After the battle with Gaara and the war with Orochimaru {following the death of the third}

Naruto was sitting on his customary position. On the head of the fourth Hokage's head, where he can look out over the village. He was holding the old man's hat, not the Hokage hat that he normally wore but the black battle helmet that he wore when he was fighting with Orochimaru. Naruto didn't put on the helmet, just held it against his chest breathing in the small amount of scent that remained of his Grandfather figure.

He sat there just thinking about everything and how it happened. How his life became so different and how he came to lose the one person that was so important to him over the years, sure he had made friends and a new family with his team and those that they have come across he knew that ultimately the very first person that became his family, the first person to set him on the path of finding a new family was Sarutobi Hiruzen, the third Hokage, his Jiji.

Thinking on it he was able to trace it back to the Hyuga affair when he was younger, it was a short while after he had been enrolled into the Shinobi Academy.

Naruto Uzumaki was making his way through the alleyways of his home village, it was just a regular day for him, another seven year old boy. Running around pulling a few pranks on the shopkeepers that had mocked and pushed him around, he was returning from Ichiraku ramen, the best Ramen shop within the entire village. He was making his way along the outskirts of the clan district, hoping to avoid the villagers that were often after him for no good reason at all.

As he stepped out of the alley and onto the street Naruto saw something that screamed for his attention.

Leaping along the rooftops of the houses nearby was a man wearing dark clothing, the only thing that made him noticeable was the white vest that he was wearing. It caught the light as he leapt over a building across the street, which was how Naruto noticed him. Well him and the object that he was carrying on his back.

Naruto ducked back into the alley, concealed by the shadow of the building and watched the man.

He saw that the object that he was carrying on his back was actually a sack. The fact he was carrying a sack was interesting enough, the fact that he saw him elbow it and speak, or a quiet yell as it seemed to be. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw that the sack squirmed.

There was a person in the sack!

He was witnessing a kidnapping!

HE was witnessing a kidnapping and he was the only person that was able to do something about it, but what?

He needed to alert someone about what was happening without letting the kidnapper know that he had been spotted or that he, Naruto, was trying to let someone know about it.

The man in the vest leapt from his position and started making his way across rooftops with Naruto, unknowingly on his tail. What ensued was a somewhat short game of follow me. With Naruto doing whatever he could to keep up with the kidnapper while looking around for someone to help him. Fortunately as Naruto was watching the man and not where he was going he had crashed into two young boys, both older than he was.

"What hit me?" One of the boys groaned.

Naruto quickly got eyes back on the kidnapper and saw that he was looking around and waiting for some shinobi to pass, so sparing a look he sighed in relief that he had crashed into two shinobi.

"Please... kidnapper… on the rooftop…white vest…chasing." Naruto panted the exhaustion having built up with him.

Both boys recovering right away looked at where Naruto was now pointing, spared a glance at each other before sharing a nod and one of the boys vanished.

"Don't worry about it, my friend has gone to get help. I'm with the Uchiha Police Force I'll keep track of him and keep him from escaping the village." He smiled at Naruto.

As he got to his feet and was about to take to the rooftops Naruto grabbed onto him and held tight. The police officer stopped and looked at Naruto.

"I saw him and he's got someone in that sack, it has to be someone small to fit inside it, which means that there's someone younger than me in there and I'm not going to let someone younger than me suffer when I can do something about it."

The look in Naruto's eyes, the look of fierce determination caught the Uchiha by surprise. After a moment the Uchiha just sighed and gave in.

"Alright, but you listen to me and do as I tell you." He commanded.

Naruto nodded.

"We're going to give chase and that means that we're going to be moving quite fast. Now if you're going to come with me that means that you need to hold on tight, if you fall then you fall and I leave you behind. Understood?"

Naruto gave a firm nod.

"Now I know that you're the village prankster." The Uchiha gave Naruto a cheery smile "You got some supplies on you?"

Naruto grinned "I got a few smoke bombs, wire, normal and ninja and I got some other odds and ends."

The Uchiha seemed to be thinking quickly before looking between Naruto and the kidnapper.

"Alright, hold tight we're about to give chase." He instructed.

Naruto nodded and wrapped himself around the officer. His arms were wrapped under his armpits and legs locked around his waist holding tight.

"Hold tight." The Uchiha gave little warning before taking off.

The kidnapper spotted Naruto and the Uchiha coming at him and shot off across the rooftops with the pair right behind him.

"STOP!" The Uchiha shouted "This is the Konoha military police stop where you are or I will use lethal force."

The man snarled and sped up "You'll never catch me Konoha scum!"

The Uchiha clicked his teeth "Hold tight."

Naruto tightened his grip, right before the Uchiha took off going faster than the kidnapper was going and they were starting to catch up quickly.

The Uchiha and Naruto followed the man and his hostage through the village and into the forested training grounds of the village.

"I'm going to attempt to force him into a clearing, pass me a smoke bomb." The Uchiha instructed. Without a word Naruto tightened his grip on the Uchiha and reached into his pocket and pulled out a smoke pellet.

"Anything special about this one?" The Uchiha asked, you could almost hear the deviousness in his voice.

"Chilli powder, a dash of pepper and a few other things that make it hard to see." Naruto grinned. You could definitely hear the joy in his voice.

"Perfect, I can use this to stop him from continuing. But you need to hold tight I'll need to get him into a clearing or somewhere similar, be ready I haven't done this with a passenger before."

"Done what?"

Naruto didn't get an answer, at least not a verbal one that is.

The Uchiha seemed to reach a new level of speed it seemed as though Naruto was seeing double for a short amount of time before, it was almost as if the Uchiha that Naruto was holding onto was moving so fast that he was in two places at once.

"I want you to be ready, I'm not able to use my speed with you on my back so I'm going to have to drop you. I need you to be ready to get the hostage when I fight with the kidnapper. Will you be ready?"

"Yeah, I'll be ready. But how are you going to get him to where I am?" he asked.

"I'm going to leave a clone with you. I'll also have a clone nearby that will tell the other clone when I am bringing him to you."

"How?"

The Uchiha seemed to think for a moment.

"You keep saying you want to be Hokage, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"Well how about this; you trust me on this and when we have the hostage safe back in the village I'll tell you everything that you want to know. Ok?"

Naruto thought for a full minute.

"How do I know you won't just pretend like you never said anything?"

The Uchiha smiled "My name is Shisui Uchiha, my friend that was with me is Itachi Uchiha. Itachi works with Anbu and has watched over you from time to time so I know how you value people and their promises. I'm pretty much the same. How about this, I'll even give you my ninja tool pouch, my spare one that is. Then when I tell you everything you want to know you give it back, if I don't tell you anything then you have a pouch of real ninja tools that you can keep. How does that work for you?"

