Disclaimer: Yes, It's True… I Don't Own Naruto.

AN: I've been thinking about building on this idea I've had for a Naruto story, so I decided to go ahead and try it out. No Prologue for this story… I will be updating my other story The Lost Son, but as for the Memories of a Lifetime… I've kind of hit an indefinite writers block. Hopefully I'll update all my stories soon but, well, they say junior year is the toughest and I think they are right…

Chapter One: Awake

"It will be difficult," Tsunade said as she gazed around her office at the people present. Sakura was watching the Godaime Hokage with a curious stare. Kakashi seemed disinterested but alert. The last person standing in front of the Hokage's desk was radiating pure determination.

"We can do it! We've already taken down some of their members," said the blond ninja.

"I don't think you understand, Naruto. Capturing a member of the Akatsuki will be far more difficult than simply killing them. You will have to track Itachi, then fight to subdue, not kill. And while Itachi may not be fighting to kill you, Naruto, he will have no qualms about killing your teammates."

"Tsunade-sama is right. We ha-"

"I think we can do it," mumbled Sakura to herself, unintentionally interrupting Kakashi.

"What did you say, Sakura?"

"We can do it. I know we can, Hokage-sama. We will run into Akatsuki eventually, especially if they're after the Kyuubi, and we will keep on running into them until the organization is completely wiped out. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we know what we're signing up for when we hunt Itachi, but at least this way there is a strong possibility of us running into Sasuke-kun."

"I agree with Sakura-chan, Granny," Naruto said as he took a step closer to Tsunade's desk.

Tsunade stared at both Naruto and Sakura for a few minutes before she shook her head. 'There both determined to find their wayward teammate. Even if I tell them no they'll probably go anyway, damn the consequences.'

"Well, what do you say, Kakashi? Are you willing to gather a team for this mission?" Tsunade asked with a smirk.

"Yes! Thank you, Granny! Come on Sakura-chan! Let's go get ready. Kakashi-sensei, we'll meet up with you by Ichiraku Ramen in one hour," Naruto said as he started to drag Sakura out of the Hokage's office.

"We'll need to pack for a long term mission. Why did you tell Kakashi-sensei to meet us in an hour? We'll more than likely need more time than that," Sakura mumbled as she let Naruto drag her away.

"Kakashi-sensei is always late. We'll have plenty of time," Naruto responded as they made their way to the door and opened it, intending to go through it.

Before they could get out of the door, Tsunade called them back. "Naruto! Wait a minute," Tsunade said. "Close the door. We still need to figure out who will be in you team."

Naruto pouted a little and shut the door. Kakashi turned to Tsunade with a glimmer of amusement in his visible eye. "I don't think I have much of a choice now do I?"

Tsunade nodded and said, "Who do you want for this mission? Besides Naruto and Sakura."

"We need a team that specializes in tracking. I'm thinking Hinata, Kiba, and Shino, whom I'll lead. Then we'll need Yamato acting as team captain for team seven, along with Sai to complete the team."

"Very well. I will call those you mentioned to my office to brief them on what they will be doing. You will meet at the front gates in three hours to begin your mission," said the Godaime Hokage.

As Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto started to leave, Tsunade suddenly spoke up, "Naruto, hold on. Come here."

"What now, Granny?" Naruto said after the door shut, signaling that Kakashi and Sakura left.

"Don't call me that, you brat!… But seriously, Naruto, I want you to be careful. This is Itachi you are hunting down and going up against. Remember to be cautious and think before you run into battle with any member of the Akatsuki."

"I know. I will be careful, I promise, Granny. And I don't go back on my word! That's my ninja way," Naruto said with a small smile and a serious look in his eyes.

"You better, brat. Now get going, I'm sure you have to get ready," Tsunade said with a small smile of her own.

"See ya later, Granny!" Naruto exclaimed as he turned and ran out the door. Naruto slowed down his pace until he was walking out of the Hokage Tower.

"Naruto."

"Huh?" Naruto said as he looked around for who was calling him.

"Naruto."

"Who's there," Naruto said as he turned in a circle looking for who was talking.

"Naruto!"

Naruto was still unable to identify who was talking to him. No one was even looking at him.

"Naruto! Get Up!"

All of a sudden, Naruto felt wet.

