Chapter Two- Straightening Things Out
Words- 3,785
Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or its storyline.
Authors note- Thank you to everyone for sticking with the story so far. I can only hope to keep you all engaged with further chapters. I look forward to improving my writing with your help and advice.
I'm thinking I'll keep this story just as a practice crack-fic sorta ordeal if you get my drift. Nothing too serious as I can't be too sure I'll stick with it or have the motivation to continue it. Right now, I'm estimating It won't go past 50,000 words, but I'll be sure to keep you guys updated weekly on my motivation level.
And one more thing-
Since first watching the Anime Naruto when I was 12 years old (a fitting age to start Naruto), I've spent more time reading fanfics than I have watching the show.
Now, I've seen all of Naruto and Shippuden and would like to imagine my knowledge as being in the top 1 percent of Naruto readers/watches, however, I cannot ignore the fact that fan fiction might have corrupted my knowledge of what I remember as fanon or canon. That being said, I apologize if there's any part of "Changing The Story" that isn't accurate to the actual story.
Anywaysssssss…. onto the story!
P.S. I'll be keeping this Fic rated M for cursing, fight scenes, and maybe- if I decide to pair Naruto with anyone. Keep in mind that it would be miles down the road and only once Naruto makes it to adulthood. So don't be too excited for any Spice yet my fellow Nerds. Sending love and well wishes- Jean
Naruto wakes up feeling refreshed. Not refreshed like she just slept eight hours. More like she ran a marathon the previous day, ate a huge dinner, and passed out for 12 hours- She felt like she could take on the world.
Looking out the window, she notices that it's surprisingly still dark out.
She checks the clock by the side of the bed, and it reads 5:37.
"What fucking person naturally gets up this early?" She says to herself.
'Must be the whole Jinchuriki thing I have going on now' she thinks.
She's quiet for a minute before she gets a look on her face that would make a particular wood-style user jealous of its creepiness.
'I have a tailed beast inside me' she thinks with her eyes lighting up.
'"I, Uzumaki Naruto, have a Gigantic, over-powering, ball of chakra, beast of a monster inside my belly." She tells herself while giggling and rolling around still in her bed.
She stops.
'I wonder if I can talk to him' she ponders.
Getting into a crisscross position, she closes her eyes and tries to meditate.
.
.
.
Five minutes go by.
.
.
.
Then ten.
.
.
.
Finally, after fifteen minutes, she realizes something.
'I wonder if the fox is even awake yet, I vaguely remember something about the seal putting him in into a sleep of sorts for a few years.'
She thinks about it some more before giving up and getting out of bed.
'Oh well, I guess I can't rely on him anytime soon' she thinks.
Opening her closet, she stares at the abundance of orange jumpsuits.
'Did the gaki seriously have nothing else to wear?' She questions.
She pushes aside the monstrosities to find something more suitable.
She finds a pair of black leggings and a red T-shirt among the rubble.
''I guess I have some luck" she tells herself.
She puts on her clothes and tries to figure out what to do first today.
'From what the originals' Naruto's memories are telling me, school just ended and won't start again for another 4 weeks.
'Hmm, I wonder if Iruka will start as a teacher this year?' She wonders to herself.
'The original Naruto doesn't seem to have any memory of Iruka yet…'
''Well, at least I have a few weeks to settle in before going back to school and I can make a good first impression on Iruka."
"Kami help me then." She whispers while remembering the horrors she had to put up with at her old schools.
'I'm actually tempted to graduate early now that I think about it,' She contemplates, ' I need to be on the same team as Sasuke and Sakura, but with me being a female Naruto I wonder if that will even still happen…'
Her thoughts are interrupted by a growl coming from the depths that is her stomach.
"First things first," she exclaims, "time to get breakfast!"
She takes another look out her window.
"Hmm, I wonder if Ichiraku's is open this early?" she ponders.
'I guess I'll wait a couple hours before I head over there', She convinces herself with a sigh.
She then realizes what she needs to do.
Putting her ninja sandals on, she heads out the door.
It takes her five minutes to reach the ninja academy.
'While the academy itself is closed, the academy training grounds are not.' She thinks to herself.
