((This story is pure fan-fiction. The characters and locations are the sole property of Shonen Jump and the series's creator, Masashi Kishimoto. G.I. Joe is the sole property of those who created the toys, TV shows, movies, webisodes, and video games. At no time is this fiction an intent to infringe upon their rights nor properties.

A shout to trooper0007 for his story Hebi no me. With his permission, I present my own story. Also Thanks to GoodMorningFlower for agreeing to be my beta for this story.

"normal speech"/ flashback thought

thoughts/ flashback speech and action

[Snake Eye's sign translation/writing]

[Snake Eye's sign translation/writing during flashback]))

The rising sun found him sitting in a full lotus, breathing so very lightly and his hands together at the fingertips while his forearms rested atop his thighs. Eyes closed, Snake Eyes meditated to calm his mind. Ever since the graduation exams, he jumped from anticipation to despair to just plain old impatience. Finally the interim week had passed and today was the day. At long last, he would know what team he was on and to whom he would address as "Sensei".

Bright blue eyes opened as he slowly rose from the meditative posture. Sunlight shone golden on his bare skin and the ensuing shadows deepened the creases of his muscles and scars as he began a slow set of motions meant to limber his body up. Once the routine was completed, Snake Eyes turned his back to the sun and walked into his home and took care of his "normal" morning rituals. Simple cotton undergarments were donned quickly.

He strode quietly to the drawers and lifted an odd full sleeve top. He rolled it up from bottom to top before he repeated the motion he had used with the tank top. After putting his arm through the sleeves, he tugged and straightened the complex wire and synthetic fiber shirt until it was perfect. Ensuring the dark gray design atop his shoulders ran straight down to the elbows. Baggy black ANBU styled cargo pants were slid on and double buttoned at the waist.

Snake Eyes paused in front of the half-length mirror and tilted his head ever so slightly as he regarded his appearance evenly. A taller than your average twelve-year-old stared back with intensely blue eyes and crew cut blonde hair. A finger traced the four scars that radically changed his life. From center forehead to right cheek. From under his right eye down along his cheek to the jaw. Top of his left ear down to the edge of his lips. Finally, the scar that ran across his throat. Of the four, that was the one that hurt the worst. Even to this day. He attended to each one with an ease of motion that spoke of long-term repetition. As did the way he stretched and massaged the various facial muscles.

That completed, he washed his hands and debated on whether to don his full gear for the first time since he set the rig up. He continued to debate it even as he fixed and then ate a moderate breakfast. Setting the dishes in the sink, he finally decided to forgo the act but would store them on his person should his new sensei choose to administer the true test that very day. A test which all of his mentors had cautioned him about to one degree or another. Remember to look underneath the underneath.

He grabbed his visored mask and tugged it on over his head and face. Centering the slitted metal until it no longer restricted his vision, he tucked the neckline of the mask under the tight collar of his top. Snake Eyes then rotated his neck in a wide motion a few times then reversed the direction to make sure the mask settled properly. Satisfied, he headed to the front door and stopped at a side table.

He picked up and ran a finger over the portrait standing by the lamp. An adult woman with long brown hair and chocolate eyes stared at him from above a slanted purple bar adorning each of her cheeks. Her smile was warm and mischievous as the photographer caught her giving a noogie to a much smaller boy with spiky blonde hair and whisker marks. Kaa-san...I can't wait to tell you who my Sensei is. Come home safe and sound. He returned the picture to its earlier place with a small outlet of breath, the closest he could come to a sigh.

Sitting down, Snake Eyes quickly pulled on his soft soled boots and put into place the gray wraps. A click of the clasps just below both knees and he was all set. Walking out the door, he locked it behind him and left. A few minutes later, he strode out of the wooded area. Pausing to place a palm on a particular tree, he applied Chakra and smiled behind the mask as the protective barriers and seals recognized his departure. Now he knew his home was safe and secure during his absence.

