(A/N) Welcome to The Blind Prodigy, you may have seen this fanfic on Wattpad, don't worry it's not stolen, I'm the same author, anyway, onto the story...

"Naruto!"-speech

'Naruto!'-thought

'Naruto!'-bijuu talking

'Naruto!'-talking to bijuu

Chapter 1: Ninja in the dark

In the distance a small blond-haired boy wearing an orange jumpsuit could be seen speeding across the rooftops of Konohagakure, known as the village hidden in the leaves, his azure blue eyes stayed emotionless even as his pursuers started to gain the advantage as he approached a dead end. The young boy suddenly sped off in the opposite direction, towards the academy, the ninja following him decided to cease their chase, afraid of their punishment of attacking the blonde in public, and should the Hokage know of their actions their fate would be worse than death.

As soon as the boy landed in front of the academy, the bell rang to signal the start of class, as he walked towards the entrance he sighed knowing he would be late for his genin exam and after failing his exam the previous 2 times, today would be his last chance to become a ninja without having to study for another year.

Upon reaching the classroom door the orange-clad ninja plastered a huge cheeky grin on his face but although he was smiling, his eyes stayed the same emotionless blue as before. After hearing his name called for the final time he pushed the door open coming face to face with an angry chunin, he had the basic shinobi uniform, a camo green flak vest, and his long brown hair was tied into a tight ponytail,

"Naruto, you're late again!" the chunin exclaimed pointing an accusing finger at the newly dubbed Naruto, but he didn't care as he continued to grin and scratch the back of his head as he turned to face the elder shinobi,

"Did you say something Iruka-sensei? Oh yeah sorry for being late but a black cat crossed my path so I had to go the long way round," he said sheepishly still grinning at Iruka. The students started to giggle but Iruka was as stern as ever,

"Just go sit down, you're lucky we haven't started the written exam yet," sounding exasperated, Iruka started to rub the bridge of his nose which was obscured by a rather large scar. Naruto slowly trudged towards his seat at the back row, his grin was replaced by a small smile and he could hear some of the whispers of his classmates,

"Look it's the boy my mum says to stay away from,"

"He's the worst in the class, an idiot shouldn't become a ninja, I bet he would die on his first mission,"

As Naruto arrived at his seat, he passed Shikamaru Nara, one of his few friends and someone who knew his secrets, he gave him a questioning look, as if asking "Are you okay?", which Naruto gave a small nod in reply. Deciding to sleep through the introduction of the exam, Naruto lay his face on the desk, hidden by his arms and closed his eyes, the inky blackness still scared him because whether he is sleeping or not, it's all he can see.

For 7 years it's been the same darkness every day, every time he opens his eyes he's greeted by shadows, he can only escape such a fate through meditation as he can enter his mindscape where he can see, just as he was able to many years ago. His name is Naruto Uzumaki, the 3rd jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi no kitsune, son of the legendary 4th Hokage, a hidden prodigy... and he is secretly blind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Naruto P.O.V*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Sasuke Uchiha," his name rang through my ears as Iruka called him for the final test to become a genin, the first was a written test, I had learned to read and write a few months after becoming blind, my best friend, Kurama, is one of a few who knew my secrets taught me. I read by feeling the slight grain difference in the paper before and after written on and I can hear the strokes of the chalk as Iruka-sensei writes, so I know what it says on the board, luckily enough my increased senses make up for my lack of sight.

The second test was kunai and shuriken throwing, in order to pass you needed 4/8 kunai and 5/10 shuriken, even though I could ace the test, the idiot of the class shouldn't have the highest graduating score and others would accuse me of cheating. So I made it seem as if I could barely scrape through with scores of 4/8 and 6/10. And the last test was ninjutsu, you have to perform the 3 ninjutsu you are taught in the academy which includes the substitution jutsu, transformation jutsu and the clone jutsu, once again these are 3 easy E-rank jutsus, compared to a B-rank like the shadow clone jutsu.

I was brought out of my thoughts be Shikamaru, who had just left the exam room and stood in front of me,

"You graduated, huh, never thought you would," I said with a small cheeky smirk,

"Of course, my mum would be on my case if I hadn't" he lazily responded and added "Troublesome woman," under his breath,

"Anyway, are you finally going to show yourself after graduation, and you know you'll have to tell your teammates and sensei about your 'condition' as it could endanger their lives as well, not just yours," he said with an unmistakenly serious tone.

