Author Notes- Hello fellow readers! Been almost a month since I updated this story. I had been really caught up in university assignments and exams. So, I did not get much time to for it. But, now there will be a regular update.
Some of the reviews did ask me to pair Naruto with both Sakura and Hinata. Unfortunately, for the plot I have planned in my mind, that won't be possible. However, Naruto will have a major influence in Sakura's life. I mainly prefer Hinata a lot more for Naruto because of her kind and yet strong willed nature. Sakura on the other hand is more a free spirit and ferocious in nature. I find Hinata to be more calm, collective and conservative who will be a perfect match for Naruto when he starts to ascend to darkness. This chapter I have shown his love for the village and his loved ones. His love for those he cares and the village is far too great. And his hatred will be even more terrifying when he loses someone close to him. I have some major twists planned later on. So, this chapter acts a foundation for various events happening later on in the story.
[Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.]
Anyway let the story continue
Chapter 3: Genius of Ninjutsu
Previously
The Naruto that was lying on the ground disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Suddenly, he felt cold metal touch the base of his neck. Naruto, who was now standing behind the surprised shinobi with the tip of his kunai touching his neck, asked in a serious tone.
"Who are you, shinobi-san?"
Present
'A Kage Bunshin?' Shishui thought, amazed.
'So, Itachi wasn't kidding about his sensing abilities. He must have known I was here from the start. The kid's probably better than many of the veteran sensor shinobi.'
Naruto could feel how surprised the shinobi was and couldn't blame him. It's not every day you see a five year old evade an attack with such ease. Although Naruto knew the shinobi in front of him had no ill intentions, he wished to know why it was he was attacked. He saw the raven-haired boy turn his head slightly back and saw him …smirk?
Naruto was confused as to why the shinobi would be smirking and within a span of less than a second, Shisui was now standing down on the ground, arms folded over his chest and looking at Naruto with a playful smirk.
"You're indeed good Naruto-kun. I can see why Itachi speaks so highly of you." Shisui said with a smile.
Now Naruto was surprised. He had never seen anyone perform a Sunshin so effectively and at such an incredible speed. He thought he had the raven-haired boy cornered. Now he knew how wrong he was.
As Naruto stood on the branch of the tree, he looked at the boy. He had short, unkempt, raven-colored hair, black eyes and a relatively broad nose and well-defined eyelashes that were turned upwards at each end. He wore the standard attire of the Uchiha clan which included a high-collared, dark-colored outfit along with a tantō strapped to the right side of the back of his shoulder. He also wore what appeared to be a harness for his tantō which ran across his chest and fastened over both his shoulders.
"Are you Shisui Uchiha?" Naruto asked as he too sunshined in front of the boy.
"Oh? You know of me?" He was amused that someone as young as Naruto knew of him, despite him being Hokage's son.
"Hai! Itachi told me about you." Naruto gave a small smile as he remembered hearing about the Sunshin no Shisui from his brother like figure.
Shisui nodded as he sat down on the ground. He looked at little boy and patted the area next to him. Knowing what he was being asked, Naruto went and sat next to Shisui.
Shisui once again stared at the boy. Earlier when Itachi told him about Naruto's natural aptitude in the shinobi arts, he was slightly reluctant to believe about the boy's prodigal talents, even if he has the blood of Hokage level shinobi running through his veins. The kid's only five he had thought. But seeing how he evaded his attack a few minutes ago with a well thought out plan and even surprising him with his moves later, he couldn't help but be amazed. The way the blond talked and seemed to keep his guard up spoke volumes of how far ahead he was compared to the rest of his generation. Thinking of that brought a small frown on his face.
"Gomen, Naruto-kun." He said in a whisper, but loud enough for the blond to hear.
Naruto saw the sad smile Shisui put on his face. But he saw something else too. It was the same smile he saw on his tou-chan, Jiraiya oji-chan and Kakashi nii-san at times. It's as if they were apologizing to him for something out of their reach. He never understood it. Why would they look at him like that? Was it because of the overwhelming amount of chakra that was inside of him that felt much different than his own? He had a vague idea as to who it belonged to, but he never thought much about it. He believed his tou-chan would tell him once the time was right.
Naruto turned his head away from him and laid on the grass on his back. He could see the moon and how majestic the sky looked around it. Slightly red with a tint of orange in it. Although, his gaze lingered on the moon a bit longer. He didn't understand why, but he always felt a connection to the moon.
"Why would you say that and look at me that way?" Naruto finally asked after a bit of silence.
Shisui too looked back towards the sky. He shifted slightly back with his elbows behind him on ground.
"You're different from other kids Naruto. Kid's your age normally play outside, laugh from time to time and run around. Meanwhile, you train in the shinobi arts. You keep your guard up all the time. The way you think is far too astute." He explained. He looked back at Naruto with a soft smile on his face and put his hand on the little boy's head.
"I'm sorry Naruto, that even during these times, you can't live like other kids your age. This shinobi world has a lot of darkness in it. But where there's darkness, there's always light. I'm sure you know of it, don't you?" Shisui saw the slight confusion on Naruto's face and chuckled a bit. He ruffled his hair, earning a pout from the little five year old and got back on his feet.
"What did you mean by that Shisui-san?" Naruto asked as he got up and stretched his arms to lose the slight stiffness in them.
"You will understand it someday Naruto-kun. It's not my place to tell you." Shisui said as he started to walk back towards the village.
"Are you going to come or not?" Naruto heard him say and quickly ran to his side.
"Hai!" Naruto replied.
As they were walking into the village, Naruto looked towards the older Uchiha and decided to voice his thoughts. "Why were you here anyway Shisui-san?"
"I was asked by Hokage-sama to watch over you in case you were attacked by any Iwagakure shinobi."
Naruto nodded in understanding. Jiraiya oji-chan had told him how Iwagakure disliked Konoha because of his tou-chan, Madara-sofu and Konoha's position as the strongest among all the Great Shinobi villages and that many of them were sighted near Konoha borders on numerous occasions.
