This probably the best chapter I wrote, or at least I think so! And I cried when writing it like an idiot! Rewatching episode of Minato and Kushina's last moment with Naruto didn't help! I keep crying waterfall!
As usual, yaoi fangirls and boys… you can interpret any scene as you wish. But this fic is not yaoi damn it!
BTW there's an interlude which is about seal tower people and their relationship with Naruto... I should put it in previous chapter but damn... it's too troublesome!
UPDATE 18-03-13: erasing unnecessary scene and fixing dialogue
UPDATE 19-03-13: Beta-ed by Supreme Dream, there's some changes and so on but in general just trying to fix OOC-ness I spotted.
BTW while I don't mind critiques, if you can give sign up review it would be wonderful... I am not going to bite anyone's head off over critiques, but please state your reasons... elaborate your opinion so I am not left clueless of why it sucks.
Interlude, Uzumaki Naruto in their perspective.
Hinamori
Hinamori loved her kouhai. He was such a beautiful little boy with big, azure eyes and soft, blond hair. She recognized him right away as the jailor of the Kyuubi, and was thankful the poor boy was safe in the tower and away from vengeful villagers. She sometimes wondered if she would've hated the boy like a clueless civilian had she not been a seal master. However, one look at those azure eyes convinced her that she wouldn't have, no demon could have those lonely, doe eyes.
She at first thought to treat him like a little brother. After all, Naruto was an orphan; he would love to have an older sister to take care of him. That illusion shattered the moment Yuzuriha and Tokusa blatantly showed their submission to the boy and treated him like a prince. He always looked uncomfortable whenever the Shiomitsus were showering him with attention, so Hinamori always had to take the initiative and tell them to leave the poor child alone. The argument that ensued then escalated into a childish scuffle that left them wondering why they were fighting in the first place. At that point, they would begin to argue about who Naruto would rather spend time with.
It was usually ended forcefully by Naruto with him pointing out he wouldn't want to spend time either of them if they kept arguing over trivial things. The child of the group acted more mature than they did, and it left Hinamori feeling ashamed enough to call a temporary truce with the Shiomitsus. None of them had the right to spend time with Uzumaki-sama.
Tokusa
The Uzumaki clan had always been at the top of the seal master hierarchy, but he was not happy when his master told him the new student was an Uzumaki that had to be treated like royalty. When he first met Uzumaki Naruto, Tokusa's first impression was that the boy was a walking contradiction. He had expected someone from the Uzumaki line to be loud, brash, and obnoxious but a brilliant seal master. Sure, Uzumaki Naruto was a cheerful child, but he was reserved, polite, and always seemed to be in control of his emotions. His hair was blond and not the signature red of the Uzumaki's, and his eyes were not a steel blue but azure. The only Uzumaki trait in him was his talent for fuuinjutsu.
Tokusa spent most of his time as Naruto's retainer, regardless of whether he liked it or not, because it was his master's order. It was bearable since the boy didn't act like a pampered prince. In fact, Naruto rarely asked him for anything, and the first thing he ever did ask of him was unforgettable.
"Could you help me with this, Tokusa?" Naruto asked innocently.
Initially, he had called Tokusa his senpai, but the older boy had insisted Naruto drop the suffix. "Ah," Tokusa eyed the scroll skeptically, "of course, but… I don't think I'm good enough to help you, Uzumaki-sama."
Naruto frowned at him. "I don't know what delusions you have about me or my clan," he stated coolly, "but I'm not the almighty prodigy who doesn't need any help from my senior."
Tokusa stammered, "I didn't mean to offend…"
"You didn't offend anyone, Tokusa. Now… are you going to stand there all day or start helping me?" Naruto asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Seriously, if you don't like my company... just tell Hakurei that a job as my retainer sucks."
The older seal master looked at Naruto in disbelief. "But that's…"
Naruto sighed. "You know… I'm not used to this 'making friends' thing." He looked thoughtful as he contemplated his next words. "Maybe we should talk this over during afternoon tea?" he wondered out loud.
"Making friends?" Tokusa echoed awkwardly. "You want to be my friend, Uzumaki-sama?"
Naruto nodded. "I'm trying," he admitted sheepishly, "but it's not working well considering the first friend I made was Itachi, and he is unlike most people." He sighed wearily. "And Shisui… is Shisui," he trailed off. "So yeah… how does making friends work?" he asked sheepishly.
"Why do you want to be my friend?" Tokusa couldn't help but ask.
"Ugh… no particular reason, but maybe it's because I think I have a chance to be your friend," Naruto admitted sheepishly, and Tokusa had to wonder why he worded it that way. It sounded like, like… Tokusa flinched inwardly as he remembered the young boy's status as a jinchuuriki. Friends must be a luxury to the Uzumaki, and in spite of his new founded royal status in the tower, Naruto didn't act like a stuck up prince. "Eh… maybe it would be easier if you weren't working as a retainer or whatever Hakurei asked you to be."
Tokusa blinked. "But… Uzumaki-sama…"
Naruto sighed. "You know what, Tokusa? Your job sucks, and I don't know why you put up with it. So what I'm an Uzumaki and related to the founder? I'm still a beginner seal master and a kouhai to you. I don't deserve the respect you and your clan give me…" He shook his head when Tokusa was about to protest. "Until I become a great seal master that lives up to my clan's legacy… I don't deserve it. Respect is earned, not given because of my name…"
Tokusa looked into the azure eyes and saw, not deceit, but actual sincerity. His mouth opened – closed – opened again, then promptly closed. The next thing Tokusa knew, he was on the floor kneeling in front of the young child. "You have earned my respect, Uzumaki-sama! I beg you to keep me as your retainer even though I am unworthy of such a glorious position!"
Naruto backed away. "But… I thought…"
"Of course I will be your friend if you so wish!" Naruto felt relieved. "I don't mind becoming your dog either!"
Naruto face-palmed at that. "Tokusa… I think you should stop this train of…"
"I pledge my loyalty to you for the rest of my life," Tokusa vowed, looking hopefully at the jinchuuriki.
Naruto wondered how one should handle this kind of proposal and decided to take the simplest method. "Eh… thank you?" the Uzumaki tried, and judging from how Tokusa was beaming with joy, it was the correct answer... hopefully.