Performing a few more stretches to settle the last of his nerves, he took off. Traveling by rooftops was easier and less time-consuming than taking the streets. Not to mention safer. A fact he tried not to think about anymore, but like now, the memories from six years ago rose undesired at the merest whisper of a thought.

Memories of the night that Uzumaki Naruto died. The night Snake Eyes of the Arashikage was born.

((Flashback))

He's running from the group of angry villagers wielding knives and shouting at him. Chasing him in the annual "Fox Hunt". He cursed under his breath at how stupid he was to be spotted out during this night of all nights. Didn't matter if it was his birthday, this was the one night when he HAD to be someplace else. ANYPLACE but out on the streets after night fall. Which, for him, meant either ANBU HQ or the Hokage's Office. Not even the apartment the Old Man gave him was safe this time every year.

His fear rose as he found himself in a dead-end alley, his heartbeat drowning out everything else. Fear growing into terror as rough hands gripped his wrists. Holding his malnourished body off the ground. Eyes widening as the group parted to let a knife carrying woman through. Watching her pour some weird liquid over the knife. His heart rate pounding even faster as she ripped the shirt open and began cutting. Her smirk growing in blood lust at his every scream. The way she laughed as she slashed his throat. Injuries burning even more as tears flowed into the cuts the woman had made on his face.

Hatred forming in his heart with every taunt and joke at his agony. Increasing his humiliation as well as the dehumanization they loved subjecting him to. Hatred turning inward, against himself, as he realized that even now he wanted to protect this place. All because there were a few people in it that DIDN'T hate or mistreat him.

Relief coursing through his veins, eradicating the fear and subduing the hatred as he heard his attackers run away in fear from where they tossed him. Blurring faces he recognized. ANBU masks that he knew were either friendly or at least neutral to him. Ookami. Inu. Karasu.

Explosions of pain forcing blackness to overcome him.

((Flashback end))

Involuntarily shuddering after performing a rolled landing, Snake Eyes stopped to look out over the village and wondered yet again if he would ever be rid of the phantom memories. It's alright to remember, Snake Eyes...just don't let the memories consume you…the warning from his therapist, Yamanaka Inoichi, floated up immediately. Fighting down the approaching panic attack, Snake Eyes deliberately slowed his breathing from gasps to steady rhythmic patterns. He turned to stare at the hospital in the distance silently, another sigh as the sight dredged up a memory of what came next. When his world shattered apart.

((Flashback))

Eyes opening, his entire body feeling heavy and listless. Is this it? Am I dead? he wondered as he tried to get some clue. His confusion growing as only his right eye cleared after blinking while the left was total darkness. A hand coming up to his face. Startlement as someone caught his hand, head turning and his clear eye fell on the nurse, Kaori, looking at him with worry as she spoke to him.

"Naruto...lie still...you've been seriously wounded," the woman said as she tried to calm him down. "The bandages are there to keep out infection."

He tried to say something, but no sound came out. Just silent air. His visible eye widened even more as he felt his lips move under the bandages but not so much as a whisper of sound. He started panicking anew.

Kaori gripped his arms, holding him in place. "What is it, Naruto? What's wrong? Can't you…" her eyes widened. "Calm down...I'll get the Hokage. He's outside," she said hurriedly but didn't let up until he nodded and stilled.

Watching the door, he tensed as the Old Man and Ookami walked in and shut the door. "Naruto...I want you to listen carefully," he said gravely as he sat on the edge of the bed while the ANBU leaned against the doorframe. Naruto, however, noted how the ANBU, Ookami, was tense. Whether in anger, or something else, he couldn't tell. He turned his head slowly until all he could see was the Hokage.

"Alright, Naruto-kun. Most of your attackers have been apprehended and are being questioned by the T&I department. Unfortunately, the ringleaders have escaped our efforts. Now don't worry...they will be found and punished. No one attacks one of my shinobi and gets away with it. I promise you that,"
he added seriously. "Ookami had to do an emergency tracheotomy so you could breathe. So your throat will be a bit sore…" he said in assurance, but his eyebrow went up as Naruto shook his head and tried again to speak aloud.

