Author Note

Hello there and welcome to another chapter of cursed eyes.

Once again, one of my stories reaches the time of the Sand-Sound invasion and quite frankly, I'm not that much interested in writing it all over again. I believe some of you will understand why, so I have decided to write the events that occur after the chunnin exams and the following invasion. So, as some already figured out, this chapter will have lots and lots of flashbacks concerning the important events that happened in our blond hero's troubled life. I sincerely think that this course of action is way better than going through the invasion, because I can cover two chapter materials with only one chapter, instead. That being said, the invasion will be similar to the actual events, with a few twists.

Now, before I begin the chapter, I'd like to take some time and answer the reviews.

Nanashi113– Like Yamato explained in canon, an elemental bloodline consists of equal element capacity. Thus, Naruto needs to reach full mastery of both fire and earth to begin lava techniques. Therefore, I wish for him to take more time learning and mastering both fire and earth elements, before beginning with lava release techniques. It wouldn't be credible if he managed to perform lava techniques out of the blue. In chapter 13, I'll come up with his next step towards mastering fire manipulation, so check it out.

GaijinSamurai– It's interesting that you mentioned that his fire release would be strong if he was Madara Uchiha or Sandaime Hokage. In this chapter, I'll present a new development in this regard that may very well please your expectations. As to Itsuko's sudden interest in him, I'm not planning on using the orphan approach as the only link between them; just so that they could find something as a starting point. Anyway, I also don't enjoy rushing things. It will take some time before anything happens between the two. Itsuko will appear in chapter 13 as well, so check it out and tell me what you think about it. Also, tell me what you think of my approach after the end of the chapter.

McCabeRz– I'm just placing this to answer past questions about who would be paired with Naruto.

Malsyn– Itsuko is five years older than Naruto.

Rake1810 – No, I placed him under Kakashi and Kasumi's tutorship, so as to repeat what happened when the boy wasn't a genin yet.

Now that that's out of the way, let us begin.

Chapter 13 – Family secrets

Beta: Kyuubi123

It is said that in order to fully grasp a situation, one has to look through all the angles.

As he stood on top of the Hokage Monument, Uzumaki Naruto was busy looking over the village he had sworn to protect now filled with smoke and destruction. If someone had told him, the day of the chunnin exams final, that so much would happen to him in less than a day he would no doubt remain skeptic about it all. Nevertheless, it did happen and now the village was busy collecting the spoils of war. No sooner had the exam started; the hidden village in the leaves was victimized of an invasion by two hidden villages, Sunagakure and Otogakure. They enemy was clever as hell, Naruto could give them that. If there was one time when a hidden village is at its weakest it was the finals of the chunnin exams. Even if the village increases security, it is almost impossible to protect the population and protect the nobles that came to the exam and retaliate at the same time.

Because of this, if the village hesitated for even a second, the result would be one hundred percent different.

Yes, Konoha became victorious as expected from the strongest of the great hidden villages. However, said victory came with a heavy price as the village had lost its fair share of shinobi who were declared heroes for defending the village with their lives. Naruto actually managed to save some that were being overpowered by the enemy, but he was just one. He saw the lives of his comrades being taken and realized how useless he was at not being able to prevent them from dying. Hell, if it wasn't for someone helping him, he had doubt if even he wouldn't be one of the victims of this hellish invasion. At the time, he believed himself in way over his head in being able to face off against six chunnin level ninja from Sand and Sound, even with the amount of training he endured with Kakashi.

Flashback on

Naruto was still inside the chunnin exams arena as he battled against a couple of Sound chunnin shinobi on his own. The invasion army came in strong and managed to separate the sharingan user from his genin peers. With his sharingan activated, it didn't take long for Naruto to parry the chunnin's kunai and slash their stomachs. The blond ignored the amount of blood that filled his clothing. Now was not the time to wipe it off. He only had to be sure that none of it was his own. He was at the stands when the chunnin attacked and attempted to move towards the arena when he saw a group of four Konoha chunnin being overpowered by a contingent of ten shinobi from Sound and Sand. His sharingan was quick to spot an enemy in front of Naruto as he ran towards the arena. Quickly grabbing two shuriken, he threw the projectiles with great speed and accuracy that forced the enemy to evade.

Naruto was by his side and managed to make good use of his sword to deal with the enemy. Right now, handling two swords was ill advised since Naruto needed one free hand.