Yuzuriha
If anyone asked how Uzumaki Naruto had won her loyalty, they would laugh because it was not from girly adoration like Hinamori or the acceptance he showed Tokusa. He gained her loyalty through one, simple sentence uttered during her taijutsu practice.
She hadn't expected him to walk past the training ground with his Uchiha friends and say, "you will be a good front line seal master, Yuzuriha." He had eyed the seal arrays on her long scarf enthusiastically. "That's an amazing wind element seal."
It was a simple compliment, but one she had never received from anyone. Due to smaller chakra reserves, females tended to have less accessible chakra and weaker stamina. They were not usually suited to be on the front lines as a seal master. Yuzuriha had worked hard to perfect her physical skills and fuuinjutsu, but not even her master believed she could succeed. And yet he believed in her – had even given her a casual compliment as he walked by. Yuzuriha had spent days coming to terms with her newly found feelings. After all, it wasn't every day you realized you had a crush on a seven-year-old boy.
6th Legacy: Shattered Dream
"There are many things I'd be willing to give for this village, but you and Itachi aren't it..."
Uzumaki Naruto
Azure eyes peeked through the lens of a camera. A grin was etched onto his handsome face as he waved to the beautiful red head who sat on the sofa. "Kushina! Smile, my dear!"
"If I smile any wider I'll look stupid, dattebane!" Kushina huffed, pouting at her husband. "Now come over here! Hurry up, Minato!"
Minato grinned as he came from behind the camera and approached his wife. He knelt in front of her and placed his ear on her bulging stomach. "Oh… our boy is kicking again," he muttered fondly.
Kushina just smiled at him. "Are you sure you want to pose like this for the camera? If your enemies see you they will cancel that flee on sight order," she giggled.
The camera flashed and the picture was taken.
Minato looked up, grinning from ear to ear. "I don't care… right now, I just want to be your idiot husband and father of our son, not the cool and smooth Yellow Flash of Konoha."
Kushina laughed softly at that. "Oh, Minato… I'm afraid you're going to spoil our son rotten."
"I will!" Minato promised, laughing softly when he felt another kick. "I can't wait to meet you, too, my dear son…"
"You hear that, my little prince?" Kushina cooed as she rubbed her bulging stomach. "We will shower you with love the moment you're born..." she laughed softly. "I just hope we don't suffocate you with it."
That dream of a perfect, little family never came true.
"Naruto… you're going to experience a lot of pain and suffering. Remember who you are! Find a goal… a dream… and don't stop trying until it comes true.
There's… there's so much more that I want to say… to teach you…
I want to stay with you… I love you."
"Naruto… this is your dad. Listen… to your motor-mouth mother. I second everything she's said..."
"We wish we could be there for you to watch you grow up… but… don't forget we'll always love you."
Naruto opened his azure eyes, gasping for breath as he sat up. "Haa…" It hurt so much; this suffocating grief was gnawing at him. He had accepted that he was an orphan a long time ago. However, knowing his parents had loved him so much made his heart hurt whenever he was slammed back into reality.
"The memory is torturing you." Coming from Kurama, it was a statement. "You should stop letting it invade your dreams."
Naruto shook his head. 'No… no, Kurama. I want it…"
"But…!" the fox protested.
'Please… let me have this memory. I want to feel loved… Let me have this selfish, childish longing, please…" Naruto begged as he hugged himself. "I promise I will not trouble you… just let it be!'
"Heh… you're still a child." Despite his words, Kurama wasn't heartless enough to meddle with the memory and deprive Naruto of the only connection to his parents. The boy treasured every memory he had, so he deserved at least that much. He just hoped his vessel would stay strong. As a bijuu he could protect his vessel's mind to an extent, but he couldn't perform miracles.
This was entirely their fault, Kurama decided. The demon fox had to wonder at the wisdom of hiding so many things from the child. The only reason Kurama didn't reveal anything to Naruto about his parents was because he felt that the old Kage should take responsibility for all the secrets. It was bad enough Naruto found out about his jinchuuriki status on his own, so Kurama would be damned if the Hokage didn't regret his foolishness at all. Then again, Kurama could tell Naruto had realized who his parents were – at least the identity of his father anyway. After all, the dream had become more vivid with each passing day.
Just know it wasn't his fault if it blew up in their faces later.
"Congratulations, Naruto-kun!" The Sandaime said as he handed Naruto a headband of Konoha.
Naruto looked down at the headband, tracing the Konoha symbol inscribed on the metal surface with his fingers, and then turned to the smiling, old Kage. "Oh." Should he be happy? "Thank you, Hokage-sama." He bowed in respect then turned to his shishou and did the same.
Sandaime frowned. "You don't seem happy with your promotion, Naruto-kun," he pointed out.
The jinchuuriki stiffened. "It's just... about the genin teams…." Naruto looked up with determined eyes. "If possible, I don't want to be on a team for the time being."
"I see." He didn't question him. Sandaime could see the reason as plain as day why Naruto didn't want to be a part of a genin team. He was the youngest genin they had in their ranks now, and if he was put on a team it would be with older genin. Naruto hadn't had the best experience when dealing with those older genin, especially since his academy days of being bullied were still fresh in his mind. Being classmates was one thing, being teammates was quite another. A team was supposed be composed of shinobi you trusted, but Naruto couldn't trust so easily.
Sandaime nodded. "You can continue working in the tower, Naruto-kun."
His eyes lit up at the prospect. "I can?"
"Of course. You're already a specialist and your skills as a seal master is highly valued. Besides, Aizen would be sad to see his precious disciple leave anytime soon," the Hokage assured.
Naruto beamed. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."
It was no secret Naruto had somehow managed to graduate from the academy.
So when the villagers had shunned and glared at Naruto even more harshly, they had expected some type of reaction, not indifference. He didn't even show his ire through his pranks like he had in the past. It's true that his pranks were annoying, but his indifferent behavior was downright irritating. Itachi and Shisui had heard a civilian ranting about how the demon child had raised an eyebrow at him when the he glared heatedly at the jinchuuriki. Apparently, civilians who tried to voice their hatred with a glare or a muttered insult felt like they were being treated like an idiot by the jinchuuriki.
