Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the franchise, this is purely a fanfiction.

Don't forget to comment and review

It is said for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, for every cause there is an effect. For every choice there is a consequence. In one instance Uzumaki Naruto, in his small lonely apartment refused to give in and swore blindly with a large smile on his face. Ignoring the ache within and determined to shine as a Hokage. This choice shaped him as we know a bright but rough Kage Bunshin wielding ninja, not very skilled in the beginning but becoming more in the end.

However

The same Uzumaki Naruto, in the same time, same apartment two months into his ninja academy training…despaired. He desperately wanted to be Hokage like his benefactor but this time he faltered slightly, the shadows and silence in his room oppressive, choking the would be oath before it could form.

Naruto cried himself to sleep that night.

At the academy it was a different Uzumaki than they were used to. His orange seem dull as was his mood and he was far too silent. For the instructors it was disconcerting but no great loss, if the brat wanted to keep silent better for them he would be easier to ignore. As usual even his classmates didn't spare him a glance unless it was to laugh at his attempts at taijutsu or failed answers.

For Naruto it was a miserable day and he just wanted it to end, maybe he could persuade the Hokage to pull him out. As the thoughts wavered in and out he paid little attention to the lecture on ninjutsu and the different possibilities when something said struck his brain.

"Sensei, could you repeat that again?" Daichi turned to the voice an unreadable look on his face, his cold gaze causing Naruto to flinch and shrink back a little. He was about to let loose a reprimand but then paused as if contemplating. Schooling his features back to neutral he responded.

"As I said before ninjutsu come in various types, elemental and unique application types like the puppets and battle fans used in Suna."

"Sensei, do you mean that ninjas in Suna use dolls to fight? Ha-ha who would want to use dolls to fight" this sent the class chuckling, but Naruto's mind was working in a different direction.

"I wouldn't laugh if I were you" that stopped everyone and got Naruto's attention. Daichi continued "Suna puppeteers are formidable and just so you know it took 1 puppeteer and 10 puppets to take down an entire castle".

That stopped everyone cold and sent a bolt down Naruto's spine. In that instance he made a choice, first he would learn everything Konoha knew about puppet jutsu, then he will learn to be a puppeteer.

"For the last time Naruto, just because we are allies with Suna does not mean we have access to ninja styles" Daichi sat frustrated in the empty teachers' lounge headache brewing at the barrage of questions regarding puppetry.

"But what about all the things you said about puppetry in the lecture sensei? I mean the information came from somewhere right?"

"Yes, but that was first-hand accounts and what we salvaged before the treaty. Besides all we know about them are kept in a ledger in the admin building" Naruto lit up at that, if he could get a copy then he would be in business.

"Erm, would it be okay if I could get a copy" Daichi just looked on amused

"Why do you want it? Matter of fact why all the questions about puppeteer? You looking to become one yourself" Daichi shook his head and turned around ready to leave when he heard Naruto's answer.

Yes.

Daichi turned to Naruto again, a scrutinizing look in his face. Naruto shrank a little into himself but his eyes blazed with desperation and determination in equal measure. Daichi took a deeper look as if seeing the boy for the first time. It was no secret people; him included didn't care for the boy and would just as easily pass him over. That being said…..

"Here" Naruto looked at the signed slip handed to him "that should get you into the admin building and allow you to get a copy of the manuscript. You'll have 21 days to return it and you must make a note if you plan on copying it, understand?" Naruto nodded rapidly clutching the note like a lifeline. Daichi bade him off and turned back to his review lessons.

It took 5 months after getting the puppeteer manuscript before Naruto was even able to create his first chakra string. Something he quickly realised during the period was he outstripped everyone, even the academy instructors in sheer weight of chakra; this in turn made controlling it very difficult. Despite this he persisted training day and night on the exercises shown at the academy while reading up on the notes taken on the puppet arts, the more he read the more engrossed he became, the use of puppets with hidden weapons, devices and adaptability appealed to him. Not to mention it meant that he could have comrades he could rely on, depend on.

Naruto hugged himself tighter, his left fingertips glowing with chakra as the strings attached themselves to a small doll he had made to test his skill. Slowly the blue threads attached themselves to the doll linking and connecting to it. Naruto waited a few moments then twitched his fingers. Immediately the puppet jerked and went still, shocking the young ninja and disrupting the technique.