When Naruto managed to arrive at the arena, he had briefly lost his breath as he saw his comrades' blood falling on the arena's sand, before two chunnin lay dead on the ground. It was clear that the enemy held the advantage in numbers. With the sharingan, Naruto could see the death of the others and moved quickly. Right now, there were two Konoha chunnin about to be attacked by what was left of this specific enemy group. Naruto could attest that his peers were suffering from exhaustion at making their stand against a group twice in size and certainly wouldn't be able to defend themselves against the onslaught that was sure to follow. Performing a quick shunshin and appearing in front of the downed chunnin, Naruto was quick in gather mud inside his throat.

Doton Doryuuheki (Earth Release: Mud Wall Technique)

The defensive wall had risen at the same time as the attack, so Naruto managed to save the chunnin. Quickly making a couple of kage bunshin to take them away from here, Naruto deactivated the barrier and faced the contingent of six enemy shinobi all on his own. He had to give the bunshin time to save his peers, after all. The enemy all but laughed at his presence and quite frankly Naruto understood his sudden mistake in believing him skilled enough to beat six chunnin level shinobi. Certainly, it wasn't his best plan and he admitted counting on saving the downed chunnin as more important than having any form of back up against these guys. It turned out that when number advantage is concerned, there is always one of the group who underestimates the presumably weak side. In this case, they were two. One from Sound and another from Sand teamed up and charged against Naruto head on. With his sharingan, Naruto quickly captured the sound ninja inside a genjutsu while parrying the sand ninja's kunai with his sword. Using the enemy's strength against him, Naruto took one step backwards and took advantage of the enemy losing his footage, before piercing the man's chest with his sword.

The one captured in a genjutsu received a load of shuriken on his chest.

Naruto's second mistake came in him demonstrating to the other four that he had skill that awarded caution, hence that the other four would now come at him with strategy instead of attacking based on underestimation. Quickly summoning three kage bunshins, the original stood back and watched the enemy facing his bunshins in straight taijutsu. His doppelgangers managed to defeat one of them, but the other three managed to dispose of the bunshins quickly by throwing shuriken on their backs. The sharingan was ill effective against that. It seemed that he couldn't escape now as the three enemies were closing in on him. One suna shinobi charged from the right and one sound ninja charged from the left. The other went straight, trapping Naruto. The blond sighed in dismay at his disadvantage and figured that he could at least choose one and kill him before the others reached his destination. He met the one coming at him head on and grabbed his other sword for a quick kill. He was successful in his endeavor as he deflected a kunai with his kodashi and delivered the killing blow with his katana.

Naruto felt a chill up his spine as both the shinobi that covered the dead one's flank now appeared behind him, ready to kill him.

When the genin felt no pain whatsoever, he was startled to hear the familiar sound of pain coming from the two shinobi behind him. When Naruto looked to see what happened, he saw much to his surprise the long-haired Anbu there. From her arms, Naruto ventured a guess that she managed to kill them by throwing projectiles. Naruto's heart was pounding in his chest as he came to terms with the fact that if the woman hadn't been there, or if she had arrived two seconds later, he would've been killed. It was a great lesson in humility for him as he now understood that shinobi's usual life span is dictated mostly by luck and less by one's skill. His current adrenaline was all that helped him from taking a seat right where he stood. Looking at the Anbu, he couldn't help but appreciate for her saving his life.

"Thank you for saving my life, Anbu-san." Itsuko, behind her mask, smiled at him and nodded.

"You're most welcome, though it is ill-advised to fight on your own but I'm impressed you managed to take care of so many."

Naruto nodded, while glad that another Anbu had just complimented his skills.

"Yeah, I realized that mistake but I was assisting a group of chunnin. Four of them were killed and two were gravely injured. I had to save them. After that, though, I ended up alone against them."

"We should pair up as I have lost sight of my squad as well. I could use your skills, but you must follow my lead. There are a few places we need to protect." Naruto nodded and followed the Anbu out of the stadium and towards the center of the village. Now that Naruto had a chance to look at the Anbu, he recognized her as the one who used to follow him around at times. Seeing as she had just saved his life, he felt compelled to ask her.

"I know that an Anbu's identity is a secret, but I was hoping to know the name of the one that saved my life." Itsuko smirked once more, before looking at him.

"Indeed it is, but if we survive through the end of this invasion, I'll tell you my name. Also, please don't be like this, I was merely doing the same thing you did with those two chunnin". Naruto smirked at this and shut his mouth as they ran through the rooftops. It turned out that they made a good pair. Both excelled in taijutsu and close-ranged combat. One would back the other up as they faced genin, chunnin and even jounin enemies. Naruto learned that she was proficient in doton ninjutsu just as he was.

