Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in an office to which he was no stranger. The piles of paperwork that seemed to stretch to the ceiling, the sight of Konoha by his back that had motivated him every day to fulfill his duty to the best of his ability, and his favorite pipe in hand made it seem like nothing had changed in all these years.

He let out a sigh as he put on the hat he thought would never reside on his head again. The weight of its responsibility felt heavier than the first time he had donned it.

I'm too old for this.

Sarutobi gave a big puff to his pipe and walked towards the room where a meeting would take place to discuss tonight's events; their village had been attacked, their Fourth Hokage had perished, and Sasuke Uchiha was the new Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi. A headache already seemed to manifest itself in anticipation of this troublesome meeting.

The sound of heated discussion could be heard across the door but it all stopped when he entered the room. Inside were gathered all the clan heads of Konoha, the Village Elders, and some noteworthy shinobi in charge of the different departments of the village. There would be a future meeting with the leaders of the more civilian and economic sectors of the village, but that wasn't for the here and now. The heated faces of many of the clan leaders immediately told him what he should address first.

"Let's start with the matter of Sasuke Uchiha, shall we?" he asked, and went to seat himself in between the Village Elders.

The meeting table was a large rectangular wooden desk, the people seated in proximity of the Hokage by the amount of influence in the village they had. Technically, there was no such rule, but it was one of those subtleties that everyone understood. Immediately after his words, Hiashi Hyūga, seated one seat away from him, stood up.

"The acts taken by the Uchiha are unforgivable! A clan hosting a Bijuu has never happened before and for good reason; it threatens the balance of power between all clans," Hiashi said, the veins near his pupil-less lavender eyes bulging as he glared at Fugaku.

"Talking about the Uchiha, who do we suspect are the ones responsible behind this attack? Now that both the Senju and Uzumaki clans have become a non-factor, only one clan remains capable of such a feat."

These were the words he had been dreading to hear, so of course they came from his old companion Danzo, who spoke them with the innocence of a child, making it sound genuine. Of course, the accusation was crystal clear, and everyone present turned to look at Fugaku with expecting eyes.

Hiruzen cursed the turn of events. He hadn't even gotten a word in and already tension was brewing between the clans.

Damn you Danzo. For all his good intentions and an even more exemplary list of accomplishments, his old teammate had turned out to be even more of a manipulative and cautious man than their old Sensei.

Fugaku stood up as he maintained his expression neutral.

"It's true that only someone with a Sharingan would be able to control the Kyuubi in such a manner. However, it wasn't someone from our clan."

That bit of information took everyone by surprise.

Hiruzen lifted his eyebrow and leaned forward. He had thought of dispelling the claims due to the lack of tangible evidence, but for Fugaku to be so certain to deny them directly, he must be certain of the culprit's identity.

"What do you mean by that? You said so yourself. It must be someone with a Sharingan. So how come you are denying that the culprit is from your clan?" Danzo said.

"The person behind all of this is indeed an Uchiha, but not one my clan recognizes as such. The one behind the attack of the Kyuubi was none other than Madara Uchiha."

Silence dominated the room as that name thought to be part of old history was spoken.

Madara Uchiha… But it's impossible! He died against Hashirama in their final clash. There's no way he's alive, Hiruzen thought.

"Foolish words, we all know that Madara was killed by the First Hokage. Don't try to pin all of this on a dead man," Danzo said, and for once Hiruzen agreed with him.

"You may choose to believe me or not, but all of this was told to me by Minato in his final moments. About the matter of whether the possibility is real or not, if I remember correctly the body of Madara mysteriously disappeared before it could be destroyed, wasn't it? If there's one man in the world who could survive against the First and have enough proficiency with the Sharingan to make the Kyuubi subdue to his will, it would be him."

Silence reigned again as everyone considered this dreadful possibility.

Hiruzen pursed his lips in thought, taking into consideration the information given and trying to deny this claim. After all, how could he be alive? But no matter his wishes, the possibility was one he couldn't reject.

He shook away such tricky thoughts for later. For now he needed to take charge.

"Whether Madara is truly alive or not is a matter we will discuss in the future. With no way of confirming the real culprit, I want us to cease all discussion about the subject for a later time. Is everyone in agreement?" Hiruzen asked.

Everyone present nodded in support, even a begrudging Danzo. Such a quick and unanimous decision was strange to see, and Hiruzen was left a bit baffled by this.

