Chapter 1: A Birthday Gift That Changed Everything

Hey readers, so it's my first fanfiction story so I hope you all like it. This is an almost Godlike Naruto fanfic, almost cause he would still have to work to defeat his opponents, I mean C'mon who wants a dull fight. Also, Naruto will have a Harem cause why not it's my story after all. I've already decided on three girls so you can vote for the rest. OH! BTW this contains a bit or maybe a little bit more Sasuke bashing. So without any further ado here's Naruto: The Uzumaki Prodigy

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did then in the 3 years training he took from Jiraiya he would have learned a lot and not just how to make a bigger Rasengan.

"Normal Speech"

"Inner speech/ Thoughts"

"Kyuubi/ Tailed beasts speech"

"Jutsu/Technique name"

Konohagakure which we all know as the 'Village Hidden in the Leaves' the strongest of all the hidden villages. By one look at it, you can tell that this prosperous village is the epitome of peace and tranquility, but one should never judge a book by its cover or rather, in this case, a village by just a look. It's because deep inside this village lies a darker secret, a secret that would make you think twice about this village, and it all revolves around a 4-year-old boy with shabby blond hair, 3 whisker marks on each side of his cheeks and crystal blue eyes.

You see 4 years ago when the Kyuubi no kitsune attacked Konoha and destroyed most part of it. The village's beloved Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze who was famously known as 'The Yellow Flash' tried to stop the Kyuubi, but as we all know the Kyuubi or rather all the tailed beasts, in general, are living manifestation of Chakra. In short, they can't be killed so the Yondaime Hokage did the next best thing he could think of, he sealed the Kyuubi in a newborn baby and not just any baby he was the son of Minato (yes he was the son of Yondaime Hokage) and Kushina Uzumaki who also went by the name of 'Red Hot-Blooded Habanero'. Although Minato and Kushina died during the sealing process, their last wish was that their son would be deemed as the hero of the village for keeping the Kyuubi sealed inside him. But alas the fate didn't work the way they wanted (wait a minute...fate? I sound like Neji now). Anyways, Sarutobi Hiruzen the Sandaime Hokage took the baby and told the villagers that they are safe and the Kyuubi was sealed inside the baby but didn't tell them about his heritage (what a genius). He thought (emphasis on the word 'thought') that the villagers would see the baby as a hero just how Minato and Kushina wanted...oh how wrong he was. The villagers didn't see the baby as even a human, they thought it was the Kyuubi reincarnate and their Yondaime Hokage wanted all of them to finish the job, so they tried to kill the baby, Sarutobi never predicted this (so much for the man known as 'The Professor') and was beyond enraged by their actions. So he implemented a law stating that any villager that tries to disclose the fact that the Kyuubi was sealed inside the baby would be immediately executed in hopes that the younger generation would treat the baby as equal. That was again his naive thinking cause the villagers found a loophole in his law, even though they couldn't tell their children about the baby they still never allowed any interactions between him and their children.(Oh! I just noted that I never gave the name of the baby, but hey it isn't like you all don't know him. After all, he is the protagonist of his story and also you all are reading a fanfic, so I expect you all know him).

So back to the topic, Naruto (for all those who still didn't get his name) was never given a nice, cozy childhood. Instead, he spent it by living in worse conditions and later in life running from mobs. He was even thrown out of the orphanage at an age of 2, I mean seriously who throws a kid out of the orphanage on the streets at an age of 2. To survive in this hate-filled village Naruto used to scavenge food and other necessities through trash or other wastes that people threw. All in all, he led a childhood that would break the minds of others and maybe even force them to commit suicide. To make the matter worse when the mobs used to attack him they usually rendered him in a state worse than death, multiple bruises from getting hit by blunt weapons (yes they used weapons to attack him), cuts and slashes that would usually kill a person which included tearing open his body parts, sometimes even skin him so much that his bones were visible, in short, he was given the worst form of torture.

While these were done on regular days, 10th October the day when the Kyuubi was defeated and the day Naruto was born. These attacks took an extreme form which included crucifixion of him (yep you read that right), breaking every bone in his body, trying to burn him alive and even cutting off his fingers, toes and whatever that resulted in Naruto screaming his lungs out. If it wasn't for a fox that lived inside him, he would have been dead long ago. It was ironic that the fox that made Naruto a bane among the villagers became his greatest boon.

But today was the day which changed everything.

It was the night of 10th October, the day that Naruto greatly despised cause this day always meant the greatest torture session he comes across. For a 4-year-old, Naruto was highly mature and was able to think rationally and clearly. Although he never showed it cause he had a gut feeling that it would result in him getting more attacks from the crowd, so he always put on a mask of happy, hyperactive child that was oblivious to the treatment the villagers were giving him.

Currently, Naruto was hiding in an alley making sure that the coast was clear. "Okay let's see, all of them are busy in the festival, some even carrying pitchforks and torches. Uhhggg... there are way too many to make an escape. Okay...calm down Naruto you can do this" he reassured himself. He was wearing a trouser that had cuts in several areas and a neon orange jacket that screamed attention towards itself if it wasn't dirtied by the dirt on it, inside his jacket we see a black T-shirt that was torn in some areas showing that he was a bit malnourished after all, he never received a proper diet in his life.

Naruto closed his eyes calmly thinking and contemplating his options "Hmmm...going straight through the crowd would be suicide, I can take the path that goes to the Hokage Tower but considering today, the villagers would be guarding the path and there would be no chance in hell I'd be able to reach there. I can use some sort of distraction but not everyone will fall for it and I don't think so that I would be able to make such a distraction...Arrrrggggggg...damn it why does this day even come." As Naruto opened his eyes he got quite frustrated that he wasn't able to think anything to escape from this alley. If only he was able to run and reach Training Grounds 44 or popularly called as 'The Forest Of Death' he could avoid them all.

