A/N: I don't own Naruto.

Just an interesting fanfiction, i've been thinking about for a while. To be honest, I'm not one hundred percent sure that i'll continue it though (I don't seem to continue a lot of things) There's a chance that'll I'll put the story up for adoption, so if anyones interested, let me know.

Slight crossover, I'll be adding a character from another series in this fanfiction. I'll also be adding a race from a separate game, to act as a summoning contract. Try to guess the character before i reveal her true name in the fanfiction.

Naruto: The Apprentice

Chapter 1: The Master and the Student

Three men stared at the blonde child. The one in the center, an elder man, nodded at the boy in front of him. "Ok then. The final part of the exam is simple; you just have to use the Clone Technique to create two perfect clones. Whenever you're ready Naruto Uzumaki."

"Here we go, Clone Technique!" The boy quickly went through the handseals before a puff of smoke surrounded him.

The man in the center frowned at that. The smoke was a very clear sign that the boy had used far too much chakra, which meant that his clone would probably end up-

The smoke cleared, and Naruto excitedly look to his side to see the clone he had created. Unfortunately, upon seeing the clone the boy visibly cringed. It looked dead, not to mention incredibly pale.

The elder man sighed. "Naruto Uzumaki, you fail."

He failed again. This was the second time he failed the Genin exam, now he had to deal with another year at the Academy. He failed, he was a failure.

"Failure comes to all those who first begin this path. Do you plan to let one setback end your dream before it evens begin?" A frail-sounding, slightly feminine voice said.

Naruto's eyes widened as he quickly looked around the clearing. He didn't see anyone. He groaned at that, "Now I'm hearing voices", he complained.

"Yes, actually." Naruto's eyes widened. "You are hearing a voice."

Once again, Naruto began looking around the clearing. "Who are you?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

"You ask a question before being considerate enough to answer my own? Have you no manners child?"

Naruto was beginning to sweat a bit, and began breathing nervously. "Are you a ghost?" Naruto flinched at the disgusted snort he heard.

"If you're truly that concerned with my identity." Once again Naruto flinched at the tone of voice. "You may call me Runa, and I'm speaking to you telepathically- in your mind that is."

Naruto blinked, "How are you doing that?"

"Enough!" he harsh voice caused Naruto to flinch again. "You have avoided my question enough, now tell me why have you stopped training?"

Naruto looked down, "I can't do the Clone technique." He said with a slight whine.

"So your answer is to stop struggling? Was all your talk of becoming Hokage merely that, talk?"

Upon hearing those words, Naruto immediately got a determined look on his face, "No way! I'm not giving up! I'll be Hokage even if I can never do this stupid Clone technique!" He yelled that last part out. Silence was his answer for several moments. Nearly a minute later, and he began to believe that he really was going crazy when the voice spoke again.

"The Ram seal is the first hand seal for the Clone Technique. Put you hands in the Ram seal" The voice ordered.

Naruto blinked, "What? Why?"

Again in a harsh tone, "Do you plan on questioning everything I tell you? Do as I say!"

The boy nodded, and did as he was told. He thought maybe she was going to watch him do the technique and tell him what he was doing wrong. It was more than his 'teachers' at the Ninja Academy ever did for him.

"Now close your eyes and clear your mind." This time, Naruto did as he was told without arguing. "Breath in and hold you breath." Naruto did and held his breath for what had to be half a minutes. "Breath out." Once again, he did as he was ordered to. "Breath in…breathe out…breath in…"

Naruto truly didn't know how long he had been breathing. It felt like he was standing there for hour before she finally commanded him to do something else, "On this next breath, begin channeling your chakra…"

That's when things began getting weird for Naruto. His mind ran away, and he 'imagined' himself in a different place entirely. He was no longer in the training field, by the academy. Now he seemed to be in a dark room, with only a few candles for light. The darkness was…deafening, as strange as that sounded. And that's when he saw her. Wrapped up in a black robe, which made her nearly invisible, in the shadows, was an aged woman. White/gray hair, pale skin. The only thing that stood out was her blue eyes. They practically glowed. She was standing, at least two heads taller than him, with her hands in an upside-down prayer position.

"Control it. Don't let it control you. Now switch your hands to the Snake seal." Naruto did as he was ordered to. "Slowly begin gathering you chakra towards your heart. Listen to your heart and synchronize the chakra flow to it's beat."

Naruto began concentrating on the beat of his heart.

"Good. Follow that rhythm." Runa's voice faded away as Naruto continued gathering his chakra. "Now…on the count of five, I'm going to command you to release your chakra. A moment prior to that, you are to switch your hands into the tiger seal. Now-" Runa began, neither expecting nor waiting for an answer from Naruto. "-Five…four…three…two…"

Naruto took one last deep breath.

"ONE. Release!"

Naruto released the chakra he had built up. He had expected a loud puff of smoke, like he normally got when he preformed the technique. However, he didn't even hear a sound.

"Good, now open your eyes and see the product of your hard work."

At that statement Naruto was confused. The fact that he could see Runa in front of him made him forget that he had closed his eyes, and made him wonder if he ever opened them. After a few moments his eyes did open. He was no longer in the shadows, in front of his trainer. He was back in the clearing, where he had been training. Catching something from his peripheral vision, he glanced to the side and saw a perfect clone of him staring back. Naruto blinked at the clone a few times, before the information finally registered in his mind, "YES! I FINALLY DID THE CLONE TECHNIQUE!"

"Lower your voice!" Runa snapped at him. Any other time, that tone of voice would have completely killed his buzz. But this time, he was just to happy to care. A sense of happiness washed over him at how easy it had been to learn the technique when someone finally took a moment to show him how. Which prompted the next question to come from Naruto's lips.

"Runa-sensei you're so awesome! Can you train me some more!"

Silence was his only answer for close to a minute before Naruto's breathing began to quicken. Would she reject him? Did he annoy her? He had done several things to annoy her, if her tone of voice was any indication. Was she just passing by? Was he going to be all alone again? Would-

"Calm your breathing child, it betrays your emotions, something a ninja can never afford." Upon hearing her voice, Naruto held his breath, waiting for an answer. "Very well Apprentice. I will teach you, if you promise to keep your screaming to a bare minimum."

