AN: I do not own Naruto. Do not expect that note at the top of every post, I'm rather forgetful. Before this fic starts let me make a few things clear. I have made numerous changes to canon Naruto right off the bat to cut out ,what I feel are, the more idiotic portions of canon either directly or indirectly.

The list of my sweeping changes to canon!

No Bunny Goddess! I may not get that far with this story but seriously; no, just no.

Madara is dead! Because really, he just made the plot into a horrible power wank.

Obito is dead! Because surviving losing half your chest and head makes no sense! Also Madara is dead... Soooo yeah not there to save Obito's sorry ass.

Ninjas physical abilities have been nerfed! Because really their speed/strength was always inconsistent simply because it made for some cool scenes in canon. So now they top out at Olympic levels for multiple events, or push slightly past Olympic levels in one or two events. Basically no blurring out of existence to appear behind people, or stopping hundred pound swords with throwing knives.

Itachi really did go crazy and slaughtered his clan! To me that seems far more reasonable than canon.

Graduation is at 16-17 instead of 12-13, because it makes so much more sense, and prevents shipping from being creepy. That does not mean that 12-13 year olds will not be asked to kill in this fic. A seduction/assassination mission whose target is a pedophile will play a large role in shaping the course of this fic. That is your first warning. There will be another at the start of that particular post.

Guns will play a major role in this fic. They will be functionally the same but fundamentally different from real world firearms. Basically they are going to run on seals and chakra. They will be pretty rare. Only Naruto, his team, and a few others will be using them.

These changes have been made because I feel that they will make for a better story. I realize that such drastic changes may seem rash but I've thought this through and I think you will find that I am going to take this in interesting directions. So stick around, and give it a shot.

Eight-year-old Naruto Uzumaki, newly enrolled student of the Konoha ninja academy, was currently engaging in one of his few normal pastimes, namely wandering through the village. Deciding that perhaps it would be good to get in some training Naruto made his way to the training grounds when a sound like thunder split through the air.

Ever the inquisitive and curious type ,the young blond raced off in the hopes of seeing something cool.

What Naruto found stunned the him to silence. In the middle of the field stood the Hokage, several members of the council, and a large muscular man who carried several long metal tubes connected to pieces of wood. With another loud crack a training post the man was pointing the tube at splintered slightly sending slivers and wood chips spinning.

"Wow." Naruto muttered as he scrunched down behind a bush to watch more. He was tempted to run out and start asking questions, but the last time he had tried asking his Jiji questions around the counsel he'd been forced to leave and come back later. So Naruto sat, and waited in the bushes. His chance would come, and then he would find out what those tubes were.

"Most impressive, Higurashi-san." The Hokage commented as he speculatively eyed the large man with the metal tubes. "A very powerful weapon, however I fear it is ill suited for the style of combat that a shinobi must employ."

Many of the council members nodded along with their leader's analysis. The weapon was lethal, that much could not be denied. Unfortunately, the weapon was useless in close combat, large and cumbersome, it was more of a liability than anything else. It would make a decent ranged weapon, however it fell short in almost every respect when compared to more traditional ranged weapons.

While it was more powerful than a bow or crossbow, it could not be fired nearly as rapidly, meaning that the shooter would have time for only one shot before being forced to retreat, in comparison someone with a bow might have time to get off two or three shots before falling back.

In terms of accuracy the weapon was almost painfully inaccurate; it had taken the smith three attempts before actually managing to hit the log he was using for a demonstration. A well trained archer could have hit the same log at double or even triple the distance on their first attempt.

Bows and arrows were already becoming less and less common. But for those situations, and shinobi, who still employed them the main advantage of such weapons was that the shooter could make the shot from a distance and then disappear silently before anyone could discover their location. This new weapon completely removed any such benefit. The noise, light, and smoke produced when fired would give away the position of the shooter immediately. Using such a weapon would make a mockery of assassination.

No, this weapon, while powerful, had no place in the shinobi arsenal.

