Saving The World In Nine Days

Nine Days Before The Kyuubi Attack

"You have to believe me. I know what I am saying sounds a bit crazy at best, and downright sacrilegious at worst, but it's true, every word of it!"

"I may look twelve years old but I am really sixteen. Well, kind of. I just turned sixteen, but that isn't the point! The point is, I was fighting God a couple minutes ago, and I sort of lost." Naruto thought this over, trying to recall the events. "Well, not so much as lost, see, I unsealed a demon inside of my belly, (how it got there is long story) and boom! Everything kind of got set on fire. Do you understand what I mean?" Big flames, inferno, etc, you know?"

Little Naruto tried to explain his past to a sleeping drunk, who was wetting his crouch as piss dripped down the inside of his brown pants. Despite this the blond hero tried to continue his story, knowing full well the man could not possibly be hearing him. If he were, it would be a miracle, the kind that just didn't happen to Uzumaki Naruto.

"Then, when I wake up, I find myself in my twelve year old body. Okay, I can live with that. I have been de-aged, happens all the time in the Shinobi world. Just ask that Puppet master from Suna, or Orichimaru. Trust me, buddy, waking up in a child's body is the least of my problems."

He grimaced, his eyes darting to the floor. "People trying to hunt me down and rip out a part of my soul, along with the beast that shares it- now that's trouble. Anyway, so I died, big deal, I can live with death -or not. Wouldn't be the first time this bull shit happened to me.

A bolt of lightning flashed through the sky.

Naruto shivered. "My life is a piece of work, I'll tell you." Naruto hummed. "In a way I was kind of glad I died, gets rid of the whole fear of dying part; plus, I got to see my dad."

Naruto scratched his chin in thought and sat on the wet street floor. It was raining. That was part of the reason why no one was interrupting him and his conversation with the passed out smelly drunk.

"At least I think it was my dad… To be honest, it could just have been an illusion. He said his name was Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage, but now that I think about it, it's probably just my fantasy talking. I mean, I was pretty angry. A Shinobi God (some crazy mofo called Pein or Nagato) just killed the first girl who said she loves me. I know! Me! Can you believe it?"

Naruto smiled. "Me, Uzumaki Naruto: orphan, looser, and village pariah. Heck, I don't even have any redeeming qualities. I shout, I am loud, I am sort of a jerk, and I spend so much time going after Sasuke that sometimes I question whether or not I am straight. Not that there is anything wrong with being gay, it's just not for me!"

The drunk replied to Naruto with an unconscious fart. Naruto nodded. "I know, I know, I have a lot of problems to work out. I'll take it one step at a time. Anyway, so I died, sure, fine, life goes on. But here is the thing: I don't recall going to heaven or hell. Shouldn't I have at least got to see some of my dead ancestors or something?"

Naruto sighed, his hot breath turned into a small smoke cloud, which was quickly destroyed as rain drops poured in greater numbers.

"Anyway, back to the story. I wake-up, and what do you know? I am back in my old apartment. I think to myself, "Maybe it was all just dream; maybe I never fought Pein; maybe Konoha was never destroyed; maybe I just ate some bad ramen." I get out of bed, pretty much roll out of the mattress, and bust my head on the floor. Then I get up, look around, and you know what I see? I see my legs have shrunk! I screamed, I tell you. I must have woken up the whole neighborhood!" Naruto's face looked angry; he pulled up his orange-black pants, which were several sizes too big for him.

"Needless to say, I thought I was still in a dream, so I ran out of the house screaming my head off that I "shrunk", and the neighbors all looked at me like I was mental, or something, and some even asked if I was alright." Naruto paused. "See, here is when I realized something was wrong. Growing up, not a single person ever asked if I was alright. The fact that someone took the time to see whether I was okay freaked me out."

The drunk sneezed and scratched his butt; he didn't seem to mind that there was a twelve year old pacing in front him. Though, to be fair, he wasn't even aware that there was a rat chewing on his toe, let alone the adult-speaking twelve year old. "I ran, I ran so fast, and never stopped to look back. I tripped on the road a few times because my clothes were several times too big. You have to realize that I was still wearing the same clothes I fought Pein with, my Yakuza style Gi, and orange jumpsuit. I know it's not exactly the best Ninja wear. Sue me."

Naruto stopped pacing and turned around dramatically, rain water splashing in all different directions in the dark alley from his footsteps. "I stopped by the Hokage tower, and believe me when I say I had to stop. There were ANBU stationed EVERYWHERE. I mean in the roof top, on the ground, on the very windows. I have never seen so many ANBU in my life. I can't believe they were just standing there in broad day light. I tried to tell them that the old man was expecting me, and you wouldn't believe what happened!"

He stepped over the passed-out old man; the boy was practically talking to his face. "They took me to the Uchiha jail cells! That was the moment I realized, "Hey Naruto, this doesn't feel like Konoha anymore" so I started screaming for them to let go, and some bitch, pregnant with red hair, had the nerve to slam me in the back of the head, and what do you know? I go unconscious!" Naruto was seething; steam was rising where the rain water fell on his blond hair.

The drunk yawned, and Uzumaki took this as a sign to continue. "So there I was, in a strange place, a prison, and I really, really don't want to go back." Naruto shivered. "The things they do to guys like me in prison, can you see this face? No? Well, nasty, unspeakable things happen to brats." The small boy started to sweat. "Real bad things happen to softies like me, stuff that yaoi fantasies are made of."