Even though he was only 4-years-old 'The Forest Of Death' that scared the shit out of even some Jounins, became a safe house for him. Ignoring all the beasts and creatures that lurked in the forest, he was always greeted by a purple-haired Kunoichi who kept her short, spiky hair in a fan style ponytail. She wears quite revealing clothes, a fitted mesh body suit that covers her from her neck down to her thighs, a tan overcoat with a purple in-seam and a pocket on each side, a dark orange mini-skirt, a dark blue belt, and pale grey shin guards. In addition to the typical forehead protector, she also wears a small pendant that looks like a snake fang attached with a thick black cord so that it won't fall off during fights. She has light brown, pupil-less eyes and a tall and slender frame for a 14-year-old, her name was Anko. Her personality is what drew Naruto's attention to her, she is loud, stubborn, and prone to acting without thinking. Naruto's masked personality was based on her and she was one of the few ones who knew how Naruto actually is. The others being the Hokage, Teuchi-san and Ayame-chan from the 'Ichiraku Ramen Stand' and the three ANBUs that guarded him 'Inu', 'Neko' and 'Weasel'. Yes, he knew the ANBUs guarding him, Naruto didn't understand it but he knew that somehow his senses are much sharper than regular people. Nevertheless Naruto always considered them all his precious people since they didn't judge him like the other villagers and treated him the way a normal child should be treated, although Anko had a quite unique way of treating him given her personality, she used to tease him with her body expecting the reactions she wanted but never got most of the time. Well, you can't blame him, after all, he's only 4-years-old.

Back to the present, Naruto knew that if he wanted to reach 'The Forest Of Death' he would have to run past the crowd. After thinking for almost 6-7 minutes he sighed in defeat "Well time to test out how much I've improved in evading. Although I know its a suicide mission, I gotta take the chance. After all, nobody is here to help me" he muttered to himself. He knew the ANBUs that used to protect him a few times were not here at this moment, and the Hokage was most probably in his office. "Okay, here goes nothing. Anko-chan is probably in the Forest Of Death if I'm lucky I might bump into someone who can save me...yeah as if it would happen" Naruto mocked himself.

Naruto came out of his hiding and sprinted with a speed that rivaled a genin. As soon as some villagers saw him they shouted

"The demon's here!"

"Kill it!"

"Finally we can finish what the Fourth wanted!"

"Make sure he doesn't escape!"

The shouting was all that was needed to start the game of cat and mouse between the villagers and Naruto, although he knew that getting caught is not an option here. So he used all the strength he could gather in his legs to sprint forward and occasionally avoided few kunai and other sharp objects thrown at him.

"Damn it! Why can't they just leave me alone" Naruto muttered as he swiftly sidestepped in the gaps that were between people. As he neared his destination, he had to abruptly skid stop as he saw that there was a large group standing in front of him and from the outfits of some he knew there were ninjas among them, possibly genins and a few chunins.

"Shit! I knew it was impossible but do you really hate me Kami!" Naruto cursed under his breath as he tried to find even the smallest of escape route he could find.

"No use trying to run demon, you can't escape from us," a random villager said.

"Just stay there and take your punishment!" a genin shouted at him.

"Finally I can avenge my parents!" an enraged chunin leaped at him with a kunai in his hand.

Naruto knew that there was no point arguing with them and asking what wrong has he done. He was too busy finding an escape route. "C'mon...C'mon...damn it work you stupid brain." Naruto's mind was working a hundred miles an hour just to spot even a single escape route. Then by a miracle, he was able to spot an escape route...but his happiness was short lived as he properly saw where the route was.

"Shit...out of all the things possible, this had to happen." Naruto gritted his teeth. He knew that if he wanted to escape he would have to run past the chunin that was heading towards him. He knew he had no choice in it and wouldn't escape without an injury. "Well, either this or the whole mob" Naruto sighed and jumped towards the chunin.

"Hahaha...so finally you have accepted your fate of dying at my hands. Don't worry I'll make sure that it would be slow and painful!" the chunin screamed in anger as he prepared to slash Naruto. Naruto knew that he had to time it right, if he got even a second late it would mean game over for him and he wouldn't accept it, not after giving it his all.

For an instant, it looked like time has slowed down for Naruto, he could see the kunai that was slowly descending towards him. Naruto swiftly sidestepped and dodged the swing and was about to make a run when the chunin threw the kunai, which got lodged in his right arm. Naruto winced at the impact but knew better and ignored the pain, he couldn't afford to miss such a huge chance to escape so he used every remaining power that he could gather and ran towards the streets hoping that he could somehow escape this dreadful day.

Outskirts of Konoha, half an hour ago

A mysterious figure stood just outside the gates of Konoha. The figure wore a white colored kimono that had black thrones drew around it and a kanji for seal written all over the white obi tied around the waist, wooden sandals and an orange colored pendant that had a black spiral made on it almost like a whirlpool. The said figure was a man probably in his 30's, his bright crimson hair slicked backward, a pair of amethyst eyes that somehow sparkled every now and then, his face was quite muscular and had a neatly trimmed beard on it.

"I really don't want to visit this cursed place again but I heard they sell some awesome takoyaki during the Kyuubi festival" the man's eyes sparkled as he walked towards the gate. When he reached the gates, the two guards positioned near it stopped him and asked his purpose. He simply replied that he just wanted to visit the Kyuubi festival that was being held. The two guards gave him a bit suspicious look but a few moments later let him pass through.

"Do my clothes really look that much suspicious to them? Hmmm..." the man wondered as he started walking towards the streets of Konoha.

At present

Naruto was using all the strength he had to outrun the villagers but somehow it wasn't going well if we take in account all the bruises that were currently on his body and a few kunai embedded on his back and right arm. "Shit...they are slowly closing in on me and these wounds are not helping. At this rate, it would only take moments before they capture me" Naruto thought as he was breathing heavily. His wounds were slowly dripping blood adding to his tiredness, and each movement he made caused the kunais to pierce him more deeply. He was in a world of pain as he was using whatever last force he could gather to outrun the mob that was chasing him.

"Take this demon!" a genin shouted and threw a kunai aimed for Naruto's leg. Naruto's state was already bad and he was in no condition for dodging so he wasn't able to avoid the kunai which pierced his calf and impacted his bones deep inside. This caused him to stumble and fall which resulted in him skid on the ground due to his momentum. "Aaaaarrggggggg..." Naruto screamed as he felt all his bodily pain that he was ignoring rush into him all at once.

