Houses of the Holy - Naruto Fanfiction

[Howdy]

Houses of the Holy


Author: Howdy (HowdyU on FF.net)
Rating: M
Genre: Action
Pairing: Uzumaki Naruto / Nii Yugito
Summary: Spirited away from Konoha at an early age, Naruto finds a new family amid the strife of a battlefield as old as the shinobi nations. But what will he do when his new allies’ ambition is to change the world through a baptism by fire? Never give up, of course. An Akatsuki!Naruto fic.



I thought I'd give this forum a shot since the reviewers on FF.net don't want to be overly critical of my story.


What I'd really like is constructive criticism and thoughts on how to improve my writing, but really any comments would be welcome.


Chapter 1: Beat It



She met the next passing group with a small smile and a nod. Another small caravan of merchants leaving the village on their way to places unknown. By the low piles on the carts and the distinctive rattling of metal on metal she could guess that they were steel weapons, most likely on their way to Suna. While the country of Wind had plenty of raw materials to make such items, they lacked the fuel to power the multitude of forges needed to sustain a shinobi village without foreign trade. The vast forests along this road, however, provided all the fuel necessary to make such weapons here.


Looking ahead, the road seemed to be empty for a decent stretch. She loved the peace and quiet that she found wandering leisurely along the forested lane. Her schedule was fairly lax today and she took advantage of the extra time to soak up the atmosphere. The rustling of leaves as they were gently buffeted by the wind provided a semblance of peace to her always alert and often weary mind.


Most of all, she loved the sun shining down on her over the tops of the trees and through the leaves of the dense forest. The simple joy of sunlight never ceased to lighten her heavy, battle-wearied soul.


She smiled to herself, and for the first time in a long time it was a true smile; one that reached even to her dulled eyes -- eyes that showed pain and sadness beyond her years.


This was almost like a vacation for her.


Almost.


Her moment of emotional indulgence ended as she pulled her face back into a neutral mask.


She was nearing the village now and the traffic began to pick up. All kinds of civilian caravans and small groups of shinobi, often accompanying the civilians, passed on their way out of the village. These people were barely afforded a cursory glance and a nod of acknowledgement as she continued on. Ahead she could make out others moving towards the village.



Apparently even a leisurely stroll for her was faster than these travelers were willing to go.


No matter. She still had an hour or two before her meeting with… an associate. It really wouldn’t do to be late though. Businessmen were even more obsessive over time than shinobi, on occasion.


Finally the monolithic wooden gates came into view as she rounded a bend that turned to the straightaway leading up to the village. Frankly, they and the great wall from which they opened amused her. Konoha was the only ninja village that bothered with such an ineffective defense. A wall that pitiful would only hinder civilians or young ninjas-in-training. Any ninja ranked chuunin or higher could scale it in moments. Even the rocky shield wall that surrounded Suna and defended it from the harsh desert winds could be overcome by trained ninja, and the pittance of a defense before her now was only a small fraction the size of that geological monstrosity.


Then again, she hadn’t sensed any patrols outside the village since crossing the border into Fire Country. And she would have, if they were there.


Waiting in line to have her status checked by the two buffoons at the gate, she began to regret not moving faster in an effort to arrive earlier and therefore avoid the late morning rush to enter the village. She had begun paying closer attention to the people and conversations surrounding her, and what she found was disturbing to her cautious mind.


These people did not act like any people she had ever seen in a ninja village. They were far too carefree. Far too ignorant of the dangers of the world. The ninjas entering and leaving the village and those at the gates were the worst of all. The Raikage himself could have walked calmly through the gates in full regalia and she doubted they would be any the wiser.



Bitterness and anger rose up from someplace in her stomach and her mind began to rage. Didn’t these people have any idea what the real world was like? This was a ninja village, wasn’t it? Hadn’t they barely escaped complete destruction at the hands of the monster Kyuubi not five years ago? The Third Great Secret World War had only come to a conclusion a year ago with a Cease-Fire agreement between Konoha and Kumo, hadn’t it?


And these stupid people were talking and laughing when they should be focused on security!


This was the reason why the wars didn’t stop. This was the reason why again and again families were torn to pieces and lives were destroyed. Because no one could see beyond dinner that evening. Because no one thought beyond catching up at the bar that night with their war buddies. What did these ignorant fools know about war, about sacrifice, about pain?


Not enough. Not nearly enough if they had so quickly reverted to this state of malaise, of indifference. This was the greatest of the shinobi villages? The unbreakable Konoha? How had it survived with such an easy outlook on the world? Everything was unstable and war would come again, yet these people acted as though their troubles were over for good. How foolish.


She reigned in her anger as her turn at the gate finally came. As she walked up to the two men seated at the covered table just inside the wall she was addressed for the first time since entering Fire Country.


“Papers?” the man asked in a bored tone without looking up from his notes. He wore a forest green flak jacket and dark blue shinobi pants and shirt. Standard Konoha attire. A chuunin. A nobody.


“I’m sorry sir, but I’m not ninja trained, nor am I a merchant,” she replied calmly. This was a lie. She had plenty of training, but no papers, as she had never been registered with any village. Dressed as she was in civilian sandals, baggy light brown pants that reached to her calves, and a loose, light blue long-sleeved shirt, she appeared the perfect picture of civilian innocence. Even the sturdy backpack she wore was a bulky civilian model not designed for the rigors of the ninja lifestyle.


The man finally looked up and started slightly. “I’m very sorry miss. It’s the standard opening question. They make me ask it, you see,” he replied in what he most certainly thought was a charming way.


She thought it repulsive.


“A civilian then.” He received a nod. “May I ask your business in Konoha today, miss?”


Ignoring the stupid grin on his face, she quickly replied. “I’m visiting my uncle and his family. They’re merchants here in town.”


“Ah, family business then. Well, that’s all we need to know. Enjoy Konoha.”


And that’s how she infiltrated the great Village Hidden in the Leaves.



Ignoring the other townspeople in the crowded streets she quickly made her way into the heart of the city where the commotion would draw attention away from her actions. Ducking into an empty alleyway she set to work. It was time to see what beautiful, sunny Konoha had to offer besides idiot chuunin guards.


Then she moved on to her meeting. If all went well she would be done in a few hours’ time and have the rest of the day to enjoy herself around town.

-----

She emerged from her meeting angry once again. Not for any reason dealing with the meeting itself. It had gone perfectly. So long as her people were available to pick up the deliveries - and they would be, she would see to that - their operation would continue without a hitch for the foreseeable future. At least in that one aspect.


She was angry because while in the meeting she had had an epiphany. An epiphany as to why the people in this village could get away with their happy-go-lucky attitudes in a ninja society and still survive, even flourish.



The answer was sacrifice, and the sacrifice was their heroes. Heroes that had given themselves entirely to this village, this village that disrespected their sacrifices by becoming complacent time and again. They carved their faces on a mountainside and then forgot about them. Forgot how they shed blood and tears for this place. Forgot how they gave their time, their health, their sanity, and their very lives so that the Village Hidden in the Leaves could go on bumbling from one crisis to another leaving nothing but the corpses of its heroes in its wake.


Shaking herself from her thoughts, she set out to visit one of the smaller market areas that she had discovered earlier. Despite the fact that she found the attitude of the villagers to be unbecoming of citizens of a ninja village, they were rather pleasant to talk to and be around. If she were a civilian she knew that she would have liked this place. But she was not. She never would be.


Wandering around the village she had picked out plenty of ninjas patrolling over the rooftops and simply running from place to place, but none had approached her or even spared her a second glance, aside from a few men whose gaze lingered a bit longer than was necessary. That was certainly not a serious cause for concern. Still, being that she was alone in a potentially hostile environment she was careful to keep her guard up.


It surprised her to find two… no, three ninja camouflaged on rooftops overlooking the market. They were surprisingly well hidden, despite the fact that they were in broad daylight overlooking a busy street. These must have been the Hokage’s ANBU. Only specially trained ninjas such as they would take on a reconnaissance mission in the middle of the village at this time of day. Thanks to her unique abilities they were no more hidden from her than the rest of the populace going about their business in the street, but still she needed to be careful. These three were a danger, even to her, especially if they raised an alarm.


She was sure that they had been in their positions before she had arrived, however, so either they were waiting for her and she was already compromised or they were observing someone else. The positioning of the three was also rather odd. The first two were much closer to the roadway than the third and a bit more conspicuous, as though their detection would not compromise them. That or they didn’t think their target capable of detecting them. The third was well back from the road and much more effectively concealed. An over watch for the group? He was positioned in such a way that the first two would be hard pressed to detect him in any way, almost if he was hiding from them as well.


Deciding that being caught unaware would be irrefutably foolish she decided to check her surroundings to ensure her safety. Concentrating on her surroundings while pretending to examine a piece of fruit at a street vendor, she concluded that there were no other ANBU forces around for a few blocks in every direction. They must have been watching someone else.


A crash coupled with loud shouting brought her out of her musing as she turned away from the fruit stand. The sound seemed to be coming from a shop next to the fruit stand and, she quickly realized, directly across from the first two hidden ANBU. As the commotion approached the front of the shop she began to make out words being screamed by what sounded like an older man.


“What’d I tell you about coming in here you little cockroach! You’re not allowed! Get the hell out. Out!”


She winced as a small body came hurtling out of the storefront and landed unceremoniously in the road, causing every head to turn to see the action. She was intrigued when the startled looks of passersby twisted into looks of glee, as though they had just stumbled on a free show.


The body, which she could now tell belonged to a blond haired boy decked out in worn and dirty shorts and a T-shirt, quickly tried to get up but was sent back to the dirt when a large, middle-aged man stormed out of the store and jabbed him in the stomach with the end of a broom handle.


“If I catch you in my store again, I’m gonna to break every damn finger you got! Damn monster!”


She watched as the child, who couldn’t have been much older than three or four, once again scampered to his feet and, turning around as quickly as he could while clutching his abused stomach, ran directly into her leg. For a moment, as he tried to regain his balance and bearings, he looked up and his eyes met hers. Tears pooled in the deep blue, almost unnatural eyes that seemed to stare into her soul and beg for something incomprehensible. What she saw in them was pain. Pain and hurt the likes of which she had lived through for years. How had a child so young come to have such sad eyes?


Before she could respond he had brushed past her and run down the street as fast as his legs could carry him. She was brought back to her senses by the shifting of the ANBU on the rooftop. They hadn’t attempted to move, but it seemed to her as though their eyes were following the boy as he ran up the road a bit to a small restaurant stand.


Were they there to observe the boy, a child not yet old enough to enter the ninja academy?


She was brought back from her musings by the dull murmur that began building around her from the market-goers. Words such as “menace,” “monster,” and “demon” were common among the ramblings, which almost to the last carried suggestions of varying degrees of physical violence to subject the child to. Suddenly, the situation became much clearer. In the past few years she had made a point to familiarize herself with the tailed beasts, their characteristics, and the methods of containing them. She even knew every jinchuuriki in the world by location. And name. All seven. After wracking her brain a name surfaced: Uzumaki Naruto, jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. The age of the child she had seen was about right. The Kyuubi had been defeated by the Fourth Hokage around four and a half years prior, which put her previous estimation of the child’s age a bit on the low side. It was still entirely feasible though. She recalled that the boy was clan-less, of parentage unknown. An orphan. Just like her.


She scowled and turned her attention back to the small restaurant he had entered. Noticing that a good portion of the shopping crowd was wandering in that direction continuing their disturbed mutterings, she decided to take a closer look to confirm her suspicions. A few members of the infant mob had already entered the restaurant after the boy, which seemed to elicit more angry words from inside. Moments later those who had entered pushed back into the street followed by a fuming man dressed in a white chef’s apron and hat waving a ladle a bit madly.


“You have no right to treat him like this!” The irate chef seemed to be turning his fury onto the assembling crowd as a whole. “The poor boy’s done nothing to you in your damn lives. Now if you’re not going to order some ramen then get out of here. You should all be ashamed of yourselves!”


Personally, she couldn’t agree more.


The crowd, however, seemed intent on getting around the man in order to find the small boy and returned the chef’s chastisement with its own screaming. Things seemed about to get physical when two raven-haired ninjas jumped down from a nearby roof into the middle of the crowd. They sported generally non-descript black clothing, the only defining feature of which was an interesting white and red symbol on the back. Uchiha. She thought for a moment about what she knew of the clan, which, when she thought about it, was more than everyone in the world bar about five or so. The Uchiha clan acted as the Konoha military police force, first and foremost. It was their job to keep the peace in the Konoha city proper among both civilians and ninjas. It seemed the standoff outside of the ramen shop was about to be resolved.


While one of the newly arrived officers began addressing the crowd and the chef, the other quickly scanned the crowd and rooftops for potential hazards. As the man’s eyes paused on the two ANBU still concealed on the rooftop, she could see the distinct red tint of the Uchiha bloodline limit in action. The Uchiha in question turned and muttered something to his partner, most likely alerting him to the ANBU presence in the area. Together, the two policemen worked to disperse the crowd despite the many grumbles that came from the spiteful men and women. They then turned and had a short conversation with the chef, which elicited an angry frown from the man, this time directed at the policemen. A curt dismissal from the officers and the chef returned to his stand while the Uchiha took to the rooftops, resuming their patrol.


Continuing to watch from across the road - discreetly now that the crowd had dispersed - she could make out through the curtains that marked the entrance to the ramen stand that the boy had come back out from where he had been hiding behind the counter to speak briefly with the chef before slipping back out into the street to make his way to wherever his next destination was. After a moment, movement on the rooftop showed that the ANBU were making to follow the boy, continuing their surveillance.


The woman freely admitted to herself that the experience had disturbed her. Her own memories of her childhood as an orphan were forced back to the surface and she found herself subconsciously comparing their two lives. In some ways she was far luckier than him. She had two trustworthy and loyal friends that always helped keep her spirits up, even in the worst of times. The boy, on the other hand, was treated like a leper in a village that should be treating him as a savior, a hero. She fumed at that. Hadn’t she just decided that this village, the most famous in the shinobi world, treated all of its heroes as sacrifices? If that is the case, she revised, then this sort of behavior towards him was to be expected. The true tragedy was that he was a sacrifice, not of his own free will, but of the will of Konoha. As much as she knew and respected the legend of the Fourth Hokage, the most feared ninja of the Third Great War, she couldn’t help the feelings of contempt she held of him for sacrificing an innocent boy for these idiot people. As great as he was he should have known that they would spit on his memory at the first opportunity. Despicable.


The boy, at least, had food, clothing, and what she could only surmise was a trio of guardian angels who were to protect him from trouble, though their actions earlier, or lack thereof, caused her to wonder at what point they would have felt compelled to come to the boy’s aid. Before or after those dogs got started on the poor kid? As a child she had always been plagued by uncertainty. Would she be able to eat today? Would she be able to find shelter for the night from the thrice-damned rain? Would she be killed by roving ninjas before the sun came up? Would she be killed after? She knew that she had only survived with body and mind intact thanks to the companionship of her friends. What would life have been like without them? She found that she didn’t want to know.


Was it better to get by in life with no companions to share it with or to be constantly wondering with good friends by your side? She knew which she would choose.


The attitude shown the boy was nothing unique among those shown towards the vessels of the tailed beasts. She knew what sort of hardships they suffered, at least intellectually. Still, watching the boy – Naruto, she prompted herself - treated so callously by practically everyone tore a hole in her already battered heart. Like so many things involved in ninja life, it just wasn’t right. Things had to change. She decided then and there that she had to speak to young Uzumaki Naruto at least once before she left the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

-----

After leaving the small market district she had headed towards the nearest city limit, which happened to be on the way to the shinobi training grounds. There she sat down in the shade of a tree and relaxed as she listened to the wind rustling through the leaves above her. Everything was so incredibly peaceful here with nothing around except for the trees and small animals. And no damned rain. She used her time to clear her mind and prepare to enact her hastily drawn together plan. There wasn’t really all that much to it actually, and it almost certainly guaranteed a confrontation with the local shinobi considering the three ANBU tails the boy dragged about. It really was a very stupid plan. She sighed resignedly to herself and reached into her shirtsleeve to retrieve a piece of paper hidden within. A drop of blood later and she was reading one of her old sensei’s less popular books. She blinked stupidly as it occurred to her that the main character’s name was also Naruto. Now that was interesting.


Nearly an hour later she heard the sounds of a child’s raucous approach. Taking a good look at him without all of the commotion surrounding him, she felt that he appeared strangely familiar somehow. Most noticeable was his golden head of unruly hair. It was a truly unusual color to find in the shinobi nations. Looking closer, she noticed his face was rather remarkable as well. Along with the stunning blue eyes that she had noticed in the market, she picked out for the first time six thin birth marks on his face that resembled whiskers like those you’d find on a cat. Or a fox. Now she remembered that all jinchuuriki have at least one defining mark about their person that indicates their status as a container for a tailed beast. There could be no doubt now, this was the Kyuubi’s prison.


Naruto was jumping around and giggling as he playfully chased a small group of large white butterflies towards her position. She remained seated, however, as she was unsure of how the boy would react to stumbling across someone in such a remote place. If what she’d seen was any indication, he may just pack up and run.


The boy finally noticed her when he was only around twenty feet from her resting place. Upon glimpsing her, he immediately froze and, throwing one last look at the dancing butterflies, turned on his heel and started away.


“You don’t need to be afraid, you know. I don’t bite.” Naruto cautiously turned around to look back at her. “It’s a beautiful day out today, don’t you think? I’m not from around here so I don’t often get to just lay around and enjoy myself in a place as beautiful as this.” She gave him a small smile and motioned for him to come closer.


Naruto hesitated for a moment then took a few tentative steps towards the strange woman who simply continued smiling at him and patted the ground in front of her. She had said that she wasn’t from Konoha, and from his experience that meant that she would be less likely to try to hit or yell at him. The old man at the ramen stand had once told him that he was from a different place too. He had walked up the spot on the soft ground that she had indicated and she still showed no signs of attacking or screaming, so he decided he could sit down and perhaps talk to her for a bit. “Hi.” He grinned nervously at her. “Um, I’ve lived here all my life so I guess I’m used to the forest.”


He spoke a bit guardedly for her taste so she decided it would be best to try to open him up a bit. “So, what brings you out here all by yourself? Were you meeting a friend here?


Naruto looked down at the mention of a friend. “No, I was just following some butterflies I saw in town. They flew out here so I came.”


“They’re very pretty aren’t they?”


Naruto met her eyes again and a smile slid back onto his face. “Yeah! I’ve never seen butterflies like those around here before. I was hoping I could catch one to look at it closer, but they always got away.”


Apparently it didn’t take too much prodding to get the boy talking. That was good. “Sometimes seeing a thing for what it really is just makes it ordinary, though,” she replied cryptically. She smiled at him again. “So, what’s your name young man?”


“Uzumaki Naruto!” the boy replied proudly, all trace of his former caution gone. It just showed how attention starved he truly was that his attitude could change so rapidly in the presence of a little companionship.


“And how old are you Uzumaki Naruto?” she replied with a giggle that surprised even her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d done that.


“I’m four and a half.” Here he held up four fingers to emphasize his point. At least they hadn’t completely neglected his education.


“And what do you like to do, Naruto?”


“I like to eat ramen at Ichiraku Ramen and talk to the old man when he can spend time with me, but in a little while I’m going to join the ninja academy and train to be a great ninja!” She didn’t know who the old man was but that was beside the point. The kid actually wanted to be a ninja.


Now it was time to ask the important questions. “Oh? And why do you want to be a ninja, Naruto?”


At this, the boy’s face took on an oddly serious countenance that was a bit unnerving to see on a child so young. “All of the ninjas are respected by the villagers and the villagers do what they say. If I become a great ninja then all the people in Konoha will have to stop being so mean all the time. That’s why I want to be the Hokage like the old man. Then everyone will have to look up to me!”


Now they had hit upon the real issues and the argument had taken on a decidedly dangerous leaning. If she intended to go any further, she couldn’t afford to be overheard.


The boy turned his head at the sound of leaves rustling and a muffled thump from the forest just out of sight. “Did you hear that?”


“Hm, probably just some animals playing up in the trees.” It was time to see what the boy really thought about his situation. “Naruto, you said that the people in the village are mean to you. Do you know why?” She was sure that he didn’t. The Third had enacted a rather ineffective law after the Kyuubi attack that the boy’s status was not to be discussed in front of those who didn’t already know the truth. This, however, was hardly followed and as a result every ninja village in the shinobi world had a file on one Uzumaki Naruto. She supposed the Third, or old man as Naruto called him, did it for the sake of the boy, but in the end it was a token gesture at best. Surely Naruto had picked up on the villagers’ rants over the years, though he wouldn’t understand them just yet.


Naruto’s eyes went back to the ground. “I don’t know why, really. I always thought that maybe I did something really bad since that’s what they all say, but I can’t remember what it was. I would apologize to them if I could just remember what I did, but I can’t. Once I get stronger though I can show them that I’m really sorry by protecting them and the village.”


She cocked her head a bit to look at him. “Do you really think that will work?”


“I...” Naruto paused as his face regained a troubled expression. “I don’t really know. I want to get strong to show them I’m not bad but I can’t yet. I don’t know how. I have to start at the academy before I can start learning to be a ninja.”


“And once you get into the academy, what then? Do you think they’ll teach you to be a ninja?” Naruto met her eyes with a confused expression on his face. “Do you think they’ll want to?”


The look of confusion slowly morphed to one of panic. “But the old man said I would! He said I could be a ninja when I was old enough! He wouldn’t lie to me, he wouldn’t.”


His indignant response was met by a sad smile. “I don’t think the Hokage was lying. I think he would let you be a ninja.” The smile faded and a hint of steel was in her voice now. “But a ninja’s life isn’t a game. Without proper training a ninja is as good as dead. Do you think the instructors will train you to be a good ninja if they don’t like you? The Hokage can’t be there to help you all the time. It will be a long time before you can graduate and even longer before you’re seen as a strong ninja. If you aren’t taught properly then you probably won’t even live that long. Weak ninjas are all killed early on. If you’re not taught properly then you’ll just die and never be able to achieve anything.” The distressed look on the boy’s face wrenched her heart, but she knew this was necessary.


“Then what can I do? I don’t want to die.” His voice fell and she detected a slight tremor to it. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”


“You could always leave the village.”


Naruto looked at her incredulously, as though the thought had never crossed his mind. “But then I’ll never become a ninja. I’ll never gain their respect.”


“What are you talking about? This isn’t the only place that trains ninjas you know. In another village people wouldn’t hate you just for who you are. You’d have a fresh start to make a real name for yourself. You’d have a place where you wouldn’t have to be alone. A place where you could be strong.”


“But if I leave then I can never be the Hokage like the old man. I could never be the strongest.” His statement was met with a small spell of light laughter.


“Naruto, the Hokage is the strongest ninja in the Fire Country. He’s not necessarily the strongest ninja in the world. I happen to know ninjas much stronger than the Hokage.” Naruto looked at her in no small amount of awe. “If… you were to come with me, I could introduce you. They could even help teach you if you promise to try your very hardest.”


Naruto looked floored by the revelation, but the look slowly shifted to skepticism. “You really know ninjas stronger than the old man? How? Are you a ninja?”


She paused for a moment, then spoke. “I am.”


“Would you help teach me then?”


“If you come with me, I will help you as much as I can.”


Naruto took in her words and sat quietly for a moment. “If I leave, then I won’t be able to see the old man again, or eat at Ichiraku anymore.”


“No one is telling you that you can never come back some day. Ninja travel around all the time.”


Naruto took this in and continued his pondering. She found it quite cute on his not yet five-year-old face. What caught her interest the most though was how thoroughly such a young child was thinking through his decision. Perhaps he truly understood the importance of this choice? “If I go with you I won’t be able to be Hokage though, like my hero. He gave his live to protect the village, you know? He defeated an evil monster that no one else could. Would he be mad that someone like me just left the village like that?”


So the boy’s hero was Namikaze himself. How ironic that the man who cursed the child on the day of his birth was the one who that same child looked up to more than any other. She had never met the man who was the Fourth Hokage, but in the shinobi world his legend preceded him. The fact that they had shared masters simply made him more of a topic of interest for her. She idly wondered what had possessed the man to seal a horrible monster into this child over the rest. How the charming and carefree yet incomparably deadly man had brought himself to curse the life of an innocent child, she didn’t know. Everything about the man was incomprehensible. He’d been nicknamed in the Third War for something as un-sinister as the golden color of his hair despite being the most deadly ninja of the war. She found herself stuck on his hair for a moment for no reason she could understand. Turning her attention back to the boy who seemed to be waiting for an answer from her, it hit. Naruto had the same golden hair as Namikaze. The same unruly hair. Naruto. The name from her perverted teacher’s book. It dawned on her slowly, because the idea was so completely ridiculous that it took a moment to sink in. Namikaze hadn’t used an orphan to seal the Kyuubi. He’d used his son.


It was a silly thought, but she reached up her left sleeve with her right arm and removed another sheet of paper from its recesses. Naruto seemed to be following her actions with interest as she sliced her left thumb open along the end of her right sleeve and dripped a bit of blood on the oddly decorated sheet of paper. In a puff of smoke a small, battered black book appeared and she quickly began leafing through it, without even seeming to touch the pages, to stop on one she had been looking for. The action elicited a small gasp from the child but he remained silent, content with watching her work. Narrowing her eyes she scrutinized it carefully before looking back up to the small boy before her. Definitely the same golden locks. The same lightly tanned skin. The same cerulean eyes. Naruto was a miniature copy of Namikaze Minato, the greatest ninja ever to be produced by the most illustrious of the hidden villages. Now she knew that she had to take the boy with her. This was too much to pass up. The potential in this child was truly unmatched. He was the vessel of the strongest of the tailed beasts and the son of one of the most brilliant ninja minds of all time. Now just to convince him to come along. He was so close to choosing to leave of his own will that she just needed to give him a small nudge.


Thinking back to his last question, she finally responded. “I don’t think that the Fourth Hokage would want anything more than for you to be happy.” And this was true, now that she thought about it. It must have been the hardest thing the poor man had ever done to leave his newborn son an orphan on top of the burden he had to carry.


Naruto seemed to recover from his bewilderment at her spontaneous unsealing at the mention of the Fourth Hokage. “You know about the Fourth? Can you tell me about him?”


Now she was becoming anxious. They had spent a good deal of time talking and she didn’t know how long before the boy or his minders would be missed. It was time for them to go. “I can answer any questions you have while we are going back to my home.”


Naruto’s enthusiasm died a little as a second wave of indecision hit him. “I’m still not sure this is a good plan… Are you sure we won’t be in trouble?”


“No more trouble than the villagers who came after you earlier should be in.” Naruto’s eyes widened again asking a silent question. “Yes, I have been watching you for a while today Naruto. They have no right to do that to you, you know.”


“They’re not that bad.”


Enough stalling, it was time to go. “Naruto. I know why they hate you, and believe me when I say that fools like those would not change their preconceptions so easily.”


Naruto sat in shock for a moment. “You know why? Why? Tell me! Why do they hate me?”


“If you come with me I will explain everything to you in due time, but we must leave now if we are to go. I promise you that everything I have told you so far is true, but if they know you are leaving then they will try to stop you.”


“Isn’t it wrong to leave then?”


“No, Naruto, it isn’t. The reason they will try to stop you is the same reason why the people here treat you badly. There is no law though that prevents you from moving out of the village. The people here would break their own laws to make you unhappy. Do you understand?”


Naruto seemed a bit overwhelmed, but recovered quickly. Nodding to himself he turned back to the woman he had only just met. “If you promise to help me become a great ninja, then I will go with you.”


“I promise, Naruto.”


“What’s your name?”


“I will tell you when we reach our destination, Naruto. For now you can call me Blue.”

-----

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in his high-backed office chair working through a stack of reports detailing the enrollments in the ninja academy for the new semester. While many dreaded the thought of being stuck with the administrative side of being Hokage, Sarutobi found it strangely comforting. Even though he was still considered one of the greatest ninjas alive, he had never lusted in the thrill of battle as many shinobi of note had. Sarutobi had taken the Hokage seat at the unprecedented age of nineteen with a promise to love and protect all of Konoha as though they were his own family, and it was this aspect of the job that he loved most. Never one to hesitate on the battlefield, he nevertheless found solace in the simple running of the village. Keeping all of his children safe and happy was his greatest aspiration. The simple fact that he was able to spend his time ensuring the village functioned smoothly in peacetime was often the only reward he received from the otherwise thankless job. He supposed that it was enough even as he frowned down at the list of new enrollment.


There were so many names there that he did not recognize – civilian names. While he was always happy to welcome new ninjas into the service of the village, it disturbed him that so many children would be thrust into the dangerous shinobi lifestyle without truly understanding what it would mean for them. While the old ninja clans instilled very early in their children the hardships and expectations of life in service of the village, the civilian children often came to the academy with nothing more than vague notions of what “the life” required of them and big dreams of earning glory on the field of battle. It troubled Sarutobi that it would ultimately be his duty to disillusion these children of their false expectations.


It was also worrisome that their parents had so readily sent their children to enter into ninja service. During the ninja wars, civilians generally stopped enrolling their children because academy students were often deployed at a much earlier age - sometimes not more than four years old - to be tested in a trial by fire. The children of shinobi clans were expected to fulfill this role, despite the high fatality rate and ensuing psychological damage witnessing death at such an age could cause.


And yet the civilians had begun enrolling their children so soon after the close of fighting. The Third Great Ninja War had only finally ended a little over a year before with the cease-fire signed between Konoha and Kumo. Even that had taken the sacrifice of Hyuuga Hizashi to cement.


The old Hokage sighed. Things would have been so much easier if Minato were still around. He would never have stood by and allowed Kumo’s outrageous demands to be met. The ninjas of Kumo feared him more than they feared the Shinigami himself. Sarutobi chuckled sadly at that thought. Minato hadn’t feared the Shinigami at all.


Most people didn’t understand how tragic the Fourth’s death had been. Granted, he had stopped the single greatest threat to Konoha’s existence since its founding over sixty years ago. Despite the horrors of that day, casualties had been very low – deaths were in the dozens instead of the hundreds or thousands that would have been slain without Minato’s heroism. Still, the greatest hope for Konoha’s future had disappeared that day along with the monster Kyuubi.


Minato was undoubtedly the most talented Konoha ninja in its history. He was also the most talented ninja to be born into the world in two generations, so far a Sarutobi knew. Sarutobi remembered it as an unexpected surprise when Jiraiya came to him and asked if he could take the boy on as an apprentice after his team had passed the Chuunin Exams. At first the old man had been skeptical. The notes on Minato from the academy said that he had been easygoing and popular among the other students but had never shown any exceptional talent in the ninja arts. Apparently his commission as a genin had lit a fire within the boy.


In their first chuunin exam - held in Rain of all places - Jiraiya’s squad had won the team battle tournament that took the place of the one-on-one third stage of the Konoha exam. All three members of the squad had been promoted to chuunin and had returned to Konoha to much aplomb, where Jiraiya, being who he was, had instantly opted out of the jounin instructor role that Sarutobi had forced on him. Team Jiraiya was reassigned and young Minato was taken on as an apprentice to the wayward Toad Hermit, who immediately spirited him away from the city for a period of three years to “experiment” and “research.” The old man had a guess as to which of these took up the majority his perverted student’s time.


He was even more surprised, however, to find that Minato had most assuredly leaned more towards the “experiment” department. After witnessing the most complex spatial manipulation ninjutsu he had ever laid eyes on, Sarutobi had assigned Minato to the northwestern border outpost under the command of the famous Hatake Sakumo to complete a tour of duty protecting the border between Fire and Grass countries.


And then the Third Great War broke out. Naturally Iwa was the first to attack, straight through Grass country and onto Hatake’s outpost. Preliminary reports from the border included urgent calls for reinforcements and the distinct possibility of the position being overrun by the enemy. Only hours later another report confirmed that they were set upon by the Iwa Fourth Heavy Attack Division. Comprising mostly of powerful earth-element jounins this division was deployed to break any and all enemy entrenchments and otherwise crush the opposition. It was the spear-tip of the Tsuchikage’s army. Hatake’s defenders were barely holding on even with nearby patrols coming to reinforce his men against the onslaught. Knowing that this marked the start of a major offensive into Fire Country, Sarutobi called up his men with the intention of leading a force against the invading Iwa shinobi himself.


The next day as he was preparing to set out through the great gates with his forces allayed about him he received a short missive from the front by carrier hawk.

Iwa advanced forces neutralized. Scouts report halt in hostile advances. Request further instruction.

Hatake S.


Sarutobi was more alarmed by this missive than any before. What had caused the sudden turn in the tide of the battle? How were the Iwa forces so quickly neutralized? Had the note been faked somehow? His response was equally curt - Hold position and await the Hokage’s reinforcements. He pushed his men to reach the border by the next morning and could only sigh in relief with what he had found.


One of Hatake’s captains had met the Hokage a mile away from the fort and escorted his force in. The small encampment was in ruins, the fighting having spread out through the woods as Hatake’s men abandoned the stationary position and moved to sting at the flanks of the enemy formation. Still, the Hokage was relieved to hear that Hatake’s unconventional tactics had saved over half his men despite being completely outnumbered and pinned down. Sarutobi was right in putting him here in the field where his experience would be most useful.


That was only the first surprise though, and only a small one. As his men spread out to begin setting up positions, he surveyed the surrounding area and was drawn to the tallest hill in the area, just a mile north of the encampment, toward the Iwa lines. On the hill was a massive pyre of flame burning brightly in the early hours of the day. Turning a questioning look towards Hatake, he was quietly told that they were the bodies of the Iwa ninjas. All one hundred and twenty of them.


Hatake had no more than fifty men of his own at the best of times. Thirty-one today.