He understood why when Hiashi spoke.

"I find that to be acceptable, Lord Hokage. Moving back to the original matter I have a proposition about the issue of Sasuke Uchiha; how about we put him into ANBU? They will be sure to turn him into a fine Jinchūriki and we would avoid any future issues that a clan hosting a Jinchūriki could pose."

The other clan leaders around them nodded in support of the idea.

"For once I agree with that stuck-up Hiashi." The Inuzuka clan leader said.

"If that's the plan you deem best Lord Hokage, we in ANBU would be honored if you entrust us this responsibility and promise to aid Sasuke's growth in a suitable manner." The ANBU commander added.

Some other people chimed in, with their own words of agreement.

Hiruzen took a moment to consider. Though it was obvious what Hiashi's intentions were, it was an acceptable decision that would solve future political struggles, and he doubted anyone would oppose this idea.

Well… except for him. He turned to see Fugaku.

"Before you take any decision Lord Hokage, I want you to consider the lengths that Sasuke could reach with the guidance of our clan. Having a Jinchūriki with a fully matured Sharingan would be of great use to the village, and we all know that we need to show our might to the other villages at this moment, so having him work in the hidden world of the ANBUs would be a waste," Fugaku said with the same tone of before, not showing any discomfort on his face, but Hiruzen knew there was unease gripping at the man. It was his son's future on the line after all, and no amount of faked indifference could make this seem like a trivial matter.

All eyes were now on him to make a decision. Hiruzen resisted the urge to sigh aloud. This is what he hated the most about being Hokage. Having the final say about every aspect of the village, while an appealing prospect to some, was a struggle to go through.

Letting Sasuke go to ANBU would be an easy choice to make. It would appease the clan leaders, give him a capable Jinchūriki, and make the village's power balances remain the same as ever.

But he feared it would break Konoha.

He suspected that no matter how cold Fugaku acted, if he let his son be integrated into ANBU that the man would do everything in his power to get back at him. The bridge between Konoha and the Uchiha, one so fragile to begin with, would be forever broken and they would have a civil war brewing, and from it there would be no winners.

Of course the Uchiha, although a powerful and prominent clan, was only that: a clan. Konoha would be able to deal with them without major losses if they attacked before the Uchiha could make preparations. However this would signify the loss of one of Konoha's most powerful dōjutsu, and an invasion from another village wouldn't be out of the equation either.

Letting Sasuke be raised by his own clan carried its own difficulties. Tensions between clans would arise, especially the Hyūga and Uchiha. Favoritism would be suspected, and it may earn him the ire of some of the other clans, and perhaps his own life would be threatened by the ones that disagreed with his actions.

Choosing this would come alongside an avalanche of minor issues that would be a hassle to deal with, but it had one redeeming quality to it: it would grant him a successor.

By doing this, the bonds between the Uchiha and Konoha would tighten and become stronger than they had ever been before, even more so than before Madara's betrayal. It was due time for the Uchiha to finally see one of their own become Hokage, and what better option than Sasuke? Konoha would have a strong leader, one that may even surpass Hashirama, and it would mean a new beginning for the village.

Both options carried risks. Both had unforeseen consequences to them. But one let him have hope for a better Konoha.

"Very well then, Sasuke will be at the care of the Uchiha and be trained to awaken and use his Sharingan to become a perfect Jinchūriki, and this will be the end of it."

A variety of reactions surged from the room; Fugaku smiled gratefully, Hiashi swore under his breath, Danzo scoffed with disdain, and many amongst the clan heads let out words of disagreements. But none of that deterred him from his decision, and with a glare and a show of his presence, the room's discussion died yet again. They could complain all they want, at the end of the day he was Hokage.

"With that taken care of, I want us to discuss what we will do with the son of Minato."

As he spoke those words the heaviness in his heart grew, and he remembered the sight of that blond infant covered in his parents blood.

"The Uchiha would be honored to give him the best home–"

"The hell you do! Are you not satisfied with having the Jinchūriki, you also want the son of the Fourth too?" Hiashi interrupted. "Lord Hokage, I promise that the Hyūga will give him a home fit for the son of such a man, and nurture him to reach the same heights as his father–"

"The Inuzuka would be more than happy to–"

"We the Yamanaka also–"

"We would be glad–"

The voices mixed with each other, creating a loud and confusing chorus of suggestions as the clan leaders heatedly discussed who would receive that privilege. He frowned.

