Naruto: Uchiha Chronicles

AN/ Alright, I am finally back. Sorry it took so long, and sorry that I haven't finished the editing on Naruto: Soul Reaper Chronicles, I ran into an issue along the way, when I realized I needed a little bit of build in the relationship between Naruto and Fem-Ichigo before he beginning of the Ryoka Invasion, so I'm adding a chapter in between two and three to cover the time between when Fem-Ichigo gets her powers, and when Rukia gets taken, and it's going slow.

To be honest, I think both that and my Mokuton fic will be on hiatus pending a good deal of editing and possible rewrite for the mokuton fic. I know this will upset some people, but right now, including this one, I have a few fic idea's that are vaguely being pieced together right now, and I think will be much better structured and planned out than my first two fics, which I hope will make up for it.

Anywho, you don't want to hear about that, you want to hear about this story. This one has really caught my interest, and I have it better planned out than the previous two, I know exactly where it's going so I am hoping it will come out much better.

The premise of this story is that Madara is Naruto's grandfather, and abandoned the Eye of the Moon plan soon after beginning the preparations, having only just summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and started making Zetsu when he did so.

The only other things I will say about it, is that the plan WAS picked up, but I won't say anything more, since that won't have any bearing until Part II, around the same time as Madara was revealed in Canon.

Further, I'll make one thing clear; I guarantee no use of information revealed about Madara's plan beyond the initial explanation. The reason is that when I had begun the planning of the story, Madara had barely just been resurrected for real, and it became obvious he was going to be the Juubi jinchūriki.

I don't read th e manga that much(even though I have the entire first part of the series in manga) because I was first introduced to the Naruto series through the English dubbed anime, and it remains my preferred method of enjoying the series(mostly because I can't stand Sakura's voice in the subbed version; yeesh, look no further for why some Sakura haters call her a howler monkey/banshee).

I only know of the events of Madara becoming the Juubi jinchūriki because of the research I did on the wiki about jinchūriki and the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode in particular, because I accidently discovered that when reading the article on it.

Sorry if you don't like that, but since at least the first half of this fic is going to be focused solely on Part I and maaayyyybe some of the time skip, it shouldn't have too much of an impact for some time.

That's all the information all give for now, besides the fact that the pairing is a double pairing Naruto x Fem-Sasuke and a mystery girl that won't be revealed until the end of Part 1.

Now, I have a poll up on my profile for a pairing for this fic, since I've already decided it, I will replace that poll with one for the pairing of my next fic.

The final thing I have before the chapter starts, I have a challenge. The first person to correctly guess the identity of the second girl before she is revealed, will be given the option of choosing a girl that will be either the pairing for one of my next fics, or might be a second pairing for one of my upcoming fics(if I already have a firm choice for that fic).

I will inform the winner(the first person to guess correctly), that they won via a PM, and simply announce an end to the contest. This way, I get to keep my evil suspense going as well as not giving away who the girl is by publically announcing the winner(because you could just go and see who they guessed and find out).

There are only three/ limitations I will put on the choices, and they are: 1) I won't do female Bijū, there are quite a few problems I have with this pairing, too many to get into. 2) I won't do Kushina or any other incest. This isn't my thing, I read the occasional fic with this pairing, but that is very few and far between, and only if it's good enough, but I don't have an interest in writing it myself. 3) They have to be shinobi. I don't really have an interest in having him be with civilians, as they would have no chance of protecting themselves from his enemies.

Besides that, any other girl is game, I'll even do gender bends(obviously I have no issue with these.).

The rules for guessing are simple, you get to guess one girl per chapter review, and if multiple are given, I will simply take the very first one as the guess. Obviously, with the fact I will be informing the winner that they won vie PM, you will need an account to win.

I hope people have fun with this.

Now, finally, the first chapter of Naruto: Uchiha Chronicles.

EDIT 2-15-15:

Alright, here's the first chapter that's been edited. The biggest difference is the fact I've cut out all of the multiple points of view, and tried to limit it to just the main person in that scene.

Normal speech: "what"

Extremely loud group/single person shouting: "WHAT!"

Thoughts/Speech taken out of context: 'what'

Letter/Book/Written text: 'What'

Demon/Summon speech: "what"

Demon/Summon thoughts: 'what'

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach, that honor belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo respectively.

Arc I: The Origin:

Chapter 1: Witness and Awaken, Magnet and Copy Wheel!

— ₪ NUC ₪ —

Konohagakure was considered one of the strongest of the Five Great Ninja Villages, once the strongest, until the Kyūbi attack.

Six years ago the great Bijū had suddenly appeared in the middle of the village, and quickly began to lay waste to the village. Despite the fact that the shinobi of the village—including the former Hokage—had fought fiercely to force it back, all hope had seemed lost until the Fourth Hokage had appeared, and transported the beast away. In the end, he gave his life to seal the mighty creature away in a small boy. Third Hokage had stepped forward then, to once more take the mantel of Hokage. Under his guidance, the village had begun recovering from the devastating episode.

For the Kyūbi had not left only physical scars on the village, but more invisible ones as well.

In the aftermath of the attack, the Uchiha Clan had fallen under the suspicions of the higher ranking members of the village, suspicions that they were involved in the sudden attack causing them to be ostracized from the rest of the Uchiha endured the mistrust directed at them; however, the leaders of the clan became increasingly angry and unsatisfied at what they viewed as a near century long discrimination against them. The final straw came when the Uchiha had been made to live in secluded corner of Konoha, separated from the rest of the village. And thus the road to true conflict began

The ostracized clan began plotting to take the power they thought so rightfully belonged to them.