As they walked through the village, Shisui saw how some of the civilians glared at the boy and some whispered things which were not meant for a boy his age to be heard. He looked towards Naruto and was surprised to see him not being affected by any of it.
"It's okay Shisui-san. I have been hearing them say such things ever since I could remember. It's not their fault. They fear what they don't understand." He said as a tired sigh escaped his lips and started walking at a faster pace towards his home. Shisui frowned at hearing that as he walked behind Naruto. He wanted to say something to him but decided to stay quiet.
It was around eight at night and the two were standing outside the Namikaze Compound.
"Will we meet again Shisui-san?" Naruto asked hopefully.
Shisui stared at the boy's eyes for a few seconds and smiled. "Of course. Also, if you want, we could train together at times."
Naruto nodded his head vigorously at the prospect of training with someone like him. Shisui smiled seeing Naruto act a bit his age. After he watched Naruto go inside the house, he sunshined to the Hokage's office to give his report to the Yondaime.
Later at night, Namikaze Compound
It was late at night, around ten-thirty and Minato had just arrived after a long and boring day of work in the Hokage's office. Sometimes he wondered if the previous Hokage ever felt what he was feeling right now.
Tired and exhausted
Not physically, but mentally. The position of the Hokage is an extremely tiring job. Listening to the civilian's demands, taking care of the paperwork, ensuring the welfare of the village, keeping the trades between Konoha and her allies steady, ensuring the needs of the shinobi under his command, ensuring Konoha's safety…and more paperwork.
He was glad when Shisui came and reported that his son was home safely. With the increase in numbers of Iwa shinobi sightings near the borders of Land of Grass and Taki, he did not want to take a chance with Naruto's safety.
Unknown to many, Minato had lost a lot of people in his life. He saw his mother die in front of him when he was four by some Amegakure Shinobi. That was what led him to unlock his sharingan. His father left him alone in the village when he was five years old. Several of his friends were brutally slaughtered during the Third Great Shinobi War by Iwagakure and Kirigakure shinobi. Even up to this day, he feels like breaking down when he thinks of Kushina's death. It was painful for him watch her leave his side. She was his light in this dark world. His father often told him to look for that special person with whom you're most comfortable and hold on to them.
For him it was his son, Naruto, now. He loved Konoha dearly and would do anything to ensure her safety but he would always pick Naruto first. He knew he may be acting selfish, but he could not afford to lose another person close to him.
As Minato was walking towards his bedroom to get changed, he walked past the library and saw Naruto sitting on the small mat on his knees reading a book. His face showed how concentrated he was. He looked to his son's side and saw several more books stacked on top of each other. He smiled seeing Naruto so immersed in the books.
'His mind must be entirely focused in those books, I doubt he sensed that I'm here' Minato thought as he chuckled inwardly. Instead of going to his room, he decided to stay and see how long it would take his son to notice him.
However, what he saw, made him widen his eyes.
'Naruto…'
With Naruto
After Shisui had left, Naruto had walked straight to the library. It wasn't a very decorated room, considering it was the Hokage's personal library.
The room consisted of three tall book shelves on three sides of the walls filled with different types of books. However most of the books were related to ninjutsu in general. There was a small cupboard near the door which consisted of fuinjutsu scrolls. There were two desks in the room. One which was slightly at the back and was normally used by Minato and another in the middle with a lantern to its side. It was slightly smaller than the one Minato used. There was a small mat next to the smaller desk which Naruto used. Even though there were lamps inside the room, Naruto preferred to use the lantern to study.
Hearing stories of how his grandfather studied during the era of Warring Clans, Naruto felt he should do something similar to his grandfather, in a way to feel closer to him. He was always enthralled when his tou-chan told him stories of his grandfather. Despite of what others said about the former Uchiha Clan Head, he believed him to be a good man.
Like any five year old, he too wanted to imitate the one he admired a lot.
Naruto had made a habit of reading books from a very young age. Whether it be about the history of Konohagakure, the history about the origins of ninjutsu or the books related to chakra theory, he loved reading them all. So, here he sat again with a book on his desk.
Elemental Chakra and Hand Signs, read the title of the book. He opened the book with a wide smile on his face and started to read the first page.
As he read the book, he learnt about the different types of chakra nature. Them being: Katon (Fire), Futon (Wind), Suiton (Water), Doton (Earth), Raiton (Lightning) and how each nature type is stronger than one and weaker than another.
He learnt about twelve hands signs that are used to infuse chakra inside one's body to use jutsus- Tori (Bird, 酉), I (Boar, 亥), Inu (Dog, 戌), Tatsu (Dragon, 辰), Ushi (Ox, 丑), Tora (Tiger, 寅), Mi (Snake, 巳), Ne (Rat, 子), Uma (Horse, 午), Saru (Monkey, 申), U (Hare, 卯) and Hitsuji (Ram, 未) and the applications of each hand sign when performing elemental ninjutsu.
The Tori hand sign is commonly associated with release of Futon chakra. The Inu hand sign commonly associated with release of Suiton natured chakra. The Tora hand sign commonly associated with release of Katon and Doton natured chakra and the release of Raiton natured chakra is commonly associated with the Mi hand sign. The Mi hand sign can also be associated with the usage of Doton natured chakra.
He briefly wondered who it was that invented hand signs and decided to ask his tou-chan later about it. He was so enthralled and focused on what he was reading he did not even notice the clock ticking or the fact that his tou-chan stood outside the door watching him read. Or that's how he made it seem like.
