Chapter One
Only a short few days after Naruto was made a Genin of the Leaf I was on a training ground I had booked.
I had divested myself of my top as I was covered in sweat.
Since I had trained myself in transforming my Chakra into Fire, Earth, and Water Chakra natures.
I decided to move onto training on shaping my Chakra.
And what better way to do that than learning the Rasengan.
After all it is the pinnacle of Chakra Shaping.
Thus I had purchased a large collection of Water Balloons and rubber balls.
I obviously used my past life's memories to put myself through the training required.
That and the Nine Tails Chakra from my Strength Of One Hundred Seal allowed me to spam the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Thus it sped up the training time required to master each phase.
Yet despite that it was still far more difficult than I had expected.
That coupled with the weather led me to my current situation.
I was surrounded by so many broken water balloons and rubber balls that they littered the training ground.
Yet despite that the look of determination was clear on my face.
Unlike Naruto I had incredible Chakra Control.
This was due to my Medical Ninjutsu training Mizaki put me through since I met her.
As such by the time I finally got the Rasengan to form I was able to do so single headedly.
The sense of accomplishment I experienced also was unreal.
I stood there in the centre of the training ground.
Bare chested covered in sweat, sun beaming down on me, smiling as I stared down at my palm.
And more specifically the spiralling orb of Chakra contained upon it.
I was pretty sure that anyone from my last life would be feeling what I'm feeling right now.
After all this was one of the most iconic anime attacks.
One we all imagined us being able to use.
There was probably only the Kamehameha more iconic in that regard.
As such my attention was then directed to a large boulder nearby.
I grinned when the idea instantly formed in my mind.
"RASENGAN!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as I darted towards it.
I thrust my arm out.
The ball of Chakra spiralling at incredible speeds began to grind into the boulder.
There was a moment where both objects met where nothing in particular happened.
But that moment was infinitesimally small.
Before I knew it the Rasengan ground down the area of impact before small cracks began to appear.
The next thing I know the boulder shattered under the onslaught of my attack.
With it's Chakra spent and job fulfilled the Rasengan now vanished.
And I just stood there for a moment examining my hand.
The numerous times I had to heal my Tenketsu in my hand over this week seemed like such a bother at the time.
But now looking at the results I was glad I pushed through.
After all I was now one of only a select few in this entire world who knew this technique.
And it wasn't due to some lineage that I had learned it.
It was at this moment I realised that being reincarnated with my past life's memories was actually quite a cheat.
"Why people in fanfics need a stupid system is beyond me" I thought to myself.
It was just then that the exhaustion I was feeling finally took hold.
I dropped onto my back.
The soft grass catching me as I stared up at the bluest sky I had ever seen.
Large fluffy white clouds slowly meandered across the heavens.
Who knows how long I remained there just watching.
But I definitely gained an appreciation for one of Shikamaru's favourite past times.
The occasional cool breeze I felt felt heavenly as it brushed across my sweat soaked form.
But alas I couldn't remain there all day.
And with great reluctance I picked myself back up.
I cleaned up the mess I had made with the littered Balloons and Rubber Balls that lay around broken.
Once that was accomplished put my mesh undershirt and draped my top over my right shoulder.
I then walked out of the training ground and slowly walked through the village.
All the while people watching.
It was quite amusing to see everyone buzzing around as I observed small glimmers into their own little lives.
Their own stories taking place.
Some large and others not so much.
Most people smiled and laughed.
Konoha's atmosphere one of joy and community.
Yet despite that I scowled.
After all this was merely the veneer that covered the surface.
Just thinking how most of these people had treated Naruto over the years made their happy joyous faces contort within my mind.
Replaced with scowls and judgemental glares.
They were the perfect representation of those who run this village.
None more so than Hiruzen.
The smiling Grandfatherly old man and his fabled Will Of Fire.
I snorted as I thought how he often says that every one of this village is his family.
"He has no idea what family means" I thought.
And not just in a Dom Toretto kind of way either.
Just look at his relationship with his family for Christ sake.
Asuma and he were barely on speaking terms in the anime.
Konohamaru's parents were not even mentioned when talking about his Grandson.
And he allowed Konohamaru to continue to act spoiled until it was Naruto of all people who set the kid straight.
I sighed again.
I slowly walked kicking a small pebble along my way.
I certainly had some very conflicted thoughts about the Third Hokage.
On one hand he took back the role of Hokage after Minato's death.
And kept the village going to this very day.
But on the other his every mistake was one so vast that the consequences would be felt for generations.
Danzo being one of his worst.
The guy actually tried to assassinate him and is still walking around freely.
