Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

One Shot

Naruto froze, unable to believe what he had just heard.

"W-what did you say?"

Kakashi sighed, slightly bitter that he couldn't block Naruto's trembling form from sight with the ink and pages of a certain book. But no, this could not be smoothed over with a cryptic comment or feigned indifference. He had to be firm here. Unapologetic. His uncovered eye swept heavily over the rest of Team 7.

Sasuke was shaken, but not completely surprised. Only the tightening fists gave away his turbulent thoughts.

Sakura, surprisingly, was only tense. The girl understood, then. She apparently had an impressive ability to consume clinical information beyond the theories they taught in textbooks.

"You heard me, Naruto. This should be common knowledge by now, but I have to be sure that all three of you understand what a ninja's expected to do on the field," Kakashi peered up at the expansive blue sky, white clouds rolling over them in the warm weather.

His eyes moved to catch the open road nearby. There lay unlit lanterns, lamp oil waiting to burn, on the edge of the field and bordering the road. He briefly wondered if the Hokage was watching this little moment.

Naruto breathed in sharply before predictably exploding, "What the hell do you mean common knowledge!? Ninja… ninja don't just kill people. We protect. The stories of saving kingdoms and protecting entire towns! They can't just be made up, can they? It's impossi-"

The boy looked shakily towards the rest of his team, his words failing as they all avoided his eyes.

"We don't just kill people like that, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme! You mean bad guys right? I mean if someone's really bad and dangerous it makes sense to keep people safe…" The newly graduated ninja crookedly smiled, finding some semblance of sense in his own logic.

Kakashi stared at him silently before shaking his head once, immediately stilling the boy.

"No, Naruto. We don't just kill people. Sometimes we're hired by a king to protect his caravans or his court. It's not uncommon for us to be contracted to patrol local towns in need of reinforcements," his solemn words lit a fire in Naruto's eyes, making the next part even harder.

"But we also kill. In fact, most of our missions end in killing. And it's not just killing men and women who endanger others, we kill anyone as long as we're paid for it and it does not misalign the Leaf's goals. Children, the elderly, sometimes even our own allies, they're all fair game. Understand, Naruto? For this ninja village to survive we commit evil to keep at bay the harshest demons known to man. War, poverty, oppression, slavery… these all are avoided as long as the Leaf remains strong," he ignored Naruto's fierce expression and continued.

"And it's not just the Leaf, the rest of the nations do the same as well. Look towards the Mist and you'll see what happens to a village and its surroundings when turmoil and poverty inflict it. Our system is cruel, barbaric even. But with no other choice we must strive for survival and the least of evils, that is what a ninja must do!" His words had come out harsh in the end, his voice not able to chase away the anger brought upon by arguing these cursed, familiar words.

Debates and arguments always happened with genin. But the one topic never left to rest had been the ninja system. Chunin were more experienced. Wiser to the ways of the world. The only ones who still debated at that point were the ones who had not tasted the grime of constant life and death battles. Jonin laughed derisively at any who attempted to argue contrary to the norm. Kakashi remembered bitterly, on the eve of his father's death, when the words he had said to Naruto had been said to him.

How cruel, he thought again. The very words that once burned his soul when his own father was still being placed in the ground, he had been forced to use against his own student.

Naruto had only silently stared at Kakashi following the blunt speech, the lack of reaction from the emotional boy worrying the Jounin.

"... this isn't right Kakashi-sensei," the genin looked hurriedly towards Sakura and Sasuke, both still avoiding his eyes.

"Sakura, Sasuke, you can't be serious. We, we laughed in class together! We ate together! We, you and I, we're humans. We can't do this… thing. The Will of Fire! Remember that?" A tinge of hysterical laughter escaped Naruto then, hoping for some kind of reaction from the other two.

Sakura's voice was soft as she turned towards Naruto, finally meeting his eyes, "It's the Will of Fire that justifies this, Naruto. It's my love for my family, for my village, for-" her pupils flickered to the black haired boy next to her "-my friends that gives me the strength to become a ninja!"

