A Quick Note: I haven't updated my profile, my stories, or my chapters in a while.

Well, shit. I haven't update any of my stories. Why? I could blame it on trying to find a job, having other personal problems in my life, wanting a break from Fanfiction (a break that was once two weeks, then a month, then a few), stuff like that. However, that's not the problem with me.

In reality, the biggest issue with me was this: I lost the urge to even write anything. Fan fiction and beyond, really. I don't know where it started; perhaps I became disillusioned by fanfics online. I know, stupid.

So, now, I'm kind of in a tight spot with Stop The Future. I really want to complete the next chapter, and I like the direction the story is going in, but I want to rewrite it, to redo it. I enjoyed writing the original story, but it has a lot of mistakes that are too glaring for me to ignore.

Whether or not I do a redux of it, I decided I'm going to update with an Author's Note on the original S.T.F. very soon as soon as I get a newer beta and I redo the first chapters of Stop The Future again. Only then, will I feel ready to re-post up a newer chapter/story.

So, yeah, I'm not dead. Not quite, and I haven't given up on Stop The Future. I got ideas for it, and newer content beyond Stop The Future. I'm trying to get my groove back.

This story, was just that... To get my groove back. I got a few chapters done already with this story. Five, to be exact, with the sixth one being written as you read this. I'll upload the next chapter after a little while, maybe in a week or two.

Now, onto the story itself. A little something for you to know I'm not quite finished with fanfiction. I revised this story myself, without the help of a beta, and only with a grammatical helping devise. Hopefully, it's not so bad grammatically. Enjoy reading.

And before you ask, no, I do not own Naruto, the techniques that appear here that appear in canon, or the canonical characters. Heh.

One

I wanted to be a shinobi bad, ever since I was 4. They were always so cool, so amazing to me.

They had power, power I only read from comics, and heard from stories. Powers to run on water, to manipulate that same water, and turn it to an awesome technique that could defeat their foes. They were warriors of light and shadows, they walked amongst us, and they protected us. Like samurai, only better.

They commanded respect. I didn't have respect. I was young, but I knew people didn't like me. I didn't have to ask if they did – I knew what many people in this village thought of me. Besides a few people I knew, the village's antipathy was focused on me. That had been the main focus of why I wanted to become a ninja of Konoha. Even beyond that, I wanted to become the Hokage. He was the greatest of all the shinobi. He commanded them, and they followed. His word was the law's, and he commanded respect. I wanted to be him, and I wanted to be the greatest shinobi of the village. The Hokage was such a person. So my goal was clear.

In order to do that, however, I had to start small. I was smart enough to know that you could not become a Hokage if you didn't have anyone in the village recognize you, or respect you. If you lacked respect, how could you command your followers? How could you command ten thousand soldiers who were powerful in their own right, and keep them line if you didn't have respect? Power meant nothing if no one respected you. So I had to start small. Baby steps.

It hadn't been the first time I have seen Shinobi however. It was hard not to see them. They lived around the village, they worked nearby me, they were the guardians of this large place, and some even owned the shops I fought myself trying to get into sometimes. I understood what they were, maybe not what was like to be a ninja or what tasks were asked of them by the village, but I knew they were people of great importance. Not everyone could be one. Something like that appealed to me. Ninjas mattered, and they were shown reverence; something I wanted more than anything. I knew what I wanted to be. I no longer wanted to be that kid crying about a lack of mommy or daddy, or to be looked at with those cold, resentful eyes anymore. I wanted to be strong. I wanted to matter, I wanted people to acknowledge me.

It took years for Sarutobi-jiji to finally agree and sponsor me through the Academy, but it finally happened when my six birthday passed. One day, I was pulled into my grandfather-like figure's office and he sat me down and told me I would be accepted into the Academy. The old man Hokage told me he would enroll me in the Academy of Konohagakure next week. I never smiled so largely in my entire life. The first bowl I ever had of ramen didn't make me smile in joy like this.

So when I was six, I was officially an academy student. I could remember what the first day felt like, as I smiled about it bitterly.

The first day was the worst day of my life. When I stepped on the soil of the Academy's grounds, it had been the most awkward and nerve-wracking thing. The chūnin that accompanied me to my class hadn't been much help at all. In fact, I couldn't help but to think the chūnin ninja hated me too. I could feel myself being glared at, when I was walking in front of him. The man was trying to bore a hole into my head with his pointed stare. I was sure, because I caught him doing it when I turned around to point to the class I belong to. We walked straight inside, with people all glaring at me, staring at me like I was a foreign creature. A rabid animal. Like I was a dog that killed someone, and I needed to be put down.

And then I tripped. Fell flat on my freaking face. I didn't know if I tripped myself or if someone was cruel enough to stick their foot out for me to trip on, but I fell. The floorboards were rough, and I'm sure I scraped myself even but that never mattered. Scraping myself wasn't the thing that hurt. Nothing hurt more than to have almost everybody laugh at you there. That hurt more than any bruise. The chūnin who was escorting me to my classroom didn't even help me up to my feet. It had cemented my former thoughts about the ninja. He hated me, and he was smiling cruelly when they were laughing at me. I've seen it.

The first day was like that for a while in the Academy. Awkward, unpleasant and at times, unbearable. It was like everyone hated the new kid in the class. Originally, I thought it was because I was the new kid at first, but it was something more... I was different, much like I was in that orphanage I lived in. Almost the whole school faulty hated me for some reason and I couldn't stand it. The teachers, the assistant teachers and even the kids. It seemed like all the kids of the classes had hated me, much like their parents did and nobody wanted me around them. The animosity made it incredibly hard to concentrate on anything in class.

My determination was slowly being eaten away by a lot of the stress. I didn't come to school with a smile everyday like everything was going to be fine. I wasn't confident as much as I thought before, and some days I wanted to quit, to go and ditch class. To which I did. Sometimes, I just didn't show up to class, opting to just stay at home and make an ass out of myself outside, pranking people. I got captured and caught a few times playing pranks on some of the local shopkeepers, especially those who sent me dirty looks sometimes when I passed their shops. The Military Police Force were the ones who caught me sometimes, sometimes even ANBU. Every time, I was sent to the Hokage and he would reprimand me, wondering why I was doing any of this, why the heck I was acting out.

I had my reasons. School sucked. It was terrible. It blew. I wasn't learning fast enough. I wasn't getting it as quickly as my other classmates. The knowledge taught there, the techniques, nothing. Nothing was sticking in my head in school, nothing at all. Because of that, I was teased, taunted, and bothered. I made myself more of an outcast when I started pulling pranks, but I was desperate for someone to pay attention to me. I was.

In the Academy, they didn't even care I was failing. Oh, they care to tell me I was, but not enough to sit down and tell me what I was doing wrong, help me with my problems.

