The Roots from Whence We Grow

Disclaimer: Naruto and its structure, plot, characters, and pretty much everything in it is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This story that you are currently reading is a fan-made fiction created by me, and as such is based heavily on and takes place in the Naruto world created by Masashi Kishimoto. It is not in the forseeable future that Masashi Kishimoto will, either in the present or the far-off future, simply hand off his prized and world-famous manga/anime to me. So praise Masashi Kishimoto and the proper affiliations, of which I am too lazy to check, for creating such a wonderful story that 99% of us in the world couldn't even dream of. End crappy disclaimer.

Summary: After Sasuke's defection, Naruto does not leave with Jiraiya for a training trip. Instead, he will learn what it means to be a true shinobi under the tutelage of Danzo and become a part of Konoha's Foundation. Root!Naruto, though he won't be emotionless like Ne members. Danzo will be a major protagonist in the story, though he won't get as much attention in the beginning of the story.

Key:

'Alright… so if I draw this kanji here and put this symbol here than…' - Thinking

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" – Jutsu Activation

"I'm going to be Hokage, Dattebayo!" – Normal Speech

"So… my warden has finally seen fit to visit little 'ol me." – Demon Speech (Kyuubi, etc.)

Author's Note: To any new readers to this story, Chapter 1 and 2 will be edited sometime in the nearby future, both to make it cleaner, flow better, more realistic, expand on certain concepts, and add stuff that I didn't when I was typing up this chapter.

Chapter 1

He trudged up the dirt road, mildly sweating from the heat given off from the sun. He resisted the urge to scratch the itch caused from the bandages wrapped around his face and the entirety of his neck, leaving only his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth exposed. The hospital gown that used to be so immaculately clean, like the hospital it came from, was covered with the dirt that blew up when he dragged his feet across the ground. Uzumaki Naruto had escaped from the hospital again, like he did to the many ninjas before in their pursuit of him, but this time he wasn't smiling.

'Sakura… I couldn't keep my promise to you. Sasuke… I couldn't… I couldn't stop you. I couldn't save you from… from…'

From what? What was he trying to save Sasuke from? Was everything they had together a lie? All the time they spent together, the comradery? His mind's eye flashed through images of before, a small child, sitting on a pier by the lake and a smile that meant everything to him. The boy was eventually replaced with an older boy just starting out in his teens, the smile turned into a smirk and the word 'dobe' echoing through his mind. Then there was darkness, and two rivals perched above two equally high trees, scarred from the kunai slashes of the endeavors of genin on their first C-Class mission. A dome of ice, reflecting the image of a boy with too many needles in him and another with pure shock in his face. Then the punctured boy's face showed horrible agony as a grotesque head sunk his (Her? Perhaps neither.) teeth into the neck of the boy. But the agony turned into a fierce visage, shadowed by the dark power that emanated off of him in waves. And he remembered the anger, the pure hate that rolled off of the boy's tongue at the sight of his older brother.

'What happened to you Sasuke? You were my friend, my first real friend. You were the brother that I always envied and strived to beat, but still… I thought that our bond was real. Was I wrong then?'

His feet eventually led the rest of his body up the slanted road and across the area toward his favorite spot, the head of the Fourth Hokage. There was another man standing by, closer to the head of the Third. His back was facing towards Naruto; the sun cast shadows on his back, so the man's appearance was hard to see. Any other time and Naruto would have been unnerved by the man's presence; few came up here afterall, and those that did usually came at other times. But Naruto was too busy lingering in his own thoughts and his conflicted emotions to register the man's presence as unusual or suspicious, so he continued on his trek and sat on the Fourth's head, staring out in the distance. The man did nothing to acknowledge Naruto's entrance, no clue to show he even realized it at all. He just stood there, stiff and straight, yet like a bird of war ready to swoop down on unsuspecting prey.

The two of them stayed there for what seemed like hours, one lost in his thoughts and the other reminiscing on years far back. Eventually the sun started to set, and the landscape was covered with a vivid glow of orange. Naruto remembered this view; he had burned it into his mind throughout the years in his visits here. It was this view that was primarily responsible for his obsession with orange when he had first come up here after the loneliness had overcome him. Ever since then, this had become his place to think when he needed to get away from everything.

The silence that had lasted for hours was suddenly broken by a cough from the other man, whom Naruto had somewhat forgotten was there. Startled, he turned around and finally got his first good look at the man. The man was old, not as old-looking as the old man Hokage, yet he looked far worse off. Black shaggy hair fell slightly over bandages that completely covered his forehead and stretched over his right eye. Deep wrinkles covered his face, though they were definitely not caused by laughter like the Third's; instead, this man had looked like he had not seen a good day in ages. A scar in the shape of an x was displayed prominently on his chin. A white long-sleeved shirt was covered by a brown robe that stretched from his right shoulder to the left hip, and from there on covered the lower half of his body. Something protruded from inside the brown robe, which Naruto realized was probably his right arm. Naruto vaguely remembered him from when the Third would talk with his advisors Koharu and Homura.

As Naruto started at the man, he continued to look out towards Konoha. Naruto watched as the man opened his mouth to speak. "Do you see this village?" Unlike his appearance, the man's voice was powerful and commanding, and Naruto subconsciously focused his attention to the man's words. "This village… this village and all the people down there make up Konoha. For many years the village of Konoha has strived and toiled to survive in this world. And Konoha has become great. It has flourished and prospered and has become the greatest of all the ninja villages. Do you know why?" Naruto stayed silent and waited for the man's words.