And then there was the tacit approval of every one of Danzo's actions by the Hokages inaction.
The number of enemies the Root leader had made by his actions over the years placing Konoha in more danger than they were capable of being aware of.
What Danzo did to Akatsuki along with Hanzo, and the killing of the Uchiha's foe example being two of his biggest blunders.
It's like the guy is incapable of seeing the big picture.
It was the fact that the village is still run by people like this that I haven't given my complete loyalty to it.
I shrugged.
"Not that it matters" I thought.
"I have people I genuinely care about" my mind added.
And it should be them and them alone who deserve my loyalty.
And thus for as long as they are here I will remain a Konoha Shinobi.
It was with these rather heavy thoughts I returned home.
There I smiled at the sound that welcomed me.
Naruto was here talking excitedly to Mizaki.
He was telling her about his day training with Team 7.
I could almost imagine the indulgent smile she was giving him.
Ever since I adopted him as my little brother he became a common fixture in our home.
And the infectious ball of energy wore down on any final reservations Mizaki might have had about him despite knowing intellectually that he wasn't the cause of her husbands demise.
And just like how she was with me her maternal instincts quickly kicked in.
And there was definitely nobody who needed a Mother figure more than Naruto.
I entered the house.
"I'm home!" I called.
"Welcome home!" they both yelled making me smile.
"Yeah this is definitely why I'm a Konoha Shinobi" I thought to myself as I removed my sandals.
What followed was an enjoyable evening just the three of us.
We played monopoly a game I had made by a Leaf Crafts man just for us.
Of course I had it altered to fit this world.
As such the street names were altered and the pieces were more in keeping with the Shinobi world such as a replacing the pieces with a little scroll, kunai, shuriken, and so on.
Mizaki is the undisputed champion of this game however much to our dismay.
Not that I mind as seeing her victorious grin and Naruto's defeated pout put everything into perspective.
"Family are definitely what makes all of a Shinobi's sacrifices worth while" I thought.
Another lovely day in Konoha, and I arrived at the Mission distribution office as I normally did when I was looking to take on a mission.
The semi freelance nature of being a Shinobi definitely appealed to me.
We were allowed to take on as many missions as we want and only when there was a specific one the Hokage needed us to handle were when we had no right to refuse.
I had yet to be given such a mission and as such since becoming a Chunin worked pretty much at my own pace.
It allowed me to train pretty much when I wanted and thus allowed me to reach the point where I am now quite confident in my abilities.
"Ah Atsui" Hiruzen said from behind his desk.
"Hokage Sama" I replied politely with a slight bow.
I may have conflicted feelings about the man but he was still worthy of my respect.
After all he wasn't known as the God Of Shinobi for nothing.
As I lifted my head from the slight bow his face was watching me in an examining nature.
I won't lie I felt slightly exposed under his gaze.
Like he knew my every thought or something like that.
He then took a puff on that large comical pipe of his before releasing the smoke.
"Your record is quite impressive young Atsui" he said.
"Thank you Hokage Sama" I replied.
"According to this your record consists of 30 D-rank, 60 C-rank, 40 B-rank, 12 A-rank, 1 S-rank missions" he stated as he read off my mission stats.
"Quite impressive for one so young" he praised.
"Thank you sir" I replied.
He smiled slightly at my response.
"As such I was debating promoting you to the rank of Jonin" he said shocking me.
"But first I need to know exactly where your skill level is at, as such" he said with a pause.
An Anbu appeared before him.
I recognised that mask instantly from the anime but didn't let it show on my expression nor body language.
After all part of being a Shinobi is covering such reactions less your opponents gain vital information about you.
Which in the midst of a battle could be a matter of life and death.
Yet despite that I was somewhat excited about being in the presence of Yamato.
"Neko here will be your examiner. He will test your abilities and report back to me if your are suitable for the rank of Jonin" the Hokage said.
"Yes Hokage sama" I replied.
"Follow me" was Yamato's voice from behind his cat like mask.
And that's exactly what I did.
I left the mission distribution offices and followed Yamato to one of the Hokage training grounds.
Once there he informed me that we would be performing a variation of the bell test.
Only there was only one bell.
I had exactly twelve hours to retrieve the bell from him.
I nodded to inform him I understood.
The moment he said begin I flashed away with a Body Flicker.
In the woods I created three Shadow Clones while the real me turned invisible with the Transparent Escape Technique.
My Shadow Clones began getting a feel for Yamato's capabilities.
One hid under ground using the Hiding Like A Mole Technique.
Another began setting up traps.
The final one attacking Yamato from a distance using Shuriken Jutsu.
