Naruto Namikaze, was a second generation basketball player, with his father having been a pioneer as one of the first dominant Japanese players to ever play in the NBA. His old man was known of being one of the best off the bench players of all time.

Never having all the fire power to be a starter, his old man was a great 3 and D man for many teams. Being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers© in the 1998 NBA Draft®. He played there for eight great seasons ushering in great solid seasons for the teams.

Due to the All-Star talent of his teammate Allen Iverson, he could be the team starter. With him being 5'10", the man couldn't be put in another spot.

Being traded away from the 76ers after they blew up Iverson's team, be found himself in Los Angeles playing for the Los Angeles Clippers©. His tenure there was one that led to three losing seasons and all of them had him winning his fourth and last 6th man of the year award.

Having lost taste of the bright lights of California, when his contract was up in the '09 season. He decided to finish up his career in Dallas.

Flashback

Miami, FL
Mavs at Heat
Game 6

It was the final two minutes of the game and bringing up the ball once more was Minato Namikaze.

The veteran point guard had been electric the entire night, as all his shoots and passes we're hitting their marks.

"Here comes Namikaze again. He's been outstanding this evening, already with 34 points to his name. He's been a problem to LeBron and his Heat." The commentator said as the camera watched the man bring the ball into the Heat's side of the court.

Calling a screen from Dirk, Minato brought his matchup Ray Allen into it as he was quickly met by Chris Bosh. Minato being quick watched Dirk roll into the key as with a quick high pass it landed into the big man's palm as he went right.

With a screen from Tyson Chandler that got him open. Dirk served him outside the key as quickly setting up he went up and shot up his shoulders.

"And another three for Namikaze! As the Heat call a timeout! They are down 101-92!"

Getting pats on the back from his teammates Minato sat down on his breathing heavily. "You've been killing for us Set, good job with that man." Dirk told Minato as he passed him a cup of Gatorade, the latter chuckling just took the cup. "All in a days work." He replied with a chuckle.

"Dad!" the veteran turned to the fans section to see his teenage son with glee in his eyes. "You were amazing! How did you make that shot!" his son said enthusiastically as the old man laughed.

"It's what I get paid for son." He replied as then his teammate, Jason Terry who was beside him just laughed and turned to Naruto.

"Minato stop being so blunt all the time, man. For once just grow an ego, it's okay to be a bit excited." Terry cheered on. "Yeah, Dad. It's pretty boring that you're acting like this." Naruto added as Terry laughed and patted Minato on the back.

"See. Even your kid get's it. This is a one time opportunity for us both, old guys. You, me, Kidd and Dirk. We might never see this again. So come on man, live a little." Terry edged on as Minato turning between the two watched as one showed puppy eyes while the other raised their eyebrow.

"Alright, alright. I'll let loose. Just this once." Minato said as both Naruto and Terry high fived in celebration.

'Hey, Set and Terry." The two heard from the opposite side of the bench Dirk calling them. The taller player keeping his cool as around them most of the Mavericks fans who'd made their way down here began celebrating. "Now's not the time to start celebrating, the buzzer hasn't rung, guys." He added as both players soon became serious and joined the huddle.

"Naruto." Minato spoke up before he joined the huddle. "How late am I on your birthday gift?"

"Two weeks, dad." He replied "You said you'd take me on a road trip, remember?"

"Yeah, I do its' just since this is probably the last season. We'll be going on those a lot so, I've got a better idea."

"Better idea?" Naruto was intrigued by that. His Dad was never the one to be intuitive with his gifts. "What's better than father and son summer?"

"You just wait and see, when that buzzer rings, Naruto. I'll make sure to get you something you'll always cherish."

That was his dad's last words as the timeout buzzer rang and everyone returned to the court. Being filled in by his teammates on what was happening, Naruto watched as his dad gave him a thumbs up as he got into his stance.

Returning one to the man, Naruto held his Mavericks jersey tightly as LeBron James was inbounded the ball.

"And here comes the Heat as three minutes remain in the game. Minato comes out to meet him at the centre. The two matchup, as Namikaze forces him to protect the ball."

Putting his weight on LeBron's blocking left arm, Minato waited paitently as the man bounced the ball. Seeing by the corner of his eye and feeling the air on the left side of his body become hot,he felt the screen about to set up and quickly engaging. He went under it, chasing LeBron who went right.

Dirk staying on Bosh, stopped any attempts of a two way play and that led to Minato still being on LeBron;s tail.

The NBA MVP seeing a small opening to make a shot quickly set himself up for a mid-range and as he took to the air, he was shocked to feel the ball get poked out of his possession.

"And as if he appeared out of nowhere! Namikaze steals from James for the second time tonight! He's running up the court for the easy two points!"