A crazy villager just laughed at his condition psychotically. If it weren't for the situation many would have backed away from him, but they seemed to ignore it. "Well...well...well...let's begin the real festival now shall we" a chunin stepped forward and twirled a kunai on his fingers. "I get to go first!" a random villager with a pitchfork shouted. "Here's to my family you demon!" he shouted as he threw the pitchfork towards the fallen form of Naruto.

"Hehehe...I guess this is as far as I go" Naruto thought as all his hopes of escaping were crushed and he lay down there waiting for the inevitable.

"Suiton: Water Encampment Technique"

Before anyone could notice what happened, an enormous water wall formed between Naruto and the villagers. The pitchfork that was thrown got lodged in the water wall but it couldn't pass through it.

"What the hell where did such a huge amount of water come from ?" a chunin that sounded flabbergasted upon seeing such a huge wall of water formed out of nowhere shouted.

"Phew...if I was even a second late then maybe I wouldn't have been able to stop that pitchfork from piercing him" a voice came the side of water wall where Naruto was.

A few minutes earlier

The stranger continued walking until he came to the area where the festival was being held. "Hmmm...let's see, now where can I can find Takoyaki ?" the man just mused over.

"The demon's here!"

"Kill it!"

"Finally we can finish what the Fourth wanted!"

"Make sure he doesn't escape!"

The man heard these random shouts coming from a distance. "Huh...what were those shouts about ?" he wondered as he walked to where the commotion might be taking place.

Present

"Glad I made sure to follow that commotion" the man sighed. He slowly released the Jutsu and the water wall collapsed on the ground. He then went towards the fallen form of Naruto.

As the water wall collapsed the villagers were able to see the person who interrupted their 'Real Kyuubi Festival' or that's what they call it. The said person was kneeling before Naruto and slowly removing the kunais that were lodged in Naruto's body, making sure that they were removed without hurting him more.

Naruto was in a state of confusion, while he couldn't see his savior, he knew that this person was not someone he has met before. "Why is this person helping me ?" was the thought Naruto had soon before he slipped out of conscious.

The villagers weren't faring much better they all had one thought "Why is he helping the demon brat ?".

The said person after removing all the kunais from Naruto's body picked him up bridal style (No...not in that sense). This allowed the villagers to look at the person clearly. Most of the females in the crowd were sporting blushes looking at his amethyst eyes which sparkled a few times, the males well...they weren't blushing but something about the person demanded respect as if he was from a high-class clan. The person observed the villagers for quite a while, there was dead silence in the air as both parties were quiet.

A villager tried to break the silence but before he could say anything, the person disappeared via Water Body Flicker along with Naruto. After a complete dead silence for a few moments, all the villagers had one thought "Who was that person ?".

Hokage Tower

Hiruzen Sarutobi was currently sitting on his desk fighting with the biggest enemy of Kages, 'Paperwork'. He sighed as he looked at the bundle in front of him "I was supposed to look over Naruto today but these damn paperwork came like a hurricane and add to that the civilian council members barging in and sprouting nonsense about anything they could think of. I'm getting too old for this, I just hope the ANBU's assigned to Naruto are keeping him safe".

Little did he know that those ANBUs were currently being occupied by some other ANBU members which were assigned by the civilian council to make sure that Naruto was completely unguarded for the villagers to finish their work.

Suddenly there was a Water Body Flicker in Hiruzen's office. He got alert and jumped from his desk ready for the person who suddenly appeared in his office, the few ANBUs who were in hiding also came down forming a protective circle around the Hokage.

When the Body Flicker cleared they could see the person that came in. But the thing that drew their attention most was a boy that was currently held by the person. They all instantly recognized

"Naruto!" the Hokage called out, as he saw his surrogate grandson covered in bruises, blood dripping from his back and his torn out clothes showed that he had taken quite a beating. But before he could have rushed to check Naruto's condition, he was abruptly stopped by some invisible force. He tried to cross it but each time the results were same, he couldn't move further. That's when the person spoke to him

"No use trying, you can't pass the seal I placed".

Hiruzen's eyes widened when he observed carefully applying some chakra to his eyes, there was a seal right in front of him with the kanji 'barrier' written on it.

"But how...when did he place such a seal here and add to that I didn't even hear him activate it" Hiruzen was clearly trying to deduce how did the person get the time to place the seal. But before he could think much deeper, the unknown person spoke again

"Before you ask me anything, I have one question for you ?"

"How dare you order the Hokage!" an enraged ANBU fumed but before he could say any further Hiruzen simply raised his hand stopping him. Hiruzen was clearly aware of the situation he was in right now, the person had blocked him and his ANBUs from reaching Naruto and he was currently holding onto him. Even though he wouldn't allow the said person to show authority over the Hokage of the strongest hidden village, he knew better and didn't want to risk anything happening to Naruto. So he just nodded weakly, still prepared if things went south.

"Are you willing to help the boy or hurt him ?"

Even though it was such a simple question, the seriousness in his voice told Hiruzen and all his ANBUs that they better tell the truth. Closing his eyes for a moment Hiruzen spoke in complete seriousness "Naruto is like my grandchild, I would never hurt him".

The person just eyed him carefully and after a few moments sighed saying "Very well...you pass".

Hiruzen was clearly confused "What do you mean by that ?"

The person simply replied to him "Look at the seal a little more carefully"

Hiruzen complied and looked carefully, the surrounding ANBUs also looked and to say they were shocked would be an understatement. The seal was surrounded by another layer of seal around it, and they all recognized that seal. Afterall they too used it while interrogating people to check if they were lying. They all had their jaws dropped with one thought in mind "How did I not notice it before ?"

"Kai!"

The seal vibrated a bit and then shattered. Everyone in the room except the strange unknown person and Naruto who was still unconscious was completely lost, after all, it's not every day you see a person barging in and showing you how stupid a human can be.

"You know, just standing there won't help this child"

Hiruzen and others blinked a few times to get out of the daze they were in. Hiruzen ordered an ANBU with 'bear' mask to heal Naruto, the ANBU carefully approached the stranger still not trusting him and slowly took Naruto from his hands and started performing medical ninjutsu.