All the while the invisible me observed with my Sharingan active.
Yamato however was definitely no slouch.
He quickly drew nearer my Shadow Clone, forcing it to switch to Kenjutsu.
It used the style that I learned from Hayate Sensei all those years ago.
Unfortunately for me Yamato seemed familiar with it.
He used Earth and Water Release to great effect and I scowled slightly that I was unable to force him to use Wood Release.
The only silver lining was I was able to copy more Earth and Water Release Jutsu's from him thanks to my Sharingan.
My Shadow Clone led Yamato towards the traps the other Shadow Clone had set up.
Explosive tags, Senbon shooting traps, and even pitfalls filled with spikes of wood were all thrown at him.
But alas not a single one of them worked.
Not that I expected them to.
Instead they were only there to distract him.
The real me ran through a series of hand sighed before shouting
"Fire Style Dragon Fire technique" I sent the large fire Jutsu towards Yamato.
Finally he used Wood Release to cover himself in a dome of wood.
This protected him from my Fire Style Jutsu.
Unfortunately for Yamato I had left my hiding spot the moment I sent the Fire Release Jutsu at him.
Instead I used the Hiding Like A Mole Technique to slip underground.
I positioned myself underneath him as he waited out the fire Jutsu.
Too bad for him I performed the Jutsu I failed on Zabuza all those years ago.
I caught him with a head hunter Jutsu pulling him under ground.
At first I was glad thinking I had succeeded.
That was when I realised this was way too easy.
My instincts screamed at me to dodge in a very TFS Piccolo like voice in my mind..
And that's exactly what I did.
"Impressive" came Yamato's dispassionate voice.
I clicked my tongue in frustration.
"Should have figured it was a Wood Clone" I thought to myself.
And while I was busy with his clone he was dispatching my own if the memories that had just returned to me were anything to go by.
Yamato then began attacking me.
And what's more it was clear he was taking me seriously this time.
Wood Release Jutsu were sent my way.
I kept my body moving just fast enough to evade him.
Something much more difficult without the predictive powers of the Sharingan.
Suddenly from his arms he shot a large spiked wooden pole towards me.
It shot straight through my heart and exited through the other side.
"Water Clone" Yamato said as the me who was impaled splashed into a puddle of water.
Before he could react however I appeared behind him capturing him in the Water Prison Technique.
I was just thankful this was one of the water Jutsu's I copied from Zabuza back during our fight.
I waited for a while until Yamato passed out from lack of oxygen.
I then went to retrieve the bell from his unconscious form.
Only to once again realise it was a Wood Clone.
"That will do" came Yamato's voice.
"I have seen enough of your skill to give the Hokage an accurate report of your skill" he said.
"Please report to his office tomorrow morning at exactly 09:30" Yamato ordered before vanishing with a Body Flicker.
I sighed disappointed with myself for being unable to retrieve the bell.
Sure I knew I was handicapping myself without the Nine Tails Chakra or my Sharingan but I thought I would have still succeeded.
It was with these disappointed thoughts I returned home to an empty house.
Miazaki was at the hospital as she usually was for this time of day.
And Naruto was out on his mission to the Land Of Waves.
Thus I sulked around the house feeling sorry for myself.
Positive I had just screwed up my chance at becoming a Jonin at the age of only thirteen.
Imagine my shock then when the next morning I arrived at the Hokage's office.
He told me of how impressed Yamato was.
" According to Yamato he said you were apparently a tricky shinobi to pin down" The Hokage said with a smile.
"He also told me you had good instincts. And possess a wide range of Jutsu in three different Chakra Natures" he added.
"From what I can sense I would say It is only your reserves that were letting me down. But that will come with age" he stated matter-of-factly.
"As such I decided that while Jonin may be slightly too soon for you the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin is much more apt" he said with a smile.
I grinned too as he praised me for my promotion.
What I was actually smiling about was that despite being only a Tokubetsu Jonin I was still able to access the Jonin section of the Library.
Which meant more advanced Jutsu's had just opened up to me.
All in all it was a pretty good day.
I rushed out of the Hokage's office the first chance I got.
I returned home and told Mizaki who had the day off about my promotions.
She was over the moon and praised me to no end.
And because it was her the praise meant far more to me than the Hokage's did.
We celebrated heartily that day inviting round Hayate Sensei and my former team mates.
Only the lack of Naruto and noticing that Hayate Sensei's cough had now gotten much worse but a damper on the festivities.
Chapter Two
With my new rank the first thing I did was borrow everything I had access to in the Konoha Library on Fuinijutsu.
It was something I had been putting off until now.
