One year later

Naruto knew something was wrong when he was given to Danzo after his first few weeks in hospital. He didn't remember much from that time since he did his best to sleep as possible. When he wasn't sleeping, he would often meditate and spend time with sleeping Kurama.

The fox spent most of his energy keeping Naruto's body intact, so he was always tired and asleep. Naruto would mostly lean against his sides, trying to plan for the future. He knew that being with ROOT was a massive opportunity for him.

While he had to be careful with his skills and knowledge, he knew that he could pass himself as a prodigy by learning skills at an extraordinary rate once he began training.

All he had to do was to wait to be shown something once. Plus, when they teach him reading and writing, he could find a library and have a good excuse for his skills. But he also knew that he shouldn't reveal much to Danzo.

All he needed to do was act as an obedient and trustworthy soldier. Once he had Danzo's trust, he could prevent many events such as the Uchiha massacre or all the other plots, such as the attack on chunin exams.

Plus, once he was trusted, his movements wouldn't be monitored as heavily, and he could have the freedom to change things from the shadow. He was already making plans to take over the ROOT, and once everything was over, he could finally disband it.

During his first year of life, there wasn't much he could do. There wasn't much he could do other than learning basic skills faster than any baby should. He first started crawling, and by the time he was eight months old, he could already walk a few steps.

Now that he was one year old, he could walk short distances, and combined with crawling; it was enough to get him to different places. He also started his first words at eight months, and now, even though he was capable, he limited his speech to one to two-word sentences.

He was mostly in a simple white room with a ROOT medic. His crib was on one side, and there were a variety of educational puzzles and toys on the shelves inside. There was also a rug in the middle to play on and a chair for the medic's use. There was also a baby chair for him to eat on, and there was a door leading to a small bathroom.

The medics shift would change every 12 hours. During the day, the medic was also responsible for teaching him. There were various books that they would read to teach him speech, and while playing, they would monitor his progress with different objects.

The medics never showed any emotions. When he was first brought to the room, he could sense their confusion about why he never cried. Naruto was bored and wanted to mess with them, so he didn't show any emotions and always stayed silent unless he needed something or was asked a question.

The only visitors he had were the Hokage and Danzo. The Hokage would visit him weekly and spend some time with him. He would often read him a book or talk to him, Danzo. On the other hand, he would check on him daily.

He would often enter the room and ask the medic for a report, then watch him play or do other activities for a while and leave. When his chakra finally stabilized, they began his training two months ago.

It wasn't anything complex. They would get him to walk for a while and do other small activities to improve mobility. They would also teach him some basic flashcards and other methods to stimulate his memory.

Today was his first birthday, and he was supposed to spend the day with the Hokage. He was currently sitting on a small mat they put there to play with some blocks.

He was bored, but there wasn't anything else to do. The secretary asked the Hokage to step out for a while since he had an important meeting with a client in the other room. The ANBU were currently watching over him from their hiding spots.

He could feel Yugao among them, but he wasn't familiar with the others. There was a Hyuga as well, but he didn't know the chakra. As he was playing, he felt a familiar presence outside the door. He was shocked. He didn't expect him to be here.


Orochimaru came to Hokage tower to give his report on some of his projects. When the secretary told him that the Hokage was in a meeting, he decided to wait inside.

When he opened the room, he was shocked. The Jinchuuriki brat was sitting on the ground, with some building blocks around him looking at him. He knew about the brat from his annoying teammate.

He still remembered the day exactly a year ago when Jiraiya came to him in the middle of the night telling him that his student was dead and his godson would be given to Danzo.

He didn't remember the last time he saw his fellow sannin so broken. The infamous toad sage was crying, and he looked fragile. He begged Orochimaru to watch over the brat even if from afar and to make sure he stayed alive and safe in his absence.

He wasn't sure why but he couldn't find it in himself to say no. Instead, he refrained from answering and put the whole incident in the back of his mind to be forgotten.

Now here he was looking at the brat who looked so much like that blasted Yondaime. There was something about him as well. Something familiar as if he was drawn to the child.

He slowly walked towards the child, watching him with silent interest and something akin to happiness. He was inches away from him when he heard the door behind him open.


Naruto was pissed. He just missed his opportunity to help Orochimaru. He was only inches away when the Sandaime entered, and everyone forgot about him. Surely he could still get up and walk ad grab him, and then try and touch his skin for the seal to activate, but it would be too suspicious to everyone else and a risky effort that will probably not work.