As Naruto finished reading the book, he had an idea in his mind he wanted to try out. He knew that his chakra control was extremely advanced, better than almost everyone in the village. Minato, Jiraiya and Kakashi probably the only ones who came close to him in that aspect. His tou-chan and Jiraiya oji-chan even went as far as to tell him it could only be matched by Tsunade Senju. For the past year, he was made to work on several different chakra control exercises to get him familiarized with them. Some of the medical ninja working in the hospital, who were close friends with Kushina, were quite fond of the little blond and even taught him the theories and practical applications of slightly advanced medical ninjutsu, seeing his advanced chakra control. Apart from those, he was made to focus on taijutsu and the handling of weapons such as shuriken and kunai. Although it took some time to get his aim correct in throwing the shuriken and kunai, Naruto could now throw them with pinpoint accuracy after a few months of practice.
Unknown to Minato, Naruto knew he was standing outside. Over the past year, his sensing abilities had increased dramatically. He could visualize the entirety of Konoha in his mind now if he wanted to. Knowing his tou-chan was watching him intently, he wanted to surprise him with what he had in his mind.
Naruto sat in a meditative position with his eyes closed. He calmed his breathing and inhaled and exhaled at an even pace, letting the stray thoughts exit his mind. This was one of the most effective way to get one's chakra to flow in a desired way inside one's body. He then put his hands in the seal for meditation. It is done by placing the back of the right hand on the palm of the left and the thumbs of both hands touching each other with both hands resting on the lap. He stayed in that position for a few minutes and allowed his chakra to calm down.
Naruto then slowly went through the hand signs- Ne (rat), Ushi (ox), Tora (tiger)and opened his eyes along with opening the palm of his right hand. Suddenly a small fire ignited on top of his opened palm and a few seconds later Naruto willed it to stop.
Minato who was standing outside the door, widened his eyes upon seeing his son manipulate katon natured chakra.
'How far will you go, Naru?'
He stared at Naruto with nothing but pure amazement in his eyes. He couldn't believe someone so young could manipulate elemental chakra so easily. After a few seconds of that, he chuckled softly as he realized his son always manages to do the impossible and surprise him every single time.
"Tou-chan!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he walked towards his father.
"I see you have been busy, Naru." Minato said as he patted him on the head softly.
"Wasn't it cool tou-chan? I could manipulate fire. I remembered you telling me how most of the Uchiha were affiliated with Katon nature." Naruto paused for a while and thought out loud. "I wonder if I can perform other nature types." Naruto replied as he got into his thinking pose.
Minato laughed lightly watching his son.
"Why don't we find out about it tomorrow eh? It's getting late and you should sleep now. Remember what I told you, you have to rest your body properly as well as your mind."
"Hai! Hai! Tou-chan" Naruto said as he ran to his bedroom.
Next day, Namikaze Compound
Kakashi was lazily standing next to a tree in the training ground of the Namikaze Compound, giggling perversely while reading his orange book. Minato looked at his student and sighed for the umpteenth time. He never understood why his sensei wrote such smut and why people even read such a thing.
He looked in front of himself and saw his son standing after completing his morning routine of physical exercises and taijutsu katas. He was proud and incredibly amazed at the rate which Naruto was learning things. He moved his hands through his silky blonde hair once and looked up at the sky and thought. 'I wish you were here to see our son Kushina… You would be proud of him.'
"Kakashi, give me some chakra paper. It's time we get started with Naruto's elemental training. He has learned the basics of what I had to teach him to the best of his abilities." Minato said as he asked the former ANBU Captain to come near him.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at that. He was just told to come here early this morning, without any details of what he had to do from his sensei. He had helped Naruto at times with his training but he didn't think he would be ready for such advanced training so soon. He knew the blonde was a genius, one who probably comes around once in a generation. Even he wasn't that good when he was five. Nonetheless he nodded and walked towards Naruto and his sensei, taking out a piece of white paper and handing it out to him.
Minato saw the slight doubt come over Kakashi's lone visible eye and asked Naruto to perform the Katon chakra manipulation which he did last night.
Naruto too had felt the slight doubt in Kakashi's mind and nodded to his father.
He went through the same hand signs which he did the previous night.
Ne (rat), Ushi (ox), Tora (tiger)and opened the palm of his right hand, igniting a small fire on top of it. Kakashi's lone widened slightly as he stared at Naruto in surprise.
"Se… Sensei?" Kakashi asked in surprise. Naruto smiled, seeing his nii-san's stupefied expression.
"I know Kakashi. I was shocked too when I saw him do it last night. He was reading books on elemental chakra and hand signs. This is the reason why I believe he's ready to learn elemental manipulation. If he could do that, he could master the basic manipulation with ease."
"Hai, sensei" Kakashi said still not taking his eyes off Naruto. He felt stupid to doubt Naruto now. The things he has seen the kid do. It still amazes him and at times terrifies him.
Minato handed one sheet of paper to Naruto and kept one in his hand.
"Naru, you already know the different nature types of chakra, right?" Minato asked.
"Hai, tou-chan. There are five different types of chakra nature. Each being stronger and weaker than the other. They are Katon, Suition, Raiton, Doton and Futon. Apart from these five there's also Yin and Yang chakra. Yin chakra is the spiritual energy of a person and the Yang chakra is the physical energy of the person." Naruto explained briefly.
"That is correct Naru. Now, every person having chakra has either one or two chakra natures which are their primary natures. There are times, when one is born with three primary affinities also. While others must train in other chakra natures which is not their primary to be able to use them effectively. This chakra paper here helps one identify their primary chakra nature. When you apply chakra into the paper, the paper reacts to the chakra showing various results. If it's sliced down the middle, you have Futon nature; if it becomes damp, you have Suiton nature; if it crumbles, you have Doton nature; if it burns, you have Katon nature and if it wrinkles, you have Raiton nature. Did you understand me so far?" Minato said seriously.
Naruto nodded and Minato asked him to apply some chakra into the chakra paper. The results were quite astonishing.
As soon as Naruto applied some chakra into the paper, it sliced into four different pieces. The first slice burned to ashes immediately, the second one became extremely damp, the third one crumbled to pieces and the last one became wrinkled.