I borrowed everything from the basics of the Sealing arts to the more complicated and esoteric applications.
Obviously I didn't jump right into those as that would have been moronic.
And I had learned my lesson with the Sharingan and the Nine Tails Chakra.
So despite my desires to learn the more complicated stuff right away I started off from the basics.
And my god was it boring in its initial stages.
Mostly all calligraphy exercises and simple seals.
But just like the efforts I put in for my physical training I took it one step at a time.
I moved through the exercises with the aid of my Shadow Clones my efforts soon matched perfectly the ones that were detailed in the books.
And only then did I move onto the next stage.
That one being actual seals albeit it for simple things.
The first being a Locking Seal.
Something I recreated with mixed results.
I soon realised I had placed two of my brush strokes out of order.
And instead of locking the door when closed the door would continuously fling itself open.
I sighed thinking back to the Hyuga Seal I once used to hide my underground base.
At that moment I gained a whole new appreciation for the effort Tsurai put in teaching me that seal.
Especially when I realised how badly things could have gone if I had made that seal incorrectly.
The safety notes on some of the seals stated in these books details just how explosive a faulty seal could be after all.
I shuddered realising that even back then I was jumping ahead before I had any idea of what I was getting myself into.
"I just hope I have cut off that cycle" I thought.
It was for this reason I didn't simply skim through with my Sharingan memorising every seal.
I meticulously read every page down to the most seemingly infinitesimal degree.
Unfortunately by then I had used up what remains of my latest bit of time off.
Thus I began another cycle of missions.
Which because of my rank increase were mostly of the B-rank.
There were however the occasional A-rank mission thrown in too.
Mostly they were hunting down Missing Nin.
It was funny how that became something of a speciality of mine.
Mostly because I went on those missions solo.
My reasons being I couldn't act fully while also protecting a team.
Sure Hiruzen disliked it when I said so.
But at the end of the day it was the results that counted.
And the Village were being paid handsomely for my efforts.
Not that I didn't see any of that income however.
In fact I have actually become quite well off thanks to my efforts.
But I have yet to make my name in any of the Hidden Villages Bingo Books.
And thus lack a bounty.
Until I do so, those other villages will simply look at me like I was one of Konoha's masses.
I was torn between wanting desperately for the recognition.
And enjoying the anonymity my current position offers.
It was a tough place to be in wanting two vastly different things at the same time.
But the human mind is a complicated thing after all.
And nobody ever said it made sense.
By the time I finished my last cycle of missions Naruto had finally returned from the Land Of Waves.
We met up at Ichiraku the first chance we got.
He spoke extensively about the months long mission he had been on.
Telling of Zabuza and Haku.
He was shocked then when I mentioned I too had once come into conflict with them.
I told him of the disastrous end of my mission in the Land Of Rain.
How by pure bad luck we came across them.
He was amazed when I detailed how I ordered my team mates to escape so I could buy them time to get to safety.
And sure I was a little spartan on the details on how I managed to survive.
Which thankfully Naruto didn't pick up on.
But by the time I was finished his eyes were sparkling with admiration.
It honestly made me feel good that my little Brother looked up to me so much.
He did however demand I teach him Kenjutsu.
I nodded and agreed pretty much right away.
After all this was the first time he has ever asked me to tach him something since he graduated from the Academy.
Thus while he and his team were in the village and cycled between D and C-rank missions.
I made sure my cycle matched up with his to the best of my ability.
This allowed me to take him under my wing and teach him Kenjutsu.
Of course I asked Hayate Sensei first if he wouldn't mind I pass on his teachings.
My former Jonin Sensei informed me that he wasn't long for this world.
He has a terminal lung cancer.
And thus he would be more than happy I passed something of his off into the next generation.
But what shocked me most was when he handed me his own Katana and a scroll detailing a technique called Secret Sword: Moonlight.
This was the pinnacle of his sword style and one he had been unable to teach me due to developing it after our time together.
He told me he received his sword from his Father when he finished his training with him.
And as he was without a child of his own he would be happy if I accepted it instead.
I was in equally parts honoured and saddened by the gesture.
After all it was clear he was in the midst of getting his affairs in order before he passed.
I felt terrible for the guy but vowed to honour his wishes to the best of my abilities.
And so that's exactly what I did.
I accepted the sword with reverence as we sat on our knees at the small coffee table of his living room.
He handed it over to me and I received it.
I was shocked just how heavy it felt in that moment.
Not a physical weight so much.
But definitely an emotional one.
Once that was done he began coughing again and looked incredibly tired.
I helped him to his bed.
And after using some Medical Ninjutsu to ease some of his pain he drifted off into a peaceful sleep for the time being.
