The Cycle of Pain

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

That other guy in Japan does. But not me.

Summary: Naruto is not the child of Kushina or Minato. Instead he is the forgotten child of Orochimaru who is unaware of his birth. Watch as Naruto struggles against the hate of the Yondaime and the rage inside of him from his treatment. Sarutobi is caught in the middle but he does know one thing. He will not let another Orochimaru rise.

A/N: TRH(The Real Hebi) here trying out his hand in the Fanfiction realm. I must profess at this point that I do not have a pairing to this story and am more than open to suggestions but they must be logical and have some possibility to them. I have a poll up on my profile for those of you that wish to place your vote for the pairing. (Note: The choices are there because they are the only ones I have the ability to write properly and that go with the story.)

Next, I would like to say that in this story the Sannin are all younger than they were in canon. Still as famous for the wars and Hanzo but stronger due to them being much closer to their prime. In this the Sannin are a bit older than Minato's generation (He was 21 at the time of becoming Hokage). The Sannin are 29years old when Naruto is born. 41 at the end of the Academy and 46 at the end of the training trip. In which the Konoha Nine will be 18.Everyone else is Canon age.

Basically a few events in time were sped up to match my time line but everything still happened. Anyways, enough rambling and hint giving. On with the story and I do hope that you enjoy it.

Things in Konohagakure no Sato were changing and changing very quickly. For starters the Third Shinobi war had recently been won by Konoha. They had taken their fair share of losses but in the end they had pulled it off. Of course the horrors of war were still very fresh in the minds of the populace. Luckily for them, the breath of fresh air they needed was at hand.

The Hero that had won them the war had been selected for Yondaime. Namikaze Minato received the honor from his friend and predecessor in Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage. Minato had accepted the offer graciously and became set to take office in a few short weeks.

Hiruzen had made a wonderful decision in electing Minato to be his successor. Not only was he widely loved by the population, the female population more than the male for obvious reasons, but the ninja population as well. Many of them respected Minato for his fierce but kind heart and his skills in battle.

Konoha became overjoyed by these words but their good fortune had not stopped there. Not by a long shot. Konoha's villagers eventually found out that the Yondaime had a wife, much to the ire of the females, and it was none other than Uzumaki Kushina, the heiress of the Uzumaki Clan.

Again Minato had become a wonderful choice. Konoha had deep ties with the Uzumaki since the Shodai Hokage had married one. Ever since then the red swirl of the Uzumaki clan could be seen on almost all official ninja gear of Konoha.

The day Minato became Hokage quickly became the best day Konoha had seen in a long time. It was true that times were hard with the recovery from the war and the loss of loved ones. What gave Konoha hope was Minato. As long as their white knight lived then they would be able to weather any storm.

Fast forward a few months to the date of October Tenth. Minato and Kushina had left in a hurry leaving a Hokage sealed note that gave Hiruzen powers of the office until Minato returned. That was the official reasoning behind the duo's disappearance. The actual reason is that Kushina had gone into labor after months of hiding from the public view to keep the child a secret. Hiruzen was all to happy to oblige. He needed something to occupy his mind.

Well something other than the obvious pain he had to endure every day. No pain hurt as much as a Teacher that failed the Student. And in Hiruzen's eyes he fit that perfectly. He had failed his most prized student in Orochimaru and allowed him to fall down the path of hate.

Some said that he had no choice in the matter. That it was all Orochimaru's choice to become the way he was and that he shouldn't hold himself accountable. But how could he not? His students were like his children and to fail one of them hurt beyond measure.

Yes, he dearly needed something to occupy his mind.

[Hidden location near Konoha]

Kushina lay in her bed, her hair matted thickly with sweat from the arduous labor she had just put her body through. Child birth was no laughing matter and the pain caused from it would be enough to kill anyone. And in some cases it did. But regardless of her physical condition she had pushed through the exhaustion and successful delivered her child.

The child currently slept in the fair skinned arms of one Senju Tsunade. She had been asked to oversee the birth of the baby as a personal favor from Minato and Kushina. Jiraiya wanted to be there too but due to a complication in his spy network he was unable to attend.