Sarutobi found Minato sitting in front of the massive pyre, simply staring out at the Iwa formations in their encampments. The young man was rarely this subdued and the Hokage didn’t want to disturb him quite yet, so he approached quietly from behind while taking in the scene with a sad expression. Another ninja war. Slowly he began steeling himself for what he knew would come. He’d lived through two great wars already and was ready, if reluctant, to fight a third.


“I completed a new jutsu yesterday, sensei.” He had been sure that he wasn’t heard as he approached, but Minato had clearly detected him somehow. Sarutobi gave a small smile to the man – no, boy. He wasn’t even yet eighteen – at the usage of his pet name for him. Minato had always insisted that since Jiraiya wasn’t dignified enough for the title that he might as well use it for the Hokage. “Will there really be another ninja war now?”


“I’m afraid so, Minato.” Sarutobi had had a myriad of questions for the young man, but fought down the urge to interrogate him right then. The boy had needed reassurances, not to relive the veritable slaughter that he must have brought down upon these men and women.


“I never want to do that again,” Minato had finally turned from his place on the ground to look the older ninja in the eyes, “but I will for the sake of Konoha. I don’t want to see any more of our comrades die.”


Sarutobi was silent for a moment before helping the blond to his feet. “Come Minato, we all have much work to do if we truly want to protect them.”


But Sarutobi had been wrong. It wasn’t clear if it had been the death pyre put proudly on display or the arrival of the Hokage’s army, but later that very day the Iwa forces had begun a full withdrawal from Fire Country and all the way back to Iwa. Minato had been relieved of his tour of duty early to return to Konoha, where he was promoted to jounin and took on his own team of chuunin to lead in medium ranked missions for the village. Only now did Sarutobi appreciate that Hatake Sakumo’s newly orphaned son had been placed with Minato. Without the kind-hearted man as a role model, the poor boy would have certainly not survived the mental torment intact. As it was, it was a very near thing.


Three years later, when Minato was twenty, Iwa had invaded once again and war had broken out in earnest. Minato’s squad was sent to the front where Minato won fame and the second SS rank in the Bingo Book in history alongside the infamous Hanzou of Rain. And then he had become the Hokage at the tender age of twenty-two.


Sarutobi never regretted his decision. He was fifty-three when he stepped down – still in good form for a ninja of his talent – but the transition had been easy and the choice obvious. Minato was born to be the Hokage. In Minato, Sarutobi saw the ideals of his senseis and the future of Konoha – of the entire shinobi world. Though the war with Kumo was still dragging on, with Minato at the head of the village its outcome was obvious. No one would fight Minato. No one could fight Minato. And more than that, his genius never wavered and his penchant for playing with new techniques had not either. At twenty-two he was the most dangerous ninja in the world, and was getting stronger. Minato was the harbinger of a peaceful future for decades to come in the ninja world. He had the power, the will, and the support to accomplish a lasting peace and prosperity never before seen in the elemental nations.


The Kyuubi had put an end to all that. Now Sarutobi was back in his desk filling out what would eventually be the sanctioned death orders of so many young people. At times this job - this profession - disgusted him. He was nearing his sixtieth birthday and knew he could not do this for much longer. He needed to find another candidate for his position, and soon.


But there were not many options. His wayward students had cut ties with the village over the past decade and of the younger jounins none showed the kind of exceptional skill or spirit to lead the village into the future. So for now he would wait in the hope that another rose up to take the reigns. Another Minato.


But Sarutobi was not so foolish as to believe that would happen.


The old Hokage’s reminiscing was broken by a disturbance outside the doors of his office. He looked up in mild concern as the doors were thrown open and an old man stormed in followed by a chuunin secretary who was frantically trying to waylay the irate man. The Hokage rose as he waved the chuunin off and moved to address Danzou.


“We have a problem Sarutobi.” The man would be almost pitiable if he wasn’t such an ass. His entire right side had been burned to charcoal in the Second War, losing the man an arm and an eye. He looked like half a mummy in Sarutobi’s opinion.


It was an opinion he kept to himself.


“What’s happened now Danzou?”


“One of my men has failed to report in from his reconnaissance, which should have been done nearly an hour ago now.”


This was apparently supposed to mean something extraordinary to the Hokage. He let Danzou have his own little special operations group because it kept the man occupied and sometimes bore some fruit. As far as Sarutobi knew, however, most of Danzou’s men operated outside of the village as spies and saboteurs. “You’ll have to be more specific, Danzou. What was this man tasked with?”


The bandaged man seemed to take offense to the Hokage’s calm demeanor. “He was assigned to follow the two fools you keep on the Uzumaki boy.”


The Hokage raised his eyebrow at this. He had not been informed that Danzou had a man watching the boy nor had his own ANBU informed him of a tail. Both were troubling. “Perhaps we should discuss the permissible range of assignments your men can be tasked. I’ll start by saying that spying on children within the city limits is not one of them.”


“Don’t give me that garbage Sarutobi. Your men are damn sloppy on that detail and you know it. Besides…”


He was interrupted by the appearance of a dog-masked ninja with striking white hair in the office beside the Hokage’s desk. The intruding ninja rose from his kneeling position and quickly began speaking. “Lord Hokage, two of our operatives were found dead in the forest south of training area twelve, along with one other masked ninja.” The ANBU spared a look towards Danzou at the mention of the third ninja in the forest.


Danzou cursed. The Hokage, on the other hand, took it upon himself to ask the pertinent questions. “These were the two men assigned to follow Uzumaki Naruto, yes?”


The masked man gave a nod. “Yes, Lord Hokage.”


“Where is the boy now?” Danzou seemed disinclined to be left out of the conversation.


“He was not found anywhere near the deceased. Our operatives are scouring the outlying area for any signs of the attackers or the boy.”
Danzou cursed again. “Damn it Sarutobi, I told you we needed to take more steps towards keeping him safe! Towards training him! He’s Namikaze’s greatest weapon and you squander his potential in the hopes that he’ll have something resembling a childhood? We both knew it was a fool’s errand.”


“Naruto is not a weapon, Danzou, nor do I intend to let him be seen or used as one.”


“He’s all that’s left of the Fourth, all that he left for Konoha’s future,” Danzou hissed. “What you intend is completely irrelevant now, Sarutobi. The boy is gone.” The bandaged man shook his head then snapped it up towards the Hokage’s soldier. “ANBU! How were our men killed?”


“Their throats were slit. All three. No signs of a struggle or that they had any forewarning.”


“Wonderful, Sarutobi. Ninjas that can do that to experienced ANBU will have the boy halfway to the border by now. It’s obvious that this was put together by one of the other villages. Now they have our jinchuuriki, the Fourth’s son!”


At this Sarutobi frowned and Danzou tensed before turning to the ANBU still waiting for orders. “I already knew that, sir. My sensei’s son and all.”


Danzou seemed to relax a bit before regaining an angry scowl. “I’ll have my men keep their ears to the ground, Sarutobi, but I hope you appreciate the fact that this is the mother of all fuck-ups. We need that brat here if we want to compete with the other countries in years to come!”


Sarutobi looked thoughtful for the moment, then clasped his hands behind his back before turning to gaze out of the wall-to-wall window in his office overlooking Konoha. The setting sun painted the entire sky in a wash of stunning orange that extended down to the streets and buildings, giving the whole city the appearance of being licked by flames. “Danzou. What, in your opinion, is the best case scenario in this situation?”


“Obviously that the boy is found and returned to us. Aside from that, the best scenario is that he is killed and the Kyuubi destroyed.”


“And the worst?”


“That he was taken by our enemies and is turned against us.”


Sarutobi nodded, still facing the cityscape. “Kakashi, form patrols and perform a search pattern over the thirty miles surrounding Konoha. If he’s already beyond that distance then the chances of finding him aren’t worth contemplating. Instruct the military police to look within the city limits for Naruto.”


The masked ANBU nodded and departed in a cloud of smoke. Danzou turned to leave in a huff but stopped as Sarutobi spoke once again.

“It was said that only Uchiha Madara had the power to control the great Fox Kyuubi,” he turned and looked Danzou in his one good eye, “but anyone can control a small, lonely boy. I only pray that Konoha can survive this mistake of mine.”


Danzou shook his head and left the office quietly. The old Hokage stayed standing and absently reached into his desk drawer to retrieve his pipe. He stood there for an hour and watched the sunset, the paperwork completely forgotten.









Chapter 2: Carry On Wayward Son



Naruto was scared. He had just chosen to leave the only home he had never known with a perfect stranger for destinations unknown, all for the sake of becoming a strong ninja. He didn’t know the first thing about being a ninja.

Aside from the fact that they could apparently jump through the treetops. Really, really fast.

Currently he was holding onto Blue’s back for dear life as they screamed through the lush forests that surrounded Konoha. This was further complicated by the fact that he was now wearing her bulky backpack - which by itself was nearly as large as he was. Despite the sheer terror he was experiencing - both due to the uncertainty he felt concerning his future and his precarious position piggy-backing on a ninja who could move faster than he ever thought possible - Naruto was enjoying every moment of his ordeal. Something about it got his blood pumping in such a way that his whole body seemed to be singing to him. Naruto was used to being afraid - especially when the villagers got particularly rowdy – but this was different from the type of fear he was used to experiencing.

It was exhilarating.

Despite the lack of control and relative helplessness he felt, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling widely.

He decided right then and there that being able to run like this - free from any obligation and faster than the wind - was worth almost any hardship that becoming a ninja might present him with.

The trip seemed to last hours and yet conclude in seconds. In reality it had taken somewhere in between - around twenty minutes. Blue landed gracefully on the shaded forest floor and bent down to let Naruto slide off. His arms and legs were surprisingly stiff and sore – he hadn’t realized how tightly he had been holding onto his older comrade. After stumbling for a minute, Naruto smiled up at the woman. “That was really cool! I’m gonna learn to do that too, right?”

Blue looked around for a moment, checking for threats, before looking at Naruto and returning his smile with a small one of her own. “You’ll be learning to do many things, Naruto. Tree jumping is actually a fairly basic skill, but your speed depends on how hard you’re willing to train.”

“I’m gonna train harder than anyone! Then I’ll be the very fastest!”

“I hope you really mean that, Naruto. Like I said earlier, being a ninja isn’t a game. But, if you work as hard as you say then you may very well be the fastest of all.” Blue gestured for Naruto to take off the pack and set it down. Pulling it open, she removed a small cosmetic case and turned to examine Naruto’s face.

“What are you doing?”

“Those markings on your cheeks are too easily recognizable. I’m going to cover them up so that you won’t be identified by the patrols.”

Naruto scrunched up his face. “You mean I have to wear make-up? Gross! Makeup is for girls.”

“Don’t be silly Naruto. All good ninjas - men and women - have to learn to disguise themselves for when they go on covert missions. Did you think that a ninja always runs into battle yelling with their headband on for all to see? Even during a ninja battle deception is one of the most important tools a true shinobi can have.”

Naruto seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding slightly. “I guess I’ll wear the makeup, but I still don’t like it.”

Blue laughed lightly at this as she leaned down to match the slightly tanned color of Naruto’s skin to the foundation in her case. “Even if you could do a Transformation this is still the best way fool those looking for you. Experienced ninja can sense when someone is running that much chakra throughout their body. If we use makeup then only a close inspection will let others know you’re hiding who you are. Now hold still for a moment.”

Naruto grimaced and closed his eyes as the cream was lightly spread over his cheeks. Blue admired her work and allowed Naruto to see his reflection in the compact mirror. He was surprised how normal he looked without his whisker markings. He didn’t like it. It was boring. It wasn’t him.

While Blue turned around to put the makeup case away, Naruto reached up to feel the substance on his cheeks but was halted just inches away by a contrite “don’t touch” from Blue. He wondered how she had known what he was going to do without even turning around.

“Hey Blue, what’s chakra?”

She looked up with a slight frown on her face. She really should have expected this, but the kid had been so quiet as they made their escape from Konoha. Once again he had shown an unusual knack for understanding the gravity of the situation at the time. Now that they were out of immediate danger, though, the kunoichi seemed to be fair game for the inquisitive mind of the boy.

“Well, chakra is an energy that ninjas use to perform special ninja techniques, among other things. Chakra is what lets ninjas do things like tree jumping, for instance.” Naruto looked at her in wonder and an idea suddenly hit her. She smiled as she brought her hands in front of her body in a ram seal. “It also lets ninjas do things like this.”

From the backpack on the ground countless sheets of blank paper flew and began surrounding Naruto, causing no small amount of panic. They quickly began adhering to his body and garments and after just a moment, seemed to disappear. Stunned, Naruto fell backwards and landed on his rear as he looked at Blue and then at himself. Where previously Naruto had worn a dirty white T-shirt with a large orange spiral on the front, he now wore a dark blue long-sleeved ordeal. His dark shorts were now a lighter khaki color that went along with Blue’s own. Strangest of all, a dark blue bandanna now adorned Naruto’s head, covering his golden-blond hair in its entirety.

Naruto reached up to feel the top of his head and his new clothes in disbelief. “You scared me Blue! But that was so cool! They don’t feel like paper at all. How’d you do that?”

“I just used a little bit of chakra to shape the paper and mold it to your own clothes. The shirt and pants you had on are still there, I just covered them up with clothes of my own design. Now nobody should be able to recognize you even if we’re stumbled upon by ninjas.” Blue held out a hand and helped Naruto to his feet, then gestured back behind the boy. “Now that we’re properly disguised we need to start walking that way towards the road.”

“Why don’t we just do the tree jumping again? That was really fun!”

“Because, Naruto, if we keep running then the ANBU sent to hunt us down will be able to find a path and try to track us. By simply stopping this close to the village and joining the normal traffic on the roadway they’ll likely overshoot us and not bother checking the regular travelers.” Her explanation was met by a slow nod. “The people in the village expect you to be taken by shinobi from other countries, and they’re right. But,” and here she gave Naruto a conspiratorial wink, as though their flight from the village was nothing more than a joke on the ninjas there, “we’re going to pretend to be regular people just walking along to the next town. If we do it right, they won’t suspect that we’re really ninjas in disguise.”

Naruto’s eyes lit up as the road came into view through the trees. “You mean I’m a ninja now too?”

Blue surveyed the road before signaling for them to turn to the right, heading west. “That’s right. You’re on a secret mission now aren’t you? We have to evade the Konoha hunter patrols.”

Naruto gulped at the thought that they were being hunted by trained ninjas, but then realized that Blue didn’t seem very scared at all. He schooled his shocked expression and gave himself a small nod. If he was going to be a real ninja like Blue he couldn’t afford to be scared even if other ninjas were after him. He wanted to be the best, after all.

“What do I have to do?”

“Well, we have to be careful about what we say when other people are around. We can’t let anyone know that we’re ninja since we’re pretending that we’re not. If we pass anyone on the road, just ask questions that don’t have to do with being a ninja, alright? If any hunter ninjas come close I’ll let you know. The important thing is to act normally around anyone we meet.” Blue looked Naruto over again. “We’ll have to come up with a cover story in case we run into anyone.” She made a show of pondering the situation for a moment, much to Naruto’s amusement. “Alright, got it. You’re my little brother now, Naruto, and we’re going to River Country to visit some friends of our older brother’s, ok? If we do meet anyone, just let me do most of the talking. Most people don’t expect a four year old to be as smart and talkative as you are.” Blue finished with another smile and a nod from Naruto.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until it was broken by a whisper from Naruto. “Can we talk about ninjas right now?” His eyes were darting around comically as if to sense any enemies ready to jump out from the trees and bushes along the roadside.

“We can talk about them all you want when it’s just the two of us, like now. What do you want to know?”

“Well, you said that ninjas use chakra earlier, but I don’t know what it is really. Do I have chakra?”

Once again, Blue was surprised by the boy’s inquisitive mind. He seemed to be asking pertinent questions. While Blue didn’t have experience to speak of with children, she found Naruto’s focused mind to be a bit of a relief. She didn’t know what she would have done if the boy had been as scatterbrained as she had feared. It would have been… awkward, once they reached home.

“Everyone has chakra Naruto. Even plants and animals have it, to a degree. You can think of it as your life’s energy. It flows through your body and helps keep you going. Without chakra, you’d die. Most people without ninja training can’t feel or use their chakra. That’s why one of the first things you’re going to learn is how to draw your chakra out so that it can be used for ninja techniques.”

Naruto nodded and then shifted back to silence for a minute. After finishing his analysis of Blue’s description, he focused on her again. “If all things need their chakra to live, than wouldn’t using it for ninja moves make a person die?”

Blue nodded happily to herself. He was very sharp, as she hoped he’d be. “Very good, Naruto. You’re absolutely right. If a person used up all of their chakra they would die. That’s why ninjas train constantly to learn their limits and to increase their supply of chakra. A person can live without their chakra supply being full, but as they use more and more they will become tired and sluggish until so much is gone that they pass out. If even more is used past that point they can die.”

“That’s what you meant about good training being important, right?” Blue looked at her companion with a questioning expression. “If I got bad teachers in Konoha, I might get hurt by other ninjas or I might even hurt myself.”

Blue looked back at the road ahead and nodded. “That’s very true.”

“I’m glad you’re going to be the one to teach me Blue.” Naruto was looking at her meaningfully. “I’m glad you feel like answering my questions. In Konoha no one would talk about the things I wanted to know or they’d just yell at me or try to hit me. I’m glad that’s over with, even if being a ninja with you is as dangerous as I think it might be.”

“It’s good that you trust me Naruto, but be careful who you give your trust to. Once you do you can’t take it back, and sometimes when you are betrayed it never stops hurting. Being a ninja means being wise. Don’t let anyone get close enough to hurt you unless you are sure that they trust you too.”

“Does that mean you don’t trust me, Blue?”

“I may be starting to, but it will take a long time before I see you as someone I can fully depend on.” Naruto looked a bit saddened by this. “Still, when I said you were my little brother I meant it Naruto, not just for today. I may be your sensei from time to time, but if you prove that I can trust you then you’ll be part of my family forever.”

“Do you have a big family?”

“No, Naruto. It’s very small.”

“Then I’ll try my best to earn your trust so I can be part of it too.”

-----

That night Blue found herself staring into the dying embers of the small campfire outside of her portable, civilian grade, two-person pup tent. The few hours they had left in the day before they pitched camp were spent playing a game Blue had created at the prompting of Naruto. He had wanted to do something that would help in his training as a ninja, so she had called back a few of her origami creations from their search patrols around the two in order to give Naruto targets to look for. Blue tested the boy’s eyesight and hearing by setting small white birds in trees and seeing how long it took them to be located. They would occasionally rustle the leaves in order to draw attention to the sides or behind the traveling duo. To say she was impressed would be an understatement. The boy seemed to have a gift for sensing and pointing out her paper artwork. They continued in this manner until the sun began falling below the treetops and they found a small clearing within sight of the road to make a small camp.

Blue had detected a hunter squad pass them by while they were gathering wood for the fire, but the two of them were so obviously civilians that the hunters did not even bother to stop in their urgency. Blue loved the lack of creative thinking shown by most ninjas - both in tactics and in strategy. Most believed that flashy ninjutsu and rigid adherence to orders were all that mattered in their profession. They thought of themselves as soldiers, not as elegant tools used to sow discord and fear amongst their enemies. It was the one trait that more than anything else separated the trash from the great ninjas of the world.

Once the dinner of canned camping rations was eaten the two had sat down at the fire quietly for a time. After the success of the afternoon’s “game,” Blue decided to test out more of Naruto’s basic skills. This time, though, the subject was reading. The boy had to be able to train on his own if no one was available to assist him, and that meant reading scrolls.

In light of this, Naruto and Blue found themselves reading the Bingo Book for another two hours before Naruto turned in for sleep. They had gotten through nearly all of the B-ranked Iwa ninjas listed in the outdated Rain edition that Blue kept on her person before the boy had started yawning uncontrollably. Still, it hadn’t been until she suggested he go lay in the tent that he had gotten up and wandered inside. She certainly didn’t have any complaints about his dedication after that. Naruto wasn’t bad at hiragana or katakana by any stretch - but being so young, he hardly knew any of the kanji at all. Blue made a mental note to work on that with him in the future – preferably as soon as possible.

She realized that recounting the day’s events was putting her mind off track.

Quickly she reviewed her choices today. In all honesty she could have easily gotten them to the border without any danger of being caught, but she wasn’t in a rush and needed to think for a bit.
Taking Naruto - a jinchuuriki - from Konoha was definitely not a good idea on the surface. They would want him back, and badly. The boy would have to be hidden away for a time – most likely many years. Considering her current lifestyle, however, this wasn’t as big of a problem as it first seemed. Blue was used to hiding from unwanted attention and prying eyes.

More pressing was her own situation in regards to training Naruto. She had obligations back home and taking an apprentice was not exactly feasible at the moment. She knew she needed help and support from the only person who she really trusted.

This was the second problem. Pain wouldn’t have any inclination to take an apprentice. He was too caught up in their war against Hanzou and his dealings with Madara and Akatsuki. Simply keeping their resistance movement alive required most of Pain’s attention - especially when she was out of the country. He hardly had the disposition to put up with a young boy just starting to train towards being a ninja. Then there was the fact that Akatsuki’s goal – tentative goal, she reminded herself – was the capture and ultimate killing of all of the world’s jinchuurikis in order to harness the power of the bijuus. Pain was busy with recruitment and research for the organization on top of trying to topple a government run by the most feared shinobi in the world. She had to spin this just right if she was to get Pain on her side.

The only way that Naruto would be allowed to train and flourish with them was if he could prove to be a greater asset than the Kyuubi within him. Being the son of Namikaze certainly helped in that regard, but was it enough? Naruto would need to show incredible talent and dedication to both his own training and their cause in order to keep his life. It was a sad reality, but one that Blue accepted. The boy had grown on her in the half day she had spent with him, but she had given nearly twenty years of her life and her best friend to the war against Hanzou. If forced to make a choice, she sadly acknowledged that Naruto could be sacrificed easily for their ambition to succeed.

Even if half the world had to burn, their ambition would succeed.

She’d already made her choice concerning the boy’s future, though. Even if he had to die further down the road, she vowed to make his life a bit more meaningful than it had been.

And the boy might be able to save his own life along the way.

Wasn’t that the truth of it, though? Only the boy could save himself from his fate as a jinchuuriki. From what she had seen and heard today, he might just pull it off.

That thought was worth a smile. She had been doing that a lot today. Perhaps the boy could help make her life a bit brighter, even as she made his so. She withheld any illusions she might have about his effect on Pain. There was wishful thinking, and then there were pipe dreams. Still, the man deserved more than he got. It hurt her to see him driving himself stir-crazy trying to accomplish more than one man could ever expect to. But that’s just how he was. Just how Pain was.

She missed her old friend.

With that melancholy thought, Blue checked her chakra to see if anything sinister was nearby and retired to the small tent as well. She needed sleep if they were to make it out of Fire Country tomorrow comfortably.

Just one more stop between here and home. She hoped that Naruto would overcome his first trial as a shinobi. If he didn’t, she honestly didn’t know what his fate would be once they reached Rain Country.

-----

Blue awoke the next morning as the sun crested the horizon. Quickly checking their surroundings, she found that they were very much alone in the forest. The road was clear as well – the merchants were still yet to rouse themselves and continue on their journeys. She leaned over to wake Naruto, who was curled up on the opposite side of the small tent. He woke up at her light prodding and blinked his eyes blearily, trying to take in the unfamiliar surroundings. As his eyes found hers, he smiled and sat up.

“Morning Blue.”

“Good morning, Naruto. Did you sleep well?”

“Okay, I guess.”

“Why don’t you head outside so that I can take down the tent?”

Naruto nodded and crawled through the flap at the foot of the tent, followed quietly by Blue. He found a seat on the ground and became lost in the colors of the early morning and the songs of the birds in the trees. What seemed like a moment later, the tent was packed, a quick breakfast was eaten, and the two were ready to go.

“Are we walking again today, Blue?”

“No, we’re jumping. We have to be in River Country tonight for some business.”

Naruto was silent for a moment. “Ninja business?”

“That’s right. After that we’ll be heading back to my home.” At this, Blue bent down and helped Naruto put the oversized pack on his back and tighten the straps so that it wasn’t lost along the way.

“Where do you live, Blue?”

She hoisted the child onto her back and turned her head slightly to look at him over her shoulder. “It’s best if I don’t tell you until we arrive. We’re going to meet some more people and it’s important that they not know where we’re from. Now hold on tight, but not too tight. We don’t want you to get sore too quickly. We’ll be jumping for most of the day.”

“Okay.”

And with that they were flying through the forests of Fire Country once again. The sense of terror that Naruto had experienced the day before had lessened but the thrill was still there. He had to work to keep himself from laughing as they whipped through the branches at inhuman speeds.

Naruto had always wanted to be a ninja because of what he thought the rewards would be. The status and the respect had always appealed to him, having grown up with none of either. Now, Naruto decided, those things weren’t nearly as important as he thought they were. He knew now that he could never be anything but a ninja - if only to be able to do this whenever he wanted. He wanted that power - not to lord over others - but to enjoy for himself. Being a ninja wasn’t a means to an end, but an end in and of itself. It was a truly liberating feeling.

As the day wore on they continued away from Konoha and towards the border with River Country, taking occasional stops to let Naruto down so that he could stretch his limbs a bit. They stopped for a lunch of preserved food, again, and made good headway for most of the day.

A few hours after lunch they met with their first real obstacle of the journey. Blue broke from their relatively straight course and began in an awkward zigzag, sometimes backtracking and crossing their earlier path. Most unnerving to Naruto, though, was what sounded like an army on his heals - breaking branches and chipping bark - despite being just out of Naruto’s sight.

“What’s going on?”

“Hunters picked up our trail. I’m losing them now by making false paths. Don’t worry, that sound is my doing.”

Naruto relaxed a bit at this, not realizing how tense his body had been as it clung to hers. He tensed up once again, however, as he picked up a slight “damn” from the woman before him.
She spoke quickly and quietly, but Naruto hung on every word. “We’ve run into another patrol, they’re going to close on us. Don’t panic.”

But Naruto nearly did panic as they dove from nearly forty feet in the air towards the forest floor below. Blue swung him off of her back and flung them both into the belly of a hollowed out old tree. She held her finger in front of her lips, signaling quiet and then clasped her hands in front of her as she had done the day before. From beneath her long-sleeved shirt and pants, a flurry of paper erupted and moved to cover the opening to their hiding place, effectively blocking out all light.

Naruto was frightened when he felt a hand grasp his own, but quickly relaxed as he realized it was only Blue. The light squeeze he felt there kept the small part of him that hated the dark from coming to the surface. They stood there for minutes that stretched out for what seemed like forever. Then came voices from just outside their hidden nook.

“Anything?” Naruto felt another reassuring squeeze on his hand.

“Tracks are everywhere, but we haven’t caught sight of them yet.”

“Good ones then. How many?”

“Hard to say, could be as many as five or six, but they’d all have to be real good to not get spotted at all. Most likely only two or three that split up and started making false trails.”

“They’re still around here somewhere, must have taken cover when they sensed you two coming east. Can either of you sense anything?”

“No, nothing, but they must be right around here…”

“Bijuu’s barbeque?”

“But what about the kid? If these are the guys that nabbed him…”

“The brat’s long gone. These are probably just some idiots trying an infiltration. The missive said that outside of a thirty mile perimeter the kid was a lost cause. We’re on border patrol. The chances of him coming through here of all places is zero. Where’d they be taking him? River country doesn’t have any ninja and Suna’s an ally. I hear they’re having enough trouble with their own little monster anyways.”

“He’s right, let’s just light up and get this over with.”

Naruto was trying to follow their conversation but much of it was confusing. He did, however, get the gist that they were about to be in big trouble. Blue’s quick squeeze followed by a withdrawal of her hand only helped to increase his worry. Hot breath on his ear almost made him jump, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Drop the pack and get on my back again. We’re leaving it behind. Hold on tight and be quiet.” The words were barely a whisper and yet Naruto picked them up and quickly complied.

They stood there for a few minutes in the darkness, their breathing and the growing sounds of crackling flames the only things to focus on. After a time Naruto began to smell the smoke outside faintly even through the paper shield that protected them.

“Don’t panic.” And Naruto almost did, as what he knew to be a piece of paper flew over his mouth and nose and glued itself there. After only a moment though the paper took on the feel of cloth and Naruto found that he could breathe through it quite easily. “Hold on tightly.”

Naruto only had an instant to firm up his grip before he was launched forward on Blue’s back straight through the paper shield - which seemed to explode outwards as they passed through it. Naruto was stunned by the sudden blast of boiling air that assaulted his face, hands, and feet where they were exposed to the heat. They had stepped out into a raging inferno. Everything in their sight was alight with red-orange flames that seemed to dance up the trunks of the surrounding trees. If it hadn’t been so horrifying, Naruto would have thought it was beautiful.

The paper shield that had protected them had broken up into its component sheets and flew before them, ripping through the flames and blowing them aside before they sped past. Just moments later they had broken through the firestorm and emerged into healthy forest - the paper storm still leading the way.

Naruto gasped as a masked man flew at them through the canopy with a dangerous looking sword in hand. Blue didn’t slow down though - she simply glanced at him and the paper storm fluttered to intercept. It was over so quickly that Naruto wasn’t even sure what he had seen as they sped by. Just white and red and the rustling of paper.

They were going faster now than they ever had before and Naruto’s heart was beating at a speed he was sure he had never felt, even after all of the encounters with the villagers. All he could do was hold on for dear life and trust that Blue knew what she was doing. Considering what had just occurred, Naruto was fairly sure she did.

Two hours later they were across the border and into River Country.

-----

Naruto looked around curiously as he scurried into town alongside Blue, his short legs struggling to keep up with her purposeful strides. The town was similar in style to Konoha – small shops lined the road into the city and people could be seen walking up and down the lanes finishing their late afternoon shopping. Restaurants were beginning to open to accommodate early diners as patrons began to drift in from the streets to grab a quick bite to eat. The sun was just settling below the treetops, casting long shadows throughout the bustling thoroughfare.

Naruto was fascinated by the simple fact that people seemed to ignore him. He received no malicious glances, growls, or impolite comments. No threats were directed his way. Instead he was treated just as other children he had observed in Konoha were treated – he was ignored. And he loved it. There was no need to ponder every action, every glance. He was simply treated as another small child – something beyond the consideration of self-important adults.

“Where are we Blue?” She glanced down and smiled at him again. He was beginning to truly enjoy her small bouts of familiarity. It was something he never knew before.

“We’re in the capital of River Country.” She looked down at him again and noticed the slight frown on his face. “It’s the largest city in the country, where the daimyo holds his court.”

Naruto nodded to indicate his understanding. “Is this where you live?”

“No. We’ll be leaving after we finish our business in River Country. We have a job to do first here though.”

Naruto glanced around at the patrons making their way up and down the road. “Is it a real job?”

Blue looked at him again, surprised that he could keep his wits about him after their conversation even despite his young age. “That’s right. It’s fairly important and must be completed before we head home.”

“Are we going right now?”

“No. We’ll have to wait a bit. How about a quick bite to eat first?” Naruto looked around to confirm that he wasn’t the center of attention before nodding eagerly.

“What do you like to eat, Naruto?”

“Um, mostly I eat ramen at Ichiraku’s or whatever they’re serving at the orphanage.” Naruto frowned. “That’s usually icky though.”

Blue gave a slight nod. “Why don’t we give yakiniku a try then?” Seeing Naruto’s confused look she elaborated. “That’s barbequed meat. You get to cook your own. It’ll be fun, you’ll see.”

As it turned out Naruto did enjoy being able to cook his own food, though Blue had to make sure his pieces of meat were cooked long enough. Naruto tended to be rather impatient.

After a meal full of explanations on how to cook meat properly, which eventually extended into the methods of how to catch and prepare animals in the field without becoming ill, Blue paid for the food and led Naruto back onto the now darkened and quiet roadway.

She looked at the fading light in the sky and seemed to nod to herself almost imperceptibly.

“Alright, it’s time.”

“Time for our mission?”

“That’s right Naruto. Now listen carefully. I need you to be quiet no matter what anyone says to you or asks you. I’ll be with you the whole time, so just let me do the talking.”

Naruto nodded, already intent on maintaining his silence for the sake of the mission.

Blue looked around to take in the now fairly empty street. Most of the shops were closed and though the restaurants were open and full, the traffic of the afternoon had subsided substantially. Seeing that no one was paying them much attention, she pulled Naruto into a deserted alleyway without protest.
She brought her hands together in a few shapes that Naruto found rather odd but had seen ninjas in Konoha make before. Her calf-length pants peeled away to be replaced with a form-fitting skirt that only reached mid-thigh while her shirt morphed into a rather low-cut sleeveless blouse which left a good deal of cleavage exposed. Naruto barely had time to consider the changes to his companion’s outfit before his too began to change. Instead of wearing baggy shorts and a loose shirt he found himself in small shorts and a T-shirt that he found entirely too tight. Still, he resolved to keep his silence as Blue was counting on him to complete their first ninja mission together.

Blue bent down and placed her hands on Naruto’s shoulders. “Remember Naruto, no matter what happens I need you to be quiet. Don’t ever be afraid. I’ll be with you the whole time and will protect you with my life, okay?”

Naruto nodded in response and fidgeted slightly in his tight clothing.

“Good. Tonight I’m going to teach you what being a shinobi is all about, Naruto.” She squeezed his shoulders in what she thought was a reassuring manner even as she grimaced. “Remember that not everything a ninja does is great or noble.”

With that she prodded a slightly confused Naruto out of the alley and began to lead him through the city, twisting and turning in an effort to reach some unknown location. After traveling for what seemed like forever in his uncomfortable clothing, Naruto noticed that the city began to look more and more grimy and dilapidated. Konoha didn’t really have any slums since any residents with less than legal inclinations were quickly apprehended and dealt with by the patrolling ninja. Those that couldn’t afford to live cleanly in the city generally packed up and left before they were forced to resort to the more seedy occupations.

