Author's Notes: AdV: Here's the next one. No silly bell exercise in this story…
A Different Road
Arc One: Genin Buntai
Chapter Two: Minions Assemble!
A good twenty or so minutes later, Naruto and Rin found themselves approaching a rather quaint, little ramen stand, which just so happened to sit along the route between Naruto's home and the academy.
Needless to say, he was a regular customer of theirs. (1)
"Ayame-chan! Ayame-chan!" Naruto shouted as soon as he was within viewing distance, rushing into the stand and leaning over the counter, Rin trailing behind him with a languid smile on her face, her little charge's exuberance never faltering in making her smile. "Ayame-chan, guess what! Guess what― Guess what! I passed the exam!" Naruto chatted eagerly, showing off his brand new headband with pride.
"Good to hear!" Ayame chirped, smiling brightly as Rin took a seat, "You're one step closer to your dream―isn't that grand?"
"Did I hear that right?" came a boisterous, masculine voice from the back of the stand where the kitchen was, before the owner of the voice stepped out in front of them, "Did Naruto say he passed his Academy test?"
Naruto grinned at the man.
"Sure did, Teuchi-ojisan!"
"Then I think that calls for a celebration!" Teuchi declared. "All you can eat, on the house!"
Eventually, after parting ways with Rin and returning home with a belly round with ramen, a very satisfied Naruto was rummaging through the myriad of scrolls said woman had gifted him over the years to find one in particular.
It took him a moment―as he wasn't the most organized youth in the world―but eventually he located a green, rolled up parchment labeled "Chakra Control―Basics for Ninja" and opened it up to refresh himself.
And boy did he have to do that often.
After rereading the first entry for what may very well have been the tenth-dozenth time, he picked up a leaf he snatched up on his way home and pressed it against his forehead.
Taking a deep breath and concentrating, he channeled his chakra into the point of contact and let go…
Only for the leaf to fall.
He wasn't surprised when it did, but Naruto frowned nonetheless. Not allowing himself to be discouraged, he tried again… and again… and again.
The exercise was a simple one: he needed to get the leaf to stick, using his chakra alone, and keep it there for as long as he could.
To this day, he was unable to make it stick, but Naruto was determined to get it right. (2)
And so, he kept at it.
Over, and over, and over…
He was stubborn like that…
While that was going down, Rin was back at her own place, enjoying a cup of tea as she raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder. "Something wrong, Captain?"
Being off duty, she wasn't expecting the visit. But the nature of their job tended to result in them being called for missions and the like on very short notice.
"You don't need to call me that," the man said with a friendly chuckle. "Not this time, at least. I'm just here to check on you."
Rin nodded. "Wanting to ask about Naruto while you're at it, I bet," she replied with a knowing grin.
A pair of shrugged shoulders. "Guilty as charged. I heard the news. How is he?"
"Every bit as excited as you'd expect," she told him, her grin widening. "It was adorable."
"Wish I was there to see it," he lamented, his tone a fond one.
The man in question was a lanky one with silver hair. He was garbed in all black, save for his mask and armor, the former being made of porcelain. The mask itself was modeled after a dog and his hair was silver. His build was well-toned for how scrawny he looked and on his right bicep was a stylized leaf tattoo, marking him as a member of ANBU, the village's special forces unit.
It was an old tradition to get that mark; the culture of the organization being one where you're in it for life, even if not officially. Once an ANBU, always an ANBU, as they say; even in death.
…It also housed a powerful self-destruction curse, in case they died or were captured with no way out.
An ANBU's body housed many a secret, after all. They were enhanced beyond normal shinobi…
"Yeah…'' Rin echoed his tone, looking and sounding wistful as she lamented, "Wish there was more I could've done for him."
Kakashi pulled out and flicked open a small orange book.
"Don't beat yourself up over it. Our work is important."
"Sensei's son should've been more important," the medic contested.
"Nothing we can do about it now."
"Unfortunately," Rin sighed, the argument dying before it could even start. "Glad he turned out well, despite that, though."
"You're mostly responsible for that," Kakashi pointed out.
"Which only proves my point. We should've been there for him sooner."