Speaking of Minato, the Hokage held a smiling and vibrant smile on his face. This had to be his most favorite moment in his life thus far. Being made Hokage and marrying Kushina coming in close second. Not to down play those events but something about his child made him feel so alive.

"Well congratulations Kushina on a perfectly healthy baby." Tsunade smiled softly to the two exhausted parents. She had purposely left out the gender of the child. Kushina and Minato had elected to be surprised by the gender of the baby. And judging by the looks on their faces Tsunade knew they wanted to know.

Kushina simply held out her arms in a 'give me the baby' fashion. Tsunade chuckled softly and walked over to hand the bundle over to the mother. Kushina carefully and gradually took the baby into her arms. She had never smiled so widely in her life.

What she held in her arms was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life. In her arms was a boy with the most beautiful cerulean eyes she had ever seen. They seemed to pull her in and go on forever. Much like an ocean. His skin resembled his father's in it's complexion. His hair rivaled the spikiness of his father and the redness of his mother.

All in all the child resembled the parents very strongly. Tsunade smiled at the two as they took in every detail of their child. She watched their eyes hungrily devour the boy's image in it's entirety. She wanted to laugh when Kushina stopped staring and furrowed her brow in deep thought.

"Minato, what do you think we should name him?" Kushina asked softly. They wanted to keep the gender a secret between them. As such they couldn't come up with a name they both liked without knowing the gender.

"Uh How about Naruto?" Minato asked hopefully, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He had read about the name in the first book Jiraiya ever published. It didn't do as good as the ones he sold now but it held a much stronger meaning. The name came from that book.

Kushina thought about it. She had read the book as well and accepted it as a good book. That being said, she didn't exactly like the idea of her baby being named after that character and by proxy become associated with Jiraiya and his books. She knew about his so called 'Masterpieces' and hated them.

"I think we should name him after the father mostly. How does Mino sound?" This caught his attention. He was honored to have his wife say that she wanted their son to be named after him. It brought a tear to his eye just thinking about the love this woman held for him.

"I think that would be great. Mino it is." He smiled at her. Not a small smile but one so large it threatened to break his face in half if it grew any bigger. Kushina smiled back at her husband/best friend. She couldn't believe her luck in finding her soul mate.

Tsunade smiled at them and turned to leave when she felt a chakra signature moving towards them. A chakra she had become very accustomed to as she had been working with it for years now. Plus this level of power could only come from five people. Two of which were in the room with her and the other two were busy with their own life. Which left only one option left.

"Orochimaru..." She said quietly. The two distracted parents didn't hear it over their own conversation. Tsunade whirled around on her heel and opened her mouth to speak when something stopped her. Something small and sharp. Her eyes became heavy as she fell to the side, causing both parents to look over.

What they saw was the Snake Sannin Orochimaru standing over the prone body of his former teammate. An all too familiar smirk adorned on his lips. Minato instantly tensed up at the sight of his Sensei's teammate. The same man who rivaled him for the Hokage position.

"What do you want?" Minato ground out. His distaste for the Sannin extremely evident at that point. The Snake seemed to get some mild enjoyment out of making Minato all tensed and worried. This would most certainly play into the plan he had.

"Kukuku dear Minato. How are you? And is that a child I see?" His voice taunted Minato to test him. Taunting him to give into his base anger and strike out against him. Sadly, Minato held his ground and simply stared him down. The ice in his eyes plainly visible.

"Leave now or I will kill you." It wasn't a threat in any way. It was a promise of a lifetime. One that Minato backed up by launching his killer intent at the Sannin. Orochimaru simply smiled at Minato. He had been in tighter positions than this one and his killer intent was roughly the same as his so it held little effect to him.

Instead of verbally responding Orochimaru shot his tongue out, wrapped it around the baby, and pulled it towards him. Kushina, being as exhausted as she was, had little time to respond before the baby was yanked out of her arms. She would have lunged at the Sannin but he held a kunai to the child's neck with a twisted grin.

