A/N:

Loooong author's note at the bottom.

THE FIRST HOUSE OPENS

"The Will of Fire is the belief that shinobi cannot die for an ideal they would rather live for. That the next generation is stronger and better than the last, that only through fighting for love, for our families, our friends, our communal hope that the violence of our world matters. What point enduring blood and shadows if only to drown in them rather than basking in the light?" - Hashirama Senju

Naruto awoke, as he always did, at dawn. Not by choice, of course, but the gentle calling of his name.

He sat up in the futon blearily, gazing up at the figure of the branch house member who had slid aside the door panel and called his name. The Hyuuga was dressed in plain white cotton hakama pants and the thick white elongated happi, trimmed in pale gray. The branch member gave a shallow nod. "Breakfast will be in twenty minutes, Naruto-san."

Naruto returned the nod as the panel was shut, and stood up, peeling himself out of his sleeping robes and padding into the small bathroom next to his sleeping room. Like all Hyuuga living spaces, the bathroom was both elegant and austere. Not much smaller than his sleeping area, it was comprised of white-panelled walls trimmed in dark wood, and offset by the simplistic painting of herons over the seafront in a simple inset on the far wall.

He turned on the bath, and then stretched, knowing the water was ice cold when it first started up. Instead of enduring that, Naruto instead looked into the mirror, frowning a bit as he waited for the water of the bath to heat. His inky-black hair, as always, refused to behave in a proper Hyuuga fashion, spiking out near the front. Ironing it out only lasted for a few days, and eventually he'd given up on it. He could comb it back into a tight ponytail once it was wet, and that was at least more acceptable in the eyes of the clan.

His eyes were the pale white of all Hyuuga, perhaps shaded delicately with blue in a certain light. His body was taut with muscle, but still lithe and slender, as preferred by the clan. He examined his face closely, and then he grimaced at the faint, whisker like markings on his cheeks. He never understood why they showed up or why they were bad, but he was always trained to suppress them.

Checking the water only revealed it to be still cold. Thus, with time on his side, he placed his hands together in a dragon seal, focusing inwards as he'd been taught by Tsunade. After a few moments, he blocked out all other sounds, feeling the smooth, cool rush of suiton and the cold, dusty grip of doton merging together, enveloping him in a faint green haze. The dark chakra within him buckled and receded, leaving him feeling vaguely faint as he opened his eyes.

He smiled thinly as the sight of the whisker-lines being gone, and turned to soak in his - finally warm - bath. After a quick set of ablutions, he dried himself off, combed out his unruly hair, bound it into a ponytail, and slipped into his uniform – pale white katami pants, cinched to his waist with a white leather belt that held two hidden, sharp but thin blades.

This was surmounted by a shitagi with thin, stiff steel armor inserts, pulling the coat-like garment tight. He topped this with a white haori, which he tied off before slipping into his sandals and stepping into the corridor beyond his rooms.

He set his feet to walking along the narrow, tatami lined corridors of the House as he headed towards the main dining area, careful to avoid any contact with the various branch house servants moving through the house. When he was younger, he was often confused – he was living with the Branch House members, yet had no Caged Bird Seal and always ate with the Main House.

He'd eventually given up asking, as no one – not his teacher, nor Hiashi-sama – would answer his questions. The Branch House treated him with careful deference, but he was always very firm in participating in the servant-type work they did himself – washing clothes, repairing the walls, keeping the gardens tended – things no Main Family Hyuuga bothered with. Some members of the Branch looked at him askance for this, but he had learned over the years that many of them were as baffled as he was at his treatment, and simply grateful he was not as cruel as some members of the Main House, who seemed to view the Branch more like servants than family.

Granted, that was a minority of the Main House - certainly Hiashi-sama did not, and reacted poorly to those who did - but tensions existed. Neji was proof enough of that.

Aside from brief mealtimes and the occasional tea ceremony with Hiashi-sama, Naruto did not really mingle with the Main House. Why he was unsealed and why he ate meals with them was something he'd been told he would be educated on when he became a genin.

