"Do you know why you are in trouble today…Naruto?"
Naruto, at the tender age of 8, turned his head away from the Third Hokage, the young boy sitting down in front of the elder"s desk, his arms folded across his chest defiantly. His eyes squinted shut and his mouth in a wide pout he said, "I don"t know old man, why am I here?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed in exasperation, "I"ve brought you here Naruto, because of the little stunt you pulled this morning. Surely you know what I"m talking about."
"Hmph," Naruto grunted, turning away even further, "That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Kibito deserved it!"
"Naruto…language." Hiruzen huffed out.
If possible, Naruto"s pout got even bigger, "You act like I care if I curse or not, it"s not I have any parents to punish me if I do."
Hiruzen looked at Naruto for several second, seeing the slight break in the blonde"s façade, seeing the just how vulnerable the little boy truly was, "Why did you punch Kibito, Naruto?" He asked.
"Because he has a big mouth," Naruto answered, "And I just wanted to see if my fist could fit in it." He finished, looking at Hiruzen with a wide grin on his face.
"What did he say to make you want to punch the boy?" Hiruzen asked.
"I told you, he had a big-"
"Naruto," Hiruzen said firmly, "Please…tell me why you punched that boy."
Naruto hesitated for a moment, seemingly struggling over the prospect of answering, before he eventually exploded, "He called me…he called me a monster…okay?!"
"…what?" Hiruzen asked in shock.
Naruto looked away once again, this time a look of shame on his face, "He said that his dad told him…that the reason I"m alone, the reason I have no friends…or no family, is because I"m a monster."
"…I see."
Naruto and Hiruzen sat in the office, the two of them entering an awkward silence.
-x-
The five Hokage. Their faces emblazoned across the mountain top overlooking the Village Hidden in the Leaves, permanently keeping watch over the village they each loved dearly. Looking up at the third face on the mountain side, Naruto couldn"t help but smile fondly at the man who he considered family. Turning around, Naruto found himself looking at the village he had yearned for for so long. The village seemed to have been frozen in time, appearing to not have changed since the day he left it for Killer Bee"s training. His eyebrows furrowed together, he looked at the ma.s.sive tree roots that were woven around the village.
Jumping up to the branches, Naruto channeled chakra to his feet as he dashed to their underside, heading towards the coc.o.o.ns that held the citizens of Konoha. It was as he got closer that he saw something strange. Each and every one of the coc.o.o.ns…were empty.
"What the h.e.l.l?" Naruto asked. Quickly ceasing all motion, the blonde Shin.o.bi quickly entered Sage Mode. Expanding his senses, Naruto searched the entire village for any life forms, only to come up empty, "Where the h.e.l.l have they gone?" Naruto asked himself as he jumped down to the streets below. Dropping down into a meditative stance, his chin resting on his fist, Naruto began to think, "What the h.e.l.l is going on?"
"Do you think it"s at all possible that your team succeeded in defeating Kaguya, or at the very least got away from her and freed the people from their coc.o.o.ns?" Kurama asked.
Naruto shook his head, "Maybe…" Looking around, the Sage couldn"t help but take more notice of the city around him. The buildings were…decayed. Rust and foliage had begun to form and spread around, with several of the buildings having begun to fall apart. It was then that we noticed something else…it was quiet. Not just a lack of people, but a lack of…anything. No birds singing, no squirrels rustling through the trees, nothing.
Getting up from the ground, Naruto formed his hand into a cross hand seal, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The entire block was soon filled with Naruto"s with the original shouting out, "Search as many villages as you can, big or small, and see if you can find any survivors! Human, animal, anything!" His orders given out, the h.o.a.rd of clones dispersed to do as their creator commanded.
A thought suddenly entered his head before he brought his hand up to his mouth. Biting his thumb, the Sage drew blood before swiping it across his palm. Flipping through a set of hand seals, Naruto shouted out, "Summoning Jutsu!"
"…nothing happened."
"Don"t you think I know that?" Naruto asked agitatedly, rubbing his hands through his hair in aggravation.
"Maybe you should go to the last place you were on this planet?" Kurama suggested, "Find some clues or whatever."
Naruto nodded, channeling his Magnet Release and flying off into the direction of the Great Ninja War battlefield in the Land of Lightning.