Kakashi sighed. He knew his old friend had a rather strong maternal side to her, even when they were kids. She'd babied Obito like a damn mother hen at times. "I know," he relented. "But, again, there's nothing we could've done. If I had a say in it, we would have."
Rin huffed, the gesture making her seem surprisingly childish. "In any case, I'm glad to have done what little I could. I shudder to think how he would've turned out without the two of us." (3)
Kakashi shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe he would've become one of the silent, withdrawn types who have a hard time getting along with anyone."
"You mean like you?"
"Rin. I'm hurt."
"I love you too," she teased, rolling her eyes at that.
The old friends shared a good laugh and Kakashi took a seat beside Rin. From there, the two of them continue to chat it up and reminisce about the past dozen or so years. It was quite refreshing for the both of them. In the process, though, Kakashi ended up making a decision right then and there that would ultimately change the course of history.
Seated behind his desk, a piece of furniture older than the village itself, the Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen chewed on his pipe as he regarded one Hatake Kakashi, ANBU Captain and likely his best and deadliest operative… and probably the next best chance at a successor who wasn't drowning in booze, tits or debts.
The village's leader was a fairly old and scrawny man, but still had some life in him after his previous successor died. He had white, receding hair and a spiked goatee, garbed in the traditional, red and white robes of his station.
He was, as mentioned earlier, the Sandaime Hokage.
The most powerful and soul-worn man in the village.
"Do you understand what you're asking of me, Kakashi?"
The Inu-masked shinobi bowed his head in a nod. "I do, Hokage-sama."
A long, silent puff…
More smoke…
Inhale…
"Then you will understand that I must deny your request."
Exhale… more smoke…
"If I may, Hokage-sama," Kakashi began. "It's only a matter of time before word about his lineage gets out. His mother's name will only protect him so far when he's growing up to look like… well, that.'' (3)
A pensive moment of silence…
The boy's father had many enemies, after all, and not all were beyond the village walls…
And the uncanny resemblance was bound to be a problem eventually… Even if his cheeks were still rather chubby…
"And I daresay that I'm the most qualified person in the village to both teach and protect Naruto. While I have no doubt that you could find a better teacher among the regular jounin, there isn't one out there who could protect him as well as I could at the same time, given my first-hand knowledge of sensei's enemies." Or teach him all the techniques he so deserved to know.
Of course, Rin was equally familiar with them, but her skills were in other departments―most notably leading troops and caring for the wounded. She was his right-hand woman in their ANBU unit precisely because she's that good at the former, but a teacher Rin was not.
The Hokage took a long drag from his pipe, mulling over Kakashi's words silently.
"Hokage-sa―"
"You would do well to remember Naruto's a genin, Kakashi." Hiruzen countered, interrupting Kakashi's sentence with a stern tone. "He's not one of your ANBU recruits, you won't be able to teach him like you're used to."
"I understand that, Hokage-sama."
"There's also the matter that he will have teammates that you will be expected to train equally and just as effectively."
"Of course, Hokage-sama."
A moment of silence descended between them as the Hokage regarded Kakashi with an inscrutable gaze. Despite his face being entirely covered, Hiruzen could tell he was both anxious and determined as he thought long and hard about what to say next.
Damn his bleeding heart…
Three days later, Naruto strolled into the academy in high spirits. He had spent his weekend training alone, as Rin-neechan had returned to her assignments. Despite his best efforts, he was still nowhere close to getting the damned leaf to stick to his noggin, but at the same time, he didn't let it bother him… too much.
The boy knew he had a lot of chakra, and that a person's chakra control was reversely proportional to how much capacity they had. It was one of the first things they learned about chakra.
"You seem to be thinking deeply." A familiar, if barely, voice suddenly addressed him from behind.
"Gaaah!" Naruto yelped, thoroughly startled by the speaker as he spun around to see Higurashi looking at him as apathetically as ever.
"Oh… It's just you," he said, blinking in realization. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting that. So… uh… what was your name again?"
''..."
"Uh… I somehow forgot?"
Higurashi hid a frown. She was hardly pleased to hear that.
"I am Aburame Higurashi."