That day, in theory, would be today. He wasn't sure if he should be excited or worried, but either way - a Hyuuga did not show anything but calm serenity, especially in front of the Clan Head. He took a breath, steeling his features, and then h entered into the main dining area.

The large room was mostly empty, save for the table at which the main family ate. Most of them would not be awake this early. He wasn't surprised, however, at seeing Hiashi-sama and Hizashi-san already seated at the head of the table. Neji-san sat next to his father, his customary scowl in place, while Hinata-chan and Hanabi-chan sat next to their father.

As always, Naruto made a deep bow to the Clan Head and the Branch Family head before sitting next to Neji. He knew, from long experience, there would not be a word spoken by anyone until the food was served, and thus he used the time to run through one of the mental checklists Danzo-jii-sama had taught him.

His equipment was, of course, already prepared for the events of the day – the primary genin exam. The Academy was required for all children of Kohona from ages five through nine, four years of basic schooling combined with heavy physical exercise and the rudimentary basics of ninja training : simple taijutsu and attempting to channel chakra.

The Academy lasted from eight in the morning to two in the afternoon. Those children focused on becoming nin of any kind would stay another three hours for the extra ninja-specific training, which covered basics such as simple traps, poisons, and tactics.

As Naruto watched the Branch House members enter the room with their breakfasts, he mused on the structure of the Genin Exam. Each potential genin would be given a through examination: medical condition, chakra potency and ability to channel, chakra type, several written tests, a taijutsu test, and a psychological exam. Each member of the class graduating would then be placed into one of four groups.

For those with no chakra levels or ability whatsoever – a fairly rare occurrence that usually meant malformed chakra coils – they could either move on to a civilian finishing school or apply to train in the 'Silent' – a group of extremely heavily trained soldiers who relied on the fact that they had no detectable chakra signature or levels and employed assassination techniques that relied instead on things such as poison or fuinjutsu. Most of them were also very good at taijutsu, although without the speed and strength provided by channeling chakra, they would be no match for a prepared shinobi.

The Silent rarely gave shinobi a chance to prepare.

For those with purely civilian levels of chakra but the ability to mold it, they could move to finishing school, or join the ranks of the 'reserve corps' – trained militia given some basic shape-form blade training by the Daimyo's samurai. It wasn't much, but even minimal chakra channeling would make their weapons more than a match for unaugmented militia, and some of them could even do a few very simple jutsu such as the kawarimi.

For those children with good chakra reserves and the ability to mold it well, where they ended up depended very much on how well they did in the testing. The top ten percent – usually about ten or so students – would typically be apprenticed to a single elite non-clan jonin, who would be expected to pass down his skills and created jutsu or other abilities to the apprentice over the next three years. These elite genin, receiving the best training possible, were typically the ones shown off at Chunin Exams or on high-visibility escort jobs. Once they made chunin, they were drilled into the ground by ANBU and tended to serve as ANBU Captains after a few tours of duty, before finally being trained to teach and prepare their own apprentices.

For those who didn't make the top ten percent, they would undergo two years of additional ninja training, the branch of which would be decided by the testing. They would not become genin until they passed this additional training, which included both the hated e-rank 'missions' as well as specific jutsu or other training.

Naruto ate his meal swiftly, glancing around at the others at the table but maintaining his silence. The two Hyuuga brothers conversed quietly about repairs to the stables of the compound, and Hinata-chan and Hanabi-chan were talking quietly enough that he could not hear.

As usual, Neji said nothing,and Naruto was not inclined to strike up a conversation. As he finished his miso soup and began to rise, Hiashi turned his head to face him. "Naruto. Report to my study, I will be along presently. There is something we must discuss."

"Hai, Hiashi-sama." Naruto bowed and walked out of the eating area, heading down the much wider corridors of the Main Branch section of the House. After a few minutes he entered the study of Hiashi, and sat quietly on the seat in front of the broad desk.