'Time to see what I can do', she declares.
Naruto walks over to the side of the building where the academy keeps spare kunai and shuriken for the teachers and students to use during training. She picks out five dulled kunai and five dulled shuriken, then walks over to one of the training grounds' targets. Standing about fifteen feet away from said target she lifts one of her hands with a single kunai and releases it towards the target.
It lands about a foot in front of the target.
With a huff, she repeats the action with the rest of the kunai and gets mostly the same results.
Picking up her first shuriken, she takes a breath and releases it, hoping for better results.
It lands on the outer ring.
She repeats her actions with the rest. The first shuriken throw is the worst and the last is the best with it hitting the second to the inner ring.
'So I'm actually better at shuriken than kunai? Who would've figured…' she tells herself happily.
She picks up both kunai and shuriken and repeats the routine for about an hour before deciding to try something else.
She decides to try to mess with her chakra.
Sitting down, she meditates for the second time this day.
It takes her two minutes this time before she finds what she's looking for.
"Woah," she says, "holy crap, this feels weird."
She opens her eyes and tries to make the feeling change somehow.
At first, nothing happens. Then she tries to direct her chakra to her palms. She feels a tingling sensation but nothing else. Moving over to one of the trees littering the grounds, she places her hand on the tree. She repeats the action and this time the tree sprays splinters at her face.
"Wicked", she says after making sure her face is clear of debris.
'Naruto always had an overabundance of chakra in the anime, so much so that It made it difficult for him to perform certain Jutsu's as his output was simply impossible to lessen to the correct amount needed for them.'
"Hence why he was unable to perform the simple academy Bushin Jutsu" Naruto states to no one.
'I'll need to ask Jiji-Sama about getting my hands on the Kage Bushin Jutsu. I'm sure once he understands my reasoning he'll be willing to pass along the knowledge.' she concludes.
'At least now I know I have some plan for the future.' she admits to herself.
Naruto looks up at the sky seeing the sun almost at its peak. A few hours have passed by training.
"Ramen, here I come!" She tells the empty training grounds and leaves it in a hurry.
The walk to Ichiraku's is short and she is one of the first people there.
"Ah, Naruto-Chan, I wondered when you would show up," Ayame says to her as she sits down, " Father and I haven't seen you in over a week…" she trails off.
The older girl starts to move things around, seeming to still be in the process of opening the shop.
'It is only around 9ish in the morning still' Naruto ponders.
"Gomen, Nee-san," Naruto answers her back, coming up with a lie on the spot for her absence, "I've been working on a new prank, and I haven't had much spare time…"
"Oh?", she questions, "A prank that takes over a week to plan? This I must hear about." She tells Naruto with a smirk.
Naruto just smirks back.
"Hehehe, gomen, but you will just have to wait to see!", Naruto tells her.
"Fine then," Ayame exclaims with a frown, "be that way!"
"I will!", Naruto tells her back.
They stare at each other for a few seconds.
Naruto's eye starts to twitch.
Ayame's frown lifts slightly every few seconds.
Finally, after a couple minutes of this, they both break down giggling.
"Hehe, I've missed you too much these past few days, Naru-chan.", Ayame finally says while still letting out the occasional giggle.
"I missed you too Aya-chan," Naruto tells her.
"Seriously though, Naru-Chan, you're my best friend, you should mention it next time if you plan to be away for a while…", Ayame says while getting Naruto's ramen ready.
Naruto scratches the back of her head sheepishly.
"Gomen, Nee-san. I was busy and just got caught up. I promise I won't do it again", Naruto tells her while using puppy dog eyes.
Ayame huffs before caving in.
"It's okay Naru. Just tell me next time." She speaks.
"Hai!", Naruto exclaims before digging into the bowl Ayame just sat down.
The shop is quiet for a moment as Naruto devours her food and Ayame finishes prepping the place for the morning rush. Naruto decides to speak up.
"So, where's your old man?", she asks Ayame.
"He's meeting one of our noodle providers. They increased the prices lately and he went to figure out why", she says while adding some unidentifiable ingredients to a pot.
