Hey guys it is Anime Student here with the next chapter of The Legacy of Indra Otsutsuki so I hope that all of you enjoy the chapter and that you rate and review as well as follow and favorite! I also hope that all of you take the time to check out some of my other stories that I have going on. Well anyways I should stop blathering on and just get on with the rest of the chapter.

Chapter 2: Arrival

It was a beautiful and sunny day in Konohagakure no Sato. Birds were singing on the trees and buildings they landed on, children were out playing in the streets, but most of all, there was a lack of paperwork on a particular man's desk.

Said man was, of course, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha – Sarutobi Hiruzen. He was a student of the legendary Senju brothers, the sensei of the legendary Sannin themselves, and, though a secret to most people, an old pervert.

The latest of these titles was even proof if one were to see him now, as he was currently relaxed in his chair with a particular orange-covered book in front of his face. It was one of the earlier installments of the Icha Icha Series. Icha Icha Gambling.

'This day is almost too perfect…' the elderly man thought though he continued to let his eyes absorb the information from the pages of his student's newest book. 'It's a nice day, no one has come in with any complaints, and I don't even have any damn paperwork. Please, please let this be a day where I get some peace.' Not letting anyone in on those thoughts however, he lazily flipped a page to his book. 'Oh my~ Tsunare, you really are a naughty girl. Hehehe'

Despite his reputation for being a kind and loving man, as his previous thoughts showed, Hiruzen could also be ruthless and cunning when the situation deemed it absolutely necessary. He had led Konoha through two wars, so he was no fool to the ways of the world. Just before Tobirama had died to let Hiruzen and his teammates escape from Kumo-nin at the end of the second shinobi world war, Hiruzen was given the title of Hokage due to his willingness to sacrifice himself to ensure their safety.

Despite being seemingly worthy of the Nidaime's own blessing to assume the role of Hokage, the elderly Sarutobi clan member was not foolish enough to believe that he had led without making mistakes. He had let Orochimaru, his rogue student, leave the village alive and unharmed despite experiencing first-hand what he had been doing to infants. He had begrudgingly approved of the Uchiha Massacre which left only three of the once prestigious clan alive: Uchiha Mikoto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uchiha Itachi – the one who had massacred the rest of his own clansmen. He also felt some shred of responsibility for the death of the Yondaime Hokage, as he could've performed the Reaper Death Seal himself in his stead.

'I should've been the one to die that day Minato, not you,' Hiruzen thought as he lowered his book and glanced up into the sky as if hoping the man he was addressing would be able to see him. 'You were still far too young, and you left Kushina and your son here by themselves.'

After the Kyuubi had been ripped out of Kushina's seal by an unknown man with the Sharingan, her body was in critical condition. However, thanks to her Uzumaki heritage seemed to have been a blessing to her, as it allowed her body to be able to recover from what should have killed anyone else almost immediately so long as she received medical attention which she had.

However, what some would call a blessing, others would call a curse. After hearing about the loss of the love of her life, she had fallen into a deep depression. She had been prone to breaking down randomly for weeks – particularly around areas of the village where she and Minato had done something special together. It was only thanks to her friend Mikoto that she was eventually able to recover herself and eventually overcome her depression that had threatened to consume her. Her baby boy had also helped her fight her several battles against her depression.

His thoughts about the red-headed woman and subsequently the little ball of energy she called a child, however, were interrupted by a knock on his door.

'Ah, damn,' he thought with a small sigh. 'I knew I wouldn't get through the whole day without something coming up.'

"Enter!" He called professionally after quickly storing his book in one of the top drawers to his desk. After turning his gaze back to the door, he was admittedly somewhat surprised to see one of Konoha's two dubbed 'Eternal Chūnin.' They were rather famous, or infamous depending on how you look at things, in the village due to their constant task of being the guards at Konoha's entrance.

What was more surprising than seeing Izumo there, however, was the man behind him. His face seemed young, but he stood at a height that made Hiruzen assume that he was 16 or older. He possessed long black hair with red streaks intermingled in and what the elderly Kage assumed was a red tattoo markings under his coal black eyes. He stood tall and proud in his black clothing, but the aura he gave off was cold. What secretly impressed Hiruzen, however, was the way he stared at him with impassive eyes that reminded him of the few times he had seen Uchiha Madara in his youth.

"Well, what's this?" Hiruzen asked in a somewhat playful tone towards Izumo. "Does my best gate guard want to suddenly become a sensei?"

"No, Hokage-sama," Izumo shot back with a small smirk on his lips that quickly disappeared as he continued. "This boy arrived at the gate about an hour ago and requested an audience with you."

"Ah, I see," the aged man responded as he let his gaze wander over to the black-clad teenager. His eyes widened marginally when he noticed the gunbai that was attached to his back as well as the way the boy held himself to be prepared to defend himself at a moment's notice despite his bored appearance. "You're free to go, Izumo."

"By your leave, Hokage-sama," the Chūnin responded with a bow before walking out of the office and shutting the door behind them with a click.

"Well, now that that's taken care of…" Hiruzen began as a small smile appeared on his wrinkled face as he interlocked his fingers atop his desk. "Who, may I ask, am I having this meeting with?"

"My name is Uchiha Naruto, Hokage-sama," the young man stated with the same bored expression as before.

The Sandaime's expression, on the other hand, had clearly showed just how surprised he was by such a proclamation. His eyes alone had nearly become as wide as saucers, but his expression quickly returned to one close to neutrality.

"Forgive me for being frank," the aged man stated as he firmly locked eyes with the teenager.

"However, exactly how am I supposed to believe what you say? Surely you know of the tragedy that has befallen your supposed clansmen."

'Yes, they were slaughtered by someone who likely couldn't even match up to my grandfather in his childhood – yet alone in his prime. They finally got what they deserved for their betrayal,' the gunbai-wielding teen thought with a mental smirk.

"I am aware of the incident, yes," Naruto responded neutrally – his expression giving none of his feelings about the matter away. "As for how to prove that I'm an Uchiha, my eyes alone should be enough to validate that particular claim."

Hiruzen then watched with baited breath as the coal black eyes of the teen in front of him slowly morphed into the iconic Sharingan – the three tomoe in each eye spinning in a dramatic fashion.
'No need to show them anything further than this. I am of course entitled to a few secrets of my own.' Naruto thought as he quickly dismissed his thoughts about turning it up to the next level.

"…Yes…" Hiruzen stated as he stared into the eyes he had thought to be all but non-existent now. "I suppose, at the very least, that it proves you have Uchiha blood in your veins. However, I must now ask, what exactly is it you wanted by coming here?"

"To answer that question, I believe I should give you a bit of my family's history first," Naruto suggested before continuing. "As I stated before, my name is Uchiha Naruto. I am the son of Uchiha Izuna and Uzumaki Megumi, subsequently making me the grandson of Uchiha Madara."

