Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Is Naruto engaged to Sasuke with 10 kids? No? Then I still don't own it. Masashi Kishimoto does.

WARNINGS: Minor to major gore in following chapters, hinted/minor cannibalism, and minor adult themes.

Civilian/civilian council, Hiruzen, Kiba, Neji, Ino bashing /minor Sakura and Sasuke bashing, but will get better during mission to Wave.

AN: The first few chapters will be kind of slow, but will speed up later. The reason behind Naruto's imprisonment will be further explained a little later via flashback.

"...team 7, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Team 8, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara. Team 9 is still in rotation. Lastly, team 10, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame. Your sensei will be here shortly. I wish you all the best of luck as the newly graduated genin of Konoha-"

"Ah, chotto Iruka-sensei!"

The academy instructor turned to his pink haired student, who had a look of confusion on her face, "What is it, Sakura?" he asked politely, patiently waiting for her to reply as she fidgeted with the hem of her dress,

"A-Ano. You said only me and Sasuke-kun were on team 7. Don't all genin teams usually have at least three members? Not that I don't want to be alone with my Sasuke-kun! But..." Sakura trailed off, glancing over at her brooding teammate, who didn't spare a glance on her, opting to look down at the Chunin instructor instead.

Nodding in understanding, Iruka gave the genin of team 7 a reassuring smile, "Ah, yes. Genin teams are normally required to have three members. However, there was an uneven amount of students to graduate this year, so your team was to be lacking a third member. But no need to worry! Hokage-sama has notified me of another genin who has already been tested for graduation, and will be filling in the vacant spot on team 7." he chirped, earning many noises of protest. Some more vocal than others.

"But that's not fair! Some loser can just skip out on four years of this boring academy and take the test to graduate no big deal, but we can't? How is that fair!" Kiba yelled in protest, slamming his hands down on his desk in frustration. Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose. He may care for all of his students, but he could admit that Kiba was one that he wouldn't be all too sad seeing leave his class.

"I wasn't told much about this new student, so I am unsure as to how he was able to graduate without attending the academy. However, it was a decision made by the Hokage, therefore we must abide this decision. Besides, if the Hokage himself tested this student, then they are most likely more than capable of being apart of a genin team-"

A chilling aura suddenly filed into the room, causing all occupants to squirm uneasily under the pressure. All eyes then turned to land on the sickly pale figure of a small blonde boy, who's body was being wracked with ominous giggles that sent shivers up the genins' spines. Iruka was no exception, as he took a precautionary step back from the giggling child, noting the four ANBU flanking his sides and back. He cleared his throat,

"Y-You must be here to fill in the last spot on team 7! Please introduce yourself to the class before the jounin sensei arrive." Iruka jumped slightly when dull pale blue eyes turned to him. The chunin could feel his knees about to buckled under the intense stare, feeling as though the child was staring into his very soul, and just itched to tear it from his body. He bit his lip to keep from sighing in relief when the mysterious blonde turned his gaze to the rest of the class and smiled, frighting many with his unnatural razor sharp teeth.

"Why, I'd be all too happy to introduce myself to these fine little kiddies! I haven't had a decent conversation in a long while, so might as well make the most of it. Cause you never know, you may all be here one day, then dead the next! Then how would I be able to talk to you? Corpses don't make the best company you know! Hihihi~!" the little blonde giggled, laughing harder at all the horrified expressions crossing the others' faces. The four ANBU behind him groaned to themselves. One, who wore a mask resembling a bear, decided the child had had enough laughs for one afternoon,

"Uzumaki. If you would simply comply with Umino-san's request rather than terrifying your classmates, this could all be much easier." he grunted, earning a pout from the boy.

"You ANBU are no fun! Even when alive, you make the worst toys! Those two nice ANBU who guarded my cell were much more fun in their last few moments than you four! Maybe it takes you guys being on the brink of death to entertain anyone. Should we find out, ANBU-san~?"

The bear ANBU growled, "Is that a threat, boy?"

"I'm sure you were taught the difference between a threat and a promise."

"Why you-!"

"A-Ano...Are we interrupting?" came the unsure voice from the doorway, revealing a tall middle aged woman with long curly black hair and a man smoking a cigarette. Iruka immediately recognized the two and hurriedly waved them in,

"N-Not at all! In fact, you're just in time! Please, pick up your teams." the chunin then turned to the now fuming ANBU, "I believe I can take him from here ANBU-san. I apologize for the inconvenience." he offered with a weak smile, sighing when the ANBU simply nodded before disappearing.

