Hello there! My piece about this work is at the end of the first chapter, so read about what I have to say there after you've read the chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto. If I did, Kabuto would get a bigger part.

Thoughts

Jinchuuriki: 'Demon vessel'
hitai-ate: 'Forehead protector'

Chapter 1: A Silver-Haired Devil

"N-no...stay away!" A blonde boy was running down a back ally of Konoha. He was bleeding, tired, scared, and confused. It was like this every year, on the anniversary of the day the Fourth killed the Nine Tails the villagers would get especially hateful of him. He thought that after a year at the Ninja Academy things would be different, he thought that the people would start to hate him less if he became a Shinobi...he was wrong. It was like every year, only now when he had dared to show his face, a mob had formed around the frightened seven-year-old. They had chased him for several blocks already before cornering him. He had seen several Chuunin ninja's, but they had done nothing to help him.

As the mob closed in, they started to yell vicious curses at him, things like: "You killed the Fourth, you demon!" "How dare you show your face on this day!" "The Third should have killed you already, we've got to do it before he kills us all!" The boy was scared of their anger, he had never seen it like this before. When one man ran out of the crowd, Naruto cringed. The kick had caught him in the chest and sent him flying into the back wall of the ally. It was harder to breath now and blood was dripping from is lips, he tried to move, but a sharp pain in his ribs kept him down. He could only look on in horror as the mob started to move on him, emboldened by their 'leaders' actions...

"Well, another year, another exam." Said a silver-haired teenager as he walked the streets of Konoha. It had been less than two weeks since he failed another Chuunin exam, and it was getting harder to get team mates to take it with him. 'It's this village, they are all cowards...I hope my information is being helpful to 'him'...'

He heard a loud crash and whipped around, old ninja habits kicking in. He peered into an ally across the street form him, there was a crowd of people blocking the way so he couldn't see what was going on, but he heard muffled cries coming from in front of the mob. 'Hn, not my problem.'

He started to walk off when he felt a wave of killing intent flush over the area. Not enough to alert any ANBU that weren't already around, but enough to make a talented ninja like Yakushi Kabuto take a step back. The mob seemed to notice it as well and several of them ran off screaming about a 'demon'.

'Oh, so that's it. This is the day the Fourth died to 'kill the demon', they must be taking it out on the Jinchuuriki and now it's biting back. Damn fools, if they really thought the Kyuubi no Kitsune was in control, why would they be so stupid as to attack him in the first place? What else would they expect from a demon other to kill them if it was attacked? Oh well, this could prove useful .' He headed up onto a nearby rooftop to get a good view of the coming carnage.

He fully expected the Jinchuuriki to simply snap and kill them all in a few moments and was going to be sure he didn't miss it. Orochimaru-sama will be pleased to have information on the Kyuubi's vessel, especially in regards to combat ability.

Kabuto winced as he watched the boy take hit after hit from the people who did not run in fear from the initial wave of power. He noted that it had since disappeared completely from his senses. The boy was in bad shape, he had at least two broken ribs, a fractured arm, a broken nose, and his eye was black. What is he doing? He should at least be fighting back even if he can't fully use the demon's chakra. Kabuto's eyes narrowed when he saw one man pull out a knife, he summoned his charka scalpels and leapt down from his rooftop perch, a perfect landing between the young blonde and the mob.

"W-who are you?" The man with the knife said. He saw the Leaf hitai-ate the boy was wearing, no way he wanted to mess with a trained ninja. Kabuto pushed his round glasses further up his face before turning to look at the boy. He was alive, but barely. The blonde's blue eyes met Kabuto's and he saw the confusion and desperation written on the young boys face. He smiled weakly before turning back to the mob.

"I am Yakushi Kabuto, a ninja of this village. I order you to disperse before I have to enlist the aid of the ANBU to solve this...mob violence." His empty threat had the desired effect as he watched the people mutter angrily but move on. Once he was sure they were gone, he looked the boy over.