While Naruto calmly looked at the fallen pieces of paper, inwardly he was excited at the fact he could perform all the chakra nature types. Meanwhile, both Minato and Kakashi stared at the sight in front of them with dumbfounded expressions. It should be impossible. No human should have the innate talent to perform all five chakra nature transformations. Yet the proof was right in front of their eyes.
After a long silence, Kakashi cleared his throat to speak. "Well that was surprising Naruto." Minato just nodded his head. Naruto felt how surprised the both were.
"Tou-chan was that supposed to happen? You said maximum a person is born with the ability to use either two or three different chakra nature types." Naruto asked in confusion.
"Uhm… Well, that is normally the case Naru. I haven't seen anything like this before. I will have to ask Jiraiya-sensei about it." Minato said and paused a bit before thinking about something. "Whatever the case Naru, it's a good thing, isn't it? You have more potential to become stronger if you are well versed with all the chakra nature transformations." Minato finished with a smile.
Naruto smiled upon hearing that and nodded his head.
"So, what now tou-chan? How should I train in these elements?" Naruto was extremely excited to learn that he had much more potential to become stronger. He could protect his tou-chan and village that way. He still remembered the words written by the Shodai Hokage on that tree. He could feel the emotion with which the words were written. More so, his grandfather also dreamt of a peaceful world. He would create a world where his tou-chan, nii-san, his friends and he could live peacefully.
"Well Naru, that's why Kakashi is here right now. I have some important work to do at the Hokage's office. So, he will be helping you getting started with the basics of elemental manipulation." Minato said and looked towards Kakashi, making a silent request.
Surprisingly Kakashi nodded without any hesitation. Minato expected the man to be slightly reluctant or lazy perhaps but he guessed Kakashi was indeed eager to spend more time with Naruto. Minato soon disappeared to his office in a yellow flash and left the two alone.
Naruto looked at Kakashi curiously and asked, "Well nii-san! What are we going to do?"
Kakashi smiled wickedly which sent shivers down the young blonde's spine.
"Well outoto..."
Two Years and Four Months Later
"Katon: Gokayaku no Jutsu (Fire style: Fireball Jutsu)" Kakashi said as he breathed out a massive orb of flame which speedily headed straight towards Naruto. Seeing the flames coming towards him at a fast pace, Naruto held his hand in the Ne(Rat) seal and said Suiton: Suijinheki (Water Style: Water Wall) while spewing out large amounts of water from his mouth. The water immediately formed a defensive barrier around Naruto, cancelling the katon jutsu.
As both the attacks got cancelled out, a thick mist was formed around the training ground, where Kakashi and Naruto were currently having their morning spars.
'He's gotten a lot better at using Suiton jutsu' Kakashi thought. Not even a second later his eyes widened as two shuriken came flying towards him with what he guessed were coated with Futon chakra. He substituted himself with a nearby log at the last second and now stood atop the branch of a nearby tree. He got a bit tense as he could not see Naruto anywhere once the mist was cleared. It was a meek point for Kakashi to try and sense him out and he knew it. In the past two years, Naruto had mastered controlling his chakra to an incredible degree and he knew the blonde could mask his chakra from him entirely.
Nonetheless, Kakashi scanned the area where the mist was more prominent with his sharingan for any whereabouts of the blonde. Kakashi then made three hand seals and raiton natured chakra could be seen crackling on his right hand. The sounds of birds chirping could be heard in the entire training ground. He jumped out from the tree and smashed his hand into the ground with excessive force.
"Chidori"
For a few seconds the ground crackled with electricity and then a large explosion took place. A large crater formed within the training ground as three Narutos could be seen standing in between all the rubble, suggesting that Naruto had used Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu, allowing him to hide underground like a mole.
Kakashi smirked at Naruto, having found his location with ease. Two Naruto's jumped at Kakashi quickly, while the third one jumped away to a safe spot.
Seeing the two Naruto come towards him, which he now knew were Kage Bunshins, he immediately made a Kage Bunshin of his own and jumped back. The first Naruto clone aimed a punch at Kakashi clone's chest but it ducked under the punch and tried to give the first Naruto Clone a kick. He was blocked this time by the second Naruto clone who was holding his legs. The first Naruto clone jumped in the air aiming to give a roundhouse kick to the Kakashi clone, when he smirked. Before the clones could realize what was happening, the Kakashi clone burst into lightening and electrocuted both of Naruto's clones, dispelling them too in the process.
This was a variation of Kage Bunshin which was made by Kakashi himself. He had named it Raiton Kage Bunshin (Lightning Shadow Clone). After training with the blonde on a regular basis for more than two years, he had improved several of his existing skills and made a couple of new ones. If one were to talk about his skills now, it would be borderline S-Rank.
As the real Kakashi jumped back, he saw the third Naruto make hand signs for a Suiton jutsu and started copying his hand signs by focusing on him with his sharingan.
"Suiton: Suiyuudan no Jutsu (Water Style:Water Dragon Jutsu)" Large amounts of water molecules were converted by Naruto to form a huge water dragon with menacing yellow eyes.
"Suiton: Suiyuudan no Jutsu (Water Style:Water Dragon Jutsu)" Kakashi said, as the water from a nearby pond rose several heights similar to the one formed by Naruto.
Both the water dragons roared and raced toward each other in frightening speed. The two water dragons collided with each other and flooded a part of the training ground with water. With practiced ease, both Naruto and Kakashi stood atop the water, focusing the chakra to the sole of their shoes.
Kakashi was slightly out of breath due to the high amounts of chakra he had been using today. Even though his chakra reserves had increased a lot in the last couple of years, his constantly active sharingan always had a drain on him and hence he tired easily in drawn out battles. He looked towards Naruto and saw him smirk. He was confused about Naruto's reaction until he saw him mouth those words, making his eyes widen.