Hiruzen let out a sigh of relieve when he saw his surrogate grandson slowly healing. He then turned to the stranger currently present beside them to ask him a few questions like where did he find Naruto and in such a condition to boot. The stranger simply replied that he was just casually walking when he came across his form and carried him here because the last thing he heard from Naruto before he fainted was 'Hokage-Jiji'. He left out the part where he saw the villagers attacking him because he wanted to see if the Hokage knew about it

"What has this little one done to receive such a punishment ?"

The person kept a straight face while asking but Hiruzen knew that he said it with concern. Although he wanted to tell him about Naruto, it was still a village secret. So he politely declined him stating his reasons. The person was now completely sure the Hokage knew of the situation.

The person's face just scrunched up as he said: "Yeah right, a village secret that allows such a treatment to a child". Hiruzen wanted to protest but he knew the person was right so he kept quiet. The person continued further "This is not the first time that such a thing has happened to this child, am I correct ?"

Hiruzen's eyes widened a bit again, he knew this person was not from this village (after all one couldn't miss a person with crimson hair and such sparkling amethyst eyes). Was it so obvious that one can easily deduce what Naruto went through every day?

Hiruzen still asked him "On what basis..." but got interrupted by the stranger "His body language". Hiruzen just raised an eyebrow but soon frowned when the person continued "Any child taking such a beating would have broken out crying but he was way too far from it". It was only a simple answer but he knew the weight those words were carrying, "What have the villagers done to you Naruto ?" Hiruzen bitterly thought.

The ANBU healing Naruto's injuries soon finished his work and said to them "He's safe now".

Hiruzen breathed out a sigh of relief knowing that Naruto was okay. He turned around to thank the person but he was already taking his leave. "Wait! Where are you going ?" Hiruzen questioned him loudly, was he really just gonna simply go after all this?

"My work here is done so I'm off to eat Takoyaki." the stranger replied as he waved his hand.

"Wait can we at least know your name?" an ANBU called out.

"Hmmm...let me think about it. Nah...its too troublesome" the stranger just nonchalantly replied.

At this point, several males of the Nara clan sneezed at the same time. "Someone's stealing our mojo!" were their collective thoughts.

Hiruzen and all the ANBUs sweatdropped a bit, "Seriously?"

"Oh, by the way, what's the name of the kid?" the stranger asked the bear-masked ANBU that was beside Naruto.

"Naruto Uzumaki" the ANBU replied.

It was at this moment the temperature of the whole room dropped rapidly. Every ANBU and even Hiruzen felt a chill run down their spine.

"Uzumaki you say" the stranger's voice became eerily cold as ice.

Everyone flinched hearing such a voice, it was as if it promised pain to all those who dare stand against it. The ANBUs that always used to remain calm at every situation were shivering as a killer intent was washing over the whole room, even the Hokage was sweating quite a bit.

The stranger turned around and the eyes that usually sparkled were now hard and cold like a veteran shinobi that has seen wars.

"Now, you'll all answer me truthfully or else it would really end up bad," he said with some venom in his voice.

The ANBUs were completely shivering but they somehow braced themselves, Hiruzen was also ready if a fight breaks out.

"Very well I guess I'll have to use force," the stranger said before his fingers glowed bluish in color and in a blur of hands he created a few seals in the air, Hiruzen's eyes widened seeing it and before anyone could react he made a half ram hand seal and whispered "Fuin"

The seal instantly disappeared from their sight and got attached to each one of them. That was the last thing they all saw before they blacked out.

An hour later, Hiruzen groaned as he woke up "What the hell happened?" he muttered. He turned his head and saw all his ANBUs lying on the floor.

"Hmmm...you woke up already? Guess it's to be expected of the Hokage" a voice said to him.

Whipping his head at a speed that should have been impossible for his age he turned around to see whose voice it was, sitting on the sofa of his office was the stranger with Naruto on his lap. He was gently petting Naruto dirty and shabby blonde hair and the look on Naruto's face was completely peaceful. If it wasn't for the situation Hiruzen's would have founded this scene quite adorable but he knew that the said person can't be trusted, especially not after what he just did.

Hiruzen tried to stand up but failed and what's more was the fact that he felt his chakra completely sealed. He looked towards the stranger with a cold gaze "Why are you doing this and what do you want with Naruto?" his voice dripping with malice.

"Well first of you can relax I won't hurt you or anyone else here," the stranger replied in a calm collected voice.

"Why should I believe you?" his voice still containing the same amount of malice.

The stranger just smiled a bit "Well you never had an ill intent towards Naruto and cared for him just like he was one of your own so I've no reasons to hurt you".

Hiruzen just raised an eyebrow on that "How did you know that?"

The stranger just sighed "I'll release the seals on you but first promise me that you'll listen to me calmly".

Hiruzen just took a calming breath, he knew that if the person wanted he could have killed him while he was unconscious. Other than that something about the person was giving him reassurance that he could trust him. "Fine, I'll listen. But you have to explain to me what were those seals you put on us and how did you learn them? The only person who I know was capable of such feat was Mito-sama"

The stranger just raised an eyebrow hearing that and again put his hand in a half ram seal and said "Kai".

The seal on Hiruzen shattered, he could already feel his chakra returning to him. Hiruzen slowly got up and brushed his robe, he then looked at the person again. He had a smile on his face as he slowly petted Naruto who was on his lap.

Hiruzen coughed on his hand to bring the stranger's attention towards him. "Well, are you going to answer my question now?".

The stranger just smiled and said still brushing Naruto's hair "Well, you see the seal or rather seals I put on you all were a simple sleep and memory reading one".

Hiruzen was again a bit shocked "There were 2 seals on us? But how can he draw seals with such a speed? and not to mention drawing them in the air just like Mito-sama". But then it came to his attention that the person used a mind-reading seal on them. Hiruzen was about to say something before he got interrupted

"Before you ask don't worry I didn't see any of your village's secret. I just wanted to know about Naruto. But from what I learned I have to say I'm greatly disappointed in this village and probably the only thing that's stopping me from destroying them is the fact that there are still a few here who care about Naruto and I possibly can't hurt them" the stranger just said with a distant look in his eyes.

Hiruzen didn't know what to say, earlier this person didn't care much about Naruto but when they mentioned that he was an Uzumaki suddenly this person's attitude changed. Add to the fact that he just simply stated that he would destroy the village without any hesitation, and somehow a small part of Hiruzen believed that he could do it. But the next thing that he heard completely left him flabbergasted.