Before, Sakura's genuine passion and even her persistent care of the troubled Sasuke would have filled him with fondness, but Naruto could only listen with wide eyes, disgust of this person filling him.

Sasuke interjected then, "You do not know this, but the clans and even the civilians acknowledge the messed up system we live in. Crying about it won't change anything. If we don't do it, then our enemies will, and we'll become weak. From a position of power, all we can do is minimize the things we commit."

Sakura nodded happily to Sasuke's words, her body unconsciously leaning towards the Uchiha before she turned away with a blush. Kakashi nodded once, a slight smile coming to his face as the two students faced the ultimate truth behind this world.

Naruto looked down, unable to bear watching these disgusting people in front of him. These puppets of a system that they themselves maintain with every stupid word they spew, every future child their kunai pierces, every damn smile they'll have after a mission well done.

His nails cut into his skin as he squeezed his fist, the blood dripping slowly onto the ground beneath him.

In a rage, Naruto jumped towards Kakashi, the harbinger of all this, and swung a wide right across the man's face. He could not feel the flesh he so desperately wanted to hit. Air and then a blur of his surroundings later and he found himself on the ground, looking up at a monster.

'This guy, h-he could kill me now. He must have done it a thousand times for worse reasons, what's one more?' Naruto horrified thoughts intensified as Kakashi picked him up from the ground with his hand.

He couldn't stop them, he wasn't strong enough. And to become strong enough he would have to become a ninja and commit the worst acts as a human. He just wasn't enough, even with his shadow clones, to stop this messed up world. To stop so much evil all at once.

Kakashi sighed, but this time much more heavily compared to the beginning of this little discussion. He could not help but feel pain when Naruto flinched as he held his hand, the emotion of horror hard to miss as the boy's body language abruptly closed off and as his eyes flickered around.

Damn this. He had become a monster to Naruto. It was not common for this type of frank discussion to turn ugly.

It had happened in the past, but ninja, and more specifically the Second Hokage were not unintelligent. Psych profiles and hidden personality tests were significant factors in a student being promoted to genin. The Leaf's models were extremely refined, enough that they could even gradually change success rates by altering lessons in specific ways, effectively influencing students into accepting this aspect of the ninja system. Not exactly brainwashing , but a change in a word here or there, an order reversal of lessons, and maybe even thorough history classes were surprisingly significant.

Because of this, students who would most likely run from the truth despite attempts otherwise, would be failed based on any number of things before they ever became genin. Some talent was lost as a result, but overwhelmingly those with potential and clan roots passed this final test. So this, this was unexpected. How did the model fail so utterly?

Naruto, a boy whose love of the village and basic logical intelligence should have translated to only having slight trouble at this point. The son of the Fourth Hokage, who killed thousands, and Kushina Uzumaki, who perhaps killed more with the Kyuubi's power, had failed to accept the truth in what seemed like an irreversible way.

"Kakashi," the Jonin nodded to the abrupt appearance of the Hokage. He had been watching then.

A flash of rage suddenly overtook him. Had the man known this was a possibility!? Did he alter the results?

"I'll take care of things here, please escort Sasuke-san and Sakura-san to the academy. I believe a student there has recently been greenlit for your team," the glacial words of the Hokage stopped any protest from the copycat. It was done, then. Naruto would not be trained by him.

No. He most likely wouldn't continue as a ninja. A non-ninja Jinchuuriki was odd but it was not the end of the world. They were only deterrents these days.

Stiffly waving for Sasuke and Sakura to follow him, he could not stop the surge of self loathing for not being like Naruto. For not being on the same side. He swayed slightly in nausea before quickly looking back, biting down on any remaining hate for the Hokage.

Sakura was trembling and Sasuke had clenched his teeth down hard, anger displayed on his face as his jaw shifted. But both forced themselves to follow after him. They were too shocked after Naruto had attacked him, though they most likely understood Naruto would never see them the same again.

He jerked his head forward in a not so subtle order to move faster. Pulling out his book he tore his eyes down to read. The sooner this was done, the sooner he could throw this away, never to be spoken about.

…

"Will you talk to me now, Naruto?"

The silence went undisturbed, as it had for the past hour except for the odd sniffle.