-x-
Hovering over the area that was once called the Land of Lightning, Naruto looked in horror at the sight before him. The country was now a ma.s.sive crater, lava boiling and spewing out over the surface, molten rock gleaming in the sun light, towers of ice stalagmites blasting outwards towards the sky, and in the center of it all, was the ma.s.sive structure that was the G.o.d Tree. The bodies of hundreds of thousands of White Zetsus were littered all across the area, each and every one of them torn to shreds and obliterated. As he hovered, the memories of the clones he sent out to do recon invaded his mind sporadically, showing him that each village was no better off than Konoha, each and every one a ghost town.
"What…what happened here?!" Naruto asked. The carnage that he saw below him couldn"t have happened long ago, there"s no way. Descending to the ground below, Naruto found a safe place to land as he inspected one of the White Zetsu splayed out before him.
"It was the battle…to end all battles."
Turning sharply, Naruto came face to face with the catalyst to everything that had happened in the Ninja World, Black Zetsu, third "son" of Kaguya. Emerging from the molten rock beneath him, Black Zetsu swayed halfway out of the ground, it"s black humanoid form hunched over and its olive-green eyes stared at Naruto in boredom. Coming out fully, Zetsu was forced to jump to the side to keep Naruto"s Kurama Cloak fist from driving into his face.
"What happened here!?" Naruto shouted out, following after the back peddling Zetsu, "Tell me what you did!"
"Me?" Zetsu asked, "This was not my work."
Catching up to Zetsu, Naruto drove his knee into his stomach before bringing his fist down on the creature"s temple with the force of G.o.d. Grabbing him by the neck, Naruto lifted him off the ground, "Then whose?" Naruto demanded.
Zetsu didn"t seemed to be bothered by Naruto trying to close his windpipe, not even trying to pry the blonde off of him, "Why do you think Kaguya was so desperate to activate the Nativity of a World of Trees? It wasn"t to bring "peace" or anything as trivial as that. It was so that she would have an army at her side when they came."
"Who, when who came?!" Naruto demanded.
"Kaguya isn"t the only of her kind…there were two others. Two others who have eaten a G.o.d Fruit of their own, and have gained the ultimate power said Fruits hold. Unlike Kaguya however, they were not satisfied with a single Fruit. After draining the Fruit and Tree of all their chakra, the two of them would go to the next world, and the next, and the next. Kaguya knew that they would come eventually and that she would need an army to defend against them. Hence, the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Nativity of a World of Trees." Zetsu explained. Sweeping his arm across the battlefield, he continued, "This…this is what happens when G.o.ds squabble. Destruction."
"…what happened to Kaguya…to the others. To my friends?"
"They killed each other. The others, Momoshiki and Kinshiki, killed off the army Kaguya formed with ease, and it was not long before the three t.i.tans ripped this country apart. And that was before Kaguya took them to her dimensions, similar to what she did with you and your friends. The fight lasted for years…decades, with Momoshiki killing Kinshiki and taking his chakra to become even more powerful. Eventually, Momoshiki finally managed to absorb the last of Kaguya"s chakra, what little there was left, killing her." Almost as an afterthought, he continued, "Her chakra, along with the chakra of the rest of the Biju."
"Kaguya…is dead?" Naruto asked, stunned by the news, "What about this…Momoshiki?"
"I killed him in his weakened state." Zetsu said, "It was rather easy, the man"s chakra was at practically zero, and after he came here to absorb the chakra within the G.o.d Tree, I took advantage of him having his guard down." The creature had a defeated look on his face, "It was the least I could do…for taking away my purpose."
"Your purpose?" Naruto asked, "Your purpose?!" Slamming Zetsu"s body down with all his might, the ground exploding outward forming a crater around the all black creature, "What about everybody else"s purpose? Every man, woman, child that you killed, the countless innocent lives you"ve snuffed out, all for the sake of making sure some people don"t take that monster of a woman"s chakra! There"s nothing left!" Naruto began to bring his fists down on Zetsu"s head, the black chakra that made up his body splattering around his closed hands, covering his hands in the black liquid, "Iruka! Sakura! Sasuke! Kakashi! Hinato! Kiba! Shino! Tsunade! Shikamaru! Ino! Choji! Kurenai! Konohamaru! Shizune! Killer Bee! Gaara! Kankuro! Temari! Shukaku! Matatabi! Isobu! Son Goku! Kokou! Saiken! Chomei! Gyuki! EVERYONE! ALL GONE!" Each name he brought his fist down on Zetsu"s face, the creature reforming after each strike, "I HATE YOU!" Naruto brought his fist down a final time, with all his might, his hand driving through Zetsu"s head into the ground below, shattering both the earth and his fist on contact.
-x-
"Naruto…" Hiruzen said softly.
Naruto looked at the elder, a look of defiance in his eye as he spoke, "You better not pity me old man, you hear me?!"
