A Tree or A Root?

Chapter One: Pilot

(Arc I: Hatred Is My Power!)

Opening: Am I Wrong? By Nico and Vinz. Album: Am I Wrong?- Single

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Naruto, but I can be Hokage, Believe it!

Consider a tree for a moment. As beautiful as trees are to look at, we don't see what goes on underground - as they grow roots. Trees must develop deep roots in order to grow strong and produce their beauty. But we don't see the roots. We just see and enjoy the beauty. In much the same way, what goes on inside of us is like the roots of a tree. – Joyce Meyer

Before we begin, it would be better if everyone knew the difference between a tree and root, right? And no, not the easy "one's on the bottom, and the other's on the top" answer. We're talking about the symbolism here. A Tree is the 'figure-head', simple and easy. Sure, it produces fruit and provides shade, but are those two things really needed? The Roots however, are the real power holders of the two. Without a root, a tree cannot stand. Without a root, a tree cannot produce its fruit nor it's shade. But, that is a double-edged sword. For without a tree to hold, a root would have no purpose, no reason to exist. So, the two need each other. Whether they accept it or not…

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"Good morning Kaa-chan, Tou-chan!" Chirps a young violet-eyed girl as she descends the stairs to the Uzumaki-Namikaze kitchen. She has long blond hair. She's wearing a short-sleeved, burnt orange kimono-like blouse with a dark embroidered border, held closed with a black obi, a dark skirt and stockings that stopped at her thighs along with the village's forehead protector and brown sandals.

"Morning, Emiko-chan!" (A/N: Roughly translates to happy child) Responds Kushina. Kushina has long red hair and violet eyes.

Emiko sits down next to her father, Minato Namikaze, at the kitchen table. Minato

has cerulean-blue eyes and spiky blond hair. He grins at his beloved daughter, "Morning, Miko-chan."

The young blond pouts, "Daaad! I said to call me Emiko! I'm a ninja now, dattebane!"

Her eyes widen as she clamps her mouth shut with her hand.

Both Minato and Kushina burst out laughing. "You guys suck." She says before sticking out her tongue and proceeding to eat the breakfast made by Kushina.

After eating her meal, the newly crowned genin walks to the door. She looks into the reflection in the door and smirks

I've made the first step now; I'm that much closer to taking your hat, Dad!

She pushes the door open and starts her trek to the academy, not knowing of the strife awaiting her.

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Across and under Konoha, a cloaked figure makes its way to his master's chamber.

It's been six years.. I wonder if they've even missed me, or even figured out I left.

Does it matter, Kit? They don't care about you. Why should you give them what they never gave you?

Yeah, you're right, Kurama.

As always.

The cloaked figure withholds his snort and opens a door revealing Danzo Shimura in all of his bandaged glory. The figure kneels before the mummy and says,

"You summoned me, Danzo-sama?"

"Yes I did, you have an assignment, my boy. But first, remove your hood."

The figure obliges and takes off his hood.

Danzo nods to himself , "This assignment is a long one and.. will be your last one under my command."

The boy's eyebrow rises, "Excuse my interruption, Master Danzo, but why? Have I failed you in any way?"

Danzo chuckles, "Quite the contrary actually."

"But then wh-"

"I have trained you extensively, boy. But, as you know, no matter what I did, your emotions would never truly disappear. Adding your natural charisma, you were never meant to be a Root. You, since the day you were born, were meant to be a Tree, but not just any tree. Oh no, you have the potential to be the strongest tree ever produced.. Now, with some negotiations with the Hokage, I have been able to allow one age appropriate Rootmember to join the graduating class of the academy. You are that member. Your assignment is simply to integrate with the regular forces."

The Root member nods and stands up. He then bows before Danzo.

"Arigato, Danzo-sama. For everything you've done. I'll never be able to repay you for what you've done for me."

Danzo shakes his head, "No repay is needed. Just know, that Root will be supporting you in everything you do, Naruto."

Naruto nods again and walks smirks and says, "Hermes!"

A Root member appears in front of him and kneels, "Yes, Lord Danzo?"

The mummy reaches inside his robe and takes out an envelope, "Place this on the Hokage's desk."