"I know, I know I just hope I get you-know-who as my jonin sensei," Not long after Sasuke had left the exam room as a genin of Konoha, it was my turn next. "Naruto Uzumaki," As my name was called I quickly passed Sasuke who I knew was smirking at me and entered the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* End of Naruto P.O.V *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Naruto slowly entered the room inspecting his surroundings, he could feel 2 chakra signatures on his right 'Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei' he slowly walked to the centre of the room, looking towards the 2 academy instructors,

"Naruto, please perform the transformation jutsu," Iruka addressed Naruto and with a small "Poof," an exact replica of his father, Minato Namikaze, also known as the Fourth Hokage and the Yellow Flash appeared. Naruto is one of very few who know the identity of his parents that small list includes the Third Hokage- Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kakashi Hatake, Naruto and the nine tailed demon fox, said fox was currently sealed inside of Naruto after he rampaged 12 years ago. 'Did I do it right Kurama' Naruto nervously asked the demon fox 'It's perfect kit, looks just like him' Kurama answered with a deep booming voice, sounding slightly proud of his kit's skills.

Naruto had met the fox or Kurama at the mere age of 3 and a day or two later when his caretakers found out that he had talked to the demon they kicked him out of the orphanage but not before beating and insulting him for hours on end. He spent the next four years of his life on the streets until at the age of 7 he finally asked the Hokage for an apartment of his own, and even though the Hokage was oblivious to Naruto's situation he was more than happy to give the boy a place to live as well as a monthly allowance. Anyway, that was in the past, back to the exam, once he was brought out of his momentary shock Iruka continued,

"P-Please use the substitution jutsu," he stuttered still amazed at Naruto's ability to create a perfect copy of a person he has never met as well as his use of hand seals or lack thereof.

Suddenly Iruka, Mizuki, and their desk disappeared and reappeared in the centre of the room and Naruto could be seen standing on the opposite side of the room. Once again Iruka was stunned at Naruto's amazing display of skill 'He's so different from the brat who would play pranks and misbehave, what happened?' was what went through Iruka's head. Realizing he was lost in his own thoughts he snapped back to reality, he was about to continue the exam, but before he could say another word 10 perfect replicas of Naruto appeared, both Iruka and Mizuki were speechless but not because Naruto had jumped the gun but because he had used no hand seals, 'Even I can't use the clone jutsu without hand seals!' was the thought that ran through both chunins heads.

"Congrats Naruto you pass!" praised Iruka as he handed Naruto a Konoha hitai-ate, he gave a blinding grin and promptly tied it loosely around his neck. Upon leaving he could hear Sasuke snort and a few of the other graduates started whispering

"I can't believe he passed,"

"I know, I bet he bribed the teachers, he can barely write and his shuriken and kunai throwing isn't much better" He just kept walking until he arrived outside the academy and approached the rope swing that hung from the tree by the entrance. He sat down and closed his eyes, on the outside he seemed to be resting but in reality, he was talking to one of his closest friends.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Naruto's Mindscape*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Some may say their mind is a gutter, metaphorically of course, but Naruto's is quite literally a gutter, he slowly trudged through the ankle deep sewer water, pipes covered the walls and dim lights could be seen hanging from the ceiling. He continued to walk until he stood before a giant gate the size of the Hokage monument, at the centre of the gate a piece of paper could be seen with the kanji for 'Seal' and peering from the other side of the bars were large blood-red slitted eyes.

'Congrats brat never thought I would see the day you graduate,' a large grin appeared, and although the Kyuubi's words sounded full of malice, Naruto could only hear how proud the Kyuubi was. A silent tear slide down his cheek as the Kyuubi continued to praise him,

'You look like your father, act like your mother but still have a higher IQ than the two combined. You could even give the Naras a run for their money-' the fox suddenly stopped and took a long look at Naruto before turning away and saying,

'Come here you crybaby' Naruto approached the cage and walked straight through the bars keeping the Kyuubi away, and as he started to sob, one of Kyuubi's large tails wrapped itself around Naruto and pulled him closer to the Kyuubi. A few minutes later the Jinchuriki and his prisoner drifted off to sleep, returning Naruto to reality.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Outside his mindscape*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey, Naruto" a voice from behind called, Naruto turned and stared directly at the incoming chakra signature, he recognised it as Mizuki, he could practically feel the hate radiating from the man but he gave a cheeky smile nonetheless.

"Because you had the lowest graduating score we have to give you an extra test to make sure you're worthy to become a shinobi..."

'Hokage-Jiji needs better security because if a blind genin-to-be can steal the oh-so-important scroll of sealing, I'm sure enemy ninja would have no problems' Naruto thought as he rushed across the village rooftops towards the forest that Mizuki had told him about, a large scroll tied to his back. He swiftly jumped into the centre of the clearing, unrolling the scroll in front of him as he thought back to what Mizuki had told him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Flashback*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Why didn't Iruka-sensei tell me about this test?" Naruto asked, cutting off Mizuki mid-sentence,

"It was my job to observe you and issue the test if I deemed it necessary," Naruto looked at Mizuki with an excited expression on his face,

"So what do I have to do?"