The drunk snorted, allowing a few flies to crawl into his mouth. Naruto shoed the flies away and took off the passed out man's vest and put it over his face, to protect him from the rain. "There, that should keep gnats from crawling into your mouth, next time. Where was I? Oh right, so I am in prison. It's a bad place, my friend. I tell you, you don't want to go there."

The boy rubbed his bare feet and continued. "They kept me in a cell near the front office, and people kept bringing in more and more criminals; eventually some pregnant chick named Mikoto got real pissed that there was a boy in one of the cells, and released me." Naruto smiled. "Nice lady, that one."

The drunk snorted.

"I am a free-man, oh yeah, but I am still confused. How could the Uchiha be alive? I started to go through various theories in my mind. Was I in some parallel dimension? Was this heaven? Was I in some kind of coma and this was some kind of dream? Or, and this is my favorite part, had I finally gone insane?"Naruto barked out in this part, his fangs showing.

"For a while, as I walked down the street, I thought that maybe I had. It wouldn't be the first time I snapped."

Naruto laughed. "Then I realized if I had gone crazy I would probably create a more ideal world for my insane conscience to live in, one with lots of Hinatas, Sakuras, Inos, Tentens, Temaris, Kurenais, Ankos. Well, pretty much a world of women, ramen, and all my old friends, but the woman would have to be mine, all mine," Naruto concluded. "Shit, that rat is chewing on your groin; let me take care of that."

Naruto stepped on the rat, while simultaneously crushing the man's privates. "Sorry! I am such a klutz. Good thing you're asleep; heh, we'll just say someone else did it when you wake up."

Uzumaki got back to his tale. "So I thought I had finally gone off the deep end. I checked myself into a hospital and told them I was nuts. The nurses laughed at me and asked me why that was. I tried to tell them why, and they just laughed and said I had a very active imagination. It was during the time I left the hospital that I took a look at the calendar."

Here Naruto looked afraid, his rain stained face turning pale. "According to the calendar, it was nine days before the date of my birth. I told the clerk that they had the date messed up, and the clerk told me that my head was messed up. I told the clerk that he could go fuck himself, and he chased me out of the hospital gift shop. So there I was, alone and afraid, walking down the road of life and finally coming to the conclusion that perhaps I had travelled through time."

Naruto leaned on the wall and slowly slid down to the floor, putting his hands on his knees, and curling them into his chest for comfort. "Now here I am, talking to you because I have no one else to go to. No friends, no family, and no one who even knows my name. I am an existence that doesn't belong here, and yet I am something that could change the future."

He raised his head, his sad blue eyes looking at the soaking wet, snoring drunk. "What would you do if you could change the future? If you could save those you loved from immense pain? If you could prevent your enemies from becoming your enemies? What would you do if you know that the world might end? What would you do if you realized the world wasn't such a nice place, but you could make it better?" Naruto whispered the last part. "What would you do if your very death could save the lives of everyone on the planet?" the soaked ninja sighed. "Could you do it?"

Naruto got up, wiped water away from his eyes, and walked out of the alley.

Five minutes later the drunken slob wakes up. There is a bag of money next to him, with a note attached.

Konoha Shinobi Academy: Principles Office

"Excuse me, I would like to enroll in the Academy. I don't have identification, I can't prove who I am in any possibly way, and I don't have any money to pay for the tuition," Naruto told the man in charge of Academy administration.

He was a tall man, and yet his entire body was covered head to toe in a trench coat. Naruto thought he looked like a slightly older version of Shino. The boy continued his speech, "But if you let me in, I'll be the best damn Shinobi you have ever seen." He said the last part with utmost conviction.

The stoic man raised his eyebrows in amusement. "We do not expect children, especially war orphans, and refugees, to have identification. The simple fact that you are in this village is all the proof we need that you are a citizen of Konoha." The man tilted his head in thought considering another factor. "Unless you are really a veteran spy henged into a boy, which I highly doubt, you should know that, young man. Now tell me why should we let you in this late in the year? Provide a good reason. I need to put down something for your application form."

Naruto smiled. The man was giving him a chance. "I know several S rank jutsu. I have a Chakra core larger than any you have ever seen in your life. My will to succeed is fiercer than Namikaze Minato, and I am far smarter than I look. Plus, I have experience in the field."

The Abarume seemed to smirk underneath his coat, judging by how the collar crinkled, though Naruto could not see it. The Shino-look-alike spoke his words with care, "Very well, demonstrate one Forbidden Technique. Just one, and I will bring over a few associates and we shall see if you are adequate. Make one mistake, one flaw, and you must apply for the next year term. Do I make myself clear, Mr…"

"Uzumaki Naruto, sorry I don't have a clan. So you're telling me that I need no proof at all? As long as I can show you right here, right now, that I have what it takes to make to the Genin you will give me a shot at the final year Exams with children my own age? No strings attached, no tuition fee, full scholarship?"

The man nodded. Konoha Shinobi were having a war with Cloud and Iwa, they needed as many Ninja cannon fodder to die in the front lines, if only to give their side an advantage. Civilians were withdrawing all their children at a fast rate and the troops needed to be filled as fast as possible.