Hermes nods and disappears with the letter.

Danzo entwines his fingers and thinks,

There, my hand is set. I wonder who will win the pot, Hokage-sama.

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"Class, quiet down!" Yells Iruka, but alas, the class completely ignores him.

Fine, you wanna be that way then! Big Head Jutsu!

Iruka's head becomes much bigger as he roars, "Quiet Down Class!"

Immediately, the class becomes quiet.

"Good, now we will have one last roll call. First off, Shino Aburame?"

A lot of students later….

"Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Hn."

"Emiko Uzumaki-Namikaze?"

"Here!"

"Ok. Next, N-Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze?"

If a pin had dropped right then, everyone would have heard it. That tense silence was broken by an aloof response of, "Here."

Everyone turns to the voice and sees a boy with spiky black-tipped red hair and cerulean-blue eyes. He's wearing Anbu clothing except the flak jacket, arm guards, and sandals are red. He also has a silver ring on his left hand's middle finger and another silver ring on his right hand's index finger. Emiko's eyes widen,

B-Brother? T-that's impossible!

HAHAHA. Pathetic sack of flesh! Nothing's impossible!

Fuck off, Furball!

By the time Emiko ended her inner argument, Iruka was already saying the teams,

"..And, Team 7 is Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze; lead by Kakashi Hatake. Team 8 is Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame; lead by Kurenai Yuhi. Team 9 is still active and Team 10 is Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi; lead by Asuma Sarutobi."

Sakura, after her excitement over being on the same team as her Sasuke-kun died down, asked, "What about, Emiko-chan?"

"She is being apprenticed by Kushina-sama, Sakura. Anymore questions? No? Ok, everyone has a lunch break then you'll meet up with your Jonin-senseis. Before you all go, I just wanted to tell all of you how proud I am of you."

And with that, they all exit the room. Naruto makes his way to a tree with good amounts of shade and thinks.

Danzo-sama… He has an angle I know it. And what was with that whole 'Root' will support you shit?

I don't know, Kit. But, I believe there's a better question to be asked here.

What?

What are you going to do about your 'family'?

What family? The closest thing I had to a family was Root. And just like the first, they left me. I thought about what you said earlier, Kurama. I'm done caring. The only thing that has never left me, never betrayed me, was and is my hatred.

Hmmm. We'll see, Kit. There's a fire burning inside of you sure, but I'm not sure it's hatred.

Naruto was about to respond before the last person he ever wanted to see walked up to him.

"Nii-chan?" Asks Emiko.

Naruto considers looking at her with a glare, but just goes for an aloof look.

"Yes?"

"W-where have you been for the last six years?"

The ex-root nin replies, "It doesn't matter where I was. You, Minato, Kushina, Jiraiya and Tsunade never cared in the first place."

He stands up and walks away, then he turns half around and says, "And don't call me brother. I'm not part of your little perfect family, Emiko. You all threw me out, remember?"

Emiko gives no response as Naruto continues on his way.

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Both Minato and Kushina are watching their children using the Crystal Ball.

"Minato…."

"I know, Kushi-chan. Danzo has a hand in this I know it."

"B-but, we did exclude him, Mina-kun."

Minato looks down in regret, but then he looks up in determination.

"I know, Aka-hime. There's nothing we can do about the past, but we can sure as hell fix our mistake now."

Kushina smiles brightly and nods enthusiasticly. In a second, she goes to being serious.

"What did the old war hawk send you?"

Minato sighs and hands it to her.

"It was his reply to my argument as to why having a Root agent with all of those heirs wouldn't work. His reply both worries and bothers me."

"'The agent is an heir, or at least was?' What the hell?" Mutters a wide-eyed Kushina.

"This could mean far too many things, and that's what worries me. It also could be Naruto and that bothers me."

The Red Hot Blooded Habanero sighs and nods.

"What are you going to do, Mina-kun?"

Minato stands up from his chair and looks over his village.

"The darkness has spread enough. I'll have Itachi-kun and Shisui-kun try to take him down legally. If not, I'll be forced to exert martial law and execute him for kidnapping and brainwashing an heir."'