"Uh… right sorry," he muttered, looking awkward and rather sheepish. "You just never really talk to anyone, let alone me in particular… and I suck at remembering names." He did tend to remember hers on occasion, but more often than not, he tended to just label her as "shamisen girl" in the rare instance that she crossed his mind.
Higurashi inclined her head as she considered his words, her frown receding into a faint facsimile of a smile. "...I suppose I cannot blame you for that." She should've reached out to him sooner…
"Sooo…'' Naruto continued awkwardly, "Was there something you wanted?"
"I was curious as to what you were thinking about," she responded, head tilted just slightly. "If you do not mind sharing, of course."
"Ah… Just my shitty chakra control." Naruto replied with a shrug, "I have a lot of chakra, so I've been struggling with it."
Higurashi was silent for a few seconds. She knew full well that he had a lot of it, but knew not why. Hell, "a lot of it" was a gross understatement! He had more than the rest of the class and the teachers combined! (4)
Higurashi squirmed on the spot as she waged a mental war against her shyness… or rather… no, shyness wasn't quite the right word. She was more… insecure than anything, knowing full well how others seemed to perceive her.
"Would you… like me to try and help?"
Naruto tilted his head backwards. Then he squinted at her.
''...Why?"
"I… do not like how lonely you seem to be," she replied hesitantly, averting her gaze, though her expression and tone were as unchanging as ever. "I also have very good chakra control, myself, and would gladly give you some advice, if nothing else."
Naruto didn't quite know how to react to that. No one ever seemed to care enough to help, save for Rin-neechan. Ayame did tend to do what she could as well, but as little more than a chef at the local ramen stand, there wasn't much she could do besides provide encouragement.
And Rin-neechan had her own duties to worry about, so she couldn't help all that much.
"Uhh… I…'' His reply was cut short as their instructors entered the class and got everyone's attention.
"Alright, class," the head instructor called out. "All eyes up front." As the students turned their attention to him, he cleared his throat and continued. "As you all know, you'll be starting your careers today, so let's cut to the chase and announce who is on what team."
Naruto listened intently for his name to be called, but the first team wasn't his apparently.
Nor did the second.
Or third.
Looking around himself and seeing how many of his classmates were still unsorted, he resigned himself to wait.
"Hyuuga Neji, Tenten and Rock Lee will be assigned to the instructor, Maito Gai," the man announced. (5)
The first looked indifferent, seemingly irate about something as he always was, but no one ever knew what.
Naruto thought he had a stick up his ass.
The second, meanwhile, perked up, putting away the kunai she was polishing, and the third let out a loud cheer, ever the enthusiastic one, despite being the dead last.
If nothing else, he was stubborn and worked hard, something Naruto could respect. He would've tried making friends with him, but the boy was just… kinda hard to talk to.
…And weird.
Very weird.
"Aburame Higurashi, Inuzuka Kishu, and Uzumaki Naruto," the instructor called out, making Naruto blink and turn to stare at Higurashi. The Aburame did not react… as far as he could tell, she might've been asleep. "Your instructor will be... Hatake Kakashi? What?"
The man looked rather surprised for some reason, which confused Naruto and his apparent teammates.
"That would be me," a voice, masculine and to the point called out from outside the classroom window, its source leaning against the window sill. Everyone turned, startled, towards the man.
Nobody in the room sensed him appear.
His eye cut towards Naruto, and he nodded.
"Meet me on the rooftop in five minutes."
And then, with a puff of smoke, he was gone in a Shunshin.
Naruto and his teammates, alongside practically everyone else in the classroom, stared at the spot where the silver-haired jounin had been. Turning to glance at their academy teacher, Naruto saw the man seemed annoyed.
"Well, that didn't leave much room for interpretation, I guess," Kishu commented with a yawn, breaking the awkward silence as she got up and started to shamble on out, Byakkomaru in tow.
Once the class' resident edgelady reached the doorway, she glanced over her shoulder at Naruto and Higurashi, who were still seated on their spots. "Well?"
The two exchanged a glance and Higurashi grabbed her music case while Naruto got up. And soon enough, the three teammates were making their way to the staircase which would lead them up to the roof while their now-former sensei continued where he left off.