The plot progressed further and further, and the Hokage and elders of the village soon became aware of it. In an attempt to ease the tensions, the Third began to try negotiating with the clan, without revealing his knowledge of the plot. The attempts were in vane, as they rebuffed every attempt.

That brings us to the beginning of the story, as the tensions begin to approach their apex, and a man was attempting to stop the plot of his clan, only to be intercepted by other forces at work in the village.

At the same time, a certain blond haired boy was on his way to train for the academy. This boy didn't know that he had the blood of one of Konoha's founding clans flowing through his veins. He also didn't know that that blood would save his life on this day.

— ₪ NUC ₪ —

It was just past midday in Konoha, and the sun shone brightly. A pleasant, cool breeze swept through the village. All around, the village was interspersed with lush greenery. The streets bustled with happy inhabitants, unaware of the tension building between the village and one of its most prominent clans. In the area near the training grounds for shinobi, Naruto Uzumaki,the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi—though he didn't know that—was walking towards his favorite training ground, which was situated along the Naka river.

The emerald colored vegetation was just beginning to show the slightest encroachment of yellow, red, and brown in its vibrant color, showing the gradual change from Summer to Autumn. The breeze produced a constant rustling sound around the boy. Though he couldn't see it yet, he could hear the quiet rush of water from the Naka river beyond the trees.

The sun shone down through the treetops onto his golden blond hair. Despite how distinctive his hair was, perhaps the most unique thing about him was the three whisker marks on each of his cheeks. His clothes were sturdy, the black shirt and tan shorts being perfect for shinobi training.

If people who knew him had seen the boy, they would have been surprised by the sad contemplation in his electric blue eyes. Naruto had just begun the academy, and he was on his way to practice his skills, after another disappointing day of his instructors being rather reticent about helping him, simply telling him how to do something, and then going to help others, leaving him to figure out anything he didn't understand.

The boy couldn't help but wonder why everyone treated him like that, like they didn't want him around. It had been that way since his memory began just a few short years ago. The small blonds expression became downtrodden. He thought of the way people treated him, and how it was made worse by the fact he was an orphan. He had no idea who his parents were, or if they were dead or abandoned him. Did they too dislike him like so many others did? Had they abandoned him because they couldn't stand him? He wanted a family more than anything, someone to care about him like all the other kids seemed to have. Every time someone had come to adopt a kid at the orphanage, he had always felt hope they would pick him. But they didn't. People would just give him a cold look like everyone else, and then pick another child. Finally, it got to a point where he had begged the 'old man' to let him live in his own apartment, so he didn't have to deal with the constant disappointment.

He cheered up slightly, thinking of the elderly Hokage. The Third was one of the few people he knew that was kind to him; him and the Ichiraku's from his favorite restaurant.

They were the things that made life bearable for him, especially the Third, who he called 'Gramps'. And he really was like a grandfather to him, always helping him out and making sure he was doing ok, sharing his wisdom with him and telling him cool stories about his experience as a ninja.

Despite this bond, he wanted to find out who his parents were one day, so he at least knew where he came from. Even if it turned out they hadn't loved him. Until then, he would just train to be the most badass ninja he could.

More specifically, he wanted to be Hokage, like his 'Gramps', and his idol the Fourth. He wanted to be as cool and powerful as them, maybe then the villagers would start to acknowledge him, instead of ignoring him.

With significantly more positive thoughts, the blond turned his mind back to what the task at hand; going to train. It was with a start that he realized, during his inner musing, he had just about reached the edge of the clearing he was heading for.

He had just reached the bushes, when he heard two strange noises.

The first was rather simple to discern, and not too strange considering where he was. The—clang—of metal on metal was something that could almost always be found in a training ground. It was the second sound, a strange—hiss—that got his attention. It was very loud, easily reaching him.

The curious boy walked to the edge of the vegetation, to look through the bushes at the cause of the noise. His curiosity quickly became shock when he beheld the scene in the clearing. On the river bank before him, he saw a completely unexpected sight. There were seven people locked in mortal combat. And it wasn't the kind that you engaged in for training. There were far too many killing blows being attempted. That wasn't even mentioning the one combatant that looked to be badly injured.

Six of the seven appeared to be Anbu, but something was off. They wore the typical Anbu mask and cloak, but underneath that the uniforms seemed to vary greatly, and not one seemed to wear the actual Anbu vest and shoulder-length gloves or grey arm guards. What's more, they were attacking the seventh man, throwing ninja tools as well as the occasional water jutsu at him, waves and bullets launching at him, attempting to slam into him.

In response, the man would launch back large gouts of fire, so hot Naruto could feel a slight heat from where he stood in the bushes, turning the attacks into steam, the source of the constant—hiss—he had heard.

The seventh man—the one launching fire—was the most interesting. He wore typical attire from the Uchiha Clan that he often saw around the village, with a dark high-collar shirt and dark ninja pants, as well as what seemed to be a holster for his tanto, which he used to fend off the weapons, while seemingly appearing and disappearing to dodge the jutsu and move faster.

The man had unruly black hair, and a broad nose. The most interesting thing was his right eye, which was crimson, with a black shuriken in the center. His left eye, however, was closed. Naruto could see crimson trail of blood streaked down his face from that eye.

It was clear that the six men were trying to kill the fire breathing man. He already had several small cuts that looked to be caused by the tanto the supposed Anbu carried, and even a rather serious laceration on his right side, that looked very wide and deep. Almost as if whatever had cut him had glided through him like a knife through butter, skin, muscle, bone, everything.