I then let myself out and went to find Naruto.
I told Naruto I was passing on to him what my own Sensei passed on to me.
Something I would only do if I found the person worthy.
Naruto nodded solemnly upon being told that.
His usual prankster attitude nowhere to be seen.
Instead he displayed a level of seriousness that would see him through during his time as Hokage.
I gave him my old Katana to practice with and we first began with the basic kata's as Hayate Sensei taught me.
I slowly corrected every misstep and every faltering swing and swipe.
Naruto was a genius when it came to practical learning.
And I knew this.
Thus I didn't weigh him down with complicated expressions.
It was basically mirror my movements to the best of your ability.
And the effects were astounding.
Once he had the basics down I then taught him the bonus effect that using Shadow Clones possessed.
He was amazed to discover it upon having the clones memories returned to him upon being dispelled.
And with a small army of clones he summoned I then began teaching him the Dance Of The Crescent Moon.
And while he was practicing that I was practicing the Secret Sword:Moonlight technique.
I had to remove the weights I wore under my clothing to even remotely pull the technique off.
And even then it wasn't anywhere near as fluid as the technique required.
The After Images were not as clear as they should have been because of it.
But over the next few weeks Naruto and I trained together in Kenjutsu.
I mastered my Masters final technique and Naruto mastered the Dance Of The Crescent Moon.
I gave him a small storage scroll to house the Katana I had gifted him as a sign he had learned it to my satisfaction.
We then began another mission cycle.
One that I knew would see Naruto through until his own Chunin Exams.
I sighed at the thought.
After all that Chunin Exams was fraught with danger what with it being the backdrop to an honest to god invasion.
One led by Orochimaru of all people.
I knew I needed to be prepared.
Not just for my own survival but for those I love.
I have to do everything in my power to keep them as safe as possible.
Chapter Three
After my last Mission cycle all high level personnel were withdrawn back into the village for the upcoming Chunin Exams.
It was honestly kind of strange seeing the exams from the perspective of a Jonin rank even if I am only a Tokubetsu Jonin.
With so many Hidden Villages sending their own shinobi's, obviously security was a real concern.
I was placed onto a security team that would routinely patrol the village during that time.
Along with me were my former team mates Tsurai And Ureshii were placed along side me.
Which made the task much more enjoyable in my opinion.
It was odd thinking back to how at odds we were when we were first placed on a team together.
They were missing their deceased former team mate.
And took out much of that frustration on me.
Now look, how many years later and they were two of my closest friends.
And the two I could work with near flawlessly out of all of Konoha's Ninja ranks.
Together we broke up far too many drunken brawls between people of various villages and our own.
It was honestly really getting annoying after a certain point.
You would think they would know better that to cause a potential diplomatic issue.
But alas the grudges in the Shinobi world run deep.
After a certain point I stopped bothering to try and talk them down.
Instead I simply sent my Killing Intent their way.
Something I had practiced after I met Zabuza.
Something that was honed with every kill I had under my name since.
It proved to be an invaluable tool in maintaining the peace.
But every time I had to resort to it I lamented the loss of the Uchiha Clan as this would definitely have been their responsibility as they ran the Police Force.
"Fuckin' Danzo" I mentally spat after stopping yet another brawl.
This continued until the Jonin exams began proper.
And thank God for that as the Jonins from other villages were now more focussed on the exams than in causing trouble.
At least for now in some cases.
Thus it afforded us a bit more leeway so that we too could follow the exams.
I snuck in using the Transparent Escape Technique.
I watched Lee fight Sasuke.
And with my Sharingan active I was able to copy some of Lee and Sasuke's moves.
I didn't pay much attention to the written test however but when I did it was to see Naruto and his team had passed.
Only I felt a swell of pride when Naruto actually managed to fill out the answer sheet.
All those years of studying with him had definitely paid off.
Then came the part I was worried about.
The Second Stage of the Chunin Exams.
Once more housed within the Forrest Of Death.
And with that Orochimaru's first attempt at targeting Sasuke.
I sent a Shadow Clone along with my team mates for our security duties.
While the real me was now scoping out the Forrest of Death.
I followed Naruto and Team 7 keeping at a safe distance so they never detected me.
All the while in an invisible state as an extra security measure.
And I was glad I did as the Snake Sannin targeted them as I expected.
He first separated Naruto from them using a giant summon.
He then used his killing intent on Sasuke and Sakura.
And even I was having trouble simply shaking it off.
It was a testament to the number of bodies Orochimaru had laid in his wake.
I watched as things played out as I remembered them going.