Flashback off

Like she had promised, the Anbu had told Naruto her name after the end of the invasion. The blond thought that she wouldn't, considering the amount of precaution behind keeping Anbu's identity a secret. After she had saved him from death, the two managed to score a great number of kills together. Naruto noticed something when he fought by her side. He noticed that it didn't take long for their movements to be in perfect synchronization as if they have fought together all their lives. He was certain that she had enjoyed just as much seeing as after it was over, she had asked for his help in cleaning the village and searching for their peers. He also got to know Tachi Itsuko and was surprised to hear that she was an orphan just like he was. While doing the search, they fell into a conversation about varied subjects and promised each other to hang out from time to time for lunch.

Looking at the village from his place, Naruto couldn't help but remember the enormous sight of the one tailed demon ravaging the forest that surrounded the village.

At the time, he was already running through the village with Itsuko when he turned to her and asked how Konoha would deal with that monster. Itsuko looked at the Ichibi manifestation and turned back to Naruto. She didn't need to say anything as a massive red toad came crashing on the ground in front of the beast. The sannin Jiraiya was on top of the red toad and after a battle of epic proportions, Jiraiya managed to slam a strange seal that happened to cut the link between jinchuuriki and the demon inside. The Ichibi Jinchuuriki was then captured along with his two siblings. The blond remembered, then, how fierce the battle was. The Ichibi, one time, used a giant ball of wind that was stopped by the red toad's giant water ball. The impact alone made the land tremble in fury. The blond realized after witnessing the battle that he needed this level of power if he even hoped to be a challenge for when Itachi came with his group.

He needed to train twice as hard now.

Naruto sensed chakra being used behind him and turned slightly before greeting Itsuko one more time.

"Naruto, the council is requiring your presence; I'm here to take you there."

The blond nodded and got up from his seating position, before grabbing Itsuko's hand for a quick shunshin. When they reappeared, they were inside a room filled with shinobi from chunnin and above. He saw the jounin sensei, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai and Gai as well as Aburame Shino and Inzuka Kiba there apparently waiting for him to begin, which was odd seeing as they were the only genin present in the room. Jiraiya was there as well, hanging near the room door. At the end of the room, three individuals were seating behind a nice mahogany rectangle shape table. They were the two members of the council and former comrades of the Sandaime Hokage, named Homaru and Koharu. The other person was Shimura Danzou, former commander of a separate league of Anbu, called Root. Homura stood up and cleared his throat, asking for silence before beginning.

"Now that everyone's present, we may begin this meeting. As most of you know, the invasion was schemed by former sannin Orochimaru. We learned that that snake managed to fool Sunagakure into joining the invasion for the sole purpose of having the opportunity to kill our beloved Sandaime Hokage and destroy the hidden village in the leaves. While he wasn't successful in destroying the leaf, sadly so, he was able to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen. But note that Sarutobi didn't go without fighting to the death as he managed to seal off Orochimaru's arms permanently. As his teammate, I'd like to ask everyone for a minute of silence as we mourn Sarutobi Hiruzen's death." Naruto felt incredible pain in his chest upon hearing this. The old man was perhaps the only one who has ever cared for him throughout his entire life. If it wasn't for the kind old man, Naruto wouldn't know what would happen to him. Later on in his life, he met Kakashi-sensei and Kasumi-neechan. He also made friends with his teammates and now Itsuko. But only one man stood with him through all his life and that was the Sandaime Hokage.

Naruto closed his eyes in determination as he imagined his grandfather figure standing in front of him. He would get stronger…strong enough to make the old man proud of him.

"I'll let everybody know that we will be having a funeral for him as well as those who have lost their lives." Homura once more cleared his throat as he moved with the next item of agenda. "Because of the Hokage's demise, we are now under the necessity of finding someone for the position of Godaime Hokage. Sadly so, Jiraiya had declined the position but he also had informed of another suitable candidate, that being the third Sannin Senju Tsunade. Jiraiya will personally search for her and bring him back. While Jiraiya is busy searching for our next Hokage, the rest of our shinobi will be busy performing high level missions to keep our reputation for other hidden villages. If either Kumo or Iwa took advantage of our current situation, we'd be lost."

After Homura finished talking, the entire room started to ignite in conversation, as they imagined now doing A to S-ranked missions from now on.

"So that we can go to our homes, there is one more item and this happened to be given to me personally by our Hokage. Even though the chunnin exams were interrupted, that does not mean that the rewards wouldn't be given to the genin that showed tremendous skill and chunnin level of leadership and strategy. Would Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto step forward, please?" Now Naruto knew why only three genin were in this room. "For the skills and strategy displayed in your fights, I hereby declare you three as chunnin of Konoha. Please remember that a chunnin is a leader in the battlefield and that it will be required of you to lead both genin and fellow chunnin in both missions and war. Here are your chunnin vests." The genin's reactions were varied with Kiba, of course, being the most vocal of the three. Shino appeared impassive and few could actually see the slight smirk beneath his jacket. Naruto displayed a pleasant smile on his face as he grabbed the vest and immediately put it on.