"Do you think I pity you, Naruto?" Sarutobi asked.
Naruto scoffed, "I don"t know." Looking Hiruzen in the eye he continued, "But I"ve gone my whole life without the pity of others, and I don"t need any of it now, believe it!"
-x-
Getting off of Zetsu, Naruto huffed as he tried to catch his breath, sitting down next to the still laying down monster. Eventually, Zetsu"s head reformed fully, with the creature slowly getting up from the ground, the two of them sitting quietly next to each other.
"Your friends…they died quick deaths. The Uchiha put up quite the fight…but not even he could match her might. Hatake and the pink one fell soon after."
"Do you really think…that that"s going to make me feel any better?" Naruto asked as he slowly made to stand up.
"No…just thought you"d like to know they died honorable deaths. The least I could do for the man that will be ending my miserable existence."
The two of them stood there for several minutes before Naruto spoke, "…and what about the toad summons? Or the rest of the summon animals for that matter?"
"Dead as well. No living thing on this planet survived Kaguya"s technique, every last thing was turned into a White Zetsu."
"Gamakichi…Grandpa and Grandma Toad…Gamabunta, all gone." Looking over at the tree looming over him, Naruto felt an overwhelming need to destroy something, "AUGH!" Naruto screamed out, forming a ma.s.sive Tailed Beast Ball in his hand before firing it off, the beam of pure chakra rocketing towards the G.o.d Tree.
BOOM!
-x-
"I do not pity you, Naruto." Hiruzen rea.s.sured.
Naruto nodded, "Good." After that declaration, the blonde child seemed to mentally withdraw into himself, growing unusually silent.
The two stayed in that silence for a long time, Hiruzen starring down at the boy in his care as he spoke around his pipe, "Naruto…you know that that Kibito boy is wrong, don"t you?"
"…then why?" Naruto asked.
"Hmm?" Hiruzen asked.
"Why does everyone…hate me so much?" Naruto asked, his voice near desperation in his need to know why.
With a sigh, Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, "People hate what they do not understand Naruto…and you Naruto are someone they do not understand."
"But why?!" Naruto asked, "What"s so hard to understand about me?!"
"…" A flash of sadness spread through Hiruzen"s eyes for only a moment, only to disappear as fast as it came, "That is something that not even I can answer."
"I hate them."
Hiruzen, startled by Naruto"s remark, said, "What?"
Naruto got up from his seat, throwing his arm out as he yelled, "I hate them! The villagers, Kimito, his dad, everybody!" Now right in front of the Hokage"s desk, Naruto slammed his hands on the top of it, "All they do is ignore me, pretend like I don"t exist, treat me like I"m a monster! I hate them!"
Hiruzen looked at Naruto for a long moment, "Is that how you plan on living your life, hating them just for the sake of hating, even though it is only a minority of them that truly see you as this "monster?"" Leaning forward, he continued, "Would that make you no better than the people that call you a monster?"
Naruto looked at Hiruzen in surprise, stepping back from the desk, "But…but," Balling his fingers up into tight fists, he continued, "But…"
"Would you like to hear something my sensei once told me, Naruto?"
Looking up at Hiruzen in surprise, Naruto asked, "Your…sensei?"
Sarutobi nodded, "Yes, my sensei, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. A very wise man who, on my first day under his tutelage, told me, "It doesn"t matter what you do, you may live or die as you like. However, no matter what road you may end up taking, remember to always protect the people that are precious to you."
"Precious…people?" Naruto asked.
Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, people who you love with all your being, people that you live and die for."
"But…what if I don"t…what if I don"t" have any precious people?"
The Third Hokage gave a small chuckle, "Am I not precious to you, Naruto?"
"What?" Naruto asked.
"What of your friends at school, or Iruksensei, or the Ichiraku family? Are they not all precious to you?"
The images of Choji, Shikamaru, Iruka, old man Ichiraku and Ayame popped up in Naruto"s mind. A small smile spread across Naruto"s face, "Yeah…they are precious to me."
"Good."
-x-
"How long…has it been, since my battle with Kaguya?" Naruto asked, remembering that Zetsu had said that the battle between the Otsutsuki had taken decades.
"...76 years."
"That…long?" Naruto asked, nearly dropping to his knees in shock over hearing how long he"d been gone, "I"ve been gone for 76 years?"
Zetsu nodded, "For nearly five decades I have waited for something to come along. An anomaly I hadn"t foreseen. Something that could finally bring an end to the era of the Otsutsuki." Turning to face Naruto, Zetsu"s face scrunched in a look of agitation, "So…what are waiting for?! End it! Kill me!"
