Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version

Hello Everyone, welcome to the seven chapter of this re-work of my story. This chapter has a majority of entirely new scenes. This time around I wanted to take some time to demonstrate how and why Naruto and Sasuki are such good friends, so that's the focus of this chapter.

Arc I: The Origin:

Chapter 7: A Talented Duo, the Friendship Deepens.

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A pained gasp tore from his lips. The dull thump of bone on flesh was accompanied by some pain in his upper arm. Naruto grinned at his opponent. Her raven black bangs stuck to her forehead as she grinned back. There were a few scuff marks on her clothes. She slowly lowered her leg back to the ground.

"Nice one. Try this on for size!" He growled. His hands formed the clone seal and two illusion copies of him appeared at his side.

Together they dashed at Sasuki. Naruto himself went for a sweeping kick. She didn't hesitate to react. A small hop took her over his kick, and she aimed for one of her own. He had to suppress his grin. Exactly what he wanted. Unbeknownst to her, he'd put his hands in the snake seal. One second he was on the ground, the next he found himself behind her as her foot came down on a log.

"What the–?"

Naruto pounced and twisted her arm behind her back with his left hand, while with his right he brought a wooden kunai up to her neck. Sasuki let out a high-pitched scream of surprise–not that he'd dare mention it.

"Looks like this is my win." He gloated.

"Huh, coulda' fooled me." She replied through grit teeth.

One second he had a hold of her, the next Naruto found himself grasping uselessly at the air. The next thing he knew Sasuki's leg was swinging into his stomach. He barely managed to hold in his breakfast as he doubled over. She followed up the kick by grabbing him into a guillotine and falling back to the ground.

Her legs quickly wrapped around his midsection, and he felt the point of her own practice weapon dig sharply into his armpit. The pressure on his neck made it hard to breath. Black spots started to show up in his vision. He scraped at the ground desperately to try and get some traction. No such luck.

"Yield?" She asked.

"Ye-yes." He gasped.

As soon as she released him he tumbled off to the side onto his back. He gulped in greedy breaths of air as he looked at the mostly cloudless blue sky with the sun beating down. It wasn't quite as hot as it would be in a couple months, but it was still hot. His shirt stuck to him unpleasantly from several hours' worth of training. He turned his head to the side and gave Sasuki an impressed look.

"Man, that was crazy. How'd you learn to do a seal less Replacement Jutsu, Iruka-sensei only taught it to us a couple weeks ago?" He asked.

"Oh, well, it's no big deal. I got a little help from my brother." She said dismissively.

Since he'd met her, Naruto had heard a lot about Itachi Uchiha. Sasuki's older brother was said to be a once in a generation prodigy. He'd graduated the academy in a year and was already a captain in the Anbu Black-Ops. He somewhat doubted Itachi was a better teacher than his grandfather, though. Not that Sasuki knew that.

"Still, that's super impressive. I thought it was good I got it down to the last hand seal." Naruto insisted with a shake of his head. In his head he added, 'Not to mention I had Shadow Clones.'

Sasuki's cheeks turned slightly pink. He heard her mumble a quiet 'thank you'. Naruto grinned to himself. It'd been a month since he met her, and today was the first time they'd trained together. Last night he was so excited it was hard to get to sleep. Before this they'd mostly hung out at lunch and talked about their lives (though obviously there were a lot of things he omitted).

For a while, they just laid on the ground and looked up at the sky. A few lazy white clouds drifted through a wide sea of deep blue color. He could feel the sun's hot rays slowly scorching his skin. Noon wasn't that far off. With summer fast approaching, no doubt it would be getting much hotter. Finally, he sat up with a sigh.

"Well, I should probably get going. I gotta go wash up and get lunch." He said.

As he stood up, he offered a hand to Sasuki. She took it with a grateful smile, and he helped pull her up. To his surprise she gave him a nervous look.