Naruto knew that there was no guarantee that Shisui would keep his promise, but if he was going to get some real ninja tools, even if there was only a small chance of it then he had to take it. After all he was going to be Hokage and the more training that he was able to do the better he would be.

"Alright then Shisui-san, I'll do my best to be ready. Just bring him to me in a few minutes and I'll have everything ready." Naruto promised.

Shisui nodded and stopped on a branch, letting Naruto off his back. He passed Naruto his ninja tool pouch, which he had recently refilled minutes before meeting Naruto, to which he received several small smoke bombs from the prankster.

"These are all the smoke bombs that I have." He explained.

Looking at them it was clear that two were ordinary smoke bombs that he could purchase from any ninja tool store but there was one that was easily twice as big as the others. Seeing the unspoken question Naruto grinned.

"Throw and get clear, the world's worst stink bomb. So bad it's made three Jonin go blind for an hour, and they weren't even hit by it."

Shisui was now impressed.

If this was what a prankster could do then what could he do once he was a shinobi?

Two clones popped into existence. Without a word the real Shisui vanished, taking after the kidnapper, one of the clones gave a small nod to Naruto and the remaining clone and vanished to take a higher position so he could view the fight. The remaining clone looked at Naruto and donned a thoughtful expression.

"So what now?" The clone asked Naruto, thinking it would be better for him now to start thinking about things on the fly, it could only help him when he takes missions in the future. Learning how to make detailed plans quickly that is.

"I think now I start making this area the trap that it needs to be for when the kidnapper shows up." He grinned mischievously. To which the clone swore it felt a chill run through his body.

Naruto and the clone went to work, Naruto planning everything out and the clone putting things into position and offering helpful advice when he thought it would help, along with answering the questions that seemed to show up while they were talking.

It was a few minutes later when Naruto and the clone finished trapping the area. Shisui's clone explained that the original would be using genjutsu to lead the kidnapper back to the area while he also made third clone that would get the hostage and bring them to the pair. It seemed ridiculous to Naruto but it made sense to Shisui, who was a qualified and trained shinobi so he said nothing and kept working.

A short while after they had finished the second clone dispelled, informing the waiting duo that the clone was coming with the hostage.

When the clone told Naruto to get ready all conversation stopped and they got into position. Naruto was hidden behind one of the bushes while the clone Shisui was hidden in a tree using a small genjutsu to blend into the shadows.

Itachi, now wearing his full Anbu attire and accompanied by Hiashi Hyuga, Hizashi Hyuga, Inu, Kuma, Neko and several other members of Anbu, arrived in the clearing. They were greeted by a sight that they wouldn't forget soon.

Naruto was covered in blood, his hands were shaking as was the kunai that he was holding in his hands. His knuckles were white because of how tightly he was clutching the weapon. There were tears in his eyes, the orange jumpsuit that he was wearing showed clear signs that he'd been fighting, though how successful he was in that fight was unknown considering he looked as though he'd lost the fight but there was also an injured Kumo shinobi in front of him that was being held by two of the Anbu.

Hiashi Hyuga, the head of the Hyuga clan, with a burst of chakra enhanced speed shot forward and jabbed two fingers directly between the fourth and fifth rib on the right side of the Kumo shinobi's chest, easily breaking the vest that he was wearing and destroying his heart in the process.

Shisui was on the ground a few feet from Naruto and the young hostage that they had retrieved and protecting until their arrival. He was unconscious, although it looked as though he only had a few minor wounds that would heal relatively quickly.

As soon as the shockingly brutal attack by the Hyuga head was taken care of the two Hyuga heads made their way over to the hostage, but Naruto seeing the movement spun around to look at them. The kunai was pointed right at them though he said nothing, he was clearly in shock about what happened.

They were stopped by Inu, with his gravity defying silver hair poking through the top of his mask.

Naruto recognized him but didn't lower the weapon. This didn't faze the Anbu who just raised his hands showing that he meant no harm as he approached Naruto, as he got close he slowly lowered his hand and lightly pushed Naruto's shaking limbs down, removing the Kunai as he did so.

He said no words, he knew that Naruto was in shock and relying only on the instincts that he had right before his first kill.

It was clear to everyone present that Naruto had been the one to kill the Shinobi, as they recognized who he was, the head of the delegation from Kumo who had just, hours before, signed an alliance with the leaf village.

As soon as the Kunai was low enough the pressure in Naruto's hands eased and the weapon slipped from his grip but neither person did anything to stop it. Inu just wrapped his arms around Naruto and held him, letting the boy come to his own senses of what happened.

The two Hyuga heads, seeing that the boy was now disarmed and it was safe to approach, so to speak, made their way over to the young hostage.

"Hinata-sama are you ok?" The younger brother, Hizashi, asked the young girl, while Hiashi, Hinata's father, held her tight and told her that he loved her.

It was a tense few minutes, having repercussions that neither men nor child had could have realized. But for now both the two children were safe, the enemy was defeated and the Kekkei genkai of the Hyuga clan was secured and safe within the Village territory.

"I think it would be a good time to get these three checked over at the hospital" one of the Anbu, Kuma, said.

Without a comment the two Hyuga heads vanished with their younger heir.

"I don't think that they want anyone other than their doctors looking after her Kuma." Neko said.

"Oh well, it's not like I could care either way." He replied.

No one made a comment, after all the Hyuga clan was one of the only two clans in the entire village that held a valuable Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai, along with the Uchiha clan that is. But where the Uchiha clan is a little more trusting of the village, mostly because they and they alone operate the village police force, since the time of the Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju, the Hyuga clan held themselves as if they were above the regular shinobi and people of the village. They were one of the first clans to join Konoha, mostly because they were approached by the senju and Uchiha clan leaders back in the founding of Konoha itself, so it was, in their minds, as if the village wouldn't be able to exist because if they were not a part of it. Because of their arrogant attitude they wouldn't allow any member of the main branch of the clan family to be treated by anyone other than a clan medic, even though they weren't as qualified as the village healers.

"Naruto where did you get this?" they heard Inu ask Naruto in an extremely serious tone.

Everyone looked, mostly because of the seriousness of the question, and saw that Inu was holding a scroll with small spirals adjourning the edges. It was the same spiral that could be found on the back of the flak jackets that the shinobi wore.

The Uzumaki spiral.

"That man had it and when he dropped it and I picked it up he called it the Uzumaki scroll, so that means it's mine!" Naruto stated, oddly defensive about the scroll that was being kept from his grip.

