Italics - thoughts/letters/books/scrolls

Bold - Demon speaking

Bold Italics - Demon thoughts

Underline - Jutsu

-With Naruto After the ANBU Dropped him off in his Room-

"Ninjas live in the dark so others can live in the light" is the only other thought that ran through Naruto's mind besides the one word that had been echoing around in his head since the incident started "Demon".

What the Sandaime Hokage said made some sense to him, to protect you sometimes had to do dirty and dark jobs so others wouldn't have to see that side of the world and he understood that being a ninja wasn't just some game like other kids wish to believe.

But it was that one word that really stuck with him tonight, he was called a demon, and now he was sure that the Kyuubi had something to do with why he was seemingly hated by everyone. All he had to do was figure it out, right? Well, that's a lot harder than it may seem when no one will answer your questions and you can't get into the shinobi side of the library until you start the ninja academy at least, and even then the chances that he'll find something in the small section academy students can access is slim to none considering if this was a secret they wouldn't let kids have any information regarding it even if it's not direct information.

With those thoughts plaguing his mind he lay in his bed, facing the wall, and silently cried himself to sleep as he was still a four-year-old child who just witnessed his first death, something that would forever haunt him.

-Back in the Hokages Office Moments Later-

The crow-masked ANBU reappears in a kneeling position in front of his leader's desk.

"Crow, how long have you watched over Naruto now?" The Sandaime asks tiredly.

"Ever since he was one Hokage-Sama, right after we got word that the orphanage was doing the absolute minimum they had to to take care of him." Crow replies with slight anger in his voice at remembering some of Naruto's treatment, or lack thereof.

"And how many times have you had to step in and stop something from occurring?" The Sandaime asks, taking note of the slight bit of anger that his ANBU is showing on behalf of the young boy.

Crow stays silent for a moment before responding "Sir, I've had to interfere on 15 separate occasions. All but two being assassination attempts in the first year and a half I was assigned to him."

"I see, and what of those other two times you've had to step in?"

"Tonight and one other similar situation where the person responsible ran off upon spotting me and I prioritized watching Naruto over chasing them down."

"Good, you made the right choice then." Hiruzen says with a slight smile "And what do you think of the boy, your personal opinion, not your professional one"

"I think he has had a hard life already because of the circumstances surrounding him but I don't think he's a bad kid or the fox itself like some would like to believe." Crow answers almost instantly "I wish people would treat him like any other kid, but that small leak spread to enough people who are blinded by what happened that night that I'm not sure that will ever be truly possible no matter how much we wish it could."

Hiruzen doesn't let his smile visibly grow but internally he's grinning like a madman knowing that Naruto's main guard has such an opinion of him.

"Do you know if he wants to be a ninja or not? I know due to the circumstances surrounding him he may not have much of a choice overall but he does have two more years before he joins the academy."

"As far as I'm aware sir, he hasn't indicated either way but he is observant and might understand if you lay it out for him clearly early on instead of putting it off till it's too late. I think him being called a demon got to him tonight and if it were me I'd rather be told by someone I trust instead of figuring out this situation on my own." Crow explains after having seen how Naruto watches his surroundings and the people around him when he does leave the general safety of his room.

"I see" Hiruzen frowns slightly "I really don't want to put this burden on him so soon but I understand where you coming from and I agree. I would rather it be explained by someone I trust instead of only discovering a part of the truth and having to come to conclusions myself." He sighs "This situation is gonna be hard to deal with no matter what we do honestly."

They both sit in awkward silence for a few moments in thought about how to deal with this rather unpleasant situation, both thinking over how they would hope it would be handled if either of them were in Naruto's position and considering how to minimize the damage if it's not handled properly.

"May I make a suggestion sir?" Crow asks and the Hokage waves for him to continue "If we want this handled a certain way without anyone interfering you need to do so somewhat soon. It'll only take one drunk individual to spill enough information for him to piece things together enough to come to the wrong conclusion.

I suggest we give him a few days to process what happened tonight and let him think on what you said then bring him in and tell him the truth." Hiruzen's eyes go wide and he goes to say something but Crow raises his hand and cuts him off "Obviously not everything, his parentage is still a bit too sensitive to have a chance at that leaking out but I mean the truth about the Kyubi and how the fourth entrusted the safety of the village from it to him and how he wanted Naruto to be seen as a hero."