"Is this really the village you defended all your life for Mito? Looks like your nii-san was finally right about one thing" the stranger said in a low sad voice and chuckled by the end of his sentence. He thought nobody might have heard him, but Hiruzen did hear and oh boy his mind completely shut down hearing it.

"R...Ryu...Ryuu-sama?" Hiruzen stuttered, his eyes completely wide and he was down on his knees.

The man just gave him a small smirk and said: "You've grown quite a lot from the last time I saw you gaki".

That was it for Hiruzen, he completely broke down as tears formed in his eyes seeing the person he admired and greatly respected when he was just a genin. His head bowed down a bit as tears slowly came running down his face. You see when Hiruzen was just a newly formed genin under the guidance of his Tobirama-sensei, he used to get frequent visits from the First Hokage and his wife Mito Uzumaki Senju, that's how he met his idol Ryuu Uzumaki one day.

Flashback

Hiruzen Sarutobi was currently avoiding a few kunai that were thrown at him, he had accepted additional training that the First Hokage wanted to give him. But today his wife Mito Uzumaki Senju was giving Hiruzen some training because her husband was currently dealing with a deadly force 'Paperwork', Mito still laughed whenever she saw her husband 'The Great Hashirama Senju' who always had a calm and collected expression on his face turn into one of horror whenever paperwork was mentioned. Mito was a very calm and composed individual with a dignified air about her. She had long, bright-red hair and large, pupilless eyes. She wore an elaborate, high-collared kimono with the Uzushiogakure symbol on the back of the obi which was tied around her waist. Her hair was arranged in buns with hairpins in them and three clips in the front. She also wore a dark shade of red lipstick and had a rhombus making reminiscent of the Strength of a Hundred Seal on her forehead. She also wore tags with kanji written on them in her hair decals. She looked like she was in her early twenties.

"You're doing really good Hiruzen," Mito said to him.

"Arigatou Mito-sama!" Hiruzen brightened up hearing praise from such a great person.

"Alright let's notch it up a bit shall we" Mito calmly said. But before she could say any further she ducked to narrowly avoid a water bullet thrown towards her.

Hiruzen was completely caught off guard by the sudden attack on his sensei, he couldn't even detect the attack until his sensei ducked. He knew that if the attack had been aimed at him he wouldn't have been able to dodge it.

"Hiruzen stay down and don't engage in combat!" Mito's voice brought Hiruzen out of his trance, as he found a hiding spot and just laid low. He knew the seriousness of the situation and he would probably just be a casualty if he fought.

"Come out wherever you are," Mito said as she reverse gripped a kunai in her hand.

She again became alert as she heard a movement towards her left, she jumped backward and again dodged a water bullet but this time she herself fired a bullet in the direction the attack came from but she knew that it probably didn't hit. This happened a few more times, each time the water bullet came from different random directions as if there were more than one enemies and each time she dodged it, she even attacked but no avail and she was growing really frustrated over it.

Suddenly a figure shunshined near her, she immediately turned towards it not dropping her guard. But when she saw the person she relaxed a bit, after all, it was her husband Hashirama.

"Mito what happened here?" Hashirama asked.

"I don't know, I was teaching Hiruzen when suddenly someone attacked us. I've already told Hiruzen to stay out of this and he's probably hiding somewhere safe" she replied.

Suddenly a few water bullets came towards them, they both jumped and avoided it. They both their backs were now facing each other as they stood ready for any enemy attacks.

"Hey Mito" Hashirama whispered.

"Yes, Hashirama" Mito replied

Hashirama smirked "Caught you!" and with that, he exploded into water leaving a completely flabbergasted and wet Mito (I know what you are thinking) standing there.

"Hahahahahahaha...oh man...oh god...hahahaha...that was the best" a man was lying on the grass clutching his stomach and laughing his ass out, his eyes teary from laughing. He looked in his early to mid 20's with spiky crimson hair and amethyst eyes which were sparkling due to tears. He was wearing black cargo pants that had its end tugged in his military style boots. He was wearing a red T-shirt and a white coat over it with the insignia of Uzumaki clan symbol on the right side of its chest area. He was also wearing an Uzumaki pendant on his neck.

As soon as Mito saw the person realization suddenly hit her, she was played. Her left eye twitched violently and all her calm and composed personality went down the drain. Her free hair rose and waved violently as her chakra swirled around her, she closed her eyes and balled her fist slowly bringing them up near her face. "B...B...BAKA NII-SAN!" she roared and charged towards him with an intent to completely end her brother's life once and for all.

At a distance, Hiruzen was watching everything with a variety of expressions on his face. He was amazed seeing Mito-sama completely dodge those fast water bullets without breaking a sweat, he then got a bit worried as he saw a shunshin take place near her but it was soon turned to one of relief and joy seeing that the person was none other than the First Hokage. He was expecting both First and Mito-sama to take on the enemy easily but was left flabbergasted as First exploded into water completely drenching Mito-sama. He then heard laughing coming from a distance and saw a person on the grass laughing like there was no tomorrow. Lastly, he could help but form a large sweatdrop at seeing Mito-sama completely losing her cool and chasing around the person who was strangely still laughing. "Is that really Mito-sama?" Hiruzen couldn't help but ponder never really seeing her lose her cool like that, hell! he actually thought that she could never lose her cool.

A Few Moments Later

Hiruzen was sitting nervously on the grass taking occasional glances at Mito who was huffing and mumbling something about a stupid brother, the stranger was currently tied on a wooden post with some explosion tags around him. "I think maybe those seals are just overkill," Hiruzen thought with a sweatdrop.

"Oh c'mon imouto, is this the way to treat your onii-chan?" the stranger said with a pout.

"Baka onii-san, you deserve it! and don't go adding -chan to yourself I never said that!" a Mito roared.

"Awww... but you always used to run to me calling me onii-chan" the stranger just cutely replied.

"S...Sh...Shut up, Baka! I was really small when I used to call you that!" a now red faced Mito fumed with embarrassment.

"So you don't love your onii-chan?" the stranger teased.

"No, I don't" Mito immediately replied but fumbled a bit.