Though he, Abarume Shibi, doubted the boy ,wearing clothes three times too big for him, would be able to back up his claim of being able to keep up with the children his own age. Still he liked the child. He had guts and looked poor; sometimes the poor could surprise you. Why not humor the dirty orphan?

"All I can say is don't go back on your word." Naruto smiled and made the precise cross shaped seal that he had been familiar with for most of his life. "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"

Konoha Shinobi Academy: Class 1A

Inuzuka Tsume was not an especially tall woman. If she had to classify herself, she would say she was of middle height and weighed about as much as most Chunin. It wasn't ever her height though that people remembered, her face was a different story. Judging by ones taste it could be considered extraordinarily exotic, or exotically monstrous.

The woman had spiky brown hair that fell down to her neck, which was held up by a Konoha head protector. Below her small brow was a pair of dark brown eyebrows that sat atop uniquely slitted black eyes, eyes that appeared more animal, than human.

Those bestial narrow slits looked through a person from a sharp, narrow face, that didn't have high cheek bones, but instead contained full purple lips, which many suspected that she was born with and would be correct for assuming so. Though most people immediately forget about her full set of lips when she opens her mouth to reveal rows or razor sharp teeth, that could break bones if need be, and a long tongue that would make a frog blush.

If the woman didn't need to stand out anymore than she did, one could see that she was in the wrong profession. Her white sundress revealed her swollen belly, that laid upon her voluptuous busty body, which continued to be filled with milk as the little baby, who would one day named Kiba, continued to grow.

Currently, Tsume was annoyed. Her friend, Abarume Shibi, had the nerve to insert a final student into this year's Academy graduation test. "Okay, class before you go to recesses please welcome Uzumaki Naruto to our class. Naruto comes from a village somewhere north, a Village Hidden in the Woods. His village was destroyed and he is a refugee, please treat him gently, or else." The young woman in the Chunin uniform growled, showing rows of pearly sharp fangs. "If I catch one of you punks harassing this boy, I'll feed you to Karumaru, you know I will." The dog behind her bared once and howled, showing rows of fangs.

"Thank you, Tsume-sensei. Now that our lovely teacher has gotten the technicalities out of order, I would like to formerly introduce myself."

Naruto looked around the classroom as he spoke. " My name is Naruto. I like ramen. I like my friends, and I like this village. I really, really like this village. I haven't been here very long but you people are nice, and friendly."

He spotted a few familiar faces. A girl who looked like Shizune, and a boy who looked like Iruka. "I would die for this place, and will defend it with every breath in my body. I hope we can all be friends or rivals in this cruel world, where we have to be crueler still."

He bowed. "Thank you for listening. I know some of you might be angry that I suddenly appear out of nowhere to take the exams with you, but rest assured I have already taken this exam in my previous village before it was burnt down."

Naruto tried to set the dark aura that Sasuke displayed." I miss my family and I hope we can all be a one big family some day." Some of the girls in the class looked sad. "Thank you for your time."

Silence met his speech, even Tsume couldn't say anything. His declaration was well thought out and mature. Tsume was about to tell him to sit in the back, but a serious voice spoke up.

The girl closed her moth when Naruto looked at her, but then opened It again."Sensei, he can sit beside me, there is an empty seat here," a girl with deep purple hair said.

Tsume smiled, seeing who spoke up.

Her hair was tied up into a messy-short pony tail that stuck up in the air, and sharp bangs framed both sides of her face. Her skin was olive, and below her beautiful spiky hair were a set of deep yellowish snake-like eyes that looked at Naruto carefully. Her lips were small, and so was her face, but her expressive eyes more than made up for that.

Her body was slim, thin from years of living in an orphanage and surviving on meager rations, though the class did not know that. Purple wasn't a big girl, but she was still taller than Naruto (at least half a head taller in his current form) and wore a leathery fang necklace around her neck. It was wrapped around a small thin collar that rested on a rough undershirt, which was covered in a black loose t-shirt that showed a bit of her cleavage, cleavage that didn't currently exist that is. This was matched by tight black pants, which contained her long muscular legs that were currently wearing long fishnet socks that looked almost like a set of pantyhose's.

She didn't stop looking at him as he took his seat next to her.

Naruto thought she looked familiar, so he decided to introduce himself. "Nice to meet you, as you have already heard my name is Uzmaki Naruto."

"I know. I heard you," she said softly.

"Thank you for speaking up, it was getting kind of awkward," he replied.

The girl took a moment to think, or at least that's what it looked like to Naruto. Around them the other students were looking at the spiky haired girl with distaste. Some of the girls looked downright angry at the pretty little girl, why that was Naruto was not entirely sure.

He suspected that she was one of those loner types. Kind of like him, with people despising her out of a warped sense of habit. The time traveler waited for her name, hoping she wouldn't just brush him away. Too many girls did that in his life, actually all of them, aside from Hinata.

"Mitarashi Anko," she said slowly, looking away from him, only slightly, her expressive yellow eyes looking at the black board. "Don't bother me if you don't have to."

Naruto sighed. Okay, this girl was also one of those: the type that didn't like talking to people for whatever reason. There could be many reasons. Maybe her parents died, maybe her home life was stressful, or maybe she was just a jerk. Who knew?

"I guess I just have to break her out of her shell," he muttered, making a shadow clone, which appeared outside of the class room and headed out to his new home, to set up his bed.