"Actually, about lunch, my Mom wanted me to invite you over for lunch." She said. Naruto was stunned by the offer. It took him a few moments to process it. Sasuki must have taken his silence as a for hesitance because she quickly added, "Not that you have to, if not it's fine."

"No, no, I'd love to! I just gotta go get washed up first, ya know! He said quickly, a huge smile stretching his face. Although he held back a wince at his verbal tick. It was so uncool!

Sasuki smiled back at him and said, "Oh, good. I'll meet you back here in a bit then. Say, a half hour?"

Naruto nodded eagerly. He gave a quick goodbye and dashed away. After all, he had to get ready! This would be the first time he got to go over to a friends house. The thought filled him with both excitement and dread. Obviously he was excited he was actually getting to do what other people did, but at the same time he couldn't help but be nervous. What if Sasuki's parents didn't know who he was, and when they saw him they acted how the rest of the adults did? That thought twisted his stomach into knots. It would be devastating.

He shook his head. 'I can't think about that. Things are turning around, gotta think more positive, ya know!'

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A nervous tension filled him as he followed Sasuki through the Uchiha District. His hair was till slightly damp from his shower. With only a half hour, he'd opted to shower and change his clothes in his now seldom used apartment.

When she saw him, Sasuki raised her eyebrow at him.

"What's with the clothes." She asked.

Unbidden, Naruto felt his cheeks heat up slightly. He'd decided to wear a slightly fancy black kimono-style shirt his grandfather had given him. It had the Uzumaki crest on the breasts. He'd also put on a pair of black shinobi pants since his shorts didn't really go with it. It was a stark contrast to his usual simple shirt and shorts, and the similar outfits Sasuki wore.

"Well, I wanted to make a good impression." He said uncomfortably. "This is the first time I'm going to a friends house, and I know your father is the head of your clan. I figured it would be best to dress a bit nicer." He explained.

Honestly, he was slightly worried about this. He didn't want to give Sasuki's parents any more reason than they might already have to dislike him. Luckily, Sasuki accepted his reasoning with a simple shrug and started to lead him through the village. At a walking pace, it took a little while to get there. The Uchiha District was on the outskirts of the village. He was surprised to see all of the buildings seemed to be relatively new. The streets were laid out in an orderly grid, and the streets were lined with smooth grey stones. Two-story houses were arranged right next to each other in long rows, while he could see a few store-fronts along a market street, A tall wall circled the entire sector, like those pictures he'd seen of fancy castles. When he asked Sasuki about it, she just shrugged.

"The clan moved here after the Nine-Tails attack. This was one of the parts that got totally destroyed, so all the buildings were rebuilt." She'd explained.

The sight of the clan going about it's business brought a smile to his face. He could see mothers going about their shopping with young children. They passed a particular shop run by a kindly old couple who greeted Sasuki warmly. At one point they passed a couple members of the Leaf Village Military Police, who surveyed the street with stern gazes. The symbol of the organization–An Uchiha crest inside a bluish-grey shuriken–stood out on their shoulders.

Finally, Sasuki led him into the entrance way to a two-story home. There was a small wooden fence that separated a thin stretch of lawn from the street.

A tall woman stood in the entranceway in a lavender dress and yellow apron. She looked strikingly similar to Sasuki, with fair skin and long, raven black hair. An aura of warmth radiated from her kind black eyes. He was slightly thrown off when she smiled upon seeing him. Naruto had halfway been expecting her to frown. She even bent down slightly to greet him.

"Hello there, you must be Sasuki's new friend. That's a very handsome shirt." She said kindly. She had a soft, sweet voice. Much different than Sasuki, who was a bit of a tomboy.

It took him a moment to respond. At first he was tongue-tied by the fact she not only greeted him so kindly but gave him a compliment. Did Sasuki's mom not recognize him? He shook it off though.

"Uh, thank you. My name's Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you, ya know." He answered. It was impossible to hold back a wince at his familiar verbal tick.

An odd look passed across Mikoto's face. It was almost like she was … happy, but sad at the same time. He found it hard to describe. Did she recognize him? If so, why wasn't she tense like other adults? It was way too confusing. Her response shook him from his thoughts.