The Hokage's eyes widened and he spoke aloud, "Get me the doctor. Now." His attention was on his surrogate grandson as the ANBU left and returned a couple of minutes later.

"Doctor...why can't Naruto speak?" he asked in a chilling voice. "He has always healed every injury, the scarring he has now is proof of it, but why didn't his throat heal?"

Naruto turned his attention to the doctor and saw him gulp. His fear rising as the man continued to hesitate. When the man did answer, he suddenly wished the doctor had no explanation.

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. We analyzed the residue on the knife used in the attack, but we can't name the combinations of acids and toxins. Unlike before, he will have permanent scars. Large ones. As for his voice...both the true and false vocal folds have been badly damaged. The blade cut them cleanly even though his attacker somehow missed both arteries in his neck when they slashed. I'm thinking it was on purpose. It was the acid on the blade that did it. They ate away at the cords. I'm sorry but he will never speak again."

Naruto felt a tear fall and soak his bandages under his right eye. I can't talk ever again? But what about?...he tapped the Hokage's arm and made a gesture as if writing. His eye rolled as Ookami approached and handed him a small pad and pencil. Not so oddly, he relaxed slightly as she tousled a bit of his hair just like she had many times before. He quickly wrote and showed the Hokage the message.

[Can I still be a ninja?]

The Hokage thought for a moment then shook his head. His face suddenly looked weary and very old, "Naruto-kun...I'm sorry but I can't allow you to…" he paused in surprise as his ANBU guard spoke up.

"Hokage-sama? May I ask you something before you answer him fully?" Ookami asked deferentially yet her tone was hard when it came to his title.

Naruto's head swiveled back and forth as he tried to understand the silent by-play between these two. Something's up. ANBU never interrupt. Jiji looks mad about it too he thought as the two shut door after they exited. He couldn't make out what they were saying but it was...heated, if the tones were any indication.

A few minutes later they returned and the Hokage spoke in a gruff voice, "Ookami here will pick you up once you're released, Naruto-kun." He watched solemnly as the boy quickly scribbled a question.

[Why?]

"She will be looking after you from now on," he replied before giving the boy a pat on his head. He turned to leave adding in that same gruff tone, "Keep me informed."

At a loss, he turned his sole eye on the ANBU that had remained behind. Naruto watched as she secured the room before she removed her mask to show the face that went along with the long brown hair which reached the middle of her back.

Expressive brown eyes stared at him with compassion clear. A wide slanted purple bar adorned each cheek running from under the eyes to her jaw line. "You'll be living with me, Naruto-kun. And no matter what he says, we will find a way around this," her head tilted slightly and she smiled, "okay?"

All he could do was nod quickly and repeatedly.

Her smile grew and she added, "My name is Nohara Rin, by the way. I will be your legal Guardian as of tomorrow morning," she said as she eased onto the side of the bed. "I have to go, but I'll be back tomorrow. Do what the nurses tell you and rest," she said with a mock sternness as she rose and tucked him in gently.

Naruto wrote quickly and showed her the pad.

[What did you argue about? Why are you doing this?]

She looked at the pad and shook her head. "I'll explain everything later. For now, you must focus on getting better," she replied as her eyes moved around the room. "I don't want us overheard and this is not something others need to hear," she added enigmatically before replacing her mask and leaving the room.

Naruto sighed and closed his eye, trying to understand what was going on even as sleep crept up on him.

((Flashback End))

Snake Eyes, calmed by the memory of how he met his Guardian, took off and used the rooftops to resume his trek to the Academy. She kept her word. Visiting me almost everyday and being the one to walk me out of the hospital almost a week after the attack... he thought to himself. He checked his watch after he slid to a halt on a rooftop across from his most favorite place to eat. He frowned as he saw the ramen stand had yet to open for the day. What am I thinking? It's way too early for them to open...just means more at lunch! he reasoned silently. His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a pair of patrolling ANBU that had seen him stop. He rubbed the back of his neck in a bashful gesture before pointing to the stand when one asked him what had made him stop so suddenly. Which earned chuckles from the two as his addiction to that particular stands' ramen was considered legendary. His hands went through rapid gestures as he used ANBU signs to wish their patrol well.