Naruto was a bit discomforted by his surroundings but hung on to Blue’s promise that she would protect him from any harm. Finally they came to a run down, multi-story structure that was just one of many that seemed to tower over the lonely lane that ran before it. Following closely behind Blue, Naruto approached a man standing by a beaten door leading into the building. The man was dressed in clothing that would have once been considered fancy attire but now was too dirty and frayed to be worn out in broad daylight without drawing attention. As they approached Naruto noticed a bright flare of light near the man’s face and realized that he was smoking. Naruto hated smokers. They stank far too much for tolerance in his opinion. The only one he could stand was the old man, but that was thanks to the more fragrant pipe weed that he was fond of. Still, he followed Blue up to the man while attempting to keep a blank face despite the pungent fumes being taken in by his nostrils.

The man threw the cigarette to the ground and stomped it out before addressing Blue. “Can I help you, little lady?”

“I certainly hope so,” she replied in an alluring voice that Naruto had never heard her use before. It definitely wasn’t right for Blue.

“I’m here to offer the boss a little entertainment.” She winked at the man and leaned forward a bit, revealing even more cleavage to the now near-drooling man.

“I haven’t heard anything about any entertainment tonight lady.” The man’s voice was shaky and his eyes wouldn’t leave Blue’s chest, except to glance at Naruto after many moments. “And what is the brat doing here?”

“My master sent us to make sure that your boss was well taken care of tonight. He wasn’t sure as to what to send though, so he wanted to make sure his associate enjoyed himself.” Naruto noticed that she was still using that sultry voice that seemed so removed from her normally kind yet clipped speech.

The man’s face bore a confused expression before taking on a look of pure disgust. “Shit. You must be kidding me lady. That’s fucking disgusting.” Naruto looked on curiously, not understanding quite what was going on but concentrating on remaining quiet for Blue. “The boss doesn’t do that kind of shit. Get the kid outta here.”

Blue looked a bit abashed before seemingly regaining her confidence. Naruto was almost sure it was an act. “I doubt you could be so sure of that, but regardless the kid needs to stay with me. I’m responsible for him tonight, after all. I can’t just send him off in the dark like this and hope he makes it back, right?” She regained her sultry demeanor before resuming her conversation. “We can come in, right?”

The man glanced at Naruto before his attention moved back to Blue’s breasts. “I suppose you can go in.” His eyes flitted to Naruto once again with a frown marring his face. “But isn’t he a little young for…” He didn’t finish before he took on a sick look. “Ugh, I don’t care, just get inside.”

With that Blue and Naruto entered through the rusty door now held open for them by the disgruntled smoker. The inside of the building was lit almost painfully bright. Compared to the dark street outside it seemed to Naruto as if he had just looked directly into the sun. Still, he followed closely on Blue’s heals as she marched determinedly up a flight of stairs to reach the second floor. It led to a corridor branching both left and right. At the end of the left hallway Naruto could make out a small room where a group of men gathered around a table arguing loudly. He thought they were playing cards. Another roughshod man stood in the corridor to the right and straightened as they approached.

Blue walked up to him and smiled seductively. “I’m here to entertain the boss for the evening. The boy is here with me, just in case.”

The man looked a bit flustered before regaining his composure and scowling at Naruto. “You go through this door,” he gestured behind him, “but the brat stays out here. The boss has got no use for ‘im.”

“I can’t just leave him out here. He’s my responsibility. I’d be dead if anything happened to him.” She looked at Naruto appraisingly. “He knows what to do. He’ll be quiet one way or another.”

“Alright, whatever. Just get in there and do your thing. Afterwards I might even have some work for you.” He smiled wickedly and Naruto’s dislike of the man increased exponentially. Normal people didn’t smile like that.

They walked through another grimy door and into a deserted room decorated with a stained rug and a few chairs. They continued through it to a door on the opposite wall. Inside was a larger room with a number of battered pieces of furniture and a few modern appliances scattered about, including a television. On an ugly, brown couch against the wall lay a man with gray hair and a grizzled complexion. Naruto didn’t think him fat, per se, but everything on his body seemed to sag even as he sat up on the couch and acknowledged their presence.

“Well hello, my dear. To what do I owe this pleasure?” The man leered disgustingly at Blue as he stood from his seat and began to approach them.

Blue looked at him dispassionately, seeming to study this old and unimpressive character. Her stoic demeanor evaporated as she replied. “I’m here to reward you for your loyal,” she spat the word, “devotion to your business partners.”

The man stopped his approach as six sheets of paper flew quickly to adhere themselves to the floor, ceiling, and walls of the room. Even more escaped from under Blue’s incredibly short skirt to completely cover the door and windows in unbroken sheets of white. Naruto’s cursory glance found strange circular symbols imprinted on the paper sheets that were placed on the six surfaces of the room. His attention was drawn back to Blue however as her demeanor seemed to shift to one he had never seen before.

The short skirt and skimpy blouse disappeared in a torrent of paper sheets. After only a few moments the paper settled over her entire body. Instead of pants or skirts or shirts or blouses, Blue now bore an imposing high-collared black cloak decorated with crimson clouds. Her face was impassive and cold, as though she had not a care in the world for this place or the now cowering old man in front of her. “You betrayed us. You sold us out to him.”

The kneeling man looked up with a terrified expression on his face. “I didn’t! I didn’t betray you! I swear it! I… I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Blue sneered. “Despite all of your underhandedness you can’t even lie to save your life. Our organization has no leaks. Because of you my allies are dead. You should have thought about the consequences before you made a pact with shinobi. You should have thought about the consequences before betraying shinobi.”

It was the first time that Naruto had seen Blue really angry, and it scared him. She didn’t yell or froth at the mouth like some of the people in Konoha did. She simply looked at the man with such complete loathing that Naruto felt like the man should be screaming from the hate being directed at him. That’s when he noticed that the man was trembling and sweating uncontrollably. The old man fell to his hands and knees, yet the trembling persisted.

“Please… please. I didn’t have a choice. His men approached me. I, I had to tell the truth. He would have killed me!”

“You’re the criminal here, Takahashi. You’re the one used to hiding and lying. You’re the one with no honor. You should have resisted but you didn’t.” Blue looked down on his cowering form with contempt. Naruto watched silently as pristine white paper fluttered yet again out of her right sleeve and formed a wicked-looking blade. “You should have known that if he didn’t kill you then we would have.”
With that Blue lunged forward and swept her arm-turned-blade across the man’s neck – through the man’s neck. Naruto watched, fascinated, as the man’s body slumped over to the right while his head rolled off to the left. Then the blood started flowing from the now headless corpse in what seemed to Naruto as a nearly endless stream, as if someone was simply pouring blood onto the carpet below the corpse. He turned around, too horrified to look at the scene.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump and he resisted the urge to scream.

“You should look you know.” Naruto forced his head to turn and look at Blue, despite her attention still being behind him, supposedly on the gushing corpse. “If you look away from what you fear then your terror of it will only grow.” She turned to give him a sad smile. “If you look upon your fear then you will understand it’s horror and thus learn to confront it again if you must.”

Naruto met her eyes for a moment before slowly turning around to take in the sight of the headless corpse once again. The dark stain on the carpet continued to spread slowly as blood oozed from what was left of the man’s neck.

“I’m sorry Naruto, but this is what true shinobi do. We are soldiers trained to end the lives of others.”
For the first time since Blue had explained their mission, Naruto spoke. “Why?” Blue put on a curious look. “Why do shinobi kill people?”

Blue remained silent for a moment. “That is something that a shinobi must learn for himself. I did it tonight because this man betrayed my friends and caused them to be killed by my enemies. You must learn to kill for what you believe in if you wish to become a great ninja.”

“So you kill to help your friends?”

“Yes, that sounds about right, Naruto.”

“I don’t have any friends besides you, Blue.” Naruto finally tore his eyes away from the dead body to look up at the woman. “I think I would hurt anyone who tried to kill you though. I think I could do that.”

Blue let a small smile creep over her face despite the morbid atmosphere. “Remember that reason Naruto. Don’t ever forget why you want to be a shinobi. If you do you will become a true monster.” Blue raised her arms to be perpendicular to her chest and the paper throughout the room returned to rest inside the sleeves of her cloak. “But if you always remember why, you can be a real hero.”

“A hero, Blue?”

“Of course. Just like the Third Hokage back in Konoha. He kills to protect the people of Konoha from those who wish to harm them.”

“The old man kills people?”

Blue turned back to the entrance to the chambers. “He’s killed more people than you’ve met in your whole life, Naruto.” She looked into his eyes again. “Do you think he is a bad person for that?”

Naruto’s eyes were still glued to the bloodied body. “He was always so nice to me. I never thought he would hurt people like that.”

“He does what he thinks is best. He works to protect the people he cares about.” She put a hand on Naruto’s shoulder and turned him away from the body and towards the door they had entered through. “A shinobi’s life is never easy, Naruto. Even if you are trying to do your best to protect and help the ones you love, it still hurts a bit. You just have to decide what hurts more.”

Naruto looked up at her, seeming even smaller than ever before. Still, his deep blue eyes seemed to convey an understanding that Blue found almost unnerving. She continued on anyways. “Do you think it will hurt more to watch your friends die, or to kill the people who are trying to hurt them?”

Blue leaned down and ruffled Naruto’s hair. “It’s alright, Naruto. You don’t have to make a decision about what you’re going to do right now. Just remember that your reason is your most important thing of all. That’s what we call a nindo – a ninja code. Each shinobi must find his own and stick to it or else he will have no meaning in his life.”

She walked towards the outer door and pushed it open. Even as the doorman turned to look at them, wondering what had gone wrong to end their session so quickly, white sheets burst forth and tore a bloody gash in his throat before the paper storm flew down the hallway and into the card-players’ room. Only a few muffled gasps alerted Naruto to the fate of the men seated there. Naruto didn’t much care at this point. His shoes were soaked with the doorman’s blood and he barely noticed as his tight clothing loosened and returned to the state it was in before their evening excursion. He continued following Blue down the stairs to the exit where they had entered, only to barely witness her throwing open the door and dragging the cigarette smoking guard inside. Her left hand covered his mouth as her right hand reformed into the paper sabre and his throat was neatly sliced through. Naruto glanced at the dying man dispassionately – the blood didn’t bother him so much any more.

Blue led him gently out into the street before turning around to the open door. She shifted through a number of hand seals before blowing a huge ball of red flame into the stairwell they had just descended. Very quickly the building began to light up as the unnatural fire spread throughout, concealing the actions committed there in the night.

Naruto watched on in fascination as the building burned. “What was that?”

“That was the fireball technique, Naruto.”

“Will I be able to learn that?”

“Most likely.”

Naruto stood transfixed by the flaming structure. “Cool.”

And with that, Blue grabbed Naruto and sped across the rooftops into the night.

-----

Naruto and Blue stood just inside of the tree line, staring into the murky rainstorm falling not twenty feet in front of them. Despite the ferocity of the downpour there, not a single drop fell upon them. Naruto looked curiously at his companion as if to ask a question, but remained silent. She would give him an answer if she felt it was needed.

“Welcome to Rain Country, Naruto.” Still dressed in her black and red cloak she walked forward and stepped into the falling torrents. She turned around to look back at her young companion, who still stood just inside the tree cover. “This is my home, and will be yours, if you want it.” She held out her right hand, palm up, to the young boy. “Will you come home with me?”

A small smile graced Naruto’s face and continued to grow until it seemed to split his head from ear to ear. “Okay.”

The small boy scampered happily out of the trees and stepped into the rain, grasping tightly onto the hand that was held out to him. Even as the rain continued to beat down upon them, the boy’s smile never faltered. Together they set out for a safe place. They set out for home.

-----

A man looked up from a rickety desk covered in yellowed scrolls and elaborate notes. His almost perpetually stoic countenance broke for a moment as a small smile threatened to split his severe yet youthful face.

“Welcome back, Konan,” the man spoke quietly to himself. His eyes drifted unconsciously to the closed door that led to his small subterranean office despite the still extreme proximity to his closest friend.

The smile melted off of his face as he felt another presence enter his domain. The intruder didn’t have a particularly alarming amount of chakra, but it was peculiar. It felt almost… sinister, in a way. Chakra that wasn’t human. Nothing good could come from this.

“What have you done, Konan?”

[Ph34r_n0_3V1L]

Cool start. I like that people who should be in the know (Sarutobi, Danzo, Kakashi) about Naruto's lineage do. I also like how Konan stumbles on it with Jiraiya's book. I'm really interested as to what Jiraiya's reaction will be.

[Howdy]

Chapter 3: Have You Ever Seen The Rain?



It was Kyuubi, he was sure.


It had only taken him a few minutes to deduce that the strangeness that he was sensing was caused by a sealed bijuu, and the young Uzumaki boy was the only jinchuuriki that Konan would have encountered.


What puzzled him was why Konan had decided to bring the boy back with her. He had made it very clear that Akatsuki would not be ready to move for a good deal of time – possibly more than a decade – and that their main concern at this point was staying below the notice of the shinobi world.


Akatsuki was still new and still searching for worthy members. Though Madara had made it clear that he would not participate in the organization directly, he had provided a number of contacts that were beginning to turn into valuable associates. The elusive Zetsu. Kakuzu the Hunter. Akasuna no Sasori the great puppeteer of the desert. The Monster of the Hidden Mist – Hoshigaki Kisame. Even the traitorous Snake Sannin, Orochimaru, had been approached and expressed an interest in membership. They were some of the greatest criminals in history, and they were dangerous.


Pain would use them.


His thoughts shifted back to the problem at hand as he glanced down at the mountains of notes on his desk before him. Having the Kyuubi jinchuuriki here could not possibly help them. The technique he was developing to seal the bijuu was years away from completion, and on top of it all of his calculations showed that the Kyuubi - due to it’s unprecedented strength – would have to be sealed last of all or the technique would almost surely become unstable. It’s sealing was at least a decade away from Pain’s perspective.


No matter. He would find out Konan’s reasoning soon enough.


He began to meticulously clean his desk of the old sealing scrolls and newer notebooks containing his research, carefully placing them on the shelves covering the rock walls of this room, his study.


Konan would be there in short order with the boy and all would be explained.


-----


“…Outside while I go let him know that you are here. Please be quiet and do not wander. I’ll come out to get you in a few minutes, Naruto.”


The Kyuubi for certain, then.


“What if someone else comes while I’m waiting?” The voice was that of young child, not yet five years old if Pain’s intelligence was correct. It always was.


“No one knows about this place but us. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe.”


The door opened and Konan’s cloaked figure backed in through the door before closing it again and running her hand over the doorway, activating the seals placed into the wooden frame. She turned around and found Pain studying her from behind his desk with the intense scrutiny that she found only he possessed, as if he was peeling away her many layers of subterfuge with his eyes.


She had learned long ago that it was pointless to try to hide even the smallest things from him. He could see right through her. Then again, there wasn’t much of importance that she ever did try to hide from him.


“Well?”


She averted her eyes slightly as the anxiety that she had been suppressing came back full force. “The mission was a success. Our new partners in Konoha have agreed to our terms and will begin delivery next month. I was also successful in tying up our loose ends. Takahashi was…”


“Konan.” He pulled her eyes back up to his own. “You know what I meant.”


She swallowed nervously. If there was ever a time before now that she had felt like a disobedient child being scolded by her parents, she certainly couldn’t remember it. Yet here she was, caught with her hands in the figurative cookie jar, and by her best and only friend no less.


Pain sighed. “What could you have possibly been thinking? What purpose does bringing a defenseless child here serve? You know that we won’t be able to extract the bijuu for many years yet, more than a decade most likely. It will take me that long just to complete the jutsu.”


Konan looked up quickly, an almost angry expression on her face. It startled Pain a bit. He wasn’t used to her showing him negative emotion. “I didn’t bring him here to kill him,” she practically hissed.


Pain’s eyes narrowed at that. “And for what other purpose would you risk our organization’s secrecy other than to obtain the power of the Kyuubi?” He asked it slowly, almost daring her to give another reason.


Konan straightened up impressively, not wishing to show any weakness even to her friend. “That boy’s whole life was a despicable farce! No one deserves to live like he did in Konoha. You didn’t see how the people looked at him, spat on him. He was living far worse than we ever did, Pain. I couldn’t leave him there to suffer that.”


“So you kidnapped him to what? Give him a better life?” Pain scoffed at that. “You knew what sorts of lives jinchuurikis lead. I didn’t think you the type to cave in over one sniveling little brat. Perhaps you would rather open an orphanage to help disadvantaged children instead of trying to prevent the very wars that create those orphans to begin with?”


Konan was angry now. Angry and thankful that she had activated the privacy seals on the doorway. “Don’t speak to me as if I don’t understand what our purpose is, as if I haven’t given everything for our cause! Naruto can be useful to us if we raise him to be our ally.”


“That boy is going to die, and we are going to kill him. Or have you already forgotten that, Konan?” Pain was as calm and collected as ever - and it only served to anger Konan more.


“If we train him properly he can become more useful to us alive than dead.”


Pain contemplated that for a moment. “We have no knowledge of how to train a jinchuuriki to properly utilize its powers. In any event, Madara would not stand for it. He seems obsessed with recovering the Kyuubi from within the boy for his own purposes.”


“Then we won’t train him as a jinchuuriki. We’ll train him as a ninja. We can do that at least.” Konan paused here and gave Pain her own piercing look. “And when did you start caring what Uchiha Madara wanted?”


Pain looked at Konan sternly. “I do not, but that does not change the fact that if we keep the boy here Madara will undoubtedly discover his presence and become overly curious. I wish to avoid conflict with that man if at all possible - especially this early in our campaign. Besides, he is a valuable ally to us.” Pain’s countenance softened a bit and he exhaled loudly before looking at Konan again. “What are we to do now? We cannot return him to Konoha without raising suspicions about ourselves. We cannot kill him without dispersing the Kyuubi. I have no way of knowing how long it will take to re-manifest itself. We could all be long dead by then.”


Konan cut in quickly. “We will have to keep him here then - hidden away so that no one can find him - and create a story to give to Madara should he come calling. We may as well train him as a ninja if he is to be here for the next decade or more.”


Pain frowned. “It seems you’ve planned this out carefully. Did you intend to corner me like this?” He shook his head slowly while trying to find another solution. Seeing none, he looked up again. “I have trouble believing that you took him simply because you saw a kindred spirit, especially when you seem so intent on giving the boy training. What makes you think he will make a formidable ninja? The boy is simply the final survivor the Uzumaki clan, is he not? A powerful history there, to be sure, but not nearly enough to catch your notice.”


Konan grinned for the first time since entering the room and summoned her Bingo Book from up her sleeve. Quickly rifling through it, she found the desired page and handed the open book across the desk to a puzzled looking Pain.


“Namikaze Minato? The Fourth Hokage - SS-ranked ninja of Konohagakure, also known as the Yellow Flash. Hero of the Third Great Secret World War. Sealer of the Nine-Tailed Fox into its current container, Uzumaki Naruto. Hero of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I know all of this already, Konan.”


“His son.”


Pain looked up from the book. “Pardon?”


“He sealed the Kyuubi into Uzumaki Naruto, his son.”


Pain blinked, then cocked his head to the side. “You are sure of this? I wasn’t aware that he had children.”


“Naruto would have been his first I believe, and given the circumstances he would have been born on the day of his father’s death. As the son of a Hokage he would have had many enemies.”


“And so they gave him a false name and covered up his lineage to protect him, interesting.” He closed the book and set it down on the desk.


“It’s possible that he really is an Uzumaki and simply took his mother’s maiden name.”


“Indeed.” Pain took on a thoughtful expression for a moment as he pondered this new development. “If what you say is true then he very well could become a powerful ally, and a loyal one. How do you know of his identity?”


Konan smiled conspiratorially. “Why don’t I just show you?”


Pain quirked an eyebrow as Konan turned to the door and opened it. “Please come in now, Naruto. There’s someone here that I’d like you to meet.”


-----


Naruto spun his head to look up at the doorway from his seated position against the wall of the corridor to meet Blue’s smiling face. She beckoned him in with a few words of encouragement and Naruto followed cautiously through the door. He hoped that Blue’s friend would like him.


Entering the room he came face to face with one of the strangest yet most imposing characters he had ever seen. The man was neither particularly short nor tall, but had a bearing that spoke of endless power and authority. Like Blue, he wore a black cloak decorated with blood red clouds that he kept buttoned from his waist to the collar. He had spiked, unruly hair much like Naruto’s own, but instead of a golden blonde his was a light red - almost orange - shade. The severe countenance on the rather youthful face was enhanced by a myriad of black piercings that occupied his nose, lower lip, and ears many times over. Most of all, Naruto was drawn to the piercing, ethereal, steel blue eyes that had no whites in them. Instead the entire eye was occupied by increasingly larger concentric circles that gave the appearance of someone having dropped a small stone into a puddle of mercury. They were unnerving.


The man studied him closely even as Naruto took in his appearance, a small smile gracing his lips, as though he were giving approval of Naruto.


“Naruto.” The boy finally broke his fixation on the strange man and his attention found Blue once again. “I’d like to introduce you to my friend and partner. This is Pain,” she indicated, gesturing to the man. “Oh, and I nearly forgot. Now that we’re here, I can tell you that my name is Konan.”


Naruto smiled at the woman he now knew as Konan and replied. “That’s a very pretty name, Konan.” He turned back to the man. “It’s nice to meet you Pain. Will you be helping me train to become a ninja?”


Pain began to walk around the desk, picked up the Bingo Book Konan had given him and tossed it back to her. “That remains to be seen.” His mesmerizing gaze still studied Naruto with intense scrutiny. “Take off your shirt.”


Naruto was momentarily taken off guard by the strange request. “Wh-what?”


The next thing Naruto knew he was staring into the cold eyes of Pain, glaring mere inches in front of his nose. He gasped - or tried to - and it was then that he realized that he was suspended three feet off of the ground, grasped at the neck by the man called Pain. There wasn’t even enough time for him to be afraid before the man spoke in his calm, steady, and deep voice. “Child.” Naruto found that though he wished it, he could not tear his eyes away from those metallic pools before him. “You will do precisely as I say, precisely as I say it, or I will lock you in a small, dark cell and never let you out until the day you die.” He paused for a moment to let his words sink in. “Do you understand?”


Naruto nearly panicked at his situation, but managed to compose himself just enough to answer. Though he was held by the throat, he found that the grip was not particularly tight or painful, and rasped out his answer fairly quickly and intelligibly, given the circumstances. “Yes, sir.”


He was carefully lowered down to the ground, and as his feet touched the floor the tension in his body released just a bit. When he finally regained his bearings he looked back to his cloaked companions who he found were simply staring at him. He blinked back at them for a moment, before Konan gave her collar an exaggerated tug.


He scrambled as he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. Quickly tearing his dirty shirt from over his shoulders, he quickly placed it in Konan’s outstretched hand. Pain nodded. “Now get up on the desk and lay down on your back.”


Naruto turned to the desk - which his spiky hair barely reached the surface of - then looked back to Pain in confusion.


Konan giggled. Pain glanced at her and grumbled something unintelligible, then stepped forward to pick Naruto up underneath his arms and set him on the edge of the desk. “Lay on your back.”


Naruto did as he was told, though he was quite nervous about what was going to be done to him. He watched the redhead’s eyes narrow in concentration as they bore into his stomach and forced himself to remain still as Pain placed the fingertips of each of his hands on the sides of Naruto’s belly, the bellybutton directly between them.


Pain glanced to Naruto’s face for a moment before he spoke. “This will be uncomfortable.”


And it was. Naruto’s face scrunched up painfully as Pain started flowing his chakra into the seal. It didn’t hurt so much as conveyed a feeling of wrongness to Naruto – as if something slimy and alive was creeping through his gut. Despite the discomfort, Naruto raised his head to look down at what was occurring. He was surprised to see dark tattoos appearing on his stomach centered on his navel that had never been there before. From his position he couldn’t make out the designs well, but they looked to be in a strange language and drawn in a circle.


Having failed to determine what was happening, he looked back up to Pain who was studying the designs with a frown. As the minutes dragged on and nothing seemed to be happening, Naruto couldn’t help but fidget slightly, drawing Pain’s attention away from the seal. He released the pressure on Naruto’s belly and stepped back while keeping his eyes fixed on Naruto.


“This is wrong.”


Konan looked shocked for a moment before replying with a flustered “what?”


“This is the most complex seal I have ever seen - much different from any of the others that I’ve studied. It’s not a simple jinchuuriki seal though. I’m just not sure what its purpose is…”


“But he is the one we’re looking for, right?”


Pain glanced at the woman beside him and then back to the small child now sitting on the edge of his desk. “Naruto, you will need to go back outside for a few minutes.”


“Alright.” The golden-haired child held his arms out to the man before him who looked at him strangely for a moment, before again grabbing the boy underneath his arms and letting him down. Konan helped put the grimy shirt back on and the child scampered out the door, closing it quietly behind him. She hastily refreshed the seals on the doorframe and turned back to her friend, who was leaning comfortably on the edge of his desk.


“I’ve never heard of a seal like this one before, but it’s a certainty that what’s left of the Kyuubi resides in that boy.”


“What’s left?”


Pain crossed his arms and adopted a pensive expression. “Yes, the Kyuubi’s chakra within the seal is incredibly unbalanced, as though part of it has been torn away. I would have to determine the exact jutsu used to seal the beast in order to find out why, but the fact stands.” He sighed almost inaudibly. “Whatever it is that Namikaze did will make it incredibly difficult to extract the Kyuubi from the boy in any state. If what I fear is true then the Kyuubi truly will be destroyed upon Naruto’s death. The seal itself is so complex and specialized that I’m not sure it can be undone. In any case, my jutsu will not be able to break it.”


“I suppose it’s a good thing that I brought him here then, is it not?” She gave him a slight smile of encouragement.


Pain nodded back, still in deep contemplation. “Yes, very fortuitous. Especially if we cannot recover the Kyuubi. If that’s the case then our only options are to destroy the boy or recruit him. Having such a powerful influence working against us is unacceptable.”


“And what will we tell Madara?”


“Simple. We’ll tell him that I needed a proper jinchuuriki seal to study and that Naruto was the easiest to acquire. Madara is still operating under the belief that Kyuubi must be sealed last into my technique, which would have been true if the technique could extract the Kyuubi. We have plenty of time.”


A hopeful expression grew on Konan’s face. “Does this mean that you will agree to help train Naruto?”


Pain refocused on his close friend and frowned. “Are you really so close to the boy after so little time that you care about his well-being to such an extent?” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t grow too soft Konan. If I agree to help you train him I will not go easy on him, and neither should you - for his sake as well as our own. You know what growing up in this country means.”


“A childhood in the Weeping Country is nothing to envy.”


“Precisely. He will have to prove his worth to us, and quickly. I will not waste my time on him.”


Konan nodded. “Very well.”


“Also, we cannot afford to shirk our own responsibilities in favor of a child who holds no worth to us now. Our plans must stay on track if we are to succeed.”


“Of course.”


Pain stood up off of the desk and walked around it, opening a drawer and removing a strange kunai as he did so. Konan’s eyes followed it closely as he set it point down on the desktop, holding it in place with his hand. As he began to speak he slowly spun it, drilling lightly into the wooden surface. “Contact the quartermaster discreetly and have him supply Naruto with proper attire. We can have Naruto stay in the library so long as he does not ruin anything. I’ll set up a cot for him.”


“Do we have equipment for a child so young in our stores?”


“I ordered our raid groups to recover everything from the Rain supply depots we’ve assaulted. They have been thorough so far. I imagine that there is quite a lot of gear there that Naruto can use, considering he is our only young compatriot. It shouldn’t be an issue.”


“Very well.” Konan’s gaze was drawn to Pain’s fiddling with the strange kunai. “I haven’t seen you look at that in quite some time, did Naruto remind you that you still had it?”


Pain glanced up from the weapon to meet Konan’s eyes. “I’m going to give it to him.”


“What?” Konan had a look of disbelief on her face. “You can’t be serious.”


Pain smiled. “It’s nothing more than an odd kunai now. The seals are damaged enough that they can’t be used or deciphered. That’s the reason why it wasn’t recovered in the first place, after all.” His smile shifted to a thoughtful look for a moment. “Every child wants something to remember his parents by, even if no such thing exists. Naruto may make good use of it in any case.”


“Don’t you want to study it more, to see what it does?”


“I know what it does, Konan. I just can’t understand how it does it. There should be no way to reverse summon oneself, but somehow Namikaze managed to discover the secret. This kunai is of no use to me any longer.”


“I just can’t believe that you’d give away a legendary weapon like that,” Konan replied, a petulant scowl on her face. She looked up after a moment and turned to the door. “I’ll get Naruto settled in. Goodbye.”


“Konan.” At the sound of his voice the blue-haired woman turned back to listen. “No one, absolutely no one, can know that he is here outside of ourselves and Madara. I’d prefer it to just be us two, but there’s just no way to keep this from him. Zetsu as well, in all likelihood. As of right now Naruto is our most closely guarded secret. Only the four of us are permitted to know. I will make sure that Madara and Zetsu understand this.”


She nodded and gracefully exited the room.


Pain watched her leave and remained staring at the door for a moment, deep in thought. The famous tri-pronged kunai still dug slowly into the wooden desktop as it turned in his hand. It was nearly twenty minutes later that he finally spoke again, this time quietly and to himself.


“It wasn’t the kunai that was legendary, Konan. It was the one who wielded it. Now we’ll simply have to forge our own legendary weapon, greater than the last.”


-----


Konan led Naruto down a dimly lit hallway cut from the living rock of the hill they had entered before meeting Pain. It was only a minute before they reached an unassuming door, identical to the one leading to Pain’s study and the few they had passed on the way here. Naruto resolved that he would learn to keep his directions straight while inside the bunker.


Inside the room - which was a fairly passable rectangle despite being hewn from solid stone - sat four long bookshelves jutting out from the back wall and filled from floor to ceiling with scrolls of all sizes. Next to the door was a small writing desk with a very utilitarian reading lamp and a rather plain cot.


“This will be your room for the foreseeable future. We don’t have much extra space at the moment, but you won’t be doing much other than sleeping in here anyways.”


Naruto looked the room over carefully, spending extra time studying the bookshelves. “I’ve never had my own room before. This should be nice.” He walked over and sat on the edge of the low cot and bounced slightly. It didn’t have much give to it, but Naruto determined that it was as good as - if not better than - the lumpy bed he had slept on in Konoha. “How did you find this place?”


“Pain and I built it some years ago. Our own secret hideaway.”


“Straight through the rocks? It must have taken a long time to dig it out.”


Konan laughed lightly at this. “Yes, digging certainly would have taken quite a long time, but that’s not what we did. We used our ninjutsu to tunnel into this hillside. We used skills similar to the fireball technique I used in River Country, but with earth instead.”


Naruto’s face shifted into a picture of awe. “Ninjas can use the earth too? You can do that?”


“I’m not particularly good at it, especially when dealing with bedrock like this. It takes a very powerful ninja with an earth affinity to manipulate dense stone in any large quantity. I usually just helped move the rocks and dirt out.”


“Does that mean that Pain has a strong, um, earth affinity?”


Konan quirked her head to the side in amusement. “Something like that.”


Naruto nodded slowly, but clearly wanted more of an explanation. He decided to hold off until later since Konan didn’t seem willing to spill the beans just yet. “There are lots of scrolls in here. What are they about?”


“Hm… Pain spent a good deal of time collecting historical scrolls about the ancient clans, their histories, and rare abilities when we were a bit younger. Most of what you see here are those scrolls. I think there may be some on basic chakra theory and sealing somewhere around here as well.” She turned to look Naruto in the eye. “Now Naruto, Pain has said that he will let you read any of these scrolls that you like so long as you do not damage them or misplace them. They are ordered carefully, so if you take any down to read you’ll have to be able to replace them properly. Understand?”


“Yes, Konan,” the small boy chirped with a smile on his face. It appeared as though he wanted to do some reading.


“Either Pain or I will be waking you up tomorrow morning, early. I expect you to get some sleep and be ready to begin your training in earnest. We will not be going easy on you at all Naruto. Remember that you told me that you would try your very hardest to become a great ninja. We will hold you to that. Now get to sleep.”


Konan turned to leave the boy to his rest and moved swiftly to the door. Just before she closed the portal she was stopped once again by a voice. “Goodnight, Konan.”


She reopened the door a bit and looked back inside to see Naruto already flopped on his cot. “Goodnight, Naruto.”


Konan closed the door and placed her hand over a subtle seal on the wall next to the door and used a small burst of chakra to extinguish the lights inside the young boy’s new room. She turned and moved down the corridor with a light-hearted smile and a barely perceptible bounce to her step. Tomorrow would be an interesting day.


-----


“Wake up.”


Naruto grimaced and covered his eyes as the lights flashed on around him. A loud complaint nearly escaped his lips before he clapped his hands over his mouth and frantically rolled off of his cot, thumping loudly to the ground. He scrambled to his feet and faced the voice, still trying to protect his sensitive eyes from the rude intrusion of the overhead lighting.


As his eyes adjusted they fell upon the face of Pain, the corners of his mouth quirked up in a small smirk. It was his voice Naruto had registered in the nick of time. Naruto wondered if he really would have been locked up had he retorted to Pain’s command as he rubbed his eyes with the backs of his hands - one at a time, of course, so that he could keep the stern man in sight.


“I see you remember our conversation. That’s very good.” Pain turned to walk out the door and spoke without pausing. “Follow me.”


Naruto wasted no time in complying, and followed the dark figure up the corridor in the direction that they had entered the tunnel complex from. They stopped again at another nondescript wooden door near where Naruto thought Pain’s study had been. The tunnels were truly confusing.