It wasn't everything was giving me trouble though. My first few years in the Academy weren't a problem. Actually, it was only my last year in school that gave me trouble. I picked up on history, geography, basic math, and such like that slower than others, but at least I passed with decent grades. I could tell you how many hand seals were there and what animal they were named after. Yes, my taijutsu and my aim with shuriken and kunai were decent. It wasn't anything special, but I was at least passable with a B in that class.

But when it came down to the application of my skills, application of the ninjutsu they gave us, I struggled with every single one, no matter what. The first few years, weren't a breeze, but they weren't the hardest thing. Year 1, they teach you math, how to read and write, history of the world, etc. Lots of tests. Crap like that. The second year, they start teaching us about chakra, how to use it, hand seals, and then finally about the three main jutsu – genjutsu, taijutsu and ninjutsu. It was also the year where we would practice with some light weaponry, with kunai, senbon and shuriken. The last year of the Academy, when I just turned 9, was the year when it started to wind down.

That year, we learned about chakra control, and then we were given four techniques to work on. It took me a week to figure out how to use the Nawanuke no Jutsu properly without messing it up. It was a very useless technique. Outside of breaking rope, it wasn't all that good for anything. My mastery of the Kawirimi no Jutsu took longer than that, and my Henge no Jutsu mastery as well. They were the least of my issues.

No, the fourth technique was the biggest hurdle. The Bunshin no Jutsu. The worst technique in the Academy in my opinion. My Bunshin was terrible. I couldn't stand how frustrating it was. I summoned the right amount chakra I believed, I did the right hand seals, I exhibited the right technique. My clones looked dead – they always looked dead when I tried the technique. I never got it down before my graduation test came.

Then came the day when graduation time was going to happen. I failed terribly on everything and honestly, I wasn't surprised. Everything was just so, so bad.

I never wanted to go back. May 14 was my graduation date. I was not focused that day. I was too nervous, worried about every little thing. What if my Kawirimi sucked? What if my Henge wasn't on point? What if my Bunshin didn't come out well either? Summer was coming and everyone was out of the Academy, either graduated and they were now genin or simply ready for the next semester to try again. I wasn't ready at all.

I heard some lady and her friend whisper that they were glad a kid like me wasn't allowed to graduate, and glared at me openly before walking away. In the back of my mind, I couldn't understand why anyone could be so cruel. It had almost made me cry openly. Were orphans that damn dreadful to be around? Did I do something wrong? Did I say something wrong? Did I do something to someone in another life? I couldn't understand it.

The next semester was right around the corner; next week would start another school year for me to try again. I couldn't do it again, not this fast.

The next few days I had spent around the village, I had been moping and crying about it, much to my later disgust. Sarutobi-jiji had come around to comfort me, but it honestly couldn't bring me out of this funk. No one could, and the only people that tried were him and the nice Teuchi and his daughter, Ayame. I spent the next few days stuck and crammed in my room, and then on the fourth day, I went outside to practice.

Hours of frustration on end, I gave up, feeling not exhausted but just tired of trying with the techniques. No matter what, Bunshin no Jutsu was the hardest thing I could do. My clones laid on the floor many times, lifeless. There was no one to ask for help at all. So I kept at it, training in a public training ground by myself for hours. I would have not found a solution if one day a man did not approach me.

It was an evening, as I liked to practice an hour before I went to go eat dinner at Ichiraku's. A little training wouldn't hurt before I restarted another year in the Academy. I was determined to pass school. So I went to the training grounds open to the public, and where many people who were in the Academy frequented. However, it would be empty now the class I was apart of graduated. That was fine with me though, since I didn't want to see anyone.

Unfortunately, after being alone for a few minutes, an old man with a cane came in the same training grounds as I. He looked towards me with a silent gaze, and I returned it with confusion. 'The heck was he staring at?' Trying to ignore him, I tried focusing the chakra necessary for the technique. "..."

I felt the chakra build up, and I attempted the Bunshin no Jutsu again. Unfortunately, the technique once again failed. I know it failed. That familiar feeling in the pit of my stomach, that nervousness I had before the last bit of chakra gathered up together to execute the technique. Then, next came this. At my feet, the failure of the technique laid – literally on the ground. Why have my clones always looked so sickly? It was embarrassing! Slumped on the ground, lifeless, like my chakra was killing them.

As I thought to myself, in the corner of my eye, I have seen the man approach me slowly, his face flat.

I got a closer view of his features. He walked up, with a black robe over his white shirt. His face is marred with wrinkles, and he looks just as old as Sarutobi-jiji. His face was calm, one black eye stared at me as I tried the Bunshin no Jutsu again. The other one was covered, giving the distinction that he had only one eye.

I turned away. Feeling his intense gaze on my back, I got suddenly nervous, and I completely screwed up my technique. Another dead-looking clone laid at my feet again, looking possibly worse than my first one.

"It seems you are having trouble with this technique, child." He finally said, after several minutes of being in my presence.

I hold back a sarcastic snort. 'No shit, old man.' However, I don't say anything hostile and continue at it. Another application of my chakra in my hands, the same number of hand seals as before, and I tried it again... And I failed it. "Why isn't working?" I whispered to myself, and I started to do the hand seals again slowly.

"How long have you been trying to use this technique, boy?" The man queried.

I grunted and said, "All day. No progress so far."

"It looks like you're missing something. Is there something in the Academy that they taught you about this technique that you are not applying?"

"No, nothing!" I shouted back, getting more annoyed as I tried concentrating again. This man was starting to get on my nerves. I didn't even know him, yet he was looking over my shoulder like a doting teacher. I do the hand seals again for the technique – ram, snake, tiger. I try to channel a good amount of chakra into the technique, but it fails again. I look at my clone, and immediately snarl at my failure. "Shit, shit, shit!"

"What is it?" The man said calmly, annoying me even further.

"I can't do it... I tried so hard, but nothing's working!" I growled out, my anger reaching its boiling point.

"Hmm, perhaps you are simply not focused-" He tried saying, but I immediately interrupted him.

"What do you know?! I'm trying to focus, but everything's annoying me!" I almost said '-including you, old man!', wanting to say it so much, but I didn't in the end. I growled out at him, bared my teeth at the old man. I was close to lashing out at this guy. "How could you possibly know of my struggle in the Academy? I tried this for an entire year, but I haven't gotten any progress with this stupid technique! Nothing's working at all!"

All I get for my response is a raise from the old man's eyebrow and a blank stare. After I read his expression, I started to feel stupid. Stupid at screaming at a stranger. If I was trying to leave a good impression on the man, I was coming off as a complete and utter brat, who was whining about his problems instead of trying to fix them.

I don't apologize for my outburst, however. I might have been ashamed that I screamed at a stranger rudely, but I wasn't sorry about it.

We don't say anything for a minute, and I feel uncomfortable. My lips are starting to dry, and I want to give up on the Bunshin no Jutsu today and just eat dinner. However, my eyes don't leave the old man.

And he doesn't stop looking at me.