Hiruzen frowns and thinks for a few more moments before responding "I can see your point and the benefit of doing it that way, especially if him being called a demon tonight did really affect him. That alone might have been enough for him to start digging for information. He won't find anything with what can be accessed until he is a genin but it wouldn't take much if he is as observant as you say to get information without the library."

"That's exactly why I suggested you tell him sooner rather than holding off, I've already basically heard people say it without flat-out saying it. Because of that leak almost immediately after the council was told It's known to a lot of the population and I have no doubt he's heard what some people have said and might even have a theory on why he's treated how he is." Crow states considering he knows very well from being Naruto's personal guard that people can't keep their mouths shut about his situation even if they are partially blind to the actual truth.

Hiruzen sighs again and it's obvious to anyone paying attention that his age is starting to catch up to him "Then I guess that's what I'll do. Let him process tonight and then I'll have to tell him. Once he learns the truth though he'll need to be properly trained to eventually deal with any outside threats when this or other secrets surrounding him do leak outside the village, I realize everything won't stay secret forever.

Crow, no Shisui Uchiha, I would like you to be here for when he's told and I would like you to train him. You've shown to me you don't hold the same misguided grudge against him that others do and I trust you can successfully keep him safe while bringing his skills up enough so he can do so himself without worry."

The now-named Shisui remains quiet for a few moments whether from the shock of being told to train Naruto or in thought, Hiruzen can't tell with the mask on. "I accept Hokage-sama" He pauses for a moment "Will I be revealing my identity to him when he's told about the Kyubi?"

"Indeed you will be, I think it would be good for the boy to know of at least one other face that doesn't hold a bias towards him" Hiruzen replies calmly.

With that, Shisui nods and shunshin's away back to Naruto's room to continue watching over him for the night.

With one last sigh and a shake of his head knowing that things may become a bit harder for him depending on how Naruto reacts, he gets started on the pile of paperwork that's crowding his desk space.

He pauses briefly and before anything can happen and says "Yes Dog im sure about doing this, as much as I would rather he didn't know for a little while longer, Crow was right, if we want this handled correctly we have to handle it sooner rather than later or before he learns of it on his own." With that final bit said he doubles down on his effort to finish his work before it gets too late and he ends up spending another night in the office.

-Four Days Later-

Back at the top of the Hokage monument we find Naruto sitting quietly in thought on the fourths head. He's grown to be really quiet since he witnessed his first death and had that talk with the Sandaime a few days ago.

In a tree not far behind him, Shisui Uchiha is sitting, worried for the boy and wondering if it's time to take him to the Hokage to learn about the Kyubi and be offered training by him. Surprisingly, one of Danzo's root agents isn't present to also keep watch over Naruto for once.

He's very aware that four days likely wasn't really enough time for him to get over everything but something's need to happen to ensure the safety of both Naruto and the village.

While all that is going through Shisui's mind, Naruto is thinking about what that drunken man called him.

A demon.

Of course, he doesn't think he is literally a demon, but it doesn't change the fact that it hurt him to be called a demon to his face. It also doesn't help that it seems to not just be that villager's opinion of him. While he's never been so close to actually being hurt by someone, as far as he knows, he has had to get used to the quiet name-calling and the harsh glares he constantly receives when he does go out in public instead of sitting up here or staying in his room at the orphanage. He may not be able to piece the whole puzzle together now due to lack of information, but being called a demon of all things is just another piece of what he was already trying to solve about himself.

Shisui takes a silent deep breath, straightens his mask, and shunshin's next to Naruto.

"Naruto-san, would you please come with me to the Hokage's office?" He asks in an almost emotionless voice.

Naruto jumps slightly at the ANBU just appearing beside him but he gives him a nod in response.

"Ya, let's go see Jiji" He says with a slightly shakey voice from both not completely trusting the crow-masked ANBU and from having just been jump-scarred by that same ANBU.

Shisui smiles behind his mask knowing that some of the kid's innocence is still intact. He places a hand on Naruto's shoulder and does a slower shunshin than the one he normally uses to take them both to the Hokage's office.

Upon arriving in the office, Shisui takes a knee in front of the Sandaimes desk and says "Sir, I have brought Naruto as requested."

Hiruzen looks up from his work and smiles at them both.

"Ah, thank you, Crow, you may stand but please remain," Hiruzen says calmly, hiding his nerves well.