Everyone in the arena watched breathlessly as Minato rushed into the Heat's paint as he began shifting for a layup. Expecting a simple soft tap on the glass they were all shocked when out of nowhere, as Minato let go of the ball. LeBron came from behind full force hitting Minato and making him loose balance.

Swatting the ball off the glass, LeBron held the rebound like a trophy for his monstrous block. Everyone in the arena was making oos and ahs, but what soon went down as one of the best blocks in the NBA Finals soon turned into a tragedy.

"Just cause you did that to me, twice doesn't mean it'll happen twice!" LeBron shouted out to the camera as he towered above Minato who was still down, but this time instead of a brush off look for the humiliating play, he had a mortified expression as he grunt his teeth in pain.

"And the ref blows the whistle as the Mavs medical team comes onto the court. Namikaze isn't moving and seems to be having a problem with his right knee." Minato was mortified when he couldn't stand on his leg, one of the most important games of his career were taking place and he had to get injured.

"It's a sad tale for Namikaze, but everyone in the arena gives him a standing ovation as he's guided into the tunnel."

Naruto being concerned for his dad was about to run there when he was stopped by the team owner, Mark Cuban.

"Your dad will be fine kid, he'd want you to finish this game through." Cuban replied as he pulled his hand of Naruto's shoulder.

"Will he be alright?" Mark smiled at that. "I'll have to make sure with the medical team but I can assure you, his medicals will be covered. Come next season he'll be right as rain."

"Promise?"

"You can count on my work." Naruto hearing this went back to his seat, as every couple of seconds he'd glance to the tunnel his dad disappeared.

As the time went down and the result was confirmed, every Dallas fan raised their glass in cheer as their Mavericks beat the Heat Big Three for a chip.

With confetti falling from the sky, Naruto used the celebrations to sneak to the tunnel. He wasn't sure where to go, but heading to the team locker room, he found no one there and only security who guided him to the medical room, where his dad laid on a bed with his leg stretched out.

"Dad! Are you okay?"

"Shouldn't you be out there celebrating, Naruto?" his dad asked "That's your job, Dad. You can't be in here. You put in as much effort as everyone else."

The two were about to continue speaking when out of the bloom coming in the medical was Dirk who held the game ball in his hand.

"I took it away for you, Set. You deserve it the most, buddy." Dirk stated handing the ball to Minato who looked surprised and soon chuckled. "And I was thinking I would be the one to get it." He muttered as he looked up to Dirk and thanked him.

"Now, can you still walk?"

"Nope, doctor said I tore my MCL and ACL."

"Damn! That's crazy!" both Naruto and Dirk said in unison. "The fact you're not crying like a baby after that kind of a freak injury. You're a different beast, man." Dirk said as he looked to the corner of the room and found some crutches.

"But still you deserve to be celebrating with the rest of us." He smirked as Minato looked worried. "But the doctor, said I can't move or else I might worsen the injury."

"Come on Dad! This is the best moment of your career! You're literally 1-0 over LeBron James of all people! Go have some fun!" Naruto edged on as Dirk nodded. "I second what the kid said, let's go lift it together, Set."

The peer pressure from both his son and close friend, led him to crack his façade over listening to the doctor.

"Alright, let's just be quick before she comes back." He replied as the two celebrated by handing him his crutches. As he slowly limped out of the room, he stopped abrumptly. "Wait I think I'm forgetting something." He stated as Naruto spoke up.

"You forgot your ball, Dad." Naruto spoke up as he took the Spalding from the rest bed. "This is your MVP trophy." He smiled as Minato ruffled his son's hair.

"It was mine, son. But now it's yours."

"What?" Naruto said surprised. "Yeah, this was your birthday gift, Naruto. A ball that made history by allowing the Mavericks to win their first championship in NBA history."

"Yeah, take good care of it kid. I promised Mark I'll take it but you should probably hide it till the heat dies down." Dirk joked as Naruto being on cloud nine made a promise.

"I'll protect it with my entire life, guys! I'll make sure to cherish every moment with it!" he proclaimed.

Three Years Later

Over the three years time had changed drastically. Minato was never able to recover from his injury and decided to become a coach. Working for the Mavericks' G-League team as the head coach, he won two titles with the team as soon he got the notoriety, needed for a struggling team in his home country of Japan, to knock on his door with an enormous offer.

Kurakouen Hall, one of the best arena's located in Tokyo had currently a press conference occurring at one of the entrances of the building.

Having been bought by huge business, it'd been changed from a boxing arena into one of basketball. Housing a few boxing matches here or there in the off-season, today it would be the setting of the appointment, of Minato Namikaze. The new Head Coach of the Tokyo Tigers.

"We are proud to welcome this talented figure to our team. With us all watching him lift the NBA Championship alongside his teammates of the Dallas Mavericks©, even though of his injury. His strength in that moment is what we'd love to our team, so without wasting anymore time, Minato."