"Oh, well I wish you guys luck then", she says while getting up.
Ayame stops her cooking and looks up.
"Are you leaving me so soon?", she asks while wearing a frown.
"Hai, I need to go ask someone an important question", Naruto explains.
"Oh, okay then, it was nice seeing you again Naru-Chan", Ayame tells her.
Naruto smiles at her.
"Nice seeing you too! Ja-ne!"
Ayame waves at Naruto and Naruto leaves.
'I didn't lie to Ayame, I do have an important question to ask. Now, if it can be answered is the real question…' she wonders.
Naruto takes the back way to her destination, wanting to take in the sights and scenery. Midway through she looks up at the Hokage monument.
'I need to visit the top sometime soon", she tells herself.
Ten minutes after she starts walking, she makes it to her destination. Coming through the gates of the compound, she walks up to the first blonde-haired person she sees.
"Ohaya, can you please tell me where Inoichi-Sama is?", she asks.
The blonde man looks at her as if just now noticing the outsider.
"And what would a little one like yourself need Inoichi-Sama for?", he questions back while curiously looking her over.
"I need to ask him a question. I'm afraid I can't tell you more than that…" she says while shuffling her feet.
"Hmm, so it's top-secret stuff", he says with a serious look on his face, "I guess we will have to take you to him right away…"
Naruto has no warning before she is tossed over the man's shoulders and carried for about a minute squealing the whole way. The man knocks on some random house and then proceeds to put Naruto down.
Before she can kick him in the shin, the door opens up. Yamanaka Inoichi stands there for a second just staring at them both before he looks at the other man.
"Nii-san, why did you bring me Naruto-Chan?", he questioned with concern and suspicion written on his face.
The other man gets a smug look on his face before replying.
"Why brother, I found this lost damsel looking for her prince to rescue her, I couldn't just leave her all alone and scared…" he trails off looking offended.
Inoichi rolls his eyes at his brothers' antics before looking down at Naruto who has a confused look plastered on her face.
"Gomen for my brother's manners Naru-Chan, the nurse didn't quite catch him when he was born…", Inoichi says with a smirk.
"Hey!", gasps the other man, "you take that back!"
Naruto giggles at the men's actions before getting serious once more.
'I don't recall Inoichi having a brother. Then again, this is exactly the reason why I'm here in the first place.' She thinks to herself.
"Inoichi-Sama", she looks back up, "do you have anywhere we can talk freely?"
Inoichi seems to get the message, as he gets a thoughtful look on his face.
"Hai," he says, "but not here. We can talk back at my office at T and I."
He looks back at his brother.
"Inoko", Inoichi continues, " would you mind telling Ino-chan that I will be late to pick her up from the shop?"
"Sure thing brother", Inoko answers with a questioning look back at Naruto.
Inoichi sees the look and tries to appease his brothers' curiosity.
"It's nothing too important Nii-san, Naruto here just has a few nightmares she wants to talk about", he lies smoothly.
Inoko gets a look of realization on his face.
"Ah, gomen, Naruto-chan. I didn't mean to be nosy", he says bashfully.
Naruto just smiles back.
"It's okay, Inoko-san." She tells him simply.
"Ja-ne then, little one!", he says getting ready to leave.
"Ja-ne!" Naruto calls out to him as he walks away.
Inoichi leads the way to T and I after the exchange and they walk in silence.
Arriving at the door to a building similar to the library, Inoichi asks a question.
"Hai, Naru-Chan, would you like me to also get Shikaku-san too? I'm sure he still has questions that weren't answered yesterday as I do…" he trails off.
Naruto thinks about it for a second then replies.
"I'm okay with him being here as long as both of you respect my wish if I decide to keep some things to myself."
Inoichi smiles and nods, opening the front door. It leads to a waiting room of sorts with one other door sitting on the opposite wall and a desk between them and said door. A ninja sits at the desk and looks up at the duo before looking back at his paperwork.
Inoichi proceeds to walk past the ninja, towards the opposite door. Entering the new room, Naruto notices it's an office of sorts. As Inoichi directs Naruto to sit into one of the chairs at the desk he tells her he will be right back.