The stranger smirked in his mind, he knew that she was just saying that but deep inside she cared for her brother. But given his playful nature, he still played along, so he put up a sad frowning face and dejectedly said: "Oh then that means..."

*BOOM*

Without any warning of any sorts, the explosion seals blasted, completely decimating the wooden post the stranger was on leaving no signs of him. Hiruzen was completely left speechless, he knew Mito-sama was angry but did she really just kill him and if he heard correctly then he was her older brother which made him feel much bitter "Is she really this cruel? I mean it was just a prank right?". Hiruzen turned his head to see her but instead of seeing a collected person, he saw that her whole body was trembling and tears spilling from her eyes, her lips shaking no words coming out of them. He then realized that such a kind and caring person like her could have never done such a thing, she was equally if not more confused like him and from just looking he could tell that she was suffering more.

Mito was completely stunned at the moment, her mind stopped working. She knew that she never activated the seals so how did they explode? She knew she would have never done such a thing to him even if he was irritating and a complete goof. For Kami's sake she was his sister and even though she never admitted to him she really cared for him. "But you killed him, didn't you?" a part of Mito's mind screamed at her. She wanted to deny it but the truth was in front of her, the blast would have surely killed anyone in it and her brother was tied just at the center of it. "Maybe if he wasn't tied he could have survived it" another part of her brain cursed her. Even though she was a sensor type, her brother was never detectable even the strongest sensor types could never feel his presence, he never really used it for anything bad and simply pranked people with its help. But right now every passing moment was increasing the guilt on her, she really hoped that she could just detect even the smallest bit of his presence to know that he might be alive "Please...please...please...be safe...onii-chan" Mito cried and used all her power just to trace her brother's presence. "Why are you trying so hard? Accept it HE'S DEAD...and it's all your FAULT!" her mind was screaming and breaking her with each word. She slumped on the ground and cried as she screamed on top of her lungs "ONII-CHAN!"

"Jeez...I'm not dead, stop screaming like that imouto," a voice said. Hiruzen slowly turned his head towards the voice and upon seeing his eyes widened "But how?". Mito just whipped her head towards the voice she really wanted to hear right now and in front of her stood the person she so much wanted to see, her brother. Launching herself at a speed that could even rival the 'Hiraishin' or 'Flying Thunder God Technique' she latched herself on her brother's chest, crushing him with her hug. She was sobbing while muttering "Thank God you're alive!" over and over again. A smile crept on his face as he slowly petted her head.

After a few moments, Mito spoke in a very soft voice "Onii-chan?". Her brother just replied with a hmmm. "Gomen" Mito apologized in the same soft tone, she then lifted her head up, her eyes red and puffy with all the crying "I don't know how? I never activated those seals. But when they exploded I...I...I thought..." she started tearing up again but this time her brother hugged her and comforted her. She felt like a huge problem was lifted off her shoulders. She then noticed that his coat was a bit burned and there were some burns on his hands too. "Onii-chan you're hurt!" she panicked a bit but he just jokingly shrugged it saying it's nothing.

"What do you mean it's nothing! You're hurt baka!" Mito fumed at her brother's carelessness. "I told you its nothing major imouto. But more importantly, Mito" her brother said in a serious voice. Mito flinched, she knew her brother only called her by her name when he meant serious business. "What seals did you use exactly?" her brother asked her. "I...I...just applied chakra suppression seals and very low-quality explosion seals, but I don't know how did they explode with such power" she meekly replied. "The reason was simple Mito, you placed both of them in a single seal" her brother stated, but seeing that Mito was a bit confused cleared the fact. "What does chakra suppressing seals do?" he asked. "They suppress chakra" Mito simply replied. "How?" he asked again. "By sealing the chakra in the person's body" she again replied without any problems, her brother was asking her the basics.

"And what if a person has too much chakra and tries to push it out?"

"It simply seals the excessive chakra in itself and stores it" she was growing a bit frustrated being asked such basics.

"And if even that becomes too much then?"

"Then it just explodes..." she replied halfway as a sudden realization hit her. She looked at her brother for confirmation to which he just nodded. She mentally slapped herself for not paying attention to such a minute detail. "When the seal can't handle the amount of chakra it absorbs it explodes expelling the chakra into nature but it doesn't harm too much, you can say just like a very low-quality explosion seal it just crackles a bit. But in this case the excessive chakra didn't dissipate into the nature rather it strengthened the explosion seal which caused it to be able to explode like a low-level explosion seal and keeping in mind that you placed around 6 tags around me the result is in front of you" he said in a serious voice as he motioned to the blown up wooden post in front of him. "Luckily I substituted with a shadow clone that I created to prank you some more but I guess the prank has to wait haha..." he added as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

Mito felt ashamed for not considering such a problem while drawing the seal and almost killing her brother, but couldn't help herself as she let a giggle pass through her mouth at her brother's antics "He's still thinking about pranking. Guess Onii-chan will always be Onii-chan".

"Just remember imouto that Fuinjutsu is a branch where even the smallest mistake can lead to huge changes in the result. So always be careful while doing it okay" he said to which Mito just nodded with a huge smile on her face "Hai, Onii-chan".

Both brother and sister were enjoying their reunion when the third person present there cleared his throat. They both turned and saw Hiruzen nervously standing there, Mito just got totally red-faced when she saw him. She really forgot that Hiruzen was even there with them and now she showed him a side that she never showed to anyone else except her husband and her brother. She calmed herself down and tried to get back into her dignified personality. Her brother, on the other hand, was eyeing Hiruzen "So this is the brat that my imouto and her tree hugging husband are giving special training to".

"Ummm...Mito-sama, who's this person?" Hiruzen asked as he felt that they both almost ignored the fact he was even there. "He is..." Mito was about to reply when she was interrupted by her brother "I'm the coolest, the greatest, the funniest and the most handsome person you'll find in all of the Shinobi Nations!" he said with exaggerated expressions and hand signs. He then stood up straight and pointing a thumb towards his chest he told Hiruzen "The name's Ryuu Uzumaki, gaki".

"Ooooo...that rhymed quite nicely, I guess I'm a great rapper too. Bwahahaha..." the now identified Ryuu Uzumaki laughed proudly.