"Bunshin Daibakuha (Great Clone Explosion)"
As the clone exploded, all the water in the area got splashed around everywhere and another large crater was formed. As the water was falling from the sky along with all the rock debris, it hid the ground temporarily. Naruto, who was henged as a rock on the far edge of the training ground, undid the henge and sensed Kakashi using the familiar Sunshin no Jutsu. He sensed his location in less than a second and just disappeared from his spot without any indication that he was there. There was no swirl of leaves or a cloud of smoke. He simply vanished. Naruto was extremely glad that Shisui helped him improve on this technique. Unlike most, who believe Sunshin no Jutsu to be only useful for transportation, Naruto integrated the technique well into his style of fighting.
'Of course, it had to be a clone' thought the copy ninja.
Kakashi had narrowly managed to sunshin out of the area on top of a tree at the edge of the training ground. As soon as he arrived there, a second later he felt the touch of cold metal touching his neck. He looked back to see Naruto standing behind him a kunai placed at his neck.
"You lose Kakashi nii-san" Naruto said while smirking.
"Well you got me again." He said with on his eye smiles. He pulled his headband down to cover his sharingan and then both sunshined inside the living room of the house.
"That was good spar Kakashi nii-san" Naruto said as he casually fell on the sofa. Naruto and Kakashi had made a routine of sparring with each other regularly, whether it be solely ninjutsu or taijutsu. Over the past two years, Naruto had thoroughly trained in arts of ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu. Although Naruto was extremely proficient in using all chakra natures, he felt more comfortable with Suiton, Katon and Futon.
However, senjutsu was the area where the blond had improved upon the most. Even the toad elders and Jiraiya were surprised how quickly Naruto could enter sage mode. Initially it took him about five to six seconds to reach the enhanced state but now he could enter it instantly. It was like the chakra flowing in the world would rush in to enter his body, eager to rekindle with his chakra. The kind of things Naruto could do with senjutsu, it was beautiful yet terrifying.
"You're only seven Naruto and it's almost impossible for me to beat you in a spar." Kakashi said. "You have come a long way since the day we started training together. You should be proud of yourself Naruto" Kakashi said with an eye smile, "I know, I am." His smile grew as he saw Naruto's eyes widen ever so slightly. He too then sat down, tired from the all the morning exercise and the spar. Kakashi couldn't help but smile and feel proud of the way Naruto had turned out. Despite being young, he showed shinobi skills, maturity and wisdom far beyond his age.
"Really nii-san?" Naruto asked as he looked down with a small smile. It warmed his heart whenever his tou-chan, Jiraiya oji-chan or nii-san spoke of him this way. There weren't many people in the village Naruto spoke a lot too. So, he always treasured the compliments he got from his loved ones, for whatever reasons.
After Naruto spent a few seconds to recover from the kind words, he gave a small heartwarming smile. "Thank you, Kakashi nii-san" he brought his right hand to the back of his neck. "I really appreciate it, coming from you." He added. Kakashi nodded, both knew the other extremely well, even without the blonde's special skills.
After a few minutes of silence, Kakashi got up and saw that Naruto was already dozed off and thus left the house with a sunshin to his own apartment for a bath and a change of clothes.
Later in the evening
Sometime in the evening, the young Namikaze groggily opened his eyes and rubbed it slowly. Looking outside the window, he saw the sky was almost orange now. He instantly got up from the sofa and stretched his arms a bit.
Naruto was now seven years and seven months. He stood at a height of four feet and three inches, which was good for his age. He had lost most of his baby fat, a testament of the regular physical exercise he had been doing in the past few years. He wore a full sleeved grey shirt with the Uchiha Clan symbol donning the back of it and black ANBU pants. The current Uchiha Clan head, Fugaku Uchiha who was good friends with Minato, had presented both him and Naruto the clan symbol as a sign of good will. This indicated that they were always welcomed within the Clan. The pants were gifted to Naruto by his brother like figure, Kakashi. He wore black gloves on his hands, which was his most cherished gift to him yet, given to him by his tou-chan. It belonged to his grandfather, Madara Uchiha, who had given it to his son when he dropped off young Minato outside of Konohagakure.
His most noticeable change was his hair. He had grown it longer in the last couple of years. He still had two bangs of blond hair with a mix of brown which framed the sides of his jaws. His hair now reached past his shoulder, almost till his mid waist. A bit of his hair now covered his right eye, which Naruto seemed to like. His eyebrows were cut short, showing a symbol of his nobility.
"Crap. I slept again." Naruto thought out loud.
'Not that dream again…' he thought as he walked to a washroom to freshen up. This had been a recent occurrence now.
In the past year, he had been getting dreams of a Nine Tailed Fox and an old man whose face he could not remember. Except that he had a shakujo in one of his hands. Naruto knew about the Kyubi No Yoko that was sealed within him now, but hadn't talked to anyone about it yet. He wanted to get used to the knowledge of it on his own. It was only a few months back that he found out about it, when he read a few books on Bijuus and jinchuriki. He was surprised there were eight more Bijuus like the fox and all of them were sealed within humans, who are called jinchuriki. Surprisingly, he was relieved finally knowing why it was majority of the villagers seemed to hate him and knowing what the overwhelming amount of chakra was which he often felt inside himself.
A few minutes later when Naruto came out of the washroom, he decided to finally speak to his father about this. He had thought the dreams would stop after a few months but it had been almost over a year now. He did not hate his tou-chan for keeping something like this from him. He could never hate his tou-chan. Nor did he hate the Sandaime. He knew they had their reasons and he understood them. From what he gathered by reading, the Kyubi was the strongest of all the bijuu and comparatively different from them. So, he had hypothesized it would require someone with a strong life force to be able to contain such potent and enormous chakra of the Bijuu. He knew one the main reasons for the bijuu to be sealed within him was because of his Uzumaki heritage. Hence, with that in mind, he walked upstairs to the library where he had sensed his father was.
