Author Note: What's up, everyone? If you have read all the current chapters of my main story, Sage and Demon Princess, you will certainly see the similarities between this Naruto story and Naruto's past from my main fanfiction.
I wanted to write a Naruto fanfiction on the sideline with a similar plot but a few twists and turns that made it different. Anyway, that would be all for now from me; I hope you all like the concept of this fanfiction. (For those reading my main story, the first chapter is the first two flashbacks, but don't worry, the story will differ at one point.)
Summary: Naruto knew something was up when he began dreaming of that older man. He got a feeling he was connected to him in some way. His entire life was hell, but he will never break, and after seeing the old man in his dream, his willpower only became stronger to survive in this rotten Shinobi world. He would show everyone that he would never give up!
"Naruto." Speech.
'Naruto.' Think.
Jutsu/Technique
Warning: English isn't my first language.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
„Hey, dead last. Are you appearing again," asked a boy in class.
The boy in question walked silently into the room with an unfaced expression. His blank blue eyes didn't bother to look at the boy who stood next to the entrance to the classroom. His gaze was fixated on the ground.
"I speak with you, dead last!" said the boy angrily. He charged the boy with a raised fist but tripped over his food when the boy stepped to the side and let him pass. The boy walked towards his seat without looking at anyone.
This boy was Naruto Uzumaki, the dead last of this class. He was eight years old. His life so far had been hell; nothing more could be said about it. He didn't have any parents, he was raised in an orphanage, he had been kicked out of the orphanage at the age of four, and he had to live on the streets for an entire year before he got found by the third Hokage. He had lived alone since he was five in an old apartment near the Hokage Tower.
He always pulled pranks on the village to get attention and avenge everything they had done to him. It wasn't uncommon for him to end up in a hospital because some villagers beat him up. Many would have given up in his situation, especially as a little kid. But not Naruto Uzumaki. He would never give up. He would show it to them all! He would show them how wrong they were! He would show them how strong he would become, even when it meant being alone. He didn't care about all this.
Naruto sat down in his seat and ignored the looks of all his classmates. He leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes. He thought about the weird dreams he had over the weekend. Today was Monday, meaning a new and fresh week had started.
Naruto had spiky blond hair, ocean-blue eyes, and six whisker marks on his face. He wore a white T-shirt with a red spiral on the back, orange pants, and blue sandals.
'This dream was so real… like I watched this old man's life,' thought Naruto. He could still see the older man in the little village and how he trained his body without stopping. He did nothing besides training his body the entire time. It was like he was possessed by something. He was outside his little house, training his body and taijutsu from sunrise to sunset.
Others were scolding him for doing nothing else. Naruto could still hear all the names the other villagers called him. He felt a connection to the older man he saw in his dreams. This was a situation Naruto himself could be in. He didn't know why he could remember his dreams so clearly, but that didn't matter.
Naruto opened an eye when he heard the two voices of 2 girls screaming about who would sit next to their precious crush. Naruto closed his eyes again and thought about the older man he saw in his dreams.
A willpower unbroken, no matter what was thrown at him or others did to him. The older man didn't stop to train his body and taijutsu independently. Naruto decided this morning when he woke up. He would train like the older man in his dream, without hesitation and stopping because of what others said.
He had already realized that what he had learned in the academy was useless for Naruto because the teachers taught him things differently. He could tell by the way the others were doing punches. He was the only one who did punches in this weird way the teachers taught him to.
He would participate in today's class like usual and look at everything the teachers did. He just wanted to ensure that the teachers messed up his growth by teaching him things wrongly every single time.
He would never return to this shitty academy after today; he would train himself like a maniac since no one would train him properly. He saw how a teacher came into the room. He could already tell that this teacher was new. He had never seen that teacher before.
"Everyone, be quiet!" said the teacher to all the noisy students. "My name is Iruka Umino, and from today on, I will be your teacher."
He took out some documents and laid them down on his desk. "I will begin to call everyone's name."
After a minute, Naruto's name was called. "Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto raised his hand. Iruka looked at Naruto for a second before he looked at the name list in his hands again and named the next student.