As soon as he poured the glass of water over Naruto's head, Naruto sprung up out of bed. Naruto was spitting out water and looking around before his gaze landed on the person who woke him up. Naruto's dazed gaze turned into a glare.

"Hey! Don't glare at me like that! I tried calling your name but you wouldn't respond, so I had to resort to something I knew would get you up."

"You have ten seconds before I seriously hurt you. If I were you I'd start running," Naruto said as he got up out of bed and shook his hair, flinging water droplets around the room.

"Um, you're not serious are you? I was asked to wake you up," the younger boy said. When he saw that Naruto was starting to slowly walk towards him, the boy spoke again. "You wouldn't hurt your young, innocent brother, would you?"

"Innocent?" Naruto scoffed. "You have five seconds left. Four. Three. Two…"

"MOM!" the boy yelled as he ran out of Naruto's room with Naruto hot on his heels.

"Get back here you little twerp!" Naruto yelled as he chased his brother.

"MOM! NARUTO SAID HE'S GONNA KILL ME!"

"I DID NOT YOU LITTLE LIAR!"

"MOM! NOW HE'S THREATENING ME WITH BODILY HARM!"

"SHE CAN PROBABLY HEAR US YELLING SO SHE KNOWS I SAID NO SUCH THING! NOW GET OVER HERE!"

"MOM! NOW HE-"

Both boys skidded to a stop. The younger one stopped first, causing Naruto to crash into his brother's back, sending both boys to the floor.

"What in the world is going on? Naruto! Kenji! What have I told you both about running and screaming in the house?" asked a woman with long, red hair and bright green eyes.

"Well, technically we were yelling, not screaming. There's a difference," mumbled the younger boy, also know as Kenji.

"You want to repeat that, young man?" asked their mother as she looked down at the two boys on the floor.

"No, not really."

"Good. Now what caused all this ruckus?" she asked.

"I was doing exactly as you asked and I woke Naruto up. But then he must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed because he threatened me, his younger, kind, and innocent brother, once he saw me. I swear to you on my pet Fluffy's grave that I have done no wrong," Kenji said as he looked up at his mother with puppy dog eyes.

"No wrong my a-" Naruto looked up at his mother who was giving him a disapproving stare, just daring him to finish that sentence. "You, Kenji, are far from innocent or kind. And you never even had a pet named Fluffy, or a pet at all for that matter. I was chasing you because you poured water on me."

"Well, you wouldn't wake up when I called your name. What was I supposed to do?"

"Find some other way," Naruto said in a flat voice.

"Like what?" Kenji asked as he cocked his head to the left.

"Oh I don't know. Something practical, like shaking me or yanking the covers. Not soaking me and my bed with water," Naruto said.

"You aren't soaked."

"I dried off as I ran after you. Wind whipping by you tends to do that."

"You weren't running that fast and besides I only used a glass of water. It wasn't that much water. Just the right amount to wake you."

"You don-"

"That's enough boys. Kenji, don't use water to wake up Naruto! And Naruto, don't chase after your brother in the house this early in the morning. You're twelve years old and a newly graduated ninja, act your age. And no comments from you, Kenji, because ten years old is old enough to know how to wake up your brother properly," their mom, Kushina, said. "It's time for breakfast. Get up off the floor and go wash your hands."

As the boys got up and headed towards the kitchen, Kushina followed them saying, "And don't continue this argument at the table."

"We won't," the boys both responded.

Once they were seated at the table, Naruto asked around a spoonful of cereal, "Hey mom?"

"Hm?" Kushina said as she sliced up a banana.

"Where's dad?"

Kushina gave the banana slices to the little girl in the high chair next to her before saying, "He had to go to work early this morning. I think Jiraiya is back in town so both of them are more than likely at the Hokage Tower."

The little girl began to giggle and throw the banana slices on the floor. "No, no, Naomi! Don't throw your food on the ground," Kushina said. She then turned to Naruto to finish what she was saying, "Finish up your breakfast and then you can go find him."

"Hey dad!" Naruto said as he burst into the Fourth Hokage's office. "You said you'd be finalizing the genin teams today, so… who's gonna be on my team? Who's my sensei?"

The Fourth Hokage, who was checking over some documents and talking to Jiraiya, looked up at the sound of the door to his office slamming open and his son's voice.

"You know one of these days when you decide to barge into my office, I'm going to be in an important meeting…" the Fourth Hokage started to say but his son just waved him off.