"Likewise. My name is Mikoto. I'm Sasuki's mother. Why don't you come inside?" She said.

He and Sasuki followed Mikoto inside. They took off their shoes at the entry step, and then went around a corner into a hall-way lined with traditional paper-screen doors. The house almost seemed like a maze. Narrow hall-ways were branched off one another, and there was even a staircase to the second story. As they walked, Mikoto talked to them over her shoulder.

"So, how was training you two?" She asked.

Beside him Sasuki smiled excitedly. He could almost feel her vibrating with excitement.

"It was really cool. We did some sparring to get used to using the jutsu' Iruka-Sensei is teaching us in a fight." She said.

As she spoke, they turned into a room with tatami mats on the floor. Off to the side there was a kitchen with a smooth wooden counter, and directly across from them was an open paper-screen door looking out on a wooden porch with a small yard. In the middle of the room was a low table with several dishes of food set out.

"A wise choice."

Naruto jumped in surprise at the subdued voice that came from behind them. When he spun around, he met the gaze of an older boy with long, dull black hair that framed his face. The pronounced tear troughs on his face gave it a serious and mature look.

"Greetings. My name is Itachi, Sasuki's older brother." He said. His smile helped to lessen how intimidating he might otherwise have been.

He opened his mouth to answer in kind, but Sasuki interrupted him with an excited exclamation.

"Itachi, you actually came for lunch? I thought you had some special mission." She said.

"Of course I made it," Itachi said with a chuckle. "I finished my mission early. After all, how could I miss meeting your new friend?"

So this was the big brother Sasuki always talked about. He could see why she held him in such high regard. Even though Itachi appeared pleasant enough, Naruto could tell from the way he carried himself he was an experienced shinobi. He offered Itachi a slight incline of his head.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He said.

Mikoto stepped forward with a smile. She greeted her son with a light hug, then turned back towards them.

"Well, I'm not sure if my husband will make it. His job as head of the Military Police and clan head keeps him busy. He told me we should start without him if he wasn't here in time." She said.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto caught Sasuki's slight frown. Clearly she wasn't happy about her father not being there. Based on the way she quickly accepted it, he assumed this was a fairly common. As the sat down, Naruto felt his mouth water slightly at the delicious smells of the food. Mikoto had whipped up a veritable feast. In the center was a large wok filled with fried soba. Around it were smaller dishes filled with steamed vegetables, beef, and even pan-fried rice cakes. There was a bowl and small plate in front of each of them with chopsticks, with one spot at the head of the table left empty.

"Help yourself to whatever you like." Mikoto said with a smile.

Clearly, this was fairly normal for Itachi and Sasuki. Both of them reached over with their chopsticks to start dishing noodles into their bowls. Naruto watched in amusement as Sasuki proceeded to load her bowl with what seemed like a third of the grilled tomatoes. As an afterthought it seemed, she added several pieces of beef. He'd learned that tomatoes were her favorite food rather quickly after seeing how much they featured in her boxed lunches. Itachi, meanwhile, just added vegetables and completely ignored the beef.

"Don't be shy Naruto, dig in." Mikoto insisted. She had already gotten a modest bowl of noodles and toppings for herself, with one of the rice cakes to the side. At the invitation, he quickly started to load up his own bowl with noodles and beef, before adding a few token vegetables. Mostly so his grandfather didn't scold him later if he found out. He also grabbed one of the rice cakes. As he bit into his first bite of noodles and beef, Naruto had to hold back a pleased groan. It was delicious! He thought his grandfather was a good cook, but Mikoto blew him out of the water.

"So Naruto, if I remember right, you're new to Sasuki's class. How are you handling the transition?" Itachi asked after a few moments. Naruto was slightly surprised, but quickly swallowed his bite and answered.

"Pretty good. Last year I didn't do that good, but this year I put a lot of time into studying and training. I want to be the best in class." He said confidently.