The owner of the Tokyo Bears was a mid 50 year old burly man, with a bald head and currently stood infront of the podium wearing a black suit.

Getting up from a table covered with a red cloth that represented that of the team's colours. Minato wearing a charcoal suit with his Jimmy Choo shoes went up to the podium and shook the man's hand as he was made to hold the team jersey as the cameras flashed from the journalists.

"I just want to say that its an honour for me to coach the Tigers. A great organization, with some years of success…" Minato began speaking in the speaker on the podium.

As we cut away from his speech to all those attending the conference, inside the arena, at the basketball court a 12 year old blond is seen, taking up shots.

All the chairs had been folded up and the new team branding on the hardwood had dried up for a few days now.

No one was suppose to have access to the area but someway somehow an older Naruto Namikaze was able to slip through security and find his way to the court.

Swish!

He currently was at the top of the three point line.

Smirking at the sound of the net, the blond went to recover the ball under the basket as he returned to the same spot. "Whether its middle school or the pros." He muttered as he crouched a bit and cupped the ball in his hands.

Going up he motioned the ball forward as with a smooth flick, he released it and fell back onto the hardwood.

The ball slicing through the air, reached the hoop and went in. "That's always my spot." He smirked as he went back to take yet another shot.

This time being at the top of the key, he felt like trying some other moves.

'Maybe a size up with mid-range swish?' he thought as he decided to try his handles. Letting the ball go between his legs, he skipped his left leg forward as he bounced the ball behind his back only to let it come in from the outside of his outstretched right leg.

With a quick left hand grab, Naruto dashed into the key as he went to the left side of the paint, only to bounce the ball behind his legs, changing direction with his right hand now controlling the ball, with a quick side jump he bounced the ball as he stood on the left corner of the paint.

Swish!

His handles had become smoother over the past years and his mid-range shot dependable.

'3 point shot, check. Handles, check. Mid-range, check. Layups…next.' Naruto told himself as he retreated out of the key as he stood on the deep left side of the 3pt line just behind the inbound line.

Having been a fan of Kyrie Irving and his dad's former teammate Allen Iverson, Naruto began rhythmically bouncing the ball behind his back back and forth three times, only for when the ball got to his right hand, he quickly crouched down and stretched his left leg as the ball went under it, only for his left hand to bounce it infront of his foot, creating a loop with the ball constantly going under his leg and bouncing infront of his foot.

Just like Kyrie, he did the loop three times, only to explode into an Iverson influenced crossover, that had him running into the key only for him to a quick baseline drive that had him cradling the ball.

Faking the first attempt he made a quick circle with his motion as from the other side he threw the ball up only to touch the glass softly on the side of the square.

Swish!

'Layups, check.' Naruto grinned as he held his ball with pride.

"That's a nice reverse layup you have there."

The blond heard an unfamiliar voice proclaim. Turning his head to the side, he watched as walking onto the court was a boy about his age but a bit shorter. He had mop hairstyle as his pink-maroon coloured hair caught Naruto's interest.

The boy had a small noticeable bounce in his step, as his shoulder looked a bit tensed.

He wore blue basketball shorts, and black training shoes as his white shirt had the check mark Nike© logo on it.

Naruto had on some black shorts as well, but his shoes were Laker themed Kobe IV's. His orange tank top, had been stained with a dried stain, from the tomato sauce, the burger he and his dad ate from Manji Burger for lunch.

"For a moment I thought you were just a fan. But then you hit that three at the top of the key, that was when you caught my interest." The boy said as Naruto towering him by a few inches looked down with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you, a stalker?" he questioned as the boy raised his hands as defense.

"I can assure you, I'm not that. I was just passing by you see, and I heard you bouncing the ball."

"So you came to check out who was the source?" the boy nodded. "Well now you know, so you can be on your way." Naruto stated as he went back to shooting his hoops.

"I was going to do that, but now that I've seen a bit of your talent. I'd like to see if my hypothesis is true."

"What hypothesis?"

"That the son's of great basketball legends, will never reach the heights their father's did."

Naruto hearing this looked at the boy skeptically, how did he know his dad was a basketball player.

"Wait, how do you know about my dad?" Naruto just answered that question himself since he realised his dad was a literal icon in Japan. "Scratch that…how do you know I'm Minato Namikaze's son?"

"You are the split image of your father." The boy pointed out as Naruto did inherit a lot of his dad's features, dominantly his deep sea-blue eyes and spiky golden blond hair.

"Okay sure, even if that's the case. What does me being my dad's son have to do with basketball?"

"Have you heard of Michael Jordan?"

"Are you serious? Who hasn't? He's the Goat of Basketball, and is literally the face of the Jordan brand. If you didn't know, they named the brand after him." Naruto quipped. "Well you see Michael Jordan, had sons and they never fully lived up to their father's name." the boy pointed out.