Naruto began to feel a pit of fear grow in his stomach like a lead weight. One thing he knew from his conversations with his surrogate grandfather, the Third, was that his Anbu ALWAYS wore the standard uniform unless on infiltration missions, where they dressed as regular civilians. If these six men were dressed as neither, it meant they were not the Hokage's Anbu, or possibly not Anbu at all. One thing was clear, they were attacking a Konoha shinobi, and if they were willing to do that, they would have no issue 'silencing' him.

He wasn't stupid. If they went to the trouble if hiding their faces, they didn't want their activities known. They would kill him to stop him from telling anyone.

Reality struck him in the face like a war hammer. He needed to get out of there, now. So great was his shock and fear, he didn't pay close enough attention to his surroundings. He began to retreat, without taking his eyes off the clearing.

Something he would regret.

Naruto took a step back, instantly freezing when a deafening—CRACK—rent the air like a gunshot. He looked in terror at the broken branch beneath his foot. The young boy shivered in fear; he didn't want to look up. He could feel the eyes in the clearing turning to him. Against his better judgment, he did, and instantly regretted it. He witnessed the gazes of the false Anbu turning to him in a creepy sort of synchronization.

The blond felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. A wave of fear enveloped him. His veins were flooded with adrenaline and he broke out in a cold sweat. At that moment, the small boy did the only thing he could think of; he turned and ran, ran away from the creepy masked men as fast as he could.

"Eliminate him, there are to be no witnesses." The monotone voice in the sent a shiver up Naruto's spine. There was zero emotion in the man's voice.

Without needing any prompts, the three figures—one wearing a dog mask with four eyes, one a demon mask, and the other a regular cat mask—took off in the direction of the panicked academy student, intent on eliminating him.

— ₪ NUC ₪ —

Naruto dashed madly through the forest, not really paying attention to where he was going. He tore through the bushes in a frenzy, his heart threatening to burst from his chest as from irs extremely high rate from the combination of fear and exercise.

The greenery passed by in a blur. All he wanted to do was put as much distance as possible between himself and the masked men. His heart was pounding so hard the beats reverberated throughout his entire chest, and the blood rushed through his veins so fast he could actually hear it pounding in his ears. That was why he barely heard the rustle of leaves behind him. Still, he heard it, and looked back to find out what it was. He almost wished he hadn't. Three of the fake Anbu were chasing after him easily dashing through the thick vegetation around the training ground.

The most scary part was the methodical pace they kept, never really trying to close the distance between them and himself. Their masks didn't help any either. While the cat-masked one on the left was normal enough, the one in the middle—the four eyed dog—and the one on the right—a demon with tusks jutting from its lower lip—were very abnormal. They were like twisted versions of the regular Anbu masks.

The supposed Anbu never stepped up the pace, seemingly content to keep following him, something that surprised the blond.

Why aren't they trying to catch me? Aren't they worried I'll get away? It made him increasingly worried. They didn't seem like the types to make a bunch of mistakes, so that meant there was some reason they weren't worried about his escape. He had just reached that last conclusion, when the blond shot out of the bushes, and came to a skidding stop, and his stomach seemed to suddenly drop. The little jinchuriki had discovered why they hadn't bothered to pick up the pace. They obviously knew the terrain better. He was currently standing on a rocky bank next to the Naka river. Water thundered over the cliff side to churn the waters of the river bellow into a white foam.

He stared in shock and despair at the cliff before him. Beside him the river flowed by, and a roar filled the air, along with a fine mist created by the thousands of gallons of falling water.

With a sinking heart, Naruto turned around, backing up to the edge of the light grey rocky bank, right up until he felt a the light mist on his calves from the river flowing rapidly by. He saw the three masked men methodically walking towards him. In that moment, he was certain they were there to kill him. He just knew they didn't have good intentions towards him, and it terrified him, because he knew he couldn't take a single one of them.

The Anbu-look-alikes seemed to pause in their approach, simply standing their looking at him, the unmoving faces of their masks being very creepy to the seven-year-old boy

Finally, the lead man—the one with the dog mask—spoke. In the relative silence that filled the air, save the sounds occasional of bird calls, and the sound of the waterfall, the man whispered his orders to the two flanking him.

"Seek to incapacitate him by any means. The boy only has to live long enough for us to get him to Lord Danzō to extract the beast. It matters not what happens after that."Naruto tensed. He couldn't make out what was said, the constant roaring of the waterfall filled his ears, blocking out nearly all other sound.

Soon as the order was given, the trio began to approach once more, increasing the anxiousness and worries of the blond.

Naruto could tell—he had this feeling in his gut that he couldn't shake—he simply knew they were going to kill him. The boy gulped audibly, before trying to reason with them, to get them to spare him. Even if it was futile.

"P-p-please, don't kill me! I w-won't t-tell anyone what I saw!" Naruto stuttered in fear, not wanting to die. There were so many things he wanted to do. Get the acknowledgement of the people of Konoha, become Hokage . . . find out who his family was.

For a moment, the three paused, and he felt a slight hope that maybe they would spare him. That hope was dashed the next moment, when the lead man spoke.

"That is not possible. Lord Danzō's orders were clear, there are to be no witnesses to our involvement. Do not struggle, and it will be over quick." The dog-masked one said in a monotone voice.

As soon as the man finished his sentence, Naruto's heart sank and he felt as if his stomach had dropped past his knees. His throat constricted, he couldn't breathe, or speak; he could only watch them draw the tip-less tanto they seemed to have in common. In his chest, his heart began beating wildly. Adrenaline flooded his veins, causing his arms to go tingly numb.