The older guy stared back, his face just as stoic as before. "I don't know of your struggle. However, I knew people who had it even harder than you and they didn't give up. Don't you want to become a shinobi? Do you want to give up your dream of becoming a shinobi?"

My eyes, brimming with tears, stung badly. This man didn't truly know how badly I wanted to become a ninja. I was almost desperate to become a genin. "I want to be a ninja... But I can't even do the simplest of Ninjutsu! I can't pass the Academy if I can't do those techniques!"

"If you gain the strength to do so, no obstacle means anything to you." The man said cryptically.

I raised my eyebrow, sniffling a little. "How? How can get the strength to pass?" It had been hard for me to even stomach, everybody hating my guts in the Academy, and to smile back at it, hoping one day for it to stop. I looked up with desperate eyes at the old man. "Is there some type of way, some type of shortcut?"

The old man shook his head, "There are no shortcuts in the life of shinobi. There is no ease for the job you want to do. Life is unfair, often difficult and brutal. The fact that you grew up as an orphan, hated, shows that. You know all about loneliness." I averted my eyes from the old man's disapproving gaze. It was like the question almost insulted him. "Forget about all those mean stares, all those hardships in the Academy, and all those children who treat you with nothing but hatred. Instead, use your desire to become a ninja as your strength. Turn it into your ambition. Become what you want to be."

The old man then cracked a small smile. "And I can help you get there."

My eyes widened. I couldn't keep the surprise off my face. "C-Can you?"

The old man's nod was all I needed to agree eagerly. I wanted to become a shinobi badly at all costs. Twenty seconds later, I asked the man what his name was, and the old man's response had been the following, "Danzō Shimura."

I had finished the taijutsu kata the old man gave me with a huff of exertion. I looked over, waiting for his approval before he nodded, and allowed me to sit on the bench next to him in his dōjō. I grinned, mopping my brow of glistening sweat and drank from a canteen my sensei had at his side. I drank from it greedily, the water soothing my dry throat. I sighed contently. Things were going very smoothly.

It had been a solid five months since I met my new sensei, and I had been training like I never trained before. Right now, I was working on my close quarters combat skills.

The Academy style of taijutsu that had been instilled in me for a year before, evolved into the quick and deadly style of CQC Danzō-sensei had urged me to learn. It was a style Danzō-sensei had used throughout in his youth. It was a style that traded brute force and outright martial strength for quick, deadly and precise strikes, parries and evasion maneuvers. I traded in my wild haymakers, elbow strikes, and uppercuts I had developed five months ago for open palm strikes, stabs, and chops aiming to pinpoint sensitive areas on the body and strike. The point of this style was to strike fast, and to attack with deadly precision. Later on, strength could be added in to make it more powerful and devastating but Sensei said not everyone who used his fighting style concentrated on strong strikes. It would be up to me if I wanted to add strength in there.

The rules of the style was speed, mobility and precision. You attacked when you seen an opening, and only then. The opening could be first, or it could be second. If you could not move, it wouldn't work for you. If you could not aim, it wouldn't work for you. We spent a week perfecting my aim with kunai and doing laps around the village just for such that. After he was content with what I shown, he showed me the basis of the style and I worked from there. Since the style didn't draw directly upon strength and strengthening your muscles, every hit that you landed on the open counted. If you hit him or her, you were good. If the attack missed, you prepared yourself to parry the opponent's strike and try again to hit them. If that missed, you got the hell out of there before you faced a blow that could knock you the hell out. It took a few minutes of him explaining it, but I got what Danzō-sensei was trying to explain to me how his taijutsu style was designed like.

We started with this new style of fighting a few weeks after I met Sensei at the Academy. At first, since I was always used to fighting with my fists in my spars in the Academy, it was a little difficult adjusting and not striking out with a closed hand instead of an open-styled one, but I started picking it up after I got the muscle memory down. Shadowboxing two hundred palm strikes before we started training helped out faster. I felt myself become faster, my muscles tighter and my strength in my blows increase. It wasn't an incredible jump in strength, especially when I couldn't catch the old coot that was my sensei, not even once, but I felt better than I was in the Academy. I didn't look sloppy anymore. It was mostly because we were focused on improving my taijutsu.

Of course, that, and working on my chakra control, was the only thing we were doing. I pestered Sensei a few times about teaching me some ninjutsu – actually, I begged him to teach me something that "can help shoot fire out my ass" (as said in my actually words) – but he refused every time, saying that "in order for a tree to stand, it must start at its foundation". Which meant, I needed to learn the basics before I started on more advanced techniques, and elemental ninjutsu was advanced. Despite the goofy tree metaphor that I almost immediately rolled my eyes at when he told me that, I wisely nodded and continued getting better in areas I needed help with. I spent countless hours working on how perfecting my style of fighting, and mastering all three of the Academy's important techniques. Most of the time, from sun up, to sun down, and with little breaks in between. The one or two days I had off, I spent them resting up and preparing for training once again.

It was odd, but I felt at peace with this tough regime. The Academy had been the worse experience in my life, and boring to me these days but being here with Sensei in his manor training until I collapsed was better to me. I felt like I wasn't aimlessly trying something I couldn't complete; when I needed help, it wasn't something treated lightly. I got help, I got pointers, I got tips. I got instructions, I got the things I need. Hell, without Danzō-sensei, I wouldn't even know how to fix my chakra control, the main problem why my execution of the Bunshin no Jutsu always went south.

That's not to say it wasn't difficult. Sure it was hard, but Sensei had told me he was going to push me in order to break my limits. He hadn't been lying at all. He gave me fair warning. Everyday, I felt I learned something new. Every time my body felt like it was going to collapse, I learned something new about my abilities, and I came back for more. Sensei helped me with everything I needed help with, and the things I didn't need help with, he let me breathe. He let me continue to work on them on my own. I was my own person. Nothing like I was when I was in school.

Those old and boring lessons in the Academy couldn't suffice what I learned from Danzō-sensei! I actually learned here, and I wasn't feeling pressured at all. Maybe it wasn't because Sensei didn't throw so many books and tests at me like in the Academy. He did give me books about the anatomy of the human body, lessons on geography in the world and scrolls showing diagrams of his taijutsu but that was it. Other than that, I practiced either on my own at home or with my teacher. It wasn't long hours of a teacher droning on something boring like the economy of Konohagakure or the history of Hi no Kuni's many Fire Daimyō.

Or maybe because Sensei didn't glare openly at me every waking hour in my school.

But it wasn't like I didn't have to go to school. I still had to. At first for my remedial classes, but I improved so fast, that wasn't an issue, and I was back into a general class again when they saw my progression. Back with kids I saw from Second Year, who now moved up to Third Year. Some, recognizing me, teased me for being left back in school, while other just ignored me. I, in turned, ignored them. I felt like I was beyond the Academy already. I mastered everything here, I re-learned the things I didn't master, and mastered them too. I was just on line, waiting to graduate now. Five months down, seven more to go.