Naruto paused just before jumping in the air, screaming in joy. Her ultimatum had completely halted his forthcoming victory dance. After calming himself down significantly, Naruto managed to ask, "Thank you Runa-sensei-"

"Master." She said silently. "You're to refer to me as Master."

Naruto nodded. "Ok Master!" Naruto said cheerfully. "By the way, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage!"

"Hmmmmmm."

Naruto was still grinning when he asked, "So what are you going to teach me now?"

"Naruto, are you aware of Shinobi Code of Etiquette 24-C?" Naruto opened his mouth to respond, but was quickly cut-off, "Don't answer that. It's a code that strictly says only certain shinobi are allowed to take on students. There are strict rules, which prevent shinobi from teaching civilians, like you, the ninja arts." Naruto blinked at that statement. "The rules are voided when a shinobi becomes a teacher at their…Academy" she spat the last word out with more than a bit of amusement, as if she thought the very idea was ridiculous. "And of course, no one would stop a parent or sibling from teaching an upcoming student. However, for someone like you and me, who share no such bond, any lessons would immediately be put to a stop. Now, considering that your teachers seem dead-set against teaching you anything and you have no family to give you lessons, I believe you are at a severe disadvantage. Unfortunately, I don't believe people enforcing the Shinobi Code of Etiquette 24-C will care about your handicap."

Naruto's eyes widened in fear, before he stammered, "So…can't we just… keep it a secret?", the boy asked sadly. Naruto swore he could feel Runa smiling.

"Precisely. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but you just failed their Academy for the second time, correct?" Naruto nodded, sadly. "And if I am correct, you failed not because your grades were abysmal, which they were by the way." Naruto had the decency to look sheepish at that. "But because you failed to complete the Clone Technique, which you just proved you can do." Naruto nodded, still not sure where she was going with this. "I propose that if you were to keep training the three Jutsu you learned at their Academy, especially the Clone technique, you should be able to graduate with minimal work involved."

Naruto nodded, "Yea I guess."

"Good, then outside of their Academy, you will concentrate on what I want you to learn: Acupressure/Anatomy, Medical Ninjutsu, Sealing Techniques."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "But…I thought you were going to teach me cool Ninjutsu?"

"And once again you begin questioning me." The woman snapped.

Naruto's eyes widened, and before she could retort further, "I'm sorry Master! I didn't mean…I mean…that sounds really cool!" he said a little to forced. "So…where do we begin." Once again, silence was his answer for several moments, and once again Naruto began to feel that she had decided to abandon him.

"When you return home, you will find two books and a scroll waiting for you on your kitchen table. The books are important, but the scroll is vital. To learn the technique I left for you on that scroll, you'll need to increase your chakra control dramatically, which is the key to the future techniques I plan to teach you. Now, before you go, there is one last thing I wish for you to know, Apprentice. For a time, I will be leaving you. It's conceivable that you will not hear from me for six months, perhaps even longer than that. It's very important that you don't try to call out to me, unless I speak with you first. This way, I can also prevent someone from sneaking up on you, and see you speaking with someone who is obviously not there."

Naruto looked crestfallen at that. "Okay…but, when do I get to see you."

Naruto heard Runa chuckle in his head, "I believe you've already 'seen' me. We've stood in front of each other, what more could you want."

Naruto shook his head, "No I mean, when do I get to meet you for real."

"When I see fit to come before you, for now, concentrate on your training and consider it a test of sorts, Apprentice." Naruto nodded and began walking off, before he was stopped. "Oh and Apprentice. I suggest against reading that book, on Sealing Techniques, anywhere except in the privacy of your own home." Naruto blinked at that, but before he managed to reply, Runa answered him. "I can't say why, but know that some people will…not respond kindly to it. Now off you go."

Naruto nodded, still a bit confused, but decided to forget about it for now. He quickly returned home.

It didn't take him too long before he arrived at his dingy apartment. Upon entering his home, he quickly found the things Runa left for him, on his kitchen table. He was about to grab the scroll before something caught his eye. It was a bright yellow sticky note on his refrigerator. With a small amount of confusion, Naruto grabbed the note and read it.

"Naruto, I took the liberty of filling you refrigerator."

-Runa

Naruto smiled, before he opened his fridge. When he did, his eyes widened, "RUNA…SENSEI…IS…AWESOME!"

Two miles away from Konohagakure, a black clothed figure sat on top of a rock. She turned her blue eyes when she heard a large figure drop down next to her.

She saw an unconscious, pale-skinned, malnourished, brunette in its arms. "Thank you Mojo, I owe you." She got up and walked towards the two.

The figure grinned and nodded, "I'll put it on your tab."

"Did you complete the other task I asked of you?"

Once again, it nodded, "Yea, though I have to ask why you wanted me to fill that boy's cooler. Excessive, no?"

Runa shook her head, "Not at all. For a game of chess cannot be won without pawns." She reached up and brushed a strand of brown hair out of the sleeping girl's face. "And this…could prove to be a very long game."

-x- Three months later –x-

The Mystical Palm Technique allowed the user to speed up the body's natural regeneration. It involved matching the chakra used to the severity of the wound and commanding the body to heal itself, using the user's chakra as the catalyst, the director, and the power source. It was created thirty-four years ago, by Tsunade Senju and to this day, is still the most sophisticated Medical Ninjutsu to date.

That wasn't the technique on the scroll Runa had left for Naruto, though the scroll did reference it, and made several points as to why Naruto would not be learning that technique yet. Chakra control being the central reason.

The technique on the scroll was the Phoenix Technique, named more for the creator's god-complex, not because it was first used to allow the user/creator to heal himself, in an aura of green chakra, mid-combat. Prior to Tsunade, the skill was the most advanced technique for a long time. Naruto was learning this technique because one could use either precise chakra control or a large amount of chakra to power it. The idea was for Naruto to learn the technique, using however much chakra it took to learn, and slowly reduce the amount necessary by applying more control. Unfortunately, there was one weakness: unlike the version Tsunade created, the user couldn't direct or control the healing; which on occasion caused the body to heal incorrectly.

For Medic-nins, the Phoenix Technique was obsolete. For non-medics who were in a non-combat emergency, the technique was still used by a few Leaf-nin.

