Only saying this once: I do not own Naruto.

Now that I have more experience writing, I hope this will turn out better than my last attempt.

Updates will be slow. My ME/XCOM crossover story is a higher priority at the moment. Once that is done, I can fully devote my attention to this.

Read and Review!

Prologue

Nearly three decades ago

"What are you doing over here?"

The red-haired girl looked up at her visitor from her position. He'd found her sitting back up against one of the trees near the training grounds, glowering darkly at her own hand.

The girl sighed. "I just…wanted some time to think."

He smirked. "You can think?" The boy ducked as a glistening chain arced where his head would have been.

"Are you just here to piss me off?" she growled.

"That could be one of the reasons," he admitted. "But the real reason is because sensei told me to look for you. He's kind of worried that don't hang with us much outside of training or missions."

"I have my own friends," she answered haughtily.

"I know. I checked with them. They said you've been ditching them too."

"I don't want to talk to anyone right now," she replied baldly, "and you're not helping!"

If he'd possessed any ounce of self-preservation, he would have known to keep his mouth shut. "Jeez, is it that time of the month already?"

He paled as a mass of chains erupted from the girl in response to his innuendo. "I'll kill you!" she shrieked, springing up from her place on the ground and lunging at him with eyes full of female fury.

The boy decided to evacuate in the most dignified way possible: by turning tail and running away screaming shrilly like a member of the opposite sex.

The chase ended for her nearly four hundred meters later when her antagonist made it to the safety of the market district. She petered out and allowed her chains to dissipate before taking a deep breath and turning to head back to her spot. To her annoyance, she found another visitor waiting for her.

"Any particular reason you decided to try and almost kill your teammate?" he queried.

"He wouldn't leave me alone, kind of like you," she grumbled.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Something wrong?!" she exploded. "Of course! I'm stuck in this stupid village practically a world away from everyone I knew in my family! I get sent here because of some stupid agreement, and they tell me I can never see my parents again! I don't want to be here! I want to go home! I hate this stupid village!" the boy waited patiently as she paused to take a series of deep breaths. "Why did it have to be me?" she whimpered.

He frowned. "You sound like you know why you were picked. You just don't like the reason they did it."

"I don't need you to tell me that."

He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Just trying to help you out. I don't like seeing my friends like this."

She glared at him for a moment before her gaze softened a touch. "You're too flaky to be my friend."

He sighed. "Come on. I tried to get the other kids to stop calling you 'Tomato' behind your back. A little gratitude might be nice."

"You're just trying to get me to go out with you," she accused. "I've seen how those harpies hang on to you all the time. You want me to join your harem? Is that it?"

"I don't have a harem," he objected with some indignance.

"Suuuure," she drawled. "and they totally don't call themselves the 'Namikaze fan club' just because they like your winning personality. Nope. Not at all."

He smirked. "Don't tell me you're jealous, are you?"

She snorted. "In your dreams."

"Look, I'm just worried about you. I know you want to see your family back home, but you have people here who care about you too. We're all here for you. You don't have to do…whatever you're doing all by yourself."

"You wouldn't understand," she muttered dismissively.

He shrugged. "I can't if you won't tell me about it."

"Just go away."

Knowing that he wasn't going to budge her, he turned and left the stubborn girl to her own devices, though not before giving her a soft pat on the back.

She let her gaze follow his retreating form for a distance before returning to her hand-centric rumination. Her gaze darkened once more as she pulled out one of her chains from her palm. It waved around in front of her, almost like it was mocking her as the source of her troubles. Her special chakra that allowed her to control the nine-tailed beast had been the sole reason she'd been chosen to be handed off to Konohagakure. And with her destiny to become its next container and prison, she would be forever bound to this village, far away from everyone in her old life as a noble princess of the Uzumaki clan. The fact that her chakra took the form of chains was a fitting metaphor for her life. That same damned chakra that would chain the beast to her also chained her to a village that she held no love for.

Someday, she vowed to herself, I will break these chains. This place can go to hell as long as I can go back to my family.

