one of them.
"That demon can't be a shinobi..." that's what they were saying. Why do they think I'm a demon, and if I am one, why should I get something like that Omnitrix?
As he woke up and thought about his conversation with Mizuki yesterday, Naruto went to where Mizuki normally was at that time of day, on a rooftop near the Academy, overlooking the village.
"Ah, Naruto... there you are. I was just wondering if you had remembered my request from yesterday."
Naruto nodded, remaining weary of Mizuki's attitude. He couldn't help but notice Mizuki had been developing a weird awareness of the shinobi as the last couple months of class went by.
"I wasn't sure if you were gonna pass that exam or not. I'm happy to see you're officially a ninja."
"Thank you, Mizuki-sensei."
Something was itching at the back of his mind, telling him that this meeting wasn't right.
"Look, I wanted to ask you for a favor, Naruto. You're close with Lord Third. There's a big red scroll in his office. I left it there while I was on a mission debriefing, and I can't just go see the Hokage as he's got a full schedule. However, you are a special exception, it seems. Do you think you could grab it for me?"
"Uh, sure, I'll get it for you!" Naruto said innocently, although in the back of his mind he was frowning. You could go into the Hokage's office anytime you wanted as long as he wasn't busy with someone else... this scroll isn't your's. I'll grab it, but I need to see what it is first.
By the time night fell, Naruto thought about the rendezvous point Mizuki had told him about, a clearing due east from the center of the Ichigo Forest.
He snuck into the Hokage's office, knowing Hiruzen had just gone home for the night, and saw the scroll sitting in the back of the room. It was there that Naruto grabbed the scroll and realized what it was.
That's the scroll the old man told me not to touch... it's a forbidden scroll containing secrets that the First Hokage had sealed. Why would Mizuki want this? Wait... taking this, it's treason against the village! He wants me to unwittingly betray the village? What, is he planning on using me as the scapegoat so he could get away with the scroll?
Naruto growled, and put the scroll on his back. He had a couple hours until he was to meet Mizuki, so he took it to the rendezvous point and decided to take a look at it. The first thing Naruto noticed was a b-class jutsu. Multiple shadow clone jutsu. It was a jonin-level jutsu, but it wasn't much different than just the ordinary clone jutsu he had to use in the exam.
The Shadow Clone jutsu produced solid clones by using more chakra, while the regular were easily disposed of by touching them based on their almost gaseous nature. Naruto knew he had a lot of chakra reserves, so... if he had trouble having a little bit of chakra in the ordinary, maybe he'd have an easier time with the shadow clone jutsu?
At the time he was training with the jutsu, he knew that Mizuki had probably just gone about telling everyone that the scroll had been stolen. He figured if he learned this jutsu, maybe he'd have a trick up his sleeve in case Mizuki tried something when he arrived.
Three hours had passed, and Iruka was frantically looking for his student. Why the hell would he steal the forbidden scroll? What is he up to?! He searched the forest, and by now the forest was enveloped in complete darkness.
By the time Iruka came to a clearing, he saw the young shinobi on his hands and knees overlooking the scroll.
"Naruto!" Iruka called out, earning a bright grin from Naruto.
"Oh, Iruka-sensei! Hey!" Naruto greeted, panting heavily. "I'm so glad you're here... I need your help."
"What?" Iruka froze in his tracks at this.
"Mizuki-sensei wanted me to get this scroll, and... I know this was stupid but I listened and grabbed it. I read some of it, thinking one of the jutsu I might learn could be helpful... I just, I don't want anything to happen if he gets it."
"Wait, Mizuki wanted you to get it?"
Naruto nodded, which made Iruka extremely angry. "Naruto, you've been practicing with the scroll?"
"Y-yeah, I've only learned one technique so far, but..."
"Close it and don't look at it any more."
The shinobi did as he was told, closing it, although a particular technique made by the Fourth Hokage caught his attention earlier and he happened to have wrote it down on a piece of paper he had on hand.
Suddenly, a sound in the distance caught both of their attentions and Naruto was thrown out of the way as multiple kunai was sent their way. One of them hit Naruto in his shoulder and the rest had hit Iruka in his arms and legs.
"I see you found our little hideaway." Mizuki called out from his perch on a tree branch, with two shuriken on his back.
"So that's the way it is, huh? I should've known." Iruka groaned as pulled a kunai out of his leg.