All the Anbu were looking at the scroll and Naruto oddly, they knew that his last name was Uzumaki and if what many people believed was correct than the yellowed haired child was, in fact, a member of the first clans of Konoha. Since the Uzumaki clan approached the Senju and Uchiha clans when they were founding the village and offered their alliance, they didn't completely join with the village but allied with them and offered help. They had their own territory that they'd protected for some time and were more than happy to hear about another such place being created and offered their help right away. They were considered the real reason that the village could exist in the first place.

"Naruto this is serious, it's not your scroll so I have to take it-"

"Inu" Came a voice from the second in command of the unit, Weasel, Itachi. "If that scroll really belongs to him and is real than it should open for him and him alone, those scrolls all hold a blood seal on them preventing them from being read by people not of the clan."

"It doesn't matter-" Inu attempted to say.

"Just let him try." Itachi pressed before looking at Naruto "If it doesn't open for you then that means it doesn't belong to you Naruto-san, so if it won't open we need to take it to the Hokage, ok?"

Naruto nodded rapidly, it was odd for all watching how the kid reacted. Moments before he was acting as anyone would expect, in a state of shock from being attacked and nearly killed, but now he was acting as if someone had just told him that he could make it rain Ramen. For Naruto there was nothing in the world he could want more than for it to rain Ramen. Seriously the kid has a problem with the stuff.

"Sure thing Tachi-san"

Itachi silently groaned 'How did he know who I am?'

He noticed Shisui's weapons pouch was strapped to Naruto's side and immediately realized who told him.

Naruto attempted to open the scroll as one would normally open it, completely forgetting that he had just been told that there was a blood seal on it, although he didn't understand anything about Fuinjutsu or regular shinobi arts.

"Here Naruto-san, you need to use some blood on the seal for it to open." Kuma said pulling out a kunai and gave Naruto a small cut on his thumb "Now touch it to this seal here" He pointed to a small circle that was on the lip of the scrolls opening "and then open it."

Naruto did as he was instructed and the scroll didn't move.

"You need to push some chakra into the scroll Naruto." Kuma said.

Naruto looked at the Anbu "I don't know how, I was kicked out of class the other day and didn't get a chance to learn."

Kuma sighed deeply, this kid was proving to be more trouble than he was worth.

"OK. Tomorrow is my day off I'll swing by and help you unlock your chakra, if there are any jutsu inside the scroll I will help you understand what they do, but I will have to report everything that we discover to the Hokage, unless they are clan secrets, I'll teach you a few things about those as well." He said, seeing Naruto had no idea what he was talking about when he mentioned Clan secrets. After all Naruto didn't have a clan, as far as he had been told.

Naruto nodded and started swaying slightly on his feet, the days excitement was catching up with him. He passed out just as Kuma caught him.

"Do you really think that's wise Kuma?" Inu asked.

"Calm down Kakashi." Kuma replied "I'm leaving Anbu in a while and will be teaching at the academy, Naruto will need all the help he can get where he can. This is the least I can do for him, especially if it helps him survive long enough to graduate from the academy."

"Iruka, you know he's just started at the academy and is in his second year now. One more year and then he graduates, you don't finish your deployment for another two years." Kakashi replied.

"Have you been watching Naruto while he is at the academy?" Iruka asked "I have been stationed there more often than not, Naruto needs someone that will teach him properly and give him a firm grasp on how things work, and he was kicked out of class the other day because he asked how they unlocked their chakra."

This shocked the Anbu.

"Yeah, he asked a question that was perfectly reasonable or the class and right after he was kicked out another student asked the exact same question and was told. He is being targeted by our own instructors at the academy."

It was something well known to the Anbu corps. Iruka Umino wanted to be a teacher, he was known for helping new recruits when they were learning the standard Anbu jutsu and techniques. He was the perfect teacher and was a member of the search and destroy division before he was transferred to the squad he was currently a part of.

"If we're all done here-"Itachi cut in "I think we should get Naruto and Shisui to the hospital, afterwards we need to submit our reports to the Hokage. Kuma keep Naruto's scroll with you I will inform the Hokage about it belonging to the Uzumaki clan and what Naruto has said about it."

There were a few nods at the order.

"Very well, Kuma and Owl will take these two to the hospital, Kuma make sure Naruto is placed in the room the Hokage specialized and guard him until relief comes with the Hokage's orders."

"Hai" was the response he received from the two Anbu agents as they took Shisui and Naruto to the hospital.

{The next day}

Naruto made his way through the village having been dismissed from the hospital, he had a few bruises and scrapes but there was nothing major that would stop him from training with Kuma. Although he had to speak with the Hokage about somethings that he had been told the night before. Like who the Uzumaki clan were, was he really related to them or was he just given the name, although the most important question he wanted to know the answer to was; Were they his real family?

But that would have to wait until after he had some training with Kuma.

When Naruto arrived at his apartment he sighed deeply and shook his head. The front window had been broken again, the door was off its hinges and in three pieces, and the entire apartment was tossed on its head.

The fridge was open and on the ground, broken of course. Naruto hung his head and got to work. He found the roll of garbage bags and started collecting the broken shards of glass, wrapping them in paper towel and other pieces of rubbish so they wouldn't break the bag. He picked up all the broken instant ramen packets that he'd brought and sighed sadly at all the wasted money that he had spent on them, at three times the proper amount.

He had mostly cleaned up the apartment, thrown away all the broken pieces of glass, ruined food, torn clothing, although he only really had the one jumpsuit that he wore all the time and a few other items that weren't to worn.

By time he had his apartment under control Kuma arrived.

"Hello Naruto-san." He greeted as he knocked on the door, well the wall next to the door since the remains of which were still screwed into the hinges of the frame

"Oh, hey Kuma-san." Naruto greeted as he walked into the kitchen/main entry of his apartment carrying the last bag of rubbish from the other rooms.

"Late night party?" he asked, almost hopeful that it was the answer.

Naruto chuckled lightly at the joke "Something like that, wish I would have been invited instead of having to clean it up. It's the fourth time this month."

"Have you told Hokage-sama?"

Naruto nodded "He knows, nothing really happens unless the Shinobi police or one of you guys catch them while they're doing it and even then only if it's not someone who hates me for some reason."

Kuma looked around and sighed.

"Is there any way that I can help?" Kuma asked, wanting to do something that will help make his life a little easier.

Naruto shook his head. "I have everything taken care of, they didn't find my secret stash so I'm not too upset about things. I may have to raid a few dumpsters around the market district for a few weeks or trade with the caravans when they come through in a few weeks."