"Not so fast Minato." Orochimaru said to the blonde, who attempted to throw his tri-pronged kunai at him. "Unless you want the baby to die I suggest you do as I say." Minato slowly lowered his kunai, much to the sick pleasure of the Sannin. "Now I need some time alone here with Kushina. Minato you will take this baby and leave or I will activate the seal on him and kill him. The seal will dissolve if you are far enough away from me."

Minato was about to ask why Orochimaru wanted Kushina but he gave him no time to think. Orochimaru lobbed the child in the air and dashed at Kushina, his fingers ablaze with chakra. Minato jumped over to the baby, grabbed it, and vanished in a yellow flash. Orochimaru slammed his palm on Kushina's belly, causing the seal to glow a violent orange.

[Namikaze Estate]

Minato and Mino arrived in the golden flash of light that the Hokage became famous with. Luckily he had arrived in the baby room of the house. In the heat of the moment he had forgotten to aim for a certain room and simply launched to the house. It was pure luck he managed to land here.

"Be safe Mino. Daddy will be back soon. I promise." It happened at this moment. Right as the silence settled over the two boys a roar could be heard. Not a simple roar from an animal or even one from a person. No this one came from something much bigger and much stronger. If the chakra he was feeling was anything to go by.

Minato rushed to the window and frowned deeply. Deeper than any frown he had ever worn in his life. Standing at the walls of Konoha was a beast of impressive size and power. The nine tails of the beast swayed angrily at the village. The Kyuubi no Kitsune had come to his village.

The village had met this force head on despite the strength. Constantly balls of fire and explosive tags were launched at the Kyuubi. None of it seemed to have any effect other than pushing the beast back or just plain angering it further.

Minato watched as a small blue dot moved up the red Beast's fur and stop right at the ear. A split second later the Kyuubi howled out in momentary pain. 'Must have been Kakashi and his Chidori.' Minato thought with a small smile. That boy was something else.

After roughly five minutes of watching it became painfully obvious that the Shinobi on the front would not be able to stop this beast on their own. He would have to do something about this beast. Sadly enough the only thing he knew to best this beast would be to seal it away but that would require a life and a sacrifice.

He hated this, having to use his boy like this, but it he is the only one that could hold this Beast at bay for all of his life. He had no problems with dying to be honest. He didn't want to of course but he came to terms with death after his parents had died.

One thing is certain for the Hokage. Orochimaru would pay for releasing this beast upon his precious village.

[Meanwhile]

On the front things were easily going from worse to nightmarish in a hurry. Most of the main Shinobi force that had met the Kyuubi were either running low on chakra, dead, or dying quickly. The only relief they got was in the form of the Sandaime Hokage making his way with his ANBU force.

Luckily a few ANBU were at the scene of action already, coordinating the efforts to the best of their ability. "Lord Hokage!" The bird faced ANBU member called out. A moment later the Sandaime arrived in his black Shinobi gear and a few ANBU behind him.

"Bird, what is the situation?" the aged voiced of Hiruzen demanded. His veteran voice seemed to cut through all of the noise and chatter on the field. The Bird paled a bit at the voice before re-gaining his composure to answer.

"Sir, many are running out of chakra and supplies. Some are bleeding out and others are dead. Sadly, it doesn't seem like we are making any progress against it." Sarutobi took in those words grimly. They desperately needed help against this beast. Hopefully, the fourth would have a plan. For now though...

"Bird, gather those with chakra and paper bombs. Tell them to wait for my signal before launching everything they have left. We have to fight this thing off until the Fourth can arrive." Bird nodded wordlessly and set off to do his task. Hiruzen turned around to his small task force.

"You four have the same job. Please hurry." They all vanished without a word. The Sandaime ran through a few hand seals and summoned his friend: Enma.

"Eh? Oh hey Sarutobi. Need me for the staff again?" The monkey king asked. Hiruzen sighed sadly at the words but nodded nonetheless. Enma sighed and puffed into a plume of smoke. The Sandaime reached into the smoke and pulled out his famous staff.