As he began moving at a much more sedate pace, he thought more on the past six years. Don't know what I'd be like if she hadn't been so stubborn. Every lead she checked was a dead-end yet she never gave up. Even when I was losing hope… then a genuine smile formed behind the mask, one the synthetic fiber almost couldn't hide. Then she found it…

((Flashback))

Staring out the window, he heard the door open and the Nurse say in a sad tone that there had been no change in his mood. What do they expect? My dream is dying and they expect me to dance? Screw that... he thought bitterly as he rolled to his side and just watched the clouds float by from his bed. The bandages had finally come off and the result had terrified the boy. It would be a long time before he would have let anyone come in and see him like...like this. He wasn't vain by any means but the way his left eye seemed to bulge and the stretch of his lips on the right made him seem...inhuman to his eyes. He noticed how the attending nurses had given him pitying glances now. And that only fueled his negative self-image.

He heard the door close and felt the bed shift as Rin-sama, as he called her when they were alone and she wasn't wearing her mask, sat down. He didn't budge, afraid, as she tried to get him to face her.

"Naruto?... Naruto, look at me," she said in a firm tone and she knew her face betrayed her as she took in the damage wrought to such an energetic child. Her hand came up to her mouth as she took in everything. The bruising and angry red scar tissue made him look terrible, but she knew it was temporary. "It's...it's not bad, Naruto," she said after a moment and saw how his eyes had grown even dimmer as he took up the now ever-present notepad and scribbled something down before averting his eyes. Her eyes narrowed as she read it and her tone turned coldly firm.

[Now I look like the monster they all call me. Wonder how far I make it beyond the hospital.]

She forced him to look at her by gripping his chin firmly. "Don't you dare…You have nothing to hide from Naruto. Despite how they look now, they'll fade." She pulled a sleeve back to show a brown scar that ran diagonally along her forearm. "This one started out red and ugly and bruised for weeks. It was swollen and pained even longer," she looked up to see him staring at the twisted rope of healed skin. "But then the swelling receded and the bruises faded. Just like yours will," she assured with a nod following. "It's not as bad as you think, Naruto. Right now it seems bad, but they'll get better. And I promise you…" she trailed off menacingly and saw his gaze rise to meet hers, "If you ever call yourself a monster again...I will turn you over my knee and spank you like a little kid until your voice comes back. Got it?" she asked, brandishing a fist under his nose.

She settled back as he nodded and gave her a weak grin. "Better. Now..I have news," she said getting an immediate reaction. "I spent last night hitting the older Archives," she said drawing it out and saw his eyes brighten. She hefted a thick book with a golden hexagonal shield bearing a black eagle's head above a matching single star. "This is a history book about a group that existed before the World's Breaking. Do you understand what I mean by that?" she asked.

Naruto nodded slowly, wondering just why she was talking about something that no longer existed. The Breaking, as most called it, took place at least five hundred years BEFORE the time of the Sage of Six Paths. Books like the one she had were the only remnants of that time left to give evidence it even existed.

"Read this section," she instructed as she opened the book to show the picture of a muscular man in all back, a visored mask and twin swords jutting out from behind his shoulders. Below his picture was a different symbol than that of the book's cover. Rin held her breath as she handed over the book and watched as his eyes read quickly before he slid to a halt and stared at her wide-eyed. She nodded with a smile. "That's right. This man is the same as you. They called him Snake Eyes. He was a mute and a recognized ninja master, assassin, and warrior of that group. And...they didn't have Chakra back then." Her smile threatened to break her cheekbones as he pointed to the picture then himself. "Yeah. If he could do it, why can't you?"