From a distance, a man with a cyclopean appearance and an x-shaped scar on his chin looked on with grave concern.

Present Time

"I should thank you, demon brat, for bringing the Forbidden scroll to me. Allow me to express my gratitude!"

"Naruto, get out of the way!"

Naruto obeyed the command on pure instinct, jumping away from the massive four-pronged shuriken that sailed his way. Meanwhile, Iruka threw a hail of kunai at his former comrade, forcing the man to dodge and turn his attention from the young academy student.

"Mizuki-sensei, w-why?"

"Naruto, just get out of here!" Iruka ordered.

"How amusing," Mizuki noted. "You're actually defending the demon that killed your parents?"

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about," the scarred instructor snarled. "especially if you think that Naruto is the demon!"

"Don't tell me you've fallen under its spell! It destroyed Konoha once, and it could do so again! But I'll take care of it for you if you'll let me!"

"Like hell! No one attacks my students!"

Naruto, even from a distance away, could hear the two men arguing even over the din of clashing metal.

"He's a monster, and he'll die like one."

"He's just the container of the beast!" Iruka exploded. "No wonder you're just an assistant instructor if you're too stupid to see that! He holds it back! He protects the village just by existing!"

Mizuki's eyes narrowed and his grin disappeared. "Shut up, demon lover!" he growled as he redoubled his efforts, increasing the ferocity of his attacks. "You never would have become an instructor if it wasn't for me! You're so mediocre you barely scraped by!"

"At least I'm not so mediocre that I can tell the difference between a scroll and what is sealed inside it! Or that I need to trick a genin into stealing a village treasure for me!"

The silver-haired man howled in rage. Iruka managed to land a good slice with his kunai, only to be caught off guard as his former friend ignored the wound and slugged him hard in the solar plexus, smashing him into a tree.

"Maybe not," Mizuki admitted as he stalked over, a predatory smile gracing his features. "but you're mediocre enough to die at the hands of someone who did!"

Iruka's eyes widened, and Mizuki was suddenly jolted sideways as Naruto appeared in midair, having rammed his fist against his former instructor's temple.

"Leave him alone!" he glared.

"Naruto, no!" Iruka gasped.

Mizuki blinked away the haze and his smile widened. "So the demon comes back to die."

"You tricked me," Naruto snarled. "You used me. And you tried to kill me. No one gets away with that!" Mizuki's smile vanished as Naruto's form turned reddish and his voice became more guttural and feral. "NO ONE!"

"Naruto!"

The student lunged and Mizuki screamed as he felt something rake across his left side even as he dodged. He landed and turned to face the brat before rubbing his bloodied ribs. What the hell?! I know I dodged! How did he hit me?

Iruka watched as Naruto charged again, slashing with elongated clawed fingernails. Once again, the (in his mind) genin missed, but several more cuts appeared on Mizuki's body.

The traitor flipped backward and drew several shuriken. Better play it safe at range.

Naruto's next attack was cut short as he was nailed with three shuriken with enough force to be thrown backward against a tree. Both adults were shocked as a bush in front of Naruto shredded itself. Only Iruka noticed that it happened as Naruto flailed his hands in front of himself upon hitting the tree.

The boy got back up and snarled again, unconsciously channeling more chakra before taking off once more.

This time, they saw what happened. From the boys fingertips trailed streams of chakra that acted like razor whips as he swung his arms. Mizuki smirked as he dodged them before hitting Naruto in the back and making him stumble. As long as he could see what was coming, he could dodge it.

Naruto growled before remembering what he'd learned in the scroll. He placed his hands together. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Both men froze. Kage bunshin? Their unspoken question was answered by an explosion of smoke that cleared to reveal ten of Naruto, similarly coated in chakra. And with their appearance went all of Mizuki's hopes of success.

He reflexively eliminated four of them with a desperate burst of shuriken, but the remaining six, including the real Naruto, virtually shredded him with their whips. He collapsed as Naruto walked up to him dispelling his clones and picking him up by the neck with inhuman strength.