He then paused for a moment as he saw the aged Kage's eyes return to the size of saucers, but pressed on despite the man's evident shock.

"After my Grandfather's fight with Hashirama at the Valley of the End, he survived despite Hashirama's thoughts to the contrary. From what I was told, he and my father moved to Uzushiogakure no Sato afterwards to avoid Hi no Kuni's forces since he would no doubt be targeted if it was found out that he was still alive. Despite the village's ties with Konoha, apparently they were welcomed there by an old friend of my grandfather's."

The Sandaime merely nodded dumbly, still reeling due to the fact that he was sitting across from the Grandson of the man who rivaled Hashirama in strength.

"While they were in Uzu, my mother and father met and fell in love. She was the daughter of Uzumaki Kenshin and elder sister to Uzumaki Kushina."

"Wait," the Sandaime stated as he held up a hand in a gesture that asked him to stop. "I heard you correctly when you said Uzumaki Kushina, right?"

"Correct," Naruto stated with a curd nod of his head from his position in front of the man's desk.

"My mother often spoke of her when I asked about my relatives. I remember her saying that they hadn't spoken in years, but I figured that she would still be in Konoha from what she had told me. Was I mistaken in that assumption?"

"No…no," Hiruzen stated with a small wave of his hands to emphasise his answer more. "It's just that I'd never heard Kushina mention anything about a nephew before. Please, however, continue your tale."

The young Uchiha gave a small shrug of his shoulders before he spoke again.

"There's not much more to tell," he stated in the same bored tone as before. "Uzu, as you know, was eventually destroyed by the I.K.K. Alliance and the survivors were hunted down and killed."

Hiruzen had the decency to wince at that. He had been one of the people to try to convince others to send them aid, but many people viewed it as an action that would've left them too vulnerable to enemy attacks. One of those people was Danzo Shimura.

"My parents, however, managed to elude their grasp and survive. Then, thirteen years ago, I was born and eventually trained in the shinobi arts by the both of them. My father was killed roughly three years ago by a large group of Iwa Jōnin, and my mother passed away a few days ago due to some sort illness that she couldn't fight off at her age. I took what belongings I felt were worth keeping and came here hoping to meet my aunt since she is the only family I would have left."

"I…I see," Hiruzen stated as he reached let his eyes meet the teenager's once again. Looking into them, he saw a strength and resolve that many couldn't hope to match. There was absolutely no question that the boy seemed to have the mindset of a true shinobi. "Where do you stand with your shinobi arts?"

"I am proficient with both Katon and Futon Ninjutsu and a handful of non-elemental techniques. I am well-versed in various Genjutsu, and I'm told my Taijutsu is quite strong for my age. I also have some knowledge in Kenjutsu. As you can see, I also have a fully developed Sharingan."

"That is quite an arsenal for one so young," the Sandaime admitted with sincerity. "I presume you would like to put them to use in the future as a shinobi of Konoha?"

"Aside from meeting with my aunt, it was indeed my intention to become a shinobi. If you are willing to accept me, then I would appreciate the opportunity to prove myself worthy." Responded Naruto as he held his impassive gaze.

"…Very well," Hiruzen stated with a warm smile towards the boy. "I'll see to it that you're admitted into the Shinobi Academy within the next few days. If you pass their standards, then you'll be permitted to become a shinobi of Konoha. That aside, however, let's see if we can't get your aunt to come in to see you."

With a snap of his fingers, a bear-masked ANBU agent came out of the shadows and kneeled at the Sandaime's side while awaiting an order. The aged Kage only smiled a bit more when he saw no surprise in Naruto's expression at the sudden appearance, leading him to believe that he knew the agents had been in his office the whole time.

"Find and tell Uzumaki Kushina…and Uchiha Mikoto to come to my office immediately. It's non-optional." Ordered Hiruzen as he rubbed his forehead at the premonition of a headache.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the man stated firmly before disappearing in a small swirl of leaves.

'This boy,' Hiruzen thought as he directed his gaze back to the grandson of the feared Uchiha Madara. 'I can already tell that he's going to be a force to be reckoned with.'

30 minutes later

"Y-y-you're my sister's son…?" the familiar form of Uzumaki Kushina asked as she stared directly at Naruto with eyes that seemed to direct a loving gaze in his direction.

"Hai," Naruto responded with a simple nod of his head as he reached held out a scroll he had taken out while waiting for the two women to arrive. "This is a scroll holding a good number of letters that she had wanted to send you over the years, but couldn't for fear of them being intercepted. She mentioned to me once that only an Uzumaki would know the seal that keeps it shut. And only an Uzumaki would be able to open the seal."

As Kushina shakily reached out and grabbed the scroll, she rolled it over in her hands with some tears welling up in her eyes as she spotted the familiar Uzumaki swirl engrained in the front. It was a simple yet incredibly effective seal that would only allow someone of the user's blood to unseal it – commonly referred to as a blood seal.

Still shaking slightly, Kushina raised her thumb up to her teeth and bit down with her canine before rubbing some of the live-sustaining liquid over the swirl on the scroll. It glowed blue for a brief moment…before it opened with a resounding click.

Unfurling the scroll rather quickly after it opened, Kushina saw a series of containment seals on the inside of it. Quickly performing some simple math, there seemed to be 87 individually filled seals within the scroll along with 13 empty ones.

However, instead of checking what was in the seal first, Kushina returned her gaze back to the teenager that had given her the scroll. Thinking back to her childhood, she distinctly remembered her sister always being around a man that looked eerily similar to the boy before her now. The only drastic differences were the markings beneath his eyes, the red streaks in his black hair, and his hair being noticeably spikier than the man her sister had hung around with.

She could almost see the feint outlines of her sister and her boyfriend combining to form the individual before her. Most of all, however, was the fact that his eyes seemed to be very much like the man she remembered from the past. The eyes, if nothing else, confirmed it for her.

"So…that means…you're my nephew then?" Kushina asked with a slow but growing smile on her face.

"Hai," Naruto responded.

'Not to mention heir to the Uchiha clan,' Mikoto thought from Kushina's side as a small smile graced her expression at seeing her best friend hear about the family she had assumed was long gone. '…I suppose I can wait for a while before I bring that up though. I have a feeling Sasuke isn't going to take this well. Not at all.'

Kushina, electing to close the scroll until she had a chance to go through it later, then walked directly up to Naruto as they stood nearly eye-to-eye. After an impromptu staring contest that lasted for a few moments, Kushina opened her arms and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug that caused his stoic expression to contort into pain for a brief moment before he adjusted to it.

"I thought I had lost everyone," the red-headed woman whispered only loud enough for him to hear as her hands dug into the fabric of his shirt slightly.

Feeling somewhat awkward being hugged by a woman he didn't know, Naruto merely put his arms around her and pat her on the back, not really knowing what else to do. Despite the unusual situation, however, a part of him was incredibly happy that the woman was so happy to see him.