Sarutobi jumped up to a building with a grim expression adorning his face. The Kyuubi. Upon sensing an extremely powerful chakra nearby turned his head to see the person. He was sadly disappointed when it was a small and elderly human.

"Who are you?" The Kyuubi inquired. Despite what most would say the Kyuubi could be quite civilized but very quick to anger. Hiruzen was slightly taken aback by the voice of the Beast but shook himself clear of it.

"The Sandaime Hokage of Konoha." And with that the elderly man leaped into the air, carrying the staff with him. He raised it over his head and brought it down with thunderous force. Enma sensed his summoner's will and extended to cover the distance. The result of their tandem unison was a loud crack on the top of the Kyuubi's head.

The Kyuubi growled out in pain that resonated from his head. He retaliated by bringing up one of his tails and launching it straight at the Sandaime. But he was not a Hokage for this long for nothing. Instead of being speared by the tail Hiruzen timed his jump and landed on the tail.

Quickly the old man took off running down the tail of the Kyuubi. The Fox shook his tail violently intent on knocking him off. Sarutobi jumped off the tail just before that. He looked down. He floated above the mid section of the beast. He noticed an opening and took it.

The Ex-Hokage front flipped in the air, bring the staff crashing down on the Kyuubi's ribs. The beast cringed in on that side. The Kyuubi blasted his thick Killer Intent out from his body. It pushed the air so harshly the Sandaime was pushed back and forced to land on a tree top.

"That thing is impossibly strong. When I hit it I felt like I did nothing to it. And I put all my strength behind those two strikes." The Sandaime grimly thought to himself. Things weren't looking to good for him if he couldn't do strikes that could hurt. Maybe his Ninjutsu would work.

The Kyuubi turned towards the Hokage on the tree top and began running towards him. Hiruzen jumped back just as his tree became splinters, all the while performing a short set of hand seals and building chakra. Once done he opened his mouth and called out.

"Katon: Karyuu Endan!" A that moment a large and daunting dragon shaped flame erupted from Hiruzen's mouth. The flame went no more than five meters before slamming it's head into the Kyuubi's face, forcing the beast to stop it's charge and lose sight of his target.

[With Hiruzen]

The blast from his attack had enough force to stop the Kyuubi from advancing but the pressure had pushed him back as well. He had no time to react as he smashed through tree branches only to land in a clearing.

He quickly hopped up and looked around. Nothing was too out of the ordinary. Just some trees, the moon, the giant red fox in the background. Oh that and the alter with a baby in it and Kushina standing right next to the baby with a frown on her face.

Sarutobi moved over to her side quickly, curious as to why she stood next to the baby. But one look at the child proved to be enough. The child belonged to her. "Kushina why are you here?" The red head whirled to the elderly man. Sadness locking her expression down.

"Minato needs me for the seal." This made his eyes widen. The Shiki Fujin was nothing to mess around with as it consumed the soul of the one who used it.

"How does he pla-" A vicious roar ripped through the quiet clearing. Both parties looked up to see a massive toad sitting atop the Kyuubi. Minato had appeared in front of in front of them in a flash of gold, a grim expression on his face.

"Lord Third," Minato started out. His voice sounded grated like nails on a chalk board. Like the man's soul had been ripped from his very chest and he was forced to live on without it. "I need you to hold off the Kyuubi while Kushina and I prepare the seal." Hiruzen really wanted to trade places with Kushina but their demeanor and stances at the moment suggested that they would not take no for an answer.

"I will do my best." With that he hopped away, intent on stopping the beast for the moment. If only to buy some time for them. Minato and Kushina set off to write the ink needed for the transfer and sealing of a Tailed Beast.

Sarutobi stood alone on this fight. The Kyuubi stalked slowly towards them, no doubt sensing the chakra signatures of the three powerful ninja gathered. He had only one shot at this and he would have to make it good or the beast would ruin their plans.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" The Sandaime called out, forming one perfect clone next to him as a result. The duo had to wait just a few more seconds or this would fail greatly. The Kyuubi took on more massive step forward. It was then that the Sandaime clone, armed with half of the original's chakra, leaped onto a tree then into the sky. Directly above the Kyuubi's head.

