Kumogakure Ninja

Posted: 13-09-09

Updated: 28-06-11

Author's Notes

Hello there and thank you for checking my story out. Kumo Nin is my attempt at a 'what if' plot with a Kumo!Naruto who rises through the ranks of the shinobi world, in new settings with new characters and people and new arcs. Since its original posting, Kumo Nin has gone changes in order to improve the content of each chapter.

A forewarning, when I began writing Kumo Nin I never imagined I would get this invested and as a result, I pretty much skimmed through earlier chapters, leaving out many key differences between canon Naruto and this Naruto. In the rewritten chapters of Kumo Nin, I have tried to mend this problem to the best of my ability but I'll probably come back to all the chapters one day to rewrite them.

Reviews make me happy, so please help me out and tell me what you think. I will always respond to a review, no matter how many chapters behind, if you have a question, I will answer.

Now then, that's a long enough author's note.

Enjoy!

CH1: A Perhaps Fated Encounter

(Konohagakure no Sato)

Konoha's residentjinchūriki walked down the road to his home, hands stuffed in his pockets and a frown on his face. He had just been to the playground and gotten yelled at by adults for trying to play with a lonely pink-haired girl who usually got bullied. He vented his frustration by kicking an empty can aside as continued his way home. Naruto sighed tiredly as he neared his apartment building. 'Ah well, tomorrow's another day. Maybe I'll find a friend tomorrow...'

As his door came in sight, Naruto felt that something was wrong, the door was slightly ajar. Running up the last few steps and tripping in the process, he got to his door and opened it… to find his residence completely trashed.

The villagers had broken in again.

'Damn it!' Naruto inspected the damage done as he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, seething with anger. 'Why can't they just leave me alone? It's always me they decide to bully at the academy, it's always me the teachers blame, and it's always my fault when something bad is going on!'

Why me?

The question was something he often pondered on. Why was he always the one to get abused in the orphanage, school, and by every adult in the village? Though Naruto appeared to be stupid to the majority of people that 'knew' him, he wasn't anything but. There had to be a reason why he was picked on, why he was the village pariah. The boy had racked his brains many times to figure out what it was he had done wrong but soon enough he realized: whatever he was being blamed for, it wasn't his fault. It had to be someone else's and the only people coming to mind were his parents.

If his parents were to blame, then why did the Hokage tell him they were great people? It didn't add up.

Naruto looked around his demolished apartment. The couch was ripped open, the kitchen was full with glass shards and spoiled food and his bedroom was in the same horrible state as the rest. Graffiti adorned the walls, spelling out hurtful things.

Naruto fell to his knees; he couldn't do this any longer. Not anymore.

"I- I can't stay here any longer…" Naruto said out loud as though struck with an epiphany. "Forget the villagers, all of them!"

Naruto stood up, determined to follow through with his next course of action, and opened the closet; took out a backpack and began to gather his things.

Ten minutes later he was done.

He packed the bag to the brim with essentials and a few things dear to him, like the ramen bowl he got from his Teuchi and Ayame, the amiable ramen bar vendors.

"I'm sorry, Jiji, but I can't stay here any longer- I won't stay here any longer. This village can go to hell. I'm done with taking all of this!"

Naruto spotted his reflection in broken shards of glass and frowned: his clothes were too bright, meaning he would be easier to spot. Quickly he took of his beige shorts and green shirt, packed them and put on his only pair of black pants and sweater.

The boy reached for his pair of goggles and froze. It felt weird taking the birthday gift with him, he had gotten them only a few weeks ago. No, they would remain in his apartment and serve as an item for the Third to remember him by.

"Time to go, Naruto," he resolved, strapping on his kunai and shuriken pouches given to him by the academy as he made his way to the door.

-ooo-

(Outskirts of Konoha)

Naruto panted heavily, reiterating curses under his breath as he finally made a stop, just a mile or so out of Konoha. He felt a maelstrom of feelings going through him: anxiety, sadness and euphoria all at the same time. He could barely believe he got out of Konoha without being spotted.

'I'm free! I actually did it!'

A ruffled sound startled him out of laughter and into silence… he could've sworn he heard something.

Deciding he should better get a move on, the blond grabbed his bag from the ground and began to run north.

…

Two hours passed and Naruto fell to his knees, exhausted. Panting heavily he opened his bag and took out his water canteen and some food he packed up prior to leaving. He ate quickly and was about to roll out sheets and go to sleep when he heard something. Fear gripped him as he heard a voice, a deep voice that seemed unusually cheerful. Naruto drew to kunai from his pouches and crouched as he surreptitiously made his way to the source.

