Even with a giant claw sticking through her stomach Kushina Uzumaki had enough wit to do something that'll protect her baby. She knew Sarutobi would be too naive and weak to properly care for her child, so she has to activate her clan's contingency plan. Channeling chakra in her arm allowed a massive scroll to pop out. She allowed her blood from her wound splash on it to activate it, then went through several handsigns making the scroll glow. "Fūinjutsu: Izō… Sōzō… Fūjin."
"What's… that… Kushi-chan?" Minato Namikaze, her husband struggled out. He was right behind her, the same claw impaling him too.
"Knowledge… for… Naru." Was all she said as the scroll took it's payment of her life force. She died knowing her actions would make her son great. Minato in turn summoned the Shinigami to seal away the Kyuubi into his son.
He looked at his son one last time, thinking how he loved that he had his mother's hair color. "I… love you… Naruto. Grow… strong."
"Out, you fucking demon! Out! I will not allow you to corrupt these children!" An aging woman bodily threw a seven-year-old into the streets. He landed on his back, knocking the wind out of his lungs.
"Matron, please! He's an innocent, not the demon! Hokage-sama will be most upset!" Another woman argued.
"I don't care! Obviously the demon corrupted Hokage-sama if he wants it to stay alive." The old woman spat.
"You know what Hokage-sama will do to you."
"You let me worry about what he'll do. I have powerful allies, and they'll keep me safe. Hell, they might even reward me." The aging woman boasted.
"I still believe this is wrong. He is but a child."
"That's just the demon's corrupting influence. With him gone, you'll have a clearer head."
Naruto managed to catch his breath and stumbled away. He walked for a very long time, and seemed to find his way to an area that had a lot of near naked women. He also spotted a lot of homeless people too. He guessed he was on of them now.
"Hey, gaki. What are you doing around this area, especially this late?" He heard someone ask. It was a beautiful slender young woman with dark skin and a tight dress that showed almost everything.
"The matron just kicked me out for being a demon. I don't even know what that means." Naruto lamented.
The beautiful brunette just smoked her cigarette for a moment, staring. She knew why he was hated. Anyone who was present that night knew why, but most people keep their distance out of fear, but there is a minority that hate him just for what he holds. She slept with enough shinobi to know the difference between a storage scroll and what it holds. He isn't the first homeless child she ran into, yet she felt like she should give him a bit of help. "Come with me kid. I'll give you a place to sleep for the night, but after that, you have to figure what it is your gonna do."
"Thank you, nee-san." He said with a bright smile that made her own lips twitch.
"Come on, gaki."
"What's your name, nee-san?" Naruto asked.
"It's Michiko. And you?"
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto and Michiko grew to be fast friends. He couldn't stay with her most nights, because she had to make a living, and her place of work was her bedroom. The nights he couldn't stay with her was spent on random rooftops, stargazing.
Michiko taught Naruto about the differences between boys and girls, and even gave him the Talk. She went into extremely explicit detail, much to his horror and her amusement.
He grew to be quite the street urchin, especially when the Red Light District grew more dangerous with the death of the Uchiha clan. The Uchiha Police were somewhat present before the massacre, but with their deaths, the slums became worse, and opportunistic slum lords began to fight for territory.
While this happened, Naruto's dreams were filled with different techniques and memories. He initially was wary and somewhat afraid of these dreams, but when he began to emulate what he saw, he found he could do it effortlessly. As the dreams became more vivid and clear, he found out that the dreams were from an emergency scroll one Uzu Daimyo made in case the worse should happen. Every clan head of the Uzumaki clan poured a bit of their own life force in order to fill the scroll with their knowledge. Kushina used her own life force to activate the scroll and pass on the knowledge to her next of kin, her son.
Thanks to said scroll, and his mother's sacrifice, he had generations of perfected techniques slowly integrate into his mind. He lost his childlike innocence, but he truthfully never had a childhood anyways.
The three years he spent on the streets, learning, watching, and training were the best years of his young life. He explored the entire village in those three years, and was both surprised and delighted by the things people throw away. In the trash by the Hokage's building, there was old scrolls in a case. One of the garbage collectors caught him to find out what he was doing, and kindly explained that the scrolls were rewritten into newer scrolls, so the old ones were slated for destruction.
She allowed him to keep the crate and even told him how training ground 44 has many scrolls and unused shinobi tools, but it is extremely dangerous to enter. He thanked her went on his way.
He built his secret library in an abandoned shelter that was clearly used to house civilians in an emergency. Noticing the disrepair it was under, he knew it hasn't been kept up to code, meaning no one went there. He claimed it as his own.
He got lucky one day where he found a crate filled with faulty storage scrolls. He fixed the faults and used the scrolls to collect tools from the different training grounds. Some just needed a bit of attention to be fully usable, while others were too rusted. He saved both and sold the rusted tools to the many blacksmiths the dotted throughout the village. He built quite the fortune thanks to this. All his money hidden in a storage scroll, of course. He gave Michiko half the fortune he amassed as a thank you for all that she did for him. She gave him a lot of kisses all over his face for that.