He is only gone for a couple minutes before coming back with Shikaku trailing behind him.
Inoichi takes a seat behind the desk while Shikaku takes the seat beside Naruto.
"So," Inoichi starts, "what was it you wanted to talk about, Naru-Chan?"
Naruto wastes no time.
"Is there any way I can have my memories 'preserved'?" She questions right away.
"I remember most of the details of what happens, but it's the little things that get me," she continues, " for instance, I didn't know Inoichi-san had a brother- whether that's because it was never mentioned or because I just couldn't remember is the question too…" she trails off looking at them with slight worry.
The Nara and Yamanaka share a quick look before the Nara replies.
"If we were to preserve your memories then that would be dangerous," he says crossing his arms, Jutsu's are easy to notice by any above-average ninja, not to mention that they scream 'Hey, there must be something important in this person's head if they needed to remember something so desperately'..." He trails off.
'Oh,' Naruto thinks, 'that makes sense I guess.'
"But," the Yamanaka speaks up finally, " there are different meditations you can learn that will help you remember certain details. Every Yamanaka learns them to be able to recall information from the enemy."
"And every Nara learns them to focus on the enemy on the battlefield." Shikaku finishes.
Naruto folds her arms before answering the two.
"I suppose learning to meditate will be a benefit no matter what. I will have to grab some more books then…"
Inoichi is quiet for a couple seconds before he speaks back up.
"So, was that all you wanted to ask Naru-Chan?" He questions.
"Yes, Inoichi-san, for the moment at least." She replies.
Inoichi looks at Shikaku.
Shikaku looks at Naruto.
"When does the Third die?" He asks out of nowhere, drawing a gasp from Inoichi and a tilt of the head from Naruto.
Naruto looks back at him contemplating the question.
"Why do you assume the Third dies anytime soon?", she asks him.
"Well, If we are in a story as you said we were, then wouldn't having one of the strongest and most lovable characters die to be a good plotline?" He replies to her with little doubt written on his face.
Naruto smiles back up at him sadly.
"The Hokage does die around four years from now." She tells him and he leans back into his chair.
"I take it, then, it's not from old age?" Shikaku slowly drawls.
"It is not", she tells him simply.
"Tell me, then, what exactly do you plan to try to change?" He asks her with a blank look.
Her answer is one she has thought about since before she found herself in the Naruto world.
"I want to change the most important things- like making sure certain people live for more than five minutes after they have realized their mistakes in life…"
"... Certain… people…?", Shikaku replies.
"Like whom?"
Naruto sighs thinking of her options.
"Well...for one, I suppose...Uzumaki Nagato..."
Shikaku furrows his eyebrows.
"Another Uzumaki?" He questions.
"I was under the assumption that you were the last Uzumaki…"
"When Whirlpool was wiped out," Naruto replies, "There were survivors that scattered throughout the nations. I know of two Uzumaki that are mentioned in the story. Who knows how many more there are out there…" Naruto says.
"So, this Nagato," Shikaku continues, "You mentioned him 'realizing his mistake'- What do you mean by that?"
Naruto weighs her options for a minute, deciding on how much to tell the clan leader.
'Do I hold off on that information or do I show my trust in these two by divulging something so vital?' Naruto asks herself.
'I'll tell them a bit of what goes down in the future, but…' she takes note of Nara's keen gaze, 'not enough that Shikaku can start making his own plans for it.'
"Uzumaki Nagato is currently a ninja of the village hidden in the rain", Naruto explains to them.
"During the 2nd great ninja war, Nagato and two other orphans were found on the battlefield by Konoha's legendary Sannins and were taken care of and trained by Jiraiya for several months."
Inoichi speaks up for the first time since the change of topics.
"And what 'mistake' of his does he make that warrants you to feel the need to save him?"
Inoichi questions her.
"Nagato makes many mistakes in his lifetime, most of which I don't believe he even realizes until the very end."
"But his greatest mistake, in my opinion, was believing that any amount of violence or manipulation could bring about true world peace."
Naruto continues.