Sasuki gave him a teasing grin from her spot next to Itachi across from him. "Oh yeah? Well you have a ways to go to beat me, and I'm not just going to roll over." She said.

He met Sasuki's gaze with a taunting look of his own. A silent challenge passed between them. They both knew what it meant. Both would prepare even more for their next joint training session. The tension was broken by the sound of Mikoto's laughter.

"It seems you've found a rival Sasuki. I'm glad, rivals help you push yourself harder. They also make great friends." Mikoto said.

Sasuki gave a giant smile at her mother's words. "Did you have a rival Mom?" She asked.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, you were a kunoichi?" He asked.

It was hard to picture the demure housewife as a kunoichi. Especially considering the tales he'd heard about the Third Shinobi War. He saw Sasuki's eyes gleam across the table, full of excitement.

"Mom was one of the best kunoichi this clan had!" She exclaimed. "She's one of the only women to awaken the Sharingan in her generation. I want to be just like her when I graduate!"

The pride in her voice was blatant when she spoke about her mother. Clearly, Mikoto was her hero, just like his father and grandfather were his. It made Naruto smile. Even Itachi wore a wider smile than he had been. As for Mikoto, the loving look she gave Sasuki as she set her hand on her head made him feel a slight pang. Was this what it was like to have a mother? It made him more aware than ever of what he missed out on.

"I'm glad to inspire you," She said. There was a wide smile on her face. "As for your question, I did have a rival when I was a kunoichi. She was a few years younger than me, but we competed fiercely as Genin. Eventually we became good friends. She was quite the spitfire, though eventually she mellowed out." As she spoke about her rival, there was a palpable fondness in Mikoto's voice.

"How come I've never met her?" Sasuki asked curiously. Naruto witnessed Mikoto's eyes dim for a moment, and her face tightened. She gave a rather sad smile.

"Unfortunately, she passed away during the Nine-Tails Attack." She answered.

Naruto felt his throat tighten up. It was a reminder of what exactly the attack had cost. Even his own parents. 'I guess I can kinda understand people not liking me, even if it's not fair' He thought. The more people he talked to about that night, the realer the losses became. It was well enough to read of the death toll, but when you were faced with people talking about it, those deaths became far more real to him.

The mood was somber for a few moments. It was Mikoto that finally spoke up. There was warmth in her voice again when she spoke. It helped to raise his own spirits.

"Well enough sad subjects, I want to get to know your new friend more!" She said cheerfully. "Tell me Naruto, we already heard Sasuki's goal, but what's yours?" She asked.

Beside Sasuki, Itachi nodded. "Indeed. I'm curious what drives you as well."

He was glad for the change in subjects and answered readily. Sasuki herself had a large grin. She'd heard of his dream in class.

"That's easy, I want to be Hokage!" He declared.

He was slightly confused by the knowing look Itachi and Mikoto shared. It was that odd look she had given him earlier. Like they were happy and sad at the same time. The mother gave him an encouraging smile.

"Hokage, that's quite the goal. You'll have to work very hard." She said.

Naruto felt a huge grin stretch his face. She hadn't denied his dream. Mikoto was only the third adult to do that. It filled him with a warm feeling to have Sasuki's mother encourage him.

He stayed there for quite a while and learned more about the Uchiha family. When he left, he felt even closer to Sasuki. 'It's awesome to have friends!'

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Later that week, Naruto received an unexpected surprise. He'd been sitting at his desk in his room doing homework when his grandfather had popped his head in through the door and asked to meet him in the basement. A little irked, but curious, he'd created a Shadow Clone to continue in his place and proceeded through the wooden halls and down the steps to the basement.

The only illumination came from several electric fixtures in the ceiling. Light bounced off the polished wooden walls, providing an even lighting. On either side of the room the walls were lined with shelves filled to the brim with books and scrolls. Curiously, found his grandfather standing in front of a rather large closet on the wall opposite the staircase he could have sworn wasn't there before.

"What's this?" He asked in confusion.