After a few long moments, Kushina finally released him and pulled away with a sniffle as she raised a free hand and brushed away the tears that were still evident in her eyes.

"Sorry," she stated with a warm gaze towards Naruto. "I…get a little emotional when it comes to family."

"It…it's okay," Naruto stated with a hint of a smile pulling at his lips.

"Well, if I may interject here for a moment," came the elderly voice of Hiruzen who had remained in the room. "Naruto here has agreed to become a shinobi of Konoha, and as such will be attending the academy in the next few days. However, we will have to sort out a place for him to stay…"

"You say that like I'd like him stay anywhere other than with me, -ttebane!" Kushina shouted as she roughly grabbed Naruto's arm and started pulling him towards the door. "Hiruzen, prepare the adoption papers for me! Mikoto, we're going home!"

With a chuckle from the Hokage and a soft smile from Mikoto, the group exited the room without further protest. Naruto, on the other hand, was having his first thoughts about what dealing with his aunt would be like in the future.

'Hn,' he thought – the familiar Uchiha grunt being commonly used even within his mind. 'This woman is going to be troublesome.' He may have thought that even though there was a clear grin on his face though it was small it was still there.

At that moment around the village, a 13 year old Shikamaru let out a violent sneeze while staring at the clouds.

20 minutes later

People were staring strangely as Kushina walked down the streets…well stranger than they usually would. Then again, as she was nearly dragging around a teenage boy behind her by his hair towards the Uchiha compound, the strange looks she got weren't really unwarranted. It looked to be quite painful, but the boy's expression didn't show that he felt any significant amount of pain. He merely contented himself to watching the surroundings and people with a bored gazed.

Uchiha Mikoto, who was walking just behind the two of them, let out a small sigh at the sight. 'Things are definitely going to change a bit around here now,' she thought. Oh, if only she knew how right she would eventually be.

As they entered the compound, Naruto's gaze seemed to linger on the Uchiha symbol wherever it was seen, but still seemed to be disinterested for the most part. Even when they entered the house the Uzumaki and Uchiha family currently shared, his gaze didn't seem to get any more interested.

"Menma, Sasuke, we're back!" Mikoto shouted once they had stepped into the house. After a few moments, two boys came jogging inside from the back – the area that remained clear for training purposes.

The first of them had jet black hair in the style of…well…the butt of a duck more or less with his bangs framing the sides of his face. He wore a dark blue, high-collared t-shirt with the Uchiha crest embroidered on the back along with a pair of white shorts. The second boy was a bit more…interesting. He wore a neon-orange jumpsuit, had spikey blonde hair with red thrown in there occasionally, and a pair of cerulean blue eyes. His most interesting feature, though, would have to be the 3 whisker marks he had on either cheek.

"Kaa-san, who's this guy? Why does he look so much like Sasuke?" the blonde asked before either parent had a chance to make proper introductions.

"Calm down Menma," Kushina chided softly. "This is Uchiha Naruto…your cousin," she added on with a cheerful smile.

"Wait, but you said he's an Uchiha," the boy dubbed Sasuke stated with an obviously confused expression on his face. "How can he be Menma's cousin? Wouldn't he be my cousin?"

"That's because his father was an Uchiha, Sasuke," Mikoto said softly from the side. "Kushina's sister and one of our...distant family members were his parents. His mother passed away a few days ago, so he's going to stay with us for the foreseeable future."

There was a silence as Sasuke and Naruto silently observed each other with nearly identical expressions, though that moment was broken by the hyperactive blonde that they had nearly forgotten was in the room.

"This is awesome!" Menma shouted with enough force to cause everyone in the room but Naruto to flinch slightly. "With a new badass Uchiha cousin to hang around, maybe I can finally get all of the girls Sasuke-teme gets to actually like me." The blonde then rushed up to the new addition to his family and looked up at him as if he found him the most interesting thing in the world at that moment.

"Hey, are you going to be going to the academy? Do you know any jutsu? Do you act like all the other stuck-up Uchiha? No offence, Mikoto-oba-chan!" Menma stated immediately after his final question with a warm glance back at the female Uchiha. However, despite the possibilities that ran through the young blonde's mind at how his cousin could answer, he wasn't prepared for the one he received.

"Hn, troublesome blonde," Naruto

Once again, a certain Nara sneezed violently while still continuing to watch the clouds. 'Too troublesome to think about what's causing it,' he thought as he began trying to doze off once again.

Immediately after the words hit his ears, a small rain cloud suddenly appeared over Menma's head as he started crying as he crouched down and ran his finger in patterns on the ground while mumbling about how his cousin didn't love him. The reaction was rather dramatic from the two words spoken, three if you counted the grunt, but it seemed that he was emotional enough for it to genuinely depress him.

Sasuke, however, looked at Naruto with immediate respect upon hearing his response and Menma's subsequent reaction. Combining the traditional Uchiha grunt with the catch phrase Shikamaru and the Nara clan in general were known for apparently had an outstanding effect on Menma. Despite the fact that he was usually quite logical in his thoughts, he couldn't help but wonder for a brief moment if it would have such an effect on Itachi. However, he shook his head clear of such silly ideas after a brief moment and extended his hand towards the teen who was easily taller than he was.

"Welcome to your new home, Naruto," he stated with the smallest of smiles gracing his lips. Despite not having a dramatic reaction like Menma did, Sasuke was almost equally excited that there was another living Uchiha – he just hid it much better.

The simple action had somewhat shocked Naruto. Knowing that Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's elder brother, had murdered the clan had made him think that it would be a lengthy process to get the boy to accept him. Yet despite that fact, the boy was willing to accept him immediately like his mother and Kushina had? It seemed to be a plausible idea that interacting with Menma and Kushina on a regular basis could've helped with his trust issues, but regardless of what had made him more accepting of people, he wasn't going to question it.

"Thanks Sasuke," he said with a small smile touching his own lips. "It's good to be with family again."

The raincloud over Menma's head, meanwhile, seemed to get larger than it was previously.

'Not another Sasuke-teme,' he thought as anime-style tears streamed down his cheeks while he continued running his finger along the ground dejectedly. 'He's my cousin and he's more like him than me. This isn't fair. I want a cousin that's like me too.'

The two mothers merely watched the scene with smiles on their face while holding back a fair share of giggles. Hopefully this would be a new start for Naruto and bring their families a bit closer together, but only time would tell.

Next Day

As the first rays of sunlight of the day shined down through the window of his rather spacious room, Naruto's eyes snapped open. It was a habit engrained into him since his early childhood to awaken at first light no matter where he was.

As he sat up in the bed, he let his thoughts about his new family began to roam as they had been while he was trying to fall asleep. Having people other than his mother act nice and warm towards him was…nice. Even so, it brought up a lot of memories about his time with his mother and father. Izuna was a great man and had seemingly taught him everything he knew before he was killed. He could tell that his father genuinely loved him, but he seemed to show it in a manner more akin to tough love than anything else.