He remembered his fight against Hyuuga Neji and how fierce the battle was.

Flashback on

It was the first battle of the tournament and people were looking forward to it.

Both Hyuuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto were considered the best of their respective generation, even if Neji had the advantage of being more experienced in the shinobi arts. The odds were actually considered equal and the battle could go to either one. It didn't take long for the stadium to be filled in preparation for the spectacle that was about to take place. The chunnin hopefuls were already aligned in front of the proctor while waiting for the Hokage to give the signal. This time, already, people were up in the stands making bets mostly for the Hyuuga prodigy as no one actually knew much about Naruto, aside from his doujutsu the sharingan. While it would be perceived as an extreme advantage in the eyes of many, Naruto not being a part of the Uchiha Clan was counted as him not having that much experience with the new ability. It was of course inevitable, because their information was based on the genin's information chart.

Very few in the audience saw the blond in action and that happened to be his peers and the jounin sensei.

There was a silence in the audience when both the Hokage and the Kazekage appeared and waved at the crowd. The Hokage then sent the signal for the fight to start. The proctor, Shiranui Genma, ordered everyone besides Naruto and Neji to go up the genin booth. Since both Chouji and Ino managed to pass to the last phase, both were by Naruto's side wishing him luck to which Naruto nodded with a smile on his face. Two minutes later, Neji and Naruto stood staring at each other. The Hyuuga prodigy was smiling at the blond.

"Is something wrong?" Naruto asked, not enjoying the look on his opponent's face.

"Fate has already declared me as the winner of this match." Naruto quirked an eyebrow at such bold proclamation, but Neji wasn't finished. "Even if you have the sharingan, you're not an Uchiha. I on the other hand am a full blooded Hyuuga. You will have no chance against me as Fate has already decided the winner of the match." Naruto didn't know what this guy was saying or even why he was counting an advantage just because of this reason. Even if he wasn't an Uchiha, Naruto has proven to everyone that he could use the doujutsu just as good as any member of the deceased clan. Choosing, instead, to stay calm about the whole thing, Naruto merely awaited for the proctor to start the match.

As soon as the proctor showed the signal to start, Neji charged Naruto with impressive speed.

However, speed was essentially Naruto's training for the month. The sharingan user had enough knowledge on fighting with Hyuuga to know how to properly defend the attacks. Soon it became an impressive display of taijutsu battle with neither side showing dominance. For a Hyuuga, Neji was expected to be a taijutsu specialist but for Naruto it was a plus in the judge's analysis. A few considered to be suicide to battle a Hyuuga in such close quarters because of their ability to close tenketsu, but Naruto didn't appear to mind this as he was trading blows taking into account Neji's glowing fingers. Their agility pretty much matched as well. After blocking an attempt to seal the tenketsu in his arm, Naruto managed to create a small distance. Neji charged immediately, but was stopped when Naruto threw a couple of shuriken at him, before moving through hand seals.

Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)

Two shurikens became twenty and while Neji was busy dealing with the shuriken, Naruto got ample time to consider his strategy. Neji was quick just like he was. Thus, close combat wouldn't be the key for victory. Genjutsu was also out of the question since Neji could see them and dispel it almost immediately. Naruto could use his ocular genjutsu on Neji or even attempt a double layer one that Kakashi was telling him about, but he wasn't very experienced in it. That left ninjutsu and maintaining a distance. Seeing that Neji managed to deflect most of the shuriken, missing only one that managed to rip off his right sleeve and draw some blood, Naruto began another series of hand seals, before inhaling air inside his lungs.

Katon Dai Endan (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

The huge sphere of fire charged at Neji at the same time he had dealt with the shuriken. The Hyuuga prodigy snarled at working his ass off to deflect the projectiles. Naruto wasn't allowing him time to rest. Neji was fast, but he wasn't able to move out of the fireball's path. With no option left, the prodigy started spinning while focusing on his tenketsus at the same time, creating a dome of blue chakra around him, shocking the number of Hyuuga members in the crowd. Naruto had already seen the move being performed by Kasumi, so it wasn't such a big deal. Continuing with his course of action and performing a similar strategy, Naruto went through another set of hand seals, before slamming both hands on the ground.

Doton Ganban Kyuu (Earth Release: Rock Plate Coffin Technique)

When Neji stopped his spinning, the prodigy was surprised when three pillars of rock grew inches from his place, forming a triangle prison with him inside. Up in the stands, both Kakashi and Kasumi smiled at that. The same strategy was used on her as well and it worked. Neji looked at the pillars and snarled at the blond genin in front of him. Immediately, his brain began to process an exit strategy. Naruto, though, looked at his opponent.