Turning back to face his class, he was startled to see that the only students left were the genin of the newly formed team 7. Looking to his roster, and paled. He knew all too well about this team's sensei, and he was not about to sit and wait with them for the man to finally show up. He gave a look of sympathy toward Sasuke and Sakura, knowing that once he left, the two would be left alone with the -clearly deranged- blonde boy, who had yet introduced himself.

He turned to the blonde, who had taken to sitting cross legged on a nearby desk, rocking himself softly as he hummed an eerie toon, "Eeto...I know that the rest of the class is already gone, but could you please introduce yourself now? I'm sure you other two teammates would like to at least know your name."

The other three occupants of the room watched as the blonde seemed to contemplate over the request for a moment before grinning, "But of course, Dolphin-san! I have no problem with that." he chirped. He surprised the other three however, when instead of giving his name, he pulled up the baggy black pant leg of his right leg, lifting up until his bony ankle came into view. They were confused until the blonde gestured to at thin rusted metal band that was clipped around his ankle. The three leaned forward in an attempt to read the small chipped letters printed onto the metal band. It read two words. A name actually.

'Naruto Uzumaki'

Iruka inwardly frowned. That name. It sounded familiar. His attention was then brought back by the blonde, now known as Naruto, who smiled expectantly at him.

"Ah, gomen Naruto. Were you saying something?" he laughed sheepishly. He saw Naruto frown,

"Maa, Dolphin-san. What good does having ears do if you don't listen? Perhaps i should do you the favor of removing them for you~? Hihihi!" he giggled, sending shivers down Iruka's spine.

All sympathy thrown out the window, Iruka offered a smile to Sasuke and Sakura, "Well, I guess I should be leaving! Good luck to you two- Ah, and you as well Naruto. Jaa ne!" he said hurriedly, before leaving with a poof of smoke.

There was an uncomfortable silence after the chunin's departure. During this time, both Sasuke and Sakura took the opportunity to get a good look at their new teammate. However, what they found only seemed to unease them further.

The blonde was thin, unhealthily so. They could make out some of his bone, pushing sharply up against sickly pale skin. His body all together screamed malnutrition and fatigue. He had a small, petite, frame that was covered by what looked like rags. He wore baggy black sweats that were stained and ripped at the bottom. They pooled on the floor, clearly a few sizes to big for his small frame. His shirt was in a similar condition, torn and stained all over, sliding off one of his bony shoulders. The sleeves hung far over his hands, giving him an almost childlike appearance. His face was cupid shaped, framed by greasy shoulder length hair that was cut unevenly in some places, as though cut with a blunt kunai. Chapped lips were pulled into a grin, revealing pointed razor sharp teeth. While his entire appearance made them uneasy, it was his eyes that really scared them. Long thick lashes framed dull, murky pale blue. They were frighteningly bright, almost glowing. They also held many emotions that neither could make out but for one. Insanity.

Sakura, being the friendlier of the two, decided to take the initiative and make small talk with her newly appointed blonde teammate. Hoping to at least get on good terms with him.

"So, Naruto, did you always want to be a shinobi?" she started off, jumping when the blonde hopped from the desk he had been sitting on onto hers, sitting cross legged right in front of her,

"I'll admit that I never gave it much thought until recently. It's just that, when you really think about what the job of a shinobi is, you see that it's not all that worth it!" he stuck out his tongue as he brought his knees to his chest, watching their expressions with amusement. The duck butt's -Sasuke was it?- was the most amusing to the blonde.

"What do you mean it's not worth it? As a shinobi, you bring honor to your village and yourself. You gain unimaginable power, power that could destroy nations within a blink of an eye. How is that not 'worth it'?" Sasuke hissed, growling when the blonde erupted in a fit of giggles.

"H-Hey! Don't laugh at Sasuke-kun! He's right!" Sakura defended weakly, wanting to back up her crush, but not get on Naruto's bad side by yelling at him. He just made her too uneasy.

Naruto's giggling settled down after a moment, smile still in place as he looked to the two before him, "While shinobi do gain power and fame, what is the cost to gain such things? What must be given up to earn them? Do you know? I bet you don't~!"