His father tried to engrain the idea that power, above all else, was what was important. Without power, you wouldn't be able to protect anyone you wanted to or obtain the goal you set in life. People would never be able to understand each other as their goals often clashed in a giant power struggle. It was a philosophy that Naruto had found himself agreeing with. Human nature wouldn't change anytime soon. Most people were shallow and could easily love you one day while they despise, detest, and fear you the next.

His mother, on the other end of the spectrum, believed that people would eventually be able to innately understand one another and create a peaceful world that people could only dream of in their day and age. While it was a nice thought, Naruto couldn't bring himself to take his mother's view on the matter regardless of how much he genuinely loved her. After the stories he had heard about his parents' home, a neutral village that had been annihilated during a war, he simply couldn't hold the same faith in people that she did. After all no matter how long he had, he would never forgive the ones that dared destroy Uzushiogakure and kill his father. He simply didn't believe that he'd be able to understand those vermin.

Shaking his head to clear the thoughts he was having, the blonde pushed himself out of his large bed and stretched, glancing out of the window as the rising sun cast down its rays on the Uchiha compound. He gave a small smile at feeling the sun's warmth hit his exposed torso before he quickly turned to the closet where he had taken the liberty of unsealing and storing his things last night.

He quickly garbed himself in his usual attire, though he elected to leave his gunbai and katana against the wall for the day. Knowing that he would have to attend the academy a bit later today thanks to a messenger the Sandaime had sent late last night, he decided to get in a bit of actual training before-hand. After having talked to Sasuke and Naruto a bit about what their curriculum was, he already knew it would be a joke. Thankfully, he would only need to be there for about a week before graduation, so he was grateful for small favors.

After grabbing a small breakfast from the kitchen before any of the others woke up, he proceeded to move to the back of the large house where the training area was located. There was a large dirt ring in the center of the area that was clearly meant for sparring, a handful of training dummies off to the side that were embedded into the ground, and a barren strip of earth that seemed to be where Sasuke likely practiced his Katon Ninjutsu.

He didn't really have room in the yard to do much of anything, all things considered. He had wanted to practice his jutsu, but any he used here would likely be far too destructive to the environment for him to use regularly. Even the barren area of dirt where it was clear that Katon Ninjutsu had been used was too small to use his regular Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu without fear of lighting something on fire that wasn't supposed to be. Then again, with how strong his fire affinity was, that fact wasn't too surprising.

That being the case, he merely elected to run through his Taijutsu kata to loosen up his body. If he was honest with himself, he could always use the extra practice at the art anyway. He started out slowly, getting used to practicing it again after having focused primarily on his other arts for so long, while slowly increasing the speed of his motions as time went on.

After nearly 2 hours of constant movement, and the end being a frenzy of punches, kicks, twists, and turns that most people couldn't hope to follow, he finally decided he had been training long enough. After wiping off the sweat that had formed on his brow while he practiced, he had stepped back into the household to see everyone else finishing up breakfast.

Kushina and Mikoto gave him a soft smile, Sasuke gave a curt nod towards him to acknowledge his entry, and Menma merely seemed to pout a bit at seeing him again after quickly remembering the events that had occurred yesterday.

After grabbing a piece of toast to sate some of the hunger that had crept up on him during his exercise, the three boys were promptly ushered out of the house so that they wouldn't be late for the academy – Sasuke and Menma both being told to show Naruto how to get there.

The walk to the academy was actually surprisingly silent. It was a fact that the newest addition to the Uchiha within Konoha's walls had found strange, but certainly not unwelcomed. However, such a good thing was not meant to last as the blonde's curiosity seemingly got the better of him.

"So Naruto, are you excited for your first day at the academy?" He asked as his lips stretched into an overly-cheerful smile.

"Not particularly," Naruto responded in a monotone with the briefest of glances towards his cousin.

"After what you and Sasuke told me about it yesterday, they will have very little that interests me. The only thing that intrigues me is to see how strong others my age are."

Sasuke, while still wearing his stoic expression, couldn't help but smirk inwardly at how alike the newest member of his household was to him. Upon hearing his fellow clansman's interest in seeing the strength of his classmates, however, let out a single amused grunt – something that drew the teen's attention towards him.

"Every other student in the academy is weak," he elaborated after a moment. "I am Rookie of the Year, and most of the others wouldn't be able to touch me in a fight."

Menma, off to the side, started trying to defend himself and a few of the others he considered friends, but Naruto merely let the boy's voice travel in one ear and out the other.

"I see," he stated as he kept his gaze directed at the fellow Uchiha. "That's…rather disappointing. No matter though, I need to graduate this academy to become a shinobi anyway."

The group the continued walking until the spotted a rather large and ominous dust cloud rushing towards them along the street they were walking down. Sasuke merely froze-up in terror while he could've sworn Menma seemingly grew hearts in his eyes that grew and shrunk with the rhythm of a regular heartbeat.

"Sakura-chaaaaan!" He called out as the cloud's cause took shape in the form of a horde of fan girls rushing towards them. As he ran forward to presumably greet the pink-haired girl in the front, however, he was quickly shoved to the side as the group continuing rushing forward…only to freeze as their gazes shot from Sasuke to him and back again.

Despite his ignorance in such matters, Naruto didn't miss the blush that started to form on the girl's cheeks as they stared at him and his fellow clansman.

"Two…Sasuke-kun's…" a blonde-haired girl in the front stated in a daze as her eyes seemed to linger on Naruto even more than Sasuke. Her statement was soon being uttered by the pink-haired girl beside her as well as their countless followers.

'Oh no…' Sasuke thought as he shook himself out of his terror after noticing that they weren't glancing solely at him now.

"Naruto…run," he warned as he began taking slow steps backwards. "Don't question it, just…RUN!" As he finished, he quickly turned around in a dead spring.

Looking at the horde of girls his age starting to slowly creep forward, Naruto found himself back-peddling away just as Sasuke had moments before. A mere moment later and he began to run away as his self-preservation instinct kicked in.

'Holy shit, kaa-san was right,' Naruto thought uncharacteristically as he jumped up to a nearby roof in order to try to slow down his horde of female followers. 'Fangirls are fucking crazy!'

20 minutes later, Iruka's classroom

After having finally managed to lose their following of fangirls, the Uchiha teens had managed to make it into their classroom just as the instructor had been about to begin. When the two walked in together, Naruto had let his eyes quickly dart about the room to observe the others that were in his class. Despite believing in Sasuke's earlier assessment, he had been taught to always gather information by himself if he had the opportunity.