The Sannin's neck extended towards Sasuke his teeth bared ready to sink into the boy's neck and injected him with the Cursed Seal.
I chose then to make my move.
I Flickered in just in time kicking the Sannin's head away like it was a football.
I told Sasuke and Sakura to run and they definitely didn't need telling twice.
"And who are you little one?" Orochimaru asked in faux politeness.
My eyes drifted towards Orochimaru and I activated my Sharingan.
The Snake Sannin's eyes opened wide with shock.
"Someone who is your superior" I replied more confidently than I felt.
Orochimaru laughed "oh is that so" he replied with a grin.
"Only one way to find out" I said as I attacked the Snake Sannin.
But man was he was slippery son of a bitch.
It soon became clear that he was playing with me.
And while he was intrigued by my own pair of Sharingan.
He would move through various Jutsu's and I would copy them sending them back at him.
Well the ones I could use that Chakra Affinity for at least.
"Interesting. You are not an Uchiha yet you use their Dojutsu without drawbacks" he said as we exchanged another series of blows.
"Figured it out when I was only eight" I said with a grin.
"My you were a motivated little one wasn't you" he said.
Unfortunately our little chat quickly came to an end with the arrival of Anko.
"Damn" I thought.
My attempts at holding the Snake Sannin off long enough to be captured failed.
As the moment he detected his former student closing in on us he summoned a large snake to distract her and her team
And in that moment he used the opportunity to escape.
I too made a hasty exit before they could see me
After all the last thing I wanted was for any difficult questions to be asked.
I then replaced my Shadow Clone without my team mates being any the wiser and continued on with my duties like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
I returned home close to midnight.
I was absolutely exhausted from the mental strain of todays events.
But the moment I entered our home and yelled out "I'm Home" I certainly wasn't expecting Orochimaru's voice to greet me.
"Welcome Home Atsui Kun" he purred in that gravelly tone of his.
Of course he found out who I am and where I live.
hell Kabuto probably has a card dedicated completely to me.
But rather than portray that I responded calmly.
"Voldemort" I said confusing him.
"Who?" was the next thing he asked.
"Moron who is obsessed with immortality and snakes. Remind you of anyone" I said sardonically.
Yet internally I was crapping myself.
I carefully took in my surroundings and was relieved to find no sign of Mizaki present.
None of this went without Orochimaru's notice but he was "polite" enough not to mention it.
"So to what do I owe this pleasure?" I asked as I sat across from him in the living room.
"I was wondering how you gained the Sharingan" he stated.
"And what's in it for me to tell you?" I asked.
"Other than living" was his response.
"Oh please you won't kill me. You're too interested in what's before you" I responded knowing his character pretty well from the anime and manga.
He chuckled and admitted as much with no hint of shame.
"Must be a Sannin thing" i thought to myself when thinking about their respective lack of shame.
Tsunade for gambling and driving up her debts.
Jaraiya for all things perverted.
And Orochimaru for his obsession to know every Ninjutsu.
However before I could dwell much more on that line of thought Orochimaru asked me what I wanted in return.
"A sample of the First Hokages DNA" was my response.
"What makes you think I have that?" he asked.
"Don't take me for an idiot Orochimaru" I responded.
His head shot up as though physically snapped.
"I know all about you and your little deals with Danzo" I stated firmly.
"The only reason I have done nothing about it is because it has yet to become my problem" I said firmly.
My Killing Intent rising and Sharingan blaring.
I also may or may not have added a little Genjutsu to make Orochimaru take me more seriously.
"Quite" was his response.
I withdrew my Chakra and deactivated my Sharingan.
And Orochimaru began to laugh.
"You truly are quite interesting Atsui Kun" he said with a wicked smile.
"It has been a long long time since I met anyone as interesting as you.
I simply shrugged.
"Come with me" I said taking Orochimaru to my bedroom.
The moment we did so his eyes opened wide.
"No not for that you Pedo!" I snapped.
I then removed the floor boards and pulled out a scroll.
It was the Storage Scroll that housed the Uchiha's Sharingan and all the medical equipment I have gathered.
Along with all the notes I had made about the cultivation process of my Sharingan.
I sat on my bed and explained it all to Orochimaru.
How Stem cells can be withdrawn from your own body and then combined with a sample from an original set of Sharingan the eyes can be cultivated.
"You cloned a pair of Sharingan using these Stem Cells. And the clones eyes work perfectly for you" he summarised it all to its very basic results.
"Essentially yes" I replied.
"Interesting he chuckled.
And thus he had me take a sample of his own Stem Cells.
The fact he felt no danger around me galled me somewhat but I knew I was still a long ways off defeating a Sannin.