Especially after that one incident where a genin had deliberately blocked Naruto's path. The genin had glared at Naruto and told the jinchuuriki to watch where he was going. Naruto, at that time, had just spent the whole night writing a report and had been really tired. All he'd been craving for was his bed, but he'd had to deliver the report to the Hokage personally. And so Naruto had flippantly retorted that, "Only idiots stand in the middle of the sidewalk and get pissed when people walked into them. Idiots~ all of you!" And then the jinchuuriki had stormed off, leaving behind a dumbfounded genin and villagers.
The Hokage had had a mild panic attack that day when he received a report from ANBU saying that Naruto might have lost his patience and snapped. Naruto had quickly assured the Hokage that he was just tired and badly needed some sleep. When reprimanded for calling the villagers idiots, Naruto hadn't apologize at all and said, "They shouldn't be offended if it's not true." The Hokage had just sighed.
He would have said more about how insults were not the right way to deal with civilians, but Naruto had promptly passed out on the floor of his office. That ended their conversation splendidly. The Hokage had then ordered Tori and his squad to take Naruto back to the tower. It was then he realized that Naruto, for some reason, was using sarcasm to express his ire. Naruto, who woke up the next day, apologized to the Sandaime and said he wished he could say the same to the offended party. Sandaime could tell it wasn't exactly a sincere apology but one that was expressed to keep up appearances.
The old Kage didn't even realize in his relief about Naruto not snapping that the boy was growing indifferent to their opinions.
Autumn was the season of harvest where leaves in Konoha's forest changed to mirror the colors of sunset. According to the civilians, it was a season of literature, gourmet, and sports. To the shinobi population, it was just another season that forced them to adapt their camouflage techniques. Shisui, though, couldn't have cared less about half of that. He felt it was just a season of good food where he had to watch his diet to avoid overeating. He did have to keep his ideal body after all, though it wasn't for cosmetic purposes of course. So his mind failed at understanding why Itachi's little prodigy friend thought it was a good season to simply watch the leaves fall. It was not like the blond neglected his training, but at some point in the start of autumn, the boy always allowed himself or a clone to stare at the falling leaves.
He used to get how the gears in Naruto's mind worked…
But now it seemed the boy had transformed into some kind of genius, which was probably why he didn't understand the brat anymore. It was either that or the blond jinchuuriki had gone absolutely bonkers. "Naruto." This time it was the real one who watched the leaves. "Are you okay?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "Of course I am. Why do you ask?"
"You're watching leaves fall like a Nara watching clouds," Shisui pointed out.
"I'm trying to figure out something, silly." Naruto scoffed as he watched a yellow leaf fall in front of his face. "You know… all these leaves fall to the ground in different fashions… flipping as if dancing in the air... "
Shisui blinked owlishly at the blond. "Since when you did you start speaking poetically. On second thought, you and Itachi seem to like being cryptic."
"Don't speak as though I'm not here," Itachi said to his cousin from his seat on the branch above Naruto's.
"We're ninja," Naruto replied flippantly before turning his attention back on the leaves. "Aah... it's already been half a year. Time flies so fast. It's already October."
Shisui grinned. "Speaking of October, your birthday's soon." Naruto flinched at that. "Is there anything you want? We can celebrate with cake!"
"Shisui!" Itachi hissed.
"I don't feel like celebrating when a majority of Konoha is visiting gravesites." Shisui blanched at the deadpan tone Naruto used. "Besides, the only thing I know about my parents is that their death anniversary is October 10th." Neither Uchiha could hide their flinch at the reminder. "If anything I would visit their graves, but I don't know where they are unfortunately."
Sarcasm was dripping from his voice, but both knew it was not aimed at them but at all of those who kept the information from him. Shisui didn't know anything about Naruto's parents, and while Itachi did know a bit, he had no right to give out that information. Itachi sometimes wished the Hokage hadn't resorted to such extreme measures to keep Naruto's heritage a secret. Everything had been going so well lately that they'd forgot October was anything but a pleasant month for Naruto. In fact, since October 1st, Naruto had refused to step out into the city or any other crowded area in Konoha, especially with the villagers' growing ire.
Naruto cackled at the worry evident on their faces. "I'm not going to refuse a bowl of Ichiraku ramen, and presents would be nice," he assured them. "No cake and candle blowing though."
Itachi's eyes softened at his young friend. "That's fine."
"Besides... if I refused presents, everyone in the tower would be disappointed," he said with a sigh. "They've tried to be discreet, but... the Shiomitsus in particular have been not-so-subtlety implying I'd be wonderful with a sword if I took up kenjutsu."
Shisui rubbed the back of his head. "If it's just basic kenjutsu I think we can teach you. We're no masters, but we're proficient."
"I haven't said anything about adding kenjutsu to my arsenal," Naruto pointed out. "I'm in the process of creating a fighting style that suits me, and I want to base it on what I already have."
Itachi smiled at that as he swung down from the tree and landed on his feet. "You don't have to create an entirely new fighting style... you can base it off an existing one and work on how to make it yours."
"The fighting style I know best is the Uchiha style, because you two are my main training partners." Most of the time he lost, which was why he wanted to develop a style of his own. "Though, Yuzuriha and Tokusa spar with me sometimes." Yuzuriha was Tokusa's older sister and basically looked like an older, female version of Tokusa with a ponytail. "Their fighting style involves a lot of kicks and wide attacks."
"Which is not for a midget with short limbs like you." Shisui grinned from ear to ear.
Naruto glared at the curly haired Uchiha, crossing his arms as he stood up from his seat. "How mature. A fourteen-year-old shinobi is teasing an eight-year-old about his height."
Itachi sighed, not even bothering to point out that Naruto, at some point, had grown taller and was already taller than Sasuke by a few inches if his estimations were correct. It was not surprising considering Naruto's diet. It was the healthiest menu Itachi had ever seen, especially since Naruto cooked his food himself. He had even seen Naruto drink a carton of milk in one go like it was water. It seemed Shisui's teasing about his height really bothered Naruto. Speaking of growing, there was one thing that really bothered him.
The Uchiha prodigy stared at the spiky, golden mess Naruto called hair. "Naruto-kun, I think your hair is getting a bit too long."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "I cut it yesterday with a kunai," Of course with no mirror, "and Yuzuriha also helped. It's slightly longer than my old hair."