"You should consider forfeiting, Neji. You move and I crush you. You try to destroy one pillar; I'll crush you all the same. You dare move and it will be your end."

Neji's byakugan was looking for something to aid him as he thought of what to do. He managed to see a small rock which he could use for a replacement. He smirked at this unsettling Naruto a bit. He wasn't going to risk anything in this fight, thus he activated his sharingan. Since Neji wasn't about to forfeit, it was clear that he wasn't counting on suicide, which meant the prodigy had a backup plan. Goring through with his threat, Naruto closed the pillars, shocking everyone in the crowd. However, there was no blood so Naruto guessed right. He sensed the chakra residue and followed Neji's position. His plan was working so far in striking from a distance. As soon as Neji appeared in the rock's place, he immediately charged Naruto hoping to cut the distance. Seeing this, Naruto summoned five kage bunshins to meet Neji half way while the original had sunk below ground. Neji was busy fending off the bunshins that he had his focus elsewhere and didn't see what the real one did.

The clones weren't a challenge and Neji dealt with them quite easily. However, when he was looking for the real one, he couldn't find the sharingan user.

Neji was already breathing hard since he was using the byakugan since the beginning of the match. He needed to end it quickly or else he feared that he would lose otherwise. Neji was suddenly startled when a hand grabbed his ankle. He was about to use jyuuken to seal the tenkestu of the hand when a great number of spikes rose from the ground (Doton Doryuusou – Earthen Rising Spears Technique) and stopped centimeters from the prodigy. Neji saw Naruto emerging from the ground in front of him and snarled once more.

"This is the second time I could have killed you but didn't. If you were an enemy, you would already be dead." Neji had a fierce look on his face, but didn't say anything.

He was trying to search for something to get out once more. However, the proctor had arrived by his side giving the victory to Naruto, much to the Hyuuga prodigy's fury.

"What? I haven't conceded yet." The proctor with the bandana snorted while the audience was busy clapping at the match.

"You didn't have to. The only reason you're still alive is because you're a fellow shinobi of the leaf. If you were an enemy, you'd be dead. Victory goes to Uzumaki Naruto of the Leaf." Naruto actually remained there waiting for the final verdict before nodding and released his sharingan. He heard the clapping coming from the audience and slightly bowed in acknowledgement. The boy admitted being a bit embarrassed by such amount of praise, knowing that four years ago he was considered the village pariah. From the ninja's side, though, Naruto didn't have to worry. Those who applauded him meant every clap from the boy's strategy and fine use of ninjutsu. The ones who knew the brat were the loudest of them all. Asuma and Kakashi were very proud of how their charge handled the fight. None of Naruto's moves were wasted and he was on top of things since the start.

The Hokage was also impressed. As a user of both fire and earth techniques, he was proud of the boy for the technique's execution. Even the Kazekage praised the boy even if he was more focused on the sharingan.

None of them had any doubts of a promotion.

Flashback off

The fight was brutal and it surely demonstrated the rivalry between the sharingan and the byakugan towards defining Konoha's strongest dojutsu. Even if Naruto had won, it didn't mean that the sharingan was more powerful. In the end, both respected the other for their skills and prowess. Naruto even believed he could find a rival in Neji for improving himself. The other fights progressed as well, sadly Naruto's teammates both lost to Kiba and Shino. Chouji fought bravely against the Inuzuka, but the Akimichi ended up focusing all his strength on Kiba and forgot about Kiba's ningen Akamaru. Even so, the battle of straight taijutsu between two of the strongest battle clans in Konoha was fierce. If it wasn't for Akamaru, then Chouji would have won. However, since the dog is an Inuzuka's weapon, he got the credit for it and was promoted to chunnin. Naruto was sure that Chouji would definitely be promoted in the next exam as he had the skills for it.

When it came to Ino's fight against Shino, it wasn't as fierce as Chouji's, but not less dangerous.

Both Aburame and Yamanaka Clans preferred supplementary abilities with a very few exception focusing on close-range combat. Ino had her mind abilities while Shino's bugs were just as deadly. In the end, Shino managed to fool Ino into believing that she was facing against the real deal when in fact was bunshin. She had used the shintenshin no jutsu on the bunshin, allowing Shino ample time to come close to her position and suck her chakra dry. In the end, even if he wasn't thrilled to see his teammates lose, he saw merit in both Kiba and Shino's promotion. They fought with strategy like a true shinobi, even if Kiba acted a bit rash at times. After that was done, Homura finished the meeting with the other genins of Naruto's generation.