Sakura paled, clutching her hands to her chest as a feeling of dread filled her. Sasuke's glare faltered for a moment before he willed himself to keep the blonde's stare, "What do you mean? You must train and practice jutsu to gain power. It's as simple as that." he bit out, daring the other to question his knowledge on the matter. It appeared that the blonde had no qualms with doing just that.

Naruto giggled behind his sleeve, "The little chicken doesn't know! He doesn't know! Hihihi~! I guess I could tell him. We are teammates after all!" he said in a sing-song tone, seemingly speaking to himself. Sasuke's slammed a balled fist onto the desk top, his patience long since worn thin,

"Quit the riddle talk! What did you mean by that dammit!"

"S-Sasuke-kun! Please calm down-"

"Flesh."

The two stopped suddenly, "W-What?"

Naruto grinned, "Flesh. Bones. Blood. These are a few of the costs of being a shinobi. Training and jutsu is just the sugar coated version that is told to you by your parents and teachers to get you to follow their system. To fight the battles that they lost, and the others to come. Did you both truly believe being a shinobi was so simple? Why would there be war if all shinobi did was get strong and become famous? Shinobi fight on a day to day basis. Your precious Hokage gives shinobi of higher rank suicide missions on a daily basis just for information on enemy villages. Many women are ambushed and raped for information by nuke nin. Men are tortured to their breaking point, losing limbs and flesh. The world of shinobi is a dark one, one that not many know about until they are too far in the system to have a chance to turn back. The same goes for you two. You both would have walked right into the Hokage's hands, and would have been played like puppets until you were old enough to follow on your own. But here I am, telling you the truth out of the kindness of my little black heart! After all, we are teammates."

A heavy silence fell upon the occupants of the room, pressure rising as it stretched on. It weighed itself down on the two now trembling genin, all the while Naruto simply sat back on his heels and watched them expectantly. He waited for his word of truth to sink into their skulls. Waited for the horror to makes its way to their pale faces. He didn't hide his amusement as he watched the terror catch up to his pink haired teammate first. Her body trembling violently as she stared unseeingly in his direction.

He smirked. Turning to his other teammate, his smirk faltered slightly until turning into a confused pout. Rather than the absolute terror the blonde was expecting to see wash over the raven's face, he found something else that seemed to be battling against the genin's fear. Something akin to...determination?

"I-I...I c-can't-!" Sasuke choked out, slamming his hands onto the desk suddenly, glaring down at his trembling fists, "NO! I won't let this stop me! I will continue to become a shinobi, no matter the costs! I will defeat him! I will avenge my clan! I...I WILL FIGHT! I WILL PUSH ASIDE MY FEARS AND FIGHT! NO MATTER WHAT DAMMIT!" he cried out, gasping for air as his body slowly began succumbing to the undeniable fear that he felt.

Naruto watched on silently as Sasuke shook his head violently, damp black tresses sticking to pale cheeks, "Stop trembling dammit! I'm not scared! I'm not! I'm NOT! I'M NOT!" he chanted through gritted teeth, tightly clenched fists slamming down onto the desk as his body continued to shake. By now even Sakura was staring at Sasuke, her shaking calming down into the occasional tremor. Unshed tears gathered at the corners of her eyes as she gazed down at her hysterical crush,

"S-Sasuke-kun..."

Sasuke shook his head, "No! I'm not scared dammit! I have to become a shinobi! For my fallen clan! I need become stronger than HIM! I need-! I-I need t-to-!...I...I can't be scared...I CAN'T DAMMIT! But..I-I am...I'-I'm scared...o-of dying before I can avenge them...Tou-san...Kaa-san...Everyone. You would be so disappointed in me..." he hissed, gritting his teeth as a few tears escaped his eyes. He looked up suddenly when he felt a nudge at his shoulder, eyes narrowing when he found that is was bare foot of the blonde who started this whole incident.

"Yes, I'm sure they would be very disappointed their little Sasu-chan right now."

Sasuke growled, "You son of a-!"

"BUT-!" the blonde quickly interrupted, his ever present grin widening as he watched the other try to remove the foot that was firmly planted over his mouth, having interrupted the stream of curses that had begun to fall from his mouth, "Don't tempt me Sasu-chan. I may just up and sew that pretty little mouth of yours shut if you choose to say such awful words! Now, as I was saying. They may be disappointed with you for your previous actions, but I'm sure they're even more disappointed in you because of how you've chosen to live your life up until now."