Konoha Orphanage: Rooftop

Yuhi Kurenai was fourteen. She was born from a mother who died before getting a chance to name her premature daughter, and a father who would probably remain a mystery to her forever. Kurenai, unlike Tsume, was a tall girl. Her long legs allowed her to tower over the other females in her age group, giving her a more mature look, that made it difficult for her to interact with children her own age.

Unlike her best friend, Mitarashi Anko, she was the exact opposite of what some people referred to as a Loli, and many times she had been hit on by men three times her age when she tried to dress outside of her make shift Ninja uniform that she scrounged up from the second hand shops.

Over all she was quickly growing up to be a beauty, with good marriage prospects in the future, perhaps in the Hokage's son? Albeit, she might have to settle for the younger one who was a failure, a gentle failure, but a failure nonetheless.

Kurenai spent most of her time as the matron of the orphanage. She, Anko, and Yugao were in charge of keeping the younger kids alive when the adults were away. Kurenai hated that all the orphaned boys her age went the academy early, graduated early, and died early. This was the sole reason she had to take up multiple roles of child rearing, repairs, and even sanitation in the orphanage.

So it came to a great surprise when it was revealed that the new resident of her orphanage turned out to come in a pack of extremely helpful friendly froggy-clones, who made it their sworn duty to help repair the damage in the building before fixing up their owner's room- a very noble and selfless action in her opinion.

Teenaged Kurenai was impressed. She watched them do their work, until she noticed something odd.

"Umm, so you're all clones, but this doesn't make any sense. You should have all been dispersed by now. Why is that?" Kurenai asked, her red lips turned into a delicate scowl. "You've been alive for the past three hours. That shouldn't be possible. Then there is the issue with your eyes. What is wrong with your eyes? Why do they look so frog like? Do you have some kind of infection? Does your owner need to see a doctor? If so we should leave soon, I don't want you infecting the other kids." Kurenai felt deeply uncomfortable seeing the boy two years her junior occasionally catch flies with his tongue. She shivered every time he did that.

She couldn't complain, unfortunately, since he was fixing the roof of the orphanage along with a few other clones that looked like cross between man and frog. She could sense that there was a strange type of Chakra infused in the clones, but decided to file that conclusion for another time.

"We're all Super Kage clones, Miss, and boss told us to fix up this place. He'll be living here for a while, or at least for the next nine days."

"What is going to happen in nine days," the adorable teen Yuhi asked, capriciously. "Is he leaving the village?"

The clones all looked at each other and looked sad. "Trust me, you'd prefer not to know," they all said at about the same time. "He's kind of going to leave this place, forever. It's a bit terrifying when we think about the thing he'll have to fight." The last word was said with ice.

Kurenai shivered.

Konoha Academy: Playground

Back in the Academy it was time for lunch. Not surprisingly no one was willing to sit with Anko, despite her cute looks, and even more adorable personality. Sure her personality was cold, but it was the kind of cold created out of shyness, not arrogance, and Naruto enjoyed talking to people like that.

Sadly, what struck Naruto was how antisocial she was. In the future this was his examiner. His first memory of her was the woman slicing open his cheek and drinking the thick blood that dripped down. He was so afraid at that time, but excited as well!

Now seeing the lonely girl eating by herself on a swing, glaring at anyone that looked at her wrong, put things into perspective and painted a harsher picture of what type of person she would become.

He could see himself in her little by little. When he was nervous, when he was hurt, he would act rambunctious.

Before he became so annoying, he was a very silent child. Naruto could already see the kind of loud attitude the girl might possess if she lived that long. In time Anko might one day follow in his footsteps and be vastly irritating, or was it Naruto who had followed in her footsteps? Time travel made things vastly confusing.

Naruto decided to take a seat beside her. This was the last recess any of them would ever have, and he wanted to make the best of it, for her at least. It would be nice for the thirteen year old to have one good childhood memory.

"Hello, Mitarashi-san, do you mind not running away if I take a seat here? Already looking angry I see."

The girl looked like she was about to leave.

"Hold on before you start getting up. Let me take a moment to tell you that I am not trying anything. I am not hitting you. I am not trying to get close to you so I can hurt you later, and I am damn sure that I am not after any money you have."

Anko suddenly looked insecure. Naruto just realized his mistake.

"I am not saying your poor or anything, despite how plain your clothes look. Hey, don't look at me like that. I was just being honest. I am not a bad guy, really. I am not."

The tiny Mitarashi was getting angrier the more Naruto talked, but she seemed to hold still. She glared at him with those yellowish-purple eyes, hoping he would stop talking about how poor she looked. She knew that already. She was an orphan after all, war orphans were generally destitute. "Fine, you may sit down as long as you don't pull anything remotely funny."

Naruto smiled, and sat down. "Funny? I am funny. I am very funny! If you give me a few minutes I can make a good joke." The girl looked away from him, and Naruto's face became serious.

"How are you doing Anko-san? I hope you're well." She didn't reply to his question, but he continued. "Do you know what I liked about you the first time we met?" Anko looked back at him curious. "Your determination, you didn't care how those kids looked at you. They're just jealous." She looked away, her cheeks slightly turning red. "Don't let them bother you."

Anko turned back to the shorter boy, her expression continued to be angry, her eyes reddened. "I don't let them bother me; I never let them get to me. You don't know anything about me. Don't talk like you actually care."

"I am sure more than just me cares, and you must care to. Why else would you let me sit here?"

