Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version

Hello everyone. Welcome to the first actual chapter of the re-vamped Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles. You'll notice quite a significant change to the backstory.

Arc I: The Origin:

Chapter 2: Ghost, the Man Known as Daarma

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The first thing Naruto noticed was the warmth. Like he was surrounded by a soft cocoon. His eyelids felt like they were made of lead. At first it was difficult to think. He felt like he should be moving. Why though? 'I'm so comfortable, though.' So why did he have to move? It was like swimming in quicksand to try and think. Every time he made progress his body seemed to try and pull him back to sleep. He vaguely recalled something important. The gears grind slowly. A face drifted through his mind. Dark skin and a headband with a cloud symbol. A switch flipped in his head. The shinobi!

In an instant Naruto felt his body react. His heart thumped wildly in his chest. He shot up and jerked his head around in a panic. For an instant he was blinded by the light. He blinked rapidly to try and get rid of the spots. All he could make out was a blurry black and white figure leaning over him.

He tried to get up, but someone placed a firm hand on his shoulder. Naruto was about to lash out, but the familiar voice managed to calm him down.

"Whoa, easy Naruto. It's alright. Everything is fine."

It took a few seconds for his mind to register the words that were said. More importantly, who said them. There was no mistaking that deep, wise tone. Daarma. His heart rate started to slow, and Naruto settled back. As he calmed down he was able to realize he was lying in a bed. He could see the familiar wood-paneled walls of Daarma's home. From the warm orange rays that poured in through the window it was late in the day. Though he wasn't quite sure if it was the same day. The man himself was sitting in a chair at his bedside.

"Daarma? I don't get it, what happened?" He asked with confusion. Even as he spoke the pieces started to come back to him. The fight between the Leaf ninja and those other guys, how he'd tried to escape. Finally, Daarma confronting them. Naruto suddenly looked at the man with wide eyes. "Wait, you're okay! What about those ninja?"

The old man scoffed. "Those upstarts? It was a hundred years too soon for them to be a challenge for me. Don't worry about them, they won't bother you again." He said. Naruto couldn't help but gape in awe. The old man was able to take on that many ninja at once and walk away without a scratch? He had to be way more awesome than Naruto had thought.

Naruto let out a small laugh. It was the only thing he could do. This day had been so crazy. Little did he know, but the craziness wasn't over.

Daarma joined him in his laughter, his deep chuckles set Naruto at ease. Eventually they settled into silence. He began to think about what had happened. For some reason his thoughts were still pretty slow. All he could remember were flashes. Time slowing down. The feeling of the underbrush scratching his skin. A sword embedded in the dark-skinned mans chest . . . blood.

Instantly he recalled the event with sudden clarity. That feeling inside him when he unleashed whatever that power was. He'd killed that man! He had to fight the urge to throw up. His throat tightened up and it became difficult to breath. It almost felt like he was going to lose it when he was suddenly jarred out of his thoughts by Daarma's hand on his shoulder. Naruto instinctively flinched back.

The old man simply looked at him calmly. "Easy. Don't think about it too much yet. You've been through a traumatic event. For now, it's best you rest. I'll go get some food. Then you can get some more sleep." He said.

Naruto nodded mutely. He tried not to think about it while Daarma was away. He was thankful the old man wasn't gone long. After only a few minutes, the old man nudged the door open with his foot, a bed tray in his arms. On it was a porcelain bowl filled with some kind of fish soup. As the rich salty smell hit his nose, Naruto suddenly realized he was starving. It felt like some ravenous beast was trying to claw it's way out of his stomach. He started to scarf the meal almost as soon as the bed tray was set down. Before he knew it he was licking the bowl clean. As he set the bowl down he was hit by a sudden wave of exhaustion. His eyes grew heavy again. It was all he could do to keep from falling asleep while sitting up.

Daarma quietly took the tray away and helped him settle back into bed. "Rest now, we can talk in the morning." He said. Naruto nodded groggily. Within moments he was out.

That night his dreams were plagued by flashes of the shinobi chasing him. Especially the moment the man had been impaled on his own sword. How the blood flew in its wake. The most disturbing part was Naruto sometimes felt a sense of satisfaction at the sight. It sickened him. Was he a monster, is that why everyone hated him? That thought made it hard to get back to sleep the few instances he surfaced from his dreams. It was almost a relief when he was woken by a warm splash of sunlight falling across his face. Unlike yesterday, he was almost instantly alert.