The struggle to remove the blonde's foot from his face temporarily stopped as Sasuke sent the other a questioning gaze. Naruto let out a sigh,

"I mean this whole thing about avenging your clan. Sure it's good to get revenge on the one who took their lives, but to have your whole life centered around it is only hurting you. I mean, if your family were still alive, do you really think they'd be happy seeing you all depressed and hell bent on revenge 24/7? No! They would want to see your little chicken feathered butt out there becoming a proud shinobi of the Uchiha! Did any of your family give even a moment of their time to try and get revenge on one person? No, because the sticks up their butts were too long for them to even try and chase around their enemies! (at this he got a glare) My point is that you can still want to kill this guy, but don't let that be the only reason why you're becoming a shinobi. That is why my words made you so scared before. Because you had nothing to support your want of becoming a shinobi. In the shinobi world, you need to have reason for your existence, otherwise you'll just be cut down without a care." he turned to Sakura suddenly,

"I'm referring to you as well, bubble-chan."

Sakura jumped back a step, "M-Me?...And what the heck? Bubblegum?! What kind of a nickname is that!"

Naruto blinked innocently, "What? 'Bubble' is short for bubblegum! I just assumed that your hair color was natural. Perhaps I was wrong. I mean, the only way I could know for sure is if you showed me that the carpet matches the dra-!" a hand suddenly clamped around his mouth, a dark aura coming off the fuming pinkette,

"Not. Another. Word!" Sakura hissed, refraining from wringing his neck as he just smiled innocently up at her. She frowned, "And what did you mean before?" she asked curiously, watching as he calmly removed her hand from his face, revealing a toothy grin,

"I meant that your weak resolve for being a shinobi will get you killed as well."

Mint green eyes widened in fear, "W-Wha-? W-Why would you s-say that?"

Naruto sighed, tapping his foot(coincidentally the one still on poor Sasuke's face) impatiently, "Honestly! For being the rookie and kunoichi of the year, you two are so slow!" they glared, "I saw how you tried defending little Sasu-chan earlier, and how you've been staring at him the entire time, even before this little conversation started. You even add a '-kun' after his name! How childish-"

"YOU USED '-chan' YOU HYPOCRITE!"

"That's because his head reminds me of a baby duck's bum."

...

"You know what? Never mind."

"Okay then, back to the point. What I'm saying is that you only chose to be a kunochi because your crush chose to be one as well. You're only pursuing this career for romance, which will get you killed. At least Sasuke was serious about his choice of being a shinobi, though for all the wrong reasons. However, he would have trained to get stronger and accomplish his goals, whereas you would get killed off as easily as an ant under a boot. Don't misunderstand, I am not saying this to make you scared, as I've already accomplished that earlier. I'm telling you this so that I don't have to deal with dragging your corpse to the morgue after our first mission. Who knows, if you aren't too dirty after you die, I may just up and eat you to save time and labor. But you wouldn't want that, would you~?" he giggled at her horrified and disgusted expression as she clutched herself protectively,

"You would EAT ME?!"

He shrugged, "You never know when your next meal could be your last."

"SO YOU'D EAT ME?!"

He shrugged with a smile.

He sighed then, finally removing his foot from his male teammates face so that he could rest back on both his heels. He looked at them expectantly, "So?"

Sasuke regarded him with a raised eyebrow as he wiped at his dirtied mouth. Sakura too sent the blonde a questioning gaze, "'So' what?"

"Ugh! Honestly! I was told that you two were smart! Maybe I'm in the wrong room..." they glare, he stuck out his tongue, "I'm asking if you two will grow up and take this seriously! Become proper shinobi without any sort of dumb goal behind it! No more avenger or fangirl stuff. If you really want to gain power and recognition, then you have to take this seriously. Otherwise you guys will die, and be in my belly."

...

...

"So you were really serious about eating us?"

"Yup."

...

...*tummy growl*

Both Sasuke and Sakura then turned to each other and firmly shook the other's hand,

"Well I believe that I now like girls. I hope to be good teammates with You Sasuke-san."

"And I don't believe I know anyone by the name of Itachi Uchiha. I hope to be good teammates as well Sakura-san."

Naruto giggled behind his sleeve, "Well, now that that's taken care of! I believe our two-hour-late sensei is standing behind the door." he gestured behind him to the now opened classroom door. The new team 7 watched silently as the mysterious man with 99.5% of his face covered and gravity defying silver haired eyed them each evenly.