"Naruto…"
"…because of you, this has happened." Naruto said slowly. Looking around, he smiled sadly, "Every war or conflict. My mom and dad. The Biju and their Jinchuriki. Madara, Obito, Itachi, h.e.l.l the whole Uchiha Clan. So many lives lost. Because of you." Raising his hand out, the blonde enveloped himself in the Six Paths Sage Mode, a Tailed Beast Bomb. As the ball made of pure chakra grew in power, three identical but much smaller spheres appeared around it, orbiting around the original Tailed Beast Ball.
"Planetary Tailed Beast Ball."
The firing of the attack from Naruto"s palm sent a sonic boom, the ground beneath the blonde shattering outwards, forming a crater beneath him. Being at such close range to Zetsu, it only took a second for the attack to reach him, before a flash of white spread through the area.
-x-
"Naruto, get over here!"
"Yeah, yeah Sakura, I"m coming!" Running over to the pink haired girl, Naruto came to a stop just a few yards away, stuffing his hands in his tracksuit pockets, "It"s not like Kakashi"s gonna show up soon anyway, we"ve got like another hour before he"ll be here."
"That"s not the point Naruto." Sakura said with a sigh.
"Hmph." Naruto said squinting his eyes as he did, folding his arms across his chest, "Whatever, what"re you in such a hurry for then?"
"Here." Sakura said, pushing something out in front of the blonde, "Happy Birthday, Naruto."
"You…you got me a birthday present?" Naruto asked in shock, gently grabbing the gift from the girl"s hands.
"Yeah well, Sasuke and I did. We heard your birthday was today from that Ichiraku family." Sakura said, a gentle smile on her face.
"You," Naruto said, "And Sasuke?" He asked, looking over at the Uchiha, the boy resting against a nearby training post, facing away from the duo.
Looking over, Sasuke looked Naruto in the eye for a second before scoffing, "Hn, just open it loser."
"Right…right!" Naruto said excitedly. Tearing through the wrapping paper, Naruto revealed a box underneath. Throwing the lid off, Naruto pulled the object out of the box.
"A…a wallet pouch?" Naruto asked confused. The blonde remained quiet as he looked down at the frog shaped wallet in his hand.
"Do…do you not like it?" Sakura asked worriedly.
"No…" Naruto said, his voice a strange low. Quickly wiping his eyes so that the two of them didn"t see the tears that had begun to build, Naruto looked up, a wide grin on his face, "I love it!"
-x-
Minato Namikaze.
Kushina Uzumaki.
Obito Uchiha.
As Naruto read threw the names of the Shin.o.bi listed on the Konohagakure Memorial Stone, he quickly found the names of his mother and father, and the man that killed them. Kneeling next to the stone, Naruto ran his hand over the dusty marble, showing more and more names as he cleared off the stone"s surface. Forming two Truth-Seeking b.a.l.l.s in his hands, one forming into a stylus like shape, and the other as a simple blunt object.
Clink
Clink
Clink
-x-
"Yo, Naruto!"
Turning his head, Naruto looked over to see his Jonin Sensei, Kakashi Hatake, crouching in his open window sill. Giving a single fingered solute, the cyclops looked at the blonde with his usual lazy demeanor.
"Kakashi-sensei, what"re you doing here?" Naruto asked, the boy having just put on his blue pajamas as he was preparing for bed.
"Well," Kakashi drawled out, "I heard the other two gave you a birthday present, so I figured I"d do the same. What kind of sensei would I be otherwise?" He said, giving one of his iconic eye smiles at the end. Pulling out a small gift wrapped package, the silver haired ninja threw the gift at the blonde.
"You too Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked in shock. Giving a megawatt smile, the blonde began to unwrap the gift. Tearing through it quickly, the blonde held the gift out in front of him, "…Icha Icha Violence?"
Kakashi gave him a thumbs up, "I haven"t even read it yet, so that means we can read it together, isn"t that great?!" the scarecrow asked in perverse excitement. The man was disappointed however when he found the book thrown into his face, the book bouncing off his forehead, sending Kakashi flying backwards.
"What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you, huh?!" Naruto yelled out, his fist waving angrily in the air, "I"ve freaking thirteen years old, I shouldn"t be reading that c.r.a.p, especially with a creep like you!" Slamming his window shut, the blonde stormed over to his bed, angrily throwing the covers over himself as he laid down into the bed.
"…creep?" Kakashi asked weakly.