"Katon: Goryuka no jutsu!" A large mass of dragon shaped flames erupted from the clone's mouth. The Kyuubi looked up just in time to see the giant mass of flames smash right into the crown of his head. The force from the impact and resulting explosion alone had pushed the Kyuubi's head toward the earth at a rapid pace. The clone puffed away with a smile.

The real Sandaime knew that this was the time. He gathered up what remained of his chakra and made his move. Quickly he dashed under the large beast's descending head and put his jutsu into motion. "Doton: Doryuheki!" He called out, slamming his hands onto the earth floor beneath him.

Instantly a wall of solid earth rose from the ground. The wall could easily be compared to the that of a mountain rising from the ground. As the wall rose the jaw of the red fox smashed into it with full force, destroying the wall in the process. The Kyuubi lay on the ground, disoriented from the collision.

Hiruzen fell to one knee and could only hope that he had bought them enough time. Seconds later the Sandaime fell to the side and pass out from exhaustion. His elderly body simply could not keep up with these kinds of fights anymore.

[Few Minutes Later]

Minato held Kushina's body close to him. She had used to Shiki Fujin on the Kyuubi to rip it's Yin part from it's body. The Yondaime had used his chakra to perform the seal on the other half of the Kyuubi and seal it inside of his son, who hadn't stopped crying since.

"Minato...my love...please don't let this...make you bitter. Be kind...and caring. Mino will need that...from you. But promise me...one thing?" Kushina asked between heavily labored breaths. Minato looked to be on the verge of breaking on the inside. Only Kushina's words held him together.

"Anything my love." Minato quickly responded. He knew the effects of the seal and as such knew that she didn't have long to live. Kushina smiled and leaned in close to him.

"Make that bastard suffer!" Were her last words before going completely limp in his arms. Minato hugged her body close and began to rock back and forth, crying all the while. Even Mino had stopped crying long enough for his father to realize that he was still there.

Setting Kushina down gently he walked over and picked up his baby. He smiled at the child, the only piece of Kushina and family he had left in this world. He would protect the child and love it like no other. He owed the baby and Kushina that much.

"Quite the touching scene." The same slimy voice from before spoke from the shadows. Minato whirled around quickly to see who it was, holding the baby tightly to his chest for protection. Once again Orochimaru stepped from the shadows with a smirk adorning his features.

"You caused this!" The Yondaime hollered at the man. Orochimaru simply put a finger up to his chin with his other hand supporting his elbow. His golden eyes glowed faintly in the night.

"Actually I believe that Kyuubi did this. Well I did release him. But oh well. It was fun while it lasted." He licked his lips evilly at that last thought. Something about his home village paying for their sins against him made him feel all warm inside.

Minato gritted his teeth, dangerously narrowing his eyes at the Sannin. Orochimaru noticed him and laughed merrily at him. What could the Yondaime do in his position? Fighting him was out. He's far to weak for that.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to kill you. I want you to be at your best when I do that. I came to leave you with a message: I will come back and when I do you had better be ready for a fight." The Snake Sannin let his words sink in while he sunk into the ground.

Minato sighed and looked back to his child. This baby would be his strength in the years to come.

[Twelve Years Later]

A twelve year old boy opened his eyes for the first time of the day. He turned toward the window. A single ray of light had managed to get through and beam him directly in the eyes, thus waking him up. The boy groaned when he got out of bed. He hated mornings but he learned to deal with them.

The boy walked over to the bathroom to use it as per his daily routine. Once done he flushed his toilet and began to wash his hands. Once done he splashed a small amount of water onto his face to wake himself up from his hazy mind. He took the towel from the side and used it to dry his face off before looking himself in the mirror.