My only option at this point was to engender at least some good will from him.
I then used his Stem Cells combined with the samples scrapped from the Sharingan's to begin cultivating his own pair of eyes.
And I may or may not have taken advantage of the fact he was ignorant of the process to add a little something to the mix also but that is neither here nor there.
I handed a copy of everything over to him.
"It will take a few years for them to cultivate" I said.
"I tried decreasing the time it would take but there were abnormalities in the finished process because of it. If you want perfection it requires patience" I said.
"Very wise" was his reply.
He stared down at the scroll I had placed everything in for him and eyed it all greedily.
His eyes then rose back to me.
Those slitted snake like eyes looked menacing for a fraction of a second.
Like he was deciding weather to dispose of me now he had gotten what he wanted.
I stared at him with an impassive expression I portrayed no fear what so ever.
And he seemed to find something from that he approved of.
And thus he agreed with my terms.
"I will send one of my Ninjas with your payment as soon as possible" he said.
"Thank you Orochimaru" I replied.
He then left with nary a farewell.
Not that I minded.
I was simply glad he had left.
Once he was gone I slumped across my bed.
I sighed thankful that didn't end as badly as I knew it could have.
Yet despite that my mind was a whirl of complicated thoughts.
Did I do the right thing?
Did I just make a deal with the Devil?
It all once again came back to my desire to survive in this world.
And I'm no reincarnation of Indra or Asura.
I have no Otsutsuki heritage.
And if I want to live for the long haul I need to scrape and claw my way to reach that goal.
It won't always be pretty I told myself.
But I will do what I must as long as it doesn't completely go against my own morals.
Orochimaru came through.
Just after the Preliminaries for the Third Stage of the Chunin Exams had wrapped up, he sent one of the Sound Four to deliver to me the samples of Hashirama's DNA.
With that in my possession I set about to create another new underground base.
As I was actually able to use Earth Release this time it was far easier and didn't involve any manual digging on my part.
I then added the security seals I used previously to prevent the Byakugan from being able to see within.
That I chose to create this base close to the Valley of the End was neither here nor there.
There I began putting Hashirama's cells through pretty much the same process I put the Sharingan.
After all I wasn't stupid enough to simply inject them into myself.
Especially as I knew the death rate such a moronic idea would cause.
Once everything was set up I pretty much did as I did before and left it running its self.
I would only stop in every so often to make sure there were no issues.
I did however store the original Sharingans and Hashirama's cells there too.
After all leaving them in a place Orochimaru now knew about would have been a stupid move on my part.
With everything set up to my liking I began working on how I'm going to survive through this upcoming invasion.
I had two weeks to do so.
And I had an idea in mind for a technique that could aid me in my goals.
Thankfully I already had it's base components mastered already.
it would simply require practice on my part to pull it off.
So over the next two weeks I booked a training ground.
And when I was patrolling the village with my team I had an army of Shadow Clones training away from me to be able to pull off the improved technique I wanted to master.
The day of the Chunin Exam finals has arrived.
The village citizens were full of excitement.
This was something I paid zero attention to during my own Chunin Exams.
After all I was so focussed on my performance.
I made my way to the stadium where I too a seat.
I have barely seen Naruto in this last two weeks.
He had been so busy with his training.
He did however let it slip it was with Jaraiya as he referred to his trainer as Pervy Sage.
I smiled at that as it was the start of one of Naruto's most important relationships.
I looked over to the participants area where Naruto is standing along with the other Chunin's.
My eyes then went towards Baki of the sand.
With the recent finding of Hayate Sensei's body I was determined to take Baki down in their little invasion.
I moved my eyes from him back towards the competitors.
I spent the next few hours enjoying the matches like everyone else.
I may have cheered excessively loudly when Naruto defeated Neji.
And may have been reprimanded for setting off fireworks for it also.
But I didn't care I was a proud big brother.
Epecially as he used ingenuity and Shadow Clones to set up the chance to us the Dance Of the Crescent Moon to win his match.
Naruto then told the shocked Neji how there was no such thing as fate.
It was quite the stirring speak from what I could gather.
That was if you ignored him being the child of prophecy and possessing the soul of an actual reincarnated demi god
I ignored all that however as I looked up to the sky and prayed to Hayate Sensei hoping he too was happy his Kenjutsu was being used effectively.
The matches continues on afterwards with events I recognised.
Such as Kankuro withdrawing before his match with Shino.
Shikamaru defeating Temari in what was despite their young age basically sexual tension with Ninjutsu
Eventually it was the turn for Sasuke to face Gaara.