"It doesn't get in the way?"
"I can see just fine, and Yuzuriha said it looked good on me," Naruto chalked up his list of reasons. "And besides... who cares about hair? I don't." Actually, a majority of the population cared, because the length of his hair was disturbingly identical to the Yondaime's, especially with how the front locks framed his face.
"If you say so." Itachi mentally noted to tell the Shiomitsu that giving Naruto an identical haircut to his father was a bad idea. Though it was probably pointless since Naruto had no intentions of enduring the hair-cutting process again.
Naruto looked up to a medium sized bird flying in a circle above them; it was probably a dove in training sending a letter. One of its feathers fell from the sky, falling down gently because of its lightness. Naruto's right hand shot out and the feather landed on his palm. He could barely feel the brush of the feather it was so soft and light. When it fell from his hand, it fell slowly. Naruto turned to Shisui, who raised an eyebrow at his grin, and waited until the wind picked up, blowing in Shisui's direction.
"Shisui! Catch!" Naruto shouted as he threw an object at the shunshin expert.
Shisui's eyes widened as he jumped and attempted to catch the small rock Naruto threw at him, but it slipped past his hands. "What was that for?" Shisui asked indignantly. The genjutsu specialist clamped his mouth shut the moment he saw the glint in Naruto's eyes. It was the dreaded eureka glint, which involved troublesome experimenting he loathed to be a part of. The first time he'd been involved was awesome, but the second and the third time...
"Shisui~" Naruto sang cheerfully.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh no, no no no no. Whatever it is I'm not doing it! Forget it! Never! Ever! NO! That's final!"
Three days later…
Naruto was bouncing up and down on a trampoline; feathers he'd scattered all over the trampoline were floating in the air. Itachi and Shisui watched from the sidelines as their young friend bounced for who knows what reason. "So… can you explain what our little prodigy is thinking this time?" Shisui asked curiously. "He's been doing this for hours." Honestly, it didn't look healthy, especially since the trampoline catapulted the boy at least twelve feet into the air. That wasn't a healthy height to be in continuously, even for a ninja.
Itachi shook his head. "No," he answered curtly. "All I know is that he's trying to figure something out."
Shisui huffed, muttering, "Yesterday he asked us to practice kenjutsu with a mechanical fan and the hundreds of feathers he got from ripping pillows..."
Itachi nodded. "It's an interesting exercise." Cutting weightless, floating feathers with a sword was much harder than cutting falling leaves.
Though Itachi really did wonder if the boy was all right…
"Urgh!" Naruto guffawed.
Shisui face-palmed. "Aww shit! I bet Naruto is having the headache of the century!"
Itachi quickly caught the younger boy from midair and dragged him under the shade of a lush tree. Naruto looked awful as he rubbed his throbbing cranium. Itachi offered him a drink which was accepted gratefully. "I feel awful," Naruto admitted wearily.
Shisui groaned. "Of course you feel sick! What the hell were you thinking?"
Itachi sighed, "Shisui… lower your voice. You're not helping his headache."
Naruto nodded in agreement weakly. "Yeah… anyways, I almost got it," he grinned. "It'll be awesome—urk! Excuse me!" Naruto ran to the bush with a hand covering his mouth. He then promptly emptied the contents of his stomach.
Itachi watched Naruto wobble as he tried to stand up straight. Last month, Naruto had doubled his training regime and it was bordering unhealthy. There was obviously something besides creating a new fighting style on Naruto's mind, but Itachi wasn't sure it was wise to pry.
"Itachi…" Shisui called.
"Hn."
Shisui looked down. "Why hasn't he put on his Konoha headband since receiving it from Hokage-sama?" he asked sadly.
Itachi shook his head. "I don't know, but I don't think he wants us to ask." He knew the headband was always in Naruto's pocket, but the blond boy never deigned to wear it.
"And he didn't make a fuss over his genin status either," Shisui pointed out. "He became a genin before his eighth birthday just like you, Itachi! Genin at seven! Even a prodigy like him would be happy for that! Heck! Even you were happy!" The shunshin expert groaned. "We didn't even know he was promoted until we saw the blue cloth of his headband sticking out from his pocket!"
Itachi sighed. "It's probably nothing." Or at least he hoped it was nothing.
Tokusa and Yuzuriha had been told by the Uchiha cousins about their young master's wishes for his birthday. Although they had to agree it would be unwise to celebrate on a parent's death anniversary, Naruto's parents wouldn't have minded if their son celebrated his birthday. It's just that Naruto was really uncomfortable about it.
"Uh… Naruto-sama," Yuzuriha started, eyeing the young seal master having a tea break with them. "About your birthday…"
Naruto raised an eyebrow at the scarf wearing kunoichi who was sitting seiza beside her brother in front of his chair. He would never be comfortable with their tradition of 'sitting at a lower level than himself'. "You don't have to be so weary of broaching that subject with me," he assured her as he set down his cup. "And like what I told Itachi and Shisui, you can give me presents… we can eat good food and so on. I just don't want to have cake or candle blowing."
Tokusa shook his head. "But we were thinking about celebrating your birthday on October 11th instead!"
The blond seal master blinked owlishly. "A day late? Why?"
Yuzuriha fidgeted with her scarf, "Well… we thought it would be a good idea! And… it's like celebrating… uhm… the first day of your life! Eh… that didn't sound right…"
"What she meant to say was… late birthday presents aren't bad!" Tokusa rambled.
"Neither is cake! If you think a candle is childish, Naruto-sama, we can just have cake!" Yuzuriha assured him as they continued to ramble on.
Naruto raised his hands to calm them down. "Tokusa, Yuzuriha… you're rambling, calm down." They flushed a deep red, and Naruto chuckled at their reaction. "I'm sorry for being uncooperative about my birthday. I don't think it's a bad idea to celebrate it late… I don't mind the cake or candles either."
Yuzuriha and Tokusa went wide-eyed. "Really?"
There excitement was so innocent it made Naruto wonder who was older here: him or them. And this reaction was all from birthday celebrations… "Yes, of course…" he said in an amused tone as he picked up a napkin. He reached out to clean Tokusa's hair and Yuzuriha's left cheek; they both had gotten orange and white cream in their hair the moment they'd started rambling. They froze when they saw the napkin had frosting on it. "I will leave the cake to you," he assured them. Hopefully, the kitchen would stay intact until his birthday.