Minato had returned to his house early today, deciding to finish rest of the paperwork in his library. The academy will be starting four months from now, in September, and Minato was looking forward to the new batch as his son, Naruto will be joining this year too. He knew his son was far ahead in terms of skills and knowledge compared to other kids in academy and even most of the Jounin for most matter. But, as every parent, he wanted Naruto to make more friends, get to know people more better and form a strong bond with the village.
Most of the friends Naruto currently had were far older than him and he only knew Sasuke and Sakura among his friends who were of his age. He chuckled a bit thinking about Sakura. That girl reminded him a lot of Kushina. Kind, gentle and scary when her mood is off. Nonetheless, he was glad the two were there in his son's life.
So, here he was now, looking at admission forms for all the academy students who will be joining this year as well as the teachers who will be teaching them during their time at the academy. As he flipped through the forms, his eyes landed on the picture of one named Iruka Umino.
He had been recently promoted to the chunin rank and had applied for the job as an academy teacher. He knew the boy during his time as a Jounin and smiled. Even though his parents were killed during the Kyubi attack, he knew he wouldn't act differently towards Naruto. 'He will be a good teacher for Naru'.
As Minato was going through the pages, he heard footsteps entering the library saw it was Naruto. He looked up from his work and smiled at him. However, looking at his eyes, he understood something was troubling him.
"What is it Naru? Anything happened?" He asked gently.
Naruto fidgeted his feet a bit and seemed a bit uncomfortable to speak about the subject he had mind, but decided to come out with it anyway.
"Tou-chan, I… I want to talk to you about something and ask you a favor?"
Minato became slightly worried looking at his face and immediately got up from his seat and walked up to him. He crouched down in front of him and put a hand to his cheek. "It's okay Naru. You can tell me anything. Did anything happen?"
"I have been having these dreams for over a year. At first I thought nothing of it. Then it continued to happen regularly and I thought it would stop after a while. But, it didn't stop." Naruto replied as he looked at his feet.
"Well? Tell me what it is about?"
"Its… um, about the Kyubi no Yoko, tou-chan. I know the Sandaime jiji had sealed fox in me because of my Uzumaki heritage. I have been seeing the fox and an old man with a shakujo frequently in the dreams I have been having." Naruto said slowly.
Minato froze in his spot as he heard the Kyubi's name. He didn't know whether to be amazed at his astuteness or be worried about him finding out about the Kyubi no Yoko. He knew how the villagers treated Naruto. But he can't change the views of people who can't look past their grief and sorrow. He dreaded thinking if his son hated him for making him a jinchuriki.
Naruto realized what his father was thinking and squeezed his hand gaining his attention. "I can never hate you tou-chan. You are the only one in this world I love the most. I understand why Sandaime jiji and you decided to seal the fox in me. I don't hate the villagers either. I love Konoha and her people with everything. I can feel they their emotions. They are grieving and are dejected about losing so many of their loved ones during the attack. They don't hate me, they hate the fox. But I know it's hard for them to look past that hatred."
Minato just stared at his son as he spoke about the village. He still couldn't believe the little blond he had held in his hand for the first time almost eight years ago was speaking so wisely. A tear slipped down his eye as he realized the last words Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke to him before he perished.
Flashback
Sarutobi Hiruzen was down on the ground, panting heavily. The Shiki Fujin (Dead Demon Consuming seal)seal on his chest was clearly visible which he had used to seal the Yin chakra of the Kyubi no Yoko within himself. His entire body was burning from the inside. He didn't count on the chakra being this strong and potent. He was aware he was counting his last breath and dying like a true Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato should- protecting the village from her enemies.
He looked to his left and saw the young blond boy, Naruto Namikaze, in whom he had sealed the Yang half of the Kyubi's chakra. Seeing Minato cradle the boy in his arms, a smile came to his face as he knew he made the right decision. A jinchuriki's life is filled with hatred and hardships. Naruto had already lost his mother tonight and was condemned to a life of hate. He couldn't take away his father from him too. At least with Minato around, Naruto would have a chance at normal life. As normal as it could get for the jinchuriki of the Kyubi no Yoko.
He saw Minato approach him with Naruto in his arms. He gazed at the little baby with admiration in his eyes. The village had a new hero. Someone, who would protect them every day.
"Arigatō, Sandaime-sama. You don't know how grateful I am. I will make sure my son grows up happy and loved." Minato said with a few tears in his eyes.
"A… shinobi's... l…life is not… measured by… how he lives Minato-kun, b…but by how he dies" He replied with a smile in between breaths.
He looked at the little blond one last time and Minato bent down so that Sarutobi could get a better look at him. He lifted his hand with sheer will and caressed Naruto's cheek.
"He is… the hero of Konohagakure no Sato, Minato-kun. A day will come… when you will see the… will of fire burn brightly his eyes. He was born during time of… great chaos and darkness, but he… will be the one… to shine light upon the shinobi world." With those words, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure No Sato, the third man to ever gain the title of Shinobi No Kami, closed his eyes forever.
Flashback end
'You were right Sandaime-sama. The will of fire burns brightly in Naru.' Minato thought. He felt Naruto put his little hands on his face and wipe away the tear.
"I'm sorry Naru that I did not tell you about this sooner. I was worried about how you would react and thought about telling you when you were older." Minato said in a low voice.
"I know tou-chan. It's alright." Naruto said as he smiled at his beloved father.
"Tou-chan… um, I want to speak to the Kyubi!" Naruto said and spoke the last rather hastily.
"…You want to what?"
"I want to talk to the Kyubi" Naruto said again but more clearly.