Naruto stood in front of the stream, with a fish on the ground. The boy sighed as he held a kunai. The scroll stated that he was to cut an animal and use the technique to heal the wound. The notes made several references to fish.

After a month reading up on the technique, memorizing all twelve handseals- another thing that madethe Mystical Palm Technique superior was that it used only two handseals-, and doing dry-runs; Naruto was finally ready to make his first attempt at healing a living creature.

'It didn't make the next part any easier thought', the blonde thought before pressing the kunai the to fish.

-x- Two months later –x-

Naruto was actually getting into the Acupressure book. At first, it seemed like a waste of time to him. It detailed how hitting certain points in the body could numb certain appendages or cause significant harm to an internal organ.

Some points could also be used for beneficial purposes. Massaging or tapping some points in one's own body, or a patient's, could: ease a headache, cure a hangover, increase circulation, or even flexibility. At least, the book stated so.

He thus far, used it once in a spar with one of his new teachers, a man named Mizuki. It had been a rather one-sided fight, the man had obviously been going much harder on Naruto than any other student. On pure instinct, the boy struck two spots on the man's arm, one that Mizuki had neglected to block. Mizuki's right arm remained numb for an hour afterwards; something, which made the teacher constantly shoot dark looks at the young blonde.

Aside from acupressure points, the booked gave detailed pictures and names of the human body, but that wasn't the most interesting thing. The best part of it all was the fact that the book gave handwritten notes in the margins of the pages, notes probably written by Runa's hand. Small things like: hitting these points cause dizziness, slashing these veins/arteries causes great bleeding, hitting this bone this way will cause any easy break, or breaking a bone a certain way greatly shred flesh or muscle. He made it a habit to memorize these things as best as he could.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, there were quite a few of them to memorize. And the majority of them had to be hit just the right way, with just the right amount of strength. Another unfortunate problem was that memorizing these points wasn't enough. He had to learn how to utilize them in combat, instead of pure luck and instinct like his fight with Mizuki.

Naruto's gleamed when he read something in the top right corner of one of the last pages. "The Kiss of the Dragon."

-x- Three months later –x-

Sealing Techniques required one to learn another language. That's all those inscriptions were, a non-verbal language. You essentially wrote down what you wanted to the seal to do and it did it…so to speak.

The book Runa left for him was much smaller than the other one. Much, much smaller. It mostly just described how to read the language or how to combine words together. It also described how to shrink certain seals into something that could not be read, and how to enlarge a seal into something that could be.

Oddly, in the beginning of the book, there was another note to Naruto to, not read this book in public. Naruto shrugged at the note.

-x- One month later –x-

It has been nine months after Naruto began his training, and he has still not heard a thing from Runa.

Naruto had come far in his training, thanks in no small part to the handwritten notes Runa had left in the books he had been reading.

He could honestly say that he remembered a good portion of the pressure points in the book. Unfortunately, since he spent so little time fighting other opponents, he hadn't sparred anyone after his match with Mizuki all those months ago, it left him with no practical knowledge. All the knowledge he had was theoretical, and was virtually useless unless he could practice using incorporating it in combat. Unfortunately, that was another problem he faced. Many of the things he learned could really hurt someone, something that he felt he should never use on an ally, yet he couldn't use in actual combat without the practical experience. It was a conundrum.

With respect to sealing, he finally understood the language well enough and just needed to practice the actual art form. He had planned to start sealing items in a scroll soon.

The Medical Ninjutsu was a lot harder than he initially believed, annoyingly so. On the bright side, he had plenty of fish to eat. He was close though, he was sure he saw the last fish begin to heal slowly, far to slow for it to survive bleeding out. It was a start.

A lot of time was spent perfecting the three Ninjutsu he was taught in the Academy. He finally perfected the Clone Technique, after practicing the steps Runa went over with him. He was proud of the fact that he could do it as quickly as he could. Even Iruka, one of his new teachers, was impressed at his speed.

Unfortunately, his grades at the Academy continued to slip. Since he spent so little time studying the topics the Academy covered, he continued receiving poor marks on his tests. But to be honest, he stopped caring about that. Sure it was nice to know that the Shodaime Hokage signed this treated, with this country, at this date…blah blah blah.

But all that crap left so little time for practical training, was that really the way to become a strong ninja? And why wasn't Sealing Techniques covered at the Academy? The greatest Hokage, the Yondaime, defeated the Kyuubi no Kitsune using a Sealing Technique…you would think that was enough reason to incorporate it into actual lessons. He almost voiced his opinion one day in class, to Iruka, but immediately discarded the idea. Asking that might make people think Naruto was interested in learning Sealing Techniques…which for some reason or another was bad.

Whatever…

-x- At the stream –x-

The blonde yawned when he kneeled over another fish. Using both hands, he slapped his cheeks to wake himself up, before placing his hands in the Dragon Seal.

"Hard at work I see, good."

Naruto's eyes widened and he smiled, "Runa-sensei!" Naruto cringed when he suddenly felt a small aura of killer intent in his head. "Um…I mean Master."

"I'm glad our time apart hasn't made you forget me. I see I have arrived just in time to observe your training. Go on."

Naruto began sweating. Almost unconsciously, he grabbed his kunai and made a long cut along the fish's side. He then began a long chain of hand seals before muttering, "Phoenix Technique." His hands glowed with green chakra and he placed them against the fish and began pushing his chakra into the creature. Three minutes went by and finally the cut seemed to begin to close. Unfortunately, it only took the fish a few more moments to bleed out completely. Naruto didn't say a thing. He failed…and he knew that he failed.

"Hmmm, you're not as far along with that as I would have hoped. I'm disappointed."

Tears stung Naruto's eyes, but he managed to hold them back on willpower alone. He honestly didn't think Runa would appreciate him crying.

"But something did happen…so you're not a complete failure."

Her words didn't do a thing to make Naruto feel better. "Ummm…Master, do you think you can show me how…just like you did with the Clone Technique."

"Sit down and close your eyes", she said ignoring the question.

Naruto did as he was told. In seconds, he found himself in front of Runa, her tall form towering over his seated one. They were both once again surrounded by the darkness.