"I allowed you to sit beside me because you don't have any friends, so don't take my kindness in vain. Don't talk to me, not when you can't tell what kind of person I am, what I have been through, and what my class ranking is."

They were just jealous, that's all. Or at least that is what she tried to tell herself.

"The reason they hate me is because I am number one- I am better than them, and I am better than you." Naruto flinched; this was Uchiha Sasuke all over again. "Do not think you have the nerve to casually speak to me. We are nothing alike." But then no one was like Naruto.

"Let me eat my lunch in peace." Inside though she was hurting, she was a lonely girl. "hmmf!"

Naruto scratched the side of his head. Apparently he found a very Sasuke-ish girl. He decided to spook her a little. "Oh I know some things about you." He grimaced. "In fact, if I were to hazard a guess, I might actually know more about you than what you know about yourself.

The girl snorted. She didn't believe him.

"I have this special ability. This ability that lets me see people for what they are, or what they could be. It's a powerful ability stronger than both the Sharingan and the Byukagen, do you want me to demonstrate?"

Anko's lips curved into a sneer. "If you lose you are going to buy me dinner. Only you won't be sharing it with me, just handing over the cash." She paused appraising him. "Judging by the way you look, you don't seem to have anything, but I am not about to let some idiot skimp out a free meal ticket. Alright, I accept your challenge. If you get this correct maybe, just maybe, you can talk to me again. If you're lucky that is." Her words turned icy, but there was less hostility in them now. "I am far too good for the likes of you."

Uzumaki Naruto got off the swing. He paced backwards and forwards. Mitarashi looked angry, yet amused, but still skeptical. "First off your name is Anko, you like sweet beans, dango, or something like that. That's not surprisingly perhaps anyone could figure that one out." She scowled at his correct guess, she tilted her head and one of her soft, yet sharp bangs hit her right cheek.

" Next on the list: you are basically a taijutsu user with a focus on earth techniques such as the use of mud. Your elemental affinity is probably Earth if I am correct." She grimaced, touched her snake fang necklace nervously, and bit her upper lip, which Naruto found adorable.

"Lucky guess," she muttered. "That' doesn't mean anything." Her face reddened. "If you want to talk tomorrow, I'll be here on the swing.

Naruto raised his fist into the air in triumph!

"I am not inviting you or anything, but I'll be here!" She got off the swing, showing her pert ripe bum to Naruto, who tried not to stare, and ran to the other side of the hill, where the sun was falling. "You claim to know something about me." She pointed her small index finger to the boy. "Well then prove it!"

She ran to the other side of the hill, and out of sight. The orphan patted himself on the back for a job well. He took the time to go and find some of the other children in the school. He eventually found a familiar face.

The familiar face was as sweet as honey. The visage belonged to a girl, and the girl, for once, was smaller than Naruto. She had a rosy blush on her pale chubby cheeks, and short black hair that went down to her neck. Her eyes were as black as her hair, and she carried herself the same way Hinata did.

The girl had watched the conversation Naruto was having with Anko with interest. She had wanted to say hi to the new student since she didn't have many friends. Most of the students didn't give her the time of day since she hardly ever spoke up, and she would prefer to spend most of her time with adults, like her uncle Dan, or his beautiful girl friend, Senju Tsunade.

Thinking about Tsunade made a larger blush appear on her pale face. She rubbed hands on her thighs, which were covered in a conservative black kimono that ended almost at her feet where she wore a pair of small black sandals, similar to Anko's.

Unlike Anko she wasn't good with people, and the slightest contact with others horrified her. She spent most of her life hiding behind her uncle who protected her from the harsher things the world had to offer. The Shinobi Academy setting was certainly not the place for her, and she hoped she could get out of it soon.

She was about to leave for home when something called to her from near the playground.

"Shizune! How are you doing, it's so nice to a see you, give me a hug neeeechan?" Naruto run up to her, both his arms outstretched for a hug. Keep in mind that Naruto looked like he had crawled out of the gutter since his clothes hadn't been cleaned in days, and were literally scrapping the filthy crosswalks, since they were several sizes too big for him.

Not to mention the fact that he had deep blue marks under her eyes because he hadn't slept, not completely, since coming back to the past and had been training non-stop to master his hand-eye coordination in his new child like body, using hundreds of Kage bunshin.

Unsurprisingly, the girl took a look at the almost dead looking boy, and bolted, screaming for her uncle to save her. Approaching the new kid was one thing; the new kid stalking her was another matter altogether.

Anko met up with Naruto, as promised. She thought she had finally found a friend, albeit a very suspicious friend but a friend nonetheless. He seemed to be the decent sort, and didn't seem to mind that she was top of the class, despite not being from a clan.

She thought he was decent, that was until the point he started talking about her personal life.

Suddenly he resembled a cockroach.

"There are times at night that you spend by yourself, you don't cry but you do things like cling onto your knees and just look at the wall." Anko was furious. "Am I getting warm, ahh you look angry, excellent I am getting close! Let's see, what else? "

Anko was grasping the chain of the swing so hard that Naruto was sure it was going to snap, despite it being made out of metal, and reinforced with chakra.

"Right, just calm down and let me finish." He paused. "You want the snake contract because you think if you can use snakes it will improve your ability to fight with your earth jutsu." Anko growled. "Oh was that a supposed to be a secret? Sorry, maybe I should be a bit more discrete." The swing chain snapped and she walked towards the boy slowly, her face looking emotionally cold, a paradox in itself.