"That's enough." Iruka surprised the boy by clamping one hand firmly on his shoulder. "We need him alive, Naruto."

Naruto looked up. "But he hurt you, Iruka-sensei!"

The instructor chuckled and gestured at his former friend. "Not as much as you hurt him."

Naruto looked back at the man before dropping him and viciously kicking him in the head. "You used me!" he spat. "I hope you rot in hell!"

"Oh he will, Naruto," Iruka assured him. "He will."

Hiruzen kept silent as Iruka finished his report, gazing at the boy-no, young man next to him, trying to get a read on him.

The fact that Naruto was troubled wasn't surprising. It would be alarming if he wasn't affected by the events of this night. But the issues brought up would have to be addressed with care. Young minds are very impressionable.

"How are you feeling, Naruto?"

"I'm pissed off that he tricked me like that," the blond replied. "No one does that to me!"

"I think you made that clear," the Hokage noted dryly. "But that's not what's troubling you."

"…he called me the demon-"

"Naruto, I told you. You're not the demon," Iruka admonished. "You're its prison. You hold it back to protect us."

"Is that why everyone hates me?" he demanded.

"Everyone hates you?" Hiruzen asked with a bit of mirth. "I certainly don't. Neither does Iruka, or those two people at Ichiraku's."

"It might as well be everyone," Naruto muttered bitterly, causing both men to feel a sting of pain. "Only a few people in this stupid place who don't hate me."

"They don't know better," Iruka cautioned.

A long pause, and then Naruto looked up again. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were too young to understand," the Hokage answered. "What would you have thought only a year ago if I had told you what you carry inside of yourself?"

The blond fell silent again. "Why me?" he finally asked. "Why am I the one who has to hold the fox?"

The Hokage grimaced, remembering the last time he'd heard those same exact words. He struggled to come up with an explanation. Fortunately, Iruka stepped in, unaware of his dilemma.

"The Yondaime chose you because he knew you would protect the village, Naruto."

Later on, Hiruzen Sarutobi would remember that moment as one of his greatest regrets.

"So he used me too," Naruto mumbled.

"No, that's not-"

"He used me just like Mizuki did!" Naruto continued, voice rising as he ignored his teacher.

"Naruto, he had no choice," the Sandaime began.

"He could have asked me!" the boy shouted.

"You were a baby at the time! How was he supposed to ask your permission?"

Naruto shook his head. "He used me. Mizuki used me. You're all using me. Everyone is just using me! Even you, old man!" With that, Naruto turned and ran for the stairs.

"Naruto, wait! Damn it!" Iruka turned toward the Hokage.

"Go," He almost didn't, surprised as he was by the tiredness in the man's voice. "Go!"

As the teacher raced out after his student, the old man looked toward the monument where the face of his would-be successor gazed back. "Forgive me, Minato."

On a night like this, could only think of one place where his wayward student would go. To his surprise, Naruto was not there. Though upon reflection, it really wasn't a surprise that Naruto would be someplace other than the Hokage Monument after coming to the conclusion that the Yondaime had used him against his will.

If I were Naruto, what other place would I go to? That thought didn't take long for the instructor to finish. Even if the shop was closed, Teuchi and Ayame were definitely two individuals that Naruto would feel to have never taken advantage of him. Hell, those two had given him freebies several times on the days when he'd spent his money being overcharged for groceries.

That last part brought a pang to Iruka's heart when he considered that he knew about it, but had never done anything to address it.

Sure enough, Naruto was sitting on a stool, brooding, while the shopkeeper and his daughter cleaned the store and prepped for the next day. Iruka met Teuchi's gaze, and the men shared a wordless exchange before the chef nodded his approval. Taking a stool, the scarred chuunin sat down next to the boy.

"Naruto, the Hokage has just been trying to protect you. He didn't use you."

The blond sat in silence, giving no indication that he heard.

"I've never used you either. Don't you trust me, Naruto?"