His heart beating wildly Naruto's smile filled his face "Yes!" he jumped into the air and did a happy dance as the puppet sat motionless on his table. Calming quickly he raised his right hand and immediately extended his threads and attached them to the puppet, once again the puppet came to life this time Naruto kept a firm grasp on his chakra and the puppet began slow steady motions. Before long he had it cartwheeling jump and free running round the apartment, his smile never leaving his face.

Yes now he was a puppeteer, now on to the big toys.

Before diving straight into making a puppet Naruto sat down with basic outline and plans, making a puppet would not be easy, fortunately Konoha was surrounded by massive trees therefore he had a steady resource to draw from. Taking out his sketch pad he started some basic ideas and outlines referencing from the manuscript and mentally going over the possibilities.

Not many knew this but Naruto had a talent for sketching and drawing, it was something he did when the loneliness got too much to handle. Now though he threw himself with renewed vigour because this would help him create his style of puppetry. As the pencil strokes covered the pages some would be ripped up and thrown aside and others pinned to the wall for later study.

'Have to make sure I can afford the things I need' Naruto thought idly as another sketch made the cut on the wall. Fortunately Naruto was a pack rat, stuff was never thrown away and he was frugal except when it came to ramen. And also his shopping was done for him so he had a decent stipend for his needs so his savings could take a hit. 'For now though I have to get to class '

Naruto sat with the rest of the group for taijutsu practice a scowl on his face, the sensei that ran the class absolutely hated him and he made no real attempt to hide it. He constantly paired Naruto with the more advanced taijutsu users in his class and gave no pointers for Naruto to improve, he especially favoured pairing Naruto with Sasuke and every time Naruto was on the ground before the sand settled.

"Alright Naruto step up" Naruto step into the ring already knowing his opponent from the look the instructor gave him "you are paired upon against Sasuke" His eyebrow twitch and he resigned himself to another defeat. "Both of you make the seal of confrontation" Both formed the seal and waited tense.

"Start!"

Sasuke immediately charged intent to finish quickly as usual, Naruto however waited until the last possible minute and then ducked to his left. He quickly scrambled back not taking advantage of the seemingly open invitation, he knew from previous experiences, several in fact, that Sasuke was never truly open and anyone attempting would suffer humiliating defeat. Sasuke charged again this time weaving his strikes together, Naruto frantically kept ducking, dodging and sometimes jumping over his strikes, never once retaliating only focused on avoiding getting hit.

Frustration started to show on Sasuke's face at how long it was taking then he stopped and took a deep breath and smirked at Naruto, Naruto became even more wary tensing in apprehension. One minute Sasuke was in front of him the next he was airborne, he could feel Sasuke's hand almost gently pressing down on his chest, then gravity kicked in as he slammed into the ground.

"Excellent manoeuver Sasuke, top marks" Sasuke ignored the squealing fan girls as he nonchalantly walked to the edge of the ring. Naruto sat up gingerly, his body smarting as he tried to recall what happened, Sasuke dropped low and did a full sweep, taking Naruto's legs out from under him then coming from the side he used is momentum to ensure Naruto hit the ground. Naruto glared at the instructor as he blatantly favoured Sasuke's approach, not even once commenting on Naruto's evasive tactics. "Naruto! Stop stalling and get out of the ring, you are holding up the matches"

"Don't I get a performance review as well sensei? Or is that just reserved for Sasuke-teme" Naruto hissed as the words came out of his mouth, he had not meant for the second bit but he couldn't control his temper, it wasn't fair that Sasuke was everyone's golden boy and clearly the favourite.

"Naruto how dare!" "Take that back immediately" "Sasuke is not a teme baka!" the fan girls were out in force as they tore into Naruto for his slight against their one true love. Sasuke merely snorted at Naruto's remark and turned away, a deliberate insult, and smirked when he heard the growl in response. "Naruto" he turned back to the taijutsu instructor frowning at the slight smirk on his face "I would ask that you keep your petulance and jealousy in check, that you are lacking in skills or ability is no fault of mine or the academy. When you are ready to be a proper ninja maybe we will see something worth evaluating".

Naruto barely kept his temper in check, his eyes wet as the jeers echoed around him. He would show them he vowed, biting his lip hard enough to bleed, his fist pale from clenching tightly, he would show them all and prove he was a good ninja…prove he was someone that mattered.