“So that intruders are hindered.”


Naruto’s head snapped up towards Pain, who again sported a slight smirk. Naruto was about to ask how the man had known what he was thinking when Pain spoke again.


“Inside you will find a bucket of water, a cloth, soap, and fresh clothes. You will wash yourself, dress, and then meet me here. You have five minutes.” Pain turned and started off down the corridor without a second glance.


Once the words had registered in Naruto’s head, he quickly opened the door to find himself in a small, bare room. It couldn’t have been more than eight feet to a side, and had only a small wooden bench as furniture. A wooden bucket sat on the floor filled with clean water and the soap and linens could be found on the edge of the bench. Naruto quickly stripped and began scrubbing himself thoroughly. He hadn’t had a bath in two days and was truly grateful for the opportunity to rinse the grime of his journey off of himself. As he scrubbed, he noticed that the water ran down the imperceptible incline of the floor to a small gutter along one side of the room, where the water then flowed through a grated hole in the wall. He rushed to finish washing himself before Pain returned.


Ten minutes later - in which Naruto was introduced to a makeshift bathroom similar in design to the shower room and a room that he assumed was the kitchen based on the food he was supplied with there - found the small boy staring in awe at a massive cavern. He was dressed in a sturdy, long-sleeved shirt, pants, and a fresh pair of ninja sandals, all colored dark gray. The ceiling of the cavern - covered in the same mysterious lights Naruto had seen in the other rooms of the complex - towered high above the boulder-strewn floor. It was clear to Naruto that this room was all natural as there were no sharp corners or truly flat surfaces. The walls were smooth and slick with moisture while the ceiling and floor sported fearsomely sharp rock formations in the likeness of the maw of some ferocious beast. Naruto found that the light reflecting from the glossy surfaces gave off an ephemeral beauty that added to the otherworldliness of the cavern. It was a foreboding and wondrous place.


“Before you ask, no, Konan will not be joining us today. She is on a mission and will not return until sometime tomorrow.” Pain paced a few steps into the cavern and surveyed it slowly. “This is our training room. No elemental ninjutsu may be used in this place under any circumstances. Is that clear?”


“Elemental ninjutsu… Is that like Konan’s fireball and your, um, digging moves?”


Pain blinked and mentally berated himself for assuming that Naruto understood what he was talking about while simultaneously thanking the gods that the boy had picked up on his meaning already. “Correct. You cannot use such jutsus as of yet, but when you can remember this rule. It would be much too easy to cause unnecessary damage to this place if such skills were attempted here. We wouldn’t want the ceiling caving in on you, now would we?”


Naruto gulped and shook his head.


“Good. Now, the first thing a ninja-in-training must do is learn to access his chakra. Do you know what chakra is?”


“I know that it’s in everything and that we need it to live and that ninjas use it to do special ninja moves.”


“Did Konan tell you this?”


“Um, a little, yes.”


“Very well. Sit.”


Naruto crossed his legs and plopped down with his back to a stalagmite to listen. Pain remained standing to begin what would be the first of many lectures.


“Chakra is the life energy that all living organisms produce. It consists of the spiritual energy found in all life combined with the physical energy of the creature’s form. In our case, the body’s health is a good indicator of physical energy. By combining both spiritual and physical energy, a ninja can create and mold chakra to perform a nearly unlimited number of feats that most beings have no hope of achieving. What separates ninjas and nin-animals from most creatures is the ability to perform this manipulation to produce a desired result.”


Pain stopped when he noticed a puzzled look on Naruto’s face. “Nin-animals are sentient creatures that occasionally form cooperative partnerships with ninjas. We will discuss them in depth further into your training.”


Naruto’s expression softened at that and he responded with a short nod.


“Ninjas must be conscious of not only their chakra as a whole but also their spiritual and physical states separately. A strong control of one’s chakra is essential to being an effective ninja, and a strong control of chakra can only be achieved through a balance of both spirit and body. Neglecting one aspect of your chakra can result in poor or inefficient performance and low power.


“Because each person’s body and spirit are unique, each person’s chakra is similarly unique…”


-----


It took nearly two hours of explanation before Pain was content with Naruto’s understanding of chakra and its uses. Despite his fidgeting, the small boy was immensely happy that someone had spent the time to explain something in detail to him. He was even more elated that his questions were answered, and thoroughly, instead of simply being dismissed.


Pain was equally pleased. In his more than twenty years of life as a ninja he had never considered taking on a student of his own. Though he was a bit miffed that this one had been more or less forced upon him, the child was truly willing to learn.


Pain had learned long ago that many ninja didn’t truly understand the fundamentals of what they did or the power they controlled. Perhaps it was a curse of his bloodline to see the intricacies of the ninja arts, but the man had become a perfectionist in every sense of the word where his chosen profession was concerned. And his student listened attentively to his complicated explanations. They were long-winded, he knew, but it would be worth it in the long run to make sure that Naruto understood the fundamentals thoroughly in order to prevent any damaging misconceptions.


Most of all, speaking with Naruto gave him an outlet for his thoughts and a slight distraction from the ongoing war that he was ferociously waging. Truth be told, Pain was a lonely man. He only ever spoke to Konan – who despite their closeness was often away on missions for extended periods of time – and his most trusted lieutenants – whom he forced himself to keep aloof from. It was a sad truth that Pain had only ever trusted three people in his life after the loss of his family. One had abandoned him and one had been killed thanks to his own foolishness.


So he no longer trusted.


Reluctantly he admitted to himself that the small boy before him could very well be his fourth trusted person.


“Stand up.”


Naruto rolled onto his feet and stood up shakily. Hours of sitting on the hard rock floor had put his legs to sleep, so he found himself stretching and bouncing from one foot to another in order to get the blood circulating through his body once again.


“You’re going to draw out your chakra now. Form the ram seal as I am doing.”


Naruto watched as Pain brought his hands together palm to palm with the ring and little finger of his right hand curled over those of his left while his index and middle fingers remained extended. The boy then brought his hands together in the same position, paying careful attention to his fingers, then looked back to Pain’s hands to check his work.


“Good. The ram seal aids in the circulation and molding of raw chakra, which can then be put to use in a multitude of ways. The seal on its own, however, does nothing. In order for it to serve its purpose you must consciously initiate the flow of chakra within you. This is done by first feeling the chakra within your body.


“To access your chakra you must feel within yourself for the natural flow of your energy and draw it out. Luckily you possess an incredibly high chakra capacity for your age, so this should be much simpler for you than for others.”


Naruto seemed surprised by this. “Um, how do you know I have lots of chakra? Is that good?”


“I know for a number of reasons, which I don’t wish to address today. Suffice it to say that I am well informed. As to your second question, a large chakra capacity is an exceptionally good thing for full-fledged ninja. It allows them to use more and stronger abilities in battle and contributes to a ninjas stamina – that determines the length of time a ninja can fight without becoming fatigued.” He paused as Naruto’s eyes furrowed and he unconsciously mouthed Pain’s last word. He sighed. “It means to become tired.”


Naruto’s face brightened up at that. “Oh, I get it! So I’ll be able to fight longer!”


Pain nodded. “Correct. Now, close your eyes and feel within yourself for the flow of your energy. I will bring you lunch in a bit. When you finish, I will be in my study. Come and find me when you accomplish this.”


Naruto looked at him expectantly. “Third door to the right.” The boy nodded and resumed his seated position on the ground as Pain turned to leave. He had more research to do if he ever intended to break Naruto’s seal successfully. He found himself hoping that he wouldn’t have the inclination to.


-----


Pain cursed as he was interrupted from his work by a quiet knock on his door. It was late afternoon and the boy had only been working by himself for around four hours. He strode quickly to the door and opened it swiftly, gazing impassively down at the small golden-haired boy before him. “I have nothing else to tell you until you finish your exercises. Do not disturb me again.” He began to close the door when Naruto spoke.


“I did finish, I think. I can feel my chakra now!” The boy was rather indignant, and it caused Pain to raise an eyebrow.


“Come in.” He moved inside and around his desk to sit once more. Naruto followed and stood next to his chair quietly. Opening a drawer Pain pulled out a sheet of blank, white paper and drew a circle - only a bit larger than a golf ball - in the middle with his fingertip. The circle fell away from the rest of the sheet and he quickly picked it up off of the desk, stuffing the excess paper back into the drawer.


He turned to study the boy for a moment, taking in his curious gaze and determined posture. Naruto’s forehead was beaded with sweat, as though he had been concentrating too intensely for a period of time. He leaned forward and wiped the moisture from the boy’s brow with his sleeve, studiously ignoring the small flinch of the whiskered child.


“Draw on your chakra and focus it to your forehead, I’m going to perform a test.”


Naruto nodded and placed his hands in the ram seal before closing his eyes tightly. “I’m ready.”


“Very well, remember to focus your chakra to your forehead.” Pain placed the circle of paper on the boy’s brow and let go. The paper immediately popped off of the skin nearly an inch and fell to the floor. “Continue.” He recovered the paper and placed it on Naruto’s forehead once again, and once again the paper popped off before falling to the floor. “You may stop.”


Pain was honestly surprised at the result. Even with Naruto’s large chakra he hadn’t expected the boy to succeed in finding his chakra so quickly – nearly as quickly as he had when he was twice this boy’s age. Naruto’s chakra was strong enough to push the paper away from him - which was the expected result of such an uncontrolled molding of energy. Sticking the paper to his forehead would be the next exercise – one taught to Pain by his old master – and would require Naruto to mold his chakra precisely so as to not push it away or lose his “grip” on it.


This spoke well of Naruto’s talent. To grasp his chakra so quickly was extraordinarily rare. Still, his massive chakra capacity would cause him to be plagued by control issues for a great deal of time to come.


No matter. It was an excellent starting point in Pain’s opinion. Naruto would be a worthwhile student.


“Naruto.”


“Yes?”


“I am not sure how much Konan told you about our situation here, but if you are to be my apprentice then this information is important to you.” Naruto straightened up and looked Pain in his steely eyes. “Konan and I currently lead a rebel army against the leader of this nation and his pawns. They wish nothing more than to destroy us completely. By joining us you too will become their enemy. Konan and I have no desire to see you harmed or placed into a dangerous situation until you are prepared to handle it. Therefore, you will remain inside this compound at all times unless accompanied by one of us.”


Naruto nodded, wide eyed.


“You are here, Naruto, to learn, but do not expect me to accommodate you more than is necessary. My goals are already set and my time is precious. I will agree to train you so long as you show the ability and inclination to become a powerful ninja capable of helping me achieve my aims. If you fail in this then I have no desire to assist you - or tolerate you - in any form. I will give you the same consideration that my master gave me.” Pain studied Naruto closely and was pleased to see that he still drew the boy’s undivided attention.


“Three years. That is the amount of time I will give you to train and prepare you to serve in our cause. If your conviction is strong enough then it should be plenty of time for you to become proficient in the ninja arts. If not…”


The boy seemed to puff up as Pain spoke, causing him to gaze warily at the child. “I won’t disappoint you, Pain. I promised Konan that I will be a great ninja, maybe the greatest ever, and I don’t go back on my word!”


The older man stared at Naruto’s proud and determined smile and gave a small nod. “That is good, Naruto. I would not want to be disappointed.” He glanced around the room quickly, seemingly looking for something, before standing abruptly and turning to Naruto.


“Stay here.” Pain left the room quickly and returned a few moments later with a simple wooden stool, which he placed in front of his desk. “Take a seat, we’ll move on now to the basics of the ninja arts. Training is over for today, but pay close attention to what I tell you now because this information will be essential to you throughout your ninja career.”


Naruto moved around the desk and clambered onto the tall stool. Sitting atop it he could easily see over the edge of the desk to Pain, who had retaken his seat behind the wooden fixture.


“Ninja abilities are divided into three basic groups, known as taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. Each branch constitutes a different set of skills used for different situations and performed in different ways. What ties the three together is the use of chakra in each of the branches to achieve a desired effect. Believe me when I tell you that a thorough understanding of each of these three branches is essential to surviving as a ninja. A weakness in any one area could spell your death against a cunning adversary.


“Taijutsu is the branch which deals with physical attacks – generally hand to hand. Ninjas utilize taijutsu by channeling chakra to their limbs and body to enhance their strength, speed, and durability. Some ninjas learn extensive forms of taijutsu. We will not be doing this. I will teach you basic forms, strategies, and techniques in the usage of taijutsu and leave it up to you to develop a style that most suits your own body. Any ninja can learn to copy the instructions of another but only great ninjas can successfully create a style that suits them perfectly. Just as every ninja is different, every ninja’s ideal taijutsu style is also different, even if only slightly.


“You will not be training to become a good shinobi, Naruto. I already have plenty of those under my command. You will be training to become an exceptional one. This means that you will have to influence your own training and style to a great degree. I could teach you everything I know and you would not be my match simply because my style would not be ideal for you, among other things. I expect you to put effort and creativity into developing your own style.”


Naruto nodded in agreement. “Will I be using weights to train my taijutsu, Pain? I heard ninjas in Konoha use them sometimes. They sound really cool and help you become really strong!”


Pain snorted. “No, absolutely not. As I said, you will be training to be exceptional. Weights are simply an implement to develop one aspect of a ninja’s growth at the expense of others.”


“Um, isn’t being stronger a good thing?” Naruto couldn’t comprehend how that could be bad, but Pain was the master and he was the student. He would do as he was told.


“It’s true that weights apply extra strain to muscles while they are on and can assist in muscle growth and development. However, wearing excess weight often fools one’s body into believing that it is heavier or bulkier than it actually is. When the weights are removed the body becomes confused. As a result, ninjas who train with weights often ruin their natural reflexes and reactions. They are forced into learning a rigid style of taijutsu due to their lack of adaptability. Against an enemy of similar or superior skill these ninja are doomed to lose, and badly. We will not limit your abilities in such a way. The speed and strength gained through weight training can be achieved through other training methods that do not create such limitations.”


“I understand. Um, do all ninjas know this?”


“On some level they probably do, but not all ninjas have the capacity to achieve true greatness. They make up for this by focusing on one area of ability despite the risks. In truth, this strategy works well enough for the great majority of ninjas. Still, by taking such a stance they will always run the risk of being defeated by a ninja who exploits their weaknesses. I expect you to show no weaknesses, Naruto.”


“Yes, Pain.”


“Very good. The next branch of ninja arts is known as genjutsu. Most ninjas would describe genjutsu as techniques used to create an illusion against one’s enemies in an effort to promote confusion and misdirection.” Pain watched as Naruto nodded his head emphatically.


“This is wrong.”


Naruto stopped his nodding and cocked his head to the side, awaiting an explanation. “I prefer to classify the branches by the method in which they are employed and not their effect. It makes them easier to understand and defeat in battle. Genjutsu, by my definition, refers to the school of abilities in which a ninja uses his own chakra to influence the chakra within the body of his target ninja in order to confuse or fool the sensory organs of the opponent. Allow me to demonstrate.”


Naruto watched as Pain’s hands came together and blurred quickly before drawing apart once again and settling into his lap. Naruto frowned, believing that nothing had happened, when Pain’s voice spoke from behind him.


“This is a simple genjutsu that I have cast on you. To you it seems as though there are two of me within this room.” The Pain behind Naruto walked to him and placed his hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “You can feel this, yes?”


Naruto gasped in surprise when the Pain across the desk from him reached forward and grabbed his right hand. “You both feel real!”


“And yet only I truly exist,” said the Pain still seated in the desk chair. The Pain behind Naruto moved around him and sat on the edge of the desk facing the boy. “I am only a figment of your imagination. If anyone else walked into this room right now they would see only you and the real me sitting silently.”


“How do I stop genjutsu?”


The phantom Pain disappeared while the true version nodded. “It will be some time before I am able to teach you to dispel any but the simplest of illusions. Now, tell me what the difference is between my genjutsu and this illusion ninjutsu.”


Naruto didn’t see any hand movement this time, but thought that he may have just missed it. Standing next to Pain was another perfect copy of himself, who proceeded to walk around the desk and stand in front of Naruto. Naruto looked at it closely but couldn’t see any difference from the cloaked man in the desk chair.


“Why don’t I give you a hint?” The illusion Pain then leapt into the air around three feet and fell down to the floor gracefully. As he landed, Naruto’s eyes widened in realization.


“He didn’t make any noise!”


Illusion Pain nodded this time. “Touch him,” came from across the desk.
Naruto leaned forward and gasped as his hand went through the illusion causing it to shimmer and disperse.


“As you can see, this jutsu is only meant to fool one sense – that of sight. It creates an illusion by lacing the air with chakra in order to form an incorporeal replica of the caster. Any disturbance in the chakra structure of the illusion will cause it to become unstable, dispelling the jutsu. This is known as the basic clone technique, and is generally one of the first that apprentice ninjas learn. While it is an illusion, I do not consider it a genjutsu because it does not act directly on the opponent’s chakra - only on the air that the clone inhabits. Do you see the difference?”


“Yup, I think I get it. Genjutsu tricks your body into thinking something is real that isn’t, but that clone was really there, it just wasn’t what it looked like.”


“Excellent. We can move on then to the final school of the ninja arts. Ninjutsu is by far the broadest school of the three and can be divided more thoroughly into smaller sub-categories. Elemental jutsus, such as the ones that we discussed earlier, can be considered one branch, while sealing techniques could be considered yet another branch.”


“Sealing techniques… Is that what you were looking at yesterday? A seal? Where did it come from? Why do I have a seal on me?”


Pain paused for a moment and studied the boy across from him, who had now leaned forward and placed his small hands on the edge of the desk. He was practically coming off of his stool. Pain began his reply slowly and deliberately. “I have every intention of explaining it to you, but I feel that it would be prudent to wait until your training has progressed further. You are right to be curious though – that seal will become very important to you in the future and you will have to be taught about it extensively. At the moment you need not worry about it. There are other subjects that we must cover beforehand in order for me to properly explain it to you. Right now any focus on that seal will only serve as a distraction from your training.”


Naruto decided that he could wait if Pain thought it was best. “Just please tell me as soon as you think you can. I don’t like it when people keep things from me.” Naruto continued in a small voice. “Like why nobody in Konoha liked me.”


Pain narrowed his eyes briefly before replying. “Very well. I will tell you as soon as I believe you are ready, but for now, ninjutsu.” Naruto straightened and wiped the melancholy look from his face.


“As I’ve already told you, ninjutsu is a very broad subject and covers all of the chakra manipulations that a ninja can perform by molding his internal chakra to affect either himself or creatures and objects outside of his body. In a sense, ninjutsu consists of all ninja abilities that do not fall within the scope of taijutsu and genjutsu.”


“Um, how is ninjutsu different from taijutsu if both can work inside the body?”


“A good question. Taijutsu utilizes raw chakra to strengthen a ninja’s physical form. In a sense it is rather unrefined. Internal ninjutsu can change the body’s make up completely. You have seen Konan’s paper abilities, correct?”


Naruto smiled and nodded. “Yeah, that was really cool.”


“Konan has an excellent grasp of her yin/yang affinity – so much so that she can change various body parts into paper and allow them to operate independently of her natural form. Soon I expect that she will be able to turn into paper completely. As you can imagine, that would be an exceptionally useful ability for many reasons.”


Naruto wrinkled up his nose in slight disgust. “So all of her clothes are actually made up of parts of her body?”


Pain smirked at the boy. “No, but they are made up of paper which she controls. Even a ninja as skilled as she is couldn’t manipulate her body at all times to such an extent.”


“Oh! What’s a yin/yang affinity? Konan said that you had an earth affinity last night.”


“Did she now? I suppose that’s not technically incorrect. As far as affinities go, there are six in total. The five elements: water, earth, lightning, wind, and fire, as well as the yin/yang manipulation affinity make up the six. The five elements are considered the major affinities and every person has an affinity for one of these five elements. Some ninjas also have strong skill in the yin/yang affinity, which deals with manipulations outside of the elemental ones.”


“So that means I have an elemental affinity. How do I know which one it is?”


“That will come later in your training. I should tell you though that most high-level ninjas train themselves in elements beyond their natural, primary affinity. By doing so they create secondary affinities that they can use in battle effectively. Any ninja can use basic skills of any element. However, to use powerful abilities efficiently a ninja must stick to those skills that are part of his affinity. Doing otherwise is wasteful and ineffective.”


Naruto placed a hand over his mouth and furrowed his brow in deep concentration. “I think I get it. I’ll find out my affinity later and then try to learn more.”


“Yes.” Pain stood from his seat and looked down upon his apprentice. “I think that’s enough theory for today. I have work to do now. I will bring you dinner in a bit. If you feel up to it I would suggest practicing molding your chakra like you did earlier, but try focusing it to different parts of your body, hands first. That way you can turn the lights on and off. When you become tired you may make use of the library if you like. So long as you take care of my scrolls you will have access to it in your free time. Tomorrow I will begin assigning you reading and we will start your physical conditioning. Make sure you get plenty of sleep, I will be waking you early tomorrow.”


“Alright Pain.” Naruto hopped off the stool and headed towards the doorway before halting.


Pain smiled at his back. “Left. Sixth door.”


The boy turned around and gave him wide grin. “Thanks a lot, Pain. For everything.”


Pain hummed quietly to himself and made a decision. “Before you go, Naruto, I wanted to give you something.” He pulled open the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a three-pronged kunai, the likes of which Naruto had never seen before in Konoha. “This is a very rare weapon that was created and used by the Fourth Hokage.” Pain paused as the small boy’s eyes widened and his mouth hung open in awe. “I thought you might like to have it since you were originally from Konoha. He’s rather well-known there, is he not?” Pain enjoyed leading the blonde on and sat back to observe his shocked expression. Naruto slowly walked forward and took the strange weapon from Pain’s hand.


“R-really? You’d let me keep it? No one’s ever given me anything like this before. Thank you so much!”


Pain nodded happily. The boy’s demeanor was contagious. “Take care of it, Naruto.”


“I will. Thanks again. This is so cool!”


With that the boy turned to leave his master to his notes, reverently holding the kunai to his chest as if it were some precious companion.


Pain was left alone with his thoughts. A kunai was certainly a better gift than a stuffed animal for a four and a half year old apprentice ninja, he was sure.


















Chapter 4: Sympathy For The Devil


A six-year-old Naruto panted and sputtered against swift-flowing waters as he closed in on the one-hour mark of his daily swim.


Pain had suggested that as an alternative to weight training Naruto should consider swimming in order to build up his strength and stamina. He had failed to mention that the most difficult aspect of the training would simply be cycling fresh air through his young lungs. Naruto couldn’t complain, though, despite Pain’s occasional remarks about unnatural lung capacity and “restraint.” It hadn’t taken him long to realize that he rarely ran out of breath while doing his other training any longer.


Naruto had grown to love his daily swims, despite their rather murderous pace. He had found a narrow stretch of river that had carved between two high tree-littered cliffs. This spot served two advantages. First, the water flowed so quickly that Naruto had to cut a respectable pace simply in order to stay stationary in the river while swimming against the current. Second, the high cliffs and even higher treetops served to protect Naruto from any occasional lightning strikes that found their way down from the ever-raining skies.


Konan had told him once that the country was weeping in sorrow for the countless dead that had met their end on the floodplains of Ame. Naruto wasn’t sure if she really believed that or not.


Naruto rarely thought about Konoha any longer. His time spent among the leaves seemed like a distant dream from another lifetime. One thing he did reluctantly pine for were the starry night skies that had helped calm him and find sleep after the especially lonely or cruel days in the village. Now, though, the dark skies and dancing lightning that Naruto had become accustomed to held their own special beauty.


He continued his freestyle stroke and cleared his mind of distractions – focusing on his own breathing and the sound of pattering rain hitting the river and drumming on his ears through the water around him. It was a calming distraction that he was often thankful for. Pain made sure that he took in so much on a daily basis – both in training and from the vast library the man had accumulated – that the boy found he sometimes needed to be able to simply clear is often scattered mind.


“Naruto.”


He was brought out of his pseudo-trance by a calm voice speaking from right over his shoulder – in the middle of the river. In his shock he sucked in a good amount of water and began coughing loudly while flailing a bit as the current finally began taking him away. His misfortune was only met by a quiet, melodious laughing.


After a moment spent recovering whilst drifting downstream, Naruto turned to glare at the woman who had interrupted him. He placed his right palm firmly on the water’s surface and pulled himself from the river to stand atop its surface as though he were standing on a sheet of glass.


“Don’t do that Konan. One of these times I’m going to choke to death because of you.” The blue-haired woman floated impossibly above the water’s surface grinning at him mischievously. Just below where her waist should have met her legs her body and ever-present black cloak seemed to end in thick stacks of paper that blended seamlessly with the rest of her body.


Ever since she had improved her body manipulation technique to the point where she could turn herself completely into origami shapes only a few months ago, she had taken to sneaking up on Naruto at all times of the day. Though she could not split completely out in the rain because her individual paper sections were buffeted too violently by the downpour, she could easily use her less complex manipulations – such as the ability to fly that she was utilizing now. She obviously hadn’t wanted Naruto to hear her walking up to him on the water’s surface.


“I was almost done. Couldn’t you have waited ten minutes?”


Konan’s smirk fell off of her face before adopting a more serious countenance. “We have a mission.”


Naruto’s face formed into a pout. “You and Pain always have missions. When are you going to let me take care of myself out here? The cave is only five minutes away. I don’t need a babysitter.”


“You do until you show that you’re ready to defend yourself from other ninjas. And I meant we all have a mission, the three of us.” Naruto’s eyes widened at that. “Pain wants us back at the cave right away for a briefing.”


A smile stretched across Naruto’s face and he took off running across the river’s surface and straight up the nearby cliff face. “Bet I can beat you back!”


With that he was gone.


-----


“I need you to kill someone for me.”


Naruto gulped at that. Intellectually he knew this day would come from the day he had met Konan. Unfortunately – or fortunately as the case may be - his rather small and sheltered environment had allowed him to avoid thinking about it. Pain and Konan were the only people he’d had any contact with since coming to Rain Country, after all.


Pain studied Naruto closely to judge the boy’s reaction. The child had come far since arriving with them and his hopes were high that the lost Namikaze would exceed his expectations.


That had become increasingly more important since Pain was now fairly certain that he would never be able to undo the Fourth Hokage’s seal. Weekly examinations of the seal showed that it was most likely too complex to unravel without destroying the boy and fox both. Then there was the problem with the fact that the fox itself wasn’t even all there. How Namikaze Minato had managed that was a puzzle that Pain had all but given up hope of solving.


The Kyuubi’s power would never be Pain’s. It was Namikaze’s now. So Pain had to adjust his plans accordingly. Everything would have to be handled… delicately.


“Who?”


Pain looked across his desk at Naruto and Konan who stood before him looking a bit grim. “Technically it doesn’t matter who. You have reached the midpoint of your allotted training period and it’s time you became a true shinobi. Today simply poses an ample opportunity to accomplish this.”


Naruto blinked and nodded. This was another test.


“This morning eight chakra signatures entered our borders from the north and began patrols within our territory, most likely attempting to seek out our primary encampments. Obviously, we cannot allow Hanzou to acquire this information now or ever. We three will go eliminate the group before they can learn anything of value.”


Naruto glanced at Konan who was stoically absorbing Pain’s words before turning back to Pain and nodding again. He knew that Pain and Konan led an actual army – though he had never seen it. Their camps were a good distance from the cave - absolutely no one knew where Pain and Konan lived besides Naruto. Normally they would be dispatched to eliminate these intruders, but Pain had apparently decided that Naruto needed to make this step forward in his career.


“Go get dressed and gather your equipment. Meet back here in five minutes.”


Naruto knew that he was the one being spoken to. He was still only wearing the shorts that he swam in. “Right away.”


-----


The rain had stopped for the last few minutes. Naruto wasn’t sure how, but it had given Konan an opening to use her jutsu in order to scout the northern areas of their territory. The three of them met – two stood, one floated – on a thick branch in the canopy of the dense wet forests that grew on the foothills of Rain Country. Most of the country consisted of a massive, empty floodplain surrounded by mountains and dense forests. Here in the south there were tall, rocky mountains and plenty of tree cover – perfect for hiding a rebel army.


“Six have set up an encampment in a clearing to the northeast – about ten minutes at a hard pace.” She had glanced at Naruto during the last part and received a nod in return.


“Then two are off performing a patrol. You must keep watch for them in case they return.”


Konan nodded in response as more paper broke off from her form and dispersed into the trees.


Pain turned to Naruto and sized him up one more time. Even after over a year of seeing the man every day, something about his piercing gaze still unnerved the boy. It was too intense. “Are you ready?”


Naruto paused for a moment and nodded forcefully. “Yes.”


“You are lying.” Pain did that sometimes. Naruto had never had reason or motivation to lie to Pain over anything important or damning, but the man could always see through Naruto’s falsities. In time it would lead Naruto to swear off lying outright altogether – instead settling for half-truths and misdirection. For now, however, Naruto had to come out with the truth.


“I’m nervous. And… and a little scared.”


Pain once again studied Naruto for a moment too long, causing the child to avert his eyes and look toward the ground, ashamed.


“Good.”


Naruto’s head snapped back up in surprise.


“Become too sure of your own abilities and they will fail you. Your nerves keep you attentive and aware of your own vulnerability. Konan and I will make the first assault. You must follow behind us and finish off any who survive our preliminary strike. I do not expect you to fight with these ninja evenly. You are simply supplementary.”


Pain paused for a moment and Konan chose this time to speak. “Remember that these men are professionals who will try to protect themselves and kill you if the opportunity arises. They are your enemies and should be treated as such. Do not hesitate to kill them or you risk your own death.”


“I understand.”


Pain turned to face the northeast and made ready to jump away. “Wait for our attack and then come behind us. You will know when.” Then he was gone with Konan right behind him.


Naruto waited a few moments before setting off himself. He wanted to make sure that he was not too far behind his companions but was also wary of stumbling into the enemy encampment if he pushed forward too quickly. There was no way that he could overtake them in a footrace, but they may stop to observe the enemy position before attacking. They both had drilled into Naruto’s mind the importance of strategy and tactics when engaging enemies.


It had been about eight minutes by Naruto’s count when the forest was ripped open by a massive explosion only about three miles away from Naruto’s position. He raced as quickly as possible as he could to the area, only to find a scene of untold devastation. This area of the forest had been completely uprooted – the fallen trees had been violently stripped of their leaves and smaller branches. Some had even been blown straight through the trunks of other, still-standing trees across the crater before him. All of it was on fire. The clearing that he had been told of was completely gone – the swath of destruction here stretched more than sixty feet across and nearly a hundred feet long.


Naruto paused to take in the scene and not for the first time wondered at just how powerful his minders truly were. This level of destruction was both amazing and terrifying to behold.


He shook himself from his state of awe. He had a job to do. Keeping to the still-intact trees around the edge of the crater, Naruto scouted the area for bodies. There should be six, he recalled.


The first item of interest that he stumbled upon was not a body. Not a whole one, at least. It was what looked to Naruto like an arm – severed at the shoulder – but it was difficult to tell since much of the skin and flesh had been burned and ripped from the limb.


That’s when the smell of burning flesh first hit him and he was forced to choke back the bile that threatened to rise up in his throat. He needed to get a hold of himself. To keep looking.


He found the rest of the body not on the ground, but spread through a nearby burning tree. The explosion had torn the man’s – he thought it was a man – torso in half and had scattered the ninja’s entrails about like holiday streamers. It was truly ghastly, but at least the man was dead.


The next one hadn’t been so lucky.


He was missing a leg, three fingers on his left hand, an eye, an ear, and most of his scalp. He would have succumbed to his wounds in minutes, but Naruto knew he had to do his duty and kill the man. It was a mission, after all.


The constant moaning coming from the poor soul was bad, but what was worse was the one good eye that followed Naruto as he landed in front of the dying soldier. It would haunt the boy for years – that eye that didn’t once blink, didn’t once look away from the bright blue eyes of Naruto even as the child reached out with his kunai and slit the man’s throat.


He killed a man, but it wasn’t so bad. The ninja had already been on his way to the Death God. Naruto had just sped him along. It was an act of mercy, really.


Naruto moved away from the corpse in search of his next target.


-----


Konan watched covertly as Naruto traversed the battlefield. She already knew exactly where the six ninjas had fallen. Three had been torn to shreds in the explosion. They had been sitting in the middle of their small camp conversing with one another when Pain and Konan had struck with a wind and fire fusion attack. She had been a bit worried that Pain had overdone it with his wind strike and that there would be no survivors for Naruto to find, but her fears were unfounded. The horrible gore was probably for the best. Most ninja battles didn’t get this ugly and Naruto would most likely not see anything much worse – at least not for a long, long time.


She hoped.


The fourth man – the one that Naruto had just silenced – had been in one of the tents during their attack. His may have been the worst end of them all since he had been alive long enough to experience it. Naruto had acquitted himself well, though, and now the man was dead.


Naruto was approaching the last two bodies. They had been patrolling the outskirts of the camp and were on the far side of the clearing from Pain and Konan when their jutsu hit. While this would normally have been fortuitous for them, in this case it meant that they were in the way of countless pieces of wooden shrapnel in the form of chips, splinters, and in some cases whole branches.


Their bodies were mostly intact. One had fallen on top of the other and both bodies lay still. The top body had been mostly protected from harm by the thick tan flak jacket he wore, but fate had been unkind and a small piece of wood had caught him in the throat just beneath the bulky re-breather that he wore. By the looks of it, the shard had split his throat open and the man had bled to death on his comrade.


The second body – the one that had fallen beneath his partner’s - still had a shard of wood sticking out of its left arm at the bicep that drew a decent amount of blood. The man’s right leg had also been broken if the unnatural position it lay in was any indicator. Konan couldn’t see any other wounds on the body from any of her many vantage points. She did notice, however, that the body was playing dead.