His grandfather gave him a mysterious smirk. He pulled open the door to the closet and motioned into the dark space.

"You'll see momentarily. Now step inside." He said.

Naruto gave him a weird look, but nonetheless stepped past him and into the closet. It was even larger than he thought, around eight feet by eight feet. For some reason there was another door on the other side of the room. His grandfather stepped in behind him. The door closed with a soft–click, and they were plunged into semi-darkness. It didn't last long, as his grandfather quickly flipped a switch on the wall, and a small electric light clicked on overhead. By this point Naruto was thoroughly confused.

"What are we doin–"

The room gave a shudder, and he felt like his heart leapt into his throat when he felt it start to move downwards. He almost lost his footing and had to cling to one of the walls for support.

"What the hell?" He asked hysterically. That earned him a pop on the head from his grandfather's cane.

"Language." Madara said.

He shot a scowl and grumbled under his breath. How was he supposed to act when an entire room started moving! He shifted uncomfortably and resigned himself to waiting for the room to stop moving. It seemed to take forever, though in reality it was probably only a minute at most. The room slowed down and came to a stop with the slightest jerk. While Naruto was still gaining his bearings, his grandfather stepped forwards and gripped the handle of the second door. He looked over his shoulder at Naruto with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well, are you coming?" He asked. Without another word he opened the door and stepped outside.

Naruto was left staring at his back. What in the world was going on? There was really only one way to find out. With a deep breath, Naruto followed his grandfather through the door. His jaw dropped at the sight that met his eyes. Rugged stone walls rose around them, they stretched upwards to a dark abyss. On one side, a babbling waterfall cascaded lightly into a large pool of crystal clear water that seemed to glow with an inner light due to a shaft of sunlight that shone down from a small ventilation shaft. The rest of the cave was lit by several electric lights anchored to the walls. Naruto's head spun in wonder at it.

He turned to his grandfather with a dumbfounded expression. He was met with a familiar smirk.

"Welcome to our new training area." He said. Madara swept his arm out in a grand gesture.

He gaped in open awe at the massive cave. He could see several different kinds of terrain, no doubt meant for different types of training. There was even a section with trees! It was truly a massive space, probably big enough to fit five of the academy buildings inside

"Whoa, it's hard to believe this is all underneath your house!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I'm glad you like it. I've spent quite some time creating this space and placing the seals to keep others from sensing what happens here." He said.

Naruto nodded in understanding. They were now a month into his Shadow Clone training. While his physical skills had increased–somewhat helped by a growth spurt that made him one of the tallest in his class–the rest had stagnated as they were limited in what they could work on.. Thankfully, his training with Sasuki and their growing friendship made up for the slowing of his progress. With a space like this, though, that wouldn't be a concern.

"So, what are we doing today Grandpa?" Asked Naruto, barely controlling the urge to bounce eagerly. His grandfather had hinted that he was learning something special the day before. The last time that happened, he'd learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu!

Madara gave him a familiar smirk. The old man seemed to enjoy keeping him on tenterhooks. "Considering how hard you've been working, as a treat I thought that I'd make the first thing I teach you here something special to our clan." He explained. "Today I'll be teaching you the Fireball Jutsu."

Instantly a wide smile spread across Naruto's face, eyes wide with wonder. Ever since he'd devoted himself to focusing more on his academics, he'd taken an interest in history. Especially the history of the Uchiha Clan. He knew the Fireball Jutsu was considered a rite of passage. Excitement began to well up inside him.

"Really? You're going to teach me the Fireball Jutsu?" He asked excitedly. His grandfather's smirk settled into a warm smile. He reached over and playfully ruffled Naruto's hair.

"Yes, now come, I will show you how to perform it, then it is up to you to master. This is one jutsu you can't use your Sharingan to learn, it must be learned on your own." Madara replied. He led Naruto over to the pond. There was a small traditional wooden bridge that arched over the pond. The wood creaked as their feet thumped across the boards. Naruto followed his grandfather eagerly. Finally, they stopped at the very center of the bridge.