-x-
Kakashi Hatake
Sasuke Uchiha
Sakura Haruno
Looking at the names of his teammates he wrote on their names on the stone. Wiping the sweat that had begun to build along his brow, he continued to write the names of his fallen comrades. Hinata Hyuga, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, Ten Ten, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akamichi, Kurenai Yuhi.
Clink
Clink
Clink
-x-
"Surely you don"t think you can beat me, Naruto?" Standing in front of Naruto stood Iruka Umino, Naruto"s former Academy Instructor Iruka Umino, "Just because you spent a couple years training under Lord Jiraiya doesn"t mean you can take me on."
His arms resting behind his head, eyes squinted shut, Naruto spoke excitedly, "We"ll see, Iruksensei. I"ve gotten pretty bada.s.s over the last couple years. Just ask Kakashi-sensei."
Smirking, Iruka got into a taijutsu stance, "I heard about your fight with Kakashi. Rest a.s.sured when I say I won"t be holding back like he did."
A tick mark spread across Naruto"s brow, "What was that?!" He shouted out comically.
"Are we gonna do this or what?" Iruka asked, a confident look on his face.
Naruto didn"t bother responding, rather charging towards his one-time teacher. Quickly creating a duo of clones, the triplet blondes began their barrage upon Iruka, said man back peddling as he blocked and parried each strike. Seeing he wasn"t getting anywhere with his a.s.sault, the original Naruto and one of his clones jumped back and allowed the remaining clone to continue his fun with Iruka. Seeing that Naruto was planning something by jumping back, Iruka knew he had to take out the clone quickly. Grabbing his incoming fist, the ponytailed man used the blonde clone"s forward momentum and pulled the duplicate towards him. Taking advantage of the clone"s unbalance, Iruka sent a flat palm strike towards its elbow, snapping the bone immediately and popping the clone in one fluid move.
Iruka was then forced to lean his head to the side to avoid a fist emerging from the cloud of smoke the dispersed clone made, once again back peddling to avoid the last remain Naruto clone. Out of the corner of his eye, Iruka could see that Naruto had created another clone, said clone helping him form a Rasengan in the palm of his hand, "I forgot he could perform the Fourth Hokage"s technique." Iruka thought. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of the attack, Iruka made sure to make quick work of the Naruto clone, quickly deflecting a back hand, withdrawing a kunia from his weapon pouch, and driving the multipurpose blade into the clone"s side.
"Gotcha!" Naruto screamed out, the blonde having jumped in the air and descending on Iruka. Jumping back just in time, Iruka was forced to bring his arms up to block the flying debris the Rasengan created.
Naruto, trying to pull his hand out of the crater his attack had created, was forced to freeze when he felt the cool feeling of a kunai against his throat, "Yield, Naruto." Iruka said triumphantly.
"Hehehe," Naruto chuckled, looking up at Iruka with his cla.s.sic squinty eyed smile, he said, "I guess you got me…Iruksensei."
"Hehehe, I guess I did."
"Not."
Iruka was surprised to hear those words not come from Naruto sitting next to him, but rather from what sounded like down below him. Dirt and gra.s.s exploded outwards as another Naruto jumped out of the tunnel he had created, grabbing Iruka in a full nelson, holding his former teacher with all his strength as the Naruto clone pulled out a kunai of his own, pointing the tip into Iruka"s jugular.
"Yield." The two blondes said at once.
"I…yield." Iruka said reluctantly.
Two puffs of smoke swallowed him, showing that both of the Narutos had been clones all along. Hearing the blonde troublemaker"s laugh just a few yards to his right, Iruka looked over to see Naruto walking out of the tree line, his arms once again folded behind his head, "I sure got you, huh Iruksensei?"
Walking over to his sensei, Naruto offered his hand out to give the still sitting Iruka a helping hand up to his feet. Chuckling, Iruka took his former student"s hand, allowing him to pull him up to his feet. Dusting himself off real quickly, Iruka couldn"t help but marvel at just how different Naruto was compared to his last day in the academy. He was like a totally different person.
"Iruksensie…" Naruto said, seeing that his favorite sensei had been looking at him for several seconds now without saying a word, "Are you alright?"
Startled by the question, Iruka shook his head clear before speaking, "Yeah Naruto, I"m fine."
"Oh…okay then." Naruto was surprised to feel his mentor rest his hand on his shoulder. Looking at Iruka, he couldn"t help but feel an overwhelming warmth at seeing the look he was giving him. It was a look he"d seen before, a look he"d never really received. It was the kind of look he"d seen Shikamaru"s dad give him after the Sasuke Retrieval Mission. The look…of a proud parent.