The silence between them did not suffer long.
"So, do either of you know who this Kakashi guy is?" Naruto asked.
"I do not," Higurashi replied.
"Pretty sure he's kinda famous?" Kishu answered, looking uncertain as she nibbled on her lip, looking at them over her shoulder. "Heard my dad mention him once or twice. Apparently, he fought in the Third Great War, if I'm not mistaken."
Then she noticed Naruto staring at her.
Kishu raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
He squinted at her. "Nothing… just not used to you being so talkative."
Kishu shrugged. "Never really had much to say, I guess," she said. Then, she gave him an impish grin, and made a show of shaking her hips side-to-side. "Then again… is that the real reason you were staring? I can't help but notice that you have two girls all to yourself~!"
Naruto tripped.
And seeing how they were currently walking up a row of stairs...
Thud!
''...Ooowww…"
Higurashi tried and failed to catch him. Still holding her hands out, she deadpanned at Kishu.
''...really?"
"Sorry, couldn't resist," the girl snickered.
Higurashi huffed and helped Naruto back up, making sure he didn't hurt himself. Then, the three of them continued up the stairs.
And before they knew it, the three of them were gathered before a tall, lanky man with silver hair, deeply engrossed in his little, orange book. Beyond that, his most distinguishing feature was… the lack of distinguishing features he allowed them to see.
He was garbed in standard, blue fatigues, with matching combat boots and a green flak jacket. His Konoha headband was also tilted over to cover one eye and a half-mask covered most of his face.
Naruto, naturally being Naruto, was the first to blurt out something to the man.
"Isn't that porn?"
"It's an erotic romance novel," Kakashi replied, snapping the book shut and addressing his students.
Kishu raised an eyebrow at that.
''...so, porn," she said.
Kakashi gave the two of them a flat look with his one lone eye.
"I don't think I like you."
"I get that a lot," Kishu replied with a tired, impish grin. Her pup barked in agreement, while Naruto resisted the urge to facepalm.
So much for first impressions.
Tucking his book away, the silver-haired man cleared his throat and eyeballed his students. "I am Hatake Kakashi, as I mentioned earlier," he stated. "I will be your jounin sensei for the foreseeable future. That said, I suppose we should get introductions out of the way." Kakashi leaned against the rooftop railing. "And by that, I mean you three should tell me something about yourselves… not just your names, but likes, dislikes, any aspirations you might have… whatever comes to mind."
"Uh, why?" Kishu questioned, head tilted at him.
"Because I say so, Minion. Chop-chop."
The three genin looked at each other, seeing who would go first as none of them felt particularly inclined to volunteer.
It took a moment, but eventually, Higurashi was the one who took the initiative.
Kakashi noted that she was a pretty, little thing with long, flowing brown hair and what appeared to be an athletic build. It was hard to tell with what she was wearing, though―that being a white and pink kimono with a cherry blossom motif and matching obi. She wore her red-cloth headband around her neck like a scarf and donned her sunglasses as usual for an Aburame.
"Aburame Higurashi," she deadpanned. "I like playing the shamisen."
His eyes landed on her music case. Her file did mention her aptitude for genjutsu…
"Yes, go on."
"...I dislike how someone I am getting to know has been treated by others and how my insecurity is making it difficult for me to speak to him," the girl continued. "I have no specific aspirations at the moment, beyond developing my skills in both music and the ninja arts."
"Well, you are still young," Kakashi commented. "I'm sure you'll find a goal soon enough." He turned his attention to Higurashi's teammates, before asking, "so, which one of you is next?"
"Guess I'll do it." Naruto muttered before gathering his thoughts.
Kakashi noted that he was adorned in the same orange, white and blue track suit… of which he apparently had twenty copies if Rin's claims were to be believed. (6)
"So… I'm Uzumaki Naruto," the blond began awkwardly. "I like training… and…" He cleared his throat, composing himself. "I like training, gardening, ramen and Rin-neechan. I don't like how some people look at me like I killed their cat or something… or the three minutes it takes for instant ramen to cook… instant my ass." He pouted childishly.