"So what? Basketball isn't for everyone, plus have you heard of Dell Curry? He's got two sons and both of them are amazing players in the NBA."

"True." The boy nodded at the blond's statement, agreeing with it. "But, who's to say you are like Steph Curry? For all we know you might be brilliant as a kid, but who's to say you've got what it takes to be a pro?"

Naruto just grunted his teeth as he heard this. Someone was actually questioning his ability with a basketball? He'd never expected it to happen. He was the most passionate kid in his entire hometown. While all the kids in Dallas, constantly raved over football, he was on the court day and night working on his craft as on some weekends, his dad would bring him to the G-League facility.

He'd practise with literal NBA ready players, and some punk decided to question his talent? He'd been through far too many workouts and one-on-one's to be given this much, crap.

So many days and months of humiliation led him to becoming better. He wasn't going to let this random guy, get away with it.

"You know I don't like your tone. How about I prove it to you, that I'm not one to be questioned." He declared as he pointed at the boy. "Since you got a big mouth, your going one-on-one with me!" he pushed the ball into the boy's chest as he grabbed it with his hands.

"And guess what, you're putting your shoes on the line." He stated as the boy looked down to his black shoes, they were Kobe 2 Lite, the only pair missing from his collection.

"Alright. But what I want in return is nothing but a favour."

"Okay."

"One which you cannot refuse to do."

"What's the worst you could do with a favour?"

"You'll have to find out." The boy replied as the two made their way to the top of the key. Naruto starring down the boy, watched as he stood outside of the three point arc. "What are you doing?" he questioned. "I'm the one who initiated the challenge, you're supposed to serve me up."

"Oh I am?"

"Yeah, don't you know streetball rules?"

"Sorry, but a friend of mine didn't seem to mention that. He played a lot of streetball." The boy said as he changed his position, now facing Naruto he stood infront of the paint as the blond stood outside the arc.

"You don't say." He replied as the boy passed him the ball. "Say, what's your name anyway, man? I'm Naruto but I think you already knew that."

"My name's Akashi."

"Akashi, huh? Alright. I'll make sure to make you famous with the story that's going to happen right now." Naruto began bouncing the ball with his right hand, starting the match.

"I could say the same about you, Namikaze."

Two Weeks Later

"You know this is actually not a bad sports school." Minato spoke.

He and Naruto found themselves, walking up the front gate of the blond's new school as it was located fifteen minutes away from their home. Naruto not being impressed like his father, felt uncomfortable, as he fidgeted with the blue hemp he wore underneath the white ichy sweater.

He was dressed as if he was going to work and him being used to the no dress code policy of his old school back in the States, he was so focused of scratching his neck that his blue backpack hit his charcoal pants.

"I feel so stupid in this." Naruto whinned. 'Damn you, Akashi. For not telling me what I was getting into' the blond thought back to his game against the latter. It had ended close as shockingly it was 21-20. Naruto was certain that for a moment it felt he was playing against a different player. But that thought was one he'd put a pin into.

"Oh don't say that, mom thinks you look cute." Minato hearing his son, replied as earlier today for breakfast, Kushina made a tasty breakfast to celebrate Naruto's first day of school.

"That's what mom's always say to their kids, dad. It's a literal cliché." Naruto said as Minato just laughed at this.

"Even if it is, I kinda like this school, were did you say you heard it from?"

"From a friend, who goes here."

"You're already making, friends? That's great, your mom might actually get off my back from thinking you might be lonely."

The two made it to the front gate, as they were met by the site of other children wearing the same attire. Many of them we're new just like Naruto, but instead of being left in peace, they were getting mobbed by many people. It was that time of the year were all the newcomers would come to the school, and many of the clubs wanting to survive had to find new recruits.

"Oh, I remember this. This is how I ended up playing basketball. Did I ever tell you the story?"

"Yes dad, many times. It's how you and mom met."

"No, we first met with me saving her from ninjas who tried to kidnap her."

"That was the bedtime story you always told me when I was a kid." He corrected his dad. "Oh it was? I must've forgot...my age must be catching up to me." He scratched the back of his neck.

"You're thirty six, dad. Still to young for memory loss-" Naruto was caught abrumpt as someone had caught his eye.

Amidst all the recruiters and tables, Naruto saw a girl with pink hair and pink eyes, she wore the same uniform as him except that of the girls version. As she turned a bit and the blond was able to see her face, the blond was surprised by her looks.

'Damn…she's cute.' He told himself as the girl soon disappeared into the massive crowd, Naruto seeing that just smirked to himself. "Even if the uniform, is a bit of a downgrade. I think I might like Teiko Junior High, dad." He finished as Minato raising his eyebrow at to what made his son, say that. Would have to wait till it all made sense.