He shifts his gaze to look more directly at Naruto who squirms a little at being stared at "Naruto, I've asked Crow here to bring you to my office so I could tell you a few things that were honestly meant to stay a secret from the village for awhile and from you for a few more years at least but unfortunately, I don't believe that will stay possible for much longer.

The reason for that is that quite a few villagers already know and I know you are a smart kid and would eventually either figure it out yourself or someone would tell you in an attempt to harm you in some way."

Naruto tilts his head in confusion in a cute way before asking "Okay jij, what is it you need to tell me?"

Everyone in the room has to resist reacting to the cute and childish display of the boy. Hiruzen makes a hand signal for his personal anbu to leave even though he knows Dog will likely stay around to watch Naruto's reaction having been his guard since the moment of his birth.

"Naruto my boy, what I'm about to tell you is a very serious thing and I want you to listen till the end before saying anything. Can you do that for me?"

Naruto nods his head once and makes a serious face, again those present have to refrain from reacting to the cuteness.

"Do you know anything about the Kyubi no Kitsune besides that it attacked four years ago and that the fourth Hokage defeated it?"

Naruto shakes his head in the negative.

"Well, four years ago on October 10th the Kyubi attacked the village. The fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, was the one who did indeed defeat the beast however a Biju, beings such as the Kyubi, can't be killed and are incredibly powerful. The only way to accomplish what he did was to seal it away into someone or something. With how powerful the Kyubi is the only option was to seal it into a newborn child."

Upon hearing that Naruto's face drains of color and the serious expression falls to an almost blank one with a little sadness showing through.

"Naruto, the fourth entrusted its power and the safety of the village to you. He wanted you to be seen as a hero for holding the beast back but that obviously didn't happen and he was aware that it likely wouldn't so he wanted it to be kept a secret from the general populace but the information leaked out anyway.

I wasn't going to tell you until you graduated from the ninja academy but Crow brought it to my attention that you were likely to figure out part of the truth before then and it's better to be told by a trustworthy source rather than having to come to conclusions yourself.

Im sorry my boy, this is a large burden that's been with you since you were born and it'll be with you forever. I understand if you are mad or want to freak out but please understand this was the only choice the fourth had at the time."

Naruto stays silent and looks down at his feet, a few tears fall to the floor and he quietly asks "Is this why everyone seems to hate me Jiji?"

Hiruzen almost doesn't hear the boy, the question was asked so quietly, and he pauses before answering which Naruto picks up on.

"Indeed it is my boy, people fear the overwhelming power of the fox and they fear what they don't understand. The sealing arts are too complicated for most to know and they don't understand the difference between being the prison for the fox versus being the fox. Just remember Naruto, you are not the Kyubi, you are its jailor."

Naruto gives a slight nod at that "I can understand that Jiji, I sorta already figured out the kyubi had something to do with me but I just didn't know what."

He looks up at the Hokage, with tears still in his eyes, and asks "Since you're telling me this, could you also tell me about my parents?"

Again Hiruzen pauses before answering, a slightly nervous look crosses his face but is covered up before it can be noticed by the child.

"I'm sorry Naruto but I can't do that, they were powerful ninjas who made lots of enemies and if that information were to get out somehow it would be very bad for you and the village. People from all over the elemental nations would come and try to kill you because of who your parents are. I promise I'll tell you when I feel you are able to properly defend against their enemies."

Naruto again gives a slight nod at that "I understand Jiji and I'll hold you to that"

He looks back at the crow-masked ANBU and then back at the Hokage "Why did you ask him to stay Jiji?"

Hiruzen smiles a bit and motions for Crow to step forward "This ANBU here has been one of your personal guards since you were one year old, he's the second longest-standing guard you've had."

He motions to Crow "You may remove your mask now Crow and introduce yourself"

Crow steps forward and turns toward Naruto before removing his mask "Hello Naruto, my name is Shisui Uchiha. The reason I've been asked to stay is that I and the Hokage came to an agreement that, if you accept, I am to train you in the ninja arts"

Naruto looks to the Hokage questionably, who gives him a nod, before speaking. "I accept Shisui-san. If I'm ever to be strong enough to protect myself well enough to learn who my parents are I'll need to be trained."

The Hokage looks on with a smile at the interaction.

"Just call me sensei or Shisui sensei or just Shisui, non of that san or sama crap kid. Makes me feel so much older than I am" Shisui states with a chuckle and a smile of his own.