Other than going topside for school and stuff in the day, I didn't spend much time outside, besides training and going to Danzō-sensei's house to train some more. I admitted I started to become more of a private person when I started training. Or rather, I had no time to truly do anything outside training.

Not that I cared too much. There wasn't really anything out there for me in the village, and the Academy had no one I cared about. I was there only to graduate, and then leave. I visited my apartment a few times in the month, but I didn't really stay there at all. If I need anything there, I would swing by there, and then come to Danzō-sensei's place again. All I did was train with Sensei all day until he let me relax for the rest of the evening.

It was now the middle of October and I was now ten years old, about two weeks after my birthday. My birthday had passed like a blur, and other than train all day that day, I did nothing special for it. I didn't even see Ayame-neechan or Teuchi-jiji that day...

'Come to think about it, I barely visit anyone anymore. No Ayame-neechan, no Teuchi-jiji, not even Sarutobi-jiji.' I thought slightly with a frown.

I knew why though. I regret almost nothing, except not visiting the three people I cared about the most in this village. I had too much work to accomplish. Though, when this was all over, I would visit more, I promised to myself.

I trained religiously with Sensei in his dōjō, watching out for his one-armed strikes that came to me faster than bullets. The old coot had been one of the fastest shinobi I have ever seen in my life, and dodging his blows were extremely hard. Sure, since I was short, it helped me evade the blows I seen coming. However, if I didn't see it coming, I couldn't dodge it. Not even at the last second. Danzō-sensei was aiming to break me in half to get me to learn from my mistakes, to learn how to get better. His motto was "to improve in one's skill, one must fight someone who can totally and utterly outclass them."

Despite the beatings, despite the pain, the one-sided fights, and the brutal taijutsu exercises I was given, I was still learning. I was slowly getting better, and I was holding my own. Before, I hadn't even last lasted an iota with Danzō-sensei. The first time we even sparred, I tried throwing an attack his way, he knocked me unconscious with three well-placed blows. After waking me up, he looked over me with disappointed eyes and called my taijutsu "disgraceful". That woke something up inside me, to improve at all costs. In the real world, if an enemy shinobi could do that to me, I would be dead. Sensei was just trying to tell me that.

Now, I could dodge his blows, weave under them, and gain an attack on him. This was all my sensei's doing. He was focusing on me, and me only, and I couldn't help but to be happy about it. I need someone to show me where I was making mistakes at. Not for someone to ignore me and tell me to work on something else. Nobody in that damn Academy even told me that maybe I was sucking in the Bunshin no Jutsu because my chakra was too wild and large to control, and I needed to learn more advanced techniques to control it. Sensei was there, he told me what was wrong with me, and encouraged me to train everyday. To improve. That only added to my determination.

It may have been hard so far, but I enjoyed training everyday. A few hours after getting out of class, and the whole day, from 6 AM to 6 PM, on weekends. The only days I had off to brush up on my studies - maybe on a weekday or a Sunday - or to help heal muscle fibers I might have torn in my body during our training sessions. Of course, all it took is a good night's rest and I was up, feeling chipper and read to train, to which Sensei obliged to. I didn't know why I always had a lot of energy to keep going, even in situations where I should have felt tired, but I, at first, brushed it off at being simply sheer determination.

Day in and day out, we would training. I trained so hard, that I found myself sleeping on days here in Danzō-sensei's manor. He had given me permission to rest here all I like, so much that I found myself just staying here, instead of going back to that lonely apartment Sarutobi-jiji had given me a year ago. It was better than living next door to someone who hated your guts or nearby people who couldn't help but to glare at you like you were shit on their shoes.

I noticed the signs of people's hatred very early in life. Hatred for me. I was different somehow, maybe by the color of my hair, or the sapphire blue eyes I wield. Perhaps because my skinned was a peachy-color that most people did not have, or maybe because of the whisker marks on my face. I didn't know why until a few weeks ago.

And yes, I did my fair share of cries earlier when I found out why my fellow citizens hated me.

Now, I'm sitting here on the bench with Sensei swinging my legs around energetically, thinking about how stupid people were to think such a thing. Sure, I understood why they hated me – hell, I would have if the thing inside me had killed off one of my family members - but that didn't excuse them from anything. They believed I was the Kyūbi, and if my sensei not to use a scroll and a corny metaphor, I would have thought the monster myself. I was initially distraught about hearing about my status as a jinchūriki – a demon carrier, a demon's jailer, the power of a human sacrifice. My sensei had explained beforehand what a "jinchūriki" was and what happened seven years ago, the day of my birth.

It had been a few days – almost five days since Sensei told me what was the truth behind everything that was happening in my life. The truth behind why everyone hated me. I delved back into my memories.

The Kyūbi had attacked Konoha with the intention to destroy and kill everyone. Me and several other children were raised to believe the Yondaime Hokage had defeated and destroyed the tailed beast in combat. I heard of the story before a few times in my days in the Academy, and the Yondaime was originally my hero. Then my sensei told me that everything I learned from that story was wrong. The tailed beasts were massive constructs of chakra, capable of massive destruction, and could not be killed, only sealed away to a person, or into a "sacrifice". I was that sacrifice. I was that child the Yondaime had chosen. but my old sensei had completely stopped that the moment he heard my small but noticeable cries.

"It seems I need to show you that you are wrong in thinking you are the nine-tailed fox, young Naruto." The man said smoothly, with not an ounce of annoyance in his tone. "Just so don't have any self-doubt."

Out of thin air, and from a gray smoke cloud, he produced a scroll within his left hand. "This is a storage scroll. They are the lowest form of fūinjutsu, and are very useful to store weapons of many sizes, going from the size of a senbon, to a size of a large broadsword." I seen him put a hand up and waved it over the storage seal, hearing a small pop and seen the man grasp a black kunai in his right hand. "What I done is released the seal inside this scroll containing the kunai. The scroll however is still here. It did not turn into the kunai and they are two separate entities. The kunai is simply the weapon inside of the scroll. Do you understand, Naruto?"

I sent him a small nod, my face a little red in embarrassment. I was eight, but I understood. The scroll was me, and the kunai was the bijū in me. We weren't the same being. I simply contained him. "I understand, Danzō-sensei." I don't see a nod from him. The man is just staring at me with his only eye.

"You need to understand the second meaning behind this metaphor as well, Naruto." He resealed the kunai into the scroll, leaving the wrapped paper in his left hand still. "The scroll contains the hidden weapon inside: the kunai. There is where the true danger comes from. The kunai is the weapon that kills the enemy. It is the power behind the scroll. The scroll itself is powerful, but the kunai's power is stronger."

I took a few seconds to think about his riddle, but I figured out what he was implying. "I'm the scroll and the Kyūbi is the kunai... The kunai is a weapon. A weapon I can use..." I put a finger on my chin, thinking it over for a few more seconds, before saying, "You're telling me that I can the Kyūbi as a weapon?" My question was more on the lines of a statement. Of course that's what Danzō-sensei meant.