He spent several minutes just looking at the light fixture on the plain wooden ceiling. Had yesterday really happened? Maybe it was just a dream. Yes, he tried to convince himself. That had to be it. He knew it wasn't, though. That distinctive blond wood was impossible to mistake. Naruto hadn't seen any place in the village with it except for Daarma's house. 'I really killed someone.' He thought numbly.

Eventually he gathered the energy to get up. There was a set of clothes sitting in the chair next to his bed. Naruto readily discarded his sweat-stained clothes from the day before and put on the relatively old-fashioned black kimono top and white pants. He couldn't help but glance at his appearance in the mirror. Shaggy blond hair framed his face, with dark circles highlighted dull blue eyes. His skin looked a bit paler than normal. On his cheeks the three sets of whisker markings seemed to stand out even more. In other words, he looked like crap warmed over. 'Better go find old man Daarma.'

Naruto wandered out into the hall and quickly made his way towards the living room. That was usually where Daarma was this time of day doing meditation. Sure enough, he found the old man in his usual spot on the tatami mats. As soon as he entered the room the man opened his eyes and met Naruto's gaze. The twinkling black eyes had their usual touch of warmth to them. He was glad for that. Even though he'd only known the man a short time, it was nice to have something familiar.

"Good, you're awake." He said. "Please join me. There are things we need to talk about." Daarma gestured to a cushion across from him.

He sat down nervously. For some reason he felt a nervous flutter in his chest. Even though the old man was looking at him kindly, there was a serious edge to his voice that worried him. "Sure, what d'ya wanna talk about?" He asked.

Daarma took his time answering. Naruto wished he would just hurry up and spit it out. All the waiting was making his nerves worse. Finally the old man took a deep breath and began to talk.

"Truthfully, I didn't want to have this conversation quite yet. But what happened yesterday has forced my hand. Tell me, do you remember a change in your vision when you were being chased by that man?" He asked. The question floored Naruto. His mind instantly went back to when everything had started to go in slow motion. Could that be it? It must be. There wasn't anything else that fit the description. Though that brought up the question of how Daarma would know that.

"Yeah, I remember everything going slow. It was really weird. I even remember th-the one I killed saying something about a Sharingan, but I don't even know what that is." He said. His voice hitched when he finally acknowledged what had happened. Daarma nodded. The man didn't seem even a little bit surprised. Naruto couldn't help but ask the question that had popped up, "How did you know that?"

The old man let out a weary sigh. As the breath left his body, Daarma seemed to almost deflate. There was a weary set to his shoulders that was painfully evident. For once he actually looked his age. It was slightly disturbing.

"I felt it as soon as it happened. The change in your chakra was unmistakable." He explained. "The truth is, yesterday you awakened the bloodline of the Uchiha Clan, our clan."

"What?" Naruto gasped. His mind froze. Our. The man said our clan. What did that even mean? It didn't make sense to Naruto. He was no Uchiha.

"You heard me right. I said our clan." Daarma said. He looked at Naruto with an expression he couldn't quite explain. It was almost like . . . he was nervous? No way. The old man had never been nervous. Naruto had never seen him be anything but calm and jovial, aside from last night when he saw those men. "The truth is, it wasn't by chance that we met in the forest last week. I've been waiting quite a while to meet you Naruto. Ever since your father died."

Naruto reeled backwards. He had to use his hands to catch himself. A fog settled in his mind. He couldn't seem to focus on what was being said. What was Daarma even talking about? If he was being honest, he was already starting to suspect where this was going. Things he hadn't noticed previously started to click into place. The way Daarma treated him. How much he looked like the woman–Daarma's wife–in the picture. A picture started to form. One he didn't like. It couldn't be. He shook his head in denial.

"No." He said in denial. Tears blurred his vision. His throat felt like a stone had spontaneously formed inside it. He didn't want to hear this. Not that it mattered. The old man continued to speak, even as Naruto mentally fell to pieces.

"I see you're beginning to understand what I'm trying to say." Daarma said. His own voice was thick with emotion. "The truth is, when I said I didn't know what happened to my son, I was lying. I found out he was rescued by some ninja after my wife was killed. I spent almost twenty-five years looking for him. But when I finally discovered where he went, I found you, my grandson."

My grandson. Those words crashed down on Naruto with all the force of a tsunami. There was a faint ringing in his ears. Those words should have brought immense joy. He always wanted to hear words like that. Like all orphans he'd had fantasies of some unknown relative coming to take him away to some amazing life. He always assumed he'd be happy. But after everything in the past day, he didn't know what to feel or what to think. All he felt was confusion.