The man the Hokage identified as Higurashi seemed to deflate at the Hokage's words. He had spent months developing his first prototypes, and while he knew it had many flaws he was convinced that his invention, if properly used, could become a valuable tool. However, in the face of the village leader and shinobi council all he could do was nod his understanding.

"I understand Hokage-dono, thank you for giving me the chance to display my weapon." Higurashi said bowing low. Nodding the Hokage and his counsel filed off of the training field conversing with one another about the demonstration they had just witnessed.

As Mr. Higurashi took out a set of tools and rags and began to clean his weapon, a certain young blond seized the opportunity for what it was and ran up to the large weapon smith.

"Hey mister, what is that!?" Naruto exclaimed as he pointed excitedly at the metal tube resting in the smith's lap. Mr. Higurashi sighed before answering.

"This is a new type of weapon I've been trying to design, I call it a gun. This is my first prototype to survive being fired repeatedly." The man said with a defeated chuckle. "The only problem is it's just not cut out to be a ninja weapon. It's loud, heavy, and makes a lot of light and smoke, not to mention I haven't figured out how to make it accurate."

Naruto looked between the gun and the training post repeatedly before shrugging his shoulders.

"So?"

"Huh? What do you mean so? Didn't I just explain it isn't cut out for ninja work?"

"Well, sort of, but not really. I mean a lot of ninjutsu are really loud and noisy, or flashy, but people still use those." Naruto bluntly stated.

Now Mr. Higurashi was no fool, far from it in fact. That he had successfully invented his gun was proof of that. Hearing the child's argument in favor of his pet project rekindled some hope for his little brainchild.

"You really think this could still be a ninja weapon kid?" Naruto nodded his head emphatically.

"You bet mister! You just need to make it better! I'll bet the first sword anyone ever made couldn't cut butter! But now we have all kinds of really cool swords! No way should you just give up here!" Naruto shouted giving his trademarked cheeky grin.

Hearing that Mr. Higurashi burst into laughter. The kid was right. So what if his first attempt hadn't been good enough for ninja work? He could improve it. Rip the design apart again and again until he found the magic formula. Then once he found that he would tear it all apart again and make something even better! If what he had now was a dull club, then he would hang it on a wall to learn from. He would attack the problem until he had made a weapon that, in its element, could be compared to the most finely crafted katana. Mr. Higurashi grinned down at his new source of inspiration and stuck out his hand.

"Name's Higurashi kid, what's yours?"

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" The young blond shouted enthusiastically. Higurashi just chuckled again.

"Alright then Naruto, tell me, since you seem to think my gun could be a real ninja weapon, how would you like to help me make them?" Hearing that Naruto's eyes went wide in disbelief.

"Really?! You want me to help you make those?!" Higurashi nodded his head.

"Sure. You are planning to be a ninja, right?"

"Of Course! I just started at the academy a few weeks ago!" The Blond shouted almost vibrating with excitement.

"Then you're the perfect person to help me out, kid. This hunk of junk is worthless as it is now. It's going to take years of work and experiments before we can turn this into a real ninja weapon. And who better to help me figure out what needs to be fixed, and how to fix it, than a ninja in training, eh? Besides, once it's done I'm going to need someone to go out and show the world just how useful these new weapons can be! What do say kid, partners?"

Now hearing that Naruto's eyes shot wide open. Very few people had ever given him so much as the time of day! Now here was a complete stranger that wanted to teach him how to make one of the incredible weapons he called a gun. He wanted Naruto's help to improve the weapon, and then to prove to everyone that the gun truly could be a ninja weapon! No one had ever made such an offer to Naruto before. Taking all of that into account there was only one real option for the young blond.

His grin nearly splitting his face young Naruto extended his hand which the older weapon smith enthusiastically shook.

This simple action, the team up of the prankster king from hell, and the brilliant weapon smith would one day be marked in history books the world over as the start of something new and unique that would one day shake the shinobi world.