They stammered, blushing a deep red. "Hai! Naruto-sama!"
October 10th
Clink Clank Clink...
Clink Clank Clink...
Clink Clank Clink...
"SHUT UP!" Kurama roared in the sewer mindscape.
Naruto woke up. "That dream again... full of rattling chains..." Naruto mumbled sleepily. "And Kurama is cranky… What a wonderful start to the day…"
He began his morning with a shower, some morning stretches, and inspecting what he had in his fridge. He would have to ask Tokusa or Yuzuriha to shop for him soon; he only had bread, three apples, a carton of milk, three eggs, a banana and a bowl of leftover salad from last night. His stamina was monstrous, so his body demanded a big consumption of food. He wished he could shop for himself, but he didn't want to deal with irritated vendors in October. It would sour his mood.
It looked like the menu for breakfast today would be omelets with cherry tomatoes inside, French toast, salad and stir-fried apples. Naruto ate his breakfast silently, wondering about the previous day's events. He shouldn't have asked such a thing from Itachi. He troubled the guy enough by simply being his friend. When Naruto finished his breakfast, he had planned to wash the dishes, but there was a knock on his door. Naruto dropped his eating utensils in the sink.
He climbed up the door with chakra and looked through the peephole to see his visitor. He frowned when he saw Aizen smiling, waiting patiently for a response. Naruto opened the door, titling his head to the side. "Ah, Shishou, I didn't expect a visit so early in the morning," he muttered. From the corner of his eyes he noticed Aizen's katana. That was not a good sign.
Aizen just smiled. "I wanted to congratulate my favorite disciple on his eight birthday," he said as he ruffled Naruto's golden locks fondly.
Naruto chuckled softly at that. "I am your only disciple, Shishou."
"Which gives even more reason for you to be my favorite," Aizen added with a smile. "I have a surprise for my disciple today." He leaned in conspiratorially. "It's a secret I'll only share with you."
"Oh!" Naruto put on his childish mask of excitement. "Really, Shishou?" Inwardly, Naruto flinched at how giddy he sounded. 'Ow, this doesn't sound good."
"It sounds so promising," Kurama growled irately. "If you're going to follow this guy, go prepared at least!"
'Will do!' Naruto nodded when Aizen asked him to come along. "Uhm… can you wait for a few minutes, Shishou? I have a spar planned with Itachi later, so I need to pack up now."
Aizen frowned at that. "I guess you can… we're not going to take long though."
"Thank you!" Naruto rushed back into his room and gathered his storage scrolls, a weapon pouch, and a couple of seals he could use to defend himself.
He returned to the hallway where Aizen was waiting for him and was very surprised to find Hinamori there with him. Hinamori was Aizen's right hand woman, a very young looking female with jet black hair pulled up in a bun and equally dark eyes. Unlike Aizen who he could tell had underhanded objectives, Hinamori was very sincere and adored Naruto like an older sister.
"Happy birthday, Naruto-kun," Hinamori said as she fervently kissed his cheeks and put a dark orange scarf around his neck gently. "Here is your present! It's been getting cold lately so I made this for you."
"Thank you, Hinamori-neesan," Naruto said to the older girl timidly while seething inwardly. Whatever Aizen was planning, he had a hostage ready. Damn it! "It's very warm…" He grinned cheerfully, while his left hand reached into his left pocket. He channeled a bit of chakra into the first seal he grabbed.
"Let's go, Naruto-kun," Aizen called out.
He nodded. "Let's…" As they walked, he let the seal fall from his hand discreetly. No one noticed as it was burned by a bluish chakra.
Itachi woke up with an unexplainable sense of foreboding. He was folding his blanket when Sasuke knocked on his door, and Itachi told him to come in. His brother greeted him with a 'good morning' and latched onto his arm, smiling innocently at him. He ruffled Sasuke's black locks fondly and told him to go ahead for breakfast. His little brother was about to walk away, but stopped when a weasel looking haniwa statue above his wardrobe shattered into pieces.
"Nii-san!" Sasuke called him worriedly.
Itachi recalled that the statue was some sort of joke Naruto had given to him and Shisui. He wasn't certain about the origins of it, but he suspected that one of the Shiomitsus gave it to the boy. Inside the haniwa, Naruto had engraved a seal called Kodama (echo), which was a simple seal that would emit chakra when an identical seal was activated. Naruto joked it was some sort of SOS signal, though it wasn't really useable since they didn't know how to activate the seal. Itachi mostly just kept it as a memento of their friendship.
The older Uchiha smiled at Sasuke. "I'm sorry, Sasuke, but tell kaa-san I need to go now," Itachi said as he quickly put his backpack on. His supplies were always ready in case of an emergency.
"But, Nii-san!" Sasuke protested.
Before Itachi jumped from his windowsill, he said, "I'll be back soon!"
The Uchiha scion hopped from roof to roof through the Uchiha complex, and didn't even bat an eye when Shisui joined him. "Ohayo, Itachi!"
"Ohayo," Itachi returned. "So you receive the same signal?"
Shisui growled under his breath, "It's a good thing he never published that echo seal. It could only mean he's in a pretty desperate situation."
Twenty minutes later they reached the tower and found the Shiomitsus were in a panic. They couldn't find their prodigy anywhere. Itachi approached one of the Shiomitsus – Shion if he recalled correctly – who had long, pale sandy blond hair that seemed to be the dominant hair color of his clan, and was dressed in a dark blue kimono.
"Shion-san." He would have called the man by his surname, but he was not the only Shiomitsu in the vicinity. "What happened?"
Shion looked aghast as he contemplated how to tell Itachi. "Uzumaki-sama is missing… we usually wouldn't be worried since he's always somewhere in the tower, but… this morning when Tokusa went to his room… we found a number of anomalies."
"Such as?" Itachi pressed.
Shion took a deep breath. "His weapon's pouch and storage scrolls were gone." Which meant wherever Naruto went, he was expecting a battle. "His dishes were left unwashed in the sink." He was also in a hurry. "And we found a burned out seal in front of his door." Which couldn't be a good sign at all. "Aizen-dono and Hinamori-san are missing too…"
Shisui gritted his teeth. "Aizen!"