"You ignored me for the first two years, sensei," Iruka winced at the cutting reply. "I haven't forgotten that."

"But I learned better!" he pleaded. "I'm sorry I ever treated you that way!"

"How can I believe you?" Naruto turned to glare at his teacher. "You could have apologized last year. You could have apologized any time before today. It's only when I brought it up again that you said you're sorry! You're trying to trick me just like Mizuki!"

Now that cut deep. Being placed on the same level as his traitorous former friend? It hurt a lot. And the worst part was that he couldn't really deny the accusation.

"And if the old man really wanted to protect me, he could have at least told me about the fox instead of making me think everyone hates me for no reason!"

" 'Everyone,' Naruto?" Ayami piped up, adopting a hurt expression. "Even me?"

Naruto's face softened. "Almost everyone," he amended. "Not you, Ayame-chan."

Iruka sighed, suddenly feeling very tired. "Naruto, for what it's worth, I'm going to pass you. You're a genin as of tonight. You only have to go to the academy one more time, tomorrow. And then you never have to come back again. But I hope you can forgive me someday. And here," he reached up and untied his headband before laying it on the table next to the angry blond, "you've earned this."

He got up, and after nodding his thanks to the two civilians, he turned to walk back to his apartment. He glanced over his shoulder one more time and saw that Naruto was holding his new headband gently in his hand. It brought him hope that the boy would accept him again.

He would need that hope to sleep tonight.

"So what are your thoughts?" the Sandaime asked.

Inoichi rubbed his chin in thought, recalling everything he'd just been told. "It does sound like Naruto was channeling the fox's chakra on a very limited scale. But for him to press a chuunin this early on is a little alarming."

"I debriefed several ANBU after Mizuki's defeat. They were spread all over the village. Not even the ones closest to the forest sensed anything out of the ordinary."

"That's pretty solid proof how little chakra he used," the Yamanaka clan head agreed. "You also said that he missed direct contact with the traitor, but still managed to hurt him."

"Yes. Naruto was generating trails of chakra from his fingers. They only became visible later as he added more chakra, but they were capable of inflicting moderate wounds. At least initially. Once he added more chakra and created his clones, they were even more effective cutting weapons."

"Reminds me of Kushina's chains," Inoichi recalled. "Could be that Naruto inherited her abilities."

"There's no record of any sort of Uzumaki kekkei genkai that resembles this. Kushina was the only one of her clan to possess that kind of chakra ability."

"And she certainly wasn't too happy about it at first," the blond chuckled in spite of the events of the past twelve hours.

"That she wasn't," Hiruzen acknowledged.

The door opened, and a black-garbed old man with a cane and an x-shaped scar on his chin entered. "I hear things went poorly last night, Sarutobi."

"And I suppose you want to induct Naruto into your forces yet again?" the Hokage challenged.

The new arrival shook his head. "Hardly. It would do little good at this juncture. The boy is already too visible for that to work properly, no thanks to your misguided efforts."

"You might be solely concerned with Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki, but he is still just a child," Hiruzen retorted.

"A child with the latent power of the greatest of the tailed beasts, granted to him by his father, and also possessing the same ability as his mother," the man corrected.

"Lord Danzo, that is merely speculation on our part," Inoichi cautioned.

"And we shall see one way or another," Danzo noted. "In the meantime, it once again falls to me to clean your mess up, Hiruzen. The boy is at a crossroads right now, and he could quite possibly consider abandoning the village. That is not a possibility we can accept."

"I can clean my own messes up," the Hokage argued.

Danzo shook his head. "He does not trust you anymore. Judging from the reports and observations of young Iruka's attempts to reconcile with him, the boy wouldn't even deign to speak with you unless absolutely necessary. And it is because he believes you lied to him, or you have been manipulating him."

"I have to agree with that," the Yamanaka added. "After reading his file, I doubt there is anyone he knows that he would trust at all, beyond the two at the Ramen shop."