A hand on her shoulder stopped her from moving forward to assist Naruto. She turned quickly to see her friend standing beside her and watching their young companion intently. She was uncomfortable with the idea of leaving Naruto to his own devices. That man was at least a chuunin. She deferred to Pain on this matter though – he had taken Naruto on as his apprentice at her request and he always had a plan.


She just hoped his decision wouldn’t end up a poor one.


-----


Naruto came upon bodies three and four at the edge of the blast crater. They looked to have survived the attack much more intact than their comrades. The top one of the two looked dead, but he could be faking - blood could be faked.


Naruto threw the still-bloody kunai in his hand at the top body. It pierced his throat, but no more blood rushed and there was no reaction. The man was dead.


Something about the position of the second man made him nervous. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, but Naruto chose to proceed cautiously. Something felt wrong.


Drawing another kunai from the pouch on the back of his waist, Naruto approached the two bodies. He was only five feet away when the top body came flying at him, knocking him back and off-balance. Naruto barely had time to see the living ninja throw his injured body towards him behind his deceased partner’s, kunai in hand.


Naruto’s own kunai came up to block the attack, but the superior strength of the Rain ninja overpowered the boy’s hasty defense and batted the boy’s kunai away. Naruto could do nothing but raise his left arm in defense as the larger man’s kunai came back toward’s his head.


The kunai bit deeply into Naruto’s forearm. He was sure that he could feel it scraping bone. Despite the larger ninja’s success, his injured leg set him off balance as he placed weight on it. At the same time, Naruto spun his body away from his enemy out of reflex thanks to the horrible pain in his arm.


With his back exposed, Naruto knew he was done for. His injured arm was cradled pitifully against his chest and he struggled to bite back the pain. He had screwed up and was going to die now.


But he didn’t want to die. He was going to be a great ninja.


He did the only thing he could think of.


-----


The Rain ninja was in dire straights, he knew. The brat that had come to finish him off wasn’t the only rebel around here. He had to kill the brat quickly and go.


As a jounin of the Village Hidden in the Rain he didn’t believe the stories that the captured rebels told before they were executed. They were brainwashed criminals - foolish vigilantes that wished to overthrow Lord Hanzou’s rule.


But for a moment there, when that enormous firestorm had struck their camp and sent him flying into the woods, he wondered if perhaps God really had come to smite him.


It wasn’t worth wasting his thoughts on. He was a jounin and he was in trouble. He was in pain. He had lost a lot of blood. He couldn’t stand straight. He couldn’t think straight.


He had wounded the small child in front of him – a deep cut to the arm. The boy was obviously not experienced in actual combat considering his age and reactions. Despite the deep strike he had landed, the pain and damage to his leg forced him to pause in his assault – if only for a moment.


As he steadied himself and readied his next strike – one that would sever the boy’s spine at the neck – he was shocked and stunned to witness the wounded child disappear into a cloud of smoke.


It was a clone. He could have kicked himself for his lack of attentiveness. He spun around to scan for more enemies to come face to face with the uninjured boy not five feet from him – kunai drawn and charging at a full sprint.


But he was a jounin and no brat was going to kill him today. He easily broke the boy’s guard and gave a small grin as the boy impaled himself on the older ninja’s kunai.


He knew something was wrong when neither the boy’s expression nor his momentum changed. Then the boy shimmered into nothingness.


The Rain jounin didn’t have time to contemplate his mistake before his own spinal column was cleaved in two at the neck by a six-year-old boy named Naruto.


-----


Naruto panted as the adrenaline continued to burn through his veins. That bastard had tried to kill him.


He knew that he was lucky to be alive – lucky that the man had been so disoriented. He also knew that he would never doubt his instincts in the future – not for a second. They had saved his life.


Someone landed lightly behind him and he turned to find yet another Rain ninja. Though most of the man’s face was covered by the standard Rain re-breather, Naruto knew from his murderous eyes that he had witnessed his comrade’s demise. The ninja charged while drawing a kunai of his own. Naruto couldn’t beat this one. He was entirely uninjured. Must have been one of the two that had been on patrol.


Naruto raised his own kunai before him prepared to go out fighting, but the gesture was unnecessary.


The Rain ninja’s furious eyes shifted to shocked and confused as a metal ring sporting the kanji for “nothingness” was pressed into his exposed throat, followed by the rest of the black-painted fingers of Pain’s right hand. The Rain ninja’s momentum changed in mid-air and he was slammed into the base of a nearby tree trunk with the offending hand still wrapped around his neck.


Something broke when the man hit the tree – and it wasn’t just the bark and wood that shattered at the impact. Pain drew his hand back and rammed it into the man’s throat, crushing his windpipe. Something black slipped out of the sleeve of his robe and pierced the Rain ninja’s chest just over his heart. It all happened so quickly that Naruto wondered if he had dreamed it, but the lifeless eyes of the ninja as he slumped to the ground and the red blossoming over the wound confirmed that Pain had indeed shoved something through the man’s heart.


Pain slowly turned to look over to Naruto’s right. Dazed as he was, the boy followed the eyes of his master to meet the strange sight of a floating Konan impaling what appeared to be a mummy with a white spear. The paper making up the spear and the mummy’s wrappings quickly retreated to reform Konan’s legs and revealed another Rain ninja impaled through the chest. The body slumped lifelessly to the ground and Konan walked over to join them.


“Not bad.”


Naruto thought he had heard Pain speak through the slight stupor he was experiencing. The adrenaline was coming down now and his arm hurt like someone was holding a hot iron to his flesh. He had lost a fair bit of blood. “What?”


Pain turned to look Naruto in the eye. “I said not bad. You acquitted yourself quite nicely. How did you know that the man was faking death?”


Naruto tried to shake the blinking spots out of his eyes. He was feeling a bit lightheaded. “I had a bad feeling. I think I’m going to sit down.” Rather than sit, he slumped to the wet, spongy forest floor and blinked a bit stupidly.


“He’s lost a lot of blood. I’ll bandage him up.”


“Hm, let’s see the wound then.” Pain quickly and carefully ripped the bloodied gray sleeve from Naruto’s shirt and knelt down to inspect the gash on Naruto’s forearm.


“It’s deeper than I thought. We need to tie it up quickly.”


Pain remained silent as he stared at the wound with his mercury eyes. “It’s healing already. Kyuubi…” His voice was so low that Naruto and Konan barely caught it. Pain shook his head and nodded to Konan. She bent down and began wrapping the wound in gauze while some of her paper pressed tightly around Naruto’s upper arm to lessen the blood flow.


Naruto was drifting off from a combination of blood loss and fatigue. That just wouldn’t do. “Does it hurt?”


Naruto looked at Pain drowsily, but didn’t answer.


Pain frowned a bit and grabbed Naruto by his right shoulder – the one connected to his uninjured arm. The boy wasn’t in any real danger but it would be best for all three of them if he stayed awake. “Does your arm hurt?”


“A little… it’s dull… numb.”


“What did you mean you had a bad feeling about that ninja?”


“Felt wrong… in my gut.”


“That’s why you made the clone before you went too close to him? Instinct?”


“Yeah… instinct. Wouldna worked if he wasn’t so beat up. Got lucky.”


“Transforming into yourself to create a smokescreen was rather brilliant, I must say. You made him think the real you was some sort of clone dispersing. You’re correct though, it wouldn’t have worked if he hadn’t been so delirious.” Pain stood up as Konan finished. “We’ll have to work on your reflexes though. Can’t have you turning your back to the enemy every time you get cut, even though it let you form hand seals without being seen.”


Konan lifted Naruto onto her back and the three of them set off back to their home without another word. Konan let Naruto sleep most of the way.


They left the bodies for the birds. Let whoever stumbles across them wonder.


There was much to be done before tomorrow.


-----


Naruto sat on a stool at the front of Pain’s study frowning rather spectacularly at a scroll Pain had given him to read. He had been forced to forgo his training today because of the wound he had received the day before in the fight with the Rain ninjas despite the fact that his arm had been completely healed – bar a few small aches – when he awoke that morning. Naruto normally loved to read and learn whatever Pain was willing to teach him - as well as anything else that sparked Naruto’s curiosity in the library - but the contents of this scroll in particular gave Naruto quite a bit of unpleasantness to ponder.


At the moment that unpleasantness translated to a great deal of fidgeting. “This means…”


“Finish reading the scroll before you ask me any questions, Naruto. I imagine that you have determined that what it contains is rather important, especially to you.”


Naruto sent an angry glare at Pain for that. The man didn’t even look up from whatever it was he was working on today. He had miles and miles of notes in the scrolls he kept from what Naruto could tell. Who knew what he was doing.


An hour later Naruto was fuming. “I’m done. Now…”


“What is a bijuu?”


Naruto growled. “Something I have inside of me?”


Pain looked up and raised an eyebrow. “You are angry with me because of this? I did not put it there. Now, what is the general definition of a bijuu?”


“Why do I…”


“Naruto.” Pain’s voice was deathly cold. He rarely if ever expressed any sort of emotion, but in this case he made his displeasure towards Naruto’s insubordination crystal clear. “Answer my question.”


Naruto was too angry to cower, but his better judgment won out and he drew deep breath before beginning. “A bijuu is a tailed beast. They are malicious, sentient formations of pure chakra that take on the likenesses of various animals and are known as avatars of destruction. No one knows how they were formed or how long they have existed, but they are known as great sources of power in the world. They number nine – each with a corresponding number of tails. One for the Ichibi. Two for the Nibi. Three for the Sanbi…”


“Very good.” Pain rose from his chair and moved around his desk to lean back on the piece of furniture – a favorite spot of his for his lessons with Naruto. “Now, what is a jinchuuriki?” He spoke again before Naruto could open his mouth. “The general definition, please.”


“A jinchuuriki is a human sacrifice that has a bijuu sealed within him at the time of his birth. Theoretically a jinchuuriki can learn to harness the power of the bijuu it harbors in battle as a source of great power. Only a newborn child can be used for this process because a newborn’s chakra coils are still undeveloped and can therefore adapt to the massive influx of chakra associated with having a chakra monster exist within him.”


“What is the purpose of creating a jinchuuriki?”


Naruto snorted. “To create a living weapon out of an innocent baby, obviously.”


Pain paused a moment to study Naruto – as he was wont to do. The words rolled slowly off of his lips when he spoke and Naruto could tell that he was reaching the end of his tolerance for Naruto’s attitude. “Obviously. Is there any other reason that a person might create a jinchuuriki that you could think of?”


“Some people like tormenting small children?”


Pain stood up to walk back to his seat. “I don’t appreciate you wasting my time with childish antics. Return when you can act like a rational person.”


Naruto was angry, yes, but he had never pushed Pain this far before. And he felt ashamed. As he lowered his head to stare at his lap he was surprised to feel something warm splash down on his hands. He hadn’t noticed he was crying. He hadn’t done that since coming to Rain Country. Wiping his face with his sleeve he looked up to try to apologize only to find that Pain had remained standing in front of his desk looking at Naruto intently.


Naruto looked away quickly. When he spoke, it was in a quiet voice that seemed foreign to him. “Why me?”


“Do you really think you are ready to know?”


“I… I’m sorry about just now. This is why everyone hated me in Konoha, right? Why would anyone do this to me?”


“Perhaps we should return to a previous question. Why would anyone create a jinchuuriki if not to create a weapon?”


Naruto rubbed his face with his sleeve again. He was still crying. Damn. “I don’t know.”


“Have you guessed which bijuu is within you?”


“I’m not sure. I don’t know where they are or who has them. It could be any of them, right?”


“I believe that the story of the Fourth Hokage is well known in Konoha, is it not?”


“Of course. He killed the Kyuubi and saved the village.”


Pain raised an eyebrow at that. “Killed? The Kyuubi? I think not. You did read the scroll didn’t you? I will tell you now that the Kyuubi is not only the strongest of the nine but also dwarfs the others in terms of sheer power. What happens when a bijuu is defeated?”


“Only the weaker ones have ever been defeated in battle and not simply sealed, but they always come back after a while. Does that mean they can’t die?”


“They are simply formations of chakra. They are not alive in the same way that we are. They have no flesh and blood form. Their chakra is so great that they are self-sustaining entities. They very well may be truly immortal.”


“Then the Fourth couldn’t have killed him. Are you saying he sealed him in me? How do you know?”


“You were born in Konoha on the day of the Kyuubi’s attack. You did know that your birthday is October 10th, did you not? It isn’t common knowledge to most.”


Naruto’s tears just wouldn’t stop. “I didn’t know that. No one ever told me.” He drew a shaky breath. “So he made me into a jinchuuriki so that the village would be saved. Then why did everyone hate me?”


“Because they were stupid and angry. The Fourth Hokage was worshipped as a great hero in Konoha even before his death. He gave his life to seal away the monster that killed their friends and family. The pain that loss caused had to have an outlet and that outlet became you. It isn’t uncommon for jinchuuriki to be seen as dangerous monsters causing them to become outcasts in society. Forcing such a massive and terrible power upon a newborn child can lead to severe consequences for all involved. The bijuu do not appreciate their imprisonment and sometimes will twist and warp the jinchuuriki’s psyche into something untenable.”


“The bijuu can speak to the jinchuuriki? Then why hasn’t the Kyuubi spoken to me? He’s supposed to be evil!”


“We will discuss that after your questions are answered. Do you have any more?”


Naruto took a moment to collect himself. He needed to know. “Why me?”


Pain’s eyes drifted away from Naruto, lost in thought, before the man gave a small nod to no one. “Konan and I believe that the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, was most likely your father. I will show you a picture of him later, but you look almost identical. It would be the simplest and most logical explanation.”


Naruto’s gaze returned to his hands folded in his lap and the tears seemed to come even faster. He had always dreamed that one day his parents would come to get him when he lived in Konoha – just like Konan had. He had always dreamed that he would have a big family with brothers and sisters, a mother and father, and that they would love him. “He did this to me even though I was his son? Didn’t he care about me?”


“Don’t think little of him for what he did. It was no doubt the most difficult choice of his life to seal the Kyuubi into you. If he had sealed it into no one you would have died along with the rest of the villagers. He could not ask the villagers to give up what he would not.” Pain stood up and turned to examine his paper-littered desktop. He began sifting through the sheets as if looking for something. “Not just anyone can contain the power of a bijuu – and certainly not that of the Kyuubi. Namikaze Minato was no doubt one of the strongest shinobi to ever live and his blood flows within you. He chose you because you were the best option. In any case, the seal he placed on you proves his love for you.”


With a rather silly flourish he swept a sheet of paper off of the desk and handed it to Naruto, who quickly wiped his teary hands on his pants and took the sheet. Naruto appreciated the stoic man’s antics, slight as they were. “This is the seal that holds the Kyuubi dormant within you. I must confess that it is the most complex fuuinjutsu I have ever seen or heard of.”


Naruto looked up from the intricate seal drawn in simple pencil on the paper.


“It is unlike any other jinchuuriki seal in existence. I am certain that he designed it specifically for you – to help you achieve your goals.” Pain leaned back on his desk adopting a thoughtful pose. “The trouble is that I can’t determine just what it is that this seal is supposed to do. Unless I see the original schematics it’s unlikely that I can determine its purpose. The fact of the matter is that the seal is slowly breaking down.”


Naruto almost panicked. “But then Kyuubi will get out!”


Pain cocked his head to the side in thought – a strange expression for him. “Maybe yes, maybe no. Your father did something to the Kyuubi before he sealed it within you that may change the equation. What I can tell you is that the breaking down of the seal is a gradual process and that it was meant to occur. Whatever happens when the seal is damaged enough is only known by Namikaze.”


Naruto scrunched his face up at the name. His tears had stopped flowing down his red and puffy face during Pain’s explanation. “Why am I called Uzumaki if my father was Namikaze?”


“To protect you from his enemies of course. Why, if anti-Konoha elements learned that you were both a powerful jinchuuriki and the son of their enemy’s greatest hero who knows what they might do? Maybe kill you.”


“Maybe kidnap me?”


A small grin spread across Pain’s face. “Who’s to say?”


“Are you anti-Konoha then?”


Pain’s grin faded and his face shifted back to its usual expressionless façade. “That’s a question better left for another day. The short answer is no, I don’t have a problem with Konoha specifically. My issues lie with the way of the world in general. There’s too much unhappiness. Too much war.”


Naruto nodded. He liked Pain and Konan quite a lot, but understood that as ninjas he may not like what they were doing. He’d let his questions rest for now.


“Back to the seal and the reason the Kyuubi has not contacted you. Your father took special precautions to prevent the Kyuubi from manipulating you before you were old enough to, hopefully, resist its machinations. He also blocked nearly all of its chakra from you. That is the reason why you have never drawn on any significant amount of it as of yet. A large influx of the Kyuubi’s tainted chakra could overwhelm your own chakra – especially if you had not been training to increase your chakra capacity. With your father’s safeguards in place, even if you had remained a civilian your entire life Kyuubi should not have been able to influence you unduly without your consent. This is one of the reasons why I say your father’s love for you is shown in the seal he made. He planned for every contingency.”


Naruto smiled at the thought of the Fourth Hokage – his father! – putting so much effort into keeping him safe.


“The fact of the matter, though, is that you started your ninja training much earlier than he had any right to expect. As a result your chakra reserves are almost certainly higher than any other child your age in the world as a combination of your training, genetics, and Kyuubi’s presence. I would like to accelerate the process of breaking the blocks on your father’s seal so that you can access Kyuubi’s power earlier.” The look of horror on Naruto’s face caused Pain to continue quickly. “There is a good reason for this. At the rate the blocks on the seal are deteriorating it will take at least another six years before they fall and the seal begins working in earnest. Breaking these blocks will not damage the seal itself.”


Naruto’s expression had calmed a bit, but he still did not look happy about the prospect. “When the seal begins its work your chakra levels will rise quite abruptly. Frankly, your chakra control will disappear and you’ll have to start all over again. The sooner this process is accomplished the sooner you can grow accustomed to your new chakra levels and the sooner your body can adapt to using the Kyuubi’s chakra. Your ninja career will have to be put on hold when the blocks break and I believe it would be better if that occurred sooner rather than later.”


“Could anything bad happen?”


“I don’t believe so. As it is now, the blocks will break down slowly and your chakra will gradually grow until the final break where there will be a large surge. By breaking them now the surge will be larger and therefore it may be a bit more stressful on your body. I’m confident, however, that the seal will protect you from any truly harmful backlash. As I’ve said, you already have more chakra than most ninja twice your age. My main concern is that the Kyuubi will be able to contact you.”


This prospect frightened Naruto quite a bit. He had no intention of ever talking to the horrible monster that had killed so many – including his own father.


“As I’ve told you, this process is inevitable. The only question is if you think you are able to ignore its manipulations or not. I do not believe that it will be able to converse with you on a regular basis. Only in times of strife or strong emotion will the two of you speak.”


Naruto nodded.


“I am confident that you are ready to shoulder such a responsibility. You have handled yourself well this last year with us. I would like to go ahead and perform this procedure, but the final decision must be yours as the Kyuubi’s warden.”


Naruto steeled himself before responding. “Alright, I’ll do it. I can’t afford to be wasting time if I want to be the greatest ninja ever.”


Pain nodded and turned to his desk. He began to roll up scrolls and stack papers before carrying them to the shelves that surrounded the room.


“Um, we’re doing this on your desk?”


Pain turned around to face Naruto. “Yes.”


Naruto nodded slowly. “We, uh, don’t need some big sealing circle or something?”


Pain continued shuffling the papers together. “We’re only breaking some superficial blocks. It’s a simple process.”


“Oh. Okay then.”


Naruto was brought out of his puzzlement by the door to the study opening. Naruto expected to find Konan walking in, and she was, but behind a rather large man dressed entirely in black. Naruto nearly panicked at a stranger’s presence in their home. It had never happened before.


“It’s alright Naruto. He’s only here to observe.” Naruto looked back at Pain but his focus quickly returned to the stranger. Naruto hadn’t seen many fat ninjas before. There were a few in Konoha – he knew – but he mostly thought of ninjas as fit and trim warriors. This one was not. His strange physique was only eclipsed in weirdness by the fact that he was completely covered in black cloth from head to toe. The only parts of the man’s body that were exposed were his two hands. The fingernails were painted black – just like Pain’s and Konan’s – so he assumed he was a subordinate or ally of some kind. Naruto did wonder how the man was expected to observe with his eyes covered in cloth, but he supposed that it was probably thin enough that he could see through it.


“Naruto.”


The boy turned back to Pain, who was gesturing towards the desk. Naruto walked over and easily hopped up onto it – this time under his own power – and removed his shirt. As he lay back on the hard surface a question popped into his mind after recalling many uncomfortable examinations of his seal.


“Is this going to hurt?”


Pain took on a thoughtful expression before reaching down and pinching a nerve on Naruto’s neck. The boy blacked out like a switch had been thrown.


“No.”


-----


Naruto exited the training cavern with his spirits high. He had finally managed to regain the ability to walk all the way to the cavern’s ceiling up its slick walls. A perfect doppelganger of himself met him in their makeshift kitchen. The imposter passed him a plate of slightly burnt fish before shrugging and disappearing in a puff of smoke. Naruto would just have to choke it down.


Ever since Pain had cleared the blocks from his seal two weeks prior Naruto had been afflicted by horrible chakra control that was reminiscent of when his training had first begun. This was almost worse though. He was relearning the basic skills at an even slower pace than the first time around. It took him nearly all of the first week to simply relearn the transformation and replacement jutsus that academy students were often taught. Even worse, he was entirely incapable of creating a clone like the one that had saved his life against the Rain ninja.


After listening to Naruto complain for nearly an entire afternoon and evening, Pain had decided he’d had enough and taught Naruto the advanced Shadow Clone technique. It used a ridiculously large amount of chakra and was therefore perfect for Naruto. Despite learning the jutsu in only a few hours, he was forced to spend all of the next day memorizing and reciting the advantages and drawbacks of the jutsu – which was classified as jounin level.


The jutsu was incredibly dangerous by its very nature. Like other clone jutsus, the number of clones that a ninja is capable of forming is dependent on the user’s level of chakra. What set the shadow clone apart was that instead of using a static amount of chakra to form a clone, it split the ninja’s entire chakra pool evenly between the clones and the user. Making just one shadow clone meant that the ninja lost access to half of his total chakra pool.


There was a good reason for this, though. Not all of that chakra was used in the formation of the clone – in fact relatively little was. The remaining chakra allowed the clone to use the full range of jutsus that the original could. The shadow clone would only be destroyed when its chakra ran out or its chakra matrix was interrupted by outside forces – usually an attack. The shadow clone was a substantial clone and had the same physical characteristics of its creator. It felt, looked, and acted like the original in every way. It even formed a chakra circulatory system that mimicked that of the user.


Best of all – in Naruto’s opinion – was the fact that when the clone was dispersed - either because all of its chakra had been depleted or because its matrix had been destroyed - the user and all of the remaining clones recovered the unused chakra from the dispersed clone. What was particularly useful about the shadow clone was that with this chakra came all of the memories and experiences that the destroyed clone had obtained. If a clone read a book and then dispersed it would be as though Naruto himself had read the book. The possibilities for learning and even training were endless.


As excited as Naruto was about learning the Shadow Clone jutsu, he was equally baffled by Pain’s insistence that Naruto now hunt and cook for himself with the abilities this new jutsu imparted to him.


He still sucked at cooking. He couldn’t wait to be able to water walk again. It would help him quite a lot when it came to fishing for food every day. He liked fish well enough and they were much easier to come by than the other wildlife in the area – though Naruto was sure he’d be testing his mettle against new critters in no time.


Finishing off his less than appetizing dish Naruto headed towards Pain’s study to inform him of his progress and to get his assigned reading. Pain liked to set out lessons in the early evenings to help Naruto cool down from a day of training and to make sure that he was knowledgeable about ninja abilities and the world at large. Some of it was boring, but Naruto supposed that if he wanted to become the greatest ninja of all time he should probably start by learning about other great ninjas.


He didn’t bother knocking on Pain’s door any longer. The man could probably hear him coming from the other side of the complex and never minded the interruptions. The door wasn’t even half open when Naruto started talking. “I finally made it back to the ceiling. I think using some shadow clones helped speed it up a bit. I would make two and replace them every five minutes and I think it helped…”


He stopped when he noticed that, for the second time in two weeks, an unfamiliar figure was standing in Pain’s study. This one could be described as even more odd than the fat man before. He was slim and about as tall as Pain with spiky black hair that fell down to the middle of his back. He wore standard shinobi sandals that led to wrappings that extended halfway up his calves. There they met loose, black pants that carried up to an equally loose black top under which Naruto could see a tight shirt covering the man’s neck up to the base of his jaw. Most puzzling of all was the striking, oval mask that completely covered the man’s face and was held in place by a thick black band around the back of his head. The mask was a bright orange with black tendrils that seemed to reach from the right side of the mask to the left where they converged around the mask’s only eyehole. On his left hip hung a long katana with an ivory sheath.


Naruto had no idea what to make of him.


Pain and the masked man had been staring silently at Naruto even as he entered the room. The mystery man turned back to Pain after a moment as if expecting a response to the intrusion.


“That’s excellent news, Naruto. Return to your room and I’ll come for you after this meeting is over.”


“Naruto…” The masked man spoke for the first time while slowly turning his head back to view the boy.


Naruto found the strange figure’s voice entirely unremarkable and continued to study the man even as he felt his inquisitive look returned.


Then Naruto died.


Or at least that’s the first thing he could think of to describe the sensation. It was as if he was being suffocated – squeezed in a vice – except from all sides and all at once. The pressure was unbearable, but even worse was the feeling of hatred – of absolute loathing – that he was experiencing. All of the glares he could remember from back in Konoha combined were nothing compared to this. The world wanted him to die – to disappear – and Naruto wanted nothing more than to oblige it.


He felt himself slipping into darkness. He couldn’t take this anymore. He just wanted it to end.

Madara! Calm yourself…


-----


Naruto wasn’t sure how long he was out for, but he knew immediately that something was wrong.


He was sitting on a cold stone floor in what felt like half an inch of stale water. It soaked his pants and caused him to shiver slightly. Even so, he didn’t feel he had the strength to stand back up.


As his eyes opened he panicked when he saw that the masked man was standing over him. He pushed himself away frantically with his hands, but only succeeded in backing into a cold, concrete wall only a few feet from where he had first started. He was still in the puddle. He was cold. He was scared.


The man turned away and slowly padded off across the stone floor – which Naruto now saw was truly immense. Even with the dim, eerie lighting that seemed to emanate from nowhere he could see that the room he was in – for that is what it was – was massive. The wall behind him stretched out almost to the limits of his vision. To the left he could barely make out another blank wall with a small hallway leading off of it – to where Naruto didn’t care to know. Across from him was another seemingly endless wall – gray and imposing. There was no wall to the right. Instead there were what appeared to be evenly spaced pillars made of corroded metal that reached from floor to ceiling. Behind them lay only darkness.


The masked man had approached the center of the pillared side of the room and looked it up and down before lightly clearing his throat. The noise carried regardless.


“Six years of darkness and yet you dare to show your face before me now… betrayer.” The voice was deafening, malicious, inhuman. Naruto realized that there was something behind those pillars and it was evil. Naruto curled even further into a ball and leaned into the wall for support. He didn’t want to know what lay beyond the rusty pillars – the rusty bars. He closed his eyes.


He wanted to disappear.


“Surely I have no idea what you mean.” It was the masked man speaking again. Naruto hated him. It was that man that brought him here – that was talking to it.


“Do not lie to me human! You sent me there, knowing what would happen. I am not your subordinate or you tool to be experimented with! Know that I blame you for this… imprisonment.” Naruto didn’t know how something so evil could sound even more terrifying. His entire body was shaking now. Why wouldn’t it end?


“How was I to know that the mighty Kyuubi would be defeated so soundly? I’ll admit I had my concerns, but surely you didn’t expect me to foresee your current… circumstances.”


The cavernous room shook with a roar more horrible than any Naruto had ever imagined. It was like a storm. “You patronize me even now. Were I able I would consume you, body and soul, for such insolence. Listen to me and listen well, Uchiha Madara. Get me out of this place. Get me out or on my very existence I swear your misery will be dwarfed only by the vastness of time itself. Get. Me. Out.”


Naruto desperately wanted the voice to go away. Why was it still talking? Who was that man and why did it know him? As the questions raced through his reeling mind his body continued to curl up on itself and shake uncontrollably. He silently begged for someone, anyone to end this now. He wanted to go home.


A hand grabbed him gently but firmly under his upper arm and he could feel himself being pulled up from the wet floor. “Stand up.”


He knew that voice.


He opened his eyes and lifted his head to see Pain standing beside him looking down on him with just a bare hint of concern written on his face. “Stand up, Naruto.”


The boy staggered to his feet and took a moment to find his balance. The shaking had stopped and he felt better already with Pain there. The stoic man – the only man that Naruto saw as family – turned his attention to the masked man who still stood in front of the monumental cage. The masked man – Madara – hadn’t stopped his conversation with the monster. Naruto could see the gigantic, glowing red eyes of the beast now – each taller than a man. They were truly terrifying, but with Pain standing beside him he could look upon them – with fear, yes, but also with determination.


Konan’s words from a time long past came back to him. “If you look away from what you fear then your terror of it will only grow.”


Naruto looked upon the Kyuubi now and felt his fear diminish – if only slightly.


“No need to use such damning words, Kyuubi. Plans are already in motion to release you from this place. All I require is your patience in this matter.” Naruto had to admire the man just a bit for standing before the monster and speaking so calmly to it. He supposed that he was a novice in these matters, though.


Pain placed his hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “It’s easy to show courage in the face of a being who can do nothing but curse its own helplessness. Remember this and remember how far the mighty – and the arrogant – can fall.” The words were said softly so that only the two of them could hear. It made Naruto feel warm that even before such great and terrible forces he and Pain could still conspire a bit together. He knew his master was a powerful and important man with powerful and important allies like this Uchiha Madara, so when Pain talked to Naruto he felt important too - especially now when other powerful and important people – and things – were present. He wasn’t being left out. “I think it’s time we get back on track, don’t you agree?”


Naruto could only stare as Pain began walking forward towards Madara.

“Do not offer me false platitudes. Free me from this place and then, perhaps, I will forgive your treachery.”


“As loath as I am to cut this reunion short, you did not come to me today to have words with this… thing.” Madara tensed slightly as Pain spoke from behind him and turned slowly to observe the newcomer.


Madara stood still for a moment staring at Pain. “I did not expect to see you here.”


The fearsome red orbs narrowed at the newcomer. “Who are you, human, to interrupt us?”


Whatever the Kyuubi had been expecting, it was not the response it received. Pain looked up to stare at the monster before him and showed no reaction when the Kyuubi’s narrowed eyes widened as their gazes met. “I am the one who will be freeing you from this place.” Pain glanced over his shoulder towards Naruto before returning his rippled pools to the bijuu. “Or not.”


Pain’s attention turned back to Madara. “Shall we return to our business, then?”


The masked man studied Pain for a moment before nodding slightly. “Very well.”


Then he was gone.


The piercing-riddled man gestured Naruto forward to stand beside him. The boy did so reluctantly. Pain placed his hand on Naruto’s shoulder once more and they faced the Kyuubi together.


“I take it you can feel the truth of your situation, can you not? You already know that you will not be escaping this place.”


Luminous eyes narrowed as they stared down at the two. “I will not abide imprisonment, human. Be it in my true form or within this body, I shall be free.”


Naruto didn’t like that one bit, but decided to let Pain do the talking. After all, he didn’t know what to say.


“In this body, you say? I would suggest then, Kyuubi, that you not hamper my student’s growth. If you intend to take his form, would it not be better if it were strong?” As he spoke he gave Naruto’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“You do not believe me capable of gaining control. I tell you this, human. Many have underestimated me in the past. None have survived.” The monster paused for a moment and its massive red eyes closed in thought. “Still, your words hold some merit even if you speak them for the boy’s sake. I will not fight him if he proves to be a worthy vessel for my power.” The giant orbs snapped back open. “What say you, boy? Will you continue to cower before the strong or will you rise up and take the power of this world for yourself?”


Naruto knew that it was time for him to speak. He steeled himself and met the monster’s eyes unflinchingly. “I’ve already promised to become the greatest ninja in the world. You don’t have to worry about my determination.” A frown grew across the boy’s face. “I may have been afraid when I first came here, but don’t think for a second that you can twist me from behind my father’s prison. I will do what I want and you won’t stop me.”

“Strong words from a whelp so sure of his own invulnerability. Do not flaunt it so. I will not abide your foolishness. I will not abide death. Not now. Not ever.”


Pain stood forward again. “In any case, there is still the possibility that you can be freed. Only time will tell. Know that your fate rests in Naruto’s hands, Kyuubi. And mine.”


The Kyuubi’s eyes narrowed in anger and a low growl emanated from its cage. “I have nothing left to say to maggots such as you. Be gone from here!”


So they went.


-----


It was later that very night, after the man known as Uchiha Madara had departed, that Pain and Naruto spoke again.


“Will he really be able to take over my body?”


“It is possible, but for that to happen the seal would have to weaken over a decade or more. I cannot be sure if it is even possible. In any event, we have plenty of time to prepare a strategy if that time ever comes.”


“Won’t I die if Kyuubi gets out like that man wanted?”


“Yes. But as I’ve said before, I doubt that such a thing is even possible. We will investigate. In the meantime, allow me to worry about Madara while you focus on your training. Perhaps we will start working with the Kyuubi’s chakra soon. It will be necessary for you to learn how to harness it.”


“Good night, Pain.” Naruto walked slowly back to his room to fall into bed. He was dead on his feet.


“Naruto.” The boy turned to look back at his friend and master. “I am sorry about what happened today. I did not expect Madara to react so harshly to your presence.”