His eyes first landed on the pink-haired girl that had been the co-leader of the swarm of females that had chased him around earlier. From his cousin's initial reaction to her, he could gleam that her name was Sakura. From the way her group had moved around, he could take an educated guess in saying that she was rather intelligent, but her body seemed to lack any muscle that shinobi and kunoichi would need out on the field. If he had to guess, her Taijutsu and other shinobi arts were likely non-existent.

After Sakura, his eyes darted to the blonde female that had been her fellow co-leader in the group of females – a girl he had overheard was called Ino, likely a member of the Yamanaka clan judging by her distinct blonde hair. She hadn't displayed any of Sakura's innate intelligence, nor did she have any muscles on her that would indicate serious physical training. However, assuming his hunch about her being a Yamanaka was correct, she would likely have at least one clan technique under her belt which could make her substantially more dangerous than her pink-haired counterpart.

Next, his eyes landed upon a boy who had the side of his head resting atop his arms in front of him. Judging by that fact alone, it was likely he was a Nara, though he didn't know the boy's first name. The Nara clan were renowned for being incredibly strategists, feared shadow-wielders, but most of all…being incredibly lazy. He was one of the few here that Naruto would have to be somewhat careful with.

Darting to the boy next to the Nara, his eyes landed upon a heavy-set boy with swirls on either of his cheeks. His body-type along with close proximity to the Nara boy led Naruto to believe that he was likely an Akimichi. They were a clan known for expanding their bodies in combat situations, being fiercely loyal, and being the perfect protection for members of the Nara and Yamanaka clan. However, they were generally quite slow as well, meaning that he shouldn't have a problem with the boy.

Next, there was a rather obnoxious-looking boy with red fang marks on his cheeks who had a dog laying atop his head – a fact that immediately marked him undoubtedly as an Inuzuka clan member. They were a clan known for their great tracking abilities, their co-operation with their ninken partners, and fierce Taijutsu capabilities.

'Useless,' Naruto thought after taking in the boy's appearance for a few short moments. 'At least Menma's annoying in a younger brother kind of way. This idiot clearly thinks he's better than everyone else.'

Next to the Inuzuka sat a boy in sunglasses and a high-collared jacket that hid most of his face from view. He had his hand held over his desk with several bugs crawling over it – a gesture that nearly guaranteed he was a member of the Aburame clan. They were a secretive bunch that valued logic heavily and typically used their specially bred bugs to devour an enemy's chakra. They were a bunch that weren't to be underestimated, but could be dealt with easily enough if approached cautiously.

Finally, his eyes narrowed slightly as they came upon a girl with pupil-less white eyes that were a trademark of the Hyuga clan. He didn't need to read anything into her posture or personality, as he was already of the opinion that he would hate her. He detested the Hyuga clan, just as his father and grandfather had. They acted like their eyes were Kami's gift to mankind, but in reality they were nothing compared to the Uchiha. They had supposedly even started rumors that the Sharingan found its origination in the Byakugan merely to elevate their social status.

Naruto, however, knew better than to believe that drabble. He had been taught by his father who had been taught by Madara himself that the Uchiha were one of the two descendants of the Rikudo Sennin. He fully intended to confirm this idea himself when he had a chance to visit the Naka shrine – something that would ideally happen later this evening.

Before he could process any more thoughts about his observations, his eyes snapped forward as he stepped up to the instructor and gave a very slight bow towards the man.

"Ah, you must be our new student," the scarred Chūnin stated with a warm smile. "Hokage-sama made sure your files were all situated last night, so it's my pleasure to welcome you to the class…even if it will only be for a short time. Would you care to introduce yourself to the others?"

Glancing to the side, Naruto noticed that the class had seemed to grow silent as all of their eyes locked onto him. Even the louder ones, such as the Inuzuka boy, seemed intrigued with him.

'Because you've given me such a choice in the matter,' Naruto thought sarcastically as he let out a deep breath he hadn't completely registered he had been holding. Turning his form to face the students, he reluctantly gave the same small bow that he had given Iruka just a moment ago before he spoke.

"My name is Uchiha Naruto," he stated while showing no reaction to the surprised expressions many of the students had upon hearing his clan name. "I am one of the final members of both the Uzumaki and Uchiha clans, and your classmate Menma's and Sasuke's cousin. I hope you will treat me well."

Iruka, seeing that the boy was clearly done with his very basic introduction, noticed that a handful of students seemed to be murmuring among themselves. Deciding that the interest was high enough, he did what most instructors at the academy did with new students.

"Very good Naruto," Iruka said as he rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Do any of you have any questions for your new classmate?"

The pink-haired girl named Sakura immediately shot her hand straight up as if it were a twitch reaction to save her own life.

"Sakura, go ahead," Iruka stated with a barely-concealed chuckle at her reaction.

"If you're Menma's cousin, then how are you an Uchiha?" She asked with a genuinely curious expression.

'…Maybe she isn't as smart as I gave her credit for,' Naruto thought with an inward scoff.

"I stated that I am one of the last members of both the Uchiha and the Uzumaki," Naruto stated in a monotone. "My mother was Uzumaki Kushina's sister while my father was a member of the Uchiha clan."

"But we were told that the Uchiha were all…" Sakura stated as she trailed off after glancing at Sasuke. Despite her curiosity, she couldn't bring herself to finish the thought and possibly bringing up bad memories.

"By your records, they were," Naruto stated as if she had finished her thought. "However, my Grandfather left the village long before the massacre took place with my father."

The Inuzuka boy took this moment to scoff, drawing the piercing gaze of Naruto in return.

"More like he probably ran away like a weakling," he stated in his normal cocky attitude.

"I highly doubt most shinobi would classify one of the founders of this village as weak, dog," Naruto shot back as his piercing glare turned into a glare. "Unless you would classify Uchiha Madara as being a weakling."

Eyes in the classroom widened at hearing that, but none more so than Iruka's himself. However, as he somewhat subtly inspected the boy's appearance, he could spot the similarities. His hair, face, and eyes all seemed remarkably similar to the legendary Uchiha's. The only drastic differences was the red mixed into his hair, the red markings under his eyes, and the fact that his hair was a bit less spikey.

"Well?" Naruto asked after the boy and everyone else had been eerily silent for the past few moments. "Would you classify the man renowned an army-killer, someone many referred to as the Shinigami himself, a weakling?"

'I'm going to have to keep an eye on him today,' Iruka thought as he had to consciously force himself to stop from taking a step away from the boy. 'If he's anything like his grandfather, then my students don't have a chance in Hell of comparing to him.'

"…Okay!" The scarred Chūnin called, not really knowing how else to end the awkward silence that had occurred without even more awkwardness. "If Naruto's finished, then let's go ahead and proceed to today's tests. Let's head outside to the training grounds. We'll be focusing on Taijutsu and Ninjutsu today, so all of you do your best."

'Do your best?' Naruto thought with an inward scoff as he watched the students file out of the classroom and followed after them. 'Such a pitiful philosophy for shinobi in training. This is going to be pathetic.'