"Well then, hmm, you are an orphan. Like me your parents probably died at a young age. This Is all an assumptions, but I think I am getting close. You want to be an apprentice to Orichimaru because you lack the father figure that you so desperate desire."

"Uzumaki, stop, just stop."

"Please Anko, don't try and punch me. Just sit back down and let me finish. There is a good girl. Hey you're frothing at the mouth, that can't be a good sign? Can it?"

Anko punched the boy in the face. Her cute lips were starting to crack into something monstrous, and Naruto suddenly realized she had fangs, if she bit down on him, he would bleed. Still he continued. "My advice to you is to stand well clear of Orochimaru-san." Anko punched him in the face again. It wasn't working. He wasn't going down.

"Didn't you hear what I said, I told you to shut up!"

How dare he talk about her sensei? He had been her patron at the Academy for the last year; he was going to take her away into a better life. She was going to be somebody! Had she not worked hard for this moment?

"Sure he looks powerful and all, but I think he is sort of creepy. I don't trust him, not that I have ever met him before, but there are some bad rumors about him. I heard he does some strange things with those snakes of his-"

"He doesn't!""

"….and I would hate for a ridiculously nice young girl, such as you, to get tangled up in something like him. Oh, please don't hit me; I was only making a compliment on your looks. Do you cut your own hair?" She didn't answer. "I think it's very nice, it would look even better if you didn't hit me so I can see through the dizziness."

Anko hit him again, and again. That didn't stop Naruto from talking, even as blood dripped down his puffed up face, and his teeth started to get broken to bits. One of his eyes was beginning to turn purple and swell from her hard jabs.

If anything her brutal treatment of the boy just mad his childish voice become darker. "He'll take advantage of you, you know? He's that type of person, Anko-san" Anko punched him in the stomach, but that didn't stop Naruto. "This is because you are desperate, and also because you're a child. You want to be loved, and you want someone to love you, someone who is too strong to be killed off in this war."

Rage boiled to the surface, but this time it was from Naruto.

She didn't' expect this. Yesterday he had only revealed harmless information. Now he was he making her cry. How could he be so cruel? She thought he was a nice person, but she was wrong about him. She was going to talk to Kurenai this evening; Kurenai always knew what to say.

"Orochimaru is a great man," she said, "He doesn't need petty vices."

"Great man she says," Naruto muttered under his breath, "Orochimaru-san is strong, he is powerful, and he looks wise on the surface. Those are the type of people who are the most dangerous when they are around little girls, especially girls who would do whatever he said. Powerful men have egos, Anko. They crave absolute obedience from those weaker than themselves. He will destroy you!"

Naruto caught one of her punches when she unleashed another scream and almost broke her fist when he twisted it and brought his face close to hers. She was starting to realize that the boy was not what he appeared. Naruto's eyes turned to slits, and he looked at her harshly.

"Trust me, if you give him ground he will have you wrapped around his sick little finger." He let her go. She was still crying, but Naruto continued, "If given a chance it might actually be a good idea to say no to the Snake-senin." He laughed darkly. "Sure, it looks impressive on a resume to be his apprentice, but I have an odd feeling that by the end of the week the guy is going to be screwed."

His face morphed into a monstrous grin, his wounds slowly healing before her eyes. "You want to know why? It's simple really." His teeth continued to sharpen into razors." I am going to be the one to do it."

Konoha Orphanage: Nursery

Kurenai was worried about her talk with Anko. The things the girl told her about Uzumaki Naruto were dreadful. Still, the new orphanage resident was willing to help out around the place, and she couldn't refuse him or kick him out. That would just be rude.

Uzumaki Naruto slept in the worst part of the orphanage, where the ceiling would leak and the windows would constantly fall off. At night the storms of Konoha would enter through his window, and make the occupants in the room shiver, praying that their toes wouldn't fall off.

It was the reason why Hayate was sick. He grew up in that room most of his life, and the consequences were starting to show. The boy was not healthy to begin with, and exposure to such harsh climates only increased his chronic sickness. Luckily, Hayate was moved to a different room when Uzumaki volunteered to sleep there.

Later that same night, Naruto had created a team of clones to fix the room, invited some of the sick looking occupants back into the room, and made a small fire jutsu to warm up the area. The children were very grateful and suddenly the boy became their new favorite person, sort of like a surrogate dad.

At the moment the hero of the orphanage was helping out one of his future teachers.

"You're pretty good at changing diapers," Kurenai said, "your clones had a terrible time with them yesterday. Not that I am complaining but it's a problem when we don't have enough diapers to spare around here."

"Yeah, don't remind me. I got their memories, remember? Plus you think I was just bad with changing diapers from your point of view, because you have babies of your own, and all, making you the expert, and me the rookie."

"No I don't," Kurenai said, looking extremely irritated. "Do I look like a mother to you?"

Naruto pictured her in the future and decided not to answer.

Konoha Shinobi Academy: Park

Naruto's most recent attempt of educating Anko on the evils of her future mentor weren't going as well as he thought. He had cornered the lonely girl in the park, and the results were not going in his favor. He had to chase her down many times before she even relented to talk to him.

"Do not talk about him like that, you know nothing about us!" she screamed.