Kushina smiles sadly, "If anyone can take down Danzo, it's those two. Y'know, I'm still proud of you and how you handled both the Uchiha and Kumo situations."

Minato smiles widely and blushes, "T-thanks. The Kumo incident was easy enough. A knows I'm not one to be trifled with and if it wasn't for the combined effort of those two prodigies, I may have had to take the dinosaur's suggestion of complete slaughter."

Kushina smiles suggestively, "True, but still I'm proud of you, Minato-kuuun."

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"GAHHHHH! It's been HOURS!" Screeches Sakura as she, Sasuke, Naruto, and surprisingly, Emiko, wait for their senseis. Sasuke sighs and looks over at his other male teammate, "Naruto, how did you become a genin without attending the academy?"

Naruto stays silent for a second before, "I was… privately trained."

Emiko's eyes widen, "Privately? By who?"

Naruto looks outside, "By no-one important. At least, not anymore."

Sasuke nods and drops the subject and Emiko pouts and keeps quiet.

Just then, Kushina and Kakashi walk in.

"Hello, kids!" Exclaims Kushina with a grin.

Kakashi sighs, "Kushina-sama, why did you make me show up late?"

"You're too up-tight, Kakashi-kun! You need to be more like Obito-kun."

Sasuke looks up, "You were teammates with Uncle Obito?"

Kakashi nods, "Before I joined Anbu, yeah. He and his wife, Rin, are great friends of mine."

Sasuke smiles, "Yeah, I think he mentioned you a couple of times. Something about 'annoying prodigies' or something."

Kushina giggles and Kakashi sighs again, "Ok, Team Seven follow me to the roof."

And with that, Kakashi disappears in a body flicker.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all go to the door, but Naruto gets stopped by his m- Kushina's voice.

"Naruto-kun, I-"

"Save it, Kushina. I'm not looking for your forgiveness, or your pity." He cuts her off before walking away.

Kushina sighs and Emiko reassures her, "Don't worry, Kaa-san! We'll turn him around, I know it!" Kushina smiles at her little ball of sunshine and the two of them shunshin away to a training field.

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The three genins make their way to the roof, and see Kakashi leaning against the railing reading an Icha Icha book. Kakashi closes his book and tucks it away in his back pocket.

"Ok, now time for introductions." Says Kakashi with an eye smile.

"Introductions?" Questions Sasuke.

Kakashi nods, "Names, Likes, Dislikes, Elemental Affinity, Hobbies, FavoriteIchaIchaBook, and dreams for the future."

Naruto sweatdrops,

Favorite Icha Icha Book? Am I the only one who caught that?

"Kakashi-sensei, what if I don't know my elemental affinity?" Asks Sakura with her hand raised.

Kakashi sighs, "Sakura, you should've known already, and there's no reason to hold up your hand, we're no longer in class. Just start with the introductions already. Duck-butt, you're first."

Sasuke groans at the nickname and starts, "Sasuke Uchiha, I like tomatoes, training, and my family. I dislike traitors, liars, and cheats. My elemental affinity is Raiton and I have a secondary affinity to Katon. My hobbies are training and taking walks. I have no idea what 'Icha Icha' is, but I have seen Nii-san reading it before. My dream for the future is to become the next Chief for the Military Police."

Kakashi nods and points at Sakura, "Pinky, you're next."

"My name is Sakura Haruno and I like….*giggles*. I dislike Ino-pig and annoying people. I don't know my elemental affinity.."

Naruto sighs and throws a scroll at Sakura, "There's one in there."

Sakura smiles and summons it, "Arigatou, Naruto-san." She then pumps chakra into it and the paper crumbles.

"My elemental affinity is Doton. My dream for the future is..*giggles*."

Kakashi shakes his head and points at Naruto, "You, spiky, you're up."

"Naruto. I like training and meditation. I dislike hypocrites and weakness. My affinity is Fuuton. My hobbies are training, meditating, and gardening. I've only read one Icha Icha Book, so Paradise is my favorite. I have no dream, no, what I have is an ambition. I WILL become stronger than everyone around me. I'll prove all those who doubted me wrong."