He glanced around the room, familiar with its storied contents but always interested in what he saw. The shelves held not only scrolls but various knickknacks that Hiashi had gathered over the years – a broken Kumo katana, a row of bloodied or bent forehead protectors from various hidden villages, a pair of intricately carved teak muai from Tea Country, and shelf after shelf of various folded origami cranes and birds, each one slightly different in design.

The panel door slid open behind him and Hiashi walked into the room, moving to the far side of the desk and sitting down, his features empty and cool as always. "According to the instructors of the Academy, you have performed very well in the primary schooling. I am informed you are first in your class."

"Yes, Hiashi-sama."

The elder grunted and nodded, narrowing his eyes. "It is my strong belief that most likely you will be chosen for a jonin apprenticeship … but the Hokage is considering changing the structure of the program to more closely match older designs, now that we have recovered most of our manpower from the Kyuubi Incident and the Fifty-Hour War."

He paused, steepling his fingers. "It is possible that you may, instead of being moved to a direct apprenticeship, may be placed in a three-person team under an elite jonin instead. This would allow early practice to be done on teamwork, as well as spread out the amount of knowledge passed down by certain non-clan jonin."

Naruto said nothing, only listening. After a moment, the Hyuuga continued. "But before that point, I once told you that there were … reasons … why you were different than other members of this clan. Reasons that I would explain to you upon becoming a genin. As that day is likely to be today...I am here to explain."

Naruto took a deep breath. "Of course, Hiashi-sama. Danzo-sama, in the brief visits I have had with him, has informed me that I am … important."

To Naruto's surprise, Hiashi actually snorted. "The Hokage is, as usual, laconic." He fixed his gaze on Naruto. "What I will tell you will be hard – very hard – to accept. Understand that it was concealed from almost everyone, not just you, and that you were not told earlier due to the danger this knowledge conveys. And that to reveal ANY of it to anyone is violation of an S-Class secret."

Naruto's eyes widened involuntarily before he could control his features, but Hiashi only nodded. "That is correct, Naruto. The punishment would be death. Another person was supposed to be here to unveil some of this, but after some consideration that was changed to having me do so, as I am the … most familiar adult figure in your life."

Naruto almost got the feeling Hiashi was stalling, but shook it off. "I understand. I will never repeat any of this information … and I am ready for whatever I am to learn."

Hiashi fixed his gaze on the boy. "You are familiar with the Kyuubi Incident?"

Naruto frowned but nodded. "Yes. The Kyuubi was contained by the Fourth, who sealed it into a young child, Sai Utari. The boy's identity as a jinchuriki was leaked by an idiotic civilian who panicked. So far the boy has been in the direct guidance and control of the Hokage and what remains of the Uchiha Clan after the Massacre."

Hiashi nodded. "What you have been told, Naruto … is not the truth. It is a cover story. The boy, Sai, does indeed contain a great amount of the Kyuubi's chakra...but not the Kyuubi."

Naruto frowned again in perplexity. "I'm not sure I follow, Hiashi-sama."

Hiashi took a deep breath. "The Kyuubi was sealed, by the Hokage. However, the Kyuubi is not like the other tailed beasts. Its power is supreme – so strong that its killing intent alone killed hundreds, and a single touch of that poisonous chakra crippled or killed many ninja. No child – even a young child – could have adapted. Indeed no human could have, except one line – the Uzumaki Clan, possessed of titanic chakra and a powerful life force."

Hiashi reached into his desk, pulling out a blood-sealed scroll. "The previous jinchuriki of the Kyuubi – and yes, there was one – was named Kushina Uzumaki. While we are not sure what happened, it appears an enemy force somehow was able to extract the Kyuubi from Kushina while she and the seal of the beast were still weakened … from childbirth."

"The baby boy of Kushina was the real jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, and his identity has been kept a secret using every possible method. For the child of Kushina was not only the jinchuriki, but the son of the Fourth."