The dog masked man shot forward at tremendous speeds—to Naruto at least—, beginning to raise his tanto to strike Naruto. The man got closer and closer, and Naruto's perception of the world seemed t.o slow down to a crawl as his eyes widened in unadulterated fear. All the surrounding sounds faded away into a vacuum of silence, where only his heartbeat could be heard, thumping loudly in his chest.

Bum Bum

The man raised his tanto extremely slowly.

Bum Bum

The man reached Naruto, began bringing his tanto down.

Bum Bum

Naruto felt his eyes involuntarily close. The tanto began to descend upon him.

Bum Bum

Just when the tanto was about to reach his neck, Naruto's eyes snapped open, glaring at his attacker with eyes that were startlingly different from their previous sparkling blue. Instead, bloody red orbs glared menacingly at the masked man, with a single black tomoe mark spinning around each pupil.

At the exact same moment, the tanto suddenly halted in midair, as if being held by an invisible hand. Try as he might, he couldn't move it to strike the blond. The seconds went by, and a slight rustling began in the man's equipment pouches. All the while he looked into the red eyes of the blond.

"Sharingan?" He muttered questioningly to himself. Naruto didn't hear it in his trance. Not knowing of the occurrence, and simply seeing their partners blade stopped, the other two moved to strike him as well. As soon as their blades came within an inch of the blond, they too stopped suddenly. When they did, the dog-masked one felt the tug in his pouches become even more pronounced, and his fellow felt it begin for them.

All at once, the sound of tearing cloth rent the air, echoing throughout the clearing. From the equipment pouches of the three masked men dozens of black blurs shot forth, all towards the three tanto's of the men, leaving cuts in their clothes and on their skin as they took the most direct route to the tip-less steel blades, leaving small trickles of crimson liquid leaking down their skin. The black blurs met the unique tanto's in a tremendous—CHING CLANG—of metal on metal, echoing loudly across the water and even down to the area at the bottom of the waterfall.

When the momentum of the blurs was stopped by the tanto's, it was revealed that the blurs were in fact every single kunai and shuriken on them, with each man having at least a couple dozen of each clinging to their tanto's and each other, making them look like spiky clubs of black metal.

Despite the unexpected result, there was no reaction of shock or surprise from the false Anbu. "The metal has become magnetized. That is why the blades stopped moving, an similar pull as the tanto, while the shuriken have the opposite pull." Said the demon masked one.

"Indeed, perhaps Magnet Release. Lord Danzō will surely be interested in this child, with both the Sharingan and Magnet Style." The cat masked one added, receiving a nod from the others.

"It seems that non-lethal force will be required." The apparent leader commented. "Just as well, metal weapons will be useless against the boy."He concluded.

While the three were discerning what had happened, Naruto had entered a trance-like state. His eyes glassed over, and his face went completely blank. Just when the masked individuals finished their deductions, Naruto's right arm rose from his side in a manner eerily similar to that of a zombie, but without the groaning and decomposing flesh.

The last thing the three Anbu-look-alikes saw was him clenching his hand, before all they could see was black and silver slivers. The slivers attacked ferociously, leaving hundreds if not thousands of paper thin cuts on the men. It was so painful, it even made the emotionally void Root members—who had been trained to have a pain tolerance even greater than the already impressive level of most ninja—let loose screams of agony.

Blood sprayed through the air from numerous cuts across their bodies, the heavy scent of iron filling the air as the crimson life-giving liquid splashed on the ground and all over Naruto's front.

Their clothes were reduced to tatters, the men looked more like lumps of raw meat than humans. It was when the first warm spray of liquid hit his face, that Naruto came out of his trance. He looked in shock as he was showered in the blood of the three men who were now unrecognizable.

For a moment, he was frozen in shock. He watched the bodies fall, and felt himself covered in the thick, warm crimson blood.

Finally, the adrenaline began to leave, and his heart slowed down. He felt fatigue weighing him down, his limbs feeling like led, and his eyelids drooping. Even in the exhausted fog, he managed to whisper a shocked question; "D-d-did I do that Did I kill them?"

His eye lids began to feel like led, and started to close. The crimson hue that had taken them over receded, and his normal electric blue color returned for a moment. Then his eyes closed. His body gave way to the fatigue. Slowly, he began to tip backwards, splashing down into the swift current just as he lost consciousness. The young boy didn't even register the freezing shock of the cold water embracing him.

Upon hitting the water, his body sunk; slightly at first, but then bubbles erupting around it and water was thrown into the air, sparkling in the sunlight. He submerged for a moment, and then his body gently floated to the surface. With a low—bloomp— the boy surfaced, and ripples spread outwards from where he had landed. His wet hair was now sticking to his forehead, and his soaking clothes slightly weighed him down, barely keeping his face above the water.

Soon though, his body began to be pulled towards the edge of the waterfall like a bug stuck in the water as a bathtub drains.

At first his clothes slowed him down slightly, but as he got closer and closer to the edge, his speed and momentum increased, drawing him faster and faster towards his certain demise by being dashed upon the rocks at the bottom of the large waterfall. His clothes doing less and less to slow him. Finally he was pitched over the side of the fall at high speeds, spiraling down through the air end over end. His soaking clothes and wet hair were pulled back tight to his body, flapping loudly behind him from the force of his fall. He was getting closer and closer to being splattered upon the rocks and water below, nothing but a stain on the surface.

It began to look hopeless as he approached midway down. He would be dashed upon the surface below, never awakening; never reaching his dreams or goals. Nobody would ever know what became of him.

It was then, as he reached midway, that a black and white blur seemed to flash across the waterfall, snatching him from midair, and carrying him to a tree branch on the side of the cliff.