"Hey, can you still hear me?" He felt the boys' neck for a pulse. It was weak, but it present. He watched in awe as the lighter wounds healed up on the boy, but the larger ones were a problem. 'So, this is also a power of the Jinchuuriki...he could prove very useful...' Kabuto started making hand seals for a healing jutsu. He put his glowing hands on the chest of the blonde to mend the broken rips. After the boys' breathing become more stable, he started on his arm. Several minutes later, the blonde was sitting upright as Kabuto finally fixed the last thing wrong with the boy. Kabuto slumped back on the ground winded. It took a lot out of him to use a healing jutsu on so many injuries. The boy looked away for a few moments before turning sad eyes towards the spy.

"Uh, thanks for helping me." He said in a quiet voice. "I mean, if you hadn't have been here, I would have..." He stopped as Kabuto held up his hand and waved the boys thanks off.

"No need to thank me, it's my job. Now, what were those people doing chasing you like that?" Of course Kabuto knew why they were chasing him, but he wanted the boy to trust him so he could initiate the next part of his plan.

When the blonde became depressed, Kabuto decided it would be best to try and take his mind off of it so he would open up by himself. "Well, after all that running you must be hungry, how about I buy you lunch? Oh, I'm Kabuto by the way." He smirked when the blonde boy jumped at the chance of a free meal.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." The boy replied, "And yeah, let's go get some ramen!." The boy said enthusiastically as he dragged the silver haired Genin after him. 'Ha, this is all to easy.'

The place the boy had wanted to go was too open for what Kabuto had to discuss, so he chose a more private shop with booths. The owners gave Naruto a hard look before the silver haired Genin stepped in and ordered them to take them to a seat; it was good to be a ninja.

"So, Naruto, how are things in school? I remember when I was there and it hadn't been easy." Kabuto asked between slurps of ramen. The boy was putting it away faster than Kabuto could count the bowls and briefly wondered if the boy was using some sort of ramen-eating jutsu.

"Ha, like school is helping me any. Sakura-chan won't even talk to me without calling me names and no one takes me seriously, it's all about Sasuke-teme." Naruto said, scowling.

'Ah, the Uchiha survivor...Orochimaru-sama has been interested about him from the reports I've sent...maybe I can use this little rivalry to my advantage...' "Hmm, so the teachers are ignoring you, then?" Naruto stopped eating and sank in his seat.

"Yeah, just like the people in town. None of them care about me, but this is the first time I've ever been attacked this bad before...and on my birthday too..." He said as he poked his bowl with a pair of chopsticks. Kabuto smiled inwardly, this was going perfectly.

"Oh? Your birthday, eh? Maybe I should get you something..." He pretended to look up at the ceiling as if he was thinking. He noted the expectant, if not jovial, expression on the boys face and decided he'd move in for the kill. "Well...I could tell you that...but no, you wouldn't want to do that." He said as he shook his head. Naruto looked like he was about to jump out of his seat.

"Hey! I'll take it! Whatever it is, I'll take it." Kabuto's eyes twinkled. 'All too easy.'

"Well, I could tell you about a place where you could get actual ninja training without having to bother with teachers who would ignore you. It would require you to leave Konoha though, most likely you'd never see this town again..." Naruto was shocked. Become an actual ninja with teachers that would help? A dream come true!

'But...what about my friends...' He thought back to the few happy moments he had with the other kids in the Academy. The few times he would see Sakura smile at him, or Sasuke laugh at a joke were too scarce and far-between. Most of the time it was 'Naruto-baka, stop messing with Sasuke-kun!' or 'You'll never catch up to me, dobe.' His mind was made up then and there.

"Tell me more..." He said as he leaned across the table to listen to the smiling Kabuto. 'Game, set, and match Konoha. Too bad you didn't use your valuable resource when you had the chance.' The silver haired spy thought as he told an eager Naruto about a certain powerful sannin...

Mwhahahaha, my new epic starts! This is the best idea I have ever had in regards to a fan fiction. I really hope you guys like this start. I won't be neglecting 'Bushido no Jutsu' of course, I'll be writing them together, so don't worry about that. Anyway, please review to tell me what you think about this one, thanks!