"Since you failed to do such a simple task-" once again Naruto flinched, "I'm going to try a little positive reinforcement." A figure appeared a few feet away from them. It was…Naruto?

Naruto's eyes widened, "He looks like me." It was true; the figure was a perfect carbon copy of Naruto. Though instead of Naruto's orange jumpsuit, it wore a black robe similar to what Runa wore. It was also missing Naruto's goggles.

"Your ability to state the obvious is impressive, though it won't win you any battles. To be exact, this is merely an illusion that I'm creating through our bond. Now watch." Something else appeared ten yards away from them, this time it was a large boulder. It looked to be the size of a small building.

The Illusion raised one hand, opened palm, at the boulder. "Heavenly Subjugation (of the Omnipresent God)." Upon the last syllable, the boulder was immediately launched backwards at least fifty feet, making the real Naruto's eyes widened. Before it hit the ground, "Heavenly Attraction (of All of Creation)." Suddenly, through another unknown force, the boulder was launched again. This time towards them. Naruto's eyes widened before he quickly raised his hands in a futile attempt to defend himself. The boulder however, pass right through them, without doing them any harm.

"Did you forget that I said it was all an illusion?" Runa smirked in amusement.

The statement caused Naruto to blush sheepishly.

It amused Runa even more that Naruto wasn't jumping up and down, saying how cool the technique was. "If you haven't figured it out, I mean to teach you these two techniques, in fact I could teach you them in as little as a few days if I desired to." That got Naruto's eyes to light up, all previous humility shot to hell. "However!" she snapped before Naruto could begin his rant. "I will only teach these techniques IF you master the Phoenix Technique, by the time you become a Genin."

Naruto quickly nodded, "Hell yeah! I'll master the technique before that and become a Genin. You'll see Master."

Runa nodded, "I'm glad you feel that way. Because if you fail, I plan to abandon you."

Naruto's eyes widened and tears began stinging them again. "But-" Runa immediately disappeared from his minds eye, something which made him immediately snap his eyes open. He was back in the forest.

"I suggest you not waste anymore time whining. You only have three months left. Until then my apprentice."

He waited a whole minute to see if she would say anything…then two minutes…then five minutes…then ten. After that, Naruto began to hyperventilate.

-x- ten miles away from Konoha –x-

Runa lazily got up from the spot she had been sitting in and began walking away.

"Done already?" Runa didn't turn to the feminine voice behind her. The girl shook some dirt out of her sea-foam green hair. "How'd he do?"

At that Runa finally stopped and turned to the young woman. "Surprisingly, much better than I thought he would do."

-x- three months later –x-

It was a full year since Naruto failed his second exam and it was now time for his third and, hopefully, final attempt. After waiting through the list of other students, Naruto quickly found himself in a room in front of his two teachers, Iruka and Mizuki.

"Naruto" Iruka began, "You only have the Ninjutsu portion of the exam left. I want you to perform the Clone Technique."

Naruto smiled. Though he continuously practiced all three techniques constantly, he put emphasis in practicing the Clone Technique. He's had it mastered for months now…though it never hurt to get in some more practice, in his opinion at least. He quickly went through the handseals, "Okay, here were go, Clone Technique!"

But something went wrong. He heard an explosion of smoke when he released his chakra. His heart sped up at that and he quickly looked to the side to once again see one…pale-colored and half-dead clone.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but you fail."

The blonde's eyes widened and his heart sank. 'How…' was the only thought he could muster.

"Naruto…you know there's one other way you could pass."

"There is?"

"Yea, we usually save it for students who are on the borderline. I mean I've seen you do that Clone Technique a hundred times before. The fact that you couldn't do it this one time seems strange to me. I'm guessing you choked under pressure."

"Ummm…yea I guess."

"So anyway, the test sounds simple but is actually a lot harder than it'll sound…"

-x- four hours later –x-

A few hours later found Naruto in a clearing in the forest. His hands done up in a cross shape, "Shadow Clone Technique!" Suddenly three clones materialized at Naruto's side, making the blonde grin in triumph. He did it. He had been practicing the technique for the last hour but he finally managed to pull it off. Perhaps all the work on his chakra control, practicing the Phoenix Technique, was beginning to pay off. He quickly dispelled the clones before falling on his back, taking a moment to relax before he was caught.

"Apprentice…" His eyes snapped open when he heard Runa's voice. That's right, he had forgotten to figure out what he was going to tell Runa. "What are you doing there- is that the Forbidden Scroll of Seals! What are you doing with it?" She demanded.

Naruto gave off an embarrassed grin. "Yea…I kinda failed the first exam…but since I was doing so well at the Academy, Mizuki-sensei let me take the bonus exam. Steal the scroll and learn a Ninjutsu from it."

-x- A mile away –x-

Runa immediately stood up, cutting the link between her and Naruto. "You little idiot!" she cursed.

"Something wrong?" a brunette girl called over from the side.

"Continue your meditation!" Runa snapped harshly before turning away. The elder quickly bit her thumb, drawing blood, and began doing a quick set of handseals, "Summoning Art: Mojo!"

-x- Naruto –x-

"Master? Master?" Naruto called out for the tenth time. He was beginning to get a grim feeling.

"FOUND YOU!"

"AAAHHHHHH!" Naruto jumped when Iruka appeared behind him. He quickly turned to the man and smiled.

'Has he been training?'

"I did it Iruka-sensei! I learned a technique from the scroll, that means I can pass just like Mizuki-sensei said right?"

Iruka's eyes widened, "Mizuki said what?"

They both heard the sound of a projectile moving through the air before Naruto was roughly shoved away. The sickening sound of metal cutting into flesh was heard throughout the clearing."

Naruto's eyes widened.

About a mile away, six shinobi stood in the middle of the forest. One of them was kneeling next a large dog.

The one kneeling next to the dog nodded, "The kid shouldn't be much farther away."

"Good, when we find that damn brat, I'm going to ring his little neck?"

"Anyone wonder how that kid managed to sneak that oversized scroll out of the tower to begin with? Especially when he was wearing that ridiculous costume."

The one who was kneeling next to the dog got up, "We'll ask him that after we catch him, now lets go-" A bush at the side of the road rustled, causing her to quickly pull out a kunai.