Naruto looked at the image again before he pointed to the stranger symbol under it and lifted an eyebrow. He wrote quickly on the pad and handed it to her.

[What is this symbol? I don't recognize it.]

She chuckled before returning the pad. "From what I could find in this book, it's the symbol of a clan called the Arashikage. A clan of ninjas that existed in their time. It seems they were experts in Taijutsu, Bukijutsu, and other skills like stealth, tracking, etc. I'm still looking for more on them," she said assuredly and received a shock as he suddenly lunged from his earlier place and hugged her like his life depended on it. Her arms went around him and Rin returned the hug, whispering, "You're welcome…" over and over as she felt her shirt grow damp from tears of relief.

Naruto released her slowly and sat back, grabbing a tissue to wipe carefully at his face and eyes before he looked to her and didn't blink. His face settling into one of unwavering determination and intensity.

Rin felt a tingle run up her spine as he simply stared at her. "What is it Naruto?" she asked softly and watched him write on the notepad.

[When they took my voice, Uzumaki Naruto died. From today on, I am Snake Eyes.]

Rin nodded as she considered his words. "So be it. You are Hebi no me. I take it then, you want to revive the Arashikage?"

The now christened "Snake Eyes" nodded and returned to studying the book before him with a renewed interest.

((Flashback end))

Arriving at the Academy, he noted he still had a couple of hours before the classrooms opened and students could enter. So he climbed quietly up into a tree and relaxed on a thick overhanging branch, letting the thick foliage hide his presence. Placing his hands behind his head, Snake Eyes relaxed against the trunk and thought back over the six years of insanely rigorous training he willingly underwent. Heh...I can still remember when she went over the standard schedule used at the academy. The look on her face as she used a Fire jutsu on the papers. Her swearing that I would be a ninja by the time those "kids" could barely be called Genin. A snort of air from his nose as he recalled how his training regimen for the first year had at first been grueling considering how it was nothing but physical training in the mornings, chakra training in the afternoon, and text-based learning in the evenings. Going to bed every night utterly exhausted but proud none the less by even the smallest of improvements. Then came the first bombshell of many…

((Flashback))

He had just finished his morning routine and was heading to the bathroom for a shower when Rin, whom he now thought of as "kaa-san", entered the house in a rush and was nearly trembling in excitement. He watched in confusion as she quickly shut the door behind her and tossed aside her mask and vest before reaching him and literally forcing him to sit down at the kitchen table. Surprised by her behavior he did the only thing he could. He used the mish mash of ANBU and civilian sign they had devised over the past year.

[What's up, kaa-san?]

In response she unrolled a scroll and said, "Kai." A poof of smoke and a dozen scrolls appeared. "What's up, Hebi-kun...is thanks to some very diligent searching, your kaa-san found these scrolls." She turned one and grinned broadly as his eyes widened upon seeing the Arashikage symbol. "That's right...clan scrolls. Taijutsu. Kenjutsu. History. Bukijutsu and even more in others. Everything we need to get you trained up. How's that?"

His answer was to get up slowly then bumrush his guardian and squeeze her midsection tightly.

The feeling of her arms wrapping around him in pleasure and returning the embrace. Then she disengaged and tilted his head upwards. "We'll need help. They are very detailed and specific. Unlike any style I have ever seen or met. So here's what we're gonna do…"

((Flashback end))

What followed for the next year made the previous one seem tame as they changed his morning routine to now include time for his learning the basics of taijutsu as well as weapons in general. His afternoons now included the start of his jutsu training. His evenings were no different as she added in the Clan history scrolls. I thought she was intense before, but once we included the new material...she got downright sadistic... Snake Eyes thought rather happily as he only continued to grow under the individualized mentorship. These memories only leading to his first real discovery of his own.

((Flashback))

Rushing from the kitchen, his hands flashed through signs over and over as he bubbled over in excitement. He found his "mom" sipping sake on the back porch. Inadvertently startling her and watching her turn which focused expression matched by the tightness of her grip on the kunai with her free hand. Freezing in place as her KI washed over him and held him rooted before she let him go.