Naruto nodded and left the room. He was too tired to think about the events of the day. Sleep called to him, and Naruto answered.


-----


Naruto slammed into the wet ground and felt his right arm break even as he rolled and skidded uncontrollably across the forest floor. Before he could stand up or even take stock of the situation a blow crashed into the side of his chest breaking ribs and driving the air from his lungs.


He had been returning from his morning swim and fishing trip. For the last two weeks Pain and Konan had let him move to and from the river on his own. Now he was regretting it.


Ribs aching, Naruto let forth a pitiable moan as he clutched at his chest with his good arm. His head spun and his vision blurred. He looked up to see his assailant just as another blow landed on his temple knocking his head back against the ground and sending him reeling.


It was the fat man from that day in Pain’s study. He was still dressed from head to toe in black with only his two hands uncovered. The man continued to rain blows down on Naruto’s now unprotected body. He lost track of how many bones had been broken. He wasn’t sure he could count that high.


He needed help.


Where was Pain? Where was Konan? Where was someone? Anyone?


Help me!


He was shocked to hear a voice growl back.

Very well, whelp. I will not abide our destruction!


It felt like liquid fire was flowing through his veins, but at least the aches and pains were gone. His head cleared a bit as he glared up at the fat man towering above him. He had stopped his attacks and appeared to be just staring down at the boy.


Then he jumped back a number of feet.


Naruto stood up slowly – frankly astonished that he could. His body seemed to be wholly recovered from the brutal beating that he had sustained. He took the moment of respite to glance down at himself and gasped when saw clawed hands in front of him. His clawed hands. They were covered in a transparent, red, viscous looking substance that seemed to be rolling off of his body. He looked down at himself and found that he was covered in it.


It was chakra, but he had never seen visible chakra before – only that molded into jutsus. It must be the Kyuubi’s. The uncomfortable tingling he felt all over his body was a testament to the malicious character of the monster’s chakra. It was slowly burning him alive.


Naruto’s attention was drawn back to his surroundings when numerous footfalls alerted him to the presence of others.


He was surrounded by men in black cloaks decorated with crimson clouds. One stepped forward and he recognized Pain looking at him with what seemed like approval. Naruto swiveled his head back to the fat man in black when the man reached up to pull the dark cloth from off of his head and eyes.


Naruto gasped as the eyes pierced his own. Staring back at him from the man were the same rippled steal-blue eyes that he saw every day on Pain’s face. This man too had black piercings on his face though they were in seemingly impossible positions - as if they were growing right out of the man’s head. The man’s hair - slicked back and held in place with the same slashed Ame forehead protector that Pain wore - was the very same rusty orange of Pain’s own. In fact, now that Naruto looked around, all of the men surrounding him shared the piercings, hair, and striking eyes of Pain.


“What’s going on?”


Pain continued to step towards him slowly – eyes never leaving the boy’s own. “Everything is alright, Naruto. How do you feel?”


“Who is that man?”


“He is me. We are all Pain.”


Naruto shook off that response. His mind was racing too fast to analyze the words. “Why did he attack me?”


“To force you to draw out Kyuubi’s power. We’ve been unsuccessful so far so I believed that forcing your emotions to rise and Kyuubi to protect you might work.” He gestured slowly towards Naruto. “As you can see, it did. Now, how do you feel?”


“Like I’m being stuck with a thousand tiny needles. My skin itches… burns.”


“Unsurprising. Now try to draw the chakra back into the seal and close it away. I can assist you if you like.” The fat man stepped forward a bit, hands raised slightly.


“No! No, let me try on my own.” He was still wary of the man… clone… body that had attacked him. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine drawing the red chakra back into the seal on his stomach but found himself unsuccessful time and time again. The burning sensation that he could feel all over his body continued to increase. “Hurts…”


“I’m going to seal away the excess chakra before it does serious harm.” The fat man moved forward but Naruto flinched away.


“I won’t hurt you.” This time the fat man had spoken in a deep baritone voice.


“It’s alright, Naruto. He is me. I’m just trying to help.” The original Pain came to stand in front of Naruto with the fat man. “Hold still and relax.”


The fat man placed his hands above Naruto’s shoulders and continued to stare at the boy’s chakra-coated body. It was then that Naruto felt rather than saw the red chakra being sucked away from him. Looking to his right and left he was astonished to see the destructive miasma disappearing into the man’s hands.


It was over in moments. The red chakra was gone and Naruto fell forward weakly only to be caught by his master’s form. “Are you alright, Naruto?”


“I hurt all over and am a little tired, but yeah, I guess.” Naruto struggled to stand on his own but in the end settled for leaning on Pain’s arm. Again he turned his attention to the congregation of pierced and menacing men around him. “Who are all of these guys?”


“As I said before, they are me.” Seeing Naruto’s confused look Pain went on. “Think of them as the most complex clones you’ve ever seen. How did you think I ran our army always cooped up in the cave?”


“I never really thought about it. So these guys have their own minds like a shadow clone?”


“Not exactly.” This came from a slim man with a high ponytail behind his head and a long bang that fell to the right of his face. A truly bizarre piercing stretched across the bridge of his nose and seemed to be driven into the flesh underneath either eye. Naruto didn’t want to think about how painful that had been to come by. “We share a collective consciousness. In effect, we are all one and the same. I, Pain, control all six of these bodies simultaneously. They are my Six Paths.”


“So… wait. If you’re all the same person, then which one of you is the real Pain?”


Naruto never got his answer that day. He was deterred by the six identical, wicked smiles that split the otherwise markedly different faces of the men around him.


It would be a very, very long time before Naruto asked again.

[Dethklok]

How soon until Chap. 7 is popping up?

I love this story and want more of it.

[Howdy]

Chapter 5: Gimme Three Steps

“Haha! Knew your luck couldn’t hold out forever, kid. Two pair, kings and tens.”


“I’ve got aces and fours.”


The large man’s expression fell in an instant as the assembly burst out in uproarious laughter. “You’ve got to be fuckin’ shittin’ me.”


The small form of an eight-year-old boy leaned forward to pull his winnings of loose bills and unopened packs of cigarettes into the considerable pile already stacked before him.


“Why’d we ever let this brat start playing with us, anyways?”


The answer came from a wiry man seated to the left of the speaker. “Because you thought he’d be an easy mark, dumbass.”


“I swear, that kid has the devil’s luck.”


Naruto grinned behind a black cloth mask as he looked up from his winnings. “Something like that.”


A darkly clothed figure approached the group from the opposite side of the small campfire burning brightly nearby. The dancing flames of the fire kept the area surrounding the flat stump that the five card players were gathered around brightly lit. “Oh, damn. You guys still letting Tiger take you to town every time you have a mission? I thought you lot were smarter than that.”


“Tiger? I thought the brat was Kitten?”


“Hehe, not since he tore that poor chuunin limb from limb.” The newcomer turned to the sandy-haired man who had asked the question from over his shoulder as he gathered his cards for the next hand. “You didn’t hear about that, Aizawa?”


The man – Aizawa – grunted. “Just got back from a two week mission up north yesterday morning. Now I’m going out again. No rest for the wicked, eh?”


“You can go cry to Lord Pain if you’re so put out. See how that goes for ya.” The smirk that accompanied that statement receded as the dark man continued. “Anyways, some pyro rookie was flinging explosive tags all over the damn place. Tiger over there ran up and tore him apart like nothin’.”


“Just a leg and an arm.” Naruto didn’t like them blowing everything out of proportion. The man hadn’t been paying attention to his surrounding – content to cause as much mayhem as possible – and paid the price for his carelessness.


“Oh, just an arm and a leg was it? Did you cut them off or what?”


The man standing over the card game spoke again. “Nah, nothing so nice. Kid shredded the poor bastard. He looked like hamburger afterwards.”


“Damn. Kitty’s got claws, eh?”


Naruto placed two cards from his gloved hands down on the stump before him as his turn to draw came. “You have no idea.” The words were mumbled more to himself than anything, but the rest of the players shifted uneasily as they caught his mutterings.


“Say Tiger, what are you going to do with all those smokes you won anyway? You seem a bit young to have a use for ‘em. Your mama’d probably give you a good spanking if she found you smoking at your age.”


Naruto gave a small chuckle. “If I was lucky. You guys use them as currency in these games so I will too. I’ll sell them later on if I can’t lose them.”


“Just remember, your luck can’t last forever, brat. It’s called karma.”


“And who says I haven’t already had my share of bad luck?” That kept the players quiet for a long minute.


A figure landed beside the campfire causing the assembly to look up quickly. “Game’s over, gentlemen. I have our orders from Lord Pain.”


The cards and winnings were quickly pocketed or sealed away, the lone observer wandered off, and the newcomer appraised his squad. “We’re to hit a supply depot tomorrow morning, early. We’ll be running all night. Stay awake. Stay aware.”


The answer came simultaneously from all five ninjas. “Yes sir, captain.”


Then they were gone.


-----


Naruto’s sleepy gaze met the slitted blue orbs of his reflection as it did every morning. The mirror had been a rather recent addition to the cave’s washroom – added only a year before - and had only been acquired after no small amount of panic from the blond child. The boy had been justifiably concerned when only a few months after the activation of his seal Pain and Konan had begun sending him an inordinate number of puzzled and concerned looks.


Then came the daily examinations of his seal.


At first Naruto was content to write these oddities off to his imagination, but when he had started growing claws – hard, long, and sharp – where his fingernails and toenails had once resided he decided that it was time to take a more proactive approach to determining his current status.


It hadn’t actually taken too long to convince his minders to provide a mirror that he could use. Konan had procured one almost immediately – presumably one that she and Pain had been hording all to themselves somewhere. They did have an uncanny knack for looking immaculate in their black cloaks despite living in a cave with no running water.


Naruto had been justifiably upset when he first examined himself. He certainly looked a bit demonic with the now incredibly thick scars on his cheeks that ran back to his ears, long, sharp fangs that hung over his bottom lip - which he had been studiously ignoring up to that point - and slightly pointed ears which were thankfully covered by his messy hair.


Strangest of all were Naruto’s eyes. They had maintained their trademark blue color but the pupils had stretched vertically, just like a fox’s. As a result, Naruto found that he had almost perfect night vision and that his eyes could quickly adjust to rapidly changing levels of light – an ability that came in incredibly handy on the battlefield with exploding tags and fire jutsus being tossed about like confetti. The skin at the edges of Naruto’s eyelids had also darkened to a near-black hue giving him the appearance of wearing eyeliner at all times.


After the initial panic of seeing his new visage and assurances from Pain that the seal was acting normally and that the changes were simply a result of the Kyuubi’s chakra being drawn on at such a young age, Naruto found that he actually liked the new look he sported. It made him unique and fearsome – two qualities that he admired in a shinobi like Pain.


Naruto decided that he would do nothing to downplay the changes and even grew his spiky hair down to his shoulder blades in order to look even more “wild.” He was the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, after all. It was part of who he was and Naruto quickly assimilated that fact into his identity as a ninja. If he was to be the strongest ninja ever, he had to look the part.


Now if only he could convince Pain to let him out without covering everything up. Ever since Naruto had started missions with Pain’s forces he had been forced to hide as much of his physical appearance as possible. He wore gloves and close-toed shinobi sandals – which were incredibly uncomfortable on him - to hide his claws, a dark cloth mask to hide his whisker scars and fangs, and even a long bandanna to keep his unruly hair mostly covered and controlled.


He understood the need to keep his appearance hidden, of course. Such unique characteristics would raise interesting questions among both Pain’s and Hanzou’s men. So many people couldn’t keep a secret no matter what was tried, and Pain certainly didn’t want news of Naruto’s presence in Rain to get back to old Sarutobi.


Naruto didn’t particularly want that either. He was content to train and gain experience under Pain’s and Konan’s expert tutelage. He owed the two so much that the least he could do was help them achieve their goal of freeing Rain. They were the closest things he had to a family, after all.


Content with his appearance, Naruto left the washroom and made his way to Pain’s study. He had been told the night before to get plenty of sleep because he was to be assigned a special mission today. His footsteps were light and almost noiseless, yet Naruto had still never been able to approach the room without being heard long before he reached the door.


He was a bit surprised when he heard familiar voices emanating from the study. Pain nearly always kept the door closed and sealed against sound penetration, especially during conversations with “outsiders.” Naruto could only assume that Pain had wanted him to overhear this conversation for one reason or another.


“… finally put his plans in motion?” The high, melodious tone was Konan’s.


“Yes, the Uchiha clan is now reduced to three…” This was Zetsu. Naruto hadn’t heard him come around in some time. By the fact that he’d stopped talking so abruptly Naruto could only assume that his presence had been detected by the strange man - thing. He kept walking towards the study and knocked softly at the partially open door.


“Enter.” Naruto walked in to find that Pain, Konan, and Zetsu were all present and standing before the battered desk.


Pain turned away from the door and back to the odd man. “Now that Itachi is a missing nin he can be placed in the field full time. I’ll have him paired with Kisame. Hopefully their personalities will rub off on one another… or cancel out.”


Zetsu stared at Naruto for a bit, which did nothing to set the boy at ease. The black and white man was obviously put out by the fact that Pain didn’t seem to care to keep Naruto out of their conversation.


“Hello again, Zetsu.” The man ignored him.


Konan sent Naruto a slightly apologetic glance before speaking again. “Why did Madara not tell us this himself?”


Zetsu appraised the woman for a moment before his lighter side answered. “Apparently he is helping Itachi recover from the battle and sent me in his stead.”


Pain decided to take control of the conversation once again. Naruto had learned quickly that the man didn’t like to mince words with his “associates.” “If Madara can keep Itachi under control then he will be an excellent addition to our organization.”


“Still, it is a shame that we lost Orochimaru because of the boy.”


“Orochimaru never intended to stay with us long. He simply took advantage of our offer in order to get close to young Itachi. The man was far too arrogant and self-centered to follow our rules. Were it not for the fact that he poses no threat to us I would have destroyed him for his treachery myself. His time will come soon enough.”


“He has been busy these last two years.”


“And no doubt he will remain so now that he is content with his so-called immortality. I imagine he will set his sights on Konoha once again.”


“Madara will not want us to interfere.”


“I have more important things to concern myself with than Orochimaru’s games. My own plans are nearing fruition.”


“Very well. I will take my leave then.” Zetsu paused for a moment before shifting his sight to the stone floor and then back to Pain.


Pain raised an eyebrow and then a finger, pointing behind the assembly. “The door is there.”


Zetsu spared one last glance at the expressionless face of Pain before turning and walking through the wooden portal. Naruto thought he caught the strange figure mumbling to himself under his breath.


Once the man was gone Naruto let loose a barking laugh. Zetsu always made a habit of popping in and out unexpectedly. Apparently Naruto wasn’t the only one who had found it rather rude and annoying.


A small smile graced Pain’s face. “The wonder of seals.” He leaned back on his desk and turned his full attention to Naruto. “I’m going to give you your first solo mission. You’ve been out of the country on small group assignments, but this will be very different from what you’ve been tasked in the past.”


Naruto straightened at that. He’d been bugging Pain to give him a solo mission ever since his training period had ended and he’d begun taking missions.


“What have you learned of Akatsuki?”


-----


Naruto silently cursed the bastard who decided to build a ninja village in one of the world’s tallest mountain ranges. It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle the steep and rocky environment. He just wasn’t used to it. The unstable paths and cool weather were nothing like Ame or even Konoha. It was windy, chilly, and all around uncomfortable. Naruto couldn’t wait to be out of here.


His target was alone on a rocky terrace at the top of a long, stone stairway that led up from the base of the mountain. She sat cross-legged on the ground with her eyes closed. She seemed to be meditating, completely unperturbed by the small gusts of wind that whipped her long platinum-blond hair about her head. She was rather small – being only a couple of years older than Naruto himself – and wore simple black shinobi pants and a long-sleeved cream-colored shirt.


On the surface Naruto’s mission was laughably simple while at the same time remarkably delicate. He could think of about six thousand ways to screw up – not a few of which would result in his untimely death.


He had to talk to a girl.


This girl, actually. The problem arose from the fact that Naruto had only talked to two members of the female species at any length in his life: Konan and Ayame – the ramen shop owner’s daughter back in Konoha. Konan didn’t count. She was more of a mother / big sister / evil overlord of chakra control figure to Naruto. He hadn’t seen Ayame since the day that Konan had taken him away from the Village Hidden in the Leaves.


The light-skinned girl before him was a ninja, though - or something like that - so he supposed he would treat her like he would another ninja. Without the sarcastic comments. Or cursing. He could usually keep the swearing under control, despite the beginnings of a rather severe bad habit forming from all the time spent with Pain’s men. He’d have to keep working on that.


Not now. Later.


But still, cut back on the cursing.


Okay. Now that that was settled he just had to decide how to approach her. She didn’t seem too aware of her surroundings, but that was just one of the side effects of meditation, he supposed. Perhaps the direct approach was in order. He was here to talk to her, after all.


He landed only ten feet in front of her and quirked a small grin when she started and jumped to her feet, looking around frantically for any sign of attack while crouching low to the ground. She remained tense as her gaze finally fell on Naruto, who imagined he looked a bit frightful without any of his normal coverings on. Today he wore only his typical dark gray ninja pants and shirt.


“Hello. Nice day, don’t you think?” He was terrible at breaking the ice, he concluded. A bit embarrassed at the horrible line, he reached back with is right arm and rubbed the back of his head through his wild mane of hair while not failing to notice the young girl tense up at the innocent movement. She had a decent amount of training already then. That or she just expected him to hit her.


“Who are you?” Her voice was cautious and a little confused, and for the first time Naruto noticed that her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, as though she had been crying.


“Ah, sorry. My name’s Naruto. Pleased to meet ya!” He took a step forward and extended a wickedly clawed hand, which only caused the girl to flinch and take a step back. “It’s a bit frightening, huh? Sorry about that.”


She shook her head to regain what little composure she had. “What do you want?”


“I came to talk to you, Yugito.”


“Me? How did you know I was here? How do you know my name? Are you a spy sent to kill me?”


Naruto raised his clawed hands above his head in a placating gesture. “I guess you could call me a spy, but I definitely wasn’t sent here to kill you. I just came to talk.”


Yugito’s reddened eyes bore into his own. “About what?”


“Are you alright Yugito?” This question seemed to throw her off a bit. “You look like you’ve been crying.” She turned her head towards the ground in shame before remembering her situation and looking up at him again.


“I’m fine.”


“You don’t look fine.”


The girl was starting to get angry. “I said I’m fine. Now what do you want?”


“What’s wrong?”


Now she was practically snarling, her tears forgotten. “Not that you’d understand anything about it, but I was training. Now tell me what you want before I kill you!”


“The Two-Tailed Cat isn’t very good company, huh?”


The somewhat fearsome visage the girl had adopted melted away abruptly only to be replaced by a look of fear. “How do you know about it? Who are you really?”


Naruto discretely took a step forward while the girl was distraught. “Just a kid who wants to know if you like what you’re doing. What you’re going to do…” He paused for a moment before feigning curiosity. “Why are you up here anyways?” He already knew why she was on this mountain – Unraikyo – and nearly half a day’s travel outside of the Village Hidden in the Clouds - but he’d rather hear it from Yugito herself.


Yugito was looking more and more unsure of herself as the conversation drew on. “My master lives here most of the year. It’s quiet…” She shook her head once again. “What do you want from me?”


“Are you happy?” The question once again caught the young girl off guard.


“Wh-what?”


“I asked if you were happy. Are you happy, knowing that you’re training to become a weapon for the Raikage? Knowing that the most they’ll ever see you as is the cage for the Nibi? They’re training you to become a monster in battle. Right here, right now.” Naruto took another small step towards the girl. “Does that thought make you happy?”


Yugito was losing whatever was left of her composure. Still crouched low, she reached into the kunai pouch on her back and withdrew one of the sharp weapons, holding onto it as though it were a lifeline. “I’m going to be a great Kumo kunoichi. Killer Bee is helping me.” She shook her head again in distress. “I don’t want to hear it! I don’t know you. You’re probably here to make me defect! You’re trespassing. I’ll kill you!”


But before she had even finished her rant Naruto had jumped into action. The distance between them was only seven feet, and he closed the gap in a fraction of a second.


Naruto was never one for real subtlety when it came to words. He probably could have avoided having it come to blows, but Naruto was a boy of action, and action he took.


Drawing his fist back, he drove it – hard - into the girl’s stomach just below the rib cage. She dropped like a rock and grasped her battered abdomen, kunai all but forgotten on the ground next to her. Naruto didn’t waste any time as the girl gasped for breath. Flipping her unceremoniously onto her back with his foot, he straddled the poor girl’s chest and dropped his bottom onto her heaving stomach – right on top of her hands.


The air knocked out of her a second time and her hands now trapped underneath the body of her assailant, Yugito could do nothing but gasp for air as the small, feral child leaned forward over her form and grasped her exposed throat with one of his clawed hands.


“Killer Bee is helping you to become a tool of the Raikage. Did you think that you’d be like him? Allowed to do what you wish, to go where you wish? Did you think you’d be respected for anything other than the power of your bijuu?” He saw the fear in her eyes, and for a moment, he pitied her helplessness. “You are not the Raikage’s brother. You are his weapon. Who do you think put the Nibi within you, and why?” She struggled desperately but Naruto simply shifted his weight and tightened his hold on her pale neck. “To them you are nothing but a weapon of war. They care nothing for you. That’s why they brought you here to gain control over the Nibi. So long as you can wield the bijuu’s power for them they will be content to allow you to live – to maintain some semblance of freedom.”


Naruto inhaled loudly and deliberately. “If that’s all you want in your life, then by all means ignore my words, but for now, listen.”


The girl was tearing up again. She knew she could do nothing at this point to dislodge the little demon boy sitting on her belly without risking him tearing her throat out.


So she listened.


“Years from now, when you are grown, you will have to make a choice. Will you continue to sacrifice your very existence to appease those who see you as a prized pawn, or will you break free and become your own woman? Will you be controlled or will you forge your own future?” He leaned down over her, his lips next to her left ear. “Will you be a great monster, or a great kunoichi?”


Naruto liked this. He felt powerful. He also felt a bit ashamed at having stripped the defenses from this girl who was just like him.


Still, he had a mission to accomplish, and he needed his words to sink in.


He could maim her. That would certainly leave an impression. It was a bit crude though, and a bit cruel. He didn’t particularly want to be remembered as cruel. As he hovered only a few inches above her frightened, tearful face, he came up with a better plan. He leaned down and put a big, wet, and sloppy kiss right on her lips.


He knew this action would be horrifying enough to make sure she remembered him and his words.


God knows he was plenty horrified by it.


But now it was time to leave. He leaned back, giving her some room and spent a moment observing her shocked and confused face before speaking one last time. “When that day comes, ask yourself if you are happy. Your life depends on it.”


He slowly started to stand, but thought better of it and slammed his fist into her stomach again for good measure. It wouldn’t do for her to stab him in the back. He began walking away, being sure to confirm that the girl was still lying on the hard, smooth stone in shock. Hopefully she’d remember when the time came.

Intruder. One. White. Northeast. Fast!


One of his shadow clones had dispelled. Naruto only had enough time to leap out of the way before a projectile embedded itself nearly six inches into the hard stone where he had been standing – arcs of electricity still dancing around the blade.


Naruto frowned. He already knew quite a lot about his assailant just from the small bits of information he had gleaned in the last two seconds.


First, the newcomer hadn’t attacked his shadow clone directly. He had bypassed it - forcing the clone to dispel itself - which meant that the man knew the abilities of the shadow clone and how to spot them, which also meant that he had probably seen more than one despite Naruto’s best efforts to keep them hidden.


Second, the man was incredibly fast. Far faster than Naruto, in his eight-year-old body, could ever hope to match.


Third, he was lightning chakra natured, which is what had allowed him to electrically charge the short sword that had been thrown at Naruto.


Fourth, the short sword he had thrown was an extremely rare and powerful weapon made with chakra steel. While a ninja with lightning natured chakra could channel their electricity through any metal object, the fact that the sword had retained its charge even after being released meant that it could absorb the chakra nature of its user. Not just anybody could obtain such a weapon. The newcomer was a somebody.


Naruto was in deep shit, and he knew it. The light patter of feet hitting the ground behind him – near where he had left Yugito gasping for air – only served to confirm how badly he had messed up. He had meant to be gone by now.


He didn’t even have to turn around to know who was standing behind him. Still, it wouldn’t be very prudent to ignore his attacker.


Killer Bee wore sunglasses. He also wore seven swords in a specially made sheath on his back – one of which was now missing. His chest was adorned with the standard tight white flak jacket popular among Kumo jounin. His arms were bare, showing off his well-muscled, ebony biceps. Unlike his peers, he wore a long white scarf and two odd, long tassels that hung from his uniform.


He was the Raikage’s younger brother, the second strongest ninja in Kumo, and by all accounts the strongest jinchuuriki in the world.


Naruto had to figure out how we was going to survive the day, and quickly. Any wide-area jutsu wouldn’t do anything but scratch this man – resiliency ran in his blood and was only augmented by the bijuu within him. The young boy was outclassed in every way.


“Did you have something to say to Yugito?”


Naruto remained tense, still trying to think of a way out of this mess. “We already finished our conversation.”


The man’s head turned slightly to observe his young charge as she slowly and painfully rolled onto her knees, not even attempting to stand. Having confirmed that she was relatively unharmed, he focused his attention on Naruto. “You’re trespassing.”


“I know.”


“Cheeky brat. Don’t you know that I’m going to kill you?”


“I really wish you wouldn’t.”


Killer Bee cocked his head to the side. “How old are you?”


Naruto considered the question for a moment. “Eight.”


The large man smiled. “It’s a good number. A good year to die.”


“I’d really rather live to be nine.”


The dark-skinned man continued to appraise Naruto. “That’s an interesting look you have.”


“I know.”


Naruto was ready. Forming the hand seals for the shadow clone jutsu, two copies appeared at his sides and let loose with as many shurikens as they could muster. Killer Bee rolled quickly and easily out of the way as even more shurikens flew towards him from the rocky heights around the terrace. Naruto’s shadow clone sentries had arrived.


He dove backwards and pushed chakra to his clawed right hand as he grasped the hilt of the still crackling sword embedded in the ground.


Killer Bee seemed to pause for a split second in his dodging as he witnessed the lightning recede from the blade. The boy was wind-natured. He quickly resumed his acrobatic rolling in order to keep well ahead of the continuous shuriken barrage.


Naruto became alarmed when he realized that the large man was slowly moving closer and closer to him even despite his clones’ best efforts to keep the two separated. Killer Bee was a monster in close combat. If he got near enough then Naruto was dead. He had to make his move right now.


At a signal his shadow clones let loose with the rest of their weapons in one massive barrage, forcing the dark-skinned jinchuuriki to jump off of the ground in a short, fast leap to Naruto’s right. Naruto forced as much wind chakra as he could into Killer Bee’s short sword as he pulled it back. And he prayed.


Naruto had never used a chakra blade before and wasn’t quite sure of the dynamics. On top of this, he was only just becoming proficient with wind manipulation – he still had a long way to go before he achieved mastery. He needed the blade to move fast and true, so he packed the wind chakra around and through the blade, added a spin, and let fly.


All three of the jinchuuriki were shocked when a loud crack rang through the mountains and the sword leaped from Naruto’s hand at incredible speed. The boy had lead the older jinchuuriki’s movement as he leapt through the air in the hopes of catching him in the chest with the thrown sword, but he hadn’t realized just how fast he could throw the chakra blade. It tore through Killer Bee’s left bicep sending blood and flesh spraying from the wound.


The man hissed in pain as he landed unsteadily and rolled to avoid a small brace of shurikens. When he looked up once more, his target was nowhere to be found. It took a few moments before he had confirmed that both the boy and his clones were gone. He stood easily despite the gaping wound in his arm and walked back over to Yugito, who sat breathlessly on the hard ground.


“Son of a bitch.” Despite the fact that the flesh of his arm was already knitting itself back together, Killer Bee was not happy. “Did that brat tell you his name?”


Yugito looked up sheepishly at her master. “Um, Naruto I think.”


The large man’s head snapped around at that.


“Shit.”

-----

Naruto loved playing poker.


It wasn’t about the money. After all, what would he spend it on?


He liked the challenge.


To Naruto, playing poker was like being a ninja without the risk of bodily harm. Each player was given a set of tools - which the opponent was completely unaware of - with which to do battle. The object of the game was to defeat your opponent or force him to retreat through deception and calculated risk.


Unlike other games of strategy, poker allowed a player to cut his losses and run from the battle. Each hand was like a skirmish in a war, and every good ninja knew when to save his skin and run. Games like chess and go started the two opponents on equal footing with only their wits to guide them. But ninja weren’t created equal. Even the smartest ninja would fall to a strong opponent if the gaps between their levels of skill and power were too large.


There was no retreat in those games. You either lost or you won. It was easy to find yourself in an untenable position, and then the game was over.


Poker allowed the player to pick his battles – just like a good ninja did. It was a lesson that Naruto was glad he had remembered just two days ago in Lightning Country.


Naruto’s love of poker had brought him to Otafuku Gai in Fire Country for the day. He figured he would cut through the forests of his early childhood – keeping well clear of Konoha, of course – instead of trudging back into the gloomy weather of Rain Country on his way southwest to the Village Hidden in the Sand.


He was currently playing in the high roller’s backroom of a rather large casino - which was a bit strange by everyone else’s estimation. Eight-year-olds were not often seen at this table, but Naruto had forked over the money that he had accumulated from scalping his fellow Rain rebels, foraging through the belongings of ninjas he’d slain, and turning in bounties on missing ninjas that he’d collected on his few trips outside of Rain Country. The old bastards at the table had grinned at what they thought would be an easy payday. They were regretting it now.


“How the hell does the creepy brat keep winning?”


Naruto didn’t particularly appreciate being called creepy, though he supposed their comments were justified. He had once again donned all of his usual coverings so as not to alarm any of the players with his appearance. His eyes probably unnerved them. That was good for him though - most players didn’t play as well when they were nervous or skittish.


He glanced down at the large stack of chips before him and smiled. It had been a very good day so far.


The game was interrupted when a thin, middle-aged man ran into the room rather dramatically. Naruto figured that it was a friend of one of the players. “You’ll never guess who just walked in!”


“Keep it down Yoichi, we’re in the middle of a hand.” Yep, the newcomer must be an acquaintance of the squat, bald man who was about to bluff all of his money away to Naruto.


“The Legendary Sucker’s here!” That drew the attention of the man.


“You’re kidding.”


“No, she just walked in and she’s headed back here!” A number of wicked grins passed around the table before the bald man made his large bet.


Naruto called almost immediately, earning a loud grumble from his opponent. “Well, that’s it for me then.” As he raked in his winnings his statement was met with shock and surprise.


“You do know that the Legendary Sucker always dumps money when she comes around here, right? You could make a whole lot more.”


“That’s alright. I figure I’ll let you old folks recover from the pounding I gave you.” His wide grin was visible even through the dark cloth of the mask he wore. “Besides, it’s getting to be my bedtime.” That got a few chuckles. Naruto always found it best to leave a game on a high note, especially after he took all of the money.


As Naruto was racking his chips, the door to the backroom swung open to admit a young woman with long, light blond hair tied into pigtails followed by another young woman with short black hair holding a… pig. Naruto did a double take upon seeing the blond woman. No way was she really that young, or her breasts that huge. Wasn’t she supposed to be forty-something?


Naruto knew who the “Legendary Sucker” was, of course. The famous Sannin of Konoha had a reputation as the greatest ninja healer in the world and – more recently – the worst high-stakes gambler in Fire Country. She was actually the reason he was leaving. He wasn’t sure how close her ties were with Konoha these days, but her background as a medical ninja would certainly lead her to question Naruto’s strange getup. She most certainly had known his father and knew of Naruto himself.


He wasn’t taking any chances.


“My seat’s free, I was just getting up.” Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him as she took in his appearance. She’d never seen a kid back here before, nor had she seen one so strange. “I’ll leave these old farts to you. They seem real eager to part with their money today.”


There were some grumbles and some chuckles at that. “No one’s as lucky as you, kid.”


Naruto rubbed the back of his head endearingly. “Sure, sure. Good luck with these guys, lady.”


Moments later he was out the door with a set of chocolate-brown eyes boring into the back of his head.


He wasn’t sure he was going to like the desert any better than the mountains, but he’d find out soon enough.


-----


Naruto did not like the desert.


At all. Especially considering that Pain ordered him to cover himself up thoroughly when he traveled.


He had killed a guard in order to gain entry into the Village Hidden in the Sand – there was no other way around it. The massive shield wall was constantly observed for any enemies trying to scale it in order to enter the city, and the narrow gorge that led through the wall was heavily guarded as well.


He’d settled for sprinting up the massive wall in the dead of night and ordering a shadow clone to stick a kunai in the lone guard’s temple to silence him. Then he’d jumped down the other side and checked into a hotel room.


No one would trace a dead guard to an eight-year-old boy, after all.


He awoke early the next morning thanks to the dry, oppressive heat that began to permeate his room the instant the sun rose above the shield wall.


Time to find his target.


Pain had warned Naruto that Sabaku no Gaara was a bit unstable thanks to his seal and the nature of the One-Tailed Tanuki. Naruto was pretty sure he’d never met anyone who was “unstable” before, so when he found the red-haired boy on the outskirts of the village playing with sand and mumbling to himself under his breath, Naruto was understandably cautious.


There were two types of jinchuuriki in the world: powerful tools and rejects. Naruto knew right away which type he was, and Pain had never tried to dissuade him of this notion. Naruto was a tool, but he was also a part of Pain and Konan’s dysfunctional family. Naruto was perfectly fine with that. He was treated like a person, a subordinate, and a friend. Ninjas were tools of their masters, and to Naruto - so long as they liked their masters - there was nothing wrong with that.