Before she got a chance to throw it, a shadow jumped out of the bush, wielding a bamboo staff.

The Chunin's eyes widened.

Naruto and Iruka stood in the middle of a large clearing. Iruka was kneeling down, obviously injured.

"How…" Iruka began. "How did you know that I was not Iruka?" A cloud of smoke erupted around Iruka's form. When it cleared it revealed a panting Mizuki.

"Because…" this time Naruto's form was enveloped in smoke, "I'm Iruka." The man said before he fell back, letting himself lean against a tree.

Mizuki growled his former colleague and friend, "Why are you protecting that freak? You know what he did to your parents, what he did to our village! And you sure as hell know what he's going to do now. He's going to use the scroll to obtain power and take revenge on the village. That's how monters think!"

Iruka's eyes narrowed, "Your right, that is how monsters think…but that's not how Naruto thinks. He messes up a lot, plays pranks, and people tend to jump on him for that, but that doesn't make him a monster. He's Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf Village, not the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

Mizuki rolled his eyes at the man, before he reached for his last shurikan. "Fine, if that's what you want, then you can die with him!" Mizuki threw the shurikan at Iruka, right before getting a fist to the face, which sent him flying back several feet. When he got back up he saw Naruto standing in front of him.

Iruka dodged to the right, avoiding a direct kill, but still received a long slash across his chest. At the sound Naruto quickly turned towards Iruka, before turning back towards Mizuki, tears and fire in his eyes. "If you ever touch my sensei again…I'LL KILL YOU!"

Mizuki smirked, "Just try it Kyuubi! I'll kill you with one blow!"

"Just try it fool…I'll send it right back a thousand fold, Shadow Clone Technique!" Suddenly hundreds of Naruto suddenly materialized in the clearing. And they were all grinning at Mizuki.

With wide eyes, Mizuki did the only thing he could do, he screamed, "AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mizuki went down in just under twenty seconds. Afterwards, after dispelling the clones, Naruto quickly turned and ran towards Iruka. The man was bleeding profusely from the wound in his chest.

"Naruto…get…the…scroll…and run…back to…the…village", Iruka said in between pants, coughing up a bit of blood.

"Iruka-sensei…" the boy said sadly.

"Go…hurry up!"

The blonde scowled. "I can help." He quickly began doing a quick series of handseals.

"Naruto…just-"

"Phoenix Technique!" green chakra encircled Naruto's hands, which he placed against Iruka's chest. Almost instantly, the bleeding stopped. In half a minute, the wound began to close. In one minute, the wound was half closed. One minute and fifty-six seconds after he began the technique, the wound, and the small cuts Iruka suffered before hand, closed.

Throughout the process, Iruka could only stare over Naruto in shock. "Naruto…how did you…"

Naruto just grinned, panting softly.

The act caused Iruka to smile, "Naruto close your eyes." Naruto cocked his head to the side in curiosity before he did as he was told. Naruto felt Iruka wrap something around his head, before he was allowed to open his eyes again. He saw Iruka, minus the hitai-ate, smiling at him.

Unfortunately, before they could speak further, five ANBU suddenly appeared around both Naruto and Iruka. Two of them immediately made a move towards Naruto, which made Iruka's eyes widened, "WAIT! It wasn't his fault. Mizuki tricked him into stealing the forbidden scroll."

That made the ANBU pause. Four of them turned towards the center one, and dog-masked ANBU.

The dog-masked ANBU took a glance at Mizuki before glancing towards both Naruto and Iruka. Before he could say anything, he heard the buzz of the radio in his mask. "Buzz…what Iruka-kun said was true. Send Naruto to my office and take the necessary actions against Mizuki."

Not betraying the fact that he had been given orders by the Hokage, "Nightingale, escort Naruto-kun AND the scroll to the Hokage's office. Panther, take Iruka to the hospital." He said after noting the blood on Iruka's clothes.

"Actually." Iruka said, while getting up. "Naruto here already healed me up."

If he weren't wearing a mask, they would have seen Dog's raised eyebrow. "Explain."

"I did the Phoenix Technique", Naruto answered, obviously quite proud of himself.

Dog filed that piece of information in the back of his mind under, get more answers later, "Nightingale!"

The bird-masked ANBU went up to Iruka and immediately her - they assumed it was a her by the feminine figure - hands glowed green. She touched them to Iruka chest for a few moments before answer, not even turning her head, "Rough and unrefined, but not bad. He'll heal completely in just under a day by my estimation."

Dog nodded, "Good, but get him checked up just the same." He then turned towards Mizuki and walked off, with the other two ANBU right behind him. Panther shrugged, before he gestured for Iruka to follow him. Naruto followed behind Nightingale.

All three ANBU stood around Mizuki. The one with an Otter-masked sighed, "Dumb schmuck. Why do you think he did it?"

"My guess?" Dog began. "The usual, power. He got Naruto involved because…well let's face it, what better scapegoat. Tiger, check the damage."

"Does it look like an army went through here, or is it just me?" was Tiger's only reply before going down on one knee. A quick set of handseals, and his hands glowed green. Dog took a moment to look around and agreed, something odd did happen. After a moment, Tiger sighed and turned towards his leader. "Probably should have kept Nightingale here. He has multiple broken bones, including a few ribs. If we move him, chances are something will get punctured. I can't heal this out here." He said as he stood up.

"I see." He paused when he heard another call on his radio.

"Dog! Can you here me? Over."

Dog pressed his hand to the side of his mask, "Five by five, Horse. What is it, over."

"There was a battle in the area my team was deployed. Six of ours are injured, plus one Inuzuka hound. No visible enemies in the area, over."

Dog cursed, "Copy that. Send up a flare and I'll be there in a moment, over and out." He got up and looked towards his comrades. "Set up a perimeter around the traitor and stay in the shadows. I'll send a medical squad to move the traitor as soon as possible." Left unsaid was the possibility of the enemy coming to retrieve Mizuki, but both Tiger and Otter were experienced enough to read between the lines.

"Yes sir!" And they both disappeared in the trees.

Dog disappeared as well.

