A/N: So… I have a basic idea for this fic. I'm not gonna reveal anything, you'll just have to keep reading. Oh, and just to be clear, I aged the characters up, cause I don't really enjoy the idea of writing about 13 year old kids fighting for their lives.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I own a vape though, which is instrumental in my patience for writing.
The One Who Would Surpass Them All
Prologue
Konohagakure no Sato. The Village Hidden in The Leaves. Home to some of the strongest shinobi in history. Also home to Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko (Nine-Tailed Demon Fox).
The current mood in the village was festive and celebratory, yet mournful to some villagers. It was the 13th anniversary of the defeat of the Kyuubi, marked by the sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, the Yellow Flash of Konoha. It was a great day for everyone, except for the aforementioned Naruto. To Naruto, the Kyuubi festival was probably the worst day of the year, not that he had particularly great ones either. It was usually on this day that the villagers would terrorize him the most, even daring to break into his apartment to find him or trash it.
On this night, however, Naruto had tried to hide, instead of staying in his apartment. He left under the shadow of darkness and tried to make his way as stealthily as possible to the Hokage Monument. Naturally, being a 13-year-old boy, his stealth was not very refined, and he ended up alerting some of the more… inebriated shinobi to his presence. These shinobi, most of which were Chunin in rank, bolstered by one Jounin, followed Naruto and were slowly gathering a group of villagers, forming a pseudo-witch hunt in pursuit of him. Naruto was unaware of this mob following him, as the festival continued loudly around him.
Taking a wrong turn that lead Naruto to a dead end, he turned and faced the mob for the first time, utter fear racing through his mind. Later, all he could remember were screams of: "Die Demon! You killed her! You killed them! You'll pay for your crimes against this village!" and an assortment of pain. Knives piercing his body, torches burning away flesh, rocks and clubs bashing and breaking his bones.
(Naruto's Mindscape)
When Naruto awoke, he thought he was dead. All he saw was darkness. Suddenly, torches sprung to life around him and he was standing in ankle-deep water, in what looked to be a… sewer? He followed the torches, the echo of his splashing feet following him. He finally came upon what looked to be large iron bars with a kanji in the middle. "Seal", Naruto read. He started forward, curious as to what was behind the bars, when a large red tail slammed against the bars, sending Naruto stumbling back, almost falling onto his backside.
Emerging from the shadows behind the bars came a giant, fearsome fox, nine tails thrashing behind it. Its eyes spoke of pure anger and hatred. It regarded Naruto first with curiosity, then anger, and finally, a mixture of pity and contempt.
Naruto, by now so scared he could barely move, stuttered through his next words.
"Y-y-y-You're the K-Kyuubi no Yoko."
The Kyuubi regarded Naruto for a moment, before shifting its position to one of almost sitting. "Yes. I am. Why are you here, boy?" the Kyuubi said, surprising Naruto that its voice sounded almost human-like, with a gravelly undertone that could be mistaken for a growl in the right circumstances. It helped Naruto calm down a little.
"I don't know why I'm here. All I remember before this is… the villagers. They… they were hurting me… calling me a demon, a monster. I don't understand why they hate me so much."
The Kyuubi, knowing what it felt like to be misunderstood, could relate to the child in front of him and its eyes softened for a moment. It proceeded to explain the predicament they both found themselves in, with the Kyuubi being sealed into Naruto hours after his birth and the fact that their fates were now intertwined irreversibly.
"So, you're inside me? And everyone hates me because when you were released, you killed a bunch of people?" Naruto asked, this having been a lot to digest.
"Yes, I am for all intents and purposes inside you. I didn't mean to kill them. I didn't even want to be released in your village. I was forced to." Kyuubi elaborated.
"Okay. Well if it wasn't your fault, then I guess the villagers are just mean for the sake of being mean. Can we be friends? I don't have any real friends except for Hokage-jiji.", Naruto said, looking down at his feet, clearly flustered at having to ask the Kyuubi if it would like to be friends.
"Okay kit. I must say, your taste in friends is peculiar, but so are the circumstances. We'll see about being friends, maybe." Kyuubi said, amused at this child's wish to befriend it.
(Real World: Hospital of Konoha)
Naruto returned from his conversation with the Kyuubi to darkness. His eyes felt heavy and when he tried to lift his hand to rub at them, pain shot through his arm and his resulting flinch made his whole body react as his arm did. When he finally managed to open his eyes and get used to the white light of the hospital room he was in, his eyes shot to the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sitting with a concerned yet comforting smile next to his bed.
"Naruto-kun. I'm glad you're finally awake. I was worried for a while if you would pull through.", Hiruzen said, concern evident in his worn features.
Naruto stared long and hard at one of his only supporters, except for the Ichiraku family, deciding if he should tell him about what he had just learned. He loved the old man dearly, but he had never once said anything about the Kyuubi and while he did his best to protect Naruto, it wasn't enough.
"I'm fine jiji. I'm a little sore, but I feel fine. May I go home now please?", Naruto asked, despondent.
The Hokage did a mental double-take at Naruto's sudden loss of spirit. 'I should never have allowed anything like this come even close to happening. Maybe he just needs time to process what happened.', Hiruzen pondered.
"Of course my boy. If that is what you wish. Just so you know, the perpetrators of this vile attack on you have been dealt with. They won't be bothering you again."
Naruto only nodded as got up, doing his best to ignore the pain spiking through his body. It would be gone within the day. He left the hospital accompanied by the Hokage and walked home in silence.
Having reached Naruto's apartment, the Hokage turned towards Naruto. "Naruto, I think it might be in your best interest to enroll in the Academy. That way you'll learn how to defend yourself and you'll eventually become a ninja. Would you like that, Naruto?"
Naruto nodded absentmindedly and unlocked his apartment, giving the Hokage a brief goodbye and then shutting his door, leaving the Hokage rueful of his not being there enough for Naruto. He would have to do better.
(Naruto's Apartment)
Naruto sat and contemplated the Hokage's offer. He knew it came from a good place, and he knew the old man cared for him, but sometimes Naruto felt that he treated him too much like a child, and now he knew he was a child with a heavy burden placed on him. Couldn't the Hokage have at least told him, prepared him for the villagers hate later in his life.
It just wasn't fair! Why did he have to have this burden placed on him, forced to be hated by the village, shunned from everywhere by everyone? He was treated lesser than a piece of garbage.
He would make them respect him; Naruto concluded. They would respect him if he became powerful, powerful enough to protect the village and earn their respect because even though the villagers vilified him, he still loved his home.
That was it. Naruto would surpass them all, all of the strong shinobi in history, and earn the village's, no, the world's respect.
So, I hope you enjoy the story. Leave a review if you want, constructive criticism is appreciated, any response is appreciated actually.
Oh and check out my YouTube channel, GnomesWorld, I'm havin some fun over there.
Until next time, cheers.