Kakashi nods and stops leaning on the railing, "Ok, then. Tomorrow is your REAL genin test. It will take place at 4:00 A.M sharp in Training Ground Seven. I will not tolerate being late, understood?"

All three reply, "Hai."

Kakashi smirks behind his mask, "Good. Oh and before I forget, don't eat breakfast, or you'll throw it up."

And with that, he's gone.

Naruto spares his teammates no glance as he stands up and walks over to the railing.

"Wait, Naruto!"

Naruto turns around, "Yes?"

Sakura smiles, "Shouldn't we go strategize? We could go to a restaurant. Sasuke-kun's already going."

Naruto debates it for a little bit before nodding. The two of them make their way to Ichiraku's.

"Hello! My name is Ayame, and I'll be your server! What can I get you three?" Asks a brown haired girl in a waitress's outfit.

"I'll get a tomato ramen." Responds Sasuke.

"I'll get miso." Replies Sakura.

"I'll get a miso also, thank you." Says Naruto with a smile.

Ayame blushes and goes to tell her dad.

"So, anyone got ideas on how to do this survival test?" Asks Sasuke.

Sakura shakes head and Naruto says, "It's most likely a three-on-one fight. My guess is that its to see if we can work together as a team."

Sasuke and Sakura just look at Naruto cross-eyed. "Yes?" Naruto questions.

"N-nothing, but how'd you figure that out?" Asks Sakura.

"Konoha's built on the whole teamwork system, so it only makes sense we would be tested on it in some way." As Naruto explains, multiple voices he never wanted to hear again speak.

"So, how was your first day being a genin, Emiko-chan?" Asks Tsunade.

"It was awesome, Baa-chan! My Kaa-san is my sensei!" Responds Emiko brightly.

Naruto turns around and sees Minato, Kushina, Emiko, Tsunade, Shizune, and Jirayia all walking into Ichiraku's.

The redhead sighs and gets up from his seat, "Thanks for the invite you two. I'll see you tomorrow." He puts money on the counter and walks out of the joint. Both Kushina and Minato visibly deflate when he leaves. As he's walking away, Emiko shouts to him, "Nii-san! You should eat with us!"

Naruto gives no reply and keeps on walking. Tsunade starts to get pissed, "Oi! Gaki! Get back here and eat with your family."

Naruto stops in the middle of the street, "Family? I have no family. A family is supposed to love and comfort not ignore and disdain. You all mean nothing to me, as I don't you."

All of their, even Team seven's, eyes widen as Naruto turns half around and shows one of his eyes.

So much…hatred! Everyone thinks.

He faces forward again and puts his hands in his pockets, "I don't need a 'family'. You'd all just get in my way."

And with that, he continues his trek.

Emiko begins to cry, "Why does he hate us so much, Tou-san? I don't understand."

Minato and Kushina comfort her, "I don't know Miko-chan, but we'll get through to him…eventually, I know it."

Jirayia, who has stayed abnormally quiet throughout the interaction, thinks,

Born in the light, but raised in the darkness. The child of the flash no one understood, with the control over Nature itself will be the chosen one. They will be faced with a choice of playing savior or playing destroyer…. Were we wrong? Is it not Emiko, but Naruto instead?

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You lied to the scarecrow about your affinities….why? Questions Kurama as Naruto walks inside the apartment Danzo gave him.

A Ninja's best tool is deception. Kakashi will report my affinity to Minato and they'll never think of what I'm really able to do, until I show them myself. Responds Naruto inwardly.

Kurama grunts and cuts the link.

Naruto walks into the bathroom and stares at himself in the mirror. Clenching his fist, he says,

"Soon, I'll be able to show them what they threw away. Soon, all those years of hatred, all that pain, will come to fruition!"

Then, Naruto goes to sleep, preparing himself for what will no doubt be a good fight.

And Chapter 1 done! I'm really excited about writing this fic. It's been in my head forever! As you can see, Naruto's a bit resentful, but who wouldn't be after getting forgotten by their loved ones. Oh, and what happened with Naruto and how Obito lived will be revealed in a later chapter. For now, who do you think will be the Tobi of the Akatsuki?

Ending: Far Too Young To Die by Panic! At The Disco. Album: Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!