Kuma seemed to be thinking about what Naruto said "Why trade with the caravans?"

"Because the villagers kick me out of the stores and overcharge me for everything, well everyone other than the Ichiraku family, if not for them I would have starved more times than I can count." He replied without missing a beat.

"Can you count at all?" Kuma quipped.

"Easily, I can count up to 206, after all that's how many bones I have in my body and how many times I've been in the hospital before I lost count." Naruto replied, albeit a bit saddened now that he mentioned it aloud.

"Oh…" Kuma was mentally scolding himself, he should have known better than to say something like that.

"Anyway what are you gonna teach me Kuma-sensei?"

Kuma chuckled at the suffix he was given.

"First I am going to teach you how to unlock your chakra."

And with that Naruto's lessons began. Naruto learned that he was blessed with a high amount of chakra that was equal to veteran Chuunin, after celebrating for all of two seconds when he was told that he would have to work on his control, which was abysmal and was more than likely to blow himself up overpowering a basic Henge.

It was a week before Naruto was shown how to open the scroll, which was mostly because he was being told how to push small fragments of chakra into the scroll. When he asked why he was learning on basic storage scrolls he was mildly embarrassed when he was told that he was more than likely to destroy the scroll than unlock it.

As soon as Kuma deemed Naruto ready to open the scroll they were in front of the Hokage as he wanted to see if Naruto was really able to open the scroll, at least that's what he told Naruto. He was mostly interested to see what was contained within the scroll and what he would have to reveal to Naruto before he was ready to hear it. He had promised Minato and Kushina that he would protect their child and swore that he would tell Naruto everything that he needed to know about his family when he was able to protect himself, if he became a shinobi, or when he turned 18 if he chose to remain as a civilian instead, although there was very little chance of that happening.

When Naruto opened the scroll the first thing that he noticed was a warning. The warning stated that only those with true Uzumaki blood would be able to read the scroll, and only those with the blood of the Uzumaki main family would be able to unlock all the secrets of the clan scrolls. He told Kuma and the Hokage what it said and was told a little about the Uzumaki clan.

Naruto was told a few things, mostly about how they were masters of the sealing arts, or Fuinjutsu as it is called. How they used to accept people who wanted to get away from the constant battles before the hidden villages were created and how they were allies to the Senju and Uchiha clan. Just as they were talking they were informed that there was a council meeting that he had to attend to and promised Naruto that he would find any and all scrolls that he had in his collection, both his private and Hokage collections, which related to the Uzumaki clan and their customs and ways. He wasn't told about his mother or father as he was able to steer the conversation around it and only gave vague answers when he had too.

Later that day Naruto found the secret that the scroll was protecting was a jutsu they had secured from a clan that died out, or more accurately was destroyed by the Uzumaki clan because they were using the jutsu to gather information and techniques to destroy the village after they had been offered a chance to join.

As was the custom of the Uzumaki clan, as he was told by his surrogate grandfather, they took everything that the clan once had, after they had destroyed them after all, collected everything that they were able to use, which mostly related to weapons and jutsu that were written on scrolls. The main idea of the clan was to gather as much information on the clans they destroyed or welcomed into their clan, although those that joined were all allowed to keep jutsu to themselves, each clan had a sacred scroll that contained all of their powerful jutsu that they protected, and use that information to develop seals and strategies to defend against them. All of this was to prolong the clan and protect all those that were living within the Uzumaki village.

The Jutsu the scroll contained had no name when the clan discovered the jutsu and was named by the clan simply ten to chi no douka (Assimilation of heaven and earth). From what Naruto read it allowed a person to take and 'assimilate' (or absorb) physical and spiritual traits.

As he read further he found that it explained a bit more about what it allowed the user to do.

Basically the jutsu would gain the physical ability, or muscle memory as it were, of a person and any extreme characteristic, or unique physical trait, and combining it with the body of the user. This was the 'earth' portion, listing it as the physical portion of the technique. The 'heaven' portion, or spiritual portion, referred to a person's knowledge and chakra ability. It was listed within the scroll that a person's chakra would learn from the body of a shinobi as it ran through their body and in doing so ran through the brain it would then carry that information through the body as it travelled before being used and expelled in a jutsu or technique losing the knowledge as it did so.

All of which was lost on Naruto, all that he understood was it allowed the user to be able to do some of the things the other person did, while he had a chance to pick up a scar or symbol from the person. It also would allow him to learn things from the person the technique was used on.

It was quite some time before Naruto would use the jutsu himself as Kuma had forbidden Naruto from using the jutsu before the Hokage found some way to read the scroll and determine how safe it would be for Naruto to use. When he was told this he had immediately regretted mentioning the warning that came with the jutsu, in big red kanji.

It read; Users of this jutsu have mentioned having to combat the reflection of the opponent that they used the technique on, more often than not falling into a comatose like state, or trance, until both half's, the user and target, united as one. Some users have been known to lose to the target and perished from the imbalance between the physical and spiritual differences between themselves.

It was after eight months of training when he first used the jutsu, during the years that Naruto trained with Kuma they had developed a special bond between themselves. Not a bond between Teacher and student, it was more of a bond of friendship and comradery, although there was a clear difference between the two in terms of who was in charge, there was the bond of friendship that let them feel as if they could talk about anything and everything. Though they were not alone in this bond.

Unfortunately there was a day when Naruto was training in a nearby training field when he had pushed himself too far and collapsed. It wouldn't have been an issue other than the fact that the day he passed out was October 9th, making the day he was walking back through the village exhausted October 10th, his birthday, and the day of the Kyuubi Festival, the day celebrating the defeat of the Kyuubi by the fourth Hokage. Or as it was known to Naruto, the worst day of the year.

It was the worst day of the year for him because it was the day that the older members of the village, both shinobi and civilian alike, would hunt him down to enact their revenge against him because they believed he was the Kyuubi or as they called him 'the demon child'.

During the first few minutes of walking through the village everything was somewhat normal, or as normal as things could be for him, there were still plenty of people shooting him dirty looks or whispering about him. The one thing that hurt the most was seeing parents put themselves between their children and him, as if he would harm them by walking by.

It was painful for him to see the looks on their faces.

As he walked through the village and was nearing his home he was starting to fidget with his jacket, it was a nervous habit for him to fidget with something when he became nervous but it helped none the less.

"There he is!"

"Get him!"

Came the shouts of several people agreeing with them set Naruto off, he sped through the village, this was not like his normal chases with the Anbu, and he had come to enjoy them and was somewhat silently encouraged by the Hokage to do so. This type of chase was one that Naruto never enjoyed.