5 minutes later

"Alright everyone!" Iruka shouted with enough force once they reached the sparring ring to get everyone to quiet down. "You all probably know the basic rules by now, but we're going to run through them one more time since we have a new face with us here today."

There were a few groans amongst the students who had heard the rules repeatedly said at least a dozen times, but Iruka merely shot them a glare that immediately got them to silence themselves.

"It's a simple Taijutsu spar in order to determine your level in the art. You will fight one-on-one with an individual of my choosing until I decide the match has gone on long enough, one of you are unable to continue, or one of you is pushed outside of the ring. Any questions?" The scarred Chūnin asked as he let his gaze purposely linger to the Uchiha who he was stating this again for.

Not seeing the boy indicate that he was confused in any fashion, Iruka quickly glanced at the list and groaned inwardly a bit. He had the perfect opponent in mind skill-wise to determine the boy's level in Taijutsu, but after the incident in the class from earlier, he was a bit worried about the fact that it might escalate a bit too far. However, he shoved those thoughts aside and merely shook his head upon realizing that it still needed to be done.

"Alright then, let's started with Inuzuka Kiba and Uchiha Naruto," Iruka called. The latter calmly walked into the sparring circle…however, Kiba was anything but a calm individual.

"Hah, this is perfect" the clan heir stated as he stepped into the ring after putting his pup down on the outside edges. "Now I can show you that the Uchiha are nothing special compared to the rest of us!"

Many of the other students, however, were wondering if he had a bit of a death wish. This new boy claimed to be the descendant of the Uchiha Madara. Sasuke was incredibly strong despite his lack of such a legendary man in his immediate family history, so they could only imagine how strong Naruto would be.

"Hn," Naruto responded plainly as he remained in a casual stance with his hands in his pockets.

Seeing that there was nearly no chance that these two would make the cordial sign of a spar before the match began, Iruka elected to just go ahead and begin the match.

"Hajime!" He called as he brought his hand down, not surprised in the least by what followed.

Kiba, seemingly enraged by the 'high and mighty Uchiha attitude,' that Naruto had displayed, had rushed in as he nearly always did and tried to hit him in the face with a haymaker. His speed was pretty impressive for someone in the Konoha academy, so such a tactic usually ended up with successful results. However, Sasuke was able to constantly dodge or redirect his blows before countering with his own.

Naruto, on the other hand, merely reached a hand forward and caught his haymaker of a punch as if it were absolutely nothing to him. Sensing the danger of being in such a position, Kiba had immediately squirmed to try to get out of his grasp only to suddenly hunch over as he felt a fist connect with his stomach with enough force to make him cough up slightly bloodied spittle.

Letting go of the Inuzuka, Naruto watched as the boy immediately fell to his knees and toppled over either in severe pain or having actually been knocked out.

"Pathetic," he stated with a scoff even as Iruka came over quickly to check on the boy. "A mere fool trying to dance when he doesn't know the steps…" With nothing more, he calmly walked out of the sparring ring and contented himself with waiting to watch the upcoming 'battles.'

The rest of the class, despite their expectations for him to be strong, were staring at him with eyes as wide as saucers. Kiba was the second best in Taijutsu right behind Sasuke, and to see him lose in a mere one blow was…intimidating to say the very least.

After Iruka had awoken Kiba and escorted him to the outside of the ring to sit down, he returned and proceeded down his list with Taijutsu match-ups.

The first match following Naruto's own was Sasuke and the Hyuga girl he learned was called Hinata. He had to admit that he was rather impressed with his clansman's display of the Interceptor Fist at a moderate-level - something that was only supposed to be completely accomplished once the Sharingan had been activated.

The fight ended a few minutes after it had begun. While the Hyuga put up a defense that was pathetic in Naruto's opinion for the entirety of the match, Sasuke had constantly overpowered and out-maneuvered her at every turn. He even let a small smile touch the corners of his lips after the match was called at seeing a member of the Hyuga clan put in their proper place at the feet of the Uchiha.

The next match was his cousin Menma versus the Nara boy whom he learned was called Shikamaru. At least, it would have been…if the Nara hadn't immediately conceded after saying the whole thing was too troublesome.

The 'match' after that consisted of the two leaders of the massive group of fangirls from before – Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. It was absolutely pitiful to him that such a display was actually considered to be proper Taijutsu in Konoha. Every blow they tried was telegraphed far too early, and their blows were more akin to haymakers than jabs or strikes of a sort.

He lasted approximately halfway through the fight before he got fed up at the pitiful display and went to relax at the base of a nearby tree. To anyone else, it may have looked as if he was nodding off, but he was actually just regulating his breathing and trying to push his thoughts out of his mind. It was something akin to meditating, although it wasn't quite the same process.

Naruto only snapped out of this state when he heard his name called for the Ninjutsu portion of the exam around twenty-five minutes later. He was the last one to go, but he had heard the abilities the others had used. Menma had used Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Sakura had used the basic three jutsu taught at the academy, Sasuke had used Katon: Gōkakyu no Jutsu while the rest of the clan heirs had used their respective clan techniques.

'Which one should I use?' Naruto wondered absent-mindedly as he made his way over towards Iruka. 'My Katon jutsu would be far too destructive here…ah, I'll use that one then.'

None of his thoughts showing on his expression, Naruto calmly walked next to Iruka before taking a deep breath as he chained a series of four hand seals at a speed that no one else could follow – not even the scarred Chūnin himself.

"Futon: Shinkuha," Naruto called as he turned his head slightly to the right and blew as he turned it to the left.

The result of his jutsu was a compressed wave of wind leaving his lips horizontally towards the target dummies. While many students had debated on calling him out for merely blowing air towards them, their comments died in their throats as they saw the targets quickly become covered in deep lacerations. One was deep enough to remove the dummy's right arm from below the elbow.

Iruka's eyes went wide at the display of Futon Ninjutsu since Hi no Kuni didn't possess many users of that particular element while the students merely gazed in awe at the destruction. Thankfully, Naruto's earlier display with Kiba resulted in no one really having the courage to question him about his strength after the display.

The class then remained in the same area as they individually came up to Iruka to have a low-level Genjutsu placed on them that they would attempt to dispel. It was a simple test, one that he had passed immediately by a simple chakra flare, but also something that a number of civilian students had actually failed.

Following the Genjutsu test, the class was dismissed for the day due to the instructors needing to start suggesting team combinations based on the results.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Menma were all walking out of the academy after the day had finished when the most overly-optimistic of the three's stomach growled loudly.

"Say, say," Menma stated from the side to get the other two's attention. "Let's stop by Ichiraku ramen on the way home guys."

At this, a rather peculiar reaction occurred. Sasuke, of course, maintained his usual stoic attitude, but Naruto's eyes shot open and latched onto his cousin's own in response with his right hand gripping onto Menma's shoulder rather tightly.