His grandfather dropped his cane. He turned to Naruto, and said, "When performing this technique, you must first knead the chakra inside your body, turning it into fire, and then perform the hand seals; and finally, release the fire through your mouth. Pay close attention."

Naruto nodded, and fixed his attention solely on his grandfather. Madara was performing the hand seals slowly, so that he could follow them. And that's what he did, each seal was carefully committed to memory. He repeated each one mentally. Snake. Ram. Monkey. Boar. Horse. Tiger.

Once all half dozen seals were performed, his grandfather's chest puffed up. He brought his right hand to his mouth, forming a circle with the first two fingers and thumb. A massive orb of roaring flames fifteen feet in diameter issued forth.

The ball of fire shot out over the water and created a circle on the surface. The liquid recoiled from the heat of the fire, as steam hissed upwards in wispy tendrils. For well over a minute, the sound of the flames filled the cave like the roar of a dragon. All the while, Naruto looked at it in wonder. The flames … it was amazing. He could feel the heat licking his skin, even from his position behind his grandfather. Slowly the flames died down, and the water returned to its previously serene state.

Madara turned to him with a smirk. "Once you can sustain it at that size and intensity for a minute, I will consider it mastered." Said Madara. He stood back to allow Naruto to step up and try the technique. He was nervous as he approached the edge of the bridge. It wasn't until just then that he realized how important this was; both in regard to clan traditions and him personally. He really didn't want to screw up his first attempt at the jutsu in front of his grandfather.

Naruto closed his eyes. He took a deep breath as he slowly reached inside himself to his sizable chakra reserves. He remembered what his grandfather had told him about elemental chakra. "You have to focus on what you want the chakra to do. Imagine the element. Fire burns hot, you have to imagine molding the chakra as if you are rubbing two stones together to ignite a spark." Carefully, he focused it into his lungs, willing the chakra to start heating up and turn into fire. Finally, he felt confident enough to begin the hand seals.

'Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger!' Thought Naruto as he methodically formed the hand seals. His chest puffed out, his lungs expanded as he brought his hand to cup his lips.

'Fire Style: FireballJutsu!'He said mentally, determination surging forth. From Naruto's mouth issued a stream of glowing orange flames that billowed into a fireball that was four feet in diameter. Sweat beaded his brow as the heat swept over him. The fire lasted for a short quarter of a minute, before tapering off and disappearing.

Naruto looked at the place where his fire ball had been with a slightly disappointed expression. He had been hoping to make it at least a third of the size of his grandfathers, but it hadn't happened. That disappointment dissipated when his grandfather spoke behind him.

"Hmm, very good for a first try. Keep working on it and you should have this mastered in no time. I think I'll go lie down for a bit while you work on this." His grandfather complimented him. Naruto's heart lifted, and he beamed under his grandfather's praise.

Madara smiled gently at him. He ruffled his hair again as he passed by. Naruto shouted a halfhearted, "Hey!". The older Uchiha simply chuckled and towards the weird closet they rode down. Now that he looked from a distance, there was what looked like a wooden pillar surrounding it that extended upwards into the darkness. The things his grandfather came up with were always really cool.

A small smile settled onto his face. When he thought of his grandfather, Naruto felt immeasurably grateful. Ever since the man came into his life everything had been amazing. He was constantly getting stronger. More importantly, he finally had friends. Everything seemed to be going his way. 'Life is good.'

He tensed as an involuntary shiver ran down his spine. It was the oddest thing, an ominous sense of foreboding. The sensation went as fast as it came.

By the time he was done training, Naruto had completely forgot about the sensation. Little did he know that things were in motion that would shatter his happy bliss. For now though, he had a grandfather who loved him, and little idea of the depth of the darkness out there.

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Well, there we go. Chapter Seven in the books. There was really only one old scene in this, so it was almost totally new. Not much else to say, see ya later.

Until Next Time,

RinneTaicho, Signing Off!