Shion paled. "He couldn't be…" The seal mastered pondered for a moment. "It's his… eight birthday. Oh! Could it be…?"
The shusin expert glared at the seal master, while Itachi stayed silent. "Explain! Why does his disappearance have anything to do with his birthday?!"
"It's… the coming of age for Uzumaki clan... " Shion muttered hesitantly, "There are some seals that could only used by by Uzumaki clan after that transition...""
"…"
"… he probably wants to use Uzumaki-sama for that…"
Shisui's sharingan flashed, "I know that bastard is up to no good!" Itachi had told him to be wary of Aizen, and Shisui trusted Itachi's judgement.
Itachi narrowed his eyes, he could predict the timeline if Naruto had finished his breakfast but he had no time to wash the dishes. Considering his daily schedule that meant Naruto went out around seven, which was a few minutes before Naruto sent his distress signal. Which meant he had been missing for almost one hour. "We should contact Sandaime-sama. We need reinforcement, something suspicious is happening here..."
"That won't be necessary," a familiar cool voice echoed. "We have sent a messenger to Hokage-sama."
Itachi turned around and was relieved to see the familiar mask of his captain. "Tori-taichou..."
Tori craned his neck to the side. "I thought we could celebrate Naruto-kun's birthday today… but here I've heard he was kidnapped. Seriously… I can't leave that boy alone for a minute." The ANBU captain slowly lost his friendly demeanor as killing intent leaked from his body. "If that bastard dares to harm Naruto, he'll pay!"
The seal tower was actually not as tall as Hokage tower, in fact it was just a three storey cylinder shaped building from outside. Why it was called a tower was simply because it underground level was twenty storey. One could say it towered towards center of earth rather than the sky. They went through a secret passage on the lowest level of the tower, one that ironically resembled the sewer of his mindscape. They arrived on a giant tree stump which was located at the end of the sewer. Naruto eyed the giant seal array carved into the wooden surface likely made by the Shodaime. He had never seen this kind of seal before, but the leftover chakra on it was calling out to him. It was a seal of the Uzumaki clan, a legacy of Uzumaki Mito. It seemed whatever Aizen wanted needed an Uzumaki…
"This is the legacy of your clan, Naruto-kun," Aizen informed, his genial smile firmly in place. "Isn't it amazing?"
Naruto forced a grin. "I can't comprehend this seal at all, but it does looks amazing," he admitted wearily.
Aizen narrowed his eyes and for the first time, Naruto knew he saw a glimpse of the real Aizen in that moment. "You can sense it, can't you… heir of the Uzumaki clan?"
Naruto couldn't help but back away when Aizen released killing intent. His eyes widened when he saw the man move. "Hinamori! Get away from him!" he shouted in panic.
Hinamori looked nervously at her superior. He had been acting very strange since he'd led them down here. "Aizen-sama… what..." She was knocked unconscious before she even knew Aizen had moved. Naruto gritted his teeth as he eyed his soon to be former mentor. Hinamori was unconscious because of some sort of hypnotic jutsu of Aizen's, but the blond boy didn't drop his guard. He watched as the man dropped the female seal master unceremoniously onto the ground.
"Shishou," Naruto tried to fake his confusion, "what did you do?"
Aizen laughed as he took off his glasses and pushed his hair back, giving him a sinister look that was the very opposite of his genial mask. "Naruto-kun… let us drop our masks, shall we?" he asked in a sardonic tone. "Both of us are undoubtedly sick of them…"
The jinchuuriki scowled at his former mentor.r, "What's the meaning of this? What do you want?"
"Very forward of you, Naruto-kun. As for the reason why… you're eight years old today. Your Uzumaki chakra should have started maturation by now…" Aizen explained with a malevolent smile. "I have to say I like this you better than the obedient and quiet prodigy persona you show on a daily basis."
Naruto scoffed. His chakra? Uzumaki chakra? "It's not really a mask… this is the disgusted face I show to scum like you Aizen!" Ha glanced at the unmoving form of Hianmori, "You used her to drag me to this place!"
Aizen shrugged. "Can you blame me? No matter how hard I tried to get you to trust me, you always put your guard up. I even got into that stupid rivalry with the Shioumitsus…" he sighed wearily. "Neither the Shiomitsus nor the Uchihas helped either… they were wary of me just like you."
"For a good reason, Bastard," Naruto snarled. "Enough of this! What do you want? he asked impatiently. He needed to get Hinamori away from this man, because so long as she was here, he couldn't escape or fight back.
"Impatient, are we? Well… I do have something in mind that… an Uzumaki like you could help me with," Aizen said in a velvety voice that sickened Naruto to the core. "I want you to activate this seal with your chakra."
The jinchuuriki glared at the giant seal array. "What's it for? You can't expect me to cooperate without knowing!"
Aizen shrugged nonchalantly. "Fair enough… this is a containment seal."
Naruto's eyes widened in shock, unconsciously glancing at his stomach. "What's inside?"
"A treasure…" Aizen answered. "Don't worry. It's not a demon."
The blond jinchuuriki stiffened at that. "This seal was made by Mito-sama, and even with my meager knowledge I can tell it's a very powerful seal. Whatever it contains should forever belong there!" he shouted angrily. He had to stall for more time! Itachi and Shisui would have noticed something was wrong and followed the trail he left by now.
Aizen snorted. "Do you forget who has the advantage here?" he muttered as he unsheathed his katana. He grazed Hinamori's left cheek causing a trail of blood to slide down her face.
Naruto flinched, gritting his teeth in anger. "Fine! What should I do to activate this seal?"
"Glad you see things my way, Naruto-kun," Aizen told him with a smile. "Stand in the middle of the seal and channel your chakra."
Naruto glared at his former mentor as he stepped onto the seal array, not taking his eyes off the man until he reached the center. "Just promise me you won't harm her…"
Aizen sighed theatrically, "I promise."
Naruto scowled, couldn't this man sound even more fake than that? He reluctantly channeled his chakra to the seal, it glowed briefly but nothing happened. He gritted his teeth "It's not working?" He muttered in disbelief.
The slick haired man growled at the boy. "Don't play with me, boy… or something tragic will happen to her!" He shouted as he placed his katana next to Hinamori's slender neck.