What Naruto was looking at now wasn’t a good tool – it was a reject.


Naruto didn’t have any patience for rejects. Sure it wasn’t fair that jinchuuriki got stuck with a raw deal in life, but to give in to the whisperings and ravings of the bijuu was – in Naruto’s mind – a horrible failing.


It was weak.


Jinchuuriki were expected – chosen – to be greater than the bijuus they held at bay. If a jinchuuriki could not do the one thing asked of him above all else then he was a disgrace, plain and simple.


Sabaku no Gaara was a disgrace. Sabaku no Gaara was a failure.


Still, Naruto had a job to do and a mission to complete. He would deliver his message and be gone – hopefully never to return to this God-forsaken place.


He approached cautiously from Gaara’s front, wary of startling the lunatic. “Hey there!”


The redheaded boy didn’t seem to notice him at first, but at Naruto’s call he looked up to meet the blond’s eyes – the only part of his body that was readily visible. Naruto was too close to Suna to remove his coverings as he had in Lightning Country.


Naruto got his first good look at the Ichibi’s jinchuuriki and did not like what he saw. The boy’s jinchuuriki markings had manifested themselves around his eyes, giving him the raccoon-like appearance typical of the tanuki. It made him look a bit out of it. Even more disturbing was the red kanji for “love” carved into the boy’s forehead. Had he done that himself?


Damn. The kid was even crazier than Naruto had feared.


“Go away.” Gaara’s eyes darted back and forth as though expecting attack at any moment. He probably did, actually. Pain had mentioned that Gaara’s own father, the Fourth Kazekage, had ordered him assassinated on multiple occasions.


“I just want to talk to you for a minute.”


“I said go away. Mother is resting.”


“Uh, mother? There’s no one here but you and me, bud.”


“When mother wakes up, she’s always hungry.” Naruto wasn’t even sure if the kid was talking to him or just rambling to himself at this point.


He took a few cautious steps forward. It was hard to hold a conversation from thirty feet apart. “And what does she like to eat when she wakes up?” He figured he’d go for appeasement just to get the crazy boy to settle down and listen – though Naruto wasn’t sure how much good his speech would do. Unless the kid got his head screwed on right in the next few years he’d be just another casualty of Akatsuki.


Gaara’s teal eyes met Naruto’s cerulean blue for a moment. “Mother likes blood.”


Okay. This guy was absolutely fucking crazy. With no small amount of horror Naruto realized that Gaara’s “mother” must actually be the Ichibi. Now that was messed up. “Well, be that as it may, I have a message to give you and your, um… mother.”


Naruto couldn’t believe he had just said that.


A slight rustling of sand was the only indication he received that an attack was incoming. He jumped to the side just as the massive form of a hand made entirely out of sand crashed to the ground where Naruto had been standing.


Fucker was trying to kill him.


“Mother wants your blood.”


Naruto snarled. “Well tell her she can’t have it.” He’d have to take a more direct approach. The only problem was that this close to the city he couldn’t use any of his larger jutsus without drawing unwanted attention. He’d have to get a bit creative.


He threw a group of shuriken at the deranged boy but was discouraged when the sand surrounded the redhead in a makeshift shield. What was worse was that Gaara didn’t even seem to be paying attention to Naruto’s attempted attacks. The sand seemed to protect him on its own. Naruto created two shadow clones and the three surrounded the redhead. Together they threw even more shuriken. Sure enough, the sand wrapped around Gaara and took the blows from the blonde’s projectiles.


Okay. So he had to get past the sand.


Signaling his two clones, he sprinted forward to draw the attention of the Ichibi’s vessel while the clones rushed in from behind. Naruto was faster than Gaara’s sand, but just barely. As he and his clones weaved in and out of the earthy defense he saw his clones land blow after blow on Gaara’s arms and legs with their kunai. Finally content with their effort, he jumped back from his prey even as his clones did the same.


The satisfied grin on his face melted as his clones shook their heads at him dejectedly and dispelled.


What in the hell?


As Naruto gained his clones’ memories he immediately came across the problem – their kunais couldn’t pierce Gaara’s skin. Or more accurately, they couldn’t pierce what was covering his skin. The little shit had sand caked all over his body!


Making two more clones Naruto decided he’d just have to aim for unprotected locations. The clones charged in once again to draw the sand away and give Naruto a clear path to his target – a target that he had just now realized hadn’t moved a single inch since the start of their fight. Did the kid really rely so heavily on his sand?


That was a mistake that Naruto was keen to take advantage of. While Gaara’s sand was distracted, Naruto charged in at top speed, slamming his knee into Gaara’s exposed stomach and throwing him backwards onto the ground.


Damn, but that hurt! The kid weighed over two hundred pounds with all that sand on. No wonder he couldn’t move much.


Not wasting time, Naruto pulled out a kunai and positioned its tip just an inch above Gaara’s left eye. “Enough of this bullshit! You move again and I’ll cut out your goddamn eye. I just came here to talk but apparently you aren’t capable of conversa…”


Naruto had assumed that the boy pinned below him would possess a self-preservation instinct, but apparently he relied on his bijuu’s to take care of both of them. Without warning Naruto was swept off of the redhead’s chest and hurled bodily across the dry, rocky ground. He hadn’t been prepared for that. Stupid.


Now he was angry. What the hell was wrong with this kid? If Naruto had any expectation that he would be resisted like that then Sabaku no Gaara would be down an eye right now.


Then it hit him.


If the sand protects him automatically then who’s to say the kid has ever been hurt? Of course he wouldn’t fold to a threat of physical pain or dismemberment if he had no basis to compare such an injury to.


Well, Naruto would just have to change that. Time to give this bastard a lesson in pain.


Naruto’s remaining clones had been dispelled by now, so he created two more. His strategy had worked well so far, and because Gaara didn’t seem to be a strategic fighter Naruto didn’t see any reason to change his plan of attack. The crazy jinchuuriki had obviously relied on the powers of his bijuu for far too long.


The blond boy charged in once again – this time adding wind chakra to his hand. The Blade of Wind jutsu was the only seal-less technique he could use, but it would serve his purposes here – to cut through that obnoxious sand armor of Gaara’s. Naruto’s clones were destroyed more quickly this time, and he wondered if perhaps his opponent was learning his attacks or if the bijuu itself was adapting to his style.


No matter. He’d made it through once again. Naruto’s attack cut deep into the redhead’s shoulder causing blood to ooze and mix with his sandy protection. The blond winced – he didn’t really want to know what sand in an open wound felt like.


Naruto was brought out of his musings by Gaara’s insane screaming. It wasn’t that bad. Then again, it pretty much confirmed Naruto’s suspicion that the Sand jinchuuriki had never experienced any kind of intense pain before.


He approached the madly screaming boy slowly. He had no intention of getting close to him again.


“How’s that feel you freaking psycho? Now listen up. The next time I fucking tell you I’ll cut your eyeball out I really will do it.” Gaara was still on the ground screaming and clutching at his shoulder – no doubt aggravating the injury. “Are you even listening to me?”


He got no response. “Shut the hell up!” That grabbed the boy’s attention, whose screaming was reduced to whimpers. “Get your damn bijuu under control or you’ll be dead a few years down the line. Enough of this crazy shit. Do you want to be a monster or a ninja?” Naruto was fairly sure that nothing he was saying was getting through to the boy.


He left.


Naruto supposed he’d have to chalk this one up as a failure despite his best efforts. The nut-job just wasn’t salvageable. Oh well, at least he’d won some money and stolen a kiss. The trip hadn’t turned out all bad.


-----


Naruto crouched down behind the thick trunk of a leafy tree trying to get a good look at the main road of the small village he was observing. It was Naruto’s first mission as a vice-captain and he didn’t want to screw it up.


There were eight of them there today – two squads of four. The Captain had taken his squad into the trees above the road a good fifty feet to Naruto’s right. Naruto and his three subordinates had the low ground and were spread out parallel to the roadway.


The mission was simple – attack the Ame ninja storage depot located in this small town and empty of it of any valuables while destroying the leftovers.


The blond boy had been on similar missions throughout Rain Country over the past months, and one thing above all always bothered him yet always remained the same.


It was the poverty.


Rain Country was pockmarked with small towns such as this one, and all of them were ramshackle and poor. The people were even worse off. Nearly all of their raids took place at night - when the residents of the towns were indoors - but on the few occasions where Naruto caught a glimpse of them he had not liked what he saw. These people were starving to death, and it was all because of Hanzou.


The sad truth of Rain Country was that it couldn’t maintain a ninja village the size of the Village Hidden in the Rain – and Amegakure was very large. Despite this, Hanzou had built the city in the middle of a desolate floodplain and insisted on keeping it large, powerful, and battle ready. The civilians and ninjas of Ame couldn’t possibly grow enough food for themselves, so Hanzou’s men taxed and stole from the outlying villages in order to keep Ame afloat. While the ninjas of Rain Country thrived, the common workers – farmers, artisans, and others – suffered under the tyranny of Hanzou’s rule.


Rain Country had no daimyo because before Hanzou, no one thought that the floodplains of Ame were worth unifying into a country. Its residents lived quiet lives in small villages and largely were ignored by the ninja clans – and later villages – who battled across the wet wasteland at the center of the ninja world.


Then came Hanzou. In Rain Country Hanzou was law. Before Pain, no one had thought to stand up to the Salamander. The man had built Ame where he had for a reason, and that reason was that no one could defeat him in Rain Country.


No one.


He built his city at the end of the First Secret World War and took the country under his iron fist, daring any and all to oppose him there.


And many had. But none had defeated him.


Yet.


The country was in turmoil thanks to Hanzou’s single-mindedness, and Pain was out to stop him. Naruto could sympathize with that.


The blond scanned the seemingly empty town with unequalled vision - his gaze cutting through the dark and the rain thanks to the changes Kyuubi had wrought. They had to make sure that there were no Ame ninjas on patrol here. Ame had begun randomly sending squads to confront Pain’s men soon after the raids had started, but so far had been generally unsuccessful.


This town had a rather large supply depot in it despite its small size, and Naruto expected there to be at least a few guards to deal with. Because an extra patrol could tip the advantage in the enemy’s favor, they had to be sure that no such patrol was here.


Everything seemed quiet, and that was a good sign. Naruto just had to wait for the captain to give the go ahead and his team would sweep into the town to provide a distraction for the Ame guards while the Captain snuck in behind them.


The signal didn’t come.


Two Ame ninja landed in the roadway, their backs turned slightly away from both teams’ positions. Apparently they hadn’t been noticed.


The two ninja conversed with one another too quietly to be heard over the constant patter of rain – oblivious to the eight men watching them intently.


Naruto took a moment to observe them – amused at how unmindful they were of their imminent demise. They both wore their hair long down their backs – one with black and the other with silver-gray. Both wore the standard cream-colored flak jackets of the Ame ninja and re-breathers over their faces – though the one worn by the silver-haired man was substantially larger. Naruto figured that it was an older model. While the black-haired ninja wore his Ame headband proudly on his forehead, the other sported a thick faceplate that protected not only his forehead but extended down both sides of his face to meet his re-breather. It looked rather archaic to Naruto, who wondered why the man was sporting such odd and dated equipment. A short, forest-green cape that reached just below the man’s waist finished off the strange look.


The two men finished their conversation and the dark-haired ninja disappeared in a show of chakra-enhanced speed. The remaining one – Naruto could only suppose that he was older – paused and surveyed the empty village street, oblivious to any danger.


Naruto was a bit surprised at how foolish the ninja was to remain behind alone in such a situation, but would gladly accept an easy kill. His captain apparently agreed.


Naruto grinned behind his cloth mask as the form of his captain leapt silently from his camouflaged perch in the trees and sprinted deftly towards the lone Ame ninja from the poor man’s blind spot. The Captain would make sure it was over quickly.


He was almost at his target now – who was still oblivious to his peril – and had drawn a kunai with which to end the lone man’s life. Naruto watched with pride as his commanding officer drew within five paces of the man and readied his strike to the Ame ninja’s neck. The man had still not shown any indication that he had any inkling of his fate…


Which Naruto suddenly realized was incredibly odd.


In that moment his stomach plummeted and the instincts that he had learned to trust screamed out in horror. Even a ninja of low chuunin rank would have sensed the Captain’s approach – would have given some indication that he anticipated an attack.


The gray man hadn’t even twitched.


The Captain lunged, and Naruto watched in disbelief as the lone ninja stepped inside the Captain’s guard at impossible speed and stiff-armed him in the face, causing the Captain’s head to roll on his shoulders.


It didn’t seem that bad at first – as if the Captain had only been performing an exercise to loosen his neck and shoulders. Naruto would have thought his commander to be fine were it not for the sickening crack that rang through the rain and the muffled thud that resounded as his body fell lifelessly to the damp ground.


Naruto was frozen in shock. He’d killed plenty of oblivious ninjas in the last year – slitting their throats and severing their spines without any resistance on their parts – but he’d never seen a ninja take a life so effortlessly as this man had. Not even Pain and Konan killed with such ease.


The gray ninja stared at the body for a moment before flashing through hand seals with the speed of a true master. Lightning arced off of his body and into the ground before Naruto felt a small jolt in his feet. The shuffling of his men nearby told him that they had felt it as well.


Not good.


“And then there were seven.” The voice was deep and crisp, yet with just the right amount of inflection as to promise untold pain and suffering. Simply hearing it sent chills down Naruto’s spine and caused him to break out in a cold sweat.


It was the voice of death, and it was here for him.


Time to act. Naruto gave the signal for full retreat just as the grove of trees where the Captain’s squad had hidden exploded in a storm of boiling sap and burning splinters. It took a moment for Naruto’s mind to inform him that a massive lightning strike had obliterated three more of his comrades.


Naruto formed seals quickly. Thirty shadow clones burst into existence around him, not bothering to seek cover. They were a distraction – nothing else. He turned to the three men behind him, who were still too stunned to take action.


“Go. Get out of here, now. I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point.”


“Sir, that’s…”


“I know! Now run!” He didn’t bother to keep his voice down any longer. It would be a miracle if he survived this, but he’d be damned if he let his entire squad die on his first mission as a leader.


“Noble of you, but…” Naruto turned back to the man – to the monster – to Hanzou – as he felt the rain stop. But it hadn’t stopped. It was being sucked up to an ever-growing sphere above the legendary ninja’s head, guided by his two arms raised skyward. “Futile.”


A sickening cracking sound permeated the battlefield. Naruto looked on in horror as the massive ball of water started freezing and emitting the horrible noise. Large spikes of ice as thick as Naruto’s legs grew in all directions from the watery mass and only continued growing. Soon all was ice, and if he threw it at them…


Naruto fled, leaving only his shadow clones behind. They would stall the jutsu as long as possible. Naruto only made it twenty feet before the wind picked up to incredible levels. His clones were no doubt making liberal use of the Great Breakthrough technique to try to push back Hanzou’s frigid monstrosity.


It was all in vain. The apocalyptic din of shattering ice told Naruto that the makeshift spears were on their way despite his clones’ best efforts. Naruto twisted in mid-leap and created two more clones before the three of them flashed through seals as quickly as possible. The Cyclone Blow technique was not nearly as large or destructive as the Great Breakthrough, but by creating a focused wind tunnel effect it was ideal for launching – or diverting – projectiles through the air. It was an act of desperation, but it worked.


Sort of.


Naruto watched in stunned fascination as the ice spears tore through the trees like a marble through tissue paper. As they impacted the trees and ground below they shattered outwards into smaller and smaller ice shards that tore through everything in their path. The blond’s trinity of jutsus had prevented any of the larger spears from impaling the boy, but as the ice passed by on his sides and slammed into the surrounding trees Naruto was set upon by thousands and thousands of ice and wood splinters coming at him from all directions.


He barely had time to cover his eyes before he was turned into a veritable pincushion from the onslaught. His clones dispersed in the storm of debris and Naruto fell from his elevated position on top of what used to be a tree to the splinter-laden ground below.


Naruto couldn’t remember ever being in this much pain. It seemed as though every inch of him was cut, impaled, and rubbed raw all at once. Wincing horribly he reached up to his mouth with his right arm and tore away his mask in time to cough up a substantial amount of blood. Apparently that fall hadn’t agreed with his insides too well.


He painfully dragged his body to lean against the mangled stump of what used to be a tree. Kyuubi could heal this with enough time.


He hoped.


The slow, deliberate crunching of footfalls on the littered ground reminded Naruto that he didn’t have time. The reaper was already here.


“I wasn’t aware that that cowardly rebel had begun using children to commit his acts of terrorism. He’s sunk even lower in my estimation than I had believed possible.”


Naruto slowly forced himself to look into the eyes of his vanquisher – horrible, black eyes – before coughing pitifully once again.


“If it’s any consolation before you die, you might be pleased to know that your friends managed to escape. It’s a feat not many can claim – to survive a battle with me without my consent. And it’s all thanks to you, little one.” Hanzou bent down and grasped Naruto’s chin firmly, forcing him to maintain eye contact. “Who are you, that can use so much chakra at such a young age? That the criminal Pain sends you out to do his bidding?”


Naruto took offense at that. If Pain was a criminal then that meant that Naruto was one as well, and that just didn’t sit well with the boy. “Pain is a h-hero. Y-you are the c-criminal.”


Hanzou released his hold on Naruto’s chin and stood to his full height, silently appraising the battered child before him. “I’ve tortured and killed dozens upon dozens of rebel ‘heroes,’ yet not one of them has called their master anything other than Lord Pain. They speak of him as some sort of god. It’s disgusting. You are the first to simply call him Pain.” The man’s dark orbs darted around the littered ground before he bent down and grasped a particularly sharp wooden shard. “A simple coincidence?” He stood. “I think not.”


Naruto wasn’t really sure what the man was going to do with the piece of wood nor was he too keen on finding out. “I don’t have anything to tell you.” The Kyuubi was doing good work and Naruto could already speak evenly once again. He only hoped that the older man wouldn’t notice his rapid healing and take action.


Hanzou stared hard at the piece of wood for a moment before bending down and ramming it deep into Naruto’s left shoulder. The blond gasped at the pain in his shoulder but firmly clamped down on his tongue to keep from yelling out. “Tell me,” he twisted the wooden spike, “who you,” another twist, “are.” He ripped the wood out painfully, finally eliciting a yelp from the boy.


Naruto clenched his fists painfully, his clawed fingers digging into his palms even through the leather gloves he wore. Steeling himself despite the thick tears that rolled out of his eyes, he looked into the black, soulless pools of Hanzou. “No.”


Hanzou dropped the bloodied wood and stood again, taking a step back to observe the strange boy with a calculating glare. After a moment he stepped forward and ripped the black bandana off of Naruto’s head. “Now I know you.”


Naruto was taken aback by the strange actions. “What?”


The man stayed silent as he stared Naruto up and down. Unlike Pain’s piercing glance, Hanzou’s was predatory – as though he was sizing up his next meal. “I always remember the eyes of the men and women I fight in battle.” He spoke slowly and deliberately, his cold voice rolling off of his tongue as he went. “The eyes always give the measure of a true warrior. The windows to the soul – truer words were never spoken. And for a warrior this fact is doubly true. It took me a moment to remember because the last time I saw your eyes they weren’t so very feral. Eyes that sparkled with life yet bore such cold defiance.” He leaned in next to Naruto’s ear, as though sharing some childish secret.


“Namikaze. That’s who you are.” Naruto’s eyes widened like saucers. How had he known?


“Who would have thought that I would find both the son of the Yellow Flash and Hiruzen’s lost pet out here tonight?” If it were possible, Naruto’s eyes widened even more.


Hanzou looked affronted at Naruto’s reaction. “You thought I didn’t notice you healing right before my eyes? Your massive chakra, your fangs, your whiskers, your eyes – it all screams jinchuuriki - though I’ve never seen one so feral as you are.” His eyes narrowed momentarily. “It’s a shame I have to kill you. Hiruzen will be so disappointed, I’m sure.”


Time to go.


Naruto’s body was almost completely healed by now – shoulder aside. He wrenched his hands into a cross-shaped seal and drew as much of his chakra as he could in an instant. He’d very rarely used the Mass Shadow Clone technique. Creating so many clones at once generally meant that they were inadequate for fighting, but right now Naruto wasn’t planning on fighting anyone - let alone the most famous ninja in the world.


Hanzou’s hands flashed out and immediately destroyed six clones within his reach before slamming the heel of his right foot into Naruto’s chest. The force of the blow was so great that the stump behind Naruto disintegrated into wet sawdust – but Naruto’s body was nowhere to be found.


“That was a quick replacement. Well done.” Hanzou turned his gaze to the hundreds upon hundreds of clones surrounding him. “You healed much faster than I expected – much faster than any jinchuuriki I have ever seen. Then again, the Kyuubi is truly the mightiest bijuu of them all. It seems I’ve miscalculated.” He stayed silent for a moment before his brows knit together in mock contemplation.


“Do you know what happens when this many shadow clones are dispelled all at once?” The clones responded by sending one another confused glances. “No?”


Salamander Hanzou’s eyes narrowed in what the clones could only assume was a sinister grin. “Neither do I.”


-----


Naruto gasped and crumpled to the ground as he was assaulted by hundreds of memories of a blinding white flash and the smell of ozone. He was left panting on a tree branch as he was racked by a horrible migraine.


“All of them… at once… with one jutsu?” How was that possible?


He shook his head. It didn’t matter. He had to reach the rendezvous point and get back to Pain. He had to let him know how he had failed – how Hanzou had learned his identity.


Naruto ran for hours through the night despite the horrible aches emanating from every part of his body – especially his abused shoulder. It wasn’t until the first rays of sunlight had peeked over the eastern horizon that he had stopped. It wasn’t until then that he had realized that he was surrounded.


“Naruto.”


The boy slumped to the ground in exhaustion. “Thank God.”


“Your squad returned nearly two hours ago. They said that you stayed behind to fight Hanzou.”


Naruto knew he was in trouble. Pain had always told him to value his life over the mission. He was no good to the man dead. “There was no other way to escape. He killed Captain Hirata’s squad in seconds. I didn’t think we’d survive.”


“And you wouldn’t have if you had fled. You would have certainly been routed and destroyed one by one. You made the correct decision.”


Naruto continued to struggle trying to catch his breath. “No one ever told me he had a Bloodline Limit.”


That drew Pain’s undivided attention. “He doesn’t. What did you see?”


“Ice. He made a huge amount of ice lances and tore down half the forest with them.”


“Ah. No, that isn’t the ice element. It’s simply one way that he manipulates water. Instead of mixing the water and wind elements like the ice users do, Hanzou uses his great affinity for the water element to manipulate its state quite easily."

“Ninjas can do that?”


“If you have as much power and control as Hanzou does, then yes.”


“I think I need to start training harder. At this rate I’ll never catch up.”


“Keep that thought for when you wake up again. For now you need to rest and recover. Not many people can survive an encounter with Hanzou without his consent.”


“He recognized me. He said I was Namikaze – that I had the same eyes as my father. He knows I’m a jinchuuriki.”


Pain stood silently for a moment. “Hanzou isn’t one to brag about his failures. I think he’ll keep your secret safe simply because you escaped with your life when he had intended to kill you. It’s the part of his nature that most likely led him to want you dead in the first place.”


“His nature?”


Pain turned to Naruto and offered a small smile. “Hanzou has only been driven from the battlefield once in his life. It’s no surprise that he recognized you when the image of your father still haunts him to this day.”


















Chapter 6: Here Comes The Sun


A nine-year-old Naruto sat quietly under the falling rain. He came here regularly – to a tall, rocky ridgeline just minutes from the cave – to think.


Or not think.


Oftentimes he simply let his mind wander, focusing on the pitter-patter of rain as it struck the stone outcropping around him. He found it relaxing after a day of hard training or a night of raiding throughout Rain Country.


The rain didn’t judge him, criticize him, or condemn him. It didn’t look at him with hateful or fearful eyes as his enemies did. It didn’t harm or help him.


It was indifferent to Naruto.


It simply was.


It had been more than four and a half years – more than half his life – that Naruto had lived hidden away in Rain Country. Even for a nine-year-old, it was difficult to remember the time when he was four - had been just another civilian - had been innocent.


But he wasn’t innocent any longer.


Half a lifetime spent in a war zone had made even a child like Naruto into something most people never became – never could become – a hardened warrior. He’d lost count of the number of deaths he’d seen and lives he’d taken over the years.


But it was for a good cause. He didn’t make this world of ninjas, but he could change it.


That’s what he had learned over the years. Great men built the world. Great men could mold it.


It was at times like this that he wondered what sort of life he would have if he hadn’t been rescued from Konoha when he had. Would he have joined the academy? Would he have learned anything? Would the teachers have hated him just as the villagers had? Would he have been a laughingstock or an icon?


Whatever would have happened, he wouldn’t be himself.


Naruto’s eyes turned up as a brilliant bolt of lightning lanced the sky. “Hello Konan.” He turned around at the waist and looked at the blue-haired woman as paper flew out of her cloak’s sleeves and reformed her legs.


“How did you know I was here?”


Naruto’s eyes squinted as he smiled widely at her. “The rain. It sounds differently when it hits your cloak than when it hits the ground.” He let his gaze drift back out over the forest far below his perch.


“You’re getting very good.” She took a seat next to him on the cliff and followed his gaze to the landscape below. “I still don’t understand why you come out here all the time. This rain is just so…”


“Wet?” Naruto again focused his gaze on her in question.


Konan frowned. “It’s dreary… ugly…” She looked Naruto in the eyes. “It’s depressing.” She lowered her head. “Just like this whole country.”


She was brought out of her reminiscing by a peel of youthful laughter. Naruto cocked his head to the side and found her confused gaze. “It’s just rain, Konan. It doesn’t hate you like you hate it. It will fall tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. It doesn’t remember what you do – who you are.” He leaned back on his elbows despite the rough stone beneath him and looked to the sky as another bolt of lightning reached out across the sky. “The rain is the rain. It falls on everyone in the same way. If you don’t like getting wet then you should go indoors.” Naruto continued to lay down on the hard stone behind him. “I don’t mind being wet so much.”


“You’re too young to understand.”


“Well you’re right about one thing. I don’t understand.” Naruto rolled on his side to look at Konan, who remained sitting next to him staring over the forest beneath them. “The rain was here before people ever settled in Rain Country, right?”


Konan nodded silently.


“Then why do you hate the rain so much? The rain didn’t cause the problems in this country, the people did.”


Konan frowned and turned her gaze back to Naruto. “Don’t blame the people here for their misfortunes.”


“Why not? They chose to live in this place. They can’t be considered innocent just because the weather doesn’t agree with them.”


“Because it was the ninjas that ruined this country, not the people who came here to live in peace.”


“But the ninjas are part of this world! The civilians can’t just ignore them and hope to be left alone. You told me that this country was crying because of all of the people who lost their lives here. Doesn’t that include the ninjas too?”


Konan tilted her head and looked to the dark, sad sky above. “I suppose… no… I know it does.” She sighed. “Maybe this place is just cursed to be miserable.”


“Are you miserable?” Naruto held his hands behind his head as he lay on the hard ground and stared towards the dark heavens. “I’m not. I’ve been thankful every day I’ve been here.” He cocked his head slightly to look at the older woman. “If this country is so bad, then what’s the point in saving it?”


She had to think for a moment before answering that. “It was our home. Mine, Pain’s, and…”


“And who’s?”


Konan’s mouth stretched into a sad smile. “Our friend Yahiko’s. He was the one who said that this country was always crying… always weak. It let the ninjas run over it for too long.”


Naruto had never dug deeply into Pain and Konan’s background. He had his questions, but it was painfully obvious that the two had buried their feelings about the past behind them long ago. They had been too painful for them to discuss, and just as they had never grilled Naruto about his early childhood, Naruto had never pressured them about their origins.


“He’s dead?”


Konan was silent for a moment before nodding rather forcefully. “He’s dead.”


Naruto knew this line of questioning was hard on her. He wanted to know more, but needed to ask gently. “What was he like?”


“He was like you.” A new voice cut into the conversation, mirroring the lightning slicing the sky above.


Naruto and Konan whipped their heads around to find Pain standing mere feet behind them. They hadn’t heard him arrive.


“He was loud, brash, and stubborn. He could be more annoying than any man I’ve ever met.” Naruto was a bit surprised when Pain stepped forward and sat on the opposite side of Naruto from Konan. He was rarely this relaxed. “But he saved Konan and I when we were in need. He kept us alive and optimistic. He found us a teacher.” Pain’s eyes narrowed slightly. “We owe everything to him.”


“That’s why you’re fighting to free Rain Country?”


“Not just Rain. This world - the world that ninjas built. It’s filled with corruption, evil, and injustice.”


The three companions remained silent as thunder rolled across the dark heavens.


After the roar had subsided Pain began again, slowly. “There’s more to a man – to a people – than sheer strength, yet this world of ninja is propped up by those who offer nothing beyond the threat of pain and death. A man like Hanzou has the power to lead a country but not the inclination to use that power to make it better. So long as those with power are assured of their own security and prosperity they aren’t willing to lift so much as a finger to help others. Instead they trample those weaker than themselves into the ground for their own selfish satisfaction. It’s been going on for so long now that the people of this world simply accept that sad reality – that the strong govern the weak. In this world to be a ninja is to be strong, and to be a strong ninja is to be a king. The daimyos have less and less influence over foreign and domestic policy, especially in the great nations where the ninja villages are so integral to the country’s health that disrupting their workings would result in the country’s ultimate destruction – whether it be from within or without. The ninjas are the country’s strength.”


“And the strong rule.” Naruto sat up abruptly to look sideways at Pain. “But how is what we’re doing different from what the other ninjas do? You’re strong. Konan’s strong. Aren’t you just going to kill Hanzou and take the country over? I know that you’re a hell of a lot nicer than he is, but how is this any different? Some people will still be unhappy.”


Pain appraised Naruto silently for a moment as another flash lit the sky and a peel of thunder pressed down on them. “Nothing can be changed without the power to make that change, it is true. But what Yahiko wanted wasn’t a world where opposing sides of a conflict would constantly clash and create more chaos. He wanted an end to all the wars that cause the innocent pain and suffering.”


“How?”


“Empathy, I suppose.” Pain’s eyes narrowed slightly as he continued to gaze through the hazy rain. “He wanted all people to understand one another – to understand that we all have the same dreams… the same fears… that we are all fundamentally the same.”


Naruto frowned. Nobody had seemed to think twice about treating him like trash back in Konoha despite the truth to Pain’s words. If people there couldn’t see the humanity in a defenseless child… “Easier said than done. Like you said, people are selfish. They won’t simply bend over for each other when it would be easier to hurt those they dislike.”


Konan let out a short laugh. “Just like him.”


Pain gave a small nod. “Yahiko believed that as well. Forcing others to perceive the good in all was a worthy ideal, yes, but impossible in practice. The only way to spread the kind of empathy needed to change the world is to inflict it, and you can not inflict charity and good will on others.”


Naruto stayed silent for a moment. “The bad in all, then.”


“Everyone bleeds. Everyone can feel loss. Everyone can suffer, can feel it…”


“Pain.”


“It’s something that everyone understands. By spreading pain all people – all the world – can be brought together in empathy. Fighting and wars will be avoided above all else out of fear. Fear of losing those people and things that are most precious to them will prevent people the world over from harming one another.”


Naruto lay back down on the hard, cool stone beneath him. “But the world has been waging wars and spreading pain and suffering forever. Why would things change now? Ninjas constantly kill each other. Civilians die. Wars continue. Why would they pay attention to their pain now when it’s been ignored for so long?”


Pain raised his right palm up in front of him and watched the rain gather into a small puddle in his cupped hand. “It’s simply a matter of scale. The pain the world experiences now – has experienced in the past – is but a small drop compared to the flood that we will unleash.” He slowly poured the pooled water from his hand onto the rock beside him. “When people seek to fight one another they first assess the possible risk against the possible reward. If I steal, will I get caught? If I am caught, what will be done to me? What am I willing to do to avoid being punished? The same goes for countries and wars. They must decide if the gain in land, money, and prestige they may win is worth the lives of their men. How many soldiers are they willing to lose to achieve their ends? It is a question every human must ask. What are you willing to give in order to gain?”


Pain paused for a moment as the sky was split by another bolt of lightning that lanced down into the forest sprawling before them. The thunder clapped like a cannon shot when it reached them a second later. Naruto couldn’t help but blink as the sound rushed over him. “Until now, countries have always considered that the possible rewards of their conflicts could eclipse the pain caused due to the losses they experience in men and resources. I intend to rewrite that equation. When wars become so large and horrifying that their consequences surmount their possible rewards then there will be no inclination to fight one another. The fear of pain will stay the hands of all enemies.”


“So by making everyone miserable they’ll get along better?”


“Miserable today and empathetic tomorrow. This world is pathetically naïve in its thinking. The child-like mentality that might is superior to all else must be crushed. The world must be forced to grow up.”


Naruto sat silently and let Pain’s words fully sink in. “You think you can do that? Make the world grow up? Even if it means destroying so much that everyone lives in fear?”


“It must be done in order to bring peace to this world. Otherwise it will remain in its infancy – forever damned to be indifferent to the suffering of the weak.”


“Sounds crude.” Naruto spared a sideways glance at the man beside him. “So you’re a god of pain, then?”


Konan chuckled at that.


For the first time since sitting down, Pain shifted to look at Naruto. “Pain is the method, not the mark.” He paused for a moment and took in Naruto’s position on the ground. “I didn’t think you’d be one to throw around words like god. Perhaps you’ve been spending too much time out on missions with the men.”


“I don’t know why you put up with that garbage to begin with. They can’t honestly believe that you’re a real god. It just seems silly.”


“You’re right. But in a sense, their position is understandable. Would you rather believe that you are fighting under the command of a mere man who is capable of making mistakes like every other, or an infallible, undefeatable god? There’s no reason to discourage such sentiments.”