He sighed before sitting down on the tree stump nearby, lighting his pipe as he attempted to reconcile Naruto's reaction.

He had hoped. Hoped so much, so desperately for the boy to defy the model. For the boy's pure love and morals to seek to understand the village's position.

But no, it had failed as much as it possibly could have. He should have listened to the numbers. The cold hard facts would never let you down, as his long dead sensei would oft repeat.

"Gramps, it can't be true… can it? Y-you're not a murderer are you?" He heard sniffles as the boy hesitantly asked the question he had been afraid to ask for so long now.

The boy's teary eyes, so much like his parents', met his own teary eyes. Swiping away the tears he looked off into the distance, seeing the lanterns of the downtown district lighting up gradually. The fire of the village was truly demanding and just as the light in those lanterns burned brightly through oil, the Will of Fire burned brightest with the unfortunate deaths of the innocent.

He looked back into the crying pools of blue that perhaps already knew the truth, knowing he could not lie.

"Yes, Naruto. I am a murderer. For this village, for my family, I would take life unbeholden to me," the crackling, emotional tone of his words did not seem to change Naruto's reaction, the freely falling tears soaking his shirt. The boy had known the answer before he asked, then.

He could not maintain eyesight for too long. Standing up he put out his pipe before peering back at the setting sun.

"I will go ahead and set up a job for you at Koko's Market. Your monthly stipend will still arrive but consider the position a place for friends. If you so choose, you may join a normal school for which after graduation you are eligible for a trade apprenticeship. The school registration is in the Administrative Office south of the ninja academy," Hiruzen's sober words were met with the occasional sniffle.

The Hokage turned towards the boy, who had been furiously rubbing his eyes.

He hesitantly continued, "And Naruto… if you ever need anything, do not think twice before coming to me. I may be a monster in your eyes, but everything I do, I do for you and this village."

Pathetically, he had not been brave enough to so much as glance at Naruto, already knowing the hate he would see in the boy's eyes. He body flickered away in a gust of wind.

...

In his office, the leader pressed his thumbs deeply into his forehead. The rush of his arrival had toppled the stack of papers across the ground, but his mind could not focus on that.

He loved Naruto like his own son. He believed that the will the hyperactive boy embodied was a perfect representation of the Will of Fire.

But no. His arm moved and he violently smashed a fist onto the wooden desk, cracking the once polished surface into spiderwebs.

The Will of Fire was bloody. It was not the naive will of a boy. He had forgotten or perhaps forced himself to forget what he was truly doing as a ninja in this system. He exhaled heavily, his body relaxing as his own logic reasserted itself and justified the sacrifices. Emotions were dangerous if not tempered with reasoning.

Naruto would act as a civilian Jinchuriki. A controversial decision, but ultimately irrelevant. The true power of this world was belief, and as long as the world believed that the Leaf would unleash the power of the Kyuubi, actual combat with its host was unneeded when enemies evaluated their strengths.

Even Danzo would agree. His old teammate has been of the opinion that Naruto, even hypothetically trained to his limits in Root, would become liable to threats such as Akatsuki and assassins from other nations as a field ninja. As a civilian he would be under the radar, protected by constant patrols and buffered with domestic ninja existing in his everyday life.

He steepled his fingers and looked down at his desk, the papers in dire need of replacement. Yes. This, in the end, was Naruto's best chance at surviving. It was also best for the Leaf that a boy like Naruto stayed away from becoming a ninja.

He buzzed in his assistant, watching as she berated him for causing a mess.

Closing his mind to Naruto and his reaction, the hate he imagined in the boy's eyes, he forced a flirtatious smile, "Dear me! If you boss me any more, Nami, you may as well be my wife."

His eyes crinkled at the blush on her face before he was yelled at again. Yes, this was for the best.

5 years later

Watching the boy had been boring. It had been bad enough that a ninja with his qualifications and blood was assigned to keep watch over the resident Jinchuriki. But his target turned out to be a filthy coward as well, backing out from becoming a ninja just days after graduation.