Five minutes later and Tiger flew back into the clearing and smashing into the ground, unconscious. Otter was immediately on high alert. Luckily, or unluckily, he found the enemy quickly enough.

He wore an oriental styled black robe, and a large straw hat. In his left hand was a long bamboo staff, probably the weapon he used to incapacitate Tiger. By the way he was standing, and holding the weapon, it was obvious he was quite skilled in its use. The wasn't the most startling thing the. He, Otter, wasn't looking at a man. He was looking at a…bear. A bear with white and black fur. It completely caught him off guard, but he managed to tense up when he saw the…bear…grin.

It rested it's staff on it's shoulders, before bending his knees, "I…bring…PANDA-MONIUM!"

-x- Hokage's Office –x-

Naruto stood in front of the Hokage, and it was quite obvious that he was not happy.

Hiruzen wanted to smash Mizuki's face in for revealing the truth about the Kyuubi to Naruto. He had wanted to do so personally, in a controlled environment. "I know what Mizuki told you Naruto, and I'm sure you are quite angry that I hid the truth from you."

Naruto nodded, trying to stay as calm as possible. "Just tell me the truth…why me?"

The old man sighed, wishing this were something he could make-up for with promises of sweets. Worked with his kids. "First understand, you are in no way, shape, or form the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The demon was a thing that couldn't be killed, so the Yondaime Hokage sealed the beast into a child. For a child, just born, was the only thing a demon could be sealed into. In truth, there were only two children born that day and you just happened to be born first." It was a partial truth, but he hoped it would satisfy Naruto for now. He honestly didn't think the boy was ready to learn everything, and he personally wasn't in any hurry to be the one to reveal it all.

Naruto's head fell, his hair covering his eyes. Iruka's hitai-ate was in Naruto's lap, allowing his hair the freedom necessary to hide his eyes from view. A few minutes went by before Hiruzen broke the silence.

"Naruto, may I ask you a question now?"

Naruto's face lifted slightly. Not a lot, just enough so he could see the aged Hokage. He gave a slight nod.

"I've seen you used two Ninjutsus that you should have no knowledge of. The Shadow Clone Technique, you obviously got from the scroll. But I can't think of a single place where you could have learned the Phoenix Technique. Would you mind filling in that gap." Only a few ANBU ever bothered to learn that jutsu, and that was mostly for emergencies. He doubted that one of them would have taught it to Naruto, so it was a question as to how he came across it.

Naruto immediately looked nervous. 'I'm not suppose to tell anyone about Runa…so what do I-"

"Apprentice."

"RUNA!" Naruto accidentally shouted, surprising both the old man and himself. He immediately clamped his hand over his mouth and looked very much like a deer caught in the headlights.

'Runa?' Hiruzen thought curiously.

"Expect reprimanding at a later date for allowing my name to slip in that fashion, something like that is unbecoming of a shinobi. However, in this case, you may go ahead and tell him about me. About us."

"Ummm…okay." Naruto said in slight confusion. "Ummm, I've been getting outside help, from a ninja of Leaf. She said I shouldn't tell anybody, because it was illegal for a ninja to teach a person who isn't a ninja yet."

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly, "Shinobi Code of Etiquette 24-C, that isn't completely accurate, but close enough to the truth I suppose."

Naruto nodded, "Well, I met Runa a year ago. She helped me learn the Clone Technique, right after I failed the second time. Then she gave me two books and a scroll, the scroll had the Phoenix Technique. She said it was a good skill for someone like me to learn."

Hiruzen looked at Naruto curiously, "I'd have to agree with that…but who is she exactly? I've made it a habit to learn the name and faces of all those who work under me, and I can honestly say I've never heard of anyone with the first name Runa."

Naruto looked up, obviously searching through his memory. "Well, I think she's really old. Pale skin, white hair, blues eyes. I think she likes wearing dark robes to…"

"You think? You don't actually know what she looks like?" Hiruzen asked in confusion. This was becoming disturbing.

Naruto shook his head, "Not really. I've only seen her in my head."

Hiruzen began to sweat somewhat, 'could the Kyuubi be communicating with Naruto...but how would the demon give Naruto the books and the scroll. That can't be it.'

"She said she communicates with me telepathically…"

Hiruzen's eyes widened, "KREIA!" he screamed as he slammed his fists into the table. It obviously startled Naruto, as he flinched back. Suddenly, a transparent image appeared between Naruto and Hiruzen. It was obvious that Naruto didn't see it, but Hiruzen's eyes narrowed at the figure. 'Kreia Yamanaka', he thought, knowing Kreia would hear him. It also had the affect of not allowing Naruto to hear the impending conversation.

"I'm glad to see our time apart hasn't made you forget about me, Hiruzen."

'How…dare…you sink your claws into Naruto.'

She cocked her head to the side and gave the third a small smile. She knew he hated when she did that. "Would it have been better if he had failed?"

'YES! It would have. I won't allow you to ruin Naruto like you ruined Orochimaru!' A little known fact about the Sannin was that Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't there only teacher. Around the time they all turned sixteen, Hiruzen was caught up in many of the duties that being Hokage entailed. At that time, they all had quite the balanced repertoire of Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu, and were way above some who were many years older than they were. So as to not stunt there growth, he arranged for private tutors.

Tsunade studied under Reimi Hyuuga, the village's leading medic at that time. Under Reimi, Tsunade took her first steps to becoming the world's greatest Medic-nin.

Jiraiya, studied under Jin Uzuki. It was originally meant for Jiraiya to learn Ninjutsu and Taijutsu from the man; however what he mostly learned was the art of spying. Not only did Jiraiya become a more efficient spy, Jin also taught Jiraiya how to form a spy network. It was something only Jin and a few others were ever proficient in. And Jiraiya obviously ran with it.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, studied under another legendary figure by the name of Kreia Yamanaka. She was suppose to teach Orochimaru Ninjutsu, enough to crave the, by then, young man's thirst for knowledge. Unfortunately, she took it to a new level and introduced Orochimaru to Kinjutsu (forbidden techniques). Many dark and ancient things, which should have remained buried forever. The rest, as they say, is history.