"All you have to do is..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Flashback End*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"...learn a jutsu from the scroll of sealing," Naruto finished out loud, he swiftly set to work and started 'reading' the first jutsu, he knew that Mizuki was lying but he had to figure out if he wanted the scroll or the nine tails. After realising he already knew the jutsu he continued 'reading' until he found one that he recognised all too well, the last technique in the scroll, the Death Reaper Seal... Naruto just sat there, emotionlessly staring at the technique that not only caused his father's death but the bonding of two unknown best friends as well as the torture he received from the village.

He suddenly heard Kurama's voice 'It's okay kit, let it out' at that tears slowly rolled down his cheeks, as his body began to shake and quiet sobs were heard throughout the forest.

Not long after Naruto had finished his mini breakdown Iruka jumped out of a surrounding bush,

"NARUTO! there you are!" Naruto subconsciously plastered a huge foxy grin on his face,

"You found me! I only had time to learn one technique!" Iruka stood there amazed yet slightly confused 'He was training this entire time, no wonder he looks exhausted but why?' is what ran through his head before being brought out of his thoughts by childish laughter,

"Heh, heh, well I'm gonna show you this really cool technique and you're gonna let me become a real ninja... I wonder if I have to wait for Mizuki-sensei, he did give me the test after all-"

After hearing Mizuki's name Iruka immediately asked the question in his mind,

"What do you mean 'let you become a real ninja' and what does Mizuki have to..." he stopped mid-sentence, the answer was clear, Naruto had been set up by Mizuki so he could claim the scroll for himself.

"Well, well, well Iruka, it seems you figured it out" a voice called from behind, both Naruto and Iruka turned to face Mizuki standing on a branch above them, a sudden volley of kunai flew towards Naruto and Iruka. Pushing Naruto out of the way Iruka took the front of the attack, pinning to an old hut nearby. The silver-haired chunin tore his gaze from Iruka's battered body to stare at Naruto,

"Naruto, hand me the scroll,"

"Wait...what's going on here?" he responded taking glances from Iruka and Mizuki. In the meantime, Iruka had been slowly removing the kunai,

"Whatever you do don't let Mizuki have the scroll Naruto," he paused, breathing heavily,

"It's full of dangerous and forbidden techniques, Mizuki used you to get a hold of it," at this Naruto glared at the aforementioned shinobi.

"Naruto, Iruka's just afraid of you possessing it, he's lying to you,"

"what?" was his only response,

"Mizuki, what are you saying!?" Iruka snarled, he then turned towards Naruto,

"Don't believe him Naruto!" Mizuki only laughed as the scene continued,

"I'll tell you the truth,"

"No, don't!" Iruka's cries could be heard but Mizuki continued nonetheless,

"A decree was created after an incident 12 years ago..." Naruto started to look fearful, already guessing what he was about to be told,

"A decree?"

"It's something that only you, Naruto, cannot be told..."

"Only me? What is it?" Naruto whispered, knowing that his guess was correct,

"Mizuki, stop it!" Iruka started to struggle but his injuries didn't help,

"It's the decree stopping anyone from telling you that you're the demon fox," Naruto's eyes widened, he could only reply with a small,

"What?"

"In other words, the nine-tailed demon fox, the Kyuubi, who destroyed the village and killed Iruka's parents!"

"STOP!" once again Iruka's pleas went unheard,

"You've been lied to by the entire village the all this time, didn't it seem weird that everyone hated you so much?" On the outside, Naruto appeared to be frustrated and angry as well as dejected but he was actually in his mind, crying with one of the very few who cared for him, he could hear Kyuubi's growl echo throughout his mind at Mizuki's next words,

"No one will ever acknowledge you! Even Iruka hates you!" He was suddenly pulled from his mind by a giant incoming shuriken, he then fell to the ground and scurried back attempting to hide behind his arms, after closing his eyes, he finally accepted his fate 'Just when I had graduated.' Out of instinct, Iruka jumped in the way, intercepting the shuriken and taking the blow instead. After realising that he hadn't been hit Naruto naturally opened his eyes making it look as if he was staring 'face to face' with a heavily breathing Iruka.

"W-why?" was Naruto's initial response, Iruka's face looked downcast,

"Because we're the same...after my parents died, no one ever complimented or acknowledged me, I was a bad student so I screwed up a lot in class. I couldn't get anyone's attention when I was a good student, so I acted like an idiot...it was tough..." Iruka took Naruto's shocked expression as a reason to continue,

"Naruto? You were lonely right?" By then Iruka had started crying,

"It was tough, right? I'm sorry Naruto... you didn't have to feel that way if only I was more aware," Evil laughter resounded through the forest, Mizuki spoke, gaining their attention,

"Don't make me laugh! Iruka has hated you since you killed his parents! He only wants to get the scroll back," Naruto turned away, plastering a look of betrayal on his face, he was about to run away when Mizuki called out to him,

"Look at that, the demon's afraid," Naruto was immediately pulled into a flashback.

Please review and tell me what you think.

Word count: 2896