"Did…did you say ramen?" He asked in a monotone, though the look in his eye gave away his momentary lapse of his stoic attitude.

"Yeah, Ichiraku's has the best ramen," the blonde stated excitedly. "You have to try some, it's the food of the Gods!"

"I…I could certainly use some food," Naruto stated in the same monotone from before as he finally put his full stoic attitude back on display. "We might as well stop by the place."

Sasuke merely let his eyes roll at his clansman, but a small smile touched the corners of his lips at what he had seen.

'I guess he can't act entirely like an Uchiha,' he thought as the three quickly located and walked into the small ramen stand and gave their order.

While Sasuke was content with ordering one bowl of the stuff, Menma and Naruto each ordered five – something that had genuinely surprised the old man behind the counter. He had never seen anyone other than an Uzumaki eat more than two or three bowls of his ramen, so it was to be expected since he was unaware of Naruto's origin.

The two Uzumaki cousin's had happily devoured their food, though Naruto did so more eloquently than the blonde despite his fast rate of consumption. He had gotten table manners drilled into his head by his mother as a child, so it was more of a habit than anything.

Sasuke couldn't help but feel slightly ill at the idea of eating as much ramen as the other two, but he was certainly thankful that his clansman's only connection with the Uzumaki seemed to be his blood ties and love of ramen. At least he wasn't as much of an idiot as Menma was most of the time.

One week later

Throughout the week that he was required to attend the academy class, Naruto learned a few other things about the individuals within it.

Sakura was indeed smart like he had thought, though it only seemed to apply to books and her fangirl-ism…though he still wasn't certain if that was a proper term or not.

Shikamaru was a great strategist just like he had expected of a member of the Nara clan, and he had proven that fact by playing against him in a game of Shogi. Though their matches had been incredibly close, Choji even commenting that it had been the closest game he had ever seen the Nara play, Shikamaru always managed to outmaneuver him at the very end after making some weird sign with his hands. It was incredibly frustrating to Naruto, but he would admit when he was beaten in an area and Shikamaru had him trounced in planned strategy.

His initial assumption about Choji was pretty much spot-on, though he also learned that calling him 'fat' was a bad idea for most people's health. That was proven when a civilian student called him that before Shikamaru could stop him, and he had ended up in the infirmary. The heavy-set boy had felt terrible afterwards, but it was obvious to nearly anyone that Akimichi are rather…sensitive about that particular word.

His initial assumption about Ino was correct as well, though he also came to learn that she really enjoyed flowers. It was a rather petty hobby in Naruto's opinion, though he supposed it might be useful in the long-term if she perhaps directed it towards poison-making or antidotes.

Sasuke and Menma remained primarily the same, though he quickly learned that his clansman liked to come across as 'brooding' quite often. He wouldn't begrudge him his habit though since it didn't seem to bother anyone. His blonde-haired cousin tried to constantly get reactions out of him to various things, which was slightly annoying, but also amusing to watch as well.

The funniest thing to him, however, was the Hyuga girl's obvious crush on his cousin. Within the week, he had come to the conclusion that he disliked her even more than he had originally thought. Despite the fact that she didn't seem to display the typical Hyuga arrogance, she was incredibly weak and had no particular strong points to speak of. It was merely amusing to watch her blush deep red and faint nearly every time he got too close to her or the way she seemed to hang on his every word. If she was really the future head of the 'noble' Hyuga clan, then their future was even more pathetic than he had thought it would be.

Today, however, was a day for a bit of celebration. It was a day where he would finally be free of this joke they called an academy and hopefully start getting some real shinobi experience under his belt.

The students today would pass if they could successfully use the three basic jutsu the academy had taught them since they wouldn't have gotten this far without passing marks on Taijutsu and other such areas to begin with. More specifically, students would have to display proper use of the Henge no Jutsu, the Kawarimi no Jutsu, and the Bunshin no Jutsu.

All things considered, the choice in jutsu was rather terrible in his opinion. Normal Bunshins, while possibly useful for a momentary distraction, should've been replaced with some kind of elemental affinity knowledge or possibly the Shunshin no Jutsu. Either choice would've made for a far more effective graduate, at least in his opinion. Even Menma's Oiroke no Jutsu was more effective than their choice.

He was drawn out from his thoughts as the door to the classroom opened and Menma walked in after having been called out of the room for his test about five minutes ago. Noticing the small gleam of metal on his cousin's forehead, Naruto let the corners of his mouth take a mild upward curve.

Iruka followed shortly after his blonde cousin with a wide smile on his face. Every one of his students had passed thus far, and the only remaining individual was the one he had known would pass to begin with. Looking up, he locked eyes with Naruto.

Giving a slight nod, he stood and made his way into the other classroom while following the man. He didn't need to wait for instructions, as he immediately performed the necessary steps in quick succession to one another. He immediately formed a single Kage Bunshin, had it use the Henge no Jutsu to transform into the figure of the Sandaime, and after a few moment's pause he substituted with it using Kawarimi.

In response, Iruka merely shook his head in an amused fashion as he tossed a headband to Madara's grandson before promptly turning out of the separate classroom and walking back into the usual one. Naruto, meanwhile, had tied the hitai-ate with the Konoha symbol engraved into it over his right bicep.

Once inside, Menma let out a loud cheer for him at seeing the metal gleam off of his right arm, though the only other one to show visible reaction was Sasuke who merely settled for giving him a nod. Returning the gesture, he quickly went up the stairs and sat in his usual seat before Iruka started speaking.

"I would like to congratulate all of you on finally becoming shinobi or kunoichi of Konoha. I can't begin to describe how proud I am of each and every one of you," he said with a warm smile on his face. "Tomorrow, you will arrive here at noon to be split into squads and mean your Jonin sensei. As of today, you are the fine shinobi and kunoichi of the village and now considered a legal adult within our walls. Good luck to you all, and continue to make Konoha proud as you have done with me." With nothing further to add, the man gave a wave and stepped out of the classroom.

Naruto, meanwhile, let his mind run over the possibilities even as the other students began to celebrate their graduation. He would be considered beyond lucky if he was actually partnered with Menma and Sasuke. He enjoyed spending time with the two of them, and were the only two people his own age he had come to be able to stand, but he imagined that the Sandaime already had plans for which teams to assign both of them on.

His thoughts then returned to a particular tablet that he hadn't found the proper time to go and look at within the week. Deciding that he had procrastinated long enough, he silently made his way out of the classroom and directed himself towards the Naka shrine. It was time to either confirm or deny the stories his grandfather had passed down to his father.

30 minutes later

The grandson of Uchiha Madara now stood in front of the legendary tablet that was created for his clan by the Rikudō Sennin himself. Without any prompting, the teen activated his Sharingan and began reading what he was able to decipher.