Minato's face became serious hearing Naruto's request. Naruto had never asked his father for anything in his short life. Seeing his father's serious look, he was worried he was going to be scolded for asking such a question. Honestly, he himself did not know why he wanted to speak to the bijuu. He did not hate the bijuu, neither did he like the bijuu. That's mainly because whatever he read about the chakra entities was from the point of view of humans. He wanted to understand the bijuu. Why they were how the humans made them out to be. Why could he only feel hatred and malice and a slight hint of loneliness when he tried feeling the massive chakra that was there in inside his body.
"Naruto? Why do you want to talk to the Kyubi?" Minato asked in a serious voice. He was sure he could suppress the Kyubi with his Mangekyō Sharingan if need be and that the cage was strong enough to hold the fox back. But still, he needed to know the reason behind his son's peculiar request.
"I want to understand the bijuu tou-chan. Why is it that they exist? Everything we know about the bijuu is from the human's point of view, who hate the creatures." Naruto said with equal seriousness.
Minato was slightly taken aback by that response. He did expect him to have thought about it so deeply. He thought about it for a minute and then nodded.
Naruto sat in a lotus position in front of his tou-chan. Minato activated his sharingan, as his eyes changed from sapphire blue to red color with three tomoes in it. He looked towards Naruto as the tomoes in his sharingan started spinning in clockwise direction.
Naruto's Mindscape
Both Naruto and Minato appeared in what seemed to be a sewer. There were pipes in every wall and the floor was filled with water with about twenty centimeters in height. They saw a long corridor in front of them and started walking in that direction.
"Come closer" called out a deep voice which they both knew belonged to the Kyubi No Yoko.
After walking for a couple of minutes, Naruto and Minato found themselves staring at a big iron door with vertical bars. In the middle of the door, there was a small piece of paper with the kanji for Seal imprinted on it. Naruto looked inside the cage but it looked empty. He was about to inside but was stopped by Minato's hand on his shoulder.
"Wait Naru. The fox will show itself." Minato said.
Suddenly behind the bars of the empty cage, Naruto and Minato saw two glowing red eyes with black vertical slits. As the eyes approached the door, he noticed the form of the fox with nine tails swinging wildly on his back. There it stood behind the doors, the most powerful being in the world, the most powerful of the nine bijuu, the Kyubi the Yoko.
"Naruto" said the fox as he stared at Naruto in the eye.
For a few minutes the Kyubi and Naruto just gazed at each other in the eyes.
Before when Naruto tried to feel the mass in his gut, he only ever felt hatred or malice and at times, loneliness. Now standing so close to the Bijuu, he seemed almost calm. Naruto smiled. His senjutsu chakra was… soothing and relaxing the Kyubi.
Whatever the case, Naruto was aware that the Kyubi could also feel him, like he too had the ability to read emotions. It had been over five minutes and the Kyubi and Naruto were still gazing into each other's eyes. It was like they were intently watching each other's soul. Naruto saw something in the fox's eyes that made his eyes widen.
They both were the same. They both were hated and scorned by the villagers. They both were considered demons. They both knew the meaning of loneliness. Knew the meaning of hatred. They both were forced upon each other and they were both the definition of strong.
They were the same, in more ways than one.
Naruto understood the bijuu now. He was misunderstood. He was lonely. And it was because humans feared his power, that they hated him. Naruto stood proud and tall in front of the great Kyubi No Yoko and give him a smile and nod of his head, which was replicated by the Kyubi himself.
It is said, that when two people can feel each other's emotion, they don't need words to express themselves. Because when you can feel each other at such an intimate level, you cannot help but love them.
Meanwhile, Minato stood behind beside Naruto and intently watched the interaction between Naruto and the Kyubi. He knew his son had the innate ability to feel one's emotion. Yet he did not understand what it was Naruto was trying to achieve here. His eyes widened when he saw his son nod his head to the fox and the fox returning the gesture with a smile of his own pointed canines.
"I'm sorry for what has happened to you" Naruto said after the long silence, surprising Minato even further.
"I know." Replied the fox still looking at the tiny form of Naruto.
Naruto raised his right hand and formed it into a fist and outstretched it towards the Kyubi.
"Naru…!" Minato was about to stop his son when he stopped dead in his tracks at the scene in front of him. Never in his life had he seen such a thing in front of him. A seven year old boy befriending the greatest bijuu in the world.
And so, the Kyubi too bumped his fists with Naruto. From there, they were linked. They both knew everything about each other. Their origins, their life, their thoughts, their darkness and more importantly, they knew they could trust each other with their lives.
Naruto now knew about the Rikoudo Sennin, Hagoromo Otsusuki. He knew about his two sons Indra Otsusuki and Ashura Otsusuki. The reasons behind why this shinobi world headed into this war-torn state. The reason why he felt he was different than other people. He now knew who he was as he looked at the sun and moon mark on the palms of his right and left hand.
But most important of all, he knew the type of person his mother was.
"I will save you one day… Kurama." Naruto gave one of the most beautiful smiles Minato had ever seen.
"Naru?" Minato called out to him hesitantly.
A few seconds later, Naruto turned to his father. "Yes tou-chan?"
"What happened just now?" He asked a bit warily. It was weird for him to watch the Kyubi smile. Naruto chuckled seeing his father's reaction. 'It must have been awfully weird for him' he mused.
He turned back to Kurama and asked, "Kurama, can you show my tou-chan everything you showed me just now?"
The fox got up on his legs with his nine tails swinging wildly behind him and lowered his head to Minato's eye level.
"Madara's son." Kurama growled. Minato sweat dropped at that reply.
"Hey! He's my grandfather okay!" Naruto replied childishly with a mock glare. His grandfather and tou-chan were his idols. He would never take anyone bad mouthing them.
"Fine. Whatever." Kurama said and outstretched his fist towards Minato.
Minato looked towards Naruto questioningly, unsure of what to do.
"It's alright tou-chan. Bump fists with him and you will know what I'm talking about."
