This story is based on a series of lucid dreams I had while watching Naruto, with a decently structured plot I decided to turn them into a proper story for others to enjoy.
-LordFajita

Howdy, if you're new welcome I am Doodledon122 and will be the beta reader and editor for my friend LordFajita, his creative storytelling is intriguing but his writing can be hard to read sometimes. If you're a returning reader hopefully these edits make things more concise and I hope you enjoy this tale!

Chapter: 1

I opened my eyes, finding myself in a field staring down Orochimaru. Several moments of silence passed until he spoke.

"You are bold to challenge me," he said in a cocky tone, chuckling.

Drawing my sword, I rushed forward, time appearing to slow as the world gained a purple tint. I saw his face twist into a look of anger as he leaned back to avoid my slash, losing half a lock of hair. Time resumed as I pressed my advantage, jumping up to deliver two kicks to his chest, spinning around, and landing back on my feet. With a cocky smile, I attempted to press my luck, charging forward. I received a swift kick to the face that knocked me onto my back. My blurry vision recovered just in time to see a sword shoot out from Orochimaru's mouth.

Rolling to the right, I scrambled to my feet, hearing the sound of the sword sinking into the dirt. Spinning around, I saw the sword retract into Orochimaru's mouth before he rushed forward. His first stab was swift, leaving little room to react and even less for error. Turning to the right, I pushed the flat side of my blade out, and the sound of metal clashing rang out. I jumped back to gain distance. His head extended on an inhuman neck, delivering a series of attacks: first a slash from the left, then the right, followed by a downward slash, and finally a stab. I matched the slashes with a set of my own before raising my sword to intercept the downward strike and side-stepping to avoid the stab.

With his neck wide open, I raised my sword to decapitate him. However, his neck quickly wrapped around me, squeezing tightly enough to make me drop my sword.

"I must say I'm impressed," Orochimaru sneered. "Not many people can survive against me for so long, especially without using jutsu of any kind. Why won't you show me your tricks? Is it possible you don't know any, or do you know something I don't?"

With that, he threw me across the field, slamming me into the ground and rolling me to a stop. I had a flashback.

I stood next to a railing with Senshi Uchiha, a long-time childhood friend. Senshi, Fugaku's younger brother, had always acted like a harsh older sibling to me. It was just after Sarutobi's funeral, and Senshi wore a look of disappointment. His short, wild black hair and light black cloak gave him an unassuming appearance, but he always exuded an air of authority. His green eyes shone when his Sharingan was inactive.

"You are unbelievable, you know that?" Senshi spoke coldly. "You were being trained by the Third Hokage himself, and you couldn't even learn a single jutsu. Hell, you couldn't even memorize the hand signs. Some shinobi you turned out to be."

His words struck hard.

"That's not true," I replied softly, almost depressed. Sarutobi's death had hit me hard. "I managed to learn at least one; I just can't show it off."

"That's rich. It's like a fake girlfriend situation. You know jutsu, but I don't, and you can't tell me about it or show it to me. You're hopeless."

I snapped back to reality, picking myself up off the ground. Looking back at Orochimaru, I brought my hands up and began weaving hand signs while speaking.

"Truth is, I was only able to learn one jutsu. REAPER DEATH SEAL…"

I was interrupted by Orochimaru snatching my right arm in his mouth just above the elbow. Time slowed as the world once again gained a purple tint. This only worsened the pain of my arm being torn from my body. When my arm was removed, time resumed. I fell to my knees, clutching my bleeding elbow. Orochimaru stood over me with a twisted smile.

"Well then, it's a shame you will never get the chance to use it," he sneered.

As he opened his mouth to summon his snake sword again, I acted quickly. Reaching into my back pouch, I grabbed a smoke pellet and threw it straight down his throat. Smoke began pouring out of his mouth, accompanied by pain-filled coughing. I scrambled backward, barely avoiding a sword slash, and began to run.

"YOU MISERABLE INSECT! IF I EVER CATCH YOU, I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE!"

Those were the last words I heard as I ran, eventually blacking out from blood loss.

Slowly, I woke up, my vision fading in and out, my hearing distorted. Staring up at a slanted wooden ceiling, I took slow, steady breaths, allowing my senses to return. Once I felt my strength returning, I slowly sat up, almost falling over to my right as I tried to use my arm to steady myself. It was no longer there. Looking down, I saw that my right arm was gone, ending in a clean cut just before the elbow.

While mourning the loss of my arm, I heard a door slide open, followed by a familiar voice.

"Hey, you. You're finally awake."

I turned to see Tsunade, one of the three legendary sannin.

"We found you face down in a field a few miles from this village. You were missing your arm and almost dead. Tell me, what is a Leaf shinobi doing all the way out here?"

Before I could respond, the door slid open again. Another of the sannin, Jiraiya, entered.

"Oh, hey, it's you!" he exclaimed. "When Tsunade said she found some one-armed guy in the field, I didn't think it would be you."

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya, confused, but before she could speak, Jiraiya continued.

"Don't you remember? Those two kids at the academy: the Hyuga and the Uchiha? They were stars of their class. Senshi and Kaen, I think their names were. This guy was always hanging around them. The screw-up who couldn't keep up with the prodigies."

Recognition dawned on Tsunade's face.

"Oh, right! He was the kid who struggled to learn jutsu. People called it 'stupid fingers,' a joke name for someone who couldn't master jutsu. So, tell us: why were you out in that field, and how did you lose your arm?"

Realizing there was no way out, I sighed and told them everything. When I finished, Jiraiya turned to Tsunade.

"What do you think we should do with him?"

"Why are you asking me?" Tsunade replied.

"You're going to be the next Hokage, so I figured I'd ask."

After a moment of thought, Tsunade addressed me.

"You have two choices: return to the village and face the consequences of your actions—you'll be charged as a rogue shinobi—or don't return, and I'll forget we ever met."

With that, she stood to leave. As she exited, I saw a young Naruto trailing behind her. Left alone, I weighed my options. Finally, I walked outside, where Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Naruto waited.

"I'm not coming back," I said. "Not until I've redeemed myself."

Tsunade and Jiraiya wished me luck, and we parted ways. They headed back to the Leaf Village, while I embarked on a journey to locations unknown.