I had been expecting this but…

"Enough!" he shouted. "I said this was a discussion, but from the beginning I already had something in mind; seeing you squabble like children right now just makes me more confident in my decision. He will be going to the Orphanage, and that's the end of it."

Loud gasps were voiced across the room, and he was met with disgruntled and disapproving expressions.

The Yamanaka head spoke.

"Why, Lord Hokage? Don't you think it would be more beneficial for him to go to a family that will be able to give him the necessary training? Even him going to you would make more sense."

Hiruzen stood up from his seat and took a whiff of his pipe, as he paced around the room, before stopping at where the portraits of the Hokages were hung up on the wall.

"I knew Minato very well. Born from a civilian family that perished due to the war, he always desired for peace, especially for the ones close to him. I'm confident he would want the same for his son, that he would want for him to have the choice of whether to fight or not, and if I give him to any of you I'm sure that choice will no longer be one. Because as you have shown now, you treat him like a trophy, and I don't wish that on a kid who has already lost so much for the sake of the village. That's why I will send him to the Orphanage, where he will be another orphan amongst the many others that will remain after this attack. A free kid. A kid that will not have to live the same as his parents. For this reason I announce from this moment forward that the identity of his parents is to be an S-class secret!"

The declaration of those words incited many arguments to come forth, but he didn't care. He would make sure that Naruto had a choice, as his last gift towards Minato.

Now let's see if I made the right choice.

Hiashi Hyūga sat in his office in the dead of night. A sole candle was the only light in the room, only enough to light up the desk in front of him. It was 4 A.M. and no one aside from the guards was awake. He wasn't busying himself with managing the clan's finances, or revising the training plan for his clan members or any of the usual chores he had as a clan head. No. The reason was another one, one that had come up months earlier and he still hadn't solved. Months had passed since the attack, and he had yet to find a solution to the precarious situation the Hyūga clan would end up in. Months since the Uchiha had gotten themselves a Jinchūriki.

His fists tightened at the reminder, knuckles turning white by the force. It was all he could to not trash his office at that moment.

He relented the strain, and let out a weary sigh that showed the recent sleepless nights he had endured over the last months. After the emergency meeting with the Hokage, he had discussed the matter with the clan elders to no avail. If the situation was left as it was, then the Uchiha would quickly rise to be the undisputed top clan of Konoha. The Hyūga would soon be no competition.

He had considered it all.

He had considered upping their already strict training regime of the clan so that their clansmen became top notch shinobi far surpassing even the Uchiha, but found there was little use to that. The problem wasn't that the average Uchiha outclassed them — after all a significant part of their members never awakened the Sharingan, in contrast to the Hyūga which had their Byakugan at birth — but that they hosted the Jinchūriki. Sasuke Uchiha was sure to become one of the most powerful shinobi in history and become a legend that would surpass those of the Sannin, and even that of Hashirama and Madara.

The Hyūga didn't have anyone like that. They had geniuses, they had prodigies, but not legends. The one who had come closest to that was Hikaru Hyūga, the one who had made the Gentle Fist as they know it today, and the one to join the clan with the village. But even he had been outmatched by his contemporaries, never close to the legends of Madara Uchiha or Sasuke Sarutobi.

What he needed now, and was the issue plaguing him of late, was finding the person to embody this new era of the Hyūga, become one that the people of the village will look up to in admiration and sing songs of praise. One that could be to the Hyūga what the Third Hokage was to the Sarutobi, or Hashirama had been to the Senju. None of his clansmen demonstrated something akin to what he wanted.

It was then that inspiration struck him.

If Fugaku is making his son fulfill that role for his clan, I will respond in kind.

Hiashi grabbed the sole photo frame in his office. Depicted there was his wife holding their recently borned daughter, Hinata. His chest tightened at the idea of what he was going to do, but he didn't show it in his face and never would, as he knew this was the only path to take.

"I'm sorry Hitomi. I know you want for her to grow into a kind-hearted matriarch, but the current times won't allow that. I will do what I need to for the sake of the clan; even if it's at the cost of her childhood."

One way or another, the Hyūga would come up on top.

The roar of the crowd was deafening, and he almost squirmed at the sudden assault at his ears. Of course, he stopped himself and instead maintained a cool expression. He wouldn't give any reasons for anyone to tease him.