Once again Sasuke showed up late in a new outfit.
I sighed when it seemed despite my intervention he somehow still ended up with the Curse Seal on his neck.
Of course Orochimaru wouldn't let him go.
He probably just now looks at Sasuke as a backup plan if my cultivated Sharingan don't work out.
Then when Sasuke's match with Gaara hit its stride was when the expected shit hit the fan.
I picked out Kabuto hiding in his Anbu uniform.
And observed him weave through the hand seals for his Genjutsu with my Sharingan.
I instantly stopped it effecting me and quickly got to work.
I flashed out of the arena arriving on a large wall overlooking most of the village.
Loud explosions sounded out across the entire village as the Sound and Sand's forces began invading.
I quickly changed into an Anbu uniform I may have purloined just for this occasion.
After all I didn't want anybody recognising me.
All anyone could see was a young Anbu wearing a wolf mask.
I activated my Sharingan and I then created a small army of Shadow Clones using the Nine Tails Chakra from my seal.
My Shadow Clones rushed off all across the village moving at incredible speeds.
My training paying off as I combined the speed and after image of the Secret Sword: Moonlight technique with the Body Flicker.
Thus my tribute to Shisui was given to the world.
My Clones used the technique to much success.
They were able to move so fast that not many enemies could even touch them.
Around one Hundred Shinobi's fell before each of my Shadow Clones popped.
This freed up much of the Konoha forces to save the civilians.
As such it wasn't quite as devastating as it would have been had I not prepared for this.
And while my Clones were taking care of that I had targeted Baki.
Seeing him killing mercilessly Konoha Ninja pissed me off to no end.
I thus attacked him with incredible speed.
He used his Blade Of Wind to attack but my Shisui inspired Body Flicker allowed me to remain ever out of his reach.
I soon switched from being on the defensive to going on the attack.
I rushed towards the sand Jonin and summoned Hayate's sword into my hand.
His eyes opened wide when he recognised the Dance Of The Crescent Moon.
I slashed down through his flack jacket into the area I remembered Hayate hitting in the anime.
"So you are his pupil huh" Baki hissed in pain.
Blood now seeping through his clothing.
"And let me guess you want revenge for you poor pathetic Sensei" he mocked.
"You're god damn right" I replied.
My Sharingan that were hidden behind my mask began spinning with my rage.
I then rushed towards Baku with all of my full speed.
Baki tried to dodge but the Secret Sword :Moonlight combined with the Body Flicker left him with zero time to do so.
Before he knew it his head was dropping to the floor.
His body following soon after with a sickening thud despite the chaos raging all around us.
"I did it Sensei" I whispered to the sky.
Beneath my mask tears flowed from my eyes.
I cold have used the Rasengan to have defeated him easier but something told me I should have kept to Sensei's teaching if only for that fight.
I was unable to save him but I promised I would do better.
I have other loved ones and I will be damned if I allow them to go out the same way.
What followed was a long and gruelling battle.
I had to rely on the Nine tails Chakra a few more times to replenish my Shadow Clones.
While they were doing that I was keeping watch over Mizaki.
I was sure Naruto could handle things by himself and I was glad I did as I prevented Sound Ninjas from killing the woman who adopted me.
She was holding them off trying to prevent them storming the hospital.
I could already tell she was suffering from Chakra Exhaustion.
Thus I made my appearance in the gap between her and her foes.
"Its okay Mizaki. I'm here now" I whispered in the silence.
She smiled recognising my voice before she lost consciousness.
I summoned one more Shadow Clone to take her inside.
While I began whittling down the foes before me
I lost count how many enemies I killed during the whole campaign.
But by the time I was done I was soaked in other peoples blood, mentally and physically exhausted.
But all in all I kept to my word.
Everyone I cared for was kept safe and then some.
I saved many a Leaf citizen that day.
That's not to say we still didn't suffer heavy losses.
They just weren't as bad as they could have been.
What followed was mourning for those we did lose however.
Chief amongst them being the Third Hokage.
He died fighting off Orochimaru and the resurrected first and second Hokages.
A Clone of mine observed the entire fight.
As did many other clones witnessing some of Konoha's other forces.
These included Kurenai, Asuma, Anko, Guy, and Kakashi.
The backlash I suffered though from so much information returning to me was immense it knocked me unconscious.
Thankfully by then I was back in my normal clothing
And thus nobody knew I had been the "Mysterious Anbu" that was being spoken of.
I was just glad I was so close to the hospital when my reserves where running dry.
The Nine tails chakra I had available to me was now barely enough to activate the Initial Transformation.
I passed out thinking I'm definitely going to have to refill that.