What he read first was about the way to obtain the Mangekyō Sharingan – killing your best friend. It was odd to see something that he knew wasn't true written down upon the ancient stone, but he could see why that might've been thought of as the only method back then. Unlocking the Mangekyō is done when an Uchiha is overwhelmed by a sense of loss at losing someone incredibly close to them.

He then tried to decipher more of the tablet, but found he couldn't as the text seemed as if it became blurred. Running possibilities through his mind, he pumped a bit more chakra to his eyes as they morphed into the Mangekyou Sharingan. Noting that the blurred text from before had cleared, he continued reading.

The new readable area spoke of the special jutsu those with the Mangekyō could possibly wield: Kamui, Tsukiyomi, Amaterasu, and Kotoamatsukami. An Uchiha could seemingly unlock any two of the four depending on their eyes. Personally, he had awakened the power to use either the Amaterasu or Tsukiyomi. When he had unlocked both of them, he had unlocked a third power that only those with potent chakra can hope to wield – the Susanoo. The ability created a giant ethereal warrior composed of the user's chakra to both defend them while attacking enemies. It was one of their strongest offensive jutsu while also being the ultimate defense. However, this was all knowledge he knew already. It was only when he continued reading that he found himself somewhat surprised.

Following the abilities was the story of the Rikudo Sennin himself. His name was Ōtsutsuki Hagomoro, the son of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya – a princess whom had eaten the forbidden fruit of the Shinju or 'God Tree,' in order to stop the wars of mankind. She succeeded in that front with the powers she obtained from consuming the fruit, but not without a dire cost. The Shinju became enraged at the loss of its fruit, and tried to reclaim the chakra stolen from it by transforming into the Jūbi.

It was a monster that was regarded by a handful of different names. Datara, Deidarabotchi, and Ame no Hitotsu no Kami were but a few of them. The story then told of the Rikudō Sennin rising to power and defeating the beast before sealing it into himself and becoming the first ever jinchuriki.

Following that, the tablet described how the sage had eventually had two sons of his own. The eldest received the sage's eyes and spiritual chakra while the younger received his body and physical energy. The elder son thought that power was the only way to ultimately obtain peace while the younger son thought that love and understanding could ultimately lead to peace throughout the world.

In Naruto's mind, the younger brother was an arrogant fool. Humans were far too imperfect and tainted for peace based on love and trust to last very long.

The tablet, however, seemingly showed no opinion. It merely then went onto detail how the Jūbi had eventually been split into nine separate entities while its body was sent up into the sky to become the moon. After that, it told the story of the sage choosing the younger son as his ultimate successor. The elder son, having felt betrayed by his father, attacked his younger sibling to prove his father's decision had been the wrong one. Years later, the eldest son's descendants would come to be known as the Uchiha while the younger's would be known as the Senju.

Noting with frustration that the remaining part of the tablet was blurred as the center portion had been, he pushed more chakra into his eyes in the futile hope that something would change. However, to his immense surprise, the tablet actually cleared up just as it had when he switched from the normal Sharingan to the Mangekyō. Confused at the sudden change, he took out a kunai and maneuvered it to try to show the reflection of his eyes within it.

He actually dropped the kunai in surprise, then, when he didn't see what he had expected. Instead of the normal shuriken shape that his Mangekyō had, his eyes were purple with a ripple pattern around the small pupil in the center.

Though he couldn't be certain, Naruto could only come up with one possibility. Somehow, some way, he possessed the Rinnegan – the fabled dōjutsu of the Rikudō Sennin himself. If that was the case…then his grandfather's presumptions had to be correct, the Uchiha descended from the sage himself.

Getting over his shock, however, he hurriedly returned his gaze to the tablet once again to read the newly legible portion. It contained information about how the sage defeated the Jūbi with his brother and the reason Ninshu was created. The sage had created it and gave the people chakra to help them understand one another by giving them a way to connect to each other. It was an idea that had worked at first, but just before the sage had died, he had seen that people started using it as a weapon of war.

Instead of being used to connect mankind as a whole, and ideally bring peace one day, chakra was being used as a far more effective method of slaughtering one another. Ninshu eventually died out in its entirety and Ninjutsu was created in its stead. The destruction that the new art was capable of causing was then the cause of many of mankind's future wars.

After reading this new information, Naruto's initial beliefs were only strengthened from before. Humans could never live without war. Even when the Rikudō Sennin had given them the ability to leave peacefully and understand each other, they used it to kill instead. Peace can and would only every truly be achieved through power. People needed a leader to show them the way they should live, and with his new eyes, he would do just that. That night, a dream was born to unite the (remaining) Elemental Nations under his rule and show people how they should live.

Upon leaving the temple, he merely decided to go straight home and try to rest despite his racing mind likely making such a thing impossible. Tomorrow…tomorrow his dream would begin its first steps in his dream towards peace. He would have to be rested and concentrated so he would make it far enough to see his dream through. This dream would be what his parents would want, it would be something that would make them proud. This, if absolutely nothing else, would truly give him a reason to continue living.

While he lay on his bed after entering the house and remaining abnormally quiet, even by his usual standards, he neglected to realize that he was being observed the entire time by a black and white plant-like creature from the shadows.

Later, somewhere near the Valley of the End

There was an ancient-looking man sitting upon a rather plain-looking wooden throne. His grey, waist-length hair had two bangs falling over his face – the right one blocking an entire eye from view in a familiar fashion. His left eye, however, was the unmistakable sight of the Sharingan with 3 tomoe spinning dramatically within. A moment passed in silence before the plant-like creature that had been spying on Naruto rose out of the earth in front of the man.

"It seems you were right, Madara-sama. Your son and Megumi lived through the Uzu Massacre and had a child together. His name is Naruto, and he looks quite similar to you, my lord." The creature stated with the white-half speaking first and the black-half taking over in a substantially darker voice towards the end.

If the ancient-looking Madara was surprised by this turn of events, his expression did absolutely nothing to show it.

"Very good Zetsu," he praised weakly. "You will confront him in a month and a half and tell him about me. After that…you will leave a Chi Bunshin (Blood Clone) in Konoha and bring him to me. I wish to see my grandson with my own eyes," he finished as his visible Sharingan kept spinning.

"Very well, but there is one more thing," the black-half added in before his counterpart dismissed them.

"What is it?" Madara asked as he gazed down at them with a small quantity of genuine curiosity.

"He has awakened the Rinnegan," Black-Zetsu stated plainly.

Madara's eyes widened in genuine surprise…before he did something he had not done since the destruction of Uzushiogakure. He let a slow and wicked-looking smile grew upon his lips.

Well then I guess that's it for this chapter and I hope that you guys enjoyed what has happened so far with the story and with Naruto and I will try to get the next chapter out soon so that you guys don't have to wait too long but once again no promises! Anyways remember to rate and review as well as follow and favorite the story!

Sayonara!