Naruto watched with wide eyes filled with amazement at the crowd that filled the stadium's seats. The excitement and anticipation that had seized them was unlike any other Naruto had seen before.

"Man, they sure didn't lie about the Chunin Exams. I can't even hear my thoughts here!" A boy of tan skin, Michiya, shouted from his left, and even with the volume of his voice, Naruto barely caught his words.

"Sit still and stay quiet, it's starting!" A girl with long black hair, Rena, yelled from his right, then proceeded to erupt into excited screams when the contestants began making their way to the center of the arena, throwing her hands in the air in wild motions.

Naruto grinned and turned to face the spectacle, sitting on his knees to get a better view of the contestants.

They are real shinobi… I'm going to see real shinobis fight!

Naruto clasped his hands together and thanked whatever deity above for finally being old enough to spectate this event. Considering the Chunin Exams happened in Konoha only once every two years, it was a fortune that this one happened late into the year once he had already reached the minimum age for viewing: six!

Of course, kids as young as him had been let in only after being strictly informed on closing their eyes at a moment's notice of their caretaker's command. The exams tended to get bloody, and although rarely, even deaths happened. Which was part of the appeal for them… but whatever.

It was a mystery to him why the Orphanage even went through the effort of having them all be here, mobilizing the dozens of kids that they were and having enough caretakers to supervise them. In Naruto's whole life this only happened during the annual Celebration of Resistance, a day to celebrate the lives of those who gave their life to protect the village from the Kyuubi and, of course, to honor their Fourth Hokage.

And Michiya said the Orphanage doesn't have to pay to have us here...

His thoughts were interrupted by the booming voice of the proctor, who riled up the crowd with a speech about today's importance. Naruto was too young to care about 'nationalistic pride' or whatever, and just eagerly awaited for the slugfest. Then the proctor went on to announce the names of the contestants and the villages they came from.

There were 10 in total; 6 of them from Konoha, 3 from Suna, and the last one came from a small village Naruto didn't recognize, but it was sure to say it wasn't any from the Big Five.

"There's someone from Star Village. You don't see that every day." That aclaration came from Michiya, who had an intrigued look in his eyes.

"You read about them?"

"Of course, I wouldn't be the Elemental Nation's greatest next explorer if I didn't know that!" Michiya said with a grin.

Naruto hummed. "Are they strong? Any cool Jutsus?"

"Is that all you care about?" He sighed. "But, yeah. They are a little village, more like a big clan really. The Hoshino clan settled on the lands of some farmers and gave them protection in exchange for food and they later formed the village. They managed to get authority over their lands after gaining the favor of a lord and…"

Michiya interrupted his explanation when he noticed Naruto's bored expression.

"Whatever. The Hoshino's are said to have some 'bright' Katon."

Naruto scrunched his face. He didn't understand that last part. And guessing by Michiya's face, he neither. His ability to read and memorize things he learned didn't come with understanding, apparently.

"I don't know about bright Katon or any of that. What I do know is our guys will send them home crying," Rune exclaimed.

"Don't you hate the Hyūga? 'Cause you're kind of rooting for one right now." Naruto pointed out.

True enough, one of the Konoha contestants was a Hyūga Branch member.

"I hate their brats who talk big even though they haven't accomplished anything. Besides! She is representing us right now, so she deserves our support at the moment."

"You're right. Kick their asses!"

Their conversation ended and soon enough the hopeful Chunin made their way out of the arena, leaving only two behind with the proctor. One of them was the boy from the Hoshino clan, and Naruto's eyes immediately stuck to him, eager to see his Jutsus. The other was a girl from Suna.

"Let the first match between Hideo Hoshino and Aruki Sumire… begin!"

Things started off fast and heavy.

When the proctor finished speaking, Hideo was already running through the motions for a Jutsu and let out a fire ball.

Aruki hastily jumped away from the projectile and the next moment the fire met the ground in an explosion that illuminated the arena and made a booming sound.

Naruto's mouth hung open.

"...Awesome."

Hideo repeated the Jutsu a couple more times, letting out fireballs smaller than the first one, and Aruki continued narrowly dodging each one before reaching the cover of the trees.

Hideo stopped his weaving and panted.

