Summary: The Namikaze Clan wasn't well known in the Shinobi world. This was until Naruto Namikaze showed up in the Shinobi world. The name Namikaze will spread like wildfire in the Shinobi world. "I couldn't see him! He was too fast!"

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

"Naruto." Speak

'Naruto.' Think.

Jutsu/Technique

Flashback/Events of the Past

Naruto jumped off a thick branch and catapulted himself forward. The sun's rays partially shone on his face, focusing his attention on the situation before him. A few hours ago, he had left Sunagakure with Sakura, and they were currently on their way to the border of the land of rivers. That's where Akatsuki's hideout should be. He only hoped both wouldn't meet any Shinobi. This mission was only to find Akatsuki's hideout and report back to Gaara.

"Naruto, should we make a short stop?" Sakura asked. They had traveled without a break so far, and it would be good if both were at full strength if they encountered enemy Shinobi. Naruto looked to his right and nodded. Both landed on a branch and stopped instead of jumping further.

Both jumped on the ground and walked toward two larger stones comfortable enough to sit on for a few minutes. "Could I ask you something, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Of course, you can ask me anything, Sakura," said Naruto.

"Why did you become a Shinobi?" Sakura asked. Since both would rest for a while, finding out a few things about her teammate wasn't a bad idea. She was curious about why Naruto became a Shinobi and if he had learned anything from his parents, for example. Before meeting Naruto, she had never heard of a Shinobi with the Namikaze name. It could well be that he was from a civilian family like herself.

Naruto smiled a little when he thought back to when his parents were still alive and he was tiny. He loved his dad's stories about his time as an active Shinobi. They were always so unbelievable for his younger version, especially when his dad told him about humans who could exhale fire from their mouths or produce massive earth walls. There were also stories about humans who could manipulate wind or water. It was like magic in Naruto's ears when he was this young.

When he got older, he understood everything. "Where should I start?" said Naruto with a dreamy look. Sakura smiled a bit when she saw his face. When he thought about his past, he looked happy right now, which was a good indicator that he didn't have the worst past like many other Shinobi.

"The short answer would be my father, who also was an active Shinobi before I was born," said Naruto. "My father was a Chunin who came from a civilian family. He wasn't a genius, but he had the feats that got him an early promotion to Chunin, earlier than any other from his comrades in his age group. He was an active Shinobi when the third ninja war broke out and fought many battles with his comrades. Many of his comrades died, but in the end, he always came out alive of his many battles."

"But before he could try to get to the Jonin rank, he got a heavy injury, which made it impossible for him to remain a Shinobi. After he retired, he met my mother, and both became pretty close. When I was five years old, my father began to teach me a few things about the life of a Shinobi. He always told me many things about his missions or adventures he experienced when he was on duty," said Naruto.

Naruto raised his hand, and chakra appeared over his open palm before the little chakra flame began to shape itself into a spinning sphere of rotating chakra. "My father was the one who had the idea for the Rasengan. He once watched a Bijū (Tailed Beast) use a technique called Bijūdama (Tailed Beast Bomb). The Rasengan was his try to imitate the Bijūdama. But before he could really get to work, he had a fatal injury and had to retire. I needed three years, but I managed to create the Rasengan and finish what my father started," explained Naruto. The Rasengan over his palm vanished, and the chakra flew away and vanished shortly after. He tried to explain to her what Naruto had to do to finish the Rasengan.

Sakura was in astonishment. Her teammate created such a strong Jutsu just from an idea; he only needed three years! Some Shinobi needed more than a decade to create a new Jutsu from scratch. Naruto's explanation was enough to make her understand just how difficult it was to create something like this. There was also the factor that Naruto didn't use any form of hand signs. The Rasengan was created without the need to form hand signs, which was a big advantage over normal jutsu.

"This is amazing, Naruto! I can't even describe how amazed I am. You did something many would need many more years for! Even Kakashi-Sensei needed four years to create the Chidori," said Sakura.

Naruto chuckled a bit and said, "Thank you, Sakura. I appreciate your compliments."

"What was your motivation to become a Shinobi?" asked Naruto.

"To be honest… at first, I only entered the ninja academy because I had a huge crush on a boy," said Sakura.

Naruto didn't say anything or change his expression, which calmed Sakura a bit since this reason was normally not suitable for a Shinobi.

"I always fought with a good friend of mine over the boy for the first two and a half years of the ninja academy. It even caused me my friendship with her at first, but after I realized how the boy really was, I could come back to reality and question myself what I really did the entire time there," said Sakura.

"It was a big slap in my face when I realized how much time I wasted while the others in my class studied and trained hard to become strong Shinobi. After I could overcome my crush and begin to study and train how I should be, I could make it up to my best friend, and from there on, I promised myself to become strong enough to protect the people I held dear to my heart," said Sakura.