"Okay , see, here is the problem. He is already mentally taking control of you, and I am not saying that because I might be a potential enemy. I have had people try and control my life too, the thing is the people who controlled my life were actually smart and nice people, so in the end It worked out fine."

"Why should I be afraid of him! He is a perfect gentleman," she said trying to keep herself from stabbing him with her kunai.

"Here is why: If sexual assault means anything to you, you might seriously consider switching to a female sensei. The worst that could happen is Yuri in that situation, and frankly that's sort of hot. Hey don't walk away!" Anko-san, wait up! Where are you going?"

Anko didn't turn back; she had enough of his bullshit.

Anko continued to give Naruto the cold shoulder for the next day or so. Naruto tried many different methods to appeal to her, ranging from jokes, to insults, than back to jokes again. These only made her angrier at him for insulting her idol, causing her to try and beat him to death, again.

Naruto was getting tired of trying to convince her that the Snake only wanted to experiment on her and tried to talk to Kurenai about his problem. He found the red eyed girl to be a well spring of information about Anko. She seemed to know all the different approaches to convince the girl to do things and knew all of Anko's hiding spots in the village when she was upset.

Kurenai may have only been two or so years older than the girl, but to Anko she seemed almost like a mother/aunt figure which, given their age, wasn't entirely surprising. It still made Naruto cautious around the raven haired teen, if only to keep suspicion away from him. After all, Kurenai didn't know that Orochimaru was evil, and she might take Naruto's plan badly.

Naruto spent almost ten hours straight using his shadow clones to learn as much history, math, science as possible. When it came time for the written portion of the test he aced it. The Taijutsu part was fairly easy, since Jiraiya had taught him the basics, and even perfected all his gaps and flaws. The Genjutsu only required some minor dispelling, which he shrugged off, and the rest were so easy that he was surprised he failed it the first three times.

"Okay Mr. Uzumaki, just do the three jutsu and wait in the back of the line. Cheat and I'll bite you," she smiled, showing him rows of razor sharp fangs. Naruto still thought she looked pretty however.

"Start."

Naruto sighed, did all three jutsu, and then finished it off with a perfect Kage Bunshin. Tsume asked him how he managed to create such a perfect copy.

"Well my old teacher tried to get me to steal a scroll, a really forbidden scroll. He succeeded and while I waited for him, I learned it, it didn't take long. Don't look at me like that Tsume-san, I am not lying."

"I didn't say you were, continue Naruto-kun," Tsume loved his name. It sounded so adorable and tasty.

"It wasn't that difficult, I had a lot of chakra. You have to realize that if I didn't learn at least one jutsu from that scroll I wouldn't be able to pass the exam."

"Is that some kind of rule in your village," a shy looking girl, who looked suspiciously like Shizune, asked him.

"No, our village doesn't have any strange test where we have to learn an S rank technique, mainly it was my fault. I failed the test. Hey, don't roll your eyes Anko, I am not kidding! I actually can't do the normal clone, sadly. So I had to learn something stronger, something that would help me become the Ninja I am today."

"That doesn't explain why you're so good at it." This was said by a girl leaning on the far wall, Naruto couldn't remember if her name was Uzuki Yagau, but he continued.

"Ahh, that. Well I have been using it for months. I used to fight S rank missing, nins. No really, I am not lying. Would you stop giving me that look Anko! Anyway, I used it to fight my best friend, who isn't dead by the way; I didn't kill him, Uzuki, thank you very much! Though, sometimes I want to."

"Don't they die fast? What's so special about that trick," a sickly looking boy sad, "not that I am trying to insult you or anything."

"It can be used outside of battles for one."

"That could be very helpful on D-ranks," Tsume commented, looking at him with money signs in her eyes. "Ever consider doing any contacting work. I could always use a roof repairman since my husband walked out on us."

"Sure why not? You know what? I think I might start some kind of company. Maybe build houses with my clones?" He turned to face her, and tilted his head like an owl. "Sooo I pass right?"

Fire Country Border

Uchiha Obito was having a strange today. The morning started out like any other, the only difference being that he met a peculiar blond boy in Ramen Hut. The orphaned blond was complaining about a place called Teuchi and how the Teuchi Ramen made superior Ramen, which only lead to the boy being kicked out of the hut.

Obito, having nothing better to do decided to talk to the blond. The blond was a talkative brat who seemed to be on some kind of mission to save the world, or at least from his explanation. Obito laughed at the stories he told about fighting Gods, and Puppet Masters, and about his friends. He told Obito about his teacher and about his old village. Obito thought it sounded so familiar, almost like he lived there himself.

Finally the blond asked Obito about himself. Obito told him a little about his team and his Jounin sensei. Both explanations got the blond boy more excited, and Obito couldn't help but tell the kid more and more about his life. He wanted to know too much about Namikaze Minato, the Yellow Flash, and Kakashi, though why the later, Obito didn't have a clue.

Obito was reluctant to see the boy leave when his team arrived, and wondered why the boy looked so sad when he saw his teammates, or did the boy, Naruto, look sad seeing his sensei? Honestly he wasn't sure. What he was sure was that he was being followed by someone during their entire mission. It was during the brief moment that Kakashi was given his birth day presents that Obito thought he felt something.

Namikaze Minato, his teacher, said he felt something as well, but allowed the strange person to follow. Many times his teacher would try and flash into the bushes, only for the intruder to turn into puffs of smoke. This went on for hours, until his teacher said he was using too much Chakra to Shunsin, and drive out the enemy, and that it was likely that all of the people that were likely following them were Shadow clones so the worst they could do was give away intel.