The reflection portrayed that of an obviously young boy. His hair, jet black and long, almost like a black silk. His skin seemed paler than the moonlight on a full moon. His eyes were like silted emeralds that seemed to glow when he became angry. His eyes were adorned by a green marking on either side. His face and body frame held a good deal of width to them, making him seem and look much more human.

His name was Naruto and he was an orphan.

He had no family that he could have ever recalled seeing. Heck, he didn't even have a family name or anything to go by. He was simply Naruto and for the most part he was alone. But he didn't face the world alone. No, he had a caretaker and father figure.

The caretaker of Naruto was none other than the Sandaime Hokage. The old man had taken up the mantel of caring for Naruto when he had found out about the boy's true origins. Not that it was exactly difficult to do. The eye markings and silted eyes were practically a dead giveaway.

Naruto walked back to his room and got dressed for the day. He didn't have much in life and his attire reflected such. He wore a black long sleeve shirt with a sage green t-shirt over top. He wore the same sage green colored pants with blue Shinobi sandals.

He sighed as he put his sandals on. He wanted to join the Academy and become a ninja more than anything in the world. But the civilian council strictly forbade him from joining out of fear and some how convinced the Shinobi council to agree. That hadn't stopped him in the slightest, in fact it had spurred him on to become better and train harder.

The Sandaime over looked some of his training sessions and each time he couldn't be more shocked. It seemed that Naruto had picked up his father's ability and natural skill. His Taijutsu and Ninjutsu were among the best he had seen since Orochimaru. This scared the ex-Hokage but luckily Naruto seemed to have no interest in using his skills for the wrong reasons.

[Training Ground 44]

Naruto had just gotten done with another grueling training exercise that consisted of running sprints up and down a rather lengthy tree. Sweat rolled down his forehead in droves. This training pushed his body to the limit each time. Slowly but surely it made him faster as well. Fighting against gravity and all.

"Hello Naruto." The elder voice of the Sandaime spoke out. Naruto turned around with his sweat rag and smiled. He always enjoyed the visits the old man gave him. Even though they were few.

"Hey old man!" Naruto cried out happily. The Sandaime very well may have been his father for all the stuff he taught Naruto.

"How goes the training?" The ex-Hokage inquired. Naruto's smile vanished as he took a more serious look. Training for him was almost always a serious matter.

"Good for the most part. Rough but worth it. Maybe this year they will let me take the test." Naruto grumbled that last part but Hiruzen heard him well enough to know what he said. It saddened him that the civilian council held such a strong grudge against Orochimaru that he carried it over to his son in some regards.

In short Minato hated the boy for no reason other than who his father was. Because of this Hiruzen had trained Naruto some on the side in hopes of him being eligible to take the graduation exam. Of course Hiruzen had Naruto hold off on the exams till he felt like he was ready.

Today was that day.

"Naruto I have a surprise for you." Naruto's face turned from depressed to focused in an instant. The last time he had a surprise it happened to be his favorite jutsu. Or at least his most used jutsu. "You are going to take the test today. You'll be going up against Uchiha Sasuke, this year's number one rookie."

Naruto paled at that. He had never fought another person in all of his life. Not even the villagers or ninja that used to beat on him. He figured that if he attacked back he would only be proving them right when they called him a "Freak" or "Snake" or "Monster". Naruto had asked the Sandaime about those names and only received a dry and unfeeling look in return.

Add on top of that, this was the number one rookie he would have to go against. Someone who no doubt had more experience from fighting in training sessions than Naruto.

"Naruto please don't worry so much. I am sure you will do fine. All you have to do is show that you know the basics and you pass. You can do this. I believe that you can." The Sandaime smiled softly at the pale boy. He may have messed up with Orochimaru but he would not let Naruto isolate himself from others and fall down that path.

Naruto's eyes began to water at the edges. He could always count on the Sandaime to make him feel better when he was feeling down in the dumps or daunted by a prospect. Now being one of those times. Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes and focused them. He would pull this off for the old man.

"Let's go!" Naruto proclaimed with a fist pump. He could truly be a happy child if he was ever given the chance to be. Sarutobi smiled and began walking with Naruto.