"Why? Why now?" He asked. It was all he could manage.

Daarma–though he was starting to doubt that was his name–sighed. "Why did it take me so long to be part of your life?" He asked. Naruto nodded resolutely. He didn't trust his voice.

"It's a long story. Where to start?" The old man asked himself. He briefly cast his eyes to the ceiling, then back to Naruto. "I suppose I'll start with my name. My real name is Madara Uchiha. I'm one of the founders of the Leaf, as well as its greatest traitor."

Naruto felt his breath hitch. "What do yo–"

Madara help up a hand to quiet him down. "Please, let me explain everything first." He requested. Naruto narrowed his eyes. Who was this guy to suddenly show up, say things like that, and then expect him to be quiet? He considered continuing anyway, but Madara pinned him with a serious stare. Finally he relented and looked away moodily. "Now, where was I? Ah yes. My best friend Hashirama and I founded this village a little over seventy years ago. Eventually I became bitter and jealous. I won't try to justify what I did. In my bitterness and anger I tried to overthrow Hashirama. That failed, and I only survived due to a forbidden technique."

After my failed coup I went away. I started to plot against the Leaf. My plans eventually took me to the Hidden Sand, where I met your grandmother and saved her from some Hidden Stone ninja," Madara's voice changed as he began to talk about Kazehana. It was just like when he'd talked about her yesterday. "As I already told you, your grandmother was a very kind woman. She could see good in nearly anyone. The more time I spent around her, the less hatred I felt."

Against his will, Naruto found himself enraptured as his grandfather continued to talk about his grandmother. He couldn't help it. Even though he still found it hard to believe–part of him still didn't–it was always his dream to learn about his family. Madara told him about how the two fell in love and decided to settle down in the Land of Rivers. After that they'd had his father. Naruto was surprised to find tears roll down his face when his grandfather told him of how she died. He didn't know why. It's not like he ever knew her. Yet for some reason he felt like something he never knew he even had was ripped from him.

"... after that I spent a lot of time looking for your father. It wasn't easy. I actually had to die for a bit." Madara said.

He blinked in shock at the casual way that was said.

"Huh, what the heck do you mean, how do you just die for a bit?" Naruto asked incredulously. It got a chuckle out of his grandfather. His eyes twinkled with amusement at Naruto's expression.

"I'll explain it in detail some other time. Suffice it to say, in order to preserve my life a while longer I poured all my chakra and will into a clone of Hashirama. He revived me after he tracked down your father. Unfortunately, by that time your parents had already died during the Nine-Tails attack. Ever since I've been preparing to finally be able to meet you. It was important nobody was able to learn my identity." Madara explained.

It took a while to process everything he'd just learned. His mind was swimming with all the information. Yet there was one thing that burned more brightly than anything else. His parents. Who were they? All Gramps had told him was his parents were died the night of the Nine-Tails attack. That wasn't nearly good enough. Naruto finally had someone who seemed willing to tell him, and he was thirsty for answers.

"What about my parents? I wanna know more about them!" He demanded. His grandfather nodded.

"I won't tell you everything about them. There are some things I don't want to burden you with right now. Too much information at once can be overwhelming," Naruto opened his mouth to interrupt, but Madara stalled him by raising his hand. "That being said, I can tell you who they were, although perhaps a picture would do better. It was quite hard to obtain this."

Madara reached to his side and picked up a framed photo. Had it been there the whole time? It must have been. He'd been so preoccupied with the discussion, it made sense he wouldn't have noticed something so inconspicuous. His grandfather handed the picture frame to Naruto wordlessly.

His hands trembled so much he was afraid he'd drop it. For the first time ever he saw his parent's faces. His eyes greedily drunk in the image of a man with spiky blond hair and blue eyes hugging a beautiful woman with vibrant red hair who was clearly pregnant. Tears prickled at the edges of his vision. His throat tightened. After so long he finally got to see them! He quickly wiped his eyes and continued his gazing. There was a lot of himself he saw in their faces. Especially his mother. It seemed he had some of her more rounded facial structure. But his hair and eyes were exactly like his father.

It took a while before he noticed one key detail. He'd been so busy looking at their faces, he hadn't bothered to notice their clothes. His mother was dressed in relatively simple forest green frock over a cream-colored maternity dress. His father, on the other hand, wore the typical Jonin (a senior ninja) attire under a brilliant white cloak with red flames licking the bottom.