"And thus, that is why I will handle this," the crippled man announced. "The boy does not know me. He cannot pass judgment one way or another. And I will earn his trust by doing the one thing he believes you won't: I will tell him the truth."

"You would deprive him of his innocence," Hiruzen protested.

"As of last night, he is a genin, a shinobi of this village," Danzo answered, "according to Iruka. The time of innocence has passed. One might argue that he has been deprived even of that precious period, due to the short-sightedness of the villagers. I believe that the boy would prefer to hear an ugly truth rather than a beautiful lie."

Inoichi looked on in apprehension while the Hokage sighed in defeat. "You better not twist him into another one of your weapons," he warned.

"We both know it is far too late for that," the cripple replied as he left the office.

"What are you doing here?" Kiba demanded. "You failed the exam, dobe!"

Immediately, the boy regretted his taunt as Naruto pinned him with a glare that promised a great deal of pain. Then the blond tapped the forehead protector that Iruka had given him before wordlessly sweeping past him and taking a seat.

The entire class was stunned. Yesterday, Naruto would have loudly expressed his displeasure over something like that. Today, he was sullen and withdrawn. The girl sitting directly behind him was particularly dismayed at the change in his demeanor.

"Yo Naruto, are you okay?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm fine," was the growled reply.

The Nara raised both hands defensively. "Just asking. You're really different today, man."

Iruka entered the room, taking a moment to look at the blond boy and smile internally at the sight of his old headband. "Alright everyone, today is your last day at the Academy. You will be sorted into your teams, and then you'll be meeting your sensei's. So listen up for-yes, Sakura?"

"Iruka-sensei," the pinkette asked tentatively, "why is Naruto-baka here? Didn't he flunk?"

The instructor noted the pain in Naruto's eyes upon hearing his crush insult him. "Last night, he was tricked into stealing the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage's office by Mizuki. Later, he helped to defeat the traitor and saved my life," he explained to the class. "Since he was skilled enough to infiltrate such a high-security location without detection, and he defeated a chuunin, I decided he had more than earned the rank of genin."

Despite himself, a smirk graced Naruto's face while the class turned to stare at him with incredulity, and a few cases of jealousy.

How did the dobe do all that?! Sasuke wondered. He really broke into the Hokage's office and escaped?!

N-Naruto-kun…he saved Iruka-sensei? Hinata thought as she gazed at the back of her object of affection.

"Now listen up as I call your names. Team 1 will consist of…"

Naruto's eyes narrowed when it was announced that he was teamed up with Sakura and Sasuke. While he was happy to be on the same team as the pinkette, the price was dealing with that stuck-up Uchiha asshole. The fact that said asshole was glaring at him from across the room did little to improve his foul mood.

The subsequent two-hour-long wait for their sensei, Kakashi Hatake, to arrive merely made it worse. At another time, he would have been badgering Sakura for a date as usual. But instead, he sat in his chair, mind turning over different possible reasons for being assigned these two teammates and wondering what in the world was keeping their sensei from showing up on time.

Sasuke seemed to have forgotten his earlier jealousy, but he was still eyeballing the blond due to the fact that it was just so unusual for him to not say a word during the whole time. Similarly, Sakura was nervously watching him, waiting for him to ask her out and bring some semblance of normality to the day.

Finally, the man they were waiting for arrived. Or appeared to. He had arrived almost forty-five minutes earlier, but had remained outside observing from a distance. The Hokage had briefed him on last night's escapade, and Naruto's subsequent loss of trust in himself. He had seen the pain of rejection on the old shinobi's face during that talk, but Sarutobi expressed a great deal of concern when he told Kakashi that Danzo intended to gain the boy's trust.

Kakashi learned, not in so many words, that he was supposed to counter that, by trying to get in the boy's good graces first. While both older men were united in wishing to ensure the strength of the village, the Sandaime wanted to prevent his old rival from indoctrinating the boy. Unable to close with Naruto in person, he would be relying on Kakashi to do the job.