"As a jinchūriki should use their beast like any other tool at their disposal. Its power is entwined with yours. Down to your chakra signature, and your chakra network. You cannot ignore it, you cannot go without it. As it cannot go without you. You are the body, and it is simply the guest. Or rather, you are the landlord and it is the tenant. All your life you will have the Kyūbi inside you. Ignoring it would be asinine. Use it. It is power."

"But its power you can lose control of." What good was power without control? Something I had learned far back from Sensei's lectures. Power was nothing without restrain and knowing your limits. I was the true definition of a lot of power but not a lot of control. It got me nowhere fast, and I failed my graduation exam because of my lack of control for the Bunshin no Jutsu. This was why after these taijutsu exercises, Danzō-sensei made me climb trees in his backyard right after in the hopes to increase my chakra control level quickly.

The old man conceded, nodding at Naruto's point with a knowing smile. "I agree, but that power can be controlled. As can any power. Your journey for controlling that power isn't a scramble in the dark. Many before you sought out the ability to control their bijū's power. You are not the first jinchūriki in this world, and certainly won't be the last."

That caught my interest. So, there were more like me out there? Of course, it made sense. Something like a jinchūriki - how the old man was making it anyway - was important. Why would only one nation like Hi no Kuni have something like that themselves without wars happening? There had to be balance somewhere. "How many bijū and jinchūriki exist?" I was curious. I was new to this whole thing with monstrous chakra constructs and demon carriers.

The man paused, seemingly thinking about it. "There are nine tailed beasts of this word. Ichibi, Nibi, Sanbi, Yonbi, Gobi, Rokubi, Nanabi, Haichibi and finally, the Kyūbi. To my knowledge, all of them are sealed within jinchūriki. Currently, there are nine jinchūriki that live today."

"Names?"

"Curious, hm?" Danzō-sensei grunted, but did not seem to be bothered at all by my question. "Very well. We only have one jinchūriki of Konohagakure. You, of course. Similarly, our ally nation, Sunagakure also have one. Gaara of Sunagakure holds Ichibi no Shukaku. Kumogakure, unlike us, have two. Yugito Nii has the Nibi. I will get to the next one later on." There was a small pause in the man's words, as if he was thinking what else to say. "Yagura, the current Mizukage, has the Sanbi. Iwagakure has two jinchūriki. Yonbi belongs to Yōton no Rōshi, and Gobi is the bijū of Jōki no Yoroi no Han. Then, Kirigakure has a hold of the next bijū, Rokubi, within a young man by the name of Utakata. Nanabi belongs to Fū of Takigakure. Finally, the Haichibi is the second bijū belonging to Kumogakure and is sealed in a young fellow by the name of Killer B, adoptive brother to A, the Raikage."

I listened keenly, finding it all interesting. There were people like me out there! A desire of wanting to meet another one of the jinchūriki started to bud inside me. However, I frowned slightly, thinking back at something else that was bugging me about sensei's listing of the demon containers.

"Sorry if I'm not getting it old man," I barely dodged a very lazy thrown swipe from the man's wooden cane. I didn't want to be hit by that thing at all. I once had the gall to call Danzō-sensei "jiji" this week during my training sessions - you know, to test the waters - and it almost caused me to receive a brain concussion. The man was old, but his aura and strength was definitely like Sarutobi-jiji. That's where the similarities stop apparently, because the man did not like to be called an old man by me. "But isn't that grossly unfair? Why do Kumogakure and Iwagakure have two bijū instead of one like the rest of the nations out there?"

The old Shimura closed his eye, doing a brief and quiet hum. At this time as he is thinking, I take the time out to ponder about things. I have yet to understand the reason why the old man was half-blind and his right arm was gone. Injuries from being in the First, Second or Third Shinobi World War maybe? Lost them in a brutal battle against another shinobi? He would probably tell me what happened to it later on. I wasn't going to pry as of yet.

His voice brings me out of my thoughts, "I guess I can start by saying that Hashirama Senju, the first Hokage, had given out bijū to the other nations as a token of good will, in the hopes to keep peace between them all. Without him, no one in the world would have known the bijū can be contained and sealed. Unfortunately, that was one of the factors that lead up to the First Shinobi World War and the second one, as well. Do you know who were involved in the Second Shinobi World War, boy?"

I shook my head, and the man continued, not showing any displeasure or annoyance in my ignorance. "Konoha, Iwa and Amegakure were involved. Kumo was not directly involved in the Second Shinobi World War, still recuperating its loses in the First Shinobi World War and Kirigakure was too busy dealing with a small civil war. The second great war was a brutal affair, a slugfest between leaf, stone, sand and rain itself. The war made names like the Sannin, Chiyo, Sakumo Hatake, Yōton no Rōshi, and Sanshōshou no Hanzō synonymous with the word 'fear'."

Sensei tapped his cane against his wooden dōjō floor thoughtfully. It gave off the impression that he was getting lost in his memories. "There was a time where I believe this war would bring the end of three of the strongest Great Villages because of such talented shinobi from all sides. A minor village like Amegakure was just as powerful as Konoha, Suna and Iwa, having such powerful shinobi on their sides. If it wasn't for the treaty we all settle for, we would not be speaking here today, I'm sure. Each side were getting beaten down, yet did not let up. In the end, however, the bijū were used to stop all the fighting. A few months during the height of the war, Kusagakure had been attacked by the Gobi, a state that lives in between Iwa, Ame and us."

I cringed. That must have caused a lot of fighting over it. Sensei continued his story, "We managed to help Kusa capture it before any of the nations, and in the end used it to keep the peace between us all. We met together in a meeting in Kusa and it was agreed that there would be peace if we gave Iwa the Gobi. Iwagakure as an agreement to stop the war, allowing them to have two jinchūriki. In order to stop the fighting, it was deemed necessary by Hokage-sama to pass out the tailed beasts to keep the peace. Much like the Shodai Hokage.

"Years later, Kumo had gained another jinchūriki on their own in secret. They already had their bijū, the Haichibi to themselves back in the Shodai Hokage's reign. The other one, the Nibi, came to attack Kumo two decades ago and was placed in Yugito Nii when she was four. That alone almost caused the Third Shinobi World War."

I started to understand what Sensei was saying. All this for creatures made of chakra. Massive chakra, mind you, but chakra nonetheless. They had massive power - both political and literal power. I understood, and nodded. "I see."

The man had a ghost of a smile on his lips as he gave me an amused, and maybe an impressed look from his eye. "You picked the irregular number of jinchūriki each village had from when I listed the jinchūriki alone?" I nodded slowly. The man would spare only one compliment, "Sharp."

I beamed, liking the admiration, even it if it was a little. "Thanks for telling me why we had one and Iwa and Kumo had two."

The man nodded. "You asked. I answered. Anything else you would like to ask?"