Kakashi stared at him in a deadpan. Yeah, this boy was the spitting image of Minato-sensei, but if there was anything he inherited from Kushina-san…
"That aside, I wanna be the best Hokage there ever was and nothing's gonna stop me!" Naruto declared with a wide, shit-eating grin.
Kishu snorted. "Ambitious, if nothing else," she commented. "I approve."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
Kishu palmed her chin, giving Naruto a grin filled with white teeth, "Oh, nothing."
Ignoring the flat look she received, the girl then turned her attention to Kakashi.
She was rather pale for an Inuzuka, with black hair, light brown eyes, and the typical, fang-like facial tattoos. The skin tone contrasted sharply against her dark tresses, makeup, and attire. She was garbed in a black, frilly dress with bell-style sleeves. It reached down to just above the knees and sported white and purple accents. Her black-cloth headband was worn around her waist like a sash and she wore thigh high stockings and a pair of mary-janes to finish the look. Her hair, meanwhile, was partially done up in pigtails, held in place with white ribbons and resembling floppy dog ears, with straight bangs and the length hanging freely, reaching down to just past her shoulders.
"I'm Inuzuka Kishu, and this is Byakkomaru," she said, gesturing to her animal companion. The dog let out a little yip, seemingly in greeting. "I like poetry, being left alone, taking long walks at night, and my family―Byakkomaru included. I don't like getting up early, though… or cats. As for my dreams for the future…" She shrugged. "I guess I just wanna be a good badass ninja, for now. Too early to say beyond that."
"Good to know," Kakashi chirped, visibly smiling under his mask as he pushed himself off the railing, "Now that we're all friends here―''
"But Sensei," Naruto protested, "you didn't―''
''―let's see what you three are capable of~!" He cracked his knuckles menacingly, sending cold shivers down the spines of his students.
It had been ages since Kakashi was a genin himself, and the curriculum was very different now, since they weren't at war.
Knowing what they can do would give him some insight on how to proceed with their education, and he was a rather… hands-on instructor.
A little under half-an-hour later, once they arrived in the middle of a glade with a river running through it, Kakashi stopped and turned to face his new minions, eye-smiling at them cheerfully.
"Welcome to the Third Training Ground. Your new home away from home."
Naruto blinked hearing that, before looking around. The first thing that stood out to him were three large, wooden posts sunken into the ground, wrapped in rope. The little targets near the tops of these posts and the ropes around the centers made it clear that they were for target practice and to double as pseudo punching bags for the purpose of hard body training.
The river flowed from the northeast to the southwest and fed into a large lake that bordered a few other similar training grounds before continuing farther south. Known as The Bloody River, its point of origin was way up in a historical location, The Valley of the End, where the Shodaime Hokage fought his final battle against a heated rival at the end of the Warring States Era. From there, the river continued to meander southward, where it eventually poured into the sea.
The waterfall at the end was apparently a popular place to visit as it was known to be rather spectacular. (7)
"That being said," Kakashi stated, "we'll start with a survival exercise."
"...and that would entail what, exactly?" Higurashi asked hesitantly, breaking the tense silence that soon followed.
Kakashi smiled… and despite most of his face being covered, all three of them knew it was a sickly-sweet grin.
"I'm going to see, my cute, little minions, how long you survive against me~!"
And thus began some of the most terrifying moments of Naruto, Kishu, and Higurashi's lives...
DMS Notes and Trivia:
1: I honestly have no idea where the fuck Ichiraku's is located, but that's my personal headcanon on the matter, lol.
2: I was never a fan of the leaf-twirling exercise, so I came up with this as a better precursor to tree-walking. It makes more sense to me, since this is similar enough for the latter to simply be a more powerful and advanced version.
AdV: Honestly, both tree-walking and water-walking seem like core 'techniques' for ninjas to learn… why wasn't it taught at the Academy if they're already performing proper jutsu?
DMS: Exposition. Literally because story.
AdV: Well that's a shit reason…
DMS: Agreed. Especially given how it was tackled canonically. No way in hell would an instructor worth his salt wait as long as Kakashi did to teach it. Should've been among the first things we saw him do or at the very least something he did BEFORE the fight on the lake.