“I suppose it would be easy to believe that our side was assured of victory.” Naruto smiled widely. “Then again, it’s not like you’ve made any poor decisions since I’ve known you.”


The three sat there in silence - but for the rain - for long minutes. “So you don’t think you’re a god?” Naruto saw Konan’s head turn towards the two of them at this, as if she too was curious as to what the answer would be.


Pain’s gaze was transfixed on the dark sky above them – his body absolutely still. “No, I do not. I have no interest in being worshipped. I am not infallible. I will grow old and die like any other man.”


Naruto nodded his head slightly from his position on the rocky ground.


“But then again, I am willing to do anything – everything - to accomplish my goals. I would gladly sacrifice my humanity to change this world for the better. In that sense… in that sense I suppose I can no longer be considered a man. Like a god, I will allow nothing to stand between myself and the future. I will do what is necessary to come to that end, no matter the consequences.”


Konan turned her head away. Naruto wasn’t sure what to make of that. Pain’s confession warranted a response though, so Naruto spoke. “I understand, I think.”


Once again the strange trio quietly watched the storm rage about them. Like Naruto’s life, the storm was ever changing yet reassuringly constant – with sudden, violent outbursts. Like the great events in his life, the lightning pierced the calm and reminded him of the dangerous reality of his existence. The bright forks were the wake-up calls that upset Naruto’s frighteningly fragile reality – being taken from Konoha, his first kill, learning of the Kyuubi, his first mission with the Ame resistance, Hanzou - all events that shattered and reshaped his perceptions of the world.


Just as the lightning cut the fragile darkness of the storm.


“Two weeks.” Naruto’s head rolled to the side to look at Pain’s outline against the overcast sky. “In two weeks we will be gone from this place. For good.”


“After all this time we’re finally ready?” Naruto spoke more to himself than anyone else. He looked back and forth between Pain and Konan. “What took so long? Are you just now strong enough to kill Hanzou?”


Konan shook her head sadly. “Pain could have defeated Hanzou years ago. There’s more to taking over this country than killing him.”


“Like what? Once he was gone surely you could have taken control. Why wait so long?”


Pain shifted around to face Naruto as the boy sat up. “Acting any sooner would have done nothing less than cause the outbreak of a fourth world war. We had to wait until we could be sure that the country would remain locked down from within.”


Naruto’s eyebrows creased together in confusion. “I don’t understand.”


“Hanzou has no real allies – this you know from when you faced him. Had he truly been on friendly terms with others your identity would not have remained a secret and we would have faced severe consequences as a result. He has flaunted his power and caused too much pain to those countries he holds treaties with to ever be considered a true ally by them.


“However, that doesn’t mean that the world at large would welcome Hanzou’s death. He represents an institution that has existed in the modern ninja world since the end of the First Secret World War. Hanzou is Rain Country. The leaders of the other nations are used to dealing with him. They understand him, in a sense. With Hanzou dead they would be forced to make new treaties and political alliances with Rain Country – something they’d very much like to avoid. Hanzou is predictable and therefore he is thought to be safe by many foreign powers.


“Hanzou is also widely seen as the strongest ninja in the world today. To hear that he has been defeated in battle and his country conquered would cause the nations of the world to panic. Naturally, they would want to know who was strong enough to accomplish such a thing…”


“And you’d be found out.”


“Eventually, yes. I can’t afford to be brought into the public spotlight… not so soon. There is still far too much to be accomplished with Akatsuki before I am ready to step out of the shadows. If my identity were to be leaked then ninja across the world would do their best to eliminate me. I am too dangerous for them to ignore.”


“The Rinnegan? They’d be afraid of you.”


Pain grinned at that. “So you have been reading through the library. I was wondering if you’d become curious as to why I found all those scrolls.”


“You wanted to find out more about your bloodline, right? That’s why there are so many histories of clans with bloodline limits and of the beginning of the ninja world. You’re the descendent of the Sage of the Six Paths.”


Pain nodded slightly. “The Rinnegan is thought of as only a legend in the world today. Only a handful of living ninjas know of my existence and my bloodline. To announce to the world that another Rinnegan user has surfaced and that he eliminated Hanzou would cause a panic. Many would try to earn my favor. Many would try to have me killed. One thing is for certain though – my actions would be scrutinized so closely that it would be nearly impossible to accomplish my goals.


“It’s the reason why I have not faced Hanzou in battle as of yet. Witnessing my abilities or my bloodline limit could cause him to panic. So long as our forces use only guerilla tactics and not overwhelming force, Hanzou will believe that this conflict can be contained within Rain Country. He will not allow news of his setbacks to reach other nations if he believes that it would cause him to lose face. As a result, he has sealed all of Rain Country’s borders against outsiders.


“In order to take this country covertly, our forces must be able to gain control of the border checkpoints while conquering the Village Hidden in the Rain simultaneously. In two weeks our forces will be ready and our sympathizers in Ame will be prepared to move. The country will fall to us in a day.”


A wide grin spread across Naruto’s face. “I have sort of gotten tired of living in a cave.”


Konan gave a soft snort and looked at him with a smile. “You ain’t kidding.”


“Once Rain is under our control and our influence is solidified we can begin working towards our ultimate goal.”


Naruto jumped to his feet staring hard at the storm and spread his clawed hands in front of his body as if grasping for the falling rain. He took in a deep breath before releasing it in a shout that drowned out even the storm. “The world!” He let out his best maniacal cackle before falling back down to the ground with a goofy grin on his face.


Konan tried to suppress a smile as she rolled her eyes and shook her head back and forth.


Pain impassively raised an eyebrow at Naruto’s antics before standing up and removing a sheet of paper from within his cloak and setting it on the slick rock beneath him. Naruto eyed the sheet carefully, noticing only a basic seal decorating the visible face.


“Pick it up.”


Naruto stood before moving forward and peeling the paper off of the ground slowly – wary of any tricks. When nothing seemed to have occurred, he looked up to find that Pain had gone. Turning quickly he found that Konan too was conspicuously absent. He dropped the soggy sheet to the ground and prepared himself to leave as well when he heard a soft shifting of rock behind him. Spinning around and dropping low to the ground in a wide fighting stance, he watched in bewilderment that turned to horror as a rocky blob emerged from the ground before him and formed into a perfect copy of… himself.


Naruto looked around once again to check for any indication that he was being watched, but finding none, turned back to meet his doppelganger face to face.


Then it charged at him, claws flashing through the rain as Naruto jumped to dodge the swipes.


“Crap."


-----


Naruto stood surrounded by ninjas in a massive clearing on the outskirts of the rebel encampment wearing his usual, conservative attire. He and the rest of the men and women surrounding him were awaiting an announcement from Lord Pain himself.


He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at that. Getting to see Pain practically every day probably took some of the novelty out of hearing him give a speech, he decided.


The fighters around him were chatting excitedly to one another like a bunch of school children. Most ninjas under his command had never seen more than a small glimpse of the man they followed. Considering this, it was no surprise that they viewed him as a sort of mythical entity.


Today was different though. Pain was going to give a speech, give orders, and lead them to victory over the corrupt ninjas of Ame. Despite his familiarity with Pain, Naruto couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy thanks to the atmosphere of anticipation all around him.


They were finally going to do it. They were finally going to save Rain Country.


The murmurs picked up as three ninjas assembled on a rocky formation at one end of the clearing that acted as a perfect stage for an address such as this.


Naruto had met these men on numerous occasions, whether to receive orders from them or to fight under their command from time to time. They were the three commanders of Pain’s rebels – who issued orders from him to the captains in the field – Iwamoto, Kurosawa, and Kobayashi. The three stood close and conversed quietly amongst themselves – unable to be overheard by the men assembled below them.


Naruto didn’t particularly care what they had to say. They were just killing time.


The minutes dragged on and the crowd grew more and more restless. They had all come fully equipped for battle and some were beginning to fidget awkwardly thanks to the familiar weight of their weapons. It was clear that they were itching to use them.


Naruto’s attention returned to the platform when a black-cloaked figure appeared next to the three commanders. The mutterings around him subsided as the four men conversed quickly and quietly before the three commanders leaped down and disappeared into the ranks below.


The figure was vaguely familiar to Naruto. The high ponytail that held hair that spilled down past the man’s waist and the long bang over the right side of his face identified this figure as the Beast Realm of the Six Paths of Pain. Naruto had been told by other ninjas that had glimpsed this incarnation of Pain that he had the qualities of a member of the Fuuma clan. The men had therefore speculated that Pain might have had his origins in that clan.


They would have never guessed the truth.


Pain stepped forward to the edge of the outcropping and surveyed the crowd with his Rinnegan eyes, appreciative of the absolute silence that met his gaze.


“I am Pain.”


The assembly burst into a cacophony of yelling and cheering that stretched on for well over a minute. Pain waited patiently for the din to subside before continuing.


“For years, each and every one of you has shared my vision of a Rain Country free from war.” The crowd once again burst into applause. “From injustice.” The outburst continued. “From needless suffering.” The volume was increasing to a dull roar. “From pain.” He paused for a moment and let the tumultuous applause from hundreds upon hundreds of ninja below him roll across the clearing until it had once again died down to silence.


“You who have sacrificed so much for our cause will finally witness the fruits of your labors this day.” Again loud cheering broke out over the crowd.


“Let us not forget the pain that we bore to come this far too quickly, nor let the wounds on our hearts close too swiftly. Those scars we will keep for the rest of our lives. They remind us that there is no achievement without sacrifice, no justice without punishment, and no joy without suffering.” This was met with a low murmur from the crowd and a sea of nodding heads. Naruto couldn’t help but notice that there were more than a few teary eyes around him. It was a bit sobering.


“A dear friend of mine once told me that this country was crying. One drop of rain – one tear – for every ninja who has lost his life, for every child who has gone hungry, for every innocent who has lain cold and scared in the night. For every luckless person who has fallen asleep afraid that the next day may be his last in this world. I say that it is time for this country to stop crying!”


The assembly erupted once again in applause that seemed to grow and grow. Naruto couldn’t help but clap and cheer along with the rest of the ninjas as he was swept away in the emotions of the crowd.


But then something happened that no one was expecting.


The rain stopped. The applause stopped.


And the sun came out.


Naruto found himself struck dumb by the impossibility of the storm dissipating in a matter of seconds, but all he could see was clear blue sky with an occasional wispy cloud. The ninjas around him were staring hard up at the bright sky, hands shading their eyes against the bright light, in wonderment. A whispered “release” from a man standing next to him brought Naruto back to his senses and he found himself subconsciously repeating the man’s actions in order to break a genjutsu on himself.


Except it wasn’t a genjutsu.


As more and more men and women realized that the storm was well and truly gone the blanket of silence that had smothered the clearing was slowly lifted and excited murmurings began to spread like wildfire.


Naruto looked back up at Pain’s perch to see the man still standing and staring out at the crowd below him. In the back of his mind, Naruto knew that Pain had somehow done this. He vaguely remembered the rain stopping for a few minutes on his very first mission with Pain and Konan – how Pain had somehow detected eight enemy ninjas in the area before even seeing them. Pain had somehow managed to control the storm raging above Rain Country – or at least the part above his territory. Naruto reluctantly acknowledged that the more he learned of Pain’s abilities the more god-like he appeared to be. It was certainly humbling compared to the relatively pathetic abilities that Naruto had mastered.


“All hail Lord Pain!”


The lone shout tore through the clearing and broke Naruto’s pondering. All around him men and women took up the chant praising their leader – their god.


“Lord Pain!”


Naruto didn’t know whether to join in, laugh, or frown. He stayed silent. Minutes later the crowd’s hysterical chanting had subsided and Pain made to speak again.


“It is a new, brighter day in Rain Country. Let us build a truly peaceful future here together!”


“Lord Pain!” The chanting began again, though this time Pain raised his hands after only a few moments causing the outburst to subside.


“You all have your battle groups assigned. Disperse now and report to your captains and commanders to receive your missions. You will take control of Hanzou’s border outposts so that no outsiders may interfere in our revolution. You will surround Amegakure and subdue any ninjas or civilians attempting to flee, but remember that our enemy is Ame’s regime, not its people!”


The cheering picked up once again and Naruto found himself running a quick check on his own gear even as his neighbors did the same.


“And I…” The crowd became deathly silent.


“I will tear out the corruption that plagues Amegakure once and for all. Surround the city but do not enter! Those are Pain’s orders!”


The crowd erupted one final time in tumultuous applause and a fair amount of screams.


“Now go!”


And they went. Naruto was rather shocked to find himself standing in an entirely empty field only a bare few seconds later. He turned back to Pain and moved to join him atop the natural stage where he was joined by six other robed figures. Looking about quickly he found Konan giving him an appraising once-over before offering a small smile.


“Are you ready?” It was Pain’s main body – his God Realm.


“As ready as I’ll ever be.”


Beast Realm stepped forward and held out his hand palm up. “I’ll need some of your blood.”


Naruto removed the glove from his left hand and clenched his fist tightly, allowing his claws to pierce his palm. He allowed a few drops to fall on the outstretched hand before looking back at his own, bloody palm. The wounds had already healed but sticky, red blood was still clinging to his skin.


He shrugged and licked it off, ignoring Konan’s small look of disgust, before sliding his glove back on.


“Didn’t want to ruin it.”


Pain ignored him and turned to look north – towards Amegakure.


“Let’s go.”


-----


Black eyes narrowed as they stared through four inch thick reinforced glass. It was fucking sunny in fucking Ame. Something was about to happen and Hanzou was not happy about what it could be.


Storms did not break up that quickly on their own – not ever – and certainly not in this country.

His fucking country.


It had to be some sort of advanced ninjutsu – he knew it. He just didn’t know of any ninja that knew of such a technique.


Perhaps this “Pain” would finally be paying him a visit.


He didn’t know whether to be apprehensive or gleeful. For a long time now he had assumed that the man stayed hidden away out of fear of confronting him. But this…


Only a very skilled ninja could accomplish something like this.


He remained standing, staring out the thick window overlooking the Great Reservoir in the very center of Amegakure. He had taken no chances when this place – the equivalent of the Kage Tower in the great ninja villages – was built. There was only one thin, concrete bridge that stretched out across the Reservoir in which the administrative building sat. At only four stories it wasn’t tall like so many of the towers in the city were. It was more of a bunker than anything – having sloped walls built with thick, explosive-resistant windows and foot upon foot of reinforced concrete.


Hanzou didn’t take chances with his life. Not now. Not ever.


Quick footsteps approached him from behind. “Sir, the rain…” The man wore the standard forest green cloak, body armor, and re-breather of Hanzou’s personal guard.


“Has stopped. I’m well aware.”


“Sir, perhaps we should get you to a more secure location…”


“More secure than here, captain? No, I don’t think so. If he wants to come and face me then he will come. And I will be waiting.”


“But sir, if…”


“Leave me, captain.”


“Sir?”


Hanzou turned around, his hard eyes staring into those of his subordinate - who couldn’t help but flinch under their scrutiny. “Evacuate the building, put all security forces on high alert. Take up defensive positions on the outskirts of the city and prepare for a full assault. Do not disturb me again.”


The bewildered captain could only watch as his commander strode determinedly from the room and towards the stairwell leading towards the roof. Shaking himself from his shock he turned to complete his last orders from Salamander Hanzou.


-----


Eight figures stood on a bluff overlooking Amegakure. The city was truly massive. Hanzou had had it built right on the shores of the largest river in Rain Country – one that began far north in Earth Country and snaked its way through central Rain and then south to River Country and the sea. From their position they could catch a glimpse - between the city’s tall towers - of the massive lake that had formed from damming the river within the city. From the reservoir countless canals ran throughout the metropolis providing water and power to the huge, modern structures that littered Amegakure. They ended in a thick moat around the entire city. The watchers could even see Hanzou’s fortress sitting alone in the center of the lake looking like a sickly gray turtle on the water’s surface.


Pain stood before them all on the edge of the bluff staring intently towards the city. “The detection elements have been eliminated.”


“What do you mean?” Naruto’s eyes flicked quickly to his right as Beast Realm dove off of the cliff rather recklessly and disappeared below.


“That moat is usually filled with a subtle electric charge that will detect anyone trying to walk over it. It’s so wide that it’s nearly impossible for a ninja to cross it without touching the water.”


“So it’s been disabled?”


Konan nodded. “Ninjas within the village that are sympathetic to our cause have disengaged it.”


“I see.” Time ticked by slowly as Naruto waited for something to happen. He squinted his eyes and looked towards the city to try to make out the small black figure that was Beast Realm entering the city.


He never did see the man in black. What drew his attention was the numerous fire and lightning jutsus being launched from the far side of the moat. He supposed that that was where Beast Realm was.


“They’ve already established a defensive barrier. The lack of rain must have put them on alert.” Pain turned to meet Naruto’s eyes. “Prepare yourself. We’re going into a battle zone. You and Konan are to prevent any ninja from engaging me while I deal with Hanzou. Create as much chaos as you possibly can to buy me time. Kill any who get in your way.”


Naruto nodded his head and watched as what looked like a giant worm appeared on the wall of Amegakure below them and started tearing through the stone towers and other defenses.


“It’s time.”


Naruto stumbled but caught himself before he hit the ground. He looked around quickly in an attempt to regain his bearings and found himself and his seven companions on a large balcony halfway up a massive skyscraper. Looking behind him he could see dust and fire billowing up at what must have been the defensive wall at the outskirts of the city. Before him he could see the massive lake at the center of the city over the rooftops of the structures below.


Time to go to work.


“Scatter.”


-----


Naruto moved quickly through the city towards the lake, stopping from time to time only to create a few shadow clones before sending them on their way to cause as much destruction as possible. He couldn’t help but flinch as a looming tower nearby erupted in huge balls of flame and tilted precariously to the side before falling across the canal below and into a business district.


For the first time he wondered if maybe he wasn’t ready to handle this level of combat. Who was he to try to invade an entire city with just seven allies – six of which were about to be wrapped up in a full scale battle and unable to assist him?


Naruto created more clones and had them separate. He could only do his best, after all, and he wasn’t the one who was going to be fighting Hanzou today – though the thought still made him shudder.


A hail of kunais rained down from above and to Naruto’s left, forcing him to dodge quickly. Three ninjas wearing the re-breathers and cloaks of Hanzou’s personal guard were bearing down on him from over his left shoulder.


Naruto landed on a rooftop and quickly flashed through the seals of the shadow clone technique. In moments three identical clones joined him and spread out. The ninjas followed quickly behind him and were about to land not twenty feet away when Naruto leapt into action.


It had taken Naruto quite a bit of time and patience to find the Wind Element: Pressure Damage jutsu. It was uncommon to find a B-ranked jutsu that consisted purely of elemental manipulation. In fact, as far as Naruto knew, there were no elemental jutsus of A-rank or above that didn’t involve some element of spacial manipulation. This was undoubtedly the strongest wide-area jutsu in his arsenal.


The three jounin-ranked ninja apparently didn’t expect a jutsu of this level to be thrown at them and - thanks to their precarious mid-air position - lost their composure completely in an effort to avoid the massive blast of hurricane plus-force winds.


The two on the sides of the trio landed and leapt awkwardly to the left and right – just barely avoiding the worst of the damage.


The one in the center hadn’t been so lucky.


He had landed flat-footed and stumbled in his panic before taking the jutsu head on. Half the roof had joined the poor man in his descent to the roadway five stories below.


Taking advantage of his enemies’ unsteadiness, one of Naruto’s clones pulled a brace of kunai out of his hip pouch and launched them at the rightmost Ame ninja. The ninja drew his own kunai in preparation to swat the offending objects aside, but Naruto wasn’t done.


The clone flashed through a series of seals before the kunais began to duplicate in mid-flight. Where previously there had been four of the metal missiles, the air was now thick with more than forty of the objects. The ninja had no choice but to prepare to leap away or risk being turned into a bloody pincushion.


He hadn’t noticed another clone finish its own set of hand seals. All he could do was gasp as the kunai sped up to impossible speeds in a cyclone of wind before they tore through his body.


The final jounin had only moments to take in the demise of his two comrades before one of the small copies had charged at him with kunai in hand. The man pulled out his own kunai to defend and nearly gasped in surprise at the strength behind the small ninja’s attack. The boy swung his off-hand towards the jounin’s wrist in an attempt to break the weapon lock but the man was quick enough to bring his other hand forward in order to intercept the attack – only to jump back in alarm.


The man stared at the deep gash in his empty hand before coming to his senses. The boy had been using some sort of wind blade – a blade that would have severed his arm at the wrist had he not stopped the attack.


Then the boy was on him again. The best he could do was to use his longer reach to keep the smaller fighter at arm’s length and avoid any more wind attacks. He almost didn’t see the kunai flying towards his left shoulder until it was too late to dodge it. As he ducked down to avoid the projectile he turned back to look at the two clones standing together on the opposite side of the rooftop. One of them had thrown the kunai, it seemed.


Two clones…


How many had there been again?


He didn’t even blink as a kunai was driven into the base of his skull from behind.


Naruto wiped the blood off of his hands and kunai on the dead ninja’s cloak.


He made another twenty clones and ordered them to spread out in groups of four.


It was still early in the day.


-----


Hanzou gritted his teeth as the Migurashi Tower exploded and fell into the West Grand Canal. No one attacked his city like this and got away with it.


No one.


He paced back and forth across the concrete roof of the administrative building in anticipation. It was only a matter of time before this pitiful usurper came to meet him.


And rain or no rain, Hanzou would triumph. There was a reason why this bunker was surrounded by millions upon millions of cubic feet of water. This was his home field.


He always made sure that he held the advantage.


Hanzou was brought out of his impatient musings by another massive explosion. He snapped his head around to see the headquarters of one of the city’s most influential merchant conglomerates shiver horribly and begin to fall.


He watched dispassionately as the building - which sat just on the edge of the reservoir - toppled off of its foundation and into the water – directly towards Hanzou’s bunker.


Dark eyes narrowed as an enormous wave rose up from the collapsed building and rushed towards his perch. He barely flinched as it broke on the side of the structure with a crash – not quite high enough to pass over the top of the roof. The toppled tower formed a massive bridge more than three quarters of the way to the island fortress from the shoreline.


The man at least knew how to make an entrance.


And there he was, standing on the very end of the makeshift bridge and gazing silently up towards the bunker’s roof. He was young, as Hanzou had expected him to be. Young with messy hair and absurd piercings.


Hanzou sneered. This was the man who had been a thorn in his side for so long?


Black eyes followed the paths of more ninjas – five of them – as they too made their way expertly across the fallen tower to join the first man below him.


“Clones? I see that your apprentice takes after you in more than just your shared insolence.”


The man called Pain just stared back up at Hanzou, ignoring his taunting.


“I hope I didn’t damage him too much in that exchange. He is an interesting specimen.”


The dark-cloaked man cocked his head to the side. “I should thank you for that. It seems your meeting motivated him more than any of my methods could have.” He straightened again and turned his head back to the city where buildings were being torn apart bit by bit before their eyes. “I believe he is having some fun with your wayward subordinates. Do not expect them to save you from me.”


Hanzou narrowed his eyes. “Did you honestly believe that you could walk into my city and defeat me? Come, brat, and I will show you the extent of your power.”


“I highly doubt that you are capable of such a thing. Regardless, this is your last day among the living, Hanzou. Perhaps you should make your peace now.”


Hanzou let out an angry growl. “Better ninjas than you have fallen to my strength. I look forward to testing the limitations of a so-called god. Today is the end of this charade. Prepare yourself!”


Pain watched the man leap with terrible speed off of the bunker and onto the water’s surface while flashing through hand seals. He had barely touched the lake when an enormous eruption of smoke obscured the man’s form completely. As the white mist cleared Pain gazed upon a massive amphibian – nearly three stories tall and over a hundred feet from nose to tail.


A small smirk crossed his lips as he prepared to do battle.


“The end? Oh no, old man. This is just the beginning.”

[Random Shinobi]

I like it!

However, there was one thing that annoyed me: “Ah. No, that isn’t the ice element. It’s simply one way that he manipulates water. Instead of mixing the water and wind elements like the ice users do, Hanzou uses his chakra to apply massive pressure to the water he controls and turns it into ice.”

You cannot pressure water into ice because ice is less dense than water. It's a little thing, I know, and totally meaningless plotwise. Still, it annoys me...

[Howdy]

I like it!

However, there was one thing that annoyed me: “Ah. No, that isn’t the ice element. It’s simply one way that he manipulates water. Instead of mixing the water and wind elements like the ice users do, Hanzou uses his chakra to apply massive pressure to the water he controls and turns it into ice.”

You cannot pressure water into ice because ice is less dense than water. It's a little thing, I know, and totally meaningless plotwise. Still, it annoys me...

Good Lord that was stupid of me.

Forgot that water was the exception to the pressure rule.

Alright, how do you make liquid water turn to ice by only acting on the water?

I'm reluctant to say that he's actually removing energy from the individual molecules because that level of elemental manipulation has no precedent in the manga, but I suppose I could go for broke with it.

Thanks for pointing that out, I'll change it as soon as I come up with a different reasoning.


Edit: Alright, I changed it to more of a blanket statement that should hold (with a bit of suspension of disbelief). If I find a more detailed reasoning I'll probably change it again, but I figure this way at least doesn't defy the laws of physics and is probably on par with most Naruto logic we're used to getting.

[Random Shinobi]

Good Lord that was stupid of me.

Forgot that water was the exception to the pressure rule.

Alright, how do you make liquid water turn to ice by only acting on the water?

I'm reluctant to say that he's actually removing energy from the individual molecules because that level of elemental manipulation has no precedent in the manga, but I suppose I could go for broke with it.

Thanks for pointing that out, I'll change it as soon as I come up with a different reasoning.
Hanzou could always apply negative pressure. By forcing water to expand without adding any energy, it should become ice.

[Howdy]

Hanzou could always apply negative pressure. By forcing water to expand without adding any energy, it should become ice.

Except that seems more of an atmospheric effect, which I associate with air (wind). I want to be clear that Hanzou is manipulating the water element thanks to a very strong affinity and not anything else.

[Zombie]

I liked this. Nothing that I could see really glaring, but, like Random Shinobi said, the whole... Water/Ice thing.

Be that as it may, its all good and I'll throw in an obligatory MOAR.

[Ashan]

Maybe Hanzo is forcing them to "condense into a crystalline structure around nuclei of dust particles in a specific arrangement in order to make them ice"? >.>

[Random Shinobi]

Well... I guess you could say that Hanzou uses his prodigious talent with Suiton to lower water's freezing point. It's a perfect pseudo-scientific answer; it makes sense and is so vague that it doesn't actually tell us anything.

Of course, giving Hanzou the ability to alter the freezing and boiling points of water would allow him to pull some extremely nice tricks, like causing water inside an enemy ninja to suddenly turn into steam. Bloody Mist Technique, eh?


EDIT: I obviously meant to say that he could raise the freezing point, not lower it.

[Howdy]

Well... I guess you could say that Hanzou uses his prodigious talent with Suiton to lower water's freezing point. It's a perfect pseudo-scientific answer; it makes sense and is so vague that it doesn't actually tell us anything.

Of course, giving Hanzou the ability to alter the freezing and boiling points of water would allow him to pull some extremely nice tricks, like causing water inside an enemy ninja to suddenly turn into steam. Bloody Mist Technique, eh?

I like it.

I think I'll use it.

On the other hand, manipulating the elements within another person or ninja doesn't do it for me.

According to your logic a wind user could manipulate the gasses within another person as well, or an earth user could manipulate the basic elements that make up the human body.

In my mind these feats are impossible thanks to the innate chakra that each and every person has that provides a ninja or even a non-shinobi almost absolute control of the elements that make up their own body.

In other words, a person's own body is saturated with their own chakra to such a point that outside influence is almost impossible regardless of the opponent's proficiency.

Genjutsu is a direct attack on the chakra system of a person, so doesn't really fall into this category. Furthermore, genjutsu just tweaks the chakra of an opponent and hasn't been shown to be capable of actually damaging a person - only manipulating their perceptions and senses.

[Random Shinobi]

On the other hand, manipulating the elements within another person or ninja doesn't do it for me.

According to your logic a wind user could manipulate the gasses within another person as well, or an earth user could manipulate the basic elements that make up the human body.

In my mind these feats are impossible thanks to the innate chakra that each and every person has that provides a ninja or even a non-shinobi almost absolute control of the elements that make up their own body.

In other words, a person's own body is saturated with their own chakra to such a point that outside influence is almost impossible regardless of the opponent's proficiency.
I agree that humans must have some innate protection against external manipulations, but this merely means that you have to momentarily overcome these defences. If the protection against foreing chakra was absolute neither Jyuuken or healing jutsus would work. Perhaps this kind of extreme manipulation needs physical contact to work?

[Kalas]

I agree that humans must have some innate protection against external manipulations, but this merely means that you have to momentarily overcome these defences. If the protection against foreing chakra was absolute neither Jyuuken or healing jutsus would work. Perhaps this kind of extreme manipulation needs physical contact to work?

But then you run into the problem of why anyone would bother with normal Taijutsu techniques when they could just Bloody Mist them to death. Medical techniques would work because they arn't damaging the body, going against the body's chakra 'flow', they're healing the body, restoring the 'flow'. Bad metaphor I know.

As for Jyuuken... well the style requires the Byakugan so maybe it allows them to see shifting areas where they could be affected, timing their strikes perfectly, the tenketsu (chakra points) could be particularily weak.

Another thought is that the elements in a person's body are different. Imagine two ninja. One uses a water missile to attack, the other a water wall to defend. Now why wouldn't the second ninja use the water from the first's technique to defend? It would still assure his defense while weakening the other's offense.

One explanation is dragging the water from the other's control would take more chakra and more time, time in which he'd be hit with the technique. The other, which I'm more inclined to, is that while ninja one is using his water technique he infuses it with his chakra, so he can control it, making it a 'personal' element. When ninja numba two draws on water to make his wall he can't effect the first's technique because it's not normal water and thus effectable.

[Random Shinobi]

But then you run into the problem of why anyone would bother with normal Taijutsu techniques when they could just Bloody Mist them to death.
Because it's a lot easier to break a neck with a sharp blow than to boil enemy's spinal fluid with a complicated application of chakra?

Another thought is that the elements in a person's body are different. Imagine two ninja. One uses a water missile to attack, the other a water wall to defend. Now why wouldn't the second ninja use the water from the first's technique to defend? It would still assure his defense while weakening the other's offense.
I don't see why it wouldn't be possible - it's likely just impractical. I would say it's simply harder and requires more chakra as you have to overcome the chakra already pumped into the technique.

[Howdy]

I agree that humans must have some innate protection against external manipulations, but this merely means that you have to momentarily overcome these defences. If the protection against foreing chakra was absolute neither Jyuuken or healing jutsus would work. Perhaps this kind of extreme manipulation needs physical contact to work?

This does make a good amount of sense.

Also, actions in the manga imply that stronger ninjas are more resistant to the manipulations of others.

For one thing, many of the high level ninjas we've seen don't specialize in genjutsu despite how effective it has been shown to be against a wide range of enemies.

It occurs to me that only people with a very strong grasp of genjutsu techniques (like Itachi) could ever hope to successfully use such techniques against high level opponents, probably because of some sort of innate or learned resistance to such techniques that other strong ninjas possess.

Also, take the Pain vs. Jiraiya fight into account.

Pain doesn't attempt to mind rape or soul rip Jiraiya despite the fact that Human Realm was in physical contact with Jiraiya during the fight.

Likewise, Jiraiya doesn't attempt to turn Pain into a frog like he does with the Rain fodder ninja that he captures and sends back to Konoha.

Either both of them were incredibly stupid, or both knew that such techniques would be overcome by the innate power of the high level opponents they are facing.

Perhaps there are even more advantages to having a high level of chakra than we have been told so far.

[SmileOfTheKill]

Also, take the Pain vs. Jiraiya fight into account.

Pain doesn't attempt to mind rape or soul rip Jiraiya despite the fact that Human Realm was in physical contact with Jiraiya during the fight.

Likewise, Jiraiya doesn't attempt to turn Pain into a frog like he does with the Rain fodder ninja that he captures and sends back to Konoha.

Either both of them were incredibly stupid, or both knew that such techniques would be overcome by the innate power of the high level opponents they are facing.


Or using such a method in the manga would be an anti-climatic victory.
Good thing to remember that Naruto isn't always based on logic.

[Knox]

Logic in my Naruto's?! WHAR BE IT?!

[Howdy]

Or using such a method in the manga would be an anti-climatic victory.
Good thing to remember that Naruto isn't always based on logic.

Logic in my Naruto's?! WHAR BE IT?!

There are two ways to read the Naruto manga - or any fictional story for that matter.

1. You can read it and pick apart the story without suspending your disbelief and laugh at all of the poorly explained rationality and workings of the fictional world.

2. You can take in the fictional world and, by examining the actions that do take place in that world, fill in the blanks with your own interpretation of events that reconcile what we know with what we see in the story.

I try to take the second outlook.

I look at events that occur in the story and, instead of ridiculing them due to lack of explicit explanation, come up with my own reasons as to why things that are depicted in the story are the way they are.

If Jiraiya doesn't try to turn Pain into a frog then he chose to do that for a reason, not because the author forgot what he drew five chapters prior.

You can nitpick or you can extrapolate, and in my mind fan fiction is the perfect outlet for expanding on the fictional universe created by the author and not a forum for ridiculing someone else's (fairly) original ideas.

[SmileOfTheKill]

No, I don't mean treat it seriously and nikpick everything.
In fact, I am trying to think how to word this out.

Ahh yes, this simple.
Just making sure you knew Naruto had plotholes and the reason you used for the fight doesn't have to be true. In Naurto, those ability may be able to be used on higher ranking foes.
However your way of dealing with it is fine for this stuff.