Naruto gasped, then nodded. "Of course. Iwa and Kumo would stop at nothing to kill such a baby. But... why tell me this?"

Hiashi gave him a pained smile. "In order to make sure the baby was not discovered, his parentage could not be known. Unfortunately, the baby was born with bright blond hair and blue eyes – exactly the same as his father. Thus the boy was surgically altered to look different. His hair was changed with fuinjutsu to a different color, and his eyes were surgically replaced. His birth records were sealed and fakes presented."

"Only one thing could not be changed at the time … the sign of the Kyuubi no Kitsune on the host. Three faint whisker-like marks across each cheek."

Naruto couldn't process the words for long seconds. A thousand questions that had tormented him for years were suddenly answered. Why Danzo and the Hyuuga had him meditate and focus to suppress the marks. Why he wasn't really Main or Branch house. The seal on his stomach, which had been explained away as a medical seal he'd needed to survive an early illness. Why his eyes had taken so long to activate and his Byukugan was the weakest in the clan. Why his chakra systems sometimes flickered with bits of red when he was angered.

Hiashi continued to speak. "A young Hyuuga of the main house was killed in the attack, barely more than a year old. Once you were old enough, your eyes were removed and replaced with the eyes of that member, and you were placed in the care of the Hyuuga Clan. We have limited your outside travels – to prevent any chance of the secret escaping. You have been trained in the older-style of Ryoken instead of Juken not because of your weak eyes, but because with the Ryoken you can shatter the organs of an enemy with the Kyuubi's chakra."

"Your real name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. You are the jailer of the Kyuubi, and the single most important person in Kohona. You protect the village from the monster within you every single day, without fail."

Naruto tried vainly to gather his emotions and thoughts, but no exercise could help with this. "I.."

Hiashi said nothing for a long moment as the boy shook, then gave a faint nod. "This cannot be easy to accept. That your whole life has been, in essence, deception. But I do not need to pretend to have pride in what you have achieved. You have mastered the basics of our fighting style, comported yourself as well as any Main Branch Hyuuga in public and in private, and will continue to bring pride to us. While I am not your biological father … and I am poor, perhaps, at demonstrations of affection … I am very proud to have raised you. I am very proud of your skills, your maturity, and above all else your ability to bring Hinata out of her shell after the death of her mother and her near kidnapping."

Naruto's eyes snapped to meet his. Long training in how to interpret expression, emotion, and meaning fell into place, and he saw that Hiashi was serious – and as open as he could be. A shaky sort of relief came over him. "...but I'm not really a Hyuuga..."

Hiashi gave a shrug. "You have our eyes. You wear our clan symbol. You fight in our method. You should be proud of your true mother and father, do not mistake me. When the time comes, a man who was close to them both will tell you more about them, and introduce you to some of the jutsu and fighting styles they used." He grimaced. "I have a few pictures of your mother and father...your mother was, unlike you, quite rowdy and loud."

He gave a faint smile. "But no matter what, Naruto – you will always be a Hyuuga, welcome in our halls, and part of my family."

Naruto took a shaky breath. "Who else knows?"

Hiashi leaned back. The boy had internalized the shock and was focusing on the matters that were of importance, good. "That you house the Kyuubi? The Hokage. Myself and Kagami Uchiha, his advisory committee. The two teammates of the Third, in their role on the Council. Inochi Yamanaka and Shibi Aburame, as clan heads of the other two clans that could see through any subterfuge to realize what you are. Mikoto Uchiha and more than likely Shisui Uchiha as well." He sighed. "It is more than likely that quiet a few of our clansmen suspect, and it is certainly possible your friend Shino knows, from his kikachu. Ino Yamanaka knows something is not right because she has no doubt been told not to use her clan jutsu on you for any reason. Young Sasuke does not know yet, but he will when his Sharingan develops."