From their vantage point of view, Naruto managed to see Aruki's state. Her clothes were singed and her exposed skin showed minor burns. Although he cringed at the sight, he noticed Aruki's smile as she took out shurikens.

Four in each hand, she swiftly came out of her cover and sent them straight at Hideo.

Hideo took out a kunai, ready to deflect them, and at that moment the shurikens gained a sudden and impossible burst of speed.

With mighty effort, he leaped out of the way to avoid the majority, and deflected the last couple still on him. In the end there was only a slash across his cheek for her efforts.

Naruto glanced at Aruki and realized that the sudden speed had been due to a Wind Jutsu, judging from her hands. To his surprise, she was not undeterred by her ineffective offensive, instead she was now running full speed towards Hideo, kunai on hand.

They engaged in fierce combat, slashes and stabs flying around, metal deflecting metal. When one attacked the other dodged or blocked perfectly, and Naruto was witness to a beautiful dance. However it wasn't to last. With each exchange, it was noticeable even to him that Aruki was getting pushed back more and more, getting covered with cuts.

Naruto pouted at seeing the match was about to end, but shook his head. It had still been fun after all, and he would get to see more from that Hoshino–

At that moment something unexpected happened. The whole crowd gasped and Naruto opened his eyes to find Aruki's kunai stabbed deep into Hideo's shoulder. The boy screamed in pain and dropped the kunai, then collapsed to his knees. Aruki pressed her blade against his neck.

"Aruki Sumire is our winner! She will be advancing to round 2!" The proctor announced.

The crowd exploded in applause and cheer after seeing such an upset.

Naruto moved back and forth on his seat before turning his head as fast as possible to look at Michiya.

"What the hell just happened?!"

Michiya was startled by his voice, but then sighed and sat back comfortably.

"By the looks of it, poison. Suna shinobi are known for two things after all; their deadly poisons and their puppetry."

"What?! But when did she even get the chance?" Rune asked as she leaned over Naruto to ask in Michiya's face.

Naruto frowned but didn't push her off, curious to hear Michiya's answer.

"When she threw that volley of shuriken at him. She even used a Wind Jutsu to make sure one connected. That's why she immediately rushed towards him in order to take advantage of the poison when it took effect."

"Woah…" Naruto gasped in amazement.

He didn't know shinobi planned that much and that far ahead for their attacks. But at the same time he felt doubtful of his capability to be that smart if he decided to become a shinobi.

The concern must have been evident on his face, apparently.

"Don't worry your head too much Naruto. They had a whole month to prepare for their opponents, after all." Michiya assured him.

Naruto nodded.

"So cool… I wonder if I could get my hands on some poison~" Rune said with glee.

Naruto shuddered at the possible monster this battle had created.

Soon enough, another battle started. And another. And another.

Naruto watched giddy as the Uchiha beat the Akimichi with the use of ninja wire, the Sarutobi beat up the Suna Genin with an amazing display of strength and acrobatics to elude the volley of poisoned projectiles, the Suna puppeteer tricked and knocked out the Yamanaka boy after a failed Mind Transfer Jutsu.

Seeing all these shinobi fight, showing their efforts of a whole month to put on the best fight possible, his heart was set ablaze with determination. One day he would be the one on that stage, dammit! And he would wow everyone with his awesome strength and tactics.

All the other kids from the Orphanage seemed to share his thoughts, his joy, his excitement, and all of them made loud declarations about how they would be the ones showing off in the Chunin Exams in the future.

But now the final match of the first round awaited them.

"For our fifth and final fight of the first round, we have two Konoha Genin! On one side we have Yuka Hyūga–"

His speech was cut short at the crowd's overwhelming cheers, something that had also happened in the Uchiha's match.

They were both the most prominent clans of Konoha, so when they fought in their home, the whole village would support them. At least that was the sentiment Naruto felt from the crowd.

"—and Yamashita Iguchi!"

At the name of the other contestant, the cheers considerably dropped in enthusiasm and volume.

Naruto frowned.

"Finally we get to see the Hyūga fight."

"My money is on her winning this whole thing. The Uchiha received quite the hit from the Akemichi after all."

"Anyone know the other kid? His name doesn't ring a bell."

"Must be a civilian."

"Poor kid, his luck ran out here. Though making it this far is impressive for a civilian like him."

"Whatcha bet this ends in under 30 seconds?"