Kreia scoffed, "You still haven't accepted the truth I see? We both know that the Snake was beyond redemption. If I am to blame, it was only because I gave him the knowledge he wanted." Kreia furrowed her eyes, "And you gave him the power, if I do recall."

'Don't you DARE start with that nonsense! This ends now, I won't allow Naruto to speak with you anymore!'

Kreia once again cocked her head, and gave him a small smile.

Hiruzen looked through her and saw Naruto's eyes widened, before the boy's head snapped to a picture, of Minato Namikaze, on the wall. Hiruzen's heart dropped, 'Oh shit…'

He then turned his head towards Hiruzen, "The Fourth Hokage is my father?"

And then Kreia started laughing.

Hiruzen growled, 'You bitch…' Why was it that Kreia was the only person who could get Hiruzen to abandon all forms of decency and civility? Not to mention self-respect.

Kreia's specter then got right in front of Hiruzen's face. 'I wonder how he'll feel when he finds out what you did to his mother.' Hiruzen's heart nearly stopped. "Ah, yes. Kushina, she wanted to take Naruto back home with her, but you wouldn't allow it. You were afraid of what would happen if an enemy country got there hands on the Kyuubi's powers. So…you destroyed Kushina's memories and replaced them with memories of a girl that wasn't even her own. That girl is now living Naruto's life…and Naruto…well we both know what kind of life my apprentice is living."

Hiruzen was breathing hard.

"Why didn't you tell me that the Fourth Hokage was my father?"

"So…you don't want me to teach Naruto and you don't want Naruto to learn the truth about his mother. In truth, he'll probably run away to go find her. I see only one-way for you to achieve both of these criteria Hiruzen. Kill Naruto."

The Hokage's eyes widened. 'WHAT!'

"Kill him. I won't abandon my claim on him, and if you try to take him away, I'll reveal to him the truth about Kushina and your hand in her disappearance. So, the way I see it, your only choice is to kill Naruto."

"Everyone already knows about the fox, does that mean they know about my father too?"

"Go ahead Hiruzen, you already mutated his life into something that is now unrecognizable. The least you could do is put him out of his misery."

"It's true isn't it, everybody knows!"

"Kill him! KILL HIM NOW!"

"SHUT UP!" Everyone in the tower, even Danzou who was on the floor under the Hokage's office, froze.

Naruto got the worst of it though. The poor boy looked like he was about ready to crawl into a hole and die somewhere. And Hiruzen was about ready to join him, to be quite honest. His heart was going a mile a minute and he was breathing hard.

Once again, Kreia gave that innocent smile. "After Orochimaru, you had the nerve to take away my former apprentices from me, and the gall to re-teach them lessons I had already taught." Kreia's specter then got in Hiruzen's face. "So let's get one thing straight. Naruto…is…MINE. I have already suffered your corruption of my students in the past and you shall not have this one. Goodbye Hiruzen" With that, Kreia disappeared. "Oh…and if you behave yourself, I may decide to tell you of the plot to destroy Konoha."

Hiruzen sighed, before he rested his hands on his table. He suddenly felt every second of his age. 'How the hell does Kreia do this to me?'

Far away, Kreia smiled. She looked around the clearing, glancing at the two unconscious ANBU and then to Mizuki still unconscious next to her.

"So, you been having a conversation with an old lover or something?"

Kreia grinned, "Something like that." She kneeled down and placed her palm on Mizuki's chest. "Awaken, fool."

Mizuki's eyes snapped open.

-x- Omake –x-

Mojo, the Pandaren Brewmaster, scratched his chin, "The young masta is quite amazing, don't you think?"

Runa nodded as she reclined in her chair, "I wouldn't have picked him if I didn't think he had potential."

Not only did he finally learn the Phoenix Technique, but he also managed to learn the Shadow Clone in such a short amount of time. So I sent the young masta gift."

Kreia's eyes widened slightly, "I thought I told you to clear any gifts with me first." Mojo never…used the most common sense whenever he gave someone a gift. Like that incident where he gave a six year old a fully functioning crossbow, and for got to mention that it was fully funictioning.

Mojo just waved her concern off. "You worry to much mistress, I definitely gave something good this time."

"And what, pray tell, would that be?"

"Ice, cold ale," He said, slapping the large barrow he was carrying around.

Kreia's looked at him in shocked. "Ale…your ale?"

Mojo nodded cheerfully, "And don't worry, I signed it under your name. No need to thank me."

For the first time in decades, Kreia was afraid.

-x—x-

Naruto sighed as he slammed the door of his apartment shut. The talk between himself and the old man, and technically Runa, was…hell to say the least. He definitely needed some time alone to think.

As he was passing by his kitchen, he noticed the bucket on his kitchen counter, with the brown bottle sticking out of it. Staring at it curiously for a moment, he went to check on it, noticing that the bucket was fool of ice, which the bottle was submerged in.

He quickly found a sticky note attached to it, "Naruto, congratulations on passing your exam. –Runa"

Naruto smiled as he grabbed the body and admired it for a moment. Looked to be about two liters, if he was measuring correctly. Shrugging, he used his teeth to pull the cork out of the bottle. Whatever Runa got for him, he silently hoped it tasted sweet…though he'd probably enjoy it no matter how it tasted. It was from Runa after all.

He quickly took a small sip.

-x—x-

"Naruto…" Hiruzen sighed at the boy. It was obvious the boy was acting out even more. Sadly Hiruzen couldn't really fault the boy, he himself would probably do the same given the same situation. "Take the picture again, and take it of your face this time. Our customers are going to have to recognize you and I seriously doubt they'll be able to recognize a picture of you ass." At least he really hoped not. And when the hell did he get that tattoo, 'Property of Anko.' Hiruzen would have to have a…chat with that woman.

Naruto blinked in confusion, "Huuuuuuuuuuuuhh….but…I…what?"

Hiruzen rolled his eyes, if the boy wanted to act like a drunk, then Hiruzen wasn't about to amuse him. Less he start behaving like this more often.

"Sexy Technique!" Hiruzen's eyes widened when he saw the faux-drunk, blond bombshell. Trip over her…own feet apparently and fall on her ass. But even that was enough to down the old pervert with a massive nosebleed.