[Close to the Academy]

Sarutobi smiled at his own thoughts. Having Naruto go against the Uchiha was a perfect idea. It would get Naruto a team and keep him from falling down a dark path and would teach the Uchiha to be a bit more humble. Plus it would sure grab the council's attention. Hopefully they would realize that they were wrong about Naruto and would lay off of him.

Naruto on the other hand didn't smile. His hand kept going back to check his kunai strap on his leg. His palms and head could not have sweated more even if he tried. He couldn't help but be nervous. His first fight was against an Uchiha and the last on at that!

Along the way Naruto had managed to squeeze that piece of information out of Hiruzen. It certainly didn't help him in anyway. All he knew about the Uchiha is that were a strong clan with the Sharingan before most of them got wiped out by Sasuke's older brother Itachi. Naruto could only hope that Sasuke hadn't activated his Sharingan yet.

Naruto was pulled from his thoughts when Hiruzen pulled on his sleeve and pointed head of them to a training ground where the challenge would take place. The training ground had a simple layout. Some trees to the left and right and a clearing driven between them. Just solid ground and grass in the clearing.

A man with a scar on his nose and tied back brown hair greeted the two of them.

"Lord Third, it is an honor to see you again." He gave a slight bow to the man. The Sandaime smiled and nodded to the man. "This must be Naruto?" The man turned towards Naruto. His eyes appraised Naruto.

Naruto held out his hand "Naruto." The man almost took a step back out of fear but shook his head then shook the pale child's hand.

"Umino Iruka." The now identified Iruka spoke with a friendly voice and a smile. Naruto mentally sighed to himself. He was afraid the man would be nasty to him. But maybe the Sandaime being here had something to do with his kindness.

"Please follow me Naruto and we will go to the testing site." Iruka said flatly and began to walk. Iruka thought that this whole thing was simply a show to make the Uchiha feel better about himself. Not to mention the rumors about the Council not liking the boy.

A few moments later the trio arrived at the training ground. Naruto's eyes darted around and began to appease the area, looking for anything that might give him and edge to win. What he noticed first was a boy, no taller than him, standing with his arms crossed and his eyes focused directly on Naruto.

"Hello Sarutobi." The voice of Hiruzen's old teammate Danzo cut through the silence.

"Hello Danzo." Hiruzen replied with equal authority in his voice. The air grew cold around the two men. The Civilian Council in the back shrunk back at the pressure the two of them released.

Sasuke and Naruto didn't bother to look at the two men and kept their eyes locked on each other, looking for any weaknesses that the other had. Naruto's silted eyes hardened on Sasuke's onyx eyes. Both of them took a stance at the same time.

Iruka sprung into action, landing in between them. "I see you both are ready. Very well. Begin!" Iruka hopped back out of the way. His words drew the attention of all those watching, namely the Sandaime and the Civilian Council. Danzo showed up for the excuse to see how the boy progressed compared to his Father at this age.

The two fighters stood perfectly still. Both of them waiting for the silent signal that the earth would provide for them. Just then a strong gust of win blew through the clearing between the two boys. Their eyes widened and they took off towards each other.

Sasuke made the first move by attempting to hit Naruto in the face with a right hook. Naruto saw this coming and dropped into a squat, narrowly dodging the attack. He then threw a left towards the center of Sasuke's stomach. The dark haired boy spun to the side, while spinning he dropped into a sweeping kick.

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw Sasuke's foot come across the ground to him. He hopped slightly in the air, spun to gain momentum, and brought his foot down right on Sasuke's head. The Uchiha grunted in pain and rolled back and away from the pale skinned Naruto.

The crunch of the Uchiha's neck had made a few council members to gasp and mutter amongst themselves about Naruto going to far. Danzo smirked silently to himself. The boy had managed to stay ahead of the Uchiha the entire fight thus far and landed the first blow. Hiruzen smiled at the scene. Naruto was doing great and showing the Uchiha a worthwhile fight.