"Because of the promotion, the teams will be reformed. Akimichi Chouji and Yamanaka Ino will join Nara Shikamaru under the tutelage of Sarutobi Asuma. They will form the next Ino-Shika-Cho team. Under Yuhii Kurenai's tutelage, Kurama Yakumo and Haruno Sakura will join Hyuuga Hinata. Hatake Kakashi, from today on, will no longer be responsible for a genin team. Thus, he will be performing high level assignments for the village together with other jounin." Everyone expected Kakashi to protest a bit, but he just kept reading his orange book responding to council with a mere nod in recognition to his orders. Actually, the man was a bit sad to have lost his team, but under the circumstances, the type of knowledge he could offer was limited to full front battle. These teams will be training for specialized missions, thus requiring specialized level of training.

As soon as the meeting came to an end, the shinobi in the room were leaving the room. However, only Naruto Kakashi and Jiraiya stood in front of the council.

Kakashi was about to leave when he saw that his little brother wasn't moving. He guessed that something was on his mind and that he wished to speak to the council about it. Despite his usual aloof behavior towards most situations, Kakashi was deeply contemplating whether or not Naruto was making the right decision in speaking anything to these old timers. Jiraiya was staying because he was going to ask for the blond chunnin's presence. The council members were talking by themselves when they realized that the blond chunnin was standing there, obviously wishing to talk about something. Naruto, realizing that he had their attention, cleared his throat.

"Ah, excuse me honorable council members, but I was wondering if could ask for a favor." Both Homura and Koharu raised their eyebrows at this, but allowed the boy to speak. Danzou was like a statue in this regard, not moving even to acknowledge the boy's presence. However, when Naruto went forward with his request, everyone in the room looked at the boy, wondering why he wanted that. "I would like to have access to the Uchiha Clan's ninjutsu library, if I may."

Both Kakashi and Jiraiya were surprised at the question; Kakashi most of all, because of what Itachi had told him. Naruto wanted to improve himself by gaining access to the Uchiha Clan's library. An ingenious assessment for sure, but Kakashi doubted he would gain clearance for something like that, without revealing that he had met with Itachi. He knew that Naruto wouldn't do that, since he hadn't done so when the time was right. If he had, the Hokage would have been made aware instantly. It was Koharu who came with a simple yet to the point question.

"Why?"

"I wish access to their scrolls on fire manipulation to better improve my own. I've already studied everything there is to know about the subject at the library and I know for a fact that when someone is promoted to chunnin, he or she gains access to higher level techniques. Also, since the last member of the Uchiha Clan is now dead, the clan's assets are held by the council, including the amount of knowledge gathered by them throughout their existence." As expected, the council seemed reluctant to comply with the request. Homura and Koharu had the word 'denied' in their minds as soon as they heard the request. However, they also believed how much it would benefit Naruto's power if he had access to the scrolls. Danzou for his part smirked at the request and applauded the boy in his mind. He wanted nothing but to train the boy in the past and he would do anything in his power to make sure that Konoha's weapon would receive the power he needed. That being said, he used his authority and spoke on the council's behalf.

"Chunnin Uzumaki Naruto, you can have access to the library, so long as you are always accompanied by a jounin official by your side." Kakashi could have sworn that this last part was aimed for him.

Homura and Koharu looked troubled at Danzou, but the man didn't even acknowledge.

"Thank you." Naruto bowed in respect, before leaving the room followed by Kakashi. Jiraiya had already left the room with a smile on his face as he too understood the brat's goal.

Being privy to sensitive information as well, he knew why Naruto wished to better improve himself.

===Outside the council room===

Once outside the council room, Naruto and Kakashi were discussing something when Jiraiya came in.

"That was a bold move gaki, you have guts I can tell you that. In fact I believe it's the first time those buffoons ever lifted a finger for anyone other than themselves." Kakashi, seeing his student's confused expression, smiled and landed a hand on the kid's shoulder.

"Naruto, this is one of the Sannin Jiraiya-sama." The now promoted chunnin had widened his eyes for a moment, before nodding at both adults.

"Thanks Jiraiya-sama." The pervert smirked at the respect.

"So gaki, as you just heard in there, I will be leaving tomorrow morning to search for my ex-teammate Tsunade and convince her to become the next Hokage. You're welcome to come along if you wish to. They said I could take anyone with me if I so wish. Kakashi here told me you have fire and earth affinity like me. Since you'll be studying fire from the Uchiha, we can focus on your earth knowledge and improve that as well." Naruto had to resist his urge to accept immediately. He was about to have access to high level fire manipulation techniques, but to reach his goal of using lava techniques; he needed to perfect his earth technique just as much. Training under a sannin was the perfect opportunity.