"You see, Nagato believes that true peace can be accomplished by ruling over the world as "God" himself. In the future, Nagato will attempt to gather many strong allies using his "God" title, and he will succeed. Eventually, He gathers enough S-rank individuals that he and his followers will be seen as a threat to all five of the great nations. It comes with a price though..."
Naruto pauses and then continues.
"He loses sight of his own goal and allows himself to become manipulated by another. Making all of his efforts towards peace futile."
Both men take in Naruto's words with blank faces, a testament to just who Naruto is talking to.
"I intend to show him how he can accomplish his plans of peace without killing innocents and I intend to do that by taking down the one who corrupted his ideals in the first place." Naruto continues almost running out of breath.
'I definitely need to work on my 'Talk-No-Jutsu' before that can happen, dattebayo!'
Naruto cringes internally at her slip-up and waits for the clan head's response.
The two men take a minute to think over what was just said.
'Uzumaki Nagato...I'll have to ask Jiraiya-Sama more about the man when he's back in town...' Shikaku tells himself.
'Although, considering the circumstances we find ourselves in with Naruto, I'm sure that won't be too far off.'
"So, you plan to save a man with a God complex, one who -as you put it- "has S-rank followers and the fear of the five great nations" that easily, Naruto?"
"Tell me, where would you even begin to start?" Nara crosses his arms and looks down at the mere child.
"You are, correct me if I'm wrong, nine, yes?' he asks.
"The same age as my son Shikamaru and Inoichi-sans daughter Ino. How will a nine-year-old be able to accomplish such a feat?"
Naruto stutters for a second but responds honestly to the Clan head.
"I don't…. I don't know to be truthful Shikaku-Sama, I had hoped to gain some powerful allies in my journey, but...I don't know exactly how I'll do that even..." Naruto stares off past the clan head's shoulders, her brow furrowed and a look of confusion on her face.
'He has a point, I haven't put much thought into my plans themselves, mostly just declaring what I intend to do without the care of how.' Naruto questions her thought process.
Shikaku watches her for a few seconds before nodding his head and rising from his chair.
"I see... you haven't put too much thought into this plan of yours, have you then?" he proclaims.
"No," Naruto admits.
"Well then, it seems like you have something to think about for the next few days."
Understanding comes across Naruto's face.
"Hai Shikaku-Sama, it seems like I still have some thinking to do" Naruto directs the words towards the both of them before smiling.
'Shikaku-Sama doesn't intend to make any decisions on the matter until I can prove my Intentions with a solid plan.' Naruto thinks to herself.
'In the meantime, it's up to me to decide what I want to do with my given circumstances' she tells herself while rising out of her seat.
She does a short bow and thanks the two of them before standing back up and leaving the room after waving bye.
Shikaku and Inoichi are silent for a while, sharing a look of understanding.
Inoichi speaks up first.
"So, what's your impression of the new Naruto so far?"
Shikaku sits back down in his chair before speaking.
"She has a head on her shoulders at least, but I believe she isn't quite taking the situation seriously."
"I agree with you on that," Inoichi states.
"However, she isn't showing any signs of stress or worry over her future. I wonder if the circumstances have yet to fully sink in yet..."
"Well, we'll see within the next few days if her beliefs start to waiver, or if she holds true to her word."
Shikaku replies.
" Do you honestly think she's telling the truth?" Inoichi asks.
"That's still debatable," Shikaku tells his friend.
Both men settle into the room further, preparing for the other elephant in the room.
"So, as you were saying when you grabbed me from my house, the Mizuki and Orochimaru connection was accurate?" Shikaku questions him while looking on with interest.
"Hai, regardless of whether Naruto-Chan is telling the truth about being not from this world, it's undeniable that this isn't just some prank," Inoichi confirms.
"Interesting, although, I have a feeling our days just got a whole lot more troublesome." Shikaku sighs.
"Indeed," Inoichi admits, "troublesome indeed..."
Authors note- WooHoo! Chapter 2 is done already! I'm getting more and more excited about this story guys! And hopefully, there will be fewer grammar and speech mistakes. I'll try to be more consistent with the style as well as improve on other things. Thank you for bearing with me as I figure this out!