He couldn't understand how the Hokage tolerated the cowards like Naruto Uzumaki when so many ninja had died to keep this village strong. In the end, he had decided it was a matter of old age. Perhaps the perch was too comfortable and softened the aged ninja.

When the Hokage and village suffered an attack at the hands of Suna and his own pupil, Orochimaru, he had feared the worst. That the leader of the village had died. But the Third had only been crippled, saved as the Sannin Jiraiya summoned his enormous toads. Unfortunately, the snake Sannin escaped as well.

That was also when he was promoted to Chunin, the event overshadowed by the general uncertainty of the village's future with the Hokage out of commission.

When Tsunade arrived, she brought hope. Her quick rise as Hokage and her strategic policies were expected from the granddaughter of the First.

The Third had ordered him to continue his mission but he had reported to Tsunade, who as expected, demanded to know everything.

She had been angry as well that a resource like the Jinchuriki was underutilized but she eventually let the issue slide when confronted by the Third. And subsequently ordered the continuation of the dreaded mission. After that he had never been called in by Hiruzen.

Uzumaki at that point had joined the school for non-ninja and worked uninteresting shifts. It had been frustrating watching the coward make friends and enjoy his life as those he used to spar with risked their lives daily. In those times his less experienced Byakugan unconsciously activated in anger.

And as Sasuke Uchiha trained under Jiraiya and Sakura Haruno trained under the Hokage herself, his anger skyrocketed at his own limited fate. One who had to make time beyond his normal missions to check in on a coward of a human.

The years passed by quickly. A promotion to Jonin was easily obtained, the good fortune with Tsunade helping. His cousin, Hinata, who had long since shed her softness had confronted him then.

The furious spar that followed opened his eyes. And the story of his father's death was finally revealed for what it truly was, a sacrifice for the good of the village and… his son.

His hate for Hinata vaporized then, and as his relationship with the main family improved, the hate for Uzumaki grew. This ant, a denizen of the village who routinely ignored the ninja that had sacrifice so much as he paraded his way through a fake life, was such a contrast to his father that it burned his veins.

Uzumaki had graduated from his civilian school at that point. He had also been promoted to manager at the market, the extent of his success. The Hokage had relieved him of his watch duty thinking that it was long overdue, but he hadn't cared. The watch, the progression of Naruto Uzumaki's life had become too ingrained in him. In his emotions. His hate.

The 15-year old Uzumaki had begun training under an ink maker. A glimpse of the master's files revealed him to be an old conscript of the Daimyo's court, nothing specifically interesting on the surface but he was born a Hyuuga. And looking beyond the surface was expected for the clan.

Further reports written in the court were easy to obtain through Hinata's connections. His cousin had finally found out where exactly he spent long hours in secret.

She had been shocked to hear of the coward's name, explaining how she knew him when he was a boy, but fortunately, she felt the same as him. That Uzumaki was a disappointment.

He and her had started to come together in their strange, informal watch over Uzumaki, an undercurrent of something as they watched the teenager live his life without a care in the world. Hinata had once explained how it was like watching an alternative to things. He scoffed at her, only feeling a burning desire to destroy the fake life Naruto Uzumaki built for himself.

When the reports retrieved by Hinata revealed the ink maker to be an that had a bounty out for him in Cloud, he found his chance. Hinata had been reluctant but eventually went along as he reported the matter to the Hokage.

Although berated for unofficially continuing his mission and revealing it to Hinata, Tsunade was pleased at his and his cousin's findings. The ink maker had been arrested and sent over to Cloud in little less than a month after negotiations. The Leaf had been granted two secret ninjutsu scrolls in return.

Hinata had been promoted to Jonin and he was given the special Jonin rank.

Uzumaki's depression after realizing his master was taken had been gratifying, an ease in the burning hate he had for the fool.

But he still hadn't been able to stop his watch over the Jinchuriki. Hinata had agreed, perhaps feeling the same way inside.

A year had passed and he found himself confronted by Sasuke Uchiha, the newly branded hero for killing Orochimaru, and Sakura Haruno, a hero in the making for continued diplomatic improvements between the Kazekage and the Leaf. Their third team member had died recently, leading to an unfortunate situation.