The two had engaged in a hand to hand fight again. Sasuke was determined to prove that he could best Naruto. The pale boy blocked or straight up dodged all of Sasuke's punches and kicks. It wasn't until Sasuke missed an uppercut that Naruto planted his fist into his face and sent him sailing.

Naruto watched Sasuke fly and noticed his body had started shaking. He had never felt anything like this feeling. The feeling of fighting and winning felt far to good for him. He wanted more of it. He wanted the Uchiha to feel his rage that he kept bottled up for so long.

Sasuke stood up and decided that he had been hit one time too many and went to land the finishing blow. Running through head seals the Uchiha were famous for he sucked in a big gulp of air.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" And Sasuke let the huge ball of flame fly through the air and at Naruto with hurtling speed. Naruto couldn't really dodge it seeing it's size but that's when a plan entered his head. A plan to win.

"Doton: Doryuheki!" Naruto called out and slammed his hands on the ground. The Earth rose up to meet the ball of fire dead on. The fireball hit and instantly became extinguished against the hard surface, sending smoke everywhere, and blocking vision.

From the smoke Naruto came running right at Sasuke. The Raven haired boy, still breathing slightly heavy from the jutsu he just launched, brought his defense up. Naruto brought his knee up for a gut shot. Sasuke launched his fist straight through Naruto's head. Literally straight through.

Sasuke's eyes widened when he realized the Naruto he was fighting was a clone. Suddenly the real Naruto appeared behind Sasuke, jabbing a kunai into his knee. Sasuke dropped to his injured knee with a grunt. Naruto swung his leg and cracked it across the side of Sasuke's face.

The Uchiha lay face down in the ground, unconscious from the kick. Naruto pulled his kunai out of the boy's leg. For some reason he couldn't stop himself from thinking that at any moment the Uchiha would wake up and try to kill him.

Naruto felt his blood scream for the death of the person who had tried to harm him. And at the moment, he wasn't sure he could stop himself from killing the Uchiha. His blood lust had just become too great and needed to be satisfied. Luckily Hiruzen noticed the look and jumped in to stop him.

"Very good Naruto but that's enough. Now put the kunai away." Naruto growled lowly at the Sandaime, sounding an awful lot like his Sannin Father.

"You're kidding right? This piece of trash is the rookie of the year? Pathetic if you ask me. It seems Konoha needs me more than I thought." And with that Naruto hopped away from the scene. Hiruzen sighed to himself. Orochimaru had been the same way when he first fought a worth while opponent. It would seem Naruto picked that up too.

"Very good. Very impressive for a genin. I haven't seen one so skilled since, well, Orochimaru." Danzo spoke with a mockingly happy tone. Though it was true. Orochimaru had been one hell of a genin in his time.

The Civilian Council murmured amongst themselves, talking about how the son of the Snake Sannin handily defeated the last Uchiha. It seemed to them that they had wasted their efforts on the wrong child prodigy. They decided that they would allow Naruto to join a team.

[Naruto's house]

Naruto walked in through the front door and sighed. He was coming down from his high of fighting the Uchiha and was not happy about it. He loved the feeling of fighting and wanted to do it all the time if it meant he would never have to been this...dead again. Fighting made him feel alive.

He also pondered what it would feel like to kill someone. Stabbing the Uchiha had brought a rush blasting through his system. He could not imagine what killing someone would make him feel like. He shuddered slightly at the thought, a twisted grin covering over his face.

Naruto quickly shook his head. These thought were wrong and the Sandaime would be disappointed in him for even thinking like that. Naruto hung his head when he thought about the old man. Hiruzen would no doubt be very upset with him for acting the way he did during the fight an after.

With a heavy sigh he walked into his room and plopped down on his bed. A small and annoying thought kept into his head while his thoughts raged about. "This is only the beginning."

A/N: Well there you have it. Chapter one of the cycle of pain. Please leave a review and let me know what you like, disliked, loved, hated etc. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter and don't forget to vote for the main pairing of this story! Anyway, see you all next time and hope you had a wonderful holiday.