Deciding to trust his son, Minato bumped his fist with the Kyubi's. Once they had broken contact, he stayed quiet for a while. He knew everything now. His origins. The unaltered history of the shinobi world. He turned his gaze towards his son and once again just stared at him with disbelief in his eyes. Something which he had been doing a lot in the past few years. He wondered if there was anything that Naruto couldn't do. It was just too overwhelming. Yet, it made sense.
He closed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. A trait he seemed share with his son when he was in deep thought. He went through everything and re-arranged all the information he already knew with what he had learned recently.
A few minutes later, Minato opened his eyes and walked towards Naruto. He instantly picked him up in his right arm and patted his head with his left. All of this caused the young blonde to become extremely flushed.
"TOU-CHAN!" Naruto shouted extremely embarrassed that Kurama was watching all of this.
"Shhh… Let me talk okay?" Minato asked softly, earning a small nod from Naruto.
"I have never believed in destiny Naruto. I always believe that one forges their own path through hard work and determination. But what I learned right now was extremely overwhelming. But it does make sense for the shinobi world's current situation. I have always thought of you to be special. But that's every parent's duty, ne?" Minato started.
"Like every parent, it is my duty to believe in you. To guide you in your dark times and stand alongside you when in the light. So, it doesn't matter whether you are the Child of Prophecy or the fact that we both are descendants of the Rikoudo Sennin. You are Naruto Namikaze, son of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze. That's what you'll always be to me. I will always believe in you, Naru." Minato finished as he kissed his son on the forehead.
Naruto could feel the love his tou-chan had for him. It made him feel so warm to be in his embrace. It made him feel safe. He knew who he was and what he had to do. He was Naruto Namikaze and he would always love his tou-chan and strive to create a world where his loved ones could live peacefully.
Naruto looked at his father in the eyes and nodded his head slowly, engulfing him in a tight hug.
"Enough with this mushy scene. It's giving me a headache." Kyubi said in his ever so deep voice. Minato and Naruto chuckled seeing Kurama resting his head on his paws.
Today a bond was formed between the three. One which would shape the world in the unforeseen future.
Five Days later, Konohagakure No Sato
Naruto was casually sitting at the edge of a lake on the west side of the village. He usually came over to train when Kakashi and Minato were busy with their work. Today however, he decided to just rest and enjoy the lax time. It was late evening now and the sky was very clear tonight. He was lying down on the grass with his legs hanging a few inches above the water surface. He was told he would joining the academy soon in the coming months and he was extremely excited on the prospect of making new friends. He wondered if Sakura would be joining too.
'I should ask her soon.' He thought off-handedly.
He closed his eyes and felt the different emotions flowing in the village. It was among his favorite things to do. He felt most of the people were quite happy. Some were sad for reasons he did not understand. While some were… horny? He had learned a thing or two about such things from Kakashi. Watching him read those orange books every time had piqued his interest. So, one day he managed to snatch a book from him without letting him know and read it. It's suffice to say, he was scarred that day for life.
A while later, Naruto got up from his position and decided to walk to Ichiraku Ramen to satisfy his ramen urges. As he was walking towards the place through the market street of the village, his eyes landed on a girl about the same age as him. She was staring inside one of the shops and by the look on her face, he assumed she must really like what she was staring at.
She had neck length dark blue color hair and white eyes. 'A Hyuuga...' Naruto thought. She wore a lavender color kimono with a white floral design and brown colored sandals. As she turned towards him, he noticed how beautiful her face was. Her eyes were so hypnotizing and mesmerizing. The two stared at each other for a few seconds until he heard someone call out to her.
"Hinata-sama. It's getting late. We must return to the house soon. Your mother is waiting for you." Said one of the branch Hyuuga members, who was Hinata's escort outside the Hyuuga compound.
Naruto saw her leave and he kept his eyes on her retreating figure. He saw her turn her head slightly to look at him and for reasons unknown to him, he gave her a big smile and waved to her gently.
'Hinata… That's a pretty name.' he thought as he slid his hands inside his pocket and walked to the Ichiraku Ramen Store.
Near the borders of Hi No Kuni and Land of Grass
It was late at night, and three shinobi could be seen entering the borders of Hi no Kuni from the Land of Grass. Each of them had a black cloak on them and a black face mask covered their faces. However, the most prominent feature about them was their forehead protector which had the kanji for Earth on it.
They were hopping from one tree to another and were travelling at a fast pace. They had recently been given an assassination mission by their Tsuchikage and were also provided help from within Konoha. Hence, they were traveling at a fast pace to meet with their informant. However, not everyone in the team was made aware of the identity of their target. Due to the sensitivity of the mission, only the team captain was briefed about the mission and their target in detail.
Seeing as they were inside the borders of Hi No Kuni now, one of the team members voiced his thoughts to the team captain, who was leading ahead.
"Taicho? Who's our target?" he asked with seriousness present in his voice.
Without taking his eyes off the dark path ahead, the team captain replied with a sick smile.
"…Naruto Namikaze"
So, that's a wrap for this chapter!
Next chapter will probably by posted by March 5 or March 6, 2017.
Naruto's training with Kakashi, Minato, Itachi and Shisui will showed in flashbacks in the coming chapters. Naruto will have the same aptitude as Indra Otsusuki in his ability to grasp the theory behind ninjutsu and natural skills in the shinobi arts.
He will be learning Kenjutsu later on. I want to allow his body to grow up more. Right now, he has the skills, the knowledge, the speed but not the strength in his body. So, once he's slightly older, probably around 11 years of age. He will start learning kenjutsu. Now, he wont be a fuinjutsu expert like Minto, Kushina, Mito or Tobirama. But, he will be proficient enough to use it when or if, it is required.
The next chapter will feature Naruto awakening his sharingan, the changes in his personality, him attending the academy where he will meet Hinata and the other kids of his age.
Please do Follow, Favorite and Review the story. The reviews are greatly appreciated. It would help me revise the plot I have in my mind and better it. So, do let me know your thoughts on how the story has started off.
Until next time!