He saw light, it was dim but there. Warmth crawled over his skin and between the bushes he saw a black man making weird sounds and writing something down sitting on a fallen tree with a fire before him. He was cooking up some fish. He took the time to looks closer at the huge man; he was black, muscular with white-blond hair and moustache, several tattoos on his arms and was dressed in shinobi garb. Most noticeably, he had an odd, one-shoulder-strap flak jacket and the headband fastened to his forehead bore clouds...

'A Kumo ninja!' Naruto's mind shouted. 'I better get out of here before-'

"Yo, kiddo, want to come out?"

Naruto yelped and turned to make a run for it, but he was blocked by the imposing figure. Naruto cursed, closing his eyes, expecting some kind of physical punishment any moment...

"Open yo' eyes and be surprised."

He opened his eyes to see the man smiling and offering a fish on a stick. Naruto slowly took it and followed him to the campsite. Naruto sat down on the ground and nibbled at his fish, still a little hungry.

"The name's Kirabi by the way, now tell me, yo', what's your name?"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched. "The name is Uzumaki Naruto," he said after a moment. "What are you doing out here, Kirabi-san? I thought Kumo was neutral with Konoha, aren't you trespassing?"

Kirabi shrugged and threw the mauled fish aside. "The treaty allows us to go on border patrols and missions, ya see?"

The serious tone made Naruto see the man in a different way. 'He isn't as goofy as he makes himself out to be... just like me.'

"So, are you going back to Kumo soon?" Naruto asked between mouths full of fish.

Kirabi nodded, resuming his humming again whilst eating. Naruto emulated him and silently ate his fill, ignoring the question he was burning to ask.

"I'm not out to hurt your Hokage, yo!" Kirabi suddenly shouted. The Kumo shinobi laughed as Naruto jumped.

Naruto cursed loudly at Kirabi, flapping his arms screaming, ''What the hell is your problem?'' only to be further annoyed by Kirabi whose laughter continued. "Besides," the blond said when he regained his bearings, ''It's not like you can take on Jiji! He's the most powerful ninja in Konoha!''

Kirabi's laugh died down into a chuckle before stopping completely. "I wouldn't underestimate me, yo!" Kirabi began to make those weird sounds again, taking out a notepad and a pencil before he began singing… or whatever it was he was doing. "Cause I dance like buttery fly and sting like a bee! I ain't to be underestimated 'cause I am the Killer Bee!"

"Would you stop doing that?" Naruto snapped at him, causing Kirabi to once again roar in laughter as the young blond yelled at him.

Naruto was out of breath and dropped to the ground. "Really, what's your problem?"

"I ain't got a problem, yo!" Kirabi said with a chuckle.

Naruto pulled at his hair in frustration. What the hell was wrong with this guy? He hadn't ever met such an eccentric person before. Then again he hadn't really ever spoken to an adult. Being berated and yelled at didn't really count as a conversation.

"So, what are you doing out in the middle of nowhere, Naruto?" Kirabi asked after a while. "Your parents must be-"

"I don't have any parents," Naruto mumbled. "I ran away from Konoha."

Kirabi gave Naruto a curious look and asked, "Why?"

"Why I'm an orphan?" Naruto said half-jokingly.

"No, why did you run away from home?"

Naruto frowned, his expression contorting in anger, "Because they can all die and go to hell!" he yelled at Kirabi. "Those assholes always pick on me, always hit me and always blame me for everything!"

"Wow, wow! Calm down, kiddo!" Kirabi said, "Why do they hate you, do you know that?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, that's the worst part of it! How am I supposed to say I'm sorry if I don't know what I've done wrong? Jiji won't tell me either, he always tries to distract me with ramen or just mentions how great my parents were…"

Kirabi rubbed his chin, adopting a sagely thinking position and hazarded a guess. ''Maybe it's because you're an idiot?''

''Hey!''

Kirabi ignored the outburst, shaking his head in comical manner, ''No, that can't be it. Hmm... hmm... aha!''

Naruto looked up, ''What, what is it? You think you know why they hate me?''

''It's because,'' Kirabi said slowly, his tone was in a whisper and Naruto almost shook with suspense, ''… you're a midget!''

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT FOR AN LAME ASS REASON TO HATE SOMEONE! BESIDES, I'M SIX YEARS OLD AND QUITE AVERAGE FOR MY AGE!"

…

It was twenty minutes later and Kirabi was still dodging projectiles. As he duly noted the boy's aim was quite good and he took the time to seriously examine the boy. He had a hunch, but for that hunch to prove correct, he would have to anger the boy. No, he would have to really piss the kid off.