Once it had stopped, the blur was revealed to be an extremely old man holding Naruto gently in his arms. He was definitely very old, older even than the Third, and emaciated. His pale, wrinkly skin stretched over a body that was undoubtedly once toned and athletic, still possessing wiry muscle even as it had aged. His hair was very long, thin, and spiky, reaching his waist with a bang covering his right eye. He wore a simple black robe and simple straw sandals with waraji.

Onyx eyes gazed down at the blond intensely for a moment. The man examined him, as if searching for something in his features. He seemed to find it, and his eyes softened, a warm look entering the black pools.

The man then whispered to the unconscious blond.

"So I was correct. It is you . . . my grandson. It would seem you have inherited my unfortunate habit of getting into complicated situations." The old man whispered to himself and the blond, before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

— ₪ NUC ₪ —

Behind the curtain of white that was the waterfall along the Naka River, the mist from the cascading current was flung into the air. A constant roar filled the air in front of the rocky entrance. The waters from the upper portion of the river thundered down into the lower portion of the river, the waters at the entrance were churned into a constant white foam that floated downwards, and slowly dissipated in the crystal blue current.

Beyond that majestic curtain, lay the entrance to a cave. And beyond that lay a long tunnel, that led back underneath the river. Even further beyond this, the tunnel led into a fairly large rocky cavern, lit by torches along the walls that gave the otherwise dark place a soft light.

On one side, there was another waterfall, considerably smaller than the one outside, that fed into a large, clear, cool pool of water, with a traditional wooden bridge arching over it. Along the floor, interspersed here and there, were stalagmites pointing proud and tall into the air. Perhaps the most prominent land mark was the Japanese style wooden house at the back of the cave. The front doors were a sliding style of door, and inside those doors, in the front room of the house, the caves only occupant sat in a meditative pose, extending his senses around him.

The occupant was a very old man, almost emaciated in appearance, with many wrinkles. His hair was slightly thin, long, and spiky, with one bang covering his right eye, and he wore a simple black robe. His name was Madara Uchiha, the former head of the Uchiha Clan, and considered by many to be one of the worst traitors in Konoha's entire history. He was doing an exercise to maintain his sensing abilities, extending them around him to try and sense any signatures near him, or even far away. It was one of the few things he could do to keep his chakra skills sharp.

It was as he was doing this, that he sensed something peculiar. Seven signatures doing battle along the Naka River. Six of them chased after the seventh, throwing jutsu at the person. All of the individuals had at least Anbu level reserves if he was sensing right, and one seemed to be an Uchiha, as he could sense the special chakra of the sharingan being used. That was the one that was being attacked. Curious

But that wasn't all. Very near to them, and getting closer, seemed to be a signature slightly larger than those. After a moment the eighth signature suddenly began moving fastly in his direction, and three of the other signatures chasing the seventh broke off and began chasing the eighth.

While they ran, the persons chakra seemed to be fluctuating, as if something was happening to them. Hmm . . . could it be a bloodline stirring? Curious . . .. The chase lasted for a few minutes, until the eighth person was backed up against the river almost directly above him.

It was as this happened, that whatever bloodline that had begun stirring finally awakened in the eighth person, and Madara's eyes opened in shock. There wasn't one bloodline awakening, but two. And he recognized them both.

Cold fingers seemed to be trailing down his spine, and a pit of worry formed in his stomach, as he recognized not only the chakra distinctive of the Sharingan, but another bloodline that was all too familiar. One he hadn't felt in years. Only one word passed through his mind, as his features hardened.

'Naruto . . ' He thought, before he vanished in a blur of motion.

— ₪ NUC ₪ —

Drip . . .

Drip . . .

Drip . . .

Naruto's eyes scrunched up at the noise that invaded his ears, of water dripping down onto another watery surface.

He felt tired, he didn't want to get up.

Drip . . .

Drip . . .

The noise continued, and his mind began to become more awake. The events that led to his unconsciousness came rushing back to him in rapid succession. His eyes snapped wide open in shock and fear, and he sat up abruptly, looking wildly around himself.

The blond couldn't help but be confused by his surroundings.

He lay in the middle of a corridor that looked like the basement of an industrial plant, with metal pipes running along the walls and ceiling. The floor was flooded with a pool of water maybe a couple inches deep, but strangely enough he didn't feel his clothes were wet, or any dampness on his skin.

The entire place seemed to be illuminated by a low golden light, leaving plenty of shadows dancing around him, and causing it to have an ethereal air to it.

Slowly he began to get up on his feet, taking in more of the strange place, trying to get a clue as to where he was. The first thing he noticed was the fact that the air strangely enough wasn't stale like you would expect for the underground. From what he could tell, the corridor carried on for quite a ways, extending into the shadows.

With nothing else to do, the boy began to walk down the hall way, hoping to find a way out this strange place.

The blond soon came to the end of the corridor, coming to a crossroads from another corridor. It was here that he came across his first significant finding in this strange place, as he saw a bright light sparkling in the distance.

That's when he began to hear it, the faint whisper, of a rumbling, deep, gravelly voice. It emanated from the faint light at the end of the corridor.

"Come . . . ." The voice beckoned.

Naruto was immediately on guard. The voice filled him with dread, a cold pit forming in his stomach. It sounded primal and ancient.

"Wh-who's there? Where am I?" Naruto called into the darkness of the corridor.

"Come to me . . . ." The voice called once more.

Reluctantly, Naruto found himself continuing to walk down the corridor towards where the voice came from. Whatever it was knew he was here, so there was no point trying to hide or run. He became aware of a new noise entering his range of hearing. At first, he mistook it for the sound of wind passing through the corridor.