Naruto's eyes bulged in shock. He gasped. He'd recognize that cloak anywhere. He'd obsessed over it on the rare few occasions he actually looked at his history textbook. It was the cloak of his hero.

"But that's the …"

"Fourth Hokage, yes." Madara said. Naruto's eyes snapped to meet his grandfather. "On the day he and his mother were attacked, she was killed protecting him. Some shinobi from the Leaf who had been assigned to kill the bandits that attacked her found him and took him with them. From what I gather, they managed to get his first name from where it was stitched in his clothing. After that they gave him a surname at the Leaf Village Orphanage."

"My dad was the Fourth Hokage …" Naruto said in awe. It was stories of him from Gramps that made him want to be Hokage. His eyes were drawn back to his grandfather when Madara cleared his throat.

"I assume you'd like to know about your mother as well?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Naruto turned red with embarrassment. Truthfully, he'd almost completely forgotten about her after noticing who his father was. He felt slightly guilty, though not much. Who wouldn't get tunnel vision in that situation?

"Of course, I was just a little excited, ya know!" He said.

The old man chuckled. "Of course," He agreed. "Anyways, your mother was a ninja as well. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki. She was originally from the Hidden Whirlpool Village, a close ally of the Leaf at the time. After your parents died fighting the Nine-Tails, the Third Hokage apparently gave you her surname to protect you from Minato's enemies he made in the Third Shinobi World War."

"Whoah …" Naruto said. Both his parents had been ninja. His awe was quickly followed by a sick feeling when he realized something. Gramps had lied. He'd asked the Hokage tons of times who his parents were, or if he'd learned anything new. The answer was always the same, he didn't know them, the records were destroyed, etc. "He lied to me …" He mumbled.

He felt a surge of anger. The Hokage was the one person he thought he could trust. The one person who treated him with kindness. But he'd lied to him. Kept such a huge thing when he knew how important it was. Unconsciously, he started to snarl.

His anger was building. He was breathing heavily, and his heart started to pump hard in his chest. It was only stopped when Madara placed a firm hand on his shoulder and made him look at him.

"I know you feel hurt, but you should try not to blame him too much." He said.

"But he lied!" Naruto protested.

Madara sighed. "True, but he had his reasons." He replied. Naruto blinked in surprise. "Your father and mother were powerful people. They had many enemies. He hid your identity to protect you."

That was a hard pill to swallow. "Still, why didn't he tell me?" He asked.

To his surprise, his grandfather looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a slightly bemused expression. "Why didn't he tell a boy desperate for attention that his parents were famous ninja? Can you honestly tell me you wouldn't have told anyone? That would ruin the point of hiding it."

Naruto flushed with embarrassment. He wanted to argue, but he knew it was true. He'd always viewed the career of a ninja as some fun adventure. The recent events had given him a harsh wake up call. If he got this information before that, he'd have been desperate to tell anyone and everyone. After all, if he were the son of the Fourth Hokage, there's no way they'd still dislike. So there was merit to not telling him. Still …

"I get he had a good reason, it's just, it hurts. He's the one person I thought I could trust." He said.

Madara sighed. "I suppose that's fair enough. It's okay to be angry. Just remember to give the man a chance."

After that the two sat there and just talked. He wasn't sure how long it was. Though it had to be hours, because the sunlight in the window had crept across the room to the opposite side. They talked about a lot of things, such as what Madara knew about his parents, and what they'd do about his training. Afterall, his grandfather–that would take getting used to–was a super-legendary ninja! He had to know tons of awesome jutsu.

Though in hindsight, he almost regretted asking about that. He'd gotten a creepy chuckle from his grandfather, and if he didn't know any better, Naruto would swear there was a sadistic glee in the old mans eyes when he said,

"Oh, don't worry about that. Pretty soon you'll be absolutely sick of training."

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So there you have it, the second chapter of Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version is through. As should be clear, I'm going to take things a bit more slowly in the Origins Arc. My goal is to give a better and deeper look into how this version of Naruto developed, and how he's going to approach things, as well as the reason for some of his decisions. I'm also taking it as an opportunity to fix some missteps and plot holes I made with regard to how Madara finds him. The good thing is that it will give ample opportunity for readers to review the re-vamp with more chapters.

Until Next Time,

RinneTaicho, Signing Off!