In their reminiscence of Team 7, they had remembered Naruto. He had apparently been a temporary member before the coward left.

He and Hinata had watched as the Uchiha and Haruno visited Naruto, seeking to make amends or something equally worthless. The pathetic behavior Uzumaki had shown nearly brought him to his knees in anger. The Jinchuriki's fear could be felt across the street from where he silently watched. The 16-year old could not even continue the conversation. Hinata, the ever collected girl, had grit her teeth when the two members of Team 7 were all but pushed out as Uzumaki made up an excuse.

In his arrogance he did not consider immediate detection by the Uchiha and Haruno. The fellow Jonins demanded to know why he and Hinata had been watching. It did not take long to reveal his mission and goals. They had been disgusted by the breach in privacy but as Hinata had in the past, they felt a strange curiosity overtake.

It hadn't taken long for a small gathering of ninja to join their watch of Naruto Uzumaki. The original graduates of the Jinchuriki's class all joked and insulted as they watched from the rooftops and through windows, the pathetic life of a naive coward.

It had become a ritual. A place where stress and hate could be shed as they watched the blond haired teen carry on with his life, the one who had spat in the face of the ninja system in great contrast to them.

The entire situation had been admittedly disturbing, yet they had not been able to stop. They had been filled with something primal when watching the boy who defied the evils of ninja.

It had all taken a turn when the Akatsuki began their attacks on the Jinchuriki. There were rumors that the Kazekage had nearly died but was saved by a local, his bijuu lost.

These were validated as reports one by one streamed in, declaring mass deaths of the rest of the Jinchuriki.

Naruto Uzumaki was in danger. That statement would have been gratifying in another situation, but the tide of things spoke of great chaos. And now they had to prepare.

"Neji!" The Hyuuga was torn from his thoughts as Shikamaru flung a scroll at him. Catching it casually he perused through it before nodding once.

"Get your head in the game, man. We just got back news that Jiraiya was seriously injured in Rain fighting the Akatsuki's leader. If it weren't for Itachi Uchiha he would have been dead apparently," that bit of news shocked him still.

"Why would that traitor save Jiraiya?" Shikamaru pursed his lips and shook his head.

"A traitor wouldn't," Neji looked at the Nara in disbelief.

"Impossible. The mass murder of the Uchiha cannot be justified," Neji's stoic voice became harsh as he thought of the death of an entire clan.

"Maybe not. But we also don't know everything. You and I know anything can be justified given the right situation," Neji absently nodded at Shikamaru's sardonic words.

Yawning loudly, the Nara walked over to the window of the Jonin barracks.

"Regardless, Jiraiya is alive. But he's as much help to us as the Third at this point. We've known this would eventually happen since the first reports came out. Get Naruto Uzumaki, if Jiraiya is right, they'll come after him immediately with our forces weakened. I've already called in the rest of the teams," Shikamaru yawned again before pointing outside.

Neji could see a large squadron of ninja forming in the dim light. Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi were both leading a team as Hinata and her team established a perimeter.

His own team was part of the general defending force. With the rumors possibly true that the Akatsuki also had Madara Uchiha on their payroll, Tsunade had recalled all forces. The Akatsuki had captured the Jinchuriki of the Eight Tailed Bijuu, forcing an alliance between the Cloud and Leaf. This cascaded into an unprecedented alliance between all five great nations in a defensive measure against the increasingly dangerous Akatsuki.

Already he could see the different color vests approaching the village from the outskirts. It had been risky for Tsunade to allow so many foreign ninja within the Leaf, but if the rogue group planned to use a weapon of Bijuu chakra it held precedence over everything.

Grunting he stopped his procrastination and body flickered to a familiar home. This would be a first in five years. To actually meet the civilian, Naruto Uzumaki. He knew so much already. The man's favorite foods, his hobbies, ex-girlfriends, and even what side of the bed he usually slept on. But this would be different.

Knocking once on the apartment door, he waited.

The door opened seconds later, and a nervous blond man appeared. From a distance the 17-year old had seemed shorter, but he had to look up slightly to make eye contact with the tall civilian.