"Well… there would also be the person who changed me for the better," said Sakura. Naruto smiled, but Sakura could see his confusion. "There was a specific reason why I realized how much time I wasted…" She began to smile when she thought back to the day her entire world changed for the better and when she realized what she had done all this time.

'Maybe I should cut my hair a little… they became pretty long, and Sasuke-kun doesn't seem to like my hair like it is,' thought a young Sakura. She sat on a bench and ate her lunch during the break before the academy would continue.

When she was done, she took her bento and was about to return to the academy when she heard someone yell at someone else.

"DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND IT?" yelled a male voice. Sakura walked towards the voice and looked around the edge to see her precious Sasuke-kun and a girl from her class. The girl had a shocked face, and tears were present in her eyes.

Sasuke seemed pretty pissed and annoyed. More than usual, and that said something. "I DON'T LIKE YOU OR ANY OTHER FANGIRL! YOU ALL ARE ANNOYING! I WILL NEVER LIKE YOU OR ANY OTHER GIRL WHO IS LIKE YOU!" yelled Sasuke before he stopped himself. He took a few deep breaths and looked annoyed at the now-crying girl.

"Just leave me alone, and this wouldn't have happened," said Sasuke before he left for class. He didn't even glance at the crying girl before turning a corner and leaving from Sakura's field of vision.

She was shocked when she heard everything Sasuke said or yelled, to be precise. She couldn't believe Sasuke would do something like this. It was like her entire world was crashing down on her. She knew that Sasuke was a bit cold, but this had a special reason since his entire clan was massacred, and he was completely alone.

For the next few hours, she was walking alongside everything. Her eyes were hollow, her spirit was broken, and she questioned everything she had ever done so far. Was she just a fangirl for Sasuke-kun? Was she really so annoying? Wasn't she pretty? Wasn't she good enough?

When the day was over, and she was on her way home, someone spoke to her. "Hello? Everything ok?" asked a boy. Sakura looked up from the ground. She couldn't remember the face of the boy who would change her view forever.

Sakura smiled and said, "Yeah. I am ok…"

"I hope I am not rude, but you don't seem okay. Has something happened?" asked the boy.

Sakura remained silent and looked at the ground again. The boy saw how her gaze was directed toward the ground again. He looked worried at the girl and said, "You know… I just went through a pretty hard face in my life."

Sakura didn't raise her head, but her eyes looked at Naruto's legs. The boy looked to the side and said, "Someone once said to me that life isn't always pleasant."

Sakura couldn't agree more with the boy. Her entire life was over. The boy she loved would never love her back, and he found her annoying, even when Sasuke didn't say it directly into her face. She saw what happened to Amy, the girl from her class. She confessed to Sasuke, and he reacted the way he did. If Sakura did the same, she would get the same treatment.

The single reason she joined the academy was to become Sasuke's girlfriend. But now that was out of the question. She had already thought about giving up and telling her parents that she would leave the academy.

"He told me that life can sometimes be very rough, and you don't always know what to do next. Life is like a river that can take many turns and twists. Sometimes it goes into a very pleasant way, but sometimes it's harder," said the boy.

Sakura raised her head a little, confused by what the boy said. He looked at her and smiled gently. She could see that he had sympathy for her. How he looked and talked was doing something to Sakura; she couldn't explain it.

"But there is always something to remember while you flow down the river of life," said the boy. "You can influence which twist and turn you want to take. The river can only give you options. Which option you take is completely up to yourself."

"You know… my parents died three months ago because bandits attacked them. I was heartbroken and cried for days, but after some time, I remembered what my father taught me. He always told me that life can be cruel, but everything will be fine if I can see where I want to go. Even if I can't see exactly where I want to go, as long as I can see the next step I have to take, everything will play out like it should. Life can be many things, but it's never unfair. You always have the option of what you want to do," said the boy.

"I don't know what happened to you, and I hope you will become better, but always remember: it's up to us to choose which option we will take," said the boy, grinning with closed eyes.

Sakura blushed when she saw his beautiful smile. The tears in her eyes were dried, and her posture looked much better than before. The boy opened both eyes and said, "I wish you the best and hope you will overcome your problems. I believe in you! Always remember that I will believe in you! Always!" The boy walked away while waving at the stunned Sakura. She looked after the boy who would be the factor she could get a hold of herself and be a better version of herself from there on.

"… this was the moment I really realized what I had done, and he was the entire reason why I changed so much and could become a kunoichi from Konoha. If it weren't for this boy, I would have given up," said Sakura, looking into the sky with a beautiful smile.