A puff of smoke later and Naruto was back, laughing his ass off pointing at Hiruzen. Or…to be more exact he was pointing a picture of Hiruzen, the one that happened to be on the wall. "I got…yoooooooouuuuuuu…old man." The blonde laughed to himself.

Hiruzen got up and stared at the boy in annoyance, "Na-ru-to."

The door slammed open, "I got you this time old man-yaahhh!" A boy suddenly ran into the room, only to trip over his own oversized scarf. Thanks to a sudden roll, the boy ended up right at Naruto's feet, whom at that point stopped laughing, to look at the boy. Konohamaru suddenly stood up and glared at Naruto, "HEY YOU! You tripped me!"

Naruto blinked a few times, before pointing at Konohamaru, "Is that my ass…is that what my ass looks like?" he asked looking towards the Hokage.

-x—x-

Naruto sighed. After a long and boring argument, Naruto decided to exit the Hokage's office. Unfortunately, the 'annoying brat', also known as, Konohamaru decided to follow him, demanding to be taught the secret of the Sexy Technique. The blonde sighed again, he really needed another stip of what Kreia left for him. He smiled, as he pulled the bottle out of his back pack and quickly took another small sip…the third thus far.

"HEY! What's that?" Konohamaru asked, curiously.

Naruto gave Konohamaru a weird look, before offering the boy the bottle. "Have a sip."

-x—x-

Naruto was actually impressed with Konohamaru. He was proving to be more devious than himself. After sneaking into a porn shop, he decided to continue his day by urinating his name on the side of a building.

Seriously, he managed to write "Konohamaru" and was currently working on "wuz here" to finish the message off.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" A blue clothed ninja, with sunglasses, landed right next to Konohamaru. Unfortunately, this had the unfortunate effect of drawing Konohamaru's attention…which had the unfortunate side effect redirecting the boy's aim at Ebisu. "STOP THAT AT ONCE!"

Naruto suddenly began laughing his ass off as he continued to cradle his new favorite drink. Konohamaru just stared at Ebisu in a drunken haze. Ebisu looked passed Konohamaru, and at Naruto…or more specifically, the drink in Naruto's hand. He disappeared and reappeared in front of Naruto, snatching the drink out of Naruto's hand. "HEY!" both Naruto and Konohamaru complained.

"So, this is the cause of your damn binge. You both have been drinking alcohol!"

"No we haven't." Naruto replied.

"Yes you have." Ebisu shot back through clenched teeth.

"No we haven't." Konohamaru replied.

"Oh really, so your saying if I take a sip of this, that I won't taste any alcohol whatsoever!"

Naruto and Konohamaru quickly looked at each other, before shrugging.

Ebisu growled, "Well, let's see then", he said with more than a little sarcasm. He took a quick swig from the bottle.

-x—x-

The less said about what happened during the next day, the better. By the end of it, Naruto was alone in his apartment, luckily looking no worse for wear.

When he first cracked open his right eye, the first thing he saw was that thrice damned bottle of ale, still half full. Through the mind-numbing pain he experienced in his head, he decided one thing…he was getting rid of the bottle. The first thing he did was rub his head, before pressing some acupressure points around his head. Quickly enough his hangover began to subside. He didn't even want to think about what happened after he ditched Konohamaru and Ebisu.

-x—x-

"WAKE UP!"

Ebisu groaned as he was suddenly kicked in the side. He got up and glared at the offender, only to discover the foot was attached to a woman dressed like an ANBU. And two others flanked her.

"Ebisu, you are under arrest."

Even through his hangover induced state, Ebisu heard the woman loud and clear. "What…why!"

"You want a complete list?"

He looked at her fearfully for a moment before nodding slightly. What the hell did he do last night?

The one in front of Ebisu, Cat, pulled out a notebook. "Three counts of indecent exposure, one count of a lewd act, one count of bribery, five counts of assaulting Konoha civilians…one of which was a young girl, who's Hymen was broken when you pushed her off the second story window, so RAPE…one count of throwing feces at civilians." She quickly flipped the book to the next page, "Now for the orphans you adopted."

"I adopted orphans?"

"Twenty-two actually. Twenty-two counts of denying children food. Twenty-two counts of selling children as food…"

Ebisu's eyes widened as Cat continued the long list of offenses.

"And finally, as of this morning, one count of insulting elders of Konohagakure by saying, and I quote, 'You oldz azz bitchesz and suckz my big one, skeet skeet skeet skeet skeet."

Ebisu sat there, blinking for a few moments, "They…didn't appreciate that I assume…"

"It didn't well, no." Cat finished calmly.

-x—x-

Naruto walked outside, and to the dumpster that happened to be outside of his apartment building. He stood on his toes, ready to dump the bottle into the dumpster.

"STOP THAT UNYOUTHFUL ACT!"

Naruto turned to see…someone wearing a green jumpsuit, suddenly appear next to him.

"What are you doing, your just going to dump that water into that dumpster. People die of dehydration everyday in the desert and your just going to dump it!" Rock Lee said incredulously.

Naruto blinked a few times. He thought about telling the kid that they didn't live anywhere near the desert…but he was still having trouble forming coherent sentences, so he decided against it. He just shrugged and offered Rock Lee the bottle.

Obviously the boy was thirsty, or he was really against letting things go to waste, because he quickly gulped down the remaining half of the bottle. But quite frankly, the less said about a drunken Rock Lee running around…the better.

A/N:

1. Kreia is a character from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2. I used a few quotes, she uses in the game. For thus of you who guessed her identity when i referred to her as Runa, bravo.

2. Mojo is a Pandaren Brewmaster. Pandarens belong to the Warcraft universe. Always wanted to have them in a fic (them and Ninja turtles). Chen Stormstout will probably end up being the Animal Boss. I doubt i'll give them a giant animal (Gamabunta sized). At best he'll probably be about the size of Monkey King Enma (same as all the other pandaren), with the ability to transform into a badass weapon. I haven't decided what though.

3. Like i said, above, I'm not one hundred percent sure if i'll continue this or not, so if anyone's interested i'll probably turn it into a challenge fic. Just send me a link to the fic (fyi: Please don't be upset with me if i don't get a chance to read your fic). If enough people get interested, i'll throw a few ideas up in my profile.

Anyway, please review.