Naruto shook his head. "I'm not playing around!" he shouted desperately. "I'm not a pureblooded Uzumaki, so maybe that's why! It's not my fault! Don't hurt her!"
Aizen scowled at the blond boy, "That's probably the case if your mother married someone else, but she married someone who was also an offshoot from Senju… your blood… Uzumaki blood, Senju blood… is in no way diluted." He stated confidently.
Aizen scowled at the blond boy. "That would have probably been the case had your mother married someone else, but she married an offspring of the Senju family… your blood… Uzumaki blood and Senju blood… is in no way diluted," he stated confidently.
"But it didn't work!" Naruto denied fervently. "What do you know about genetics anyway?! If it didn't work that means it can't function with my chakra! There's no reason for you to keep us here!"
"Maybe you just need the proper motivation." Aizen hoisted Hinamori up by her collar and ran his katana down her left arm.
Hinamori screamed in pain as a deep gash appeared on her left arm, "Aaaaagh!" but she didn't wake up from her deep sleep.
"Stop it!" Naruto cried desperately.
Aizen smirked but it quickly disappeared the moment he felt cold steel on both sides of his glanced to his sides, a pair of garnet orbs with tomoe stared back at him. Since when they were here? "How did you find us…?" He wondered out loud, "Itachi-kun, Shisui-kun?"
Itachi narrowed his sharingan eyes. "You underestimate Naruto-kun," he muttered as he pressed his ninjato against Aizen's neck, drawing a thin line of blood. "He didn't follow you without alerting us and leaving a trail to follow."
Shisui grinned as he raised his free hand. Strands of golden locks glinted dimly in the room. "I don't know how he did it, but apparently his hair has special properties when imbued with chakra… The chakra stays for a long period of time and acts as a beacon for a sensor like me to follow."
Naruto blinked at the information. When Kurama had suggested that method he hadn't thought it was actually going to work but it did! How the hell did he not know his own hair could do that? "Oh."
'Your mother did the same so your father would find her.'
'Kurama, you make it sound like they were flirting even though the situation was probably serious.'
'I'm me,' Kurama deadpanned.
"Okay…" Naruto sighed in relief. The crisis was diverted for now, or at least it was not as bad as before. Now if he could get Hinamori away from that man.
Aizen sighed theatrically, giving the shinobi a bad feeling. "Too bad you didn't catch me off guard," He said as he escaped from their grasp with a shunshin, Hinamori still in his grasp.
"Shit!" Shisui cursed. The man was faster than he'd thought. They had underestimated Aizen by thinking the man was only mid-chunin level… It seemed everything about the man was fake.
Aizen reappeared on the giant tree trunk – right on the edge of the giant seal array. He knelt down and tapped the side of it, and another seal array appeared, encircling the side of the trunk like a belt. Itachi's eyes widened when he saw the rune in the center of the seal Aizen had activated. "Everyone! Get away from the water!"
"Too late," Aizen muttered.
A torrent of lightning-natured chakra streaked across the water's surface. Even with the warning none of them managed to get away in time, even the ANBU squad waiting to ambush Aizen fell one by one.
"ARGH!"
Naruto's eyes widened in fear. "Itachi! Shisui! Tori! Everyone!"
Fortunately for them, the seal was very old and had not been properly maintained, thus it didn't kill them. Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. They were severely weakened, but they had all managed to survive. Itachi, Shisui and Tori had even managed to stand up on the water surface.
But at least Aizen couldn't attack them in that scale anymore, unless he... "You… have…" Naruto's eyes widened when he noticed Aizen's katana had an electric current running through it.
"Lightning affinity?" Aizen finished in an amused tone. "Yes… all I have to do is dip my katana in this water and they're all dead…""
Naruto rose to his feet angrily, his right hand grasping three shuriken engraved with seals. "Don't you dare, Aizen… If you do I will kill you!" he hissed angrily. "I know you have hostages because you can't kill me. You need me alive, so you're not the only one with an advantage here…"
"How perceptive," Aizen said sardonically as he sheathed his katana. "However," he shunshin-ed and reappeared behind Itachi and Shisui.
Itachi swung his ninjato, but his reflexes were slowed from the last attack. Shisui reacted the same but, before their weapons could strike Aizen, the seal master sent them sprawling into the tree trunk. Naruto threw his shuriken and watched his blade of wind form and soar through the air. Aizen dodged the incoming projectile with another shunshin and reappeared at his original position on the tree trunk. Naruto was forced to stop his attack; Hinamori, Itachi and Shisui were too close to Aizen.
"You…" he gritted his teeth. Since the very beginning Aizen had been expecting the ambush, and he had an advantage of knowing the terrain better than they did. They had advantage in number but that was nullified the moment they were caught off guard by that lightning element seal.
Aizen smiled as he hoisted a sopping wet Uchiha cousins onto the wooden surface. Naruto didn't have to be a genius to know what Aizen could do to them with a simple touch. "Now… I know that Hinamori is not that important to you…" Naruto was going to deny Aizen's accusation, but his blood ran cold when Aizen stabbed his katana right through Itachi's left arm. The Uchihas grunted in pain but didn't cry out. They were paralyzed from head to toe, "But I know Itachi-kun is very precious to you… Shisui-kun, too," he said as he stabbed Shisui's waist with a kunai.
"Itachi! Shisui!" Naruto didn't miss the lightning element seal on both weapons, and he had no delusions they would survive if those weapons acted as a lightning rod for Aizen.
"Aizen!" Tori roared. "Let them go!"
Itachi could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. "Na… ruto…" If he passed out here, the battle was as good as lost.
Now I have three hostages," Aizen announced as he made a ram seal. "Do you really think there's still a chance for you, Naruto-kun? Unseal the treasure!"
Naruto fell on his knees, gritting his teeth as he realized his only option. "Fine!" he shouted, his eyes closed as tears streamed down his face. "Just don't hurt them anymore… please…"
"Naruto-kun!" Itachi shouted, gritting his teeth. "Don't listen to him!"
"Yeah!" Shisui growled. "Just kill this bastard! Don't mind us!"
Aizen scowled. These Uchiha brats were really annoying. "You're very lucky I need you alive, Uchiha… " he muttered sinisterly. "But isn't your request cruel?" he wondered out loud. "Asking this poor jinchuuriki, who has been shunned his entire life, to abandon his friends?"