"I"m…I"m so proud of you, Naruto." Iruka said, his voice thick with pride, "of the Shin.o.bi…of the person you"ve become." Both of his hands now on Naruto"s shoulders, Iruka looked Naruto in the eye, "and I want you to know that I believe you will make a splendid Hokage."
"Thank you…Iruka."
-x-
Drip
Clink
Drip
Clink
Drip
His shoulders shaking, Naruto wasn"t able to hold in his tears as he carved in the last name onto the Memorial Stone. Tears were spilling down from his eyes, descending his cheeks, and dripping off of his chin to the ground below. Naruto didn"t bother wiping his eyes, to busy finishing his work. The final touch carved in, Naruto leaned back to look at his handiwork.
Iruka Umino
-x-
"Alright Naruto, enough jacking around!"
Naruto, in the middle of trying to form a Rasengan in his hand without the use of a Shadow Clone, lost his concentration at Jiraiya"s words. The ball of chakra quickly destabilized in his hand, causing him to give his mentor a heated look, "Dammit Pervy Sage, I almost had it that time!"
Chuckling, Jiraiya said, "Trust me brat, you"re still a couple years away from being able to form a Rasengan by yourself. Just consider it a blessing you can do it at all."
Naruto scoffed, "I have to get stronger Pervy Sage, otherwise what"s this training trip all about?"
"This trip was to focus on gaining control of the beast inside of you while keeping away from any kind of civilian population. Last thing we need is the people of Konoha freaking out because they think the Kyuubi has been let loose on them once again." Jiraiya explained.
"I don"t think I"ll ever be able to master that chakra Pervy Sage, I can barely hold one tail, let alone nine." Naruto said, remembering his fight with Sasuke just a few months ago.
"Is that the only reason why you don"t want to use that power?" Jiraiya asked.
Naruto sighed, "Shikamaru and Sakura are already asking questions after my fight in the Chunin Exams…I just don"t think it"d be a good idea to use it as much, especially the amount I used against Sasuke."
"Do you really think your friends will think differently of you if they ever found out? Do you really think so little of them?"
Naruto looked away, unable to answer that question.
"I don"t think if you"re honest with them about the circ.u.mstances revolved around you that they would hate you. If anything, I think that their respect for you will only grow. But that"s if you come out and tell them, rather than them finding out and coming to their own conclusions." Jiraiya said softly. A smirk spread across his face, "Especially that feisty pink haired girl, Sabura or whatever."
Naruto gave a small smile, "Sakura…her name is Sakura."
-x-
Naruto stood in the middle of the Hokage"s office, running his hand across the table top that was covered in layer after layer of dust. Wiping the dust that had acc.u.mulated on the tips of his fingers, Naruto made his way around the desk. Grabbing ahold of the swivel chair, the blonde Shin.o.bi gently turned it over to the side. Carefully, Naruto rested his body into the chair. Swiveling back around, Naruto sat behind the Hokage desk fully, finally fulfilling a lifelong wish. It seemed foolish, childish even. But ever sense he first stepped into this office as a boy, Naruto had envisioned himself sitting behind the desk, the Hokage hat resting upon his scalp. Running his hands over the chairs worn leather arm rest, Naruto couldn"t help but feel a small sliver of satisfaction.
-x-
"Come on granny, pleeease?"
A blood vessel began to pulse along Tsunade Senju"s temple as she looked at the blonde boy in front of her, "What have I told you about calling me that Naruto?" Leaning back into her recently acquired chair, she sighed before saying, "Besides, only the Hokage is allowed to sit behind this desk. A dumb brat like you hasn"t earned the right to sit in this chair."
"Yeah, yeah. Jeez, you"re as stingy as the old man." Naruto said, crossing his arms in a mild pout.
"So…how"s your teammate, the Uchiha?" Tsunade asked.
Naruto shrugged, "He"s alright I guess. Sakura"s been babying him ever since you woke him up, so I"m sure he"s fine."
"You like that Sakura girl, don"t you?" Tsunade asked, hearing the slight jealousy in his voice when speaking of Sakura pampering the Uchiha boy.
A blush spread across Naruto"s cheeks, "O-of course I do! She"s my teammate after all!" The blonde explained away.
Tsunade smiled, the boy"s personality reminding her of his mother, Kushina Uzumaki. The little tomboy was her long off cousin, and had been rather close to her grandmother, "I don"t know Naruto." Tsunade started, "She might be a little too feisty for you. I think you need a…quieter girl." The Senju said this, remembering how the loud and boisterous Kushina had fallen for the quiet and reserved Minato. Their two polar opposite personalities melded so well together, it only made sense the same would work for their son.