Naruto remained silent and looked into her emerald eyes. He thought back and knew now why he had always thought he knew Sakura before, even when he had never seen her while a Shinobi. Since he was a Genin and afterward a Chunin, he never saw or talked to Sakura until he met her before the training ground to take the test from Kakashi.

The little story she said to him wasn't just about herself. The boy Sakura couldn't remember was Naruto himself when he was still in the academy. Shortly after Naruto lost his parents and found the strength again to continue his promise to his father, he met Sakura who looked so broken and sad. He never was good with words, and with this kind of thing about helping others in that way, he did the only thing he could think of: He told Sakura what helped him. His father was the one who told him all those things he told Sakura in the past.

All the things his father taught him were the reason he could stay strong and take one step at a time to walk his ninja way. Because Naruto remembered everything, he could become the person he was today.

Naruto smiled, thinking Sakura could find the strength to walk forward and become such a strong Kunoichi. Even though he didn't know her back then, he had a feeling she would. It was a pleasant feeling inside himself to know he was a helping hand on her way to becoming the person she is today.

The past refines who someone is in the present—every single experience, either positive or negative, shapes the person into what she is today. Every encounter with a person has an impact, so little it may be.

"I am glad you could find the strength to follow your own river path," said Naruto. Sakura's eyes widened when she heard Naruto say this sentence. She looked into his blue eyes. The way he just said it was almost exactly like…

"No way… Naruto, are you…"

"It's been a long time, and I never thought I would have such a great impact on someone else's life. I am glad I could help you so much, Sakura," said Naruto with a smile. "You became a strong Kunoichi just like I knew you would. I always believed in you."

Sakura was speechless. The boy she always thought about and couldn't remember was back in her life. She now knew why she thought she had seen those deep blue eyes. The moment she saw his blue eyes, which rivaled the endless sky, she had the feeling she knew him from somewhere. She only never could remember from where. Now she knew it. She could remember everything now—his voice, his appearance… just everything from that fateful day.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and stood up, looking to the side. Sakura was a little startled but became severe. "What's wrong?" asked Sakura while she stood up and looked in the direction Naruto was looking.

Naruto raised his hand and made a tiger sign. A chakra pulse erupted from his body and traveled through the woods, hitting trees, animals, stones, and other things. Naruto's eyes widened when he felt the massive number of Shinobi in the distance.

"We need to get away from here!" said Naruto. "At least 20 Shinobi are on their way to our location!" Sakura's eyes widened when she heard this. Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder, and she focused when both vanished with Naruto's Shunshin (Body Flicker).

Both left the Shunshin midair a reasonable distance away and began to jump through the trees, away from the 20 Shinobi Naruto just felt with his technique to locate others. Naruto looked over his shoulder and threw some kunai with wires attached to them at some trees. It wouldn't hold the 20 Shinobi off long but would buy a little time. Every second was valuable in such a situation.

Naruto released another chakra pulse that traveled away from Naruto and Sakura. He could feel everything his chakra hit. The 20 Shinobi he felt before were following Naruto and Sakura. He frowned a little, thinking of how both could escape this situation.

Ten enemies were already a problem. But twenty? This was a number a little too high for his liking. He was really relieved he created this technique, sending out a chakra pulse of his own chakra to feel everything. It was a very versatile tool to have at someone's disposal.

Other than the Rasengan, this Jutsu was a creation completely out of his own idea.

"Sakura, whatever happens, we will survive. I swear to you that we will make it home alive," said Naruto while he looked into Sakura's emerald eyes. Sakura smiled and said, "You better believe it! We will survive no matter what! We will overcome every challenge together!"

Naruto nodded and said, "Yes… together." He and Sakura stopped on a tree branch when 2 Shinobi landed on a branch before them.

"Look at that, two Shinobi from Konoha so far away from home," said one of the two Shinobi. Naruto looked behind him and saw how the other 18 Shinobi had caught up with them. Twenty Shinobi now surrounded Naruto and Sakura. They were standing on branches or on the tree horizontally to the ground.

Naruto took a Kunai out of one of his Ninja pouches and turned a little so he stood back to back with Sakura.

"I never saw those two, but the girl looks pretty nice," said one of the Shinobi with a smirk.

There was a fact why Kunoichi were more in danger than Shinobi. Rape was a constant danger every Kunoichi had to face while they were on a mission or duty. The Shinobi world was cruel, and many Kunoichi who got captured were raped many times before they would get killed.

Naruto growled a little and said, "Try it, and I will kill each and every one of you!" He would never allow someone to do something so inhumane to a comrade of himself, especially not to his teammate.

The Shinobi laughed. "I want to see you try, boy!" said the older Shinobi. From the looks of it, the Shinobi should be around 35 or even older.