Part of him wondered exactly how the hell he was supposed to do that. Kakashi wasn't known for socializing with anyone, much less three academy brats turned genin. And as their superior, he couldn't simply shower Naruto with attention and instruction anymore than he could with Sasuke. That would prove detrimental to team cohesion. It would seem that once again, like many times during his tenure in ANBU, he had been given an impossible mission.

The difference was that this time, he couldn't simply kill off the problem.

"You three, rooftop in two minutes," he said as he took one step into the room before performing a lazy about-face and walking right back out. Belatedly, just before he shunshined away, he heard the girl scream "YOU'RE LATE!"

One hundred and fifteen seconds later, he was joined at his perch on the south edge of the building by the three genin.

"Let's get introductions out of the way," he began, closing his favorite book. "Kakashi Hatake, jonin, formerly ANBU, and your new superior." He paused to make sure the three were paying attention to him. "Likes and dislikes, you'll find out soon enough. Hobbies and life goals, none of your business. Now your turn, pinky."

The girl glared. "My name's SAKURA, not 'pinky!'"

"Hmm?" Kakashi smirked under his mask as he mock cleared his ear with his finger. "You say something?"

Amazingly, the girl didn't rise to the bait. She merely glowered at him for a moment. "I like Sasuke," she blushed. "I don't like Naruto!" Naruto's eyes betrayed some of the pain from that statement. "And my hobbies…" she blushed a deeper red, but didn't elaborate.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and then coughed. "Right, guess we don't need to know exactly what those are. You're next, broody."

Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance. "My name's Sasuke. I like training, I hate weakness and wasting time, and my goal is to avenge my clan."

Short, sweet and to the point, the jonin thought. Also pretty much exactly what his file says. "And how about you, mister sunshine?"

The blond scowled. "Naruto Uzumaki. And I'm not telling you anything else."

"Naruto-baka!" Sakura yelled, causing the three males to wince. "He's our sensei! You have to tell him!"

"Why aren't you going to do what everyone else did?" Kakashi asked.

"Because I'm not giving out any information that anyone could use against me," the blond replied. "I've had it with being lied to or taken advantage of."

Sakura gaped. Sasuke looked on in surprise. And Kakashi chuckled and clapped slowly. "That is the first intelligent thing any of you has done since I arrived."

"Sensei?!"

"You notice I didn't tell you anything about my personal habits, right?" he admonished the other two. "Whereas you both told me plenty of things that I could use if I were an enemy. From what Sasuke said, one sure place to find him would be a training ground, and you would probably be close by. Failing that, I would just listen for you to say something like 'get away from me Naruto-baka.' But with Naruto, he hasn't given me anything to work with."

Naruto smirked to himself, only to have it wiped from his face by what the jonin said next. "Of course, I have an advantage. I already know everything about you three from your files. So I could find you and use your information against you regardless. This leads to the first lesson for you three: never give out personal information."

"Now, I'm going to be testing you tomorrow as a group. I suggest that you skip breakfast tomorrow so you don't throw up, because this test is going to be hard on you. Got it? Good. Now get." And with that, Kakashi shunshined away.

Naruto stood up, ignoring the glare from Sasuke as he made for the stairway. He picked up speed so he wouldn't have to hear Sakura ask Sasuke out. Unbidden, he found his feet carrying him to Ichiraku's, now his favorite spot in the village. He sat down at the counter as usual and made his order. So far today, this was the only thing that had made him smile.

When he went for his wallet to pay for the meal however, Ayame shook her head. "Someone already paid for your meal, Naruto."

"What? Who?"

The waitress pointed across the street at an old man wearing black and playing shogi by himself. Bewildered, Naruto thanked Ayame and made his way over to the mysterious man.

"I heard you paid for my ramen," Naruto said as he approached.

"That I did," the man admitted as he moved the remaining black knight forward before slowly rotating the board and contemplating a countermove for the white.

"Why?"

"To get your attention, boy"

"What do you want?"