I had another question, like how and why would a non-Great Village like Taki have a bijū as well but I just waved it off. Absorbing the information I heard, I nodded again for the third time this evening. "So, they are all my age?"

"No. Many of them are ninjas that have earned reputation in the world, even before your birth. The seniors of the group of jinchūriki, Han and Roshi, are well over the age 35 respectively. Killer B is at least in his thirties, and Yugito Nii, the fourth oldest of the jinchūriki is her mid-twenties. I think there is only two that are close to your age now."

I whistled, "Damn. They must be strong."

"Strong, and had years to learn how to control their tailed beast." The man tapped his cane against the ground. "I hope to get you there soon. There will come a time you will have no choice but to rely on that power."

I was still wary of it all. I didn't even want the creature inside me. Learning how to control such a terrible power in order to protect my nation. It was a scary thought. I settled on a nod. "Yes sensei. I'll be ready whenever possible."

"Yes, in due time. I am an expert in advanced fūinjutsu, and I have ways to help you train with the chakra of the bijū inside you." I could only nod dumbly, hoping the man would move away from this conversation soon.

"Naruto." I heard the old man call, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, jiji?" I brought the canteen from my lips and sat it down on the bench to rest near my hip. The man did not seem to take the joke well, throwing me a slightly annoyed glance. "I'm joking, sensei. Whatsup?" I waited patiently for the man next to me.

The old man sent me a warning glare before saying, "I decided that today, I will try something different in your training session. Instead of training with me directly, I will set you up with a sparring partner." With a snap of his fingers, down came from the shadows of Danzō-sensei's dōjō, a figure that was the same size as me.

Immediately after landing, they stayed planted on one knee and bowed. In a soft voice, the ninja uttered, "Danzō-sama."

"Rise," my sensei commanded and the figure rose and stood tall.

I looked at the girl as she rose with interest. They wore a black jacket, with red straps on the jacket's shoulders, and a white kimono under it. Having a mask very similar to ANBU, the ninja had a white porcelain mask with red and blue stripes painted diagonally on the mask. The mask itself had been in the shape of a bird. Animal masks were very popular in Konoha's ANBU. The person had the professionalism of a high-level shinobi. Even the way they stood was very masculine and strong. If they didn't take off their bird-looking mask with red and black stripes on the mask, I would have thought the ninja was surely a boy.

Instead, it was a girl with a black ponytail and a hitai-ate on her forehead that had the allegiance of Konohagakure on it. This girl was no doubt looked like a genin, maybe even chūnin, but at the same time looked like she was around my age. She was pretty however. Her skin color was lighter than mine. I might even say it was pale. She had cool green eyes and a face that still had lingering baby fat on her face. She was definitely around my age, and I looked at sensei with a little confusion because of it. "I thought you trained people that were older than me."

I detected a small hint of annoyance in Danzō-sensei's next comment as he said, "And I have trained people younger than you and the same age as you, boy. This is Amaya, an one-year veteran in my organization, Naruto. An organization I hope to one day include you in. She is the same age as you."

'Organization?' I mused to myself, keeping that mind. The girl in front of me looked like ANBU from what I seen. Did Sensei want me to include me in the ANBU one day? Somehow, that didn't quite bother me as I thought it would. Shinobi often had many stints they did in their lives, including the Hokage himself. I wanted to become the best damn shinobi in this one day to gain acknowledgment and to protect Konoha. ANBU were groups of ninjas who were not only the best at what they did, but protected the village for all kinds of things. They were heroes in the shadows, much like sensei told me about them. They contributed a lot to the society of Konohagakure, and only a selective few knew of who there were, so they weren't hated, only respected.

I nodded nevertheless, looking at the girl for a second and studying her again.

Her face was flat, expressionless, and she was silent. I couldn't hear her breath or a single hum. It was almost like she was lifeless. A cold, pale ghost. I shivered and immediately became annoyed with my thoughts. The girl didn't even say two words to me and I already was acting like she was a nuisance. Much like how the villagers acted with me. How hypocritical of me.

So, I decided to jump to my feet and look at the girl in the face with my blue eyes. After a few more seconds, I grinned, and rose my hand, "Sup, Amaya-chan?" I said informally, trying to be as friendly as I could. Maybe the girl was just nervous and shy and needed someone to be friendly to her. Maybe that's why she wasn't saying anything.

The girl looked at my hand, and then strangely looked in Danzō-sensei's direction, as if she need his approval to shake my hand. It took a few seconds before I felt her gloved black hand to shake my sweaty, naked one. I looked confused again. 'Why the heck would she need Danzō-sensei's approval to shake my hand?'

"The rules of this spar is taijutsu only. No kenjutsu, Amaya." The man must have meant the tantō on Amaya-chan's back. "You both also do not to hold back. Fight until you cannot anymore or until I stop it."I barely heard Danzō-sensei's soft voice to get ready for combat, telling that to both of us. Excitement has already crept inside me. I nodded eagerly, and I almost missed a nod out from Amaya-chan. I can't help but to have a small grin on my face.

Yes! Finally, combat where I couldn't hold back at all and combat I could finally see where I have improved in. At the start of this month, Danzō-sensei started telling me I needed to not show-off my taijutsu skills in school, to which I at first didn't quite get until he explained that a good shinobi never showed his best cards in something as small as a spar. When I sparred with sensei, I hadn't been holding back, but I could never even catch him.

This was a chance now to cut loose, and kick some ass! Even if it was a girl.

I immediately slipped into the fighting style I have been learning for four months now, the Senkō Shō – the name of the fighting style. I raised my left arm near my face, while my right arm was lowered, slightly covering my midsection. I had my feet poised and my knees slightly bent. I faced my opponent, a grin still on my face. Even if I couldn't win against this person, it would be fun.

I heard my sensei strongly command to begin, and I charged to my opponent's position. The girl stood still, with the familiar blank look on her face. Then she slipped in a stance similar to mine. She was also a practitioner of Danzō-sensei's style I seen. She was also one of his students. That would make things more interesting.

I went to strike at her chest, but she parried the strike away and tried to hit me with a quick stab to my solar plexus. The girl was quick, perhaps faster than me by a little. Fighting her in close range with a fighting style she had one year's of practice to get down would be stupid and I charged towards her dumbly without realizing it. I got hit hard, grunting in pain at the attack but I managed to intercept her next strike going towards my sternum. I launched another attack, this time to her shoulder with a strike to bring her down, but she evaded it and I stumbled. Before I could adjust, she sent a heel kick to my back and I tumbled to the ground landing on my stomach uncomfortably.

I groaned, mumbling, "That hurt", and tried climbing to my feet. However, the girl wouldn't let me completely stand up as I heard a loud shuffling of feet ring out in the dōjō. Amaya-chan was running towards me – it was a no brainer. This time, I had the girl charge into my position with speed higher than mine. I didn't waste time turning my head towards her, and I rolled out of the way barely in enough time. Since she was recovering from her charge, I jumped back to my feet and stood waiting, thinking what next to do.