Whoo whoosh

Whoo whoosh

Whoo whoosh

On the sound went. Finally, he recognized it for what it was when he got far enough along the corridor. It was the sound of a giant pair of lungs pumping air in and out. A shiver of fear ran down his spine.

How large did a creature have to be to produce such a noise simply by breathing? He wasn't sure he wanted to find out. Still, the blond continued to walk through the corridor, noting that for some reason, his vision seemed much better than it usually was. He could see almost every detail of the corridor, even in the dark. Had he been able to see himself, he would have seen that his eyes glowed a bloody red in the darkness, one tomoe adjacent to the pupil in each eye.

He began to see a glow at the end of the corridor. Whatever lay beyond was significantly brighter than the corridor. It took him but moments to reach the end of the tunnel, and he was blinded briefly by the bright light, white spots blurring his vision and obscuring the room for a moment.

Blinking furiously, the white spots began to disappear slowly from his vision, allowing him to view the room he was in. He was in a rather large room, with pipes all along the walls, and if he guessed right, most likely the ceiling, which couldn't be seen because it was so high up shadows obscured it.

The object that held the blonds attention the most though, was the giant golden gates that stood imposingly from floor to ceiling directly across from him, with a border around them with golden spiral designs. There appeared to be a large piece of paper, almost as big as his body, holding it shut, with the kanji for 'seal' on it.

Even with his strangely enhanced vision, he couldn't see what was inside. It was simply a sea of darkness, like no light could exist within it. The most disconcerting part was that he could tell the deep breaths were coming from within that vast darkness

He felt a wave of malice and hatred crash down upon him when he began to cross the room. The wave forced him to his knees, with his eyes bulging wide in fear. He couldn't stand, he couldn't talk, he could barely even breath. It was ten times worse than when he had felt the terror when he was about to be killed by the three masked men. The blond felt himself breaking out in a cold sweat. The pressure increased to the point he couldn't even draw breath.

He soon found himself struggling to stay conscious, black spots beginning to invade his vision. Finally, mercifully, the pressure lifted from him. A deep rumbling chuckle filled the room.

Naruto collapsed forward onto his hands and knees, panting with eyes still wide in shock and fear. Suddenly, that same voice from before boomed out to him.

"Hehehehe so . . . . my warden has finally come before me." The voice called out.

A visibly shaken Naruto got to his feet slowly. He looked directly into the darkness. Right now he stood just a short distance away from the cage. All he wanted to do was turn and flee in terror. The boy shook his head. He attempted to reign in his fear, managing to shift his facial features from being terrified with wide eyes, to simply one of wariness.

"Wh-who are you?" He asked cautiously.

In response, he received another deep chuckle, before something terrifying happened. In the dark abyss inside the cage, two enormous crimson eye with slit pupils shot open, with a huge gleaming white grin soon following, the large pointed teeth as big as Naruto himself.

Naruto took a step back in fear, at the bloodthirsty grin and the almost manic glaring eyes, just as an reddish-orange paw that resembled a human-like hand shot forward towards him, gleaming white claws looking to impale him.

The boy saw it coming in slow motion, and threw himself backwards, landing on his rear in the pool of water on the floor. Still, the claws continued to come towards him, and were just about to impale him when—

CLANG!

With a resounding crash, the paw was stopped as it crashed against the bars of the cage, stopping one of the claws just inches from Naruto's face. If the blond hadn't thrown himself backwards, he would have been impaled on the claw.

Looking up at the owner of the paw with eyes wide in shock, Naruto gulped in fear, as he saw a vision of terror.

The shadows in the cage crawled backwards to reveal a beast of nightmares. Standing there looking at him with a menacing grin and one paw attempting to impale him, was a giant reddish-orange fox with a human-like torso and rabbit like ears, with black marks extending from its eyes into the inside of its ears. Behind it waved nine giant tails that seemed to have a mind of their own.

He was standing in front of the Kyūbi no Yōko. The greatest calamity to ever befall Konoha.

"Of course, it's just my luck that you too have an ability that will help you control me. To think, you are from that accursed clan." The fox growled.

For his part, Naruto was frozen in shock and fear, it felt like someone had poured ice water into his veins. It took several moments, for him to register what the fox said, and formulate a reply.

"Y-you're the Kyūbi! Where are we, and what's this about control, and a clan?" Naruto asked, shaky at first, but stronger and more confused at the end.

In response, the Kyūbi removed it's claw from the cage door, laying down and growling at the boy.

"Don't play dumb with me boy, you are undoubtedly a member of those accursed Uchiha . . . . with that repugnant Sharingan!" Kyūbi bellowed.

The blond was frozen in shock. He tried to process the Kyūbi's words, but they were just too absurd. Still in denial, he looked down into the pool of water at his feet, only to see his reflection staring back at him, his eyes a glowing bloody crimson, with a single black tomoe spinning around the pupil in each eye.

"The Sharingan, but how?" Naruto whispered to himself in complete shock.

— ₪ NUC ₪ —

Madara Uchiha had lived a very long life. He had lived longer than even the Third Hokage or Third Tsuchikage had.

Over that time, he had seen and done many things, many of which he was not proud of. Twice, he had fallen into the "Curse of Hatred" that plagued his clan, twice he had turned his back on his best friend, a man who believed in him when nobody else did, and thrown their friendship away.

And Twice he had been pulled from that hatred, once by his friend, and once by the woman he loved.

He had fought in endless battles; founded—alongside Hashirama—the first ever Hidden Village, where ninja clans that previously would have been at war could live together in peace; turned his back on that village to pursue a mad plan to bring a world where no one had to be a 'loser'.

Looking upon the sleeping face of his Grandson—reminding him so much of his son—he felt the weight of his years pressing on him more than ever.