Naruto remained silent and paid attention. 'This teacher… he is different. Iruka Umino, huh?' Iruka didn't look at Naruto the same way every other adult looked at Naruto. He looked at Naruto the same way he looked at every other student in the classroom. He had a severe expression the entire time and seemed rough, but he didn't look at Naruto as if he were a monster, a disgraceful entity that should be deleted from existence.
After Iruka knew every student was present, he laid the list down and turned towards the blackboard. "From today on, this class will have a different structure." After he wrote some things on the blackboard, he turned to the entire class again and said, "Every one of you will have the opportunity to have a self-taught class. That means you can decide if you want to learn everything on your own or me to teach you everything."
He turned around again and wrote again something on the blackboard. "When you decide that you want to be taught by me, nothing will change besides the sequence of how the day is structured." After finishing his writing on the blackboard, he turned around to all the students.
In the first 5 minutes, he met his new class and achieved something no teacher had completed. He got the attention of every single student in the classroom. "Raise your hand if you want to attend the self-taught class."
Naruto raised his hand immediately. Iruka looked at Naruto for a second and let his gaze wander around the students to see if someone else wanted to do this. While the other students still had to process what had just been offered them, Naruto Uzumaki was the most surprised human in this room.
Never in his entire life would he have guessed that an opportunity would occur where he could learn everything himself without being scolded or manipulated in the wrong direction. "You all will be given the necessary materials to learn independently, so don't worry. If you want, you can all learn on your own. But remember that I will not be responsible if you are not ready when the exam starts."
Naruto didn't care about that shit. He didn't know the teacher for long, but this man… Iruka Umino was the first adult, besides three others, he could tolerate. He gave Naruto this unique opportunity where he could still learn everything from the academy and do it his way.
Teachers only taught him the things in the wrong way. He could learn everything right from the start in his way.
In the end, only one other student raised his hand. It was Sasuke Uchiha, the genius and top student in the class.
Naruto didn't look at Sasuke. He waited for the day to be over to get the necessary materials for the current year and learn himself without being annoyed by others.
„Isn't he slowly done for today?" A girl asked a boy from her class this question. The academy was already over 4 hours ago, but one boy was still training in the training ground from the academy. He was doing push-ups without the intention of stopping.
One month had gone by since Iruka Umino took over the class, and Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were doing self-taught classes. Both were no longer present during the regular classes since they both would study in a separate room. They could do what they wanted. They could research theory or do something practical like throwing shuriken or kunai. They could also do strength training the entire day; it was entirely up to them how they used their time during the academy.
"Let him be, Ino. It's too troublesome to think about it. Naruto always had more stamina than every other kid in our age group."
"What do you mean by that, Shikamaru? Naruto was the dead last. How can he have more stamina than anyone else? He certainly hasn't as much stamina as Sasuke-kun!" Ino looked irritated at Shikamaru.
"So troublesome. You are the gossip queen; you should have heard of all the times Naruto outran the Anbu after one of his pranks. He can run for hours without stopping once. His stamina isn't average. He has more stamina than your precious Sasuke." He began walking away from the Academy. He and Ino were only passing by since they wanted to meet with Sakura and the others.
Ino looked at Naruto again and got wide eyes when she saw what he did now. He swiftly went from his push-up position into a handstand and began walking around the training ground with both hands. She had never seen a kid do that before, never in her life, and she had seen many things already since she joined the academy from Konoha. Sweat was all over Naruto's body, but he didn't hesitate and walked around the training ground with both hands.
Naruto concentrated and placed one hand forth before he placed the other before the other and repeated the process. The last month was the best month since he joined the ninja academy from Konoha. No one messed with or talked down on him since he was always in a separate classroom to study theory or outside alone. He never went out to train while others were using the training ground from the academy.
He already had a routine each day while he was at school. He hated studying, but he needed to learn everything possible about chakra. It was required to survive in this cruel and rotten Shinobi world. He didn't care about the history but learned it nonetheless since he had the time to focus and learn properly. He swore to train and understand correctly, not halfheartedly like before.
Naruto didn't notice Ino how she looked at him while he walked around with both hands. His arms screamed at him to stop, but he wouldn't. He would continue until his body broke together. He would not stop before he squeezed everything out of his body that he could each day. He never came back home until it was already night.