"I think the question is what do you want, boy?" the man asked. "I heard all about the fiasco from last night, especially how the traitor tricked you into doing his bidding."

"He got what he deserved," the boy muttered. The old man allowed the corners of his lips to curl upward, but did not reply to that statement.

"You think that the Sandaime was using you," he continued while moving the white gold general backward. "Why?"

"How do you know that?" Naruto's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I am one of the advisors to the Hokage, boy," the man admitted. "Very little happens within Konoha that I do not hear about."

"Are you here to try and get me to trust the old man again?"

"Hardly," the man scoffed. "I am simply here to make certain that you will not abandon your village. The Yondaime most assuredly did not choose to seal the Kyuubi into a child only to have that child run off. Or worse, to use it against Konoha."

"I wouldn't do that!" Naruto protested angrily.

"There are others who would in your place, boy," A black pawn moved forward. "My question remains: why do you think the Sandaime was using you?"

The blond thought for a moment. "Because he didn't tell me what I needed to know. He should have told me about the damned fox before."

"Because he thought you didn't need to know at the time," the old man corrected him. "Do not forget that the Sandaime Hokage has decades of experience as both a shinobi and a leader of this village. He has seen much of human nature, and you will find as you age that experience makes you more cautious about your choices."

"He still lied to me," Naruto persisted stubbornly.

A white rook moved to capture the pawn. "Boy, we are shinobi. Our world is one of lies, deceit and mistrust. We all use each other and manipulate each other to our own ends. Should you progress to become chuunin or even a jonin, you will see how you yourself will use and manipulate your superiors or subordinates to your own advantage. On a mission, you may appear to become close to a woman only to betray her by using information that you obtain from her to target her friends or employers."

"But that's…"

"It is not honorable. It is not just. It is effective." A black bishop countered by moving diagonally to endanger both the white king and the rook. "Samurai fight under a code. Shinobi have no such limitations. All that matters is that we complete our tasks at any cost."

"Then where do we stop?!" Naruto demanded.

"When do we stop?" the cripple smiled at the board, noting that white had no way out of the situation. He lifted the board and tipped it sideways, allowing all the pieces to slide off into the tray beneath. "When there is no longer any point in continuing."

A moment of silence reigned as the elder man watched the boy's expression, which reflected his inner turmoil.

"So no matter what, I'll always be lied to and manipulated," he concluded bitterly.

"That is not what I said, boy," the old man admonished as he began placing the pieces back on the board to begin anew. "Even in our business, you will encounter truth. Cherish those moments," he said wistfully. "They are far and few in between, which makes them all the more precious. And if you ever encounter someone who will truly never lie to you or manipulate you for their own ends, then you will have had better luck than this old man."

Naruto noted the hint of bitterness in the man's voice. "So only most of the time."

The man shrugged, now adjusting pieces on the board to be just so. "That will depend on your circumstances. But you'd best accept the reality and come up with a method of dealing with it. There are two ways you can handle a life of lies and manipulation. You've no doubt entertained the idea of running away from it." He looked up again to see Naruto reluctantly nod. "But lies and manipulation are not limited to the life of a shinobi. You will encounter them everywhere you go, no matter your profession. So attempting to run would appear to be a poor choice indeed."

"Then what's the other choice?" Naruto whispered.

The old man smiled and picked up a white pawn. "Take the initiative," A loud clack echoed for the two of them as he placed the pawn one space ahead, "and make the first move."

It always bothered me how short-sighted a man like Danzo could be in canon. Someone of his knowledge and position should have known damned well that becoming Hokage would have been hugely detrimental for himself. Here, Danzo has no such desires. He's quite content to remain in the shadows out of the public eye where he has far more latitude to pursue any actions he deems necessary. On the other hand, Hiruzen's hands are quite tied due to his political status.

As you may already be able to tell, this story comes down firmly on the side of cynicism. As a result of Naruto's (perceived) betrayal at the hands of the Sandaime, he is much more wary and guarded. Consequently, he'll become far more observant and intelligent as the story goes on.