Hiashi leveled his gaze at Naruto. "No one – absolutely no one – but myself and the people above – know about your true heritage. And there is no way for anyone to find out. That is for your protection – Iwa cannot afford for Minato's line to continue, and for the hirashin to return. And your ancestor clan, the Uzumaki, were destroyed by Kumo and Kiri allying and nearly managed to win before they were betrayed from within."

He folded his arms. "I cannot stress enough how important it is that you keep this all a secret. I am trusting you – and the Hokage is trusting you – to know the truth, as you are about to become a soldier of this Hidden Village. Most of that trust is due to what you have shown me – do not disappoint me."

Naruto bowed his head. "...hai, Hiashi-sama. But...what do I do if someone figures out about the Kyuubi? For that matter, how will I know if I become unsafe?"

Hiashi gave a thin smile. "For the latter, it is simple. The medics that examined you felt you had a slight amount of ability with the Mokuton, the art of the Senju Lord Hashirama. As it turns out, the affinity you have is far too weak to manifest externally … yet it does work on you, yourself. The Mokuton disrupts and suppresses bijuu chakra, which is how Lord Hashirama was able to subdue the bijuu in the first place."

He folded his hands together. "In your case, your daily meditation works to strengthen your control and suppress the beast. As long as your whisker-marks are not visible, you do not need to worry about the Kyuubi. By all of the reports from Inochi when he mindwalked you, the beast is still asleep."

He straightened. "As for if someone figures it out...the only thing you can do is immediately take them to see the Hokage or myself. If they appear to be unable to keep quiet, you will – and have authority to – subdue them and take them to the Hokage."

He unsealed the blood seal on the scroll. "This sealing scroll contains a gift from someone who knew your father and mother. It is a haori, like the one you wear, but it has certain seals inside of it that will provide additional shielding against efforts to discern the Kyuubi inside you.." He paused. "It is amusing that your father also favored wearing a haori."

Naruto's eyes shone for a moment. "The Fourth...my..." He trailed off and sighed. "I … I am glad this was kept secret. I have seen how the jin... that is, Sai, is treated. If I had been known as the jinchuriki I would have been treated poorly as well, wouldn't I?"

Hiashi shrugged. "Perhaps. Civilians do not understand the sealing arts, and any ninja who is ignorant enough to hate a container of a demon for what he holds within him is not thinking clearly. The boy is trained and watched over, and the ugly truth is that if he had not been chosen, as an orphan with no parents and no way to survive he might not even have lived a year after the attack."

Naruto nodded slowly, but a part of his mind still found it unfair someone else suffered so that he didn't have to. It felt far too much like some of the things he'd seen in the Branch Family. "I...understand."

Hiashi nodded, and unsealed the haori. "Good. Put this on, and then it will be time for you to depart to the Academy for your final test." He paused. "Naruto."

The boy looked up from the haori, and Hiashi gave him the best smile he could. "You are more than who your parents were, or what you house. You remain Naruto Hyuuga to the public, and you are a valued and treasured member of this clan. I know you are strong enough to overcome any obstacle in your path if you only put your mind to it. Do not let this derail your progress."

Naruto exhaled, and standing, shook out the haori, admiring the much finer quality and the faint blue edging along the trim-line. "...I will not forget, Hiashi-sama. At the same time..."

He bowed, deeply, as he had been taught to do to those far above his station. "I owe you my life and my current status, and I will not forget the debt I owe the Clan. Thank you."

Hiashi nodded, pleased. "There is no debt...but all the same, you are welcome. Now, go. Hinata will accompany you, see if you cannot reinforce her spirit with some of your own steel."

Naruto turned and departed, shutting the door behind him. Hiashi leaned back, wondering briefly how events would transpire from this event. It was risky to inform the boy, but Kagami had argued long and hard that hiding the truth from the boy would get harder and harder, and if he discovered it on his own it might ruin him.

Hiashi hated gambling, but all he could do now was see how the dice fell out.