After he finished studying for the day in the academy, he would begin his body training outside of the academy, and later on, he would go to a different training ground to train his Taijutsu. Since he had the suitable materials from the basic Academy style, he could adequately learn how to throw punches, block kicks/punches, and the other basics taught in the academy style. The academy style was being looked down upon, but Naruto saw its power.
He swore he would perfect each thing he trained, just like the older man from his dreams. The older man constantly repeated the basics until he made no wasted movement. He would continue to train a basic punch until that basic punch could break a boulder and kick against a hard rock until he could no longer feel pain. He would continue to train his strength and speed until he was faster and stronger than anyone else. Naruto took a very long and hard road but decided to walk this road. He promised himself and the older man from his dreams that he would never give up. That was Naruto Uzumaki's way of life! He never gave up.
Even when completely drained from the intense training every day, he would always fully recover the next day. He knew who made this possible. The giant fox inside of his body had one positive influence on his body. Even when it was thanks to the damn fox that his life was hell and he didn't have any parents, Naruto thanked the fox for the swift recovery.
That also meant his muscles grew faster than normal muscles of normal shinobi or humans. Muscle size increases when a person continually challenges the muscles to deal with higher levels of resistance or weight. This process was known as muscle hypertrophy.
Muscle hypertrophy occurs when the fibers of the muscles sustain damage or injury. The body repaired damaged fibers by fusing them, increasing the muscles' mass and size.
This process would take longer if it weren't for the fox using his chakra to heal any damage to Naruto, even when it was just damage to the muscles while Naruto trained hard. The muscle damage was repaired at a rapid pace, basically overnight.
Ino didn't know why, but she couldn't take her eyes off Naruto. His gaze was focused and fierce, and a fire was burning in his eyes that no one could extinguish. A fire was so intense that nothing could beat it, no matter what.
It triggered something inside of Ino. Something unknown that she never felt before. An instinct commonly founded by experience when girls become older. She had the strange desire to watch and talk with him right now, even when she always thought he was an idiot, a good for nothing and a dead last. Her instinct told her something else when she saw how hard he trained and how long he could train.
No dead last could train that hard and be as focused as Naruto. She couldn't understand what was going on with her right now. But before she was really aware of what was happening, Shikamaru called her.
"HEY INO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THE OTHERS ARE WAITING." Shikamaru called out to her since he was already a good distance away from her. She had observed Naruto for more than just a second.
Ino blinked a few times and looked around. She looked towards Shikamaru and got wide eyes when she realized how far he already was. Shikamaru never runs, meaning she watched Naruto longer than she realized. She thought she only looked a few seconds toward him.
"COMING!" She looked one last time toward Naruto with a strange feeling before she ran after Shikamaru. She didn't want to know what had happened to her. 'Stupid!' She couldn't believe Naruto triggered something like that in her. She didn't know how he managed to do that, but she didn't want to think about the dead last.
But she couldn't stop thinking about Naruto while she walked with Shikamaru towards the others who were already waiting for the two of them.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow when he saw Ino's expression on her face. It was weird to see her so confused and annoyed simultaneously. It was like she couldn't explain something that was happening to her.
He shrugged his shoulders, thinking all of this was too troublesome.
Naruto let his body fall and ended up in a push-up position again before he began with push-ups again. He would continue for another 2 hours with his full-body training before he would go training his Taijutsu.
Two people were looking at a round crystal ball in the Hokage tower. One person was the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and the other was Iruka Umino. Hiruzen had both hands placed around the crystal ball, and through the crystal ball, both watched Naruto's training.
"It seems like our plan worked as we hoped it would. Naruto really changed in the past month." Iruka watched how Naruto was doing push-ups without stopping. It was remarkable how dedicated Naruto could be when he set his mind to something. He was literally a different person. He stopped with his pranks; he didn't skip the academy like it was a month ago, and so much more. Be became calmer; he didn't care what others said to him; he studied and trained like no one else; he made more progress this month alone than in the last two years Naruto was in the academy.
"Yeah. I am still thankful you gave little Naruto the chance he deserved."