"A…quieter girl?" Naruto asked, "What the h.e.l.l are you blabbering about granny, have you gone senile on me or something?!"
"Why you little brat!"
-x-
Naruto chuckled at the memory. It was only after he met his mom and dad that he understood the woman"s words. The two of them were totally different from each other, yet they had fallen for each other, and at such a young age as well. It was kind of funny that his mother"s last words to him were to find a girl like her, considering his longtime crush on his pink haired teammate. Naruto couldn"t help but think how well those two would"ve gotten along. Looking over at the wall to his right, Naruto eyes couldn"t help but be drawn to the framed photograph of his father, the man wearing his costume Hokage jacket, his Kage hat resting loosely on his head, his hand pulling it down so that it covered his head slightly.
Getting up from the chair, Naruto walked over to the photo, feeling compelled to give the photo a closer look. The frame was barely being held up along the wall, with the other photographs of the other Kage having fallen and broken along the ground. Gently, Naruto lifted the frame off the wall. Flipping the frame over, Naruto opened it up and slipped the photo out. Dropping the now empty frame, the gla.s.s shattering with a subtle crack, Naruto inspected the picture one last time before folding it to place in his pocket. As the photo was folded, Naruto could see the faint sign of what looked like scribbles on the back.
"What the?"
Unfolding the picture, he then flipped it over. Channeling chakra into the photo, a seal began to glow a bright blue along the back before a poof of smoke enveloped it. A scroll fell through the smoke, hitting the ground with a roll. Folding the picture back up and placing it in his pocket, Naruto kneeled down to pick up the scroll.
Flipping it over so that he could see the label, Naruto read out loud, "Flying Thunder G.o.d Technique?"
"Holy s.h.i.t brat, do you know what that is?" Kurama asked the blonde, obviously shocked by the recent events.
"This…this is my dad"s technique, isn"t it? The one that made him famous." Naruto asked, "But why is it here, of all places?"
"How the h.e.l.l would I know that brat? It was probably put there by the old man for safe keeping." Kurama guessed.
"Maybe…"
"Who gives a s.h.i.t why it"s here?!" Kurama asked, "If you master that, you"d be able to go anywhere you wanted so long as you marked it beforehand, that means you could come back here without the s.p.a.ce Stone."
"Yeah that could come in handy. I could keep the Stones here for safe keeping, seal them away somewhere safe, somewhere only I could reach them."
"I think it"s training time, Naruto. With your Shadow Clone training method, you could get a lot of s.h.i.t done before you start your little Infinity Stone endeavor." Kurama suggested, a savage grin on his face at the prospect of how strong his container could get, "I know we may have just gotten here Naruto…but I think it"s time we left. There"s nothing more you can do here."
Looking down at the scroll in his hand, Naruto nodded as he said, "I"m gonna need some supplies."
-x-
Crack!
With a loud crack the door was kicked open, the sun"s rays bathing into the room, revealing the place to be a weapons shop. Stepping over the shattered door, Naruto looked around the room. Various weapons were on display, from katana, wakizashi, kodachi, to numerous types of kunai that differed in size and shape. Walking in fully, Naruto created a group of clones, "Grab as many weapons as you can and seal them into a scroll. That means weapon holsters and pouches, scrolls, and anything else that might be useful." The clones all giving a solute, they began to do as they were told. Walking throughout the shop, Naruto went through the task of finding anything he could find on learning fuinjutsu and elemental ninjutsu. Looking through the various scrolls, Naruto a few of the scrolls he was looking for, but all of them pertained to fuinjutsu, with him finding a scroll on beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
"Hopefully you"ll be as good at fuinjutsu as your mother was." Kurama said, "From what I could gleam off of her, that was one of the things she specialized in, her and the Fourth."
"She was huh?" Naruto asked, "Well I hope I can live up to your expectations."
"You rarely ever do…but miracles happen all the time I suppose."
"b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
"Dumba.s.s."
"Love you too."
"Yeah, whatever."
In a puff of smoke, all the clones dispelled except for one, this clone holding the scroll that contained the majority of the weapons shop inside of it. Handing the scroll over, Naruto turned it over to see that it had been labeled "Weapons and Stuff."
"Alright Naruto…time to go."
"I just have one more stop."
-x-
"Alright, it"s picture time! Everyone pose." Kakashi commanded, the Jonin leader standing among his Genin squad. In front of them just a few yards away was a cameraman, prepping his camera as the team got together.