*Smack*

"Can't you just give a normal introduction baka!" Mito said with an irritated expression as she smacked her brother's antics.

Hiruzen was momentarily stunned "Wait a minute! Ryuu Uzumaki as in the famous Fuinjutsu Ryuu!". How could he not recognize him, he was the Fuinjutsu prodigy of the Uzumaki clan! The branch of Fuinjutsu had only 10 levels and the person that achieved the tenth level was known to be a seal master. But the Uzumaki clan which were famous for their additional 3 advanced levels of Fuinjutsu made even the normal seal masters seem an amateur in front of an Uzumaki clan seal master. But right now the person standing in front of him was the prodigy of Fuinjutsu who had invented the 14th level of fuinjutsu, and was known as the 'Fuinjutsu no Kami' literally meaning the 'God of Fuinjutsu'. He was the one who taught this level of Fuinjutsu to most of the Uzumaki who could grasp this up, among them was his most prestigious student Mito always used to travel all over the Shinobi Nations increasing his knowledge and creating new seals every now and then. What Hiruzen didn't know was that he and Mito were brother and sister.

Hiruzen's eyes sparkled. Before his very own eyes were his idol. He always wondered about the person who taught Mito-sama. "I can't believe I'm meeting the 'Fuinjutsu no Kami'...oh my god...oh my god..." Hiruzen squealed like a high school girl seeing her senpai. Both Mito and Ryuu had a sweatdrop on their head seeing such a display. Apparently, Ryuu had the capability to make people act completely undignified and in such a way they didn't know they could or didn't wanted to show.

"So gaki, you're a fan of mine eh?" Ryuu asked with a smirk plastered on his face. "Hai!" Hiruzen enthusiastically replied, Mito just sighed "I guess the training's over now" she mentally told herself as she watched her brother answering Hiruzen's overexcited questions with a laugh.

After a few moments when they finished their talking, Ryuu came back to her sister so that they could talk after such a long reunion.

"So imouto how's it going between you and that tree-hugger?" Ryuu asked casually. Hiruzen just snickered at the name given to the Shodai Hokage of the village. Mito just glared a little towards him "You know he's my husband right?".

"Oh, how could I forget that disastrous day when my beloved imouto left her onii-chan's hand and went away," Ryuu said in a fake sad and depressed voice.

"You know, you really need a wife onii-san. She would really set you straight" Mito told him.

"What! No freakin way sis. I enjoy my freedom way too much. And I'm not the kind of person who just settles down, nope!" Ryuu said while popping the 'p' of nope.

Her sister just sighed, she knew the real reason her brother swore to never marry, it wasn't that he didn't want to marry but he knew that he won't be able to give a girl the time and love that she should deserve while he was constantly finding ways to improve fuinjutsu more and more. "You're way too kind-hearted brother, putting other's happiness above yours" Mito just smiled. Her brother might be a goofball and an irritating character but he was really a good-hearted person who cared for his family a lot.

"Oh! I completely forgot the real reason I came here!" Ryuu bonked his head a bit. "How's the seal I made for you imouto?" he asked.

"Ah! You mean the 'Strength of a Hundred Seal'." she replied to which Ryuu just nodded.

"It's amazing! I never thought that a person could create such a seal just by having a perfect chakra control!" she said while touching her rhombus shaped seal on the forehead.

"Sugoi! Ryuu-sama did you really create this seal?" Hiruzen again jumped with excitement, he knew what the seal could do and always thought that it was an amazing seal.

Ryuu just nodded and replied to Mito "I see. Any side effects?".

"Other than the chakra exhaustion after using it, not any that I'm aware of," she told him.

"Alright then, guess it doesn't need any further work for now" Ryuu just smiled.

"Ryuu-sama how did you come up with the idea of creating such a seal?" Hiruzen asked being the curious boy he was. Mito was also curious about it but never really asked her brother, so it was a good opportunity knowing it.

"Well, you know that people with perfect chakra control can do medical ninjutsu right?" Ryuu asked to which Hiruzen nodded. "Perfect, that does half the job of explaining. You see I always saw that people performing medical ninjutsu always had problems when they performed huge operations or surgeries mainly due to the huge requirement of chakra to perform it. So once I was sitting in a small shop where I saw a small shinobi most probably a genin stuffing some food in his bag, when I asked him the reason he replied that he was going on a mission and it would be a long one so he was storing food so that he could use it during emergencies. That's when this idea popped in my mind if a person can't increase his chakra reserves then how about storing it and using for later purposes. So I got into making a seal that would be on a person's body which will store the person's chakra in it gradually without harming the user. The almost immortality-giving self-regeneration and humongous strength that came with it were just some additional twinks to the seal because I felt it would be cool. I also made sure that the seal could be easily made with perfect chakra control" Ryuu explained while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

Hiruzen and Mito were amazed they thought that the strength and self-regeneration the seal provided were the main cause of making it but now he just told them that those were nothing but additional twinks that he added just because he thought it was cool! They really had no words to describe his stroke of genius although both of them had the same thought on their mind "He really is a prodigy".

So the rest of the day went by chatting between the three and when it was almost sunset Ryuu got up and told them that it was time for him to go. Mito asked that if her brother wanted to settle in Konoha but he just declined so, in the end, they just gave each other a hug. Hiruzen nervously asked Ryuu "Would you visit again Ryuu-sama?", and Ryuu just ruffled his hair "Damn right gaki I will!" he exclaimed with a smile to which Hiruzen shot back with a bigger smile.

Ryuu used to visit them in some months and even years, but after the Second Shinobi War and the destruction of Uzshiokagure along with all the Uzumaki which included Mito, he was never heard or seen again. Hiruzen presumed that he might have died in the war, so when Kushina came to Konoha he treated her like his daughter being the last Uzumaki, which in turn led to his grandfatherly affection towards Naruto.

Flashback end

Hiruzen looked was tearing up on the inside, right in front of him was his greatest idol that he thought was dead. All the while he was crying, he was thankful that all of his ANBU bodyguards were asleep and there was no one else in the room, after all, he couldn't show them such a sight of their village leader. After a moment when he got much more emotionally stable he asked Ryuu

"Ryuu-sama where were you all this time? I...I...I thought that you..." the tears in Hiruzen's eyes started welling up again

"That I was dead?" Ryuu softly spoke to which Hiruzen nodded.