They were currently in a rather simple room with wood paneling on the walls, ceiling, and floor. A simple bed with a wooden frame stood in the corner, and a chandelier filled with candles hung from the ceiling, bathing the room in a warm yellow light.

Naruto was tucked under the covers, still unconscious from his ordeal and—Madara suspected—interacting with the Kyūbi. In the ancient Uchiha's opinion, that was a good thing, because the sooner he got to know the fox, the sooner he could learn to use its power.

Looking at his grandson, Madara felt the warm content feeling of love suffusing his being; a feeling he hadn't felt since he had lived happily with his wife and son, before she died and his son went missing.

His grandson was now the only family he had, and because of his foolish hatred, he was in danger, and it was up to the elderly Uchiha to prepare him to face it when it came.

But right now, there were things he needed to do.

With a weary sigh, the Uchiha turned and began to walk out of the room.

I had best dispose of what's left of the bodies, before anyone finds them.

— ₪ NUC ₪ —

The blond 'Uzumaki' stared into the water below him, and more specifically at the pair of bloody vermilion eyes staring back at him.

His eyes were wide in astonishment, and he could feel his body shaking. Such was the shock of seeing the famous dojutsu of the Uchiha Clan in his eyes. Naruto had seen Uchiha clan members around the village, he'd even seen the Sharingan before. But he had never expected to see it in his own eyes.

How was it possible? He had thought he was just an orphan, some kid that everyone seemed to hate for a reason he couldn't grasp.

"H-how's this possible? I'm no Uchiha!" Naruto asked/stated to himself in shock, something the Kyūbi heard.

The beast couldn't withhold a snort of derision, the noise echoing off the walls.

"Obviously you are, little boy. There's no doubt that is the Sharingan." The Kyūbi growled, causing Naruto to look up at it more. It snarled in fury when Naruto met its eyes. "Turn those infernal things off, before I find a way to rip them from your skull, and make jam from them, to spread on crackers." The fox snarled in annoyance, it's tails whipping about in agitation.

Naruto gulped in fear.

"H-how do I do that?" He asked nervously, not wanting to upset it.

Lucky for him, the fox simply gave a derisive growl, before answering.

"You certainly don't act like most of your clan. To turn those stupid things off, you need to stop the chakra flowing in your eyes whelp." It replied in a huff.

Still slightly confused, Naruto struggled to control his chakra, willing the chakra in his eyes to halt. He found it difficult. Out of all of the students in his class, he was the worst at chakra control. It was with much relief, that he looked down into the water, to see his normal blue eyes looking back at him.

Shakily, he looked back up at the Kyūbi, still having questions for the ancient entity. Like where the heck they were, and what the beast was doing there. For a few minutes, everything was silent, until he finally worked up the nerve to speak to the being once more, choosing his words carefully so as not to upset it.

"I don't wanna be disrespectful, but where are we? And what did you mean when you called me your warden? More importantly, how're you here, all the stories say the Fourth killed you!" Naruto asked cautiously.

As soon as the last sentence left his mouth, Naruto knew he touched a nerve. Instantly the fox once more tried to impale him, slamming its hand-like paw into the bars again. It snarled in fury, trying in vain to get to the blond.

"KILL ME? THE GREAT KYŪBI NO YŌKO KILLED BY A LOWLY HUMAN?" Kyūbi roared in fury, causing the boy to cower slightly from the sheer might of its rage.

Even though the Fourth was his hero, he daren't try to talk back to the chakra being. After a moment, the fox seemed to regain its composure, but with the malicious snarl still in place. When next it spoke, it was much calmer, with a touch of arrogance.

"Please, that whelp barely managed to seal me away with the help of that pathetic woman. The mere notion of him being able kill me is laughable." The fox told him.

As opposed to the previous statements, this one drew curiosity from the blond. What'd it mean a woman? All the stories he heard said the Fourth beat the Kyūbi alone. And what was this business about sealing? He didn't know much about sealing—only what the Third had told him—, but if the Kyūbi was sealed in something, there was no way he should be able to be face-to-face with it.

"If you're sealed away, how can I be talking to you, how'd I get in a seal?" He asked. To his surprise, the chakra entity seemed to find this amusing. It's dark chuckles filled the boiler room, as it replied with a malicious smirk.

"Foolish little boy. I called you my warden, are you too stupid to realize what those two things mean?" The fox taunted. "The reason you are my warden, and the reason you can be—the very reason you are shunned by the people of your village—is because your beloved Fourth sealed me inside of you!" Said Kyūbi with a twisted grin. It seemed that the fox took a twisted glee in it's containers pain.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, as the booming echoes of the Kyūbi's hate-filled mirth reverberated through the room and through his body. It made horrifying sense. The reason everyone ignored him or glared at him. Why when he would describe people that were particularly mean to him to his grandfather figure, they would disappear. All because he had the Kyūbi sealed in him the day he was born; by his hero no less.

It took him several minutes to recover his faculties. He struggled to come to terms with all the life altering occurrence's he had recently experienced. He had the learned he had the Sharingan, made his first kill, and learned he was the jailer to a massive chakra monster, all in one day. It was surprising he wasn't exhausted, but since it was his mind, it was slightly understandable. Naruto gazed at the reflection of himself in the water; he became curious. Once more he allowed chakra into his eyes. It was fascinating to see the normally electric blue eyes bleed into crimson red, the black tomoe spinning slowly.

Before he could get too into looking at his new eyes, he found himself interrupted by a deep growl from the occupant of the cage.

"Why are you playing with those boy, I told you to keep them off." It growled in annoyance.