Shisui's eyes widened as he turned his attention to Naruto. The jinchuuriki was gritting his teeth, his fists clenched to the point blood was dripping onto the ground. "Naruto… you…"
"He has sacrifice so much for this village," Aizen stated with a sneer, "but what has he gotten in return? Scorn, hatred, isolation… and you ask him to sacrifice both of you for this village? Haven't you asked him enough?"
Shisui shook his head. "Naruto… don't listen to him! You don't want this! You can't do as he said just to…"
Naruto bit his bottom lip, drawing a trail of blood down his chin. "Shut up.." He hissed, "There are many things I'd be willing to give for this village, but you and Itachi aren't it..."
Itachi gritted his teeth. How could they ask for more from this boy? He had already lost so much, and they asked him to lose more? Itachi glared at Aizen. If only he could get rid of this stupid lightning seal and recover from this paralysis...
'Kurama… help me, I can't let this bastard get away with this,' Naruto said mentally to his tenant. "This guy is really sneaky and I need him to get away from my friends… but the only way to do that is… to activate the seal and attack him when he is distracted by his precious treasure! And for that…'
'You're asking me how to call out an Uzumaki's special chakra?' Kurama asked in disbelief. 'How should I know? But if it helps any, your mother's materialized as chains… and Mito's was a long dragon and sword…"
'So… it's a type of chakra that materializes into some sort of weapon or animal?'
'It's different for each person, but I suspect yours is the same as Kushina's, so try to visualize a chain or something…"
"That's a pretty vague suggestion…" Naruto murmured. "I will try to call out my chakra again..." His eyes narrowed at Aizen, "As long as you keep your hands off of them."
Aizen nodded. "As long as you behave…" He added with a sneer.
Naruto gritted his teeth with eyes closed in absolute concentration as he formed a ram seal. He recalled the dreams he'd had on many occasions of thousands of rattling chains. He began hearing them, unsure and uncaring if he was just hallucinating out of desperation. He could feel a chakra pool into his navel but, unlike his usual blue chakra or Kurama's red, it was yellow… or was it a pale orange? Gold? It didn't matter! He thought as he mentally reached out his hand to grab the phantom chains of his mind. His blue eyes glimmered as he opened them to stare at Aizen and his friends. He had to protect them, no matter what the consequences!
The keyword is… a familiar feminine voice echoed in his mid.
'Seiyaku no Kusari (Chain of pledge), protect my comrades… and chain down my foe!'
A Chain of chakra erupted from his back and move to the array of seals. Naruto gagged as he felt the chains trace the seal like a living being. The seal absorbed the blood on his bleeding fists and glowed the golden color of dawn. Naruto felt his chakra drain faster than ever, and if not for his status as jinchuuriki, he would've lost consciousness already.
"Chains… of chakra," Aizen breathed out in amazement. "How beautiful and befitting of your status."
The blonde's eyes widened as a sprout grew unnaturally fast in the center of the seal. The leaves unfurled as its stem grew to his height, and Naruto could feel one final tug on his chakra as a bud of a flower appeared on the tip of the plant. The bud unfurled its petal, blooming into a fist sized purple flower with an ominous orb glowing a sickly purple in the center.
"This is what you wanted?!" Naruto growled out, "a purple rock?!"
Aizen nodded. "It is valuable… now give it to me," Aizen demanded as he reached out.
Naruto, feeling extremely weakened, struggled to stand up. "Unfortunately… that took a toll on me, bastard, so take it yourself!" he growled out. "I'm not going to touch this thing for you!"
The older seal master sighed as he stepped forward. "What a troublesome disciple I have…"
The jinchuuriki scoffed as he backed away to give Aizen enough space to take the treasure. "Don't call me that, you traitor…" he hissed angrily.
Aizen chuckled softly as he leaned down to take his prize. His fingers brushed against the foul purple chakra before plucking the orb off of the flower.
Now!
Aizen eyes widened when a hard metal was slammed into his chest, not deeply embedded, but then again, that wasn't the purpose. "You!"
"Katon no Juujika-Fuuin (Fire Element Cross Seal)!" Naruto whispered as his lips curved up into a grin. "Eat this, bastard!" He backed away quickly but not before kicking Aizen's hand. The purple orb rolled across the ground.
"GUAAAGH!" Aizen screamed in pain as he tried to reach for his treasure. Unfortunately, a fire powered shuriken blew him away, slamming him into the wall. He slid down to the watery surface sluggishly.
Itachi and Shisui looked at Naruto in disbelief. "Good job, Naruto!" Shisui congratulated.
Naruto sighed as he reached out to the rolling orb, "Now let's des…"
"Naruto-kun… you did it." Itachi smiled at the boy who was about to reach out for the purple orb, his eyes widened in horror, "Naruto-kun! Move!"
he saw a shadow looming over him and heard Itachi's panicked voice. He couldn't react in time. A sharp pain was felt as a familiar katana nailed his hand to the ground before he could touch the dreaded treasure. "Hi… Hina… mori-neesan? What are you..." he muttered in disbelief as the female seal master looked down on him, her hands gripping the handle of her katana firmly.
"Hand over the treasure," she said stoically with her eyes devoid of emotion like a lifeless doll. "It belongs to Aizen-sama."
And CUT!
Haniwa: The funny looking statue made of clay, just google it.
The purple orb is not hogyoku BTW~
In case anyone forgot, Naruto is eight years old. An eight years old shinobi but he is still a lonely kid, he has his moments. If sixteen years old Naruto could snap, punch Minato on the gut and cried I don't see why he won't react worse when he was eight. He longs for a parent figures thus when he get bits of memory it's understandable he want to keep it, he has been trying hard to act mature but he is not an adult in any way. This apply to Itachi. If you want to see a normal eight years old kid, look at Sasuke, at this point he is an innocent child who want nothing but acknowledgement and love from his family.
I just received the weirdest review ever about my plot is unrealistic, eh... this Naruto, a fiction ninja manga and this story is a fan-FICTION? Have you read a godly or super Naruto?
I am sorry if he acts very childish in this chapter, but he is child... and he has right to act like one when he could afford it.