"Naruto! Give me the scroll, now!"
"Don't let Mizuki get the scroll, it contains secrets that could put the entire village in danger," Iruka ordered, and Naruto stood up. "He's trying to lie to you!"
"Oh I'll tell you who's lying. They've been lying to you your whole life, Naruto,"
"NO, DON'T TELL HIM, MIZUKI." Iruka yelled, as Naruto raised an eyebrow, while grabbing the kunai in his shoulder, pulling it out. It hurt like hell, but it was a pain he was all too familiar with due to his previous encounters with some of the villagers.
"They've been lying to you ever since the decree twelve years ago."
"What decree?"
"Everyone knows except you, Iruka's trying to hide it from you even now, he'd do anything to shut me up."
"What is the decree, and why don't I know about it?"
Iruka's words were deafened out as Naruto's eyes narrowed towards Mizuki, feeling a darkness filling his chest. "The decree is no one can tell you that the nine-tailed fox that destroyed the village is inside you!"
Naruto's eyes grew wide. That's... that's why they call me a demon, that's why they hate me so much.
"The fox spirit that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village has taken over your body. You are the nine-tailed fox! They've all been going around hiding things from you your whole life! Didn't you think it was strange how they treated you? Like dirt, like they hated you for just being alive! That's why you will never be accepted in this village, even your beloved sensei hates your guts!"
"That's a lie... he doesn't hate my guts." Naruto growled. "Iruka-sensei is the only adult to have ever given me any respect and treat me like a human being, and the only other person to truly treat me like a being is Lord Third."
Naruto clenched his fists tightly and threw the kunai at Mizuki, barely missing his head, implanting it into the bark of the tree. "What?" Mizuki asked, shocked at Naruto's response.
"You really think I didn't talk to my sensei the entire time I went to the academy? Why do you think my grades went up when they did? Iruka-sensei helped me get to where I am. He motivated me! You say I'm the nine-tails, but you also said it's inside me. I'm taking the marks on my stomach as a seal, which means I'm containing the nine-tails..."
Iruka's disbelief at his response was incredible. He almost expected Naruto to run off then, but here the young shinobi was standing his ground.
Mizuki jumped down onto the ground and glared with Naruto with murderous intent, and somehow as Naruto saw the ferocity in Mizuki's eyes he realized what the offer Ben and Azmuth had given him truly meant. If a scroll could destroy a village, then what would the Omnitrix do on an intergalactic scale...
However, before Naruto could even absorb his own thought, Mizuki merely laughed and went to throw the shuriken at Iruka. Without even thinking, Naruto's foot connected to Mizuki's jaw knocking him back fifteen feet. Naruto threw the scroll over to Iruka.
"Don't you dare lay a hand on my sensei..."
"Or what?" Mizuki growled, hopping to his feet.
"If you do, I'll kill you..." Naruto hissed, and Mizuki couldn't help but laugh.
"You'll kill me? I could destroy you with a single move!" Mizuki cackled, as Naruto made a hand sign.
"Go ahead... I'll give it back to you a thousand fold."
"Show me what you can do, nine tail!"
Iruka watched with awe as Naruto responded "Fine, you asked for it... Shadow Clone Jutsu!" and much to both Iruka and Mizuki's surprise, a thousand solid clones of Naruto appeared all around them.
They began moving closer towards Mizuki as the ninja fell onto his back with fearful cries.
"What? If you're not going to come to us, we'll just come to you!" the Narutos declared.
Before Iruka knew what had happened, the clones disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, as Naruto stood over a bloodied Mizuki, beaten to a pulp. Naruto wiped his hands together. "I'll admit, that was a little overboard."
"I can't believe it, he mastered a highly advanced jutsu in one evening. He wants to surpass all the Hokage, and honestly... I'm starting to think he will." Iruka thought to himself.
As Naruto talked to Iruka, little did they know was that the Hokage had been watching through his crystal ball.
Naruto walked into the Hokage's office and saw that he was already waiting for his arrival. "Naruto, are you alright?"
"Yes, Lord Third," Naruto answered in a formal manner. "I know you're probably aware of what I did, and I'm sorry. I should've just went to you right away."
"Hmm, that would have been wise, but I'm guessing you're not here specifically for that reason."
"No," Naruto shook his head. "I've done enough thinking on that offer, if it stands."
"It does. What's your decision?"
"I accept."