Naruto heard comments like this coming from the crowd, which made his annoyance spike.

Why do they speak like the result is already clear?

"...what do you think, Michiya?"

Michiya lifted his eyebrow for a moment — Naruto had never asked his opinion before any other match — before he answered.

"It's a tough matchup. The Hyūga and the Uchiha are the biggest clans for a reason, like we saw in the other match. And Yamashita looks like a Taijutsu specialist, so he has no chance."

"..."

Naruto remained quiet, instead focusing his gaze on the match, hands clutching the fabric of his pants.

Come on, prove them wrong!

"Begin!"

Yamashita immediately jumped back, unfurling an absolute stockpile of shurikens on the girl. In his haste, most of the shurikens went wide.

Yuka blocked the ones on her way with full tranquility, knocking them off the air with a single kunai on her hand. She ran to close the distance.

Yamashita grit his teeth and lept high into the air, weaving hand signs all the while.

Yuka was on his trail immediately and launched a single shuriken in between his hands, forcing him to drop the Jutsu to catch it.

Eyes on the shuriken, hands busy, he hadn't a chance to dodge the palm strike to his chest that sent him crashing to the ground.

Dirt rose as the crowd hollered.

"Damn is that it already?"

"Come on kid, make my spent Ryos count their worth!"

Naruto grit his teeth at the comments, but kept his eyes on the slowly rising figure of the boy.

Yamashita climbed back to his feet with difficulty, breathing heavily, an eye slightly closed in discomfort.

"She must have closed a Chakra point." Michiya commented.

"It's a good thing this tournament discourages killing because if not…" Rena left the rest to their imaginations.

After some painful seconds, Yamashita was back to standing straight. Breathing a little short, knees shaky, and in his eyes Naruto saw desperation.

Like the other side of the coin, Yuka watched him regally, not a crease or tension on her face, posture straight and confident as her eyes bore into him with the absolute confidence of a predator watching her weakened prey.

Yamashita let out a shout and clasped his hands together into a cross sign. Twenty copies of him appeared in the arena, covering the distance between the two.

Immediately the clones started running at her, shouting with ferocity as they engaged her.

She didn't even flinch and didn't make a move to defend herself. Instead she calmly went to activate her Byakugan as the illusions dispelled themselves when passing through her body.

When the first veins popped up, her eyes widened and she dived to her side.

She rolled across the ground as a scorching flame passed over her, Yamashita having used the visual blockade of his clones to perform the Jutsu. But when the flames died down, Yuka stood amidst the blackened ground, her robes with scorch masks but her pale skin with no burn in sight.

She dashed towards him with such speed Yamashita didn't have a choice but to fight, taking out a kunai in both hands to face her.

Is she going to a knife fight empty-handed?! How the hell is she–

Naruto watched stunned as her bare palm met the blade of the kunai, and instead of being stabbed or cut, it pushed aside the attack and chipped the steel.

Yamashita went on to unleash an onslaught of quick stabs and jabs, trying to slash any part of her body, but not an inch of her body was touched by the assault of metal as she met every attack with her hands.

"It's over." Those fatidic words came from Rune.

Soon enough, Yamashita performed a particularly powerful stab forward and awaiting it was Yuka's palm.

The blade snapped in half, and Yamashita's eyes darkened.

Yuka stepped forward, grasped the other hand with force, and aimed her hand to his head.

"Winner: Yuka Hyūga! She will be moving on to round 2!" The proctor announced.

The stadium was once again filled with a cacophony of sound but Naruto didn't pay it any mind.

Instead all of his attention was on the defeated Genin, whose gaze was now on the ground with his head dropped in shame. He saw the little shakes, his tightened hands, and Naruto clutched his own fists with force until his nails dug into skin.

"The result was obvious after all."

"I'm impressed the kid lasted that long. I thought it was over after the first hit."

"Hey give him some credit… he lasted a whole minute!" The man laughed.

Naruto grit his teeth.

"Makes you wonder why they even try. If you're against a Hyūga and your last name isn't Uchiha, then it's hopeless. Even more so when you aren't from a clan."

"If they want a promotion so much they should just hope for one on the field like the rest of us common folks. I may never reach the rank of Jounin, but at least I'm not foolish enough to try to fight those clan monsters."

Naruto's swirl of emotions bubbled up inside him, screaming to be let out and yell at those bastards that were discarding Yamashita's efforts.