Amaya would recover and she would be back in my face again. She had more experience using Sensei's fighting style than I did and she was much faster. Fighting her head on would be stupid if I couldn't get it a hit on her. So, I stood still, waiting for her near a gray pillar. A few pillars were in the room and I kept my back against it. 'Wait, I have a plan...'

Having an idea, I stood still, stood away from brown support beam and put my hand out, flexing my fingers in her direction, taunting her to come here. Amaya didn't look very affected by it, but nevertheless accelerated towards me quickly. She seen my speed, she thought she could hit me before I had time to counter her. She would be right had I stayed there solely to parry her and counter attack. I instead watched out for her stab to my windpipe and let her hit the large stone pillar. The speed she ran at was way too fast to just stop until she hit her opponent. I was sure it broke her hand as her fingers bent back unnaturally and I heard a crack. Even the look on her face shown much discomfort and large amounts of pain.

I didn't let her recover from it, and sent a palm strike to her throat this time, finally laying a blow on her in this battle. She choked in pain, and it had been the most emotion I have seen her with on her face in this battle. She barely dodged my palm strike to her head, leading me to slam my palm painfully to the pillar. However, the girl could not parry my knee strike to her gut fast enough. I removed my hand from the pillar, as it throbbed in pain, and grabbed her with my two hands before throwing her to the ground. Then, I jumped on her, sat on her chest so she could not wiggle out of my hold so easily, and laid a plethora of open-handed palm strikes to her face with my uninjured right hand.

I targeted her mouth, and her nose, and her cheeks, assaulting everything I could. Then I started slamming her head against the ground with my hands viciously.

I kept hitting, and hitting until Sensei yelled, "Enough!" I stopped, hearing it and lick my lips nervously. My adrenaline was gone, and the fight was finished. I looked at my handiwork.

Poor Amaya laid there, slumped and unconscious because of what I have done. I flinched at Sensei's sharp voice to get off Amaya and I flew off her hastily. Sensei walked over, not looking at me and snapped his fingers. Another shinobi plops down from the shadows, wearing a different shaped mask than Amaya – a dog-shaped mask with two black dots on top – and a different outfit with a hooded black cloak came down and bowed to Danzō-sensei before going towards Amaya and diagnosing her injuries.

Meanwhile, Sensei pulls me over so the dog-masked ANBU could work on Amaya. I see a green glowing amount of energy summon itself into the man's hand. I curiously asked, "Is that Medical Ninjutsu, Danzo-sensei?"

"Aye. Amaya has broken her hand on the pillar she slammed her fingers onto." I winced, remembering the sound of her bones cracking against the stone pillar.

"Is she going to be okay?" I felt bad hurting her like that. This was suppose to be a friendly spar, not end in someone getting hurt.

"Yes, child." Sensei assured, assuaging my worries a little. "Shinji is an exceptional medical-nin. Amaya will feel fine after a week of rest."

I nodded. Sensei knew what he was talking about. I trusted his judgment. After a few minutes, Shinji nods at my teacher and Danzō simply waved towards him, as if asking him to leave us. Shinji obeys, and disappears in a fury of leaves with Amaya-chan's unconscious form.

We stand there for a few seconds. I choose to be quite, not knowing if my teacher was pissed at me. If he was, I didn't want to anger him any further.

Instead, however, he nods at me and puts his hand on my shoulder. "Good. It seems like your progress with the Senkō Shō is showing. As is your ability to think ahead in the heat of battle. Amaya is a well-known practitioner of the Senkō Shō in my ANBU. She didn't expect you to use your environment like that to defeat her."

"Your ANBU? I thought Sarutobi-jiji had power over the ANBU." I said confused.

"He is. But I control a sub-division of the ANBU," My teacher smoothly answered, without a skip in his voice. "It's a sub-division I would like to include you in."

It wasn't an offer, or it didn't sound like it. It sounded more like I would be included in this group. It didn't matter. I had an ambition to become a great shinobi. Even if I was forced into it, I still wanted to become strong and acknowledged. I nodded. "Yes sir. When do I become apart of the group?"

"I will start your induction process as soon as possible. We have plenty of time before you graduate from your Academy. Then after you graduate, I will fully be able to use you. I will take you under my wing and fully induct you into my organization then. Right now, consider these next few months as an 'introduction' to my group."

I hummed, liking the sound of that. I could learn much more under Danzō-sensei and after that, be ready for anything. I was ready to graduate now, to be honest. I finally got down the Kawarimi no Jutsu, my Henge was tight, and my Bunshin no Jutsu was starting to look more feasible every time I practiced it. A few more chakra control exercises, and sensei assured me that he would start working with me to learn newer techniques. However, that was only if I joined this group of his. If I refused, my training would end here, and I would be without anyone again...

I asked what was the name of the organization he was the leader of. He smiled and told me its name.

End.

A/N: Thus ends the first chapter of this story. This is an alternative universe, and while taking some things from the canon storyline, it will diverge from it. This is a story that's been brewing in my head for a little while. I always liked the idea of Danzō getting his hands on Naruto. Not a lot of stories have him as Naruto's sensei. Both a curse, and a blessing. Usually, the stories that do have him as Naruto's master are well done. I was inspired by a lot of those, and Kenchi618 "The Sealed Kunai" – a very awesome story – is a good example of such. I recommend you read it if you want to read a good, old-fashioned "Naruto-kicks-major-ass-and-gets-major-ass" story. One of my favorite fanfics to read from him, and one of my favorite on this website.

To explain the little things, in this story the Academy functions a certain way – and I will be placing its style of teaching in other stories I write in the future. A person is taught in the Academy for three years. Sometimes, they are given more years if they need it. The first year, you go over basic math, writing, reading, science, geography, history of the world, etc. Things and knowledge average people should know, regardless of whether or not they are ninjas. Lots of writing, notes, and tests. Nothing too special. A no-brainer, and if a person does not want to continue with the ninja program, they would at least have the knowledge of a civilian.

Year two, the Academy starts the students learning basics things a ninja should know. What is a kunai? What is a shuriken? How to wield and throw them? What are hand seals? What is a technique? What classes, rank, and groups of techniques are out there? What is ninjutsu, genjutsu and taijutsu? What is chakra? How to channel chakra and why is it important to a ninja? What is chakra control and how can we improve chakra control? Questions like that. While not teaching ninjutsu, and certainly not genjutsu, they go over how to physical channel chakra, throw kunai/shuriken, and start sparring between students.