He watched as Uzumaki's blue eyes widened and for the clear fear to settle into his body language. The man had noticed his ninja attire. Pathetic.

"C-can I help you, sir?"

Brushing away his anger, Neji breathed in before pinning the Uzumaki down with his eyes.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko. You are ordered to report immediately to the Hokage in District Central," his stoic words shot a wave of fear into the blond in front of him. The man looked ready to run.

"I… I don't understand, sir. What did I do wrong?" Naruto's trembling form and question frustrated the Hyuuga.

Scoffing once, he blurred forward, grabbed the shock still Jinchuriki and body flickered directly to the Hokage.

Landing with a thump, he didn't have to look to know that Uzumaki had huddled in the corner of the combat tent. Dozens of ninja moved around them, doing logistic work as Tsunade stood over a map of the village.

"Who's the scared dude?" Anko Mitarashi, Special Jonin and head of the reconnaissance unit, asked as she pointed towards Naruto Uzumaki.

"The Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki," he bit out before quickly approaching the Hokage.

Anko looked over Naruto, slowly approaching him. She watched in slight amusement as the cute blond grew more and more frantic as she got closer.

"Hmm… why so afraid, kid?" Her question went unanswered as the boy looked away from her eyes.

Annoyed, she grabbed a stool, loudly placing it in front of the blond. Ignoring the jump of fright from Uzumaki with as much grace possible, she repeated her question with more force.

"Um, I-I just don't have much experience with ninja," Naruto's soft voice was interrupted by a laugh.

"Living in a ninja village and not much experience with ninja! The only way that's possible is if you go out of your way to avoid us," Anko's chuckles died down as her eyes narrowed on the flickering blue of Naruto's. If not for her many years of experience with it, she would have missed it.

Fear was easy to place. Submissive tendencies, excessive sweating, and an attempt at becoming smaller. Naruto had all of that.

Disgust. Hate. Those were harder to find but there were signs. Tightened fists, gnashing teeth, and slower breathing, as if the mind and body took its time as it spun the imagined violence it would inflict on you.

Naruto hated her. Hated them all.

"So you took the ninja system badly, huh?" Her words froze Uzumaki before he backed up even further, bending the inside of the tent out slightly.

She sighed before getting up. Her reputation as Orochimaru's ex-apprentice may have been bad, but dealing with the type that thought ninja little more than ruthless murderers… Well, that kind of hate was hard to match.

"Later, coward."

Naruto didn't respond as she walked away.

The Hokage shouted once at some poor Chunin before rushing by Anko. The snake summoner stood nearby, curious at what Tsunade wanted with the Jinchuriki exactly. He just needed to shut up and stay still as they fended off the Akatsuki.

The Hyuuga followed after Tsunade, stopping as they both looked down at the grounded Naruto.

"Naruto Uzumaki… You look like your father. Mother's cheeks though. Sure as hell don't act like them, though," Tsunade's words made Anko curious and apparently did the same to the still Naruto.

"M-my parents? You knew them?" Tsunade nodded at the nervous words before gesturing for him to stand. He did so hesitantly, his tall height easily eclipsing the shorter Hokage's.

"I'll tell you all about them if we live through this," the powerful woman indicated for Naruto to follow her, ignoring the gulp of fear.

"W-what do you mean?" Uzumaki asked quietly, his hand coming up to scratch his neck.

Tsunade smashed both hands down on the desk, and as if a signal was made, all the ninja in the tent froze and stood alert.

"This is Naruto Uzumaki," she waved her hand behind her to the taller blond.

"Despite his appearance, he's the target of this Akatsuki attack. This rogue nin group seeks to claim all Bijuu, and they're nearly there. Madara, the true leader of the Akatsuki, has already captured the Eight Tails. The Nine Tails, the Kyuubi, is next and Naruto is its gracious host. Let's be sure to keep that way," Tsunade's commanding presence encompassed the tent and all present saluted with a loud roar.

Tsunade smiled and faced Naruto.