The worst that the Anbu would do to Naruto, or had ever done, was hang him upside down from the Hokage monument and instruct him to get out of it himself and clean up his mess when he had painted it last. This chase, should he not get away, would mean that he'd be beaten, stabbed, cut, and more. Each year brining him closer to death. He swore he'd seen the Shinigami himself last year.

After a half hour of running Naruto made a wrong turn.

He flew around a corner and slammed into, the closest that he could describe it at the time of heightened senses and adrenalin pumping through his system, two soft pillows restrained by mesh smelling heavily of reptiles, sake and dango.

"Oi!" A female voice exclaimed.

She was quick enough to catch a look of fright coming from a blonde haired kid then realized that he wasn't actually looking at her but at the mob of civilians that were chasing after the young kid.

She made a split second decision and Shunshin'd after the young blonde and hid themselves on the roof of a nearby apartment building.

Without hesitation she threw the kid on the ground.

"What the hell was that all about?" She growled at him.

Naruto's first reaction to being thrown was to recover on his feet as he had been learning to do during his training. So as his back hit the ground he shifted his weight so that he'd be able to fight back if he needed.

"I don't have anything to say to you, or anyone else." Naruto retorted.

He started to move, but was caught off guard by the purple haired shinobi that was in front of him when she backhanded him. The force of the blow sent Naruto through the air enough that he was able to get is feet under him and put himself into somewhat of a defensive stance. He was crouched low ready to move to the side or back away from the attacks.

He watched as she slipped into her own offensive stance her hands extended but loose, ready to strike.

'Like a snake' Naruto mused.

He tensed his muscles, he wouldn't be able to take too much damage, nor would he be able to deal much either, he hadn't been taught an actual Taijutsu form. It wasn't because Kuma didn't know any styles, but the only styles that he did know weren't suitable for Naruto, although the Anbu assassination style were the closest to a perfect style for him.

Naruto's style of stealth, mostly developed from necessity, was effective. He was known around the village, mostly by the ANBU and Jonin, as the Shadow Prankster. It wasn't the best of nicknames he could have received but it was fitting, all things considered. Naruto is the only person to successfully sneak into the ANBU HQ and do anything to the ANBU on, and off, duty that were inside and escape without being spotted. It was even more demeaning that he wore a bright orange jumpsuit that screamed to the world 'Look at me' and when he first started pranking the HQ he couldn't even use chakra yet, though he still had a powerful chakra presence. The first time that he pranked them he'd managed to change the colours of their uniforms that were being cleaned, he had dyed them from dark grey to bright neon pink, the only colour that was brighter than his own in comparison. While he had a good laugh at the unfortunate ANBU, the commander applauded Naruto's talents while belittling the seasoned ANBU, and the Hokage just chuckled and told the ANBU they'd need to step up their game and start paying more attention than proceeded to point out what could have happened if Naruto had actually been an enemy shinobi

Naruto kept himself low and ready to move as soon as he could, he was ready to run, although he was still weak from training.

The Female shinobi gave a very dangerous smile and shot forward, aiming her first strike for Naruto's stomach attempting to knock the wind out of him. Naruto used his left hand, as it was the hand he had extended out more from his body to block the strike while using his other hand to counter with a blow to the sternum, trying to go for shock over damage.

He was caught off guard by her speed.

She was able to catch Naruto's fist and use the momentum to pull him forward slamming her knee into his jaw and sending him flying back.

Shooting forward Anko slammed her fist into Naruto's gut. This time Naruto was sent clear off the roof and into the alley behind the building that they were fighting on.

'Hope I didn't kill the Gaki' thought as she leapt into the alley looking for her prey.

She had thought that she would find him unable to move from pain or loos of consciousness, but what she found was much better. The blonde fool had landed head first in a dumpster and had both feet exposed while the rest of him was trapped within the small confines of the container. She had to work hard to supress her laughter as she approached the trapped blond.

Tap. Tap.

"Hello?" Naruto answered "Someone there? Can I get a little help please?"

"Hmmm? Why should I help you Gaki? You ruined my Dango."

"It's not my fault!" He shouted, clearly annoyed.

"Oh? So whose fault is it then?" She replied "It's not my fault for walking out of the store and heading back to my training grounds, it's not the fault of the owner of the stand for selling me the Dango, so that leaves you."

Naruto growled, which caught Anko slightly off guard. "It's those stupid villagers, I just woke up a while ago, after wearing myself out yesterday, and was on my way home so I could get something to eat when they started chasing me. It's not my fault that I was attacked for no damn good reason. Not like I asked to be born the same day as this festival. If you want to kill anyone for ruining your Dango go and kill all those fuckers, I won't stop you."

All of Anko's danger senses that she'd honed during her training, started going off as she put the pieces together. Angry villagers, attacking for no reason, the festival, the date, blonde, orange jumpsuit, no care about the lives of others.

She was speaking to the Kyuubi brat, who had been running from villagers that attacked him every year, his apathetic attitude towards the death of civilians, all summed up one thing to her. If things continued as they were he would be just like her sensei.

Orochimaru.

Even thinking about his name left a bad taste in her mouth.

He was powerful, there weren't many people that were able to fight against him. Put that together with his pension for killing made for a very dangerous enemy.

Naruto would be exactly like him if things continued. Powerful and caring less and less about the lives that he took.

And so…she came to a decision.

Gripping the blonde's ankle she lifted him out of the trash.

"Gaki, you remind me of a man that I hate, a man that I am planning to kill for everything that he has done to me and to this village. From the way you just told me that you could care less about the lives of the villagers and wouldn't stop me if I went and killed them reminded me of him."

Naruto was starting to worry about his safety.

"So, knowing that I can't talk you out of your way of thinking, I will beat the snot out of you until I'm satisfied that you're not going to kill them and you stop thinking the same way that he did.

Kid you got yourself a Sensei, if you want one or not." She smirked.

Naruto looked at the insane women that was holding him and said nothing for a moment then replied.

"Can I go back in the trash instead?"

Anko Mitarashi, Tokubetsu Jonin specialising in stealth, assassination, poison and tracking, 19 years old and single. After enjoying a morning talking with her closest friends Hana Inazuka, Kurenai Yuhi and Yugao Uzuki was walking through the village heading to her home and personal training ground, the Forest of death, when she was slammed into by a blonde haired blur.

Wanting vengeance for her Dango she grabbed the blonde and vanished onto a nearby roof, handed the kid his ass, completely trashed him, literally. Then asked to be put back in the trash can that she had gracefully lifted him out of when she offered to train him.