Before they left for the mission, his teacher made an area wide sweep of wind blades that destroyed as many of the hidden clones as possible and left his students to complete their task. Quickly their mission ended in disaster when Rin was captured, the two of them were captured by the enemy soon after. Kakashi was knocked out by some kind a hail of rocks, but it could have been worse since he could have been crushed by a boulder.

Obito thought their team was going to die since they were all out of Chakra. Then a miracle happened, a miracle that Obito doubted anyone would ever believe. He saw a legion of clones, and they did things with Chakra that made absolutely no sense what so ever. The team from Iwa was destroyed faster than you can say 'shunsin,' left broken, in neat piles in front of Obito.

It was during their retreat that Kakashi and Rin woke up, on Obito's shoulders, that they asked what happened. Obito decided to chance it. Kakashi got off his shoulder, of course, before he told the story.

"Kakashi, if I told you we were saved by some blond kid who looked like sensei would you believe me?" Uchiha Obito asked. He carried Rin on his back as they were heading towards home base. He would be having a talk with Minato sensei about today, make no mistake. "Would you believe me if I told you he was wearing an orange jumpsuit and had frog like eyes?"

Kakashi blinked twice, then shook his head, and looked at him again, only to shake his head, for a second time. "I think you have been using too many eye drops, Obito."

Hokage Tower

Orochimaru was having a spectacular day. He heard news of a powerful genin who could produce a row of Shadow Clones. The implications of such a discovery were phenomenal since that indicated a being with immense Chakra reserves. If he could turn whoever had such ability to his cause, he would have a powerful plant in the Konoha forces when his plans were ripe.

Jiraiya was looking after the Hokage position, switching with Namikaze Minato, while Sarutobi was at a meeting with their allies from the smaller villages. Orochimaru thought he should have been the one to handle a place of such importance, but suspected that the Third was watching him more closely now, something that disturbed the Snake Senin greatly.

He got Jiraiya to give him the list of Shinobi Academy graduates, especially the ones in Inuzuka Tsume's class.

"Jiraiya, show me that file on the Academy grades, for the second time. My eyes must be deceiving me," Orochimaru said. He had a hard time believing that any child could have gotten almost a 150% on the exam. High Chakra was one thing, but to utterly ace the written, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and Tactics section was a whole other matter.

"Go right ahead," the man said, looking at women in the Onsen through the Third's looking glass. He looked up at his snake like friend conspiratorially, and said, "Don't tell sensei."

Konoha Shinobi Acadamy: Rooftop

Naruto knew his luck wouldn't last. Eventually he would meet up with the Third or his theoretical father and they would have questions. He had to delay meeting them, along with his mother, who he suspected was a woman he saw walking out of the hospital named Uzumaki Kushina.

He would have to put her out his mind for now. He had enough suspicion placed on him as it was, despite all of his paranoia, and careful placements of Kage Bunshins to spy on Danzo and his crew, who would be trouble in the future, or at least that is what Nagato said in his stoy.

He was surprised when the Snake Senin sprung him some very fortunate news.

"You are making me your apprentice, along with Anko?"

The snake senin grinned. "Yes, I can use a genius in a person such as you. Most do not nearly have the talent you do. Your ability will serve me greatly. Join me and I will give you power. I will give you it all: whatever you desire, as long as you obey." The Snake gently patted his head, but his eyes narrowed to dangerous slits so sharp they could cut diamond. "Make no mistake though that if you betray me there will be trouble. Anko and I have special arrangements, and if you gain enough trust, perhaps she will inform you as well.

Naruto laughed. "Sure, no problem. I enjoy secrets; I'll be the most loyal servant ever. Oro-sama! Sign me up. You can never have enough evil, diabolical plans for power. Whoops sorry, I was just kidding about the evil stuff. You aren't evil are you? Even if you were, I won't even tell the Hokage. I hate him too."

Naruto was already making plans to murder this man. Inside he wanted to jab a kunai up the serpent's rectum, but he held on to those emotions, if he let them go there would be blood, mostly from the nearby children. Anko would probably be traumatized for life, and he couldn't have that. He needed to save her, why, he wasn't sure. It seemed like the right thing to do.

"The Hokage is getting old and weak," Orochimaru commented, happy to have such a sympatric student. "Join me Uzumaki, I will give you power, true power that the old man cannot."

"I know he can't give me power. Heck, he doesn't even want to. He's an old bastard. Well, not so much old as he is a bastard if he can't recognize a genius such as you." He bowed. "I would be honored to join your cause and your plans. I love, no, that is too strange a word. I adore plans, especially the kind that involves experiments."

The snake smiled.

"I hope you can provide me some, the kind that involves torture and chaos." Naruto looked at Orochimaru curiously." Did you know I can memorize a whole library with the Bunshins?"

Orochimaru looked at him greedily. "Sign this contract, and you will be my apprentice," Naruto whooped, dancing in front of the slim girl, and her master. He then put a seal on the contract, though Orochimaru would not realize until later that the blood he put there wasn't his own.

Mitarashi Anko, said nothing, inside she was seething. An image of a cockroach, Naruto's face, and her sandals crushing the roach was the last thing she thought about when the two were dismissed.

End