(Speaking on the subject, I need to say something that I see in fanfiction often and it has become a pet peeve of mine. I understand why they don't teach students genjutsu. In the Academy, they do not teach genjutsu – not even the lowest form of it – to their students because that would be seen as irresponsible. The art is complex, and most ninjas lack the skill to use them, so why would little kids learn a single one? Not to mention, genjutsu is a dangerous art when performed wrong, or when lacking the skill to perform them correctly. What if a student cast them on their fellow students? What if one of them are irresponsible with it and uses the technique maliciously? Think of the collateral damage that could happen if a student, who learned that from their homeroom teacher, cast the technique on another student. Maybe not on an extreme level but not every student in the Academy are responsible and good shinobi. These teachers would lose their jobs fast! That's not how the Hokage meant the Academy to be when he created it.

Unless learning from an outside source, no student under normal conditions, should know any form of genjutsu. This includes the Transformation Technique, one I seen in many stories labeled as genjutsu, when it isn't. Genjutsu does not work like that. They target the opponent's chakra flow in their brain, and manipulates it. The Transformation Technique does none of that. If you can accept Kiba's Beast Human Clone technique – a technique where Akamaru, Kiba's nindog transforms into his master – as a ninjutsu, then accept that the Transformation Technique is also a ninjutsu, people! The point of the Academy is to help guide the youth and show them the basics of being a ninja, so they themselves can build upon the basics. They show them how to fight, how to kill, but not how to endanger themselves or others. They don't use exploding tags, seals, and other things that are complex, because kids shouldn't be running around using them, no matter how responsible you can argue they can be. Kids from clans learn techniques from their own families, not from a place that can be seen as negligible. Taijutsu spars, while they are fighting, are supervised by experienced chūnin. Projectile throwing – supervised by chūnin. Hell, the ninjutsu they learn are supplementary. None of the three main jutsu of the Academy can physically kill someone. Showing them genjutsu is stupid. And I needed to get that off my chest.

Okay. Rant over. Back to my version of the Academy.)

Year three would be the final year, the year where the students finally start physically applying their knowledge from last year to techniques, such as the Body Replacement, Transformation, and Clone Techniques. Then, they spend time perfecting their chakra control and mastering the techniques, before finally graduating on time. In this story, the date will be somewhere in May. Should you fail this year, the person would spend a year of doing remedial classes, going over the last year once again. If they fail again, they could either be held back again, or be completely dropped from the program – the latter being likely depending on the person's behavior. Naruto has failed his third year, at the age of 9, and was sent back.

I'm not one to believe they spent like 5 years in the Academy, nor am I to believe that they cram all that information in you for one year. Then, almost everyone would fail, and they would all be "dead-lasts", except the greatest of prodigies in the Academy.

In canon, this style of the Academy's teaching could be plausible. Explaining why Naruto seemed to failed numerous times in the Academy already compared to the rest of his friends, who seemed to have passed on their first try. It means Naruto was entered in the Academy much earlier than the rest of the Rookie Nine, and he went through remedial classes for an X amount of years, until he passed with the help of Iruka Umino and his signature Shadow Clone Technique. In this story, he is no different, and he's on the first year he failed the Academy's exam.

This story will be updated whenever I feel inspiration ping in me. It could be weeks, it could be months. It's the easiest when you have a topic like this one that is pretty fresh and new, and you have room to write things in. "Stop The Future"'s plot and its events can be a little hectic to write. With this, I have more freedom. Not to mention, I always like the Root-affiliated Naruto story, so as it's done in a believable fashion. I aim to do so.

Now this will be a more darker look at Naruto. A Naruto-centric, if you haven't noticed. This will be mostly done in Naruto's perspective through this whole story. I think the only times I'll actually have it in another person's perspective if it's in the omake of each chapter. If I write an omake for each chapter.

Naruto won't be as bubbly and happy-go-lucky as he is in canon – for obvious reasons – and at times, this story will be dark. Now, will it effect the rest of the canon story? Will he meet anyone else he canonically meets in the anime/manga? Do I want to place him on a team with Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha? I kinda don't, because it's been done so many times before. I will see.

The story is going to be grim. It will be dark, but it will not forget some small things. A tinge of humor, adventure, and some more stuff.

As for my other stories, I haven't forgotten about "Stop The Future". I'm doing a redo of it, one that is taking a lot of my time to write, and I'm working on a prologue to it. Meh. It was because I felt the need to start completely from the start with it too... I'm such a fool sometimes.

Anyway, hopefully, I'll update this very soon. Until then, I bid you farewell.

The OCs

Amaya – Acts much like normal Root members – emotionless, detached, and fiercely loyal to her master. She is an original character, and whether or not I decide to include her more in the story is up to how the story goes. She has already went through the "Three Trials" of Root.
Shinji – A faceless soldier who was just there. Won't pop up too much, and is just a background character. Unlike the main character from Evangelion, in which he shares his name with him.

The Characters

Naruto Uzumaki – A different beginning for our hero. While sharing some personality quirks as the Canon!Naruto, this Naruto is very driven to become a shinobi at a very young age. Once after his first year of failure, Danzō scoops him up and begins training him under the Hokage's nose. In his younger age, he was not under the teaching of Iruka Umino, and does not have many, if not, anyone who praises and helps him develop, so he falls easily into Danzō's hands. The Sandaime is under the impression that Naruto will try next year to pass, and does not believe anything has changed with him since Naruto acts the same as he does with the Sandaime. Therefore, he has no reason to be suspicious so far. Naruto, meanwhile, is becoming loyal to Danzō because the man acknowledges his strength.

Danzō Shimura – Same old-ass bastard. Very straight-forward, disciplined, and although a good, albeit brutal, teacher, makes for a cold person overall.

Translation List:

Bunshin no Jutsu – Clone Technique
Henge no Jutsu – Transformation Technique
Jōki no Yoroi no Han – Han of the Steam Armor
Jūken – Gentle Fist
Kawirimi no Jutsu – Body Replacement Technique
Nawenuke no Jutsu – Rope Escape Technique
Sanshōshou no Hanzō – Hanzō of the Salamander
Yōton no Rōshi – Rōshi of the Lava Release

Technique List:

Flash Palm (Senkō Shō) – A fighting style developed by Danzō Shimura and taught to all of his Root affiliates. This style uses the user's speed and precision, rather than their strength like an "external" fighting style like the Strong Fist. The Flash Palm is instead an "internal" fighting style. Mostly developed after the Jūken, the Flash Palm has the user fight with quick strikes, such as open-handed palm strikes, stabs with their fingers, and chops. Since this style is concentrated around strikes with the user's hands, the Flash Palm trades in blows from a punch or kicks for speedy strikes. This means the style is not made to lay massive damage on an opponent. Though this can be remedied by channeling chakra into their strikes. Augmenting their blows with chakra can increase the lethality of this style, giving the user much more strength in their blows, though it is not needed. If the user actually develops real strength, their blows will become quite deadly.

Rank: None
Chakra Usage: None (If the user does not augment their own attacks)
Technique Class: Offensive
Type/Classification: Taijutsu, Fighting Style
Range: Short-range
Hand Seals: N/A
Users: Danzō Shimura, Naruto Uzumaki, Fū, Torune, Amaya, Shin, Sai