In short, she frowned then dragged him to his apartment so he could take a shower, then while he was in the shower went through his things and learnt more about the kid. She had finished as he exited the shower and met Kuma who had come to deliver Naruto some food, because otherwise all he would live on otherwise was instant Ramen, it had taken nearly a whole month to break him of that she was told.

After explaining what had happened to Kuma Naruto was hoping that he'd get some sympathy from his sensei while Anko knew that it wouldn't happen. Surprising them both Kuma scolded the pair for 'acting like spoiled children who were no better than brats fighting over a broken toy and needed to grow up'.

Kuma had told Naruto that they would be taking Anko up of her offer to teach him, while they wouldn't be focussing on anything other than physical training until he was able to perform the academy jutsu properly and they found him a proper Taijutsu style.

So with Kuma's final statement on the topic, and neither of them wanting to speak against the seasoned ANBU, Naruto didn't say anything against him because he was in charge of his training and was more than happy to make him suffer. Anko said nothing because she knew that Kuma was her superior, there were a few rumours floating around about him.

Kuma was a squad leader himself, special infiltration, information and espionage division. He led a few high ranking missions, even for Anbu units.

It was the lack of conclusive answers that had her questioning her abilities when placed against him, no matter how good he was at teaching the new recruits he was still one of the most dangerous members of Anbu. There was one rumour that had her nervous above all the others.

It was rumoured that Anbu Commander Dragon, whom had mysteriously appeared one day, as was scuttlebutt, was thinking about selecting him as the new commander which had made him think about resigning and stepping back into the light as an instructor at the academy.

The next week had Anko and Naruto training in the simple basics of infiltration, which simply meant that they hijacked an Anbu training course, although they didn't know it they were granted permission to use the course. Either that or Anko just didn't care enough to mention it to Naruto.

"Alright Gaki, since we're stuck together and I can't teach you my Taijutsu style or anything fun until your older we will be working on the basics of basics Anko-style." She grinned madly.

Naruto had a look of confusion on his face as he took two steps back.

"And what is Anko-style, exactly?" He asked.

"I'm glad you asked Gaki." Anko smiled, it was a cold smile that promised nothing but pain and misery, although Naruto had yet to learn the difference. "You will be making your way through the course while I, at certain points, will call you out on your mistakes. As you make your way through the course you must find the different flags that I have had put up throughout some of the buildings. Don't worry there is a small map at each flag showing where the flags are, I only did so because this is the first time that you've been here and I have to be nice." She pouted. She really wanted to make him search each and every building and make him suffer. It was the Anko-style of teaching after all.

"That doesn't sound so bad." Naruto stated. He simply had yet to learn, that poor misguided blonde.

"Alright this is how it works, first you start at the gate here." She pointed to the line on the ground "I will be waiting somewhere nearby watching and waiting for you to make a mistake, and when you do you will know when you do~"

Anko sang the final word as she started walking away only to vanish a few meters away. Naruto, having seen Kuma do it before knew that it was the Shunshin and wanted nothing more than to learn how to do it. He wanted to learn how to do it like Shisui did, without using hand seals at all. Just there one moment and gone the next. Just like a truly powerful shinobi.

A minute passed after Anko vanished before Naruto took off through the course, keeping to the shadows as he did. Using all the skill that he had developed over the years Naruto's feet made only the lightest of sounds. As he approached the first building he immediately decided that he would avoid going in through the front door, this was about stealth and infiltration, even though it had more to do with pranks but it was a universal skill that could be applied to his shinobi training.

Naruto skulked along the exterior of the building, keeping himself hidden as best he could, he found a window that had been broken, there were still shards of glass in the window frame that he needed to remove so that he'd be able to make his way inside. Without a second thought he pulled off his jacket and his shirt, only putting his jacket back on and wrapping his shirt around his hand so the glass couldn't cut him.

He gripped the largest piece of glass and gave it a small pull back and forth, checking to see how loose it was. He was happy that it was indeed loose enough for him to take out. Removing several long shards of glass from the bottom and side of the frame he was happy enough with the size that he was able to wiggle through the gap without cutting himself, wrapping the shirt around his waist as best he could without wasting too much time Naruto quickly looked around the room, trying to take note of anything that he would be able to use or collect, he was always on the lookout for useful things that he could use or sell.

Seeing nothing of note he made his way to the door and peeked out into the hallway beyond. Shattered glass, broken light fixtures and broken furniture littered the hall. His eyes took a few seconds to focus in the new level of light but as he made his way through he focused more on his hearing and smell than his sight, unknowingly channelling chakra into his senses making them sharper than they normally were.

Now using heightened senses Naruto heard someone walking around several floors above him but couldn't hear any other movement. Feeling more confident Naruto picked up the speed and made his way through the hall faster, still being careful about the broken glass along the floor. He knew that he was being tested on his infiltration ability and had to keep the noise down as he moved through the building, just as he did when he broke into the various stores around town to revenge prank the owners once he realized that they were overcharging him when he went and brought things, when they weren't throwing him out on the street instead. While wearing the bright orange jumpsuit helped people to stick out, like a sore thumb, helped him to be seen, it also helped him develop his skill in stealth.

He made his way up the stairs, keeping to the side of the stairs, close to the wall so there would be less of a chance the stars would make any noise.

As he got to the top of the stairs Naruto looked around, searching for any sign that someone was there, the noises that he had heard stopped several moments ago as he was making his way up the stairs and he wouldn't doubt that the purple haired, and more than likely mentally disturbed Kunoichi had a method of keeping her footsteps quiet, she had said that she was an infiltration specialist after all, who knows what skills and abilities she keeps hidden only to use them during her mission when the only people that could find out are the ones that she's aiming to kill.

As soon as his foot touched the plateau of the stairs Naruto received a solid backhand across the face the sent him crashing along the floor and back down the stairs.

Once he had slammed into the wall at the end of the stairs and looked up Naruto saw the Purple haired Kunoichi that he was just thinking about.

"What was that for?"

Anko smiled her usual smile "You made a mistake, I told you you'd know when you made a mistake and now you know." She said as she walked down the stairs.

"And what was my mistake?"

"'S" Anko corrected. "Mistakes, plural. As in more than one."

Pulling himself up Naruto rolled his shoulder, as he landed strangely on it. "And what were my mistakes Anko-sensei" Naruto replied sarcastically.

"The first mistake you made was before you entered the building, you didn't check the surroundings or ask about any Intel on the building, that's basic for an infiltration. Know the location, target and surrounding area first. Next, the way you entered. You left the shards of glass on the floor, though I should give you points on using your shirt and keeping your jacket on in case you needed to use the shirt again, that was pretty smart.