"I'd like that, Jiraiya-sama, but I wouldn't want to be in your way of searching for Tsunade-sama."

"Nonsense kid…that woman is so damn slippery that it will take me some time to find her. I can help you train along the way, you know, provided that we don't run into some pleasant company." Naruto could see the lecherous grin on the man's face and instantly remembered the same look on his big brother's, before he began dating Kasumi-chan. Now that he had a chance to look at it, it was the same image and it was pretty disturbing. Kakashi for his turn looked at the man who had written his precious and smirked. Jiraiya was able to corrupt the Yondaime Hokage's mind with his perverted art and he managed to corrupt Kakashi as well. However, Naruto was a different scenario. The amount of female interaction Naruto had so far was with sparring with his teammate Ino and facing Yakumo in combat. The scarecrow jounin wasn't much aware of Naruto's interaction with Itsuko, though.

"Well, ok then. Where do we meet tomorrow?" Naruto asked, awakening Jiraiya from his daydreaming.

"Meet me on top of the Hokage's Building at nine and we'll be gone, kid. Now, I believe its high time for me to conduct my research. See you tomorrow." Jiraiya vanished leaving Naruto and Kakashi alone.

"He is a bit weird, huh." Naruto said as he looked up to see Kakashi smiling at him.

"Yeah, he is. Now, let's go to the Uchiha Compound Naruto. I don't believe you'll be able to look at everything tonight, though."

Naruto smirked at that, as they vanished in a shunshin.

===The Uchiha Compound===

As soon as they entered inside the compound, they were bombarded by an oppressive air that made Naruto a bit uneasy with his request. Images from his nightmares appeared in Naruto's mind of Uchiha Itachi killing everyone in the courtyard. In Kakashi's eyes, the compound was thoroughly cleaned even if abandoned. In Naruto's, though, he was standing on a pool filled of blood. Screams would echo in his ear and curses were thrown at the traitorous Uchiha before said man sliced their throats with no expression whatsoever in his face. There wasn't enjoyment in his face, just a test to measure his capabilities. He could see Itachi's eyes like a robot performing what he was programmed to do.

It was what intrigued Naruto most of all.

Naruto came to learn that the images in his brain came with the eyes and thus it wasn't his memory. He couldn't suffer for something that didn't happen to him, even if it appeared so real. Naruto was startled to feel a comforting hand on his shoulder and turned to meet Kakashi's face. An instant later, the images and sound were gone and he now saw and heard just like Kakashi. Taking a deep breathing, he nodded to his big brother in appreciation before walking towards a small building located next to the compound entrance. Once inside, the seals on the wall came to life illuminating the surprisingly spacious room filled with rows and rows of scrolls. Naruto was about to walk through the rows when he heard Kakashi speak from behind.

"This library is special Naruto. The Uchiha Clan had taken specific measures to secure that its knowledge would be privy to the clan and only the clan. With that being said, you must use the sharingan to verify the contents." Naruto looked at his brother and lifted an eyebrow at the information. If that was true, then Kakashi would be able to look at it as well. Being the observant that he was, Kakashi saw that Naruto was looking at Kakashi's covered eye. "You're probably wondering if I can see as well, huh because of my only sharingan eye? The answer is yes, though not to the full extent as you can. I don't know why, but the information isn't complete.

(Author Note: The concept here is similar to the hidden info on the Uchiha Clan's Shrine (Forgot the name). With the normal sharingan, there are some readable parts, but only with the mangenkyou sharingan and then the rinnegan, can one read the entire content of what's written).

"Okay but not every Uchiha managed to awaken the doujutsu." Kakashi nodded at that as well.

"The Uchiha Clan's power was only mirrored by how much they worshipped the sharingan. In the clan's eyes, those who had awakened the sharingan were considered the elite among the clan. As such, only these selected members were allowed in this library. You must know Naruto that many shinobi, even from Konoha, hated the Uchiha Clan, because of this way of thinking. The accursed doujutsu, as it became popularly known, kind of facilitated the shinobi's training, let's put it like that. While others struggled to learn new techniques or improve the already existing ones, the sharingan as you know literally copy a jutsu by seeing only once. This led to the Uchiha Clan members, at least those who had awakened the eye, to become arrogant in their ways believing them to be stronger, faster or simply more skilled than the rest that did not possess any doujutsu. Many clan members were killed because of this."

Naruto listened through everything and couldn't help but agree with said feeling of arrogance. Even having one himself, the boy believed that without training his ass off, he wouldn't be as strong as he wanted to be.