But he didn't.

He kept his mouth shut and continued watching the following matches, which only grew in intensity and excitement as only the best moved forward. Yet he didn't smile, a permanent frown on him even during the final match.

His annoyed stupor lasted until the proctor raised Yuka's hand high in the air, and the crowd congratulated her victory.

A big smile was on her face as she stood proud before the Uchiha's fallen body.

What followed was a heartening speech, more shouting and celebration, and soon enough they were on the move back to the Orphanage, slowly making their way through the crowds drunk in both excitement and alcohol.

It was when they were near the village's outskirts, and thus, their home, that Michiya grasped his shoulder and stopped him.

"What's up?"

"...What do you mean?" Naruto asked, his gaze on his feet.

"You didn't smile once even when those two Katon Jutsus clashed and made a big explosion. You love that stuff! So seriously, what's wrong?"

"Yeah Squirt, why so pissy?"

Naruto frowned at Rena's comment before relenting.

"It's just… You remember that match between Yuka and Yamashita?"

"Yamashita?" They asked.

Naruto sighed.

"The civilian boy… the only one," he said, stressing the word.

"Ah."

"What about it?" she asked.

"Everyone was talking like Yuka winning was obvious, like Yamashita didn't have a chance. They didn't even know him! They just heard his name, figured he wasn't from a clan, and decided he was the loser."

Michiya hummed.

"I can't blame them. The Hyūga are prominent for a reason, and is because they produce very strong shinobi, way stronger than the average one. If their opponent isn't even from a minor clan… well, you get that result."

"They may be assholes, but they are strong." Rune added.

Naruto grit his teeth, tightened his fists.

"I HATE THAT! Just because he isn't from a clan, just because of some stupid name… that doesn't make you a loser. It shouldn't matter whether you are a Hyūga or what, only your own strength, but everyone acts like it does. Even you guys!"

At his harsh words both of them flinched and looked at the ground.

"You've seen how it ends whenever I challenge one of those Hyūga assholes," Rune mindlessly played with her loose hair band as she spoke, "Even when it's the three of us against one of them, we get our asses kicked. Are they wrong, then?" She shot back and glared at him.

But instead of faltering or taking a step back, Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, they're wrong. Everyone's wrong, and I'm gonna show them." He raised a fist. "Hey Michiya, you should know this; the Fourth was also a nobody before he became the Yellow Flash, coming from a civilian family and all. But with his death people have already forgotten that even us, the "normal people", can kick some serious ass. So I will become the strongest there is, be respected by everyone, and prove to everyone you don't need any of that fancy clan stuff!"

Naruto was panting as he finished his emotional tirade, and hesitated for a moment before staring back at his friends, nervous about their reactions. Would they tell him he had a dumb dream?

Yet what he found was little smiles.

Michiya nodded.

"You're right. We will show them, the three of us!"

Rune clasped the hands of the two of them.

"So it's decided! All of us will become famous, me and Squirt as kick-ass shinobi, and Michiya for discovering a colorful lizard or something," she muttered in the last part.

"Hey! Don't go insulting my dream! I'm going to be the best explorer, discover all the secrets in the world, and even find the long-lost Dragon Peaks."

"Yeah yeah, have fun walking around the world and then dying to some poisoned fruit or whatever… that is if you don't collapse on the way before. After all, how will poor, weak Michiya manage such a rough journey?" She asked with wide eyes and tilting her head with her hand, striking a pose of apparent concern and innocence.

"You little–"

Naruto laughed cheerfully at the scene.

We're gonna show them. Promise!

Author Notes:

Here's the first chapter. This will basically just be a story of Naruto truly being an underdog, with no Kyuubi to aid him during his battles, with it instead going to Sasuke. A LOT of things will be changing on this story and in the next chapters you will be seeing a vastly different world, and I hope all of these changes make sense regarding the prior events. I have very ambitious ideas for future arcs, with some of the good ol' "Stations of Canon" (ie: Wave and Chunin Exams) having, what I hope, to be interesting changes.

This is a slight AU fic, since I changed some things to suit my story better. The biggest change will be the addition of one notable character, which you'll see the next chapter.

This is my first real attempt at writing a fic, and I hope to bring you guys a fun story which will hopefully be finished. So please make sure to comment and give me your thoughts and critiques, since I want to improve as a writer.

Until next time~