He had to find another opportunity. He knew that the sannin wouldn't leave the village for a few more years, so all he had to do was to wait for a chance to leave the ROOT base and find him.


Two years later

It was late in the night when Naruto finally found his chance. For the past two years, he spent most of his time learning the patrol pattern of ROOT and the locations Orochimaru frequented.

He also decided to make a habit of walking around the base to pretend that he lost his way if caught. He also managed to get some basic physical training and reading and writing skills during that time.

They also taught him the basics of throwing weapons, and since he didn't have the reach or power to throw real weapons yet, he had some custom kunai and shuriken, which were smaller and lighter but weren't as durable as the real ones.

They also removed the medics watching him. During the day, he would have instructors teaching him, and at night, he would be brought to his room. For the first year, they followed him whenever he wasn't in the room and locked the doors at night. When they were sure that he knew his way around the base and wasn't snooping around and only walking around on occasions, they gave him the freedom he needed.

Tonight was the night he would execute his plan. Early in the morning, he felt Orochimaru entering the lab closest to the root base. He skipped dinner by pretending to be too tired at night and went to bed early.

When it was past midnight, he sneaked past the patrols and made his way to Orochimaru's lab. He knew he didn't need to go in. All he needed to do was stand there and flash his chakra a bit to mimic confusion and act lost.

His act indeed got him the attention he wanted. Orochimaru made his way from the hidden entrance. He looked annoyed and tired. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked like he hadn't been sleeping or taking care of himself in a while.


Orochimaru looked at the small child in the woods. He looked scared and confused, but he beamed up and smiled as soon as he saw him. His eyes shined and sparkled. It intrigued him.

No one ever looked at him and beamed up. Everyone was always afraid of him and treated him like he was a time bomb ready to explode. So what was it that made this child look so revealed?

The sensation was still there, the urge to get close to the child and touch him. He felt familiar somehow. He took one step, and when the child didn't move back, he made his way.

"what are you doing here, child?" he asked with a bit of annoyance in his voice.

"I lost my way." He said, looking down. Orochimaru was now standing in front of him. He kneeled a bit, and as soon as his hand touched his chin to bring his face up, it happened.


It looked like Orochimaru was frozen for a few seconds, but then it happened. He held his head with one hand and made a pained noise. Naruto felt the seal moving from his body across to him.

It was excruciating, but Naruto did his best to hold his scream in. it only took a minute, and as soon as it was done, they both fell to the ground. Naruto was feeling light-headed.

Naruto's vision was hazy, and he could hear a ringing noise in his ear. After a few minutes, when he got a bit better, he finally felt someone shaking him gently, calling his name.

"Naruto-kun, can you hear me?" Orochimaru asked. Naruto did his best to sit up with Orochimaru's support.

"I think I'm ok now. So you remember?" Naruto asked, his voice a bit strained.

"Yes, the seal worked as intended, it seems. While I have all the memories from before, I also have the new memories from the night of the fox attack. I assume that's when you landed." Naruto gave a nod as snake sannin continued. "What is the plan?" he asked.

"Well, I don't think we have time to discuss everything, but for now, the most immediate danger was you getting banished. I think you shouldn't leave the village just yet because the next big event is the Uchiha massacre in about three years. We need to prevent it at all costs. Danzo is already trying to provoke people and ostracize them. I think the best course of action is to change people's opinions. A few henged clones and planned scenarios should paint them in a better picture."

"We must make sure that the police will be able to respond just in time and these events should be as public as possible. I'm already working on shadow clones. I can make about 10 with my current training if I want them to last enough. I'm planning on making them daily and sending them to the village, for that purpose."

"You should focus on integrating the Uciha into the village forces. Maybe giving them more missions and using their forces in different divisions. It must look natural in a period of time so that they won't suspect anything."

"For now, I must get back to the base before they get more suspicious, but I will send you a clone tomorrow to discuss more of the plan. No one should find about our relations." Naruto said.

Before Naruto could leave, Orochimaru put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, squeezing it as he said. "Be careful." Naruto smiled one last time and left for the base.

Naruto couldn't find any sign of distress from the base, so he sneaked back in. he was a few hallways away from his room when an agent saw him and said." Halt. Where do you think you are going?" he asked with a voice of authority.