Once he activated his sharingan, he began to see which roll he should go to; the roll with the kanji for fire on top of it. Of course, this library contained information on pretty much everything ninja related gathered since the first member of the family. Thus, it had information of more than just fire techniques. However, it wasn't Naruto's intention to simply engrave all the knowledge into his brain. He wanted only fire techniques and earth based ones, which he would be training with a sannin tomorrow as well. Immediately summoning twenty kage bunshins, Naruto set to work in reading the contents about fire manipulation and even A to S-ranked fire techniques.

Kakashi was overseeing everything with a smile on his face. When Naruto was committed to a goal, he wouldn't stop until it was complete; which was a shame considering that he would have to stay there with the boy throughout the night. Well, at least now that he was here, he could have some time for himself, aka reading his old orange book. As he opened the book, Kakashi's shoulder was purely relaxed as he imagined him and Kasumi doing some sex positions.

He didn't even register the fact that twenty Narutos were looking at the man and sighed all at the exact same time.

It was the very same expression that Naruto saw in Jiraiya's face.

===Next day===

The next day, Naruto left his apartment to meet up with Jiraiya for their trip. He had little sleep since he was up all night at the Uchiha Clan's library and using his sharingan the entire time.

The information on S-ranked fire techniques were safely stored in a medium sized scroll that was hidden inside a small scroll which would only be opened by Naruto's blood. This way, even if the scroll was stolen, no one would have access to the contents. Also, because of this, Naruto was allowed by Kakashi to take the scroll with him on his first chunnin assignment together with the Sannin Jiraiya. The chunnin was ecstatic about this, because of the short amount of info that he had already studied. He had learned that the entire knowledge of high level fire manipulation, higher than A-ranked, was almost one hundred percent created by Uchiha Madara, the man who founded Konoha together with the Shodaime Hokage.

Aside from Madara, the only Uchiha who was able to match S-ranked fire techniques was Madara's brother Izuna.

Even if Naruto wasn't considered an Uchiha, he had established a mantra to be the third shinobi capable of performing these techniques. For instance, there was one technique listed there that made Naruto salivate in excitement. It was one of Madara's creation called Katon Gouka Mekkyaku (Fire Release Great Fire Majestic Removal Technique) and it consisted of exhaling a wide spread wall of fire towards an opponent or a group of opponents. Naruto also saw a nice jutsu variation for white flames manipulation called Karyuu Endan. This one was created by the Sandaime Hokage, but somehow it was at the Uchiha Clan's library. Naruto ventured a guess as to a suitable explanation. One high level Uchiha once saw the technique and copied it. Even so, the chunnin doubted that any Uchiha would be able to defeat the Sandaime Hokage. The old man was only defeated by Orochimaru because the man had used a strange technique that brought both the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage to aid him. If not, Orochimaru would have lost.

Naruto had also learned an extremely taxing fire manipulation exercise consisted of increasing the fire potency using just chakra.

Aside from that, Naruto would be training his doton techniques with Jiraiya of the Sannin. He could already feel his plan towards using magma techniques quite soon. The chunnin yawned a bit as he walked towards the place where Jiraiya said he would be waiting. When he was close to the location, he saw Itsuko standing on top of a tree, hidden in plain sight and shunshined to her place. He was standing just like her, hidden as they got to talk.

"You needed to talk to me, Naruto?" Normally, he would just nod at her direction since she was on duty.

"Sorry about blowing your cover, I just wanted to let you know that I'll be going on a mission now." He heard a snort coming from behind the mask and lifted an eyebrow.

"I already know about it silly. I'm an Anbu remember." Naruto smiled at that and nodded. Of course, she would be privy to sensitive information such as searching for a new Hokage.

"Okay then, see ya when I get back." Itsuko nodded, before Naruto vanished leaving the woman alone in the shadows once more.

'Silly one indeed' Itsuko thought, not bothering to mention that she didn't have access to every mission assignment. With little to do, seeing as her squad was performing a routine check in the village, Itsuko began to recollect her battles together with the recently promoted chunnin. Naruto managed to conduct himself in battle similarly to a few of her peers in Anbu and it surprised her in a positive way. She was counting on having to save him a couple of times, but there was one occasion when he was the one that covered her. If anything, his skills growth will certainly be interesting to watch.

===With Naruto===

It didn't take longer for the newly promoted chunnin to arrive at his destination. Jiraiya smirked at the boy, silently releasing a sigh in relief since he apparently didn't take after Kakashi's tardiness.

The two exchanged a few words in greeting, before they marched towards the village gates and then towards whatever place the Godaime Hokage was at the moment.

Author Note

Ok that's it for the time being.

Tell me what you think about it? Good, nice, excellent, bad, terrible, you'll be the judge.

Let me get to work now.