"I can't blame you for thinking like that Hiruzen, I guess I just wanted some time alone after the destruction of my clan," Ryuu said as he gritted his teeth in anger.

Hiruzen knew that it must have taken a huge toll on Ryuu to find his whole clan wiped out. Somehow Hiruzen partly blamed himself "If only our forces would have reached earlier maybe we could have avoided it"

"You shouldn't blame yourself for it gaki, I know that you did what you could" Ryuu assured him as if reading his mind completely.

"But that didn't do anything, I couldn't save anyone! Not even Mito-sama" Hiruzen blamed himself for failing to save her.

"But you saved this boy's mother didn't you and you also took care of this boy when she died" Ryuu reassured him with a small smile.

Hiruzen looked at his idol with wide eyes, he lost all of his family members including his sister he loved so much and had every right to blame him for their deaths. Yet he was completely calm and composed and didn't blame him. If Hiruzen's respect for him wasn't enough it was increased even more now. It seemed that during the time span he grew out of his childish behavior into a calm and dignified person. Although he didn't look as if age took a toll on him "Must be due to Ryuu-sama's Fuinjutsu, it's not hard to imagine him doing such an impossible task" Hiruzen thought.

"Hiruzen can I ask something from you?"

Hiruzen's eyes widened at the question "Of course! You can take whatever you want Ryuu-sama!" he answered diligently. After all that has happened this is the least he could do to lessen the guilt.

"I want Naruto" Ryuu stated

Hiruzen froze for a moment, it wasn't that he didn't expect him to take Naruto with him after all he's his family but his grandfather instinct still bugged him a little.

"It's not that I don't approve of it but why Naruto Ryuu-sama?"

Ryuu just sighed and looked at Naruto's sleeping form "I'm finally ready"

"Ready for what Ryuu-sama?" Hiruzen asked now a bit curious about it.

"All I've done in life was to make Fuinjutsu better and better, I even ignored my family for its sake thinking that I'm doing them good by improving what we're good at and its result was that I wasn't there when my family needed me the most. If I was there maybe things would have been different" he said while gritting his teeth a bit "But now I won't repeat the same mistake twice. I'll make sure Naruto learns the way of Uzumaki and becomes the heir to my legacy"

Now, this statement blew Hiruzen's mind, he never expected this. Ryuu-sama teaching Naruto and making him the heir to his legacy would make him a force to be reckoned with.

"I'll not only teach him the 15 levels of Fuinjutsu but he'll also learn the infamous 16th level of it," Ryuu said with a small smirk.

Hiruzen's eyes went wide as dinner plates "16th Level!?" he screamed, he had surely heard that Ryuu created the 14th and 15th level of Fuinjutsu which he taught to many Uzumaki and even Hiruzen, although he could only learn till level 13 as the ones created by Ryuu were apparently harder than one would expect. But now he was telling him that he created another level in it!

"Well yeah, I mean you seriously didn't think I was doing nothing all these years do you?"

"But I have never heard about the 16th level," Hiruzen said in a confused voice.

"Well that's because no one other than me and soon Naruto knows about it" Ryuu replied a bit sheepishly.

"Wow a level of Fuinjutsu that would be unique to him, damn I'm a bit jealous of you Naruto," Hiruzen's curious mind thought.

"Oh looks like our little star is waking up," Ryuu said with a small smile as Naruto stirred in his sleep and slowly fluttered open his eyes.

As Naruto slowly woke up, the first thing he was was his Hokage-jiji "But how did I reach here? The last thing I remember was that a strange person who helped me...uggghhhhh...this headache" he thought as he clutched his head. It then came to his notice that he was sitting on someone's lap, turning his head upwards he saw the same person that saved him looking down at him and smiling. He then turned towards his Hokage-jiji and asked him "Ummmm...jiji who's he?" as he pointed his thumb in the backward direction.

Hiruzen wanted to scold Naruto for not behaving respectfully when Ryuu just laughed at his antics and replied to him "I'm your present Naruto"

Naruto looked at him with confusion on his face and asked "Present?"

"It's your birthday today isn't it Naruto?" Ryuu asked to which Naruto replied with a nod. "So your Hokage-jiji here asked me to train you into a shinobi," Ryuu said with an eye smile.

Naruto beamed up at that and asked his grandfather figure "Really jiji? Will this person really train me so I can become a ninja?".

Hiruzen just looked towards Ryuu for confirmation to which he nodded, so he just sighed and told Naruto that it's true. Naruto excitedly jumped towards Hiruzen while repeating thank you all over again.

He then faced Ryuu and asked, "Umm...what's your name mister?"

"My name's Ryuu Uzumaki but you can just call me Ryuu-sensei" he replied with a smile.

"U...U...Uzumaki!?" Naruto's eyes widened at the thought of seeing a person with the same family name as him, Ryuu saw this and instantly recognized that expression so he just cleared his doubt "It is exactly what you are thinking Naruto. I'm from the same clan you belong from, and don't worry I'll teach you all about our clan from its history to its techniques".

Naruto was now flabbergasted, he not only met an Uzumaki but he was told that he belonged to a clan! He wanted to ask more about it but Ryuu just raised his hand and said in an authoritative tone "The questions can wait, Naruto. But right now I want you to pack up your belongings because we are leaving in an hour" and with that said he shunshined with Naruto to the location towards Naruto's apartment which he learned from Hiruzen's memory.

After they left, Hiruzen just sat there sighing "Looks like things are now getting better for you Naruto" he said with a smile. His head turned towards his sleeping forms of ANBUs, "I'm getting too old for this".

Hey readers, so that's the first chapter of my story and hope you all like it. The poll for the girls Naruto will have has been placed, you can check my profile page for it, so vote for your favorite girl. Also if you want to add a girl which is not in the list just PM me for it (Genderbend characters are also allowed except for Rock Lee and Gai... I don't think Naruto can handle a girl screaming "Yosh! Let's show them our Flames of Youth Naruto-kun!). The next chapter will be based on Naruto's training and introduction to another OC.

Well then till next chapter, C'ya.