He was free, and he loved it. That ended when an ANBU agent found him stargazing.
Sarutobi walked into the orphanage with his guards trailing behind him. The Academy will be beginning soon, and he'd like to convince Naruto to join. He has an incredible amount of potential just from his lineage alone. He wished he could've visited at any point in the last couple years, but running the village is becoming taxing and time-consuming. "Hello, Matron. I'd like to speak to Naruto-kun, please." His eyes narrowed immediately when the Matron looked visibly nervous. She kept fidgeting and refused to meet his eyes. "Where is Naruto?"
"H-h-he ran away! Yes! Y-you see, he left of his own volition." The old matron quickly blustered.
The Sandaime just stared at the woman for a moment, letting the tension build before speaking again. "I am going to ask again, and if you're answer is another lie, I will kill you and find out from the other staff. Where. Is. Naruto?"
She swallowed her nervousness. "I threw him out a couple years ago, but I had too! He attacked another child! Clearly the Kyuubi was taking control!"
The four ANBU drew their blades, but the Sandaime held a hand up. "Did Naruto attack another child, or did he defend himself from being attacked? Answer truthfully, or become a training subject for the Torture and Interrogation Department."
The old matron bit her trembling lip, eyes filled with frustrated tears. "You don't understand!"
"My wife was killed that night, but I don't blame Naruto, seeing as he was born minutes before the attack. You lost your husband, did you not? Many others have lost their love ones that night, but you stupidly and naively place all the blame and hatred onto one child. Boar, hand me a storage scroll." The ANBU complied and pulled out a scroll, handing it to the Hokage. "This is a storage scroll. Using the shinobi art of fuinjutsu, you can store objects in it indefinitely. Observe what happens when you break a storage scroll."
He broke the scroll in half, and a couple extra kunai and shuriken pouches fell onto the Sandaime's lap. "Do you understand what I'm trying to teach? Naruto is the scroll, and the Kyuubi is the weapon inside. Your constant animosity towards him will make him break, which would result in the Kyuubi being free again. Is that what you want?"
"N-no, Hokage-sama! I'm sorry! I-I-"
"I do not care. Cat, arrest her and put her directly into the low security prison. Wolf, you will search for Naruto-kun. Dismissed."
"Hai, Hokage-sama." The two chorused as the Sandaime rose then left.
He sat in the Academy, drawing different seals in a notebook while Iruka droned on about unneeded things. He didn't understand the focus on history when they should be training their bodies for the active lifestyle of a shinobi. He found it utterly ridiculous.
He was fifteen at this point, and just had three years left to endure this useless drivel.
"Naruto! Are you paying attention?" Iruka barked.
"No." Startled giggles scattered the classroom at this quick answer.
"If you're not going to pay attention then you can leave." Mizuki sneered.
"Sounds perfect to me. Though I am curious why I'm being singled out even though Nara-san is blatantly sleeping right in front of me." He didn't wait for an answer as he hopped out the window.
He went back to his apartment to continue his training in kenjutsu and calisthenics. It was in the Red Light District, was rundown, and he was the only person living there. The landlord demanded an exorbitant amount money for rent, and even charged him whenever some civilians ransack it. Those charges take up all the monthly installments he was given by the Hokage to take care of all his needs, including rent.
He kept his apartment very spartan, and even hid his clothes in the floor, because he knew someone would ransack his place of rest.
When he finished his exercise, he went take a shower, then got dressed. He tended the small garden he had by his window for a bit, then he went to visit Michiko. He glanced at a mirror once more before leaving. He wore an orange hoodie with the Uzumaki swirl of the back, and black pants. To top the outfit off, he wore a mask like he saw a gray haired man wear in passing.
He locked up and made his way to Michiko's home. He greeted the people who actually lived in that part of Konoha, and received greetings back. He knocked at Michiko's apartment and hopped to the side as a man rushed out muttering in panic about being late for something.
He entered the apartment and locked the door behind him. "Chiko-chan?"
"Hey, Naruto-kun. What brings you by?" The beautiful Michiko leaned on her bedroom door frame in nothing but her lace panties. Her beautifully slender figure was completely exposed, especially her perky C-cups. She smirked with a lit cigarette in her mouth, and her arms crossed underneath her breasts. "Have you finally come to lose your virginity?"
Naruto chuckled a bit. "I already told you, Chiko-chan, when I graduate, I'll happily celebrate with you."
She playfully pouted as she turned around to show off her incredible ass. A slender woman like herself had no business having an ass so thick and peachy that it swallowed her panties. He unconsciously gulped as her cheeks jiggled as she walked away. "Shame that. Guess I'll have to wait a couple more years for you to fuck this ass into submission."
Now he was hard. Flexing his bicep, his erection slowly went away as he heard her shower turn on. "You're more than welcome to join me, Naru-koi."
And just like that, he was hard again.
She's been like that since they went to a public bath together for the first time some months back. It was the first time he saw her naked, and no matter the different naked women he saw in the Red Light District, she still had him immediately erect the moment he glimpsed at her. She was initially amused at his reaction, then she saw just how big he was. She's been trying to get him to bed since that day.