''I got it!'' Kirabi said snapping his finger. ''It must've been your parents! They probably were some idiots like you and messed up big time!''

''DON'T INVOLVE MY PARENTS INTO THIS, BASTARD! JIJI SAID THEY WERE GREAT PEOPLE!''

''Really?'' Kirabi said sarcastically, catching a kunai between his index and middle finger. ''Then how come they're dead if they were so great? Hmm, I got it! You were such a disappointment, they killed themselves when you were born! Or they just pretended to be dead so they wouldn't have to have anything to do with their idiotic son!''

''Shut up!'' Naruto said, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. ''Just shut up!''

Kirabi took a mocking pose, waving his hand at him dismissively. ''Oh, come on! Just face it, yo! You're the kid mommy and daddy didn't want! Come on, face it! You're a failure!''

''I said… SHUT UP!''

Kirabi took a defensive stance instantly. ''Just as I thought, he's one of us...'' Naruto's eyes started to switch from blue to red rapidly before they settled on blue slit orbs.

''Come on!'' Kirabi goaded. ''Take out yo anger, son, show me what a worthless brat from Konoha can do!''

In a blink of an eye, the boy was in front of him with his arm cocked back and he slung his fist at him. Kirabi held up his arms having anticipated the blow but the deceptively powerful punch made him buckle slightly. ''Good, show me what you got, Uzumaki Naruto. Show me your gift!'' Kirabi's eyes looked with those of the young blond, which were flaring from blue to red with slits, ''Show me what a monster you can be,'' he said softly.

Naruto's eyes turned into red slit orbs, his whisker marks became more defined and his fangs grew.

''Good, Uzumaki Naruto,'' Kirabi said, ''Don't turn away from it, don't struggle, don't fight it... embrace it.''

Naruto jumped back, landing in a crouched position. The blond jinchūriki growled craving for blood to sooth his anger.

''W- what's ha- happening to me?'' Naruto made a weak sound, tears began streaming down the child's face, ''Is this the reason? Is this why they hate me?''

''Yes.'' That sounded far colder than it should've been. Far colder than any child should have heard, but it was necessary.

The tears stopped, something in the boy snapped and then, Naruto howled, ''No!'' into the night and bubbly chakra began to pour out of him and took the shape of a fox.

The Kumo shinobi looked down upon the boy with pity. 'But this had to be done,' he told himself a dozen times, as the small boy's resistance to his tenant became smaller and smaller and the bijū's effect became even more profound. Within minutes the boy in front of him was no more. The sweet and innocent child was replaced something that resembled a monster.

Kirabi dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding the chakra appendage thrown at him at surprising speed; charged lightning chakra through his right arm into his fist. Kirabi charged at the younger jinchūriki, swiftly ducking under another claw and side stepping the small blasts coming from the boy's mouth.

''Raiken!''

The Lightning Fist slammed in the boy's stomach sent him flying in twirls through a tree and lodged into a boulder, but he quickly got loose and charged the shinobi, his deep wound healing already. Kirabi ducked under a claw swipe, leaned back on his hands, standing on them as he propelled the boy in to the air with two heavy boots in the stomach.

The child landed on all fours and growled menacingly, looking Kirabi in the eyes with nothing but craving for blood, for pain, for misery. The boy grew his second and third tails.

''It's time I finished this,'' Kirabi said out loud, channelling chakra in to his right hand, ''Don't hate me when you wake up, kiddo!''

With a burst of speed Kirabi took Naruto by surprise and held him up by the neck with his left hand, ignoring the singeing of his skin and slammed his fingers into the boy's stomach.

''Gogyō Fūin!'' The skin peeled off his hand as Kirabi executed the jutsu.

A bloodcurdling scream was all that the boy could muster before his eyes rolled back as darkness took him.

Thanks for reading and please leave a review.

Jutsu Used:

(Jutsu: Raiken - Lightning Fist!) - B rank, offensive, short range. A technique passed down from teacher to student in Kumogakure. This technique requires a chakra coating around the hand before expelling lightning chakra on top of it. Its piercing power is quite destructive and it is powerful enough to go through boulders with ease.

(Jutsu: Gogyō Fūin – Five Elements Seal!) - A rank, supplementary, short range. A powerful sealing technique that can only be executed by those with significant knowledge on the human Chakra Pathway System, this jutsu disrupts the channelling and manipulating chakra, making it a very dangerous and possibly fatal technique for shinobi.