"You also entered a building without the supplies that you needed for the mission you were assigned, granted you can't always know what you will need but there are basic supplies that you should always keep on you when breaking into a building. Though I could tell you were looking for useful items as you went which while completely pointless and time consuming considering the location, is a pretty good habit to get into while doing an infiltration.

"I also have to comment on the way you made it up the stairs, keeping close to the walls will keep you hidden, while also being the strongest point on the stairs since that's where the strongest part of the stair is. But this brings us to the biggest mistake you made."

Naruto looked at her, clearly confused at what he was being told. "You didn't tell me anything about the building, I'm use to breaking into places alone, not as a mission so that falls on you as the instructor. Next, what supplies would I need, you didn't tell me what we were doing and no one would sell shinobi tools to me, I'm still in the academy. What was my biggest mistake anyway?"

Anko grinned and ruffled his hair.

"You didn't consider that I would be walking around or waiting for you at the stairs, it's the clearest and fastest route for anyone to use and it's also one of the best for traps. You actually did pretty well for a Gaki, you were quick, focussed on your goal, kept to the shadows, and you were actually pretty quiet making your way through the halls even though there was glass covering the floor. So all in all you have a solid grasp of the basics but you need some firm instruction and training to complete your understanding of the basics

"All in all you're pretty good and would be considered a stealth expert amongst your graduating class." Anko said as she guided Naruto out of the building, the test of his skills over.

As they walked Anko spoke more about the mistakes that Naruto made, though she did tell him how to correct them as she went, though saying more than once it was something that was better shown than explained but it would come later.

As they made their way Anko had fallen back into pace with her usual routes through the village, completely entranced in the conversation that she was having about her specialty that she hadn't realized that she was about to enter her usual training ground/home away from home, Training ground 44, The forest of death. Naruto thought they would be training inside, and didn't know anything about the training ground to make a judgement or call Anko out on where they were going. Anko herself didn't realize until it was too late.

Anko froze mid-step and spun around, a kunai in her hand poised, ready to defend or attack. Naruto looked around, having no weapon he kept as close as possible to Anko. They were back to back looking around. There was something watching the pair. Something that had kept itself hidden until the duo were in the perfect position. Whatever was watching them was close enough to be sensed but not close enough to be seen, it annoyed and impressed Anko, she knew almost everything that lived inside her forest, from the large spiders that lived in the southern end away from the village in the burrow/nest that they made for themselves, to the blood leaches that bordered the 2 kilometre line away from the gates all the way to the large carnivorous plants that would appear wherever they could get good prey. She was used to being hunted inside the forest from a variety of creatures, she was part of the eco-system here, the creatures hunted her, she killed them, then the weaker creatures eat what she leaves behind and then get strong enough to hunt her and the cycle starts again, but she had never felt the sensation that she was feeling right now inside the forest, which could only mean one thing. This was something new, a new predator had entered the forest. A predator that she didn't know about and, even worse, didn't know if she would be able to kill it before it wounded her enough to make her prey.

It was the rule of the wild, if you're strong then you are the predator, if you're weak then you are prey.

Anko was anything but weak, she knew it, the creatures in the forest knew it, but most importantly she would teach this new predator she WAS AND SHALL FOREVER REMAIN THE APEX PREDATOR OF THIS FOREST.

"C'mon you fucking cunt!" She roared "Show yourself to Anko-sama!"

Anko pulled out another Kunai so she was now dual wielding, Naruto on the other hand had nothing, he hadn't been given any weapon from Anko to help in this fight, he had no weapon in his pouch, the only things that he did have were pranking items and they were no good in a fight, especially because he hadn't had a chance to get his hands on more smoke pellets.

"Anko." Naruto got the kunoichi's attention "What are we fighting against?"

"No idea. Listen, on my left side, under the coat, is my pouch. If you can, without taking your eyes off the surrounding area, get out a kunai and be ready."

Without a verbal answer Naruto reached behind him, looking for the pouch.

"Kid, I like how forward you are, but now's not the time to be touching my ass." Anko scolded with a slight laugh.

Naruto blushed heavily but moved his hand to the right, her left, looking for the pouch. It took a moment but he found it under the coat a second later he had a kunai in his hand and was ready to…to…put up a fight before praying to kami that Anko would be able to save him. He may have been training for the last eight months but most of that time Kuma had been teaching him the basics, reading, writing, maths, getting him on a stable and proper diet. Attempting to get him past all the damage that the lack of proper care had caused. He had been dangerously malnourished, only having the bare necessities to live, he was short for his age because of it. It was only in the last few months that they had started doing any real shinobi training after they had worked through everything that had been taught in the academy since he had first attended.

Even though they had recently started the most part had been physical conditioning and Shurikenjutsu, and while he had taken well to the physical conditioning he wasn't very good at using kunai or shuriken at the moment, and as it had turned out never was since the academy had been giving him the worst tools that they could.

But that didn't mean he didn't learn how to use the kunai for its purpose. It was a blade, it cut stuff. That was something Naruto could do.

After a few minutes of tension passed there was a sound. The sound of a twig snapping. Anko and Naruto both looked to their left and right, respectively. What they saw worried them deeply.

Standing on the small incline above them was a white wolf, easily as big as the Inazuka ninja hounds, covered in age old scars and radiating an aura of power and control.

"Alpha Dire wolf." Anko breathed both in awe and concern.

Dire wolfs were an issue through the realm of summons and shinobi alike, some believed that they were once summons themselves but after an unknown event they had been forced to hunt throughout the world to survive since they wouldn't be able to survive in their own summon realm. The dire wolves were known as Apex predators amongst Apex predators, they were cunning, deadly, efficient, and powerful. They were large game hunters by nature, hunting and killing horses, bison, bulls and larger animals that had plenty of meat. Their claws were strong enough to tear through most shinobi wear, even shinobi armour that was typical of the era of waring states. They had fangs that were strong enough to break bones with a single bite. Not to mention how fast they were able to move through various terrain seamlessly and without issue, moving from wide open planes, to scorching heat of the desert, unstable terrain of mountains and ancient forests filled with unexplored dangers.

The fact that they were in the forest meant that their last feeding ground was empty and they were looking for somewhere new. If they stayed in the forest then Anko wouldn't be able to stay, they wouldn't be able to send any shinobi into the forest, bar the kage and Sannin themselves as they were the only ones that would be strong enough to kill them, which was the only way to get rid of the wolves as they would remain as long as they could when they found a proper feeding ground.

"Gaki, if you get an opening you need to run and tell the Hokage about the wolves." Anko whispered.

"Why? What's so special about these wolves, just use a jutsu and scare them off or something." Naruto replied.