A/N: Up until this point I have somewhat focused on 'setting the stage' – a bit too much show rather than tell. A bit too much speeding past a few things. While I certainly could have expanded out this part, that isn't really the story I want to tell.

However, before I go any further in writing this story, there's two things you should know.

First, if you're familiar with my other story (Of Sheep and Battlechicken) you'll know it's full of angst, darkness, conspiracies, horror and people who are more fucked up than a soup sandwich. You'd be forgiven to imagine, given how this piece starts, that the Consequencesverse would be the same.

It is not. The ultimate point is to instead tell a tale of defiance, of loyalty to friends, of finding a way to piece that isn't rainbow-colored bullshit, and an answer to the ultimate question presented by the Sage of Six Paths – how to turn the world back to the days of ninshu, of using chakra for what it was brought into the world for, rather than war.

So if you are worried this is going to be another angst-fest with woe-is-me people, rest easy.

Second, there's certain … trends in Naruto fanfiction that seem very common among some of the highest reviewed/rated stories. Tell me if you've heard this before.

A Naruto AU fic. Naruto grows up abused/physically abused/beaten, doesn't hate the village despite this, somehow attracts some super teacher (or teachers) despite having no talent, uses thousands of shadow clones to become godly, has a harem of girls despite not even hitting puberty (including full grown women old enough to be his mother), develops some sort of fucking blood line limit (extra points if it's the Sharingan), and basically always wins. People who mistreat him are shallower than piss in snow, the Council of civilians somehow overrides the Hokage, blah blah blah.

Extra points for OC love interests (triple for SI!), foxy tails/ears/whatever, or gay pairings that result in mPreg. Double bonus extra points if he's in ANBU as a ten year old.

If ANY of the above is what you like to see in a fic, please, do yourself a favor.

Go find another story. Because none of that shit is going to happen in this one. Pretty much all of the above is why the Naruto fandom is full of crap.

Some other shit that won't be happening:

No Super Naruto. Danzo's cleverness backfires on him a bit in this regard. While Naruto will indeed be pretty devastating in certain ways, in others he won't be. That will become more understandable as the fic expands. But the bottom line is that Naruto will never people powerful enough to fight his enemies without help – and that TEAMWORK actually means something. He has a crappy version of the Byakugan and his Mokuton does nothing but help him sort of suppress the Kyuubi. A bit.

No piles upon piles of jutsu. His chakra control will always be garbage, no matter how much he works at it, and most jutsu will simply not perform very well. Nor am I going to waste huge amounts of time on intricate lists of dozens of jutsu that will never get used. He will have a small group that he refines and attempts to use in an intelligent manner: chakra strikes using bijuu chakra, shadow clones, rasengan, hirashin, some earth jutsu, and maybe a few fuin things.

No dozens of teachers. Danzo isn't stupid enough to let Naruto get trained much by people who will lead him astray (that is, away from Danzo's way of thinking.) He'll be trained either by Hyuuga or by Danzo, rarely interacting much with Tsunade and Jiraya until his mindset is already fixed.

No use of shadow-clone training techniques. Having fifty clones do something you aren't good at just means you have fifty memories of fucking it up. I really don't care if you disagree. If this method was even half-ass legit, Kohona would have crushed the entire planet since even a single clone doubles your training speed.

Romance will eventually be a part of the fic, but not the expected pairing and certainly not until they turn fifteen / sixteen at the earliest.

They are fucking NINJA , not goddamned Super Saiyan. The focus in battle is on trickery, stealth, speed, misdirection, killing blows.

With that out of the way...

I tend not to reply to reviews in the story, as it messes up the flows of things. I don't put in 'polls' for who should be the pairings or what jutsu should be learned or anything like that. I tend to outline out my stories far in advance, so on some levels these things are known.

There will be two companion pieces to the story. One will cover the modern day Elemental Nations, and the other will cover both ancient history and what happens after the story ends. They are not required reading but will answer some questions.