He waited for her to finish her shower and get ready. She stepped out her room wearing booty shorts and heeled boots. She wore a tank top, and a leather jacket with the sleeves rolled up. She also wore a lot of bracelets and earrings as accessories. "Where do you want to eat?"
"I wanted to try out this little place called Ichiraku's Ramen. I heard an Akimichi clan member give it praise, and it isn't one of the restaurants they own. That can only mean the food there is great."
They walked to the restaurant, Naruto leading the way with his hands in his pockets, while Michiko held his arm. Making it to their destination, both their mouths started to water at the scent of the food being prepared. They sat at two available stools and looked at the menus.
"Welcome to Ichiraku's. Have you two decided what you'd like to order?" A pretty brunette asked.
"Yes, I'll have a large bowl of pork ramen, please." Naruto ordered.
"Alright, and you miss?"
"A medium Miso, please."
"Of course. Your orders will be out momentarily." With that, the brunette went back to talking with another customer after handing the orders to an older man in the kitchen.
"I always wanted to know…" Naruto began.
"Know what?" Michiko prompted.
"What made you help me all those years ago? I'm sure you've seen many homeless kids, so why help me?"
Michiko was quiet, likely thinking about her answer. "You reminded me of my sister. I'm not in this profession because I like sex. It's literally all I could do. I deluded myself into believing I loved an older man and that he loved me, but he just abandoned me, and left his daughter with me with just a dumb note talking about how he needed to find himself. Hatchin, that poor girl, was one of Orochimaru's victims in his experiments. I was lost for a long time, until I saw another lost soul walk pass me. I don't know what made me call out to you, but I'm glad I did."
"As am I, Chiko-chan."
She gave him a genuine smile as the waitress came back with their order.
The fangirls were arguing amongst themselves once again, grating on his nerves. What really tipped the scales was when he saw poor Akamaru trying to hide his ears from the shrill noise. He decided to do something about it, and he hoped he could get his classmate's participation. He would be crucial to the success of the plan.
Ghosting his way to his target, he remained unnoticed by the fangirls, but his target did slightly twitch when he reached his destination.
Naruto pulled out a scroll and held it to show what was written on the cover. "I'll give you this C-rank lightning jutsu if you play along."
Sasuke briefly thought it over before agreeing with a nod.
In a louder voice guaranteed to be overheard by the nearest fangirl, he began his plan. "Hey, Uke-chan. I have a question."
"I told you to quit calling me that, asshole. What do you want?" Sasuke responded, annoyed. The nearest fangirls glared at Naruto for annoying their obsession.
"Well I was just wondering, with you ignoring all these girls surrounding you and lavishing you with attention, why do you ignore them? Are you gay?" The nearest fangirls were about to lambaste him, but thought about the question for a second before listening closely to the answer.
Sasuke grunted. "No, dobe, I'm not gay. These girls just don't interest me."
"Ah." Naruto nodded sagely. "It's because they don't take being a kunoichi seriously and diet, right?"
That wasn't the reason at all, but Sasuke got the clue. "Yeah. Only an absolute idiot would diet when they're trying to be a kunoichi. They would be a liability on any team they'd be on, and I'd never marry a stupid weakling like that."
"I agree wholeheartedly. I heard one say that they didn't want to have crazy muscles from training or eating too much, as if all the kunoichi of this village wasn't toned with beautiful bodies they got from training. It's a shame that the next batch of kunoichi will be skinny and unappealing liabilities." Naruto sighed sadly, before secretly sliding the jutsu onto Sasuke's lap then getting up to sit somewhere else.
In his new seat, he eyed the classroom, and already saw his plan in motion. The fangirls who overheard the conversation between him and Sasuke were spreading the word to the others, and they grew thoughtful. They began to speak quietly to each other while most of the boys became both thankful and confused at the lowered volume.
Sasuke was busy going through the jutsu scroll and practicing the handsigns, while Shikamaru gave him a sly look and a small smirk. Naruto returned the smirk with eye smiles that he spent a good amount of practice to perfect.
When Iruka entered, he was a bit perturbed by the manageable volume the classroom was in. He was happy that everyone was paying rapt attention to his lesson, but was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of young ladies swarming him for training advice after classes ended.
Although he didn't understand the circumstances, he was happy to report the marked improvements in the kunoichi prospects to the Hokage.
He opened his eyes and just stared at the ceiling for a moment. Today was the day of the graduation exams.
He fully expected to be sabotaged throughout the entire exam. If he failed, he would be stuck in reserve, and unable to sit on his seat on the council. He had to be a full fledged shinobi and eighteen if he wanted to take his seat. Konoha as a whole had quite the debt to pay the Uzumaki clan, and he fully expected to collect, or he'd take his complaints directly to the Fire Daimyo.
He got dressed and looked at himself in the mirror. He wore a black, baggy, full body suit that had long sleeves and ended at his shins. He had black sandals and bandages that covered his lower legs. Atop everything, he had a burnt orange haori with a white Uzumaki symbol on the back. He kept his mask on his face.
With his inspection done, he locked up, and went on his way.