Anko rolled her eyes "What has Kuma been teaching you? These are dire wolves." She told him "They aren't going to leave because I use a jutsu or something, they hunt large animals, horses, bison, bulls and even ninja. A single one of them is stronger than an Inazuka and their ninja hounds on their best day."

"If they're that strong then how am I going to get away, even if they gave me an opening they would be able to chase me down, their still faster than I am even when I'm pushing chakra into my legs." Naruto rebutted.

Anko clicked her tongue.

"We're gonna have to fight as best as we can and hope for the best." Anko stated. "If worse comes to worse gaki…fuck I hate this sentimental crap, if we bite it then I want ya to know, I was really looking forward to training you."

Naruto froze, this time not because of fright but because of pure shock and joy. Though he trained with Kuma it had seemed that he'd only been doing so because he felt sorry for him, sure he enjoyed the lessons but it was something that hung around the back of his mind. Even the few times that he'd bumped into Shisui and Itachi and been playing around or training with them he felt the same way, but Anko, as it seemed, had thought there was something about him that was worth training, or at least some kind of development that she was hoping to see him make. A sense of tranquillity came over him and the fear that he was feeling washed away.

Naruto took a deep breath with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes after he slowly exhaled. "Anko, were gonna kick some wolf ass, then you're gonna teach me everything that you know and I will become the best shinobi this village has ever seen."

Naruto flipped the kunai into a reverse grip and lowered himself so he would be able to move quickly to avoid any attacks.

Anko chuckled "Gaki, you better not die on me. I wanna look back on today and know that this was the day you agreed to let me torture you till you die."

"That's only if you get to survive as well Anko." He replied calmly.

It was at that moment two of the wolves rushed the pair, one from either side.

"Gaki, target your left."

Naruto looked to his left and saw out of the corner of his eye that Anko had her back to the wolf he was looking at. Making a foolish decision he charged the wolf and threw himself into a sliding charge, once the wolf was close enough Naruto swung the kunai slicing through the side of the wolfs snarling jaw and through the side of its neck, slicing through a major artery as he did. Coming out of the slide Naruto spun himself around and swung his kunai high, impacting his left hand and using the combined power of both hands slammed his blade down, right in the wolfs neck.

The wold suddenly went slack and Naruto stumbled forward and fell on his ass.

Seeing this two more wolves charged.

"Sen'ei Jashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)" Anko shouted as she swung a fist forward, sending a barrage of snakes flying through the air the snakes took down one of the wolves bitting its face and neck, the other wolf was lucky and was only bitten once on the side so was still coming after Naruto.

Naruto attempted to move out of the way but wasn't fast enough.

The wolf was able to capture Naruto's leg with its jaws, snapping through the bone.

The sudden pain from the attack and the fact it was so powerful caused Naruto to drop the kunai he held as he roared in pain.

Anko was distracted by the sound that Naruto was making as the wolf was shaking his leg in its jaws, causing more damage, that she herself was nearly wounded by the wolf she was facing against.

Naruto bit back the pain and did the best that he could, punching and kicking the snout and neck of the wolf that was holding him. After a well-placed kick to the eye, the wolf let go of Naruto.

Scrambling back Naruto looked for any kind of weapon that he could use. He wanted to call out to Anko but a single glance in her direction showed him that she had her hands full with three other wolfs, while the Alpha wolf was still standing above on the incline taking in everything. Adrenaline pumping through his body Naruto pushed himself to his feet and attacked the wolf that had been chomping down on his leg. With a barrage of punches, kicks and elbows Naruto was able to drive back that single wolf long enough to find the kunai that was stuck on the ground.

His focus now completely on the kunai Naruto lunged for it, needing it more than he did common sense or air. His fingers wrapping around the handle of the blade Naruto turned just in time to catch the leaping wolf in his arms and being forced to the ground with his left arm stuck under the beasts leg Naruto used what little room he had to jam the Kunai into the soft underbelly of the wolf.

The warm blood poured over Naruto's hand as he could feel the wolfs heartbeat slow to a crawl. He could feel the life leaving it, even as it attempted to kill him while he was under him Naruto could barely move to avoid being bitten by the wolf. Within a few seconds he could feel the heartbeat slowing to a crawl, suddenly the full weight of the wolf slammed into Naruto.

He was stuck, he could hear Anko fighting for her life and he was stuck under a wolf with its blood pouring all over his clothing and there was little he could do about it. He knew that he needed to do something, he needed to get out from the wolf and let someone, anyone, know about the wolves so they would be able to help Anko. He needed to help Anko, there was no one else around that would, if there was anyone else they would be there helping him and Anko fight, but there weren't, so that only left him.

Several minutes of lifting and wiggling on his part and Naruto was free from the wolfs carcase. Looking up he saw that Anko had killed one of the wolves that she was fighting and was now fighting against only two wolfs. But he also saw that the White alpha wolf had moved from his perch and was now stalking Anko as she fought, looking for a weakness that it could use to take her down.

Rage bubbled up from within him.

After years of bottling up his feelings about the hatred of the village Naruto was not going to let anyone that cared enough about him to die right in front of him. Even through Anko and he hadn't known each other very long she was the first person that he truly felt wanted him around for a proper reason. That wasn't to say that no one wanted Naruto around, he knew that Hokage-Jiji wanted him, and loved him like his own grandson, he knew that Ayame and Teuchi liked having him around, even though they were running a business, and he had Kuma teaching him…and he saw Shisui and Itachi…and…an…d…

The fact that he couldn't picture anyone else pushed Naruto even harder, the rage and hatred that he had pushed away for so long he now utilized. Not to attack someone but to defend and protect, this was righteous fury that he was using, and he would use it as best he could.

Acting on pure instinct Naruto started forming hand seals. He wasn't even aware that he was doing so, all his focus was on the white alpha that was about to attack Anko.

Naruto completed the hand seals, ending in Dragon as he'd been told about the hand seals and what they were named by Kuma, so he'd understand what the hand seals did in regards to channelling chakra.

Pulling his hands apart flames burst to life, engulfing his hands. Black flames on his right hand and white flames on his left.

Without thought Naruto shot forward with stunning speed, if Anko had been able to see his speed she would have only seen a blur, as if someone had used Shunshin without smoke or seals. He just vanished from one point and appeared in front of the Alpha, without hesitation Naruto slammed his hands on the wolf, black flaming right hand on its head and white flaming left on its chest.

"Ten to chi no douka (Assimilation of heaven and earth)" he proclaimed.

Black flames engulfed the Alphas head while the white flames engulfed the rest of its body.

After the flames died out…Naruto knew no more.