"Hebi-kun! How many times have I told you not to run up on me? I could have killed you!" she said in blunt exasperation before she put the kunai away. "Now what has you so worked up?"

He grabbed her now unarmed hand and tugged over and over till she got to her feet and followed him. Once in the kitchen he pointed to the now open scroll. He watched as she glanced at it then back at him.

"I don't understand? The Arashikage history? What about it?"

Feeling his face scrunch up and his fingers flashing through signs before he tapped a specific section.

[Read this!]

He stepped back as she sat down and read the part he had indicated. Nodding as she suddenly sat back exclaiming "Holy shit!" then she kept reading and repeated herself twice more. Nodding and signing as she looked up at him.

[Kaa-san, does that mean what I think it means?]

He watched her nod slowly even as she answered, "If you're thinking it means the Arashikage changed their name to Uzumaki after learning about Chakra from the Sage of Six Paths...If you're thinking it means you are the rightful descendant and heir to the Arashikage Clan, then yeah," her lips tightened slightly as she considered the ramifications.

[Should we tell Hokage-sama?]

If anything the expression tightened more. "I...I don't know, Hebi-kun," she replied even as she attempted to smooth out her features. "It's your call this time. Just know that if you do, then he has to tell the Council as a whole in order for you to receive Clan acceptance and instatement as Clan Heir. And you know how most of them feel about you."

[Yes. They'd rather commit seppuku before they'd acknowledge me as anything but the "fox brat".]

She nodded and replied, "Best thing to do is sit on this until they select a Godaime. One the Council can't run roughshod over or distract through paperwork."

Snake Eyes nodded in return and moved to a different chair, hands moving after he took a seat.

[Just so tired of all the secrets. First it was who my parents were...then why the villagers hate me so much… now this.]

His mom moved to give him a small hug of encouragement. "I know it's annoying. I just don't want you to get hurt."

((Flashback end))

Straightening from his reclined position against the tree trunk, he watched as a few teachers arrived. Noting how they joked among themselves over some inane event the previous night. A moment later, he relaxed anew as he let his mind wander once more. Recalling how the rest of his training period flew by as various other mentors came and went. Each one teaching him specialized skills that would be of benefit to him in the long run. First it had been Neko-san and her boyfriend Hayate Gekko whom had taught him basic kenjutsu before they worked with him on making the Sutōmusurasshu, the Storm Slash, a reality.

That "crazy snake woman", as he considered her, came next. Teaching him about poisons in the bluntest way possible. Which was basically her using every poison in her repertoire on him and watching; forcing him to make counteragents/toxins before he succumbed. Mom had not been happy about that...but she didn't interfere either.

An ANBU wearing the Ram mask taking him aside to teach him about hunting and traps came next as did Goat, a Demolitions expert. Then came others. Covering topics like tracking, strategy, survival, and so much more. Even the nurse, Kaori-san, taught him Anatomy and field medicine. Though that last had been under his mom's careful eye. Then his Kaa-san taking his medical knowledge and skill from basic to almost combat medic level as she found some manuals detailing emergency procedures step by step.

It was, however, the mentor who had come at the end of the fifth year and became his sole instructor for the afternoons and evenings that had made him realize and understand just what kind of life he was entering. The womans' voice was neutral and her Mantis mask hid her expression as she taught him by applying every assassination technique and trick on him. Describing the action in detail before running him through it step by step followed by half speed. Then expecting him to execute it on her. The only time he received a compliment, "I am dead", was on the rare occasion he succeeded on the first attempt.

Snake Eyes blinked to clear his head as the first bells began chiming and he dropped soundlessly from the tree branch and landed in a low crouch. Which of course startled more than a few graduates and later year students. Ignoring their stares and giggles, he straightened to his full height and strode towards the entrance. Show time...he thought.

That was until an ANBU arrived via Shunshin and said bluntly, "Snake Eyes...Hokage-sama wants to see you."