The rest of the day passed very quietly for Naruto, if people before thought he had gone quiet now it was as if he wasn't even in the room. Even when he was called or yelled at he refused to answer or even move. Eventually he was just ignored and time passed until the end of the day everyone left and he was alone in the classroom, him and his thoughts. Pulling his pack from under the table he emptied its contents, his sketch pad and the small puppet. With a sigh he connected his chakra to the puppet, twitching his fingers he set the puppet into basic kata like movements, more twitching the suddenly jumped to another desk, its movements getting faster.

As he manipulated the puppet Naruto felt a calm wash over himself, his focus solely on his puppet as its moves became smoother and quicker, bringing up his other hand he sent strings into the puppet and felt a subtle shift as his control first faltered the picked up even faster than when it was one handed. Naruto stood up and flexed his fingers as he manipulated the puppet all around the classroom, over and under chairs and desks, across the board, running, sliding, leaping. Dropping the connection in his right hand he carried on noting the difference in speed, something he would definitely work on.

Naruto sat down again grabbing his pencil to make notes in his sketches, flicking the pages he stopped when he came to a heading

'UZUMAKI CODE TO AWESOMENESS"

He chuckled to himself remembering how not long after getting the sketch book on his birthday and getting into the academy he started the code

1. be awesome

2. learn cool jutsu

3. beat Sasuke-teme

4. become ninja

5. Learn more cool jutsu

6. Beat teme again

7. Get Sakura-Chan (beat teme for making it hard)

8. Become Hokage

Naruto smiled wistfully reading his somewhat childish thinking. He tore the page out and was going to throw it when he noted some of the shinobi codes he wrote on the back, come to think of it that day he never got all the codes and he didn't bother to write the ones he got down properly. Looking at the ones he wrote his mind shifted as the words seemed to have new meaning:

· Shinobi is Shinbou – one who endures/patient

· Shinobi is Dekiagaru – one to be ready

· Shinobi show no weakness

· Shinobi is one with deception/ illusion/tricks

Naruto looked at the new code he wrote down, focusing his mind on those four points as if to burn them into his memory forever. He could no longer afford to mess up, he had 5 years, well 4 and half years really to realistically graduate and he needed to shape up before then. He didn't know what or why the villagers and some of the ninja hated him, but seeing that it was unlikely to change he would need to work much harder and much smarter to get even a fighting chance.

"Hey, what are you still doing in here, academy is closing up now you need to leave" Naruto looked out the window only to find it dark out. "Sorry" he chuckled apologetically "I wasn't paying attention, bye" immediately he packed his things and scampered out. As he left the building he heard his name and turned to the voice.

"Ji-san" the joy was undeniable as Naruto ran up to his would be grandfather and grabbed him in a hug.

"Naruto-kun, it's good to see you too" Sarutobi smiled at his young charge "I heard you stayed late today in class, I hope everything is going well seeing you are to be my replacement" he teased slightly noting the sudden silence.

Naruto stiffened slightly at the statement then relaxed and pulled back from the hug with a small smile "no worries Jiji, I just had a lot on my mind" seeing the concerned look on the old man's face he hurriedly continued "it no biggie, I'll deal with it and become the best ninja ever" at this point he pointed his finger at the Hokage hat and exclaimed "then you'll have to give me the title of Hokage and the hat".

Sarutobi laughed in mirth at the proclamation and rubbed Naruto's head "first you need to do well and pass future Hokage-san, then we will see if you get the hat." Patting Naruto's shoulder he added softly "I know you will do well and make Konoha proud".

Naruto shuffled embarrassed but pleased at the proclamation. Before Sarutobi could leave Naruto remembered something "Ji-san wait" Sarutobi paused "um, could you increase my stipend please, and maybe I could come pick it up directly?" seeing the questioning look Naruto continued "it's just things are getting really pricey, even with the food pack and basic supplies I get and sometimes they send me the stuff late so…" at this point he shuffled in slight shame "I thought it might be okay if I just came to pick it up it saves it from being late".

Naruto felt a hand on his head and looked up to see Sarutobi looking down at him, and understanding and kind look in his eyes "I don't see the problem with either requests, I'll set it up for you tomorrow and you just have to come pick up your stipend and vouchers from my office, okay"

Naruto nodded frantically in accent, his face beaming with happiness "Thank you Jiji, I promise ill make you proud" Believe it.