"Why do I have to get my picture taken with this jerk?" Naruto asked, looking over at Sasuke accusingly.
Said Uchiha huffed in annoyance, "That"s my line, loser."
"What was that?!" Naruto yelled out in agitation, the boy raising his fist in as though prepared to start a fight with his raven-haired teammate.
"Calm down Naruto, we have to take the picture. It"s tradition after all." Kakashi said, trying to placate with the hyperactive blonde.
Sakura turned to face the cameraman, "I"m just happy I get to take a picture with Sasu-I mean the team!" she said excitedly.
The blonde Shin.o.bi"s personality took a complete one-eighty, now showing excitement as he said, "Yeah, isn"t it awesome we get to take a picture together, Sakura?" He asked, a blush on his face.
Sakura looked at Naruto with mild annoyance, "Sensei, can we leave Naruto out?"
"Aw, come on Sakura…" Naruto said in defeat, causing Sasuke to chuckle at the blonde. Hearing this, Naruto once again grew furious as he got face to face with the Uchiha, "Quit laughing!"
Sasuke quickly matched Naruto in his annoyance, the two of them now literally b.u.t.ting heads, "Make me!" the Uchiha demanded.
"Enough, you two." Kakashi drawled out, grabbing ahold of the two by their scalps and pulling them apart, "You"re annoying the cameraman...and me." He finished his sentence as though it were an afterthought. Said cameraman was giving the group an annoyed look as he waited for the squad to pose for the picture, "and I don"t know about you guys, but I actually want to keep this, so make with the smiles."
"Now…say cheese!"
-x-
"What a…c.r.a.ppy picture." Naruto chuckled out. Looking down at the picture frame that seemed to be falling apart in his hands, Naruto couldn"t help but chuckle at the picture before of the original Team 7, "I looked like such an idiot back then." The blonde said fondly, looking at his younger self"s outfit, "I can"t believe I got away with wearing that."
"I thought you liked this picture, Naruto. If I recall it reminded you of what your friends used to be." Kurama observed.
Naruto chuckled, "Yeah, I guess it did." Looking at his angry expression, Naruto"s smile grew wider, "It"s funny…but now. Now when I look at it, all I see is how stupid we all used to be. Kakashi-sensei, who had no real clue how to teach a group of kids, let alone a group as messed up as ours. Sakura, and her constant admiration of Sasuke. The girl didn"t even train, more concerned with her looks than anything else. Then Sasuke, don"t even get me started on Sasuke." Flipping the paper over, Naruto opened up the frame before taking the photo out, "And finally, there was me, the biggest idiot of them all. All bark and no bite. h.e.l.l, I didn"t even know how to p.r.o.nounce chakra when I started out."
"Which makes your rise in power all the more impressive…wouldn"t you say Naruto?"
"I suppose." Naruto said, folding the photo up and placing it in his pocket as he did. Then, a thought hit him, "Wait a minute…did you just compliment me Kurama?"
"...we should probably be going now, I think." Kurama said, obviously trying to pretend that nothing had happened.
Naruto couldn"t help but laugh for a moment before saying, "Yeah…you"re probably right."
Setting the now empty frame on the bed, Naruto took a moment to look around his shoddy apartment one last time.
-x-
"This whole place is mine?! You"re kidding me, right old man?!" A young Naruto shouted out excitedly, running around the recently furnished apartment. Running over to the fridge, the young boy had stars in his eyes as he looked at the variety of food stocked before him.
"That"s right my boy, this whole place is yours." Hiruzen said, a gentle smile on his face as he watched Naruto run over to the twin sized bed, the boy climbing on top of it and jumping up and down on top of the mattress, a look of utter joy on his face.
"This is so awesome!" Naruto yelled out. The excitement however slowly left his face, with his jumping stopping along with it. Getting off the bed, he asked, "But how am I gonna pay for this old man, I don"t have any money?"
Hiruzen walked over to the boy, resting his hand on his shoulder, "Don"t worry about lad, I have it all taken care of."
"Really?" Naruto asked suspiciously, "No foolin?"
The Third Hokage"s smile grew larger, "Really." He rea.s.sured.
Naruto looked up at the Third Hokage, awe and admiration in his eyes, before he looked down, his hair covering his face from Hiruzen"s view.
Confused by Naruto"s behavior, Hiruzen began to say, "Naruto, is something the matte-OUPH!" Hiruzen was interrupted by Naruto throwing himself into the older man, grabbing ahold of his waste as tightly as his little arms would allow it.
"Thank you…grandpa."
-x-
"Thank you…everyone."