3: ADV: Spoiler Alert. Uzumaki clan… isn't.
For the purpose of this story, Naruto's mother was just a foreign child-refugee, or maybe even a foreign kunoichi that settled in Konoha and ended up as Minato's somewhat secret lover.
The Uzumaki name carries no significance, no bloodlines, no renown, no history. Nada.
DMS: What even was the point of him being Uzumaki Naruto instead of Namikaze?
ADV: I know right? The clan known for being so broken their genocide, accomplished at the hands of an alliance of multiple major powers (canon), kicked off a great war.
Oh yeah, sure, him being the son of Hokage is dangerous le gasp… the fact he's named after a clan that have some kind of a summoning contract with DEATH and have made a habit of locking up natural disasters / tailed beasts and other 'demons'is no cause for alarm.
Oh yes, very incognito.
DMS: Yeah, needless to say, we are doing the fuck away with that shit for a number of reasons. XD
4: Kakashi being Minato's student absolutely reeks of retroactive continuity… at best. At worst, it makes him come off as an asshole who didn't give a damn about Naruto. Not a fan and neither is AdV, so we adjusted accordingly, lol.
AdV: And before anyone starts with the usual excuses of him being 'not in right state' and 'ANBU' and 'Hokage's Orders (not canon)'... no.
Just… no.
5: Given that the bugs of the Aburame Clan literally eat chakra, it makes sense for its members to be capable of detecting the stuff. And given that the bugs in question are clearly capable of communicating with their hosts, any Aburame would be aware of Naruto's chakra levels, at least to some extent, be they a sensor or not.
AdV: Mind you, this does not paint a neon sign over Naruto that he's a demon host. Not only is his seal supposedly special, but there are far more 'demons' in this world.
The 'tailed beasts' as we know just happen to be some of the most destructive/old/famous ones. Mind you, My-Man-The-Rapping-Killer-Bee, Fuu, Gaara and Yugito are all still around, but the 9 aren't the only ones… and their demons aren't related.
DMS: So, yeah, definitely raises eyebrows. There's likely other reasons someone would have that much chakra, but even if he's found out to be a demon host, that would only provide so much information in this setting.
6: AdV and I both find it weird that Naruto is the same age as everyone else if he failed the test twice. He should be two years older than Sakura and Sasuke… or at least one. At best, he took that second crack at it between the previous year's graduation exam and the one his story starts at. That sounds far more realistic.
"Oh, but it was explained in canon that he made those previous attempts earlier that same day!"
...BULLSHIT! This is a graduation exam, not a spelling test! He's being evaluated on what he's learned in every subject since enrolling! The amount of time he needs to take it should reflect that! There is no way he had enough time in the day to do that shit twice and deface the Hokage Monument! (AdV: In the morning too!)
That being said, Naruto is currently in the same class as Team Gai, because they were one year older than the others and he was established to have failed his previous attempt at graduation.
AdV: This and the ANBU Loli are the two main premises on which this story was founded.
7: Sounds legit.
8: I like the mental image of the waterfall in the Valley of the End flowing into that river we saw on that map Anko showed of the Forest of Death, and that same river flowing into the… apparent lake we saw in Squad Seven's training ground? I'mma say it was a lake.
This was probably not the case in canon, but connecting the three gives me such a nice mental image of where everything is, so I did precisely that in The Mirran and will likely continue to do so in any other stories and collabs I do… when appropriate, of course.
ADV: I do feel like this was unnecessary exposition, but whatever.
Parting Notes: And that's another one done! Next chapter should be done soon as well and we are making good progress on VO and SLD.
ADV: You know we ain't paid for this, right? We don't need to report our schedules lol. They'll come out when they do.
Plus, we've literally just discussed two Naruko-centric rewrittes, and like 4 extra lewd stories for Naruko… And I mentioned my urge to write Firecracker-chan is increasing.
DMS: True, lol. Just like to keep our readers informed. So, yeah, that's also gonna be a thing. XD Among other things. Got a Yu-Gi-Oh! crossover in the works as well, among others as well.
As for when any of that will be posted, we'll see what the future holds. Until then!