"Nah, if you were in an important meeting or something, the ANBU stationed outside your door and your secretary would try harder to keep me from coming inside," Naruto said with a cheeky grin.

"Ha! I think he got you there, Minato," Jiraiya said from his seat on the windowsill. Jiraiya then turned and started to leave through the window.

"Where are you going sensei? We're not done talking yet," Minato asks from his position behind his desk.

"I'm off to do some research. We can finish our discussion later," Jiraiya said as he leaped out the window.

"Research? Yeah right! He's just going to go peep on girls in the hot springs," Naruto said as he walked over to stand in front of his father's desk.

"How do you know that Naruto?" Minato asked looking serious. "We've made sure he doesn't, well that is, we are sure that we never mentioned that he's…"

"A pervert?" Naruto added helpfully.

"Yeah, a pervert. And he doesn't visit you that often, so how would you know?" questioned Minato.

"Umm… he… uhhh… has a reputation?" Naruto said while thinking, 'How do I know that? I can't remember… Oh well, I must of heard about it somewhere.'

Minato gave his son a questioning look but then decided to answer the first questions Naruto asked. "Well, yes the genin teams have been finalized, but no I won't tell you who your teammates are or who your sensei is. You'll just have to wait to find out tomorrow like everybody else in your graduating class."

"What? That's no fair!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Actually, it's perfectly fair. What would be unfair is you knowing before your classmates," Minato said as Naruto pouted.

Naruto soon noticed that his father was smiling. "What are you so happy about?"

"You have the same pout that your mother does."

"I am not pouting," Naruto said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Right… and what would you call what your doing right now?"

"I'm sulking with style."

The Yondaime Hokage just laughed.

"You are way late dad. We're heading to bed. Mom already put Naomi to bed three hours ago," Kenji said as Minato stepped though the door.

"Yeah, I even left you alone after we ate at Ichiraku Ramen. That gave you plenty of time to finish up whatever paperwork you had to left to do," Naruto said as he walked out of the bathroom with his toothbrush in his hand. Naruto started brushing his teeth again as Minato began to talk. "There was a Council meeting that dragged on longer than I thought it would. Where's your mother?"

Naruto took the toothbrush back out of his mouth and use it to point up the stairs. "I think she's upstairs in your room or taking a shower," responded Naruto over Kenji's indignant cries of "You guys had Ichiraku Ramen without ME?"

"Ok, you guys head on up to bed. Kenji, you have academy classes in the morning and Naruto, your team assignments are tomorrow," Minato said as he headed towards the stairs.

Naruto walked back into the bathroom and shut the door while Kenji followed his father saying, "Alright, I'll go to bed peacefully if, and only if, you buy me a meal at Ichiraku Ramen tomorrow."

Minato ruffled Kenji hair as he passed by and said, "You should go to bed peacefully every night. But I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen soon, I can't promise you it'll be tomorrow, but it will be sometime soon. Alright?"

"Alright. Night dad!" Kenji said as he walked to his room.

"Good night, Kenji" Minato responded.

A few minutes later Naruto came up the stairs and found his father waiting beside his door.

"Good night, Naruto," Minato said when Naruto got to the door.

"Night dad," Naruto said as he opened the door to his bedroom. Before he went all the way in his room, Naruto turned around. "Hey dad?"

"Yeah?" Minato asked as he stopped walking and turned back down the hall towards his son.

"Is… Is there such a thing as a fox with nine tails?" Naruto questioned.

"A fox with nine… Yes, there is. The demon fox, Kyuubi, but it hasn't been seen since around the time of the founding of Konoha. Why do you ask?"

"It's just, I mean, I've just… well, I don't know. I think I had a dream, or a nightmare, about something to do with it or another random fox with nine tails. I can't really remember it clearly, but it doesn't really matter. I was just curious," Naruto said.

"If you're sure… Is that all you wanted to ask?"

"Yep. Good night, dad," Naruto said as he turned back around and entered his room.

"Good night, Naruto," Minato said just before the door to Naruto's bedroom shut.

AN: Well… what'd ya think? I'm going to try to explain any unclear details in the next few chapters and just to tell you, Naruto in the dream is around 15 while the Naruto who's not in the dream is 12. You'll find how they connect later. Also, I'm sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes I've made, but it's around one in the morning right now so… that's the reason why I've missed any mistakes when I proof read this.