"Since the founding of Konoha, our shinobi have sacrificed everything in order to preserve the village. They have sacrificed their time, their efforts, and even their lives, all for the sake of the village. But what many don't see is that sometimes we shinobi must sacrifice much, much more." The man paused, seemingly thinking about something.

"What would you be willing to sacrifice for the sake of the village? Could you slaughter your entire family to prevent a civil war from tearing the village apart? Could you condemn an innocent to a life of hate and pain if it saves the village? Could you harden your heart and do what is necessary?"

Sometime during the speech, Naruto felt that his mouth had come dry. He licked his lips to try to get rid of the feeling and the odd taste at the back of his throat, but still it persevered. He had no response to give to the man, but he thought of his own burden as he rubbed his belly. He also thought back to the memorial stone that Kakashi-sensei had showed them. To sacrifice more than their lives, all for the sake of the village? His thoughts turned to Sasuke. He wanted to save him, to take him back to Konoha and show him that he wasn't alone, but what if he didn't want to come back? His hand raised itself up to his chest, where it traced the edges of a fist-sized scar that had gone straight through his chest, barely missing his heart. Pain raced through him, not physical pain, but emotional pain at a reminder of a bond that his best friend had tried to shatter completely and permanently.

The man continued with his speech. "There are many that say that we shinobi are still human, and that to feel emotion is important. But sometimes, we must sacrifice that humanity so that we may act in the village's best interest. We shinobi are not beings of morals and ethics. We do not have a code of honor or a sense of justice. We do what we must to survive. We do what we must so that our village survives." Naruto's thoughts led to a lonely Hyoton user and a fierce demon. He wanted to argue out against the man, but he couldn't find the words.

"You are still young and naïve to understand now. But sooner or later, you will eventually. As long as the shinobi system is present in our society, we shinobi must do as needed. Even if the system was removed, humanity's faults will lead itself back to violence in some other means. So what will you do, Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto didn't realize the use of his name from a man he didn't know or the fact that he was speaking to said man he didn't know about these things in the first place. It was lost on him as he was in his own thoughts while he tried to find a way to phrase his words right. When he did finally speak, it was unusually reserved and subdued compared to his normal way of speaking, but it held the same resolve, the same determination as always, if not more.

"Even though I don't have many happy memories here in Konoha, the few ones I do… they're very precious to me. It might seem strange, but those memories and the people I made them with, they mean everything to me! They give me the hope that someday I'll be acknowledged and respected! So that's why… that's why I want to protect the village like the old man Hokage did. He died for the people he loved. He sacrificed his life for them. You say I'll have to sacrifice more than my life? Then I'll do it! I'll sacrifice everything I have for the few things that Konoha has offered me! I'll sacrifice what I have so that others don't have to! I'd do anything to keep Konoha safe!"

The fire in Naruto's eyes seemed to rekindle, yet the flames moved with purpose and with a sad melancholy to them. He thought of Sasuke, who gave up everything in Konoha for power. 'Sasuke… I don't want to. It'll break my promise to Sakura, and it'll break my heart too, but if… if you threaten or harm Konoha in any way, then I'll have to end you myself! It's my responsibility as your comrade, as your friend.'

Naruto thought he saw the man give an imperceptible nod and a small upward twitch of the corner of his lips to the answer.

"Anything?" The man asked. Naruto raised his fist up, similar to the time of the preliminaries of the Chunin exams when he swore on Hinata's blood. "Everything." This time the man gave a noticeable nod to the response.

After the silence continued on, Naruto realized the conversation was over. Taking his time to take one last glance at the setting sun and the view of Konoha, he left the man there and headed to his apartment. When he was able to reach his apartment unimpeded, he figured that Grandma Tsunade had made the people stop searching for him so he could think. Thankful for that, he was able to relax in his apartment and have his first peaceful sleep in a week since Sasuke's defection. Though long after Naruto had left the top of the Hokage Monument, the old war hawk was still perched on his old friend's head, sharp eyes capturing every detail of the village.

Author's Note: So this is my first fanfiction and everything and it would be a great help if any of you readers out there to review. Tell me whether you like the idea, ways I can improve, etc. etc.

This idea that I came up with is still in development, so don't expect daily updates. I might not be able to update frequently so sorry if that is the case.

As for any pairings for Naruto, I have absolutely no idea. It's most likely I won't pair him up with anyone at all in the story, and if I do, than it'll just be one person.

Expect some OCs. There are only a few known characters in Ne (Root, whatever) so I'm trying to find a way to fit them in the story, balance them so they're not overpowered and everything, but make them unique in their own right.

Also, the next chapters that come out will focus on Naruto being invited into Ne and being trained. I'm not going to be like, "Oh, welcome to Root." Than the next chapter is 3 Years Later. Don't know how many chapters I'll focus for Naruto's training, but they'll also be used to develop my Root OCs.

The plot of the story is probably going to deviate from canon, how much I don't know. We'll find out. :P

The story is susceptible to rating change. I might have to change it to M for violence and stuff. High chance I won't have pairings or lemons and stuff like that so sorry if you're looking for that and I don't implement it.

Anyways, please review, if you have any ideas or advice review or PM, blah blah blah. Signing out. Peace~