Iruka remained silent and watched Naruto. "You are different from the other teachers; you overcame your fear and saw Naruto as the young boy he is."
"I was stupid, like the other villagers, to hate Naruto for something he had nothing to do with. I wouldn't say I like the Nine-Tails, but Naruto is not the Nine-Tails. He is a student of mine, and I am proud of him."
Hiruzen smiled while he closed his eyes and removed the hands from the crystal ball. He took his pipe and puffed on it once. He blew the smoke into his office before saying, "You can go, Iruka. We will discuss the other matter another time. It's already late, and you wanted to visit someone."
Iruka bowed once before he said, "As you wish, Lord Hokage. I will take my leave." Iruka made the tiger sign before he vanished in a puff of smoke. Hiruzen looked out his window and smiled while watching over the village he swore to protect against enemies.
Two hours later, Naruto punched and kicked a wooden log for Taijutsu practice. The sun was already going down, but he had no intention of stopping anytime soon. He would still train for at least 3 hours until it was completely dark.
"Hah!" Naruto punched the log before he made a high kick. He beat the log again with his right fist before his left fist shot forward and hit the wooden log. He continued this while he made sure to do every punch right. He could already tell what a huge difference it was to punch properly… at least in a kind of way. Before, he got the materials from the basic academy style and only knew what his former teacher showed him. His punches were inaccurate and weak, but now that he knew, in theory, how to punch correctly, his punches became faster and had more power.
It was far from perfect or how it should be, but he was making progress with every day that passed. Even when every day was only a slight approval because Taijutsu was a tricky art to learn correctly on your own. Getting the perfect form, movement, and everything else was hard work. Something like that couldn't be learned in a few months. It took years to become a master of Taijutsu. Many Shinobi trained Taijutsu enough to be on a certain level, but only a few Shinobi took the time to perfect their Taijutsu.
The best example is Maito Gai, the Taijutsu Master from Konoha right now. He was known in all five great nations and feared for his progress in Taijutsu and his power, speed, and stamina. Even when he only used Taijutsu, he could take on multiple Shinobi and Shinobi who knew strong Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. Even S-Rank Shinobi knew and respected him for his progress and achievements.
Not far away from Naruto stood a girl from his age group, hiding behind a tree and watching Naruto from afar. She had blue hair and white eyes like the snow. She watched Naruto every day when she had time. Her expression said many things. One thing was for sure: Hinata admired Naruto.
She was usually timid and quiet during class. She had great potential as a member of the Hyuga Clan, but her personality held her back. She couldn't talk with people properly, and she always feared to injure someone in a fight.
When she was four years old, Naruto protected her from some bullies. That was the first time she met and talked to him, even when she couldn't answer how she wanted to answer.
She admired him for his strength and will to never give up and walk his way. He never bowed to anyone, no matter what was said to him. She knew how badly the villagers treated him, but even when a few villagers beat him, he never gave up. His will wasn't broken, no matter what happened to him.
Hinata would still watch for another hour before she had to return. Otherwise, someone would search for her, and her clan would notice she was watching Naruto. Her clan didn't know that she watched Naruto from afar.
When Naruto came into his apartment, he couldn't walk properly. His legs, his arms, his stomach, his back, just everything inside of his body burned and hurt like shit, but he didn't care. That pain was nothing for Naruto. He managed to shower himself and throw his dirty clothes into the drawer. When he was finished and wore his underwear, he fell into his bed and slept instantly. For instance, his body fell onto the bed, and the cover was over his body; his body fell asleep.
He dreamed of the older man again, who was in the backyard of his little house on the outskirts of his little village. The older man was training his body and hand-to-hand combat abilities. It was always the same; the older man trained his body before he would punch and kick a giant boulder without end to train his hand-to-hand combat. Naruto was always amazed at how precise and perfect every kick and punch was. Every movement from his feet up to his head was in sync. His body would automatically respond when he would change the position from his feet.
Naruto's face in his bedroom had a peaceful expression. His face showed he was in contact with how things were. His mind was at peace after such a long day of training and studying.
Author Note: As I already mentioned, the differences will be seen pretty soon.
This would be all for the first chapter. Stay strong, everyone, and have a nice day!
See you all in the next chapter.