"Well," he began, "My first impression is...I am definitely going to regret taking up the Hokage's offer for taking a genin team this year..."

Naruto grinned, "Trust me, you'll regret it a lot more once you get to know me!"

The man visibly deflated, "Oh...great... Meet me on the roof in five minutes." he then disappeared via shunshin.

Sakura was the first to compose herself before sprinting from the classroom and in the direction of the stairway leading to the roof. Naruto also began to head to the meeting area, though at a far slower pace than his pink haired teammate.

"Naruto."

The blonde looked over his shoulder at his last remaining teammate with a smile, "Need something Sasu-chan~?" he watched silently as the raven made his way over to him, stopping a few steps short,

"You don't expect me to just give up my revenge so easily, do you?"

The blonde grinned, "No, I don't. Not immediately anyways. But you will."

Sasuke frowned. Sighing, Naruto continued down the hallway,

"Look, I know you're smart. You and I both know how far revenge can take one man. At some point, your goal will become corrupted, and you will just bring yourself even more pain than you already carry."

"And how do you know that?"

Naruto paused for a moment before continuing on, offering a toothy grin over his shoulder, much to the surprise of the other, "Believe me, I know more about revenge and its cost than most. Revenge can only lead to more pain. No matter who's hurt you, or what they have done to you, you have to move on. Otherwise you'll just be in for a rude awakening once your goal has been met. You will just become the monster that they were waiting for you to become..."

Sasuke eyed the blonde's back for a moment before picking up pace so that he now stood beside him. He regarded him with a lazy glance, "I hope you know that no matter what you say, I'll still kill him."

The blonde shrugged with a lazy grin, "'Never said you couldn't still kill him. In fact, you wouldn't mind bringing me back his arm, would you?"

Sasuke recoiled in disgust, "What? Why?"

Naruto grinned, "I'm curious how an older version of you would taste." he gave the other a once over, "I'm leaning towards chicken given your preferred hairstyle..."

"...You really are crazy aren't you?"

"Yup."

Sigh, "Ask me again once I've gotten stronger. Just the thought of you eating someone's arm, even if it's his arm, is just wrong right now."

Naruto pouted, "Well," he grinned suddenly, "You could always just sate my curiosity now and give me a little taste~." he giggled, eyeing the other's fingers with a small dribble of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Why nothing my little Sasu-chan~! Now, c'mere! Just the pinky will do, for now~."

"Wha-! HELL NO! Get away from me-!"

"Hush now, it won't hurt for long!"

"AHH! Did you really just bite-!"

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON DOWN THERE?! SENSEI AND I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR 10 MINUTES!" a voice suddenly called down to them from the top of the stairway. Looking up, they found Sakura glaring down at them with her hand on her hips, their newly appointed sensei standing behind her with a depressed expression.

"I'm really starting to regret taking on a genin team."

"And there's more where that came from!" Naruto chirped merrily, skipping away from a pale Sasuke who was rolling around on the ground, gripping his hand that now held multiple bite marks. The one eyed jounin stared at the scene for a moment before crawling into a corner.

"I really regret taking on a genin team..." he moped, a wilted mushroom growing from the top of his head.

"Ah! Sensei! Sasuke's hand is bleeding! Sensei-! STOP SINGING THOSE CREEPY SONGS NARUTO!"

The blonde pouted from where he hung upside down from the railing, "But they're the only ones I know!"

"WELL MAKE UP A NEW ONE!"

"Hm...Okay! I'm hanging from a railing~! If I fall, I'll probably crack open my head~! If that happens, I'll probably be dead~ La lala la lala-"

"THAT'S A HORRIBLE SONG!"

Another mushroom began to grow from the now chibi jounin's head as he tried crawling further into his corner,

"Yup...I regret it..."

AN: And done! THANK YOU KAMI-SAMA! I thought i'd never get the second chapter uploaded! I was having such bad writer's block. But I finally did it! Yatta! Now I know this chapter was really slow, but I'm gonna try and change that for the next chapter. I won't use the jump-step no jutsu too much, but I'm hoping to get closer to the mission to wave, as well as progress in Team 7's friendship. I am also still debating about the future pairings. I'm really trying to think of someone who could be with Naruto and Sasuke. I'm not really looking into a pairing for Sakura, but I'm open for suggestions! I hope you all enjoy and will stick with this story!