Instead of being cowed as he was earlier, the blond decided to keep them on, something that seemed to annoy the fox as the boy decided to look at him with them.

"I have them now, so I might as well get used to them. Gramps says there's nothing more foolish than wielding a weapon you don't know how to use." He replied. Naruto was beginning to get curious as to why the fox seemed to loath the eyes. "Why do you hate the Sharingan so much?" Naruto asked in a respectful tone, trying to not upset the entity. It was locked in a cage, but Naruto didn't want to press his luck and make the Kyūbi angry.

At first it seemed like the fox would refuse to answer, as the silence stretched for near a minute. Finally, it was broken with an resigned huff from the monster.

"Those filthy monkey eyes have been used to control me twice by members of your damned clan." It answered.

This was something Naruto found interesting. It explained what it had meant when it had said he had an ability with the potential to control it. He was going to question it further, but t seemed the fox was now feeling talkative, continuing without the need of prodding.

"It makes my blood boil seeing you looking at me with them. They remind me of that man." The fox growled, it narrowed its eyes, focusing harder on the blond. "In fact . . . if you had black hair, you would be the spitting image of him if he was a boy . . . " It said with a menacing snarl.

Naruto didn't know what to make of that. He reminded the Kyūbi of one of the men that had controlled it? But who could that be?

"Who d–" He began, halting as he began feeling a strange sensation. It felt like he was being pulled, pulled from his spot, yet not in any direction. His form began fading. Naruto looked around himself in worry. "What's happening?" He asked in a panicked tone.

Seeing the panic, the fox snorted in amusement, resting its head in its palm in a bored fashion.

"Oh settle down foolish boy. Your body is simply awakening from its forced nap, after you butchered those three men. I must say, it was a most impressive display for one so small." The fox chuckled, seeming to find amusement in the way the three men had died.

Naruto froze as he was reminded of his recent kills, slowly fading from the seal with a shocked look.

— ₪ NUC ₪ —

"Ugh—" Naruto groaned loudly, from his prone position in the bed. Wait . . . bed? Last thing he knew, he was falling into a river. With a jolt, his eyes snapped wide, and he sat up from his position, throwing the covers off the upper part of his body as he did so.

Many questions filled his mind. How did he get here? Where was here?

His head turned from side to side, as if it was on a swivel. Eyes blazing with the Sharingan, he caught every detail of the room around him. The searching stopped when his gaze landed on a very old man sitting next to the bed he laid in, looking at him with amusement.

"It would seem you took quite the fall my boy. If I hadn't arrived in time, you would undoubtedly be dead." The man said, a glint of something Naruto couldn't quite place flashing through his eyes.

Before Naruto could even think to reply, he winced as he suddenly heard the voice of the Kyūbi roaring loudly inside his head.

'MADARA, LET ME OUT SO I CAN KILL HIM!'

The outburst caused a headache for Naruto. He could practically see the Kyūbi slamming itself against its cage, trying to get out to get this man it apparently knew. Surprisingly, it seemed the man seemed to be aware of this.

"Ah, I suppose the Kyūbi is giving you trouble. Understandable, considering our history." That was it, who the hell was this Madara guy? The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He was almost certain that his Gramps had mentioned it in one of his stories.

"Who the hell are you? Why does the Kyūbi wanna get you so bad? How do you even know about it? And where the heck are we?" Naruto asked in slightly irritated tone.

It seemed like the entire day he had been out of the know. First, he planned on going to train, only to have people try to kill him. Then he had fallen into a river, and gone unconscious, meeting the Kyūbi and learning he was not only the apparent jinchūriki of said beast, but that he possessed the Sharingan. Finally, he now woke up and found himself in an unknown place, with an unknown man—that the Kyūbi seemed to hate—sitting near him.

Needless to say, he was tired of the word 'unknown'.

The man seemed to consider his question, he expression becoming much more serious.

"Well, in reverse order. We are in a hidden base of mine behind the waterfall you fell over. The Kyūbi hates me because I am one of only two men to control it with the Sharingan; and, as to who I am." He said, pausing as he closed his eyes, allowing Naruto's own to widen in shock, the sharingan still spinning.

This was one of the men that had controlled the Kyūbi? Was he the one that Kyūbi said he reminded him of?

After a moment, the man's eyes snapped open, a fully-matured sharingan spinning to life in his eyes, as he looked at Naruto.

"I am Madara Uchiha, and I am your grandfather."

— ₪ NUC ₪ —

Chapter End

AN/ So, there's the first chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. I apologize for the inexcusably long wait, but as I stated at the beginning, I was planning this out very thoroughly, and I also had some personal road blocks that kept me from having much free time.

Either way, there shouldn't be too much trouble from now on, I'm hoping to have a chapter out every couple weeks, but I can't make any promises.

Anyways, on to announcements. I think I've decided to keep this a double pairing, as stated at the beginning of the chapter. At this point, the only thing that could change that is near unanimous support for adding in Fem-Gaara in reviews.

I think my focus will stay on this story for a while, but I've been contemplating a couple crossover ideas, that aren't really seriously planned yet.

I would really appreciate reviews for this story, especially any with any tips/constructive criticism of how my writing skills stack up. I do hope to be a successful writer, so any advice helps, just don't flame, I find those useless, as they don't provide any tips for improvement, or usually even have much to do with the story.

Now, as to the poll I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, I will take suggestions of girls that should be added into the poll from reviews.

Lastly, I hope you all have fun with the challenge I set forth at the beginning of the chapter.

Until then,

RinneTaicho Signing Off!

EDIT 2-15-15: Alright, this is the first edited chapter, five more to go.

Until next time,

RinneTaicho, Signing Off!