"You have a few hours before we expect them to attack. I'm sure your old classmates can keep you occupied until then. Neji, please escort Naruto to his old friends. I need you all to protect him, understand?" Neji stiffly nodded before grabbing Naruto's shoulder and flickering away.

Anko sighed before walking outside, feeling slightly underwhelmed.

…

Sasuke looked into the eyes of Naruto for the first time in a year, not counting the bizarre ritual he and the rest did under the pretense of keeping watch over the Leaf's Jinchuriki.

Sakura stepped forward and smiled softly, "Naruto… how are you?"

The blond flinched before looking away from his old teammate. He scratched his neck and replied with a short "okay."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Naruto was still afraid of them. Still hated them most likely. It was hard to reconcile the belligerent boy from five years ago with the perpetually fearful teen in front of him now.

His hand squeezed into a fist involuntarily.

'Why is it so hard for you to understand you idiot. We're doing this for the good of everyone,' Sasuke's thoughts soured as he remembered Naruto's initial reaction.

Ino flew towards Naruto, inspecting every inch of the trembling man.

"Hmm, he's pretty tall, huh? So Naruto, I hope you're ready for us kicking some butt protecting you!" Ino's loud voice went ignored as the rest of the Konoha 11 slowly surrounded the Jinchuriki.

Choji chewed on his chips and wearily held the bag out to Naruto, only to dejectedly pull it back when the shaky blond shook his head once.

Shikamaru looked around the field they were in and clicked his tongue.

"We're surrounded by a powerful barrier here. A little open but we couldn't risk not seeing the Akatsuki attack," he nodded towards Naruto.

Kiba laughed, waving a hand out.

"It's good for me. My attacks work best with a lot of space. But it's a bummer that we have to protect this guy," he pointed a thumb at the blinking Naruto.

"Isn't that right, Naruto? You wouldn't want a bunch of murderers guarding you, eh?" Kiba growled as he stared down the increasingly shaking Naruto.

"Kiba-kun, please leave Naruto alone. He can't help but feel what he does," Hinata's words seemed to calm the animalistic Inuzuka as he crossed his arms and looked away.

Rock Lee nodded his head furiously.

"That is right Kiba-kun! A man is not a man if he cannot express his ideals!" Lee's words were met with laughter and had done a good job calming Naruto if his stilling was any sign.

"Well then, this reminds me of old times when I saw you little munchkins in class," Asuma Sarutobi seemingly appeared behind. The man was missing an arm, but it was only because of Sasuke that he survived his clash with the Akatsuki.

Kurenai, Gai, and Kakashi followed behind and joined the larger circle around Naruto.

"How youthful! Such a scene will be burned into my mind forever!" Gai roared before catching himself as Kakashi dropped his book and covered his ears.

"My apologies, Kakashi!"

Waving off the man in green, the copycat ninja looked at the taller Naruto. It was impressive, seeing him now. As Naruto grew older, his appearance became eerily similar to his old sensei. If it weren't for the markings on his face and shorter hair, the secret would be very hard to keep.

"Hey, Naruto. Been a while," Naruto slowly nodded to his old sensei's words, but it didn't take a genius to see how uncomfortable the blond was.

Slowly the bustle of the circle died down to an awkward silence.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head and weakly smiled, unable to say anything to improve the situation.

"I had thought you would be better at small talk, Kakashi," all heads whipped around to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen. The man limped slightly as he made his way over with a bandaged Jiraiya and Tsunade at his side.

"Hiruzen-sama! Should you not be resting?" Kurenai bit her lip as the old man waved her off.

"The future of the Leaf is in jeopardy. I too, must do my part," Hiruzen's somber words stilled the group as they began to really understand what was at stake.

Naruto looked over at the Third as he approached the blond.

"Naruto… do not worry. We will win today." Hiruzen turned sharply, avoiding Naruto's eyes.

"Jeez sensei, way to ruin the mood. Though with what we walked in on, there may not have been a mood in the first place," Jiraiya laughed and threw an arm over Naruto's shoulder, ignoring the boy's tense reaction. The white haired man was even taller than the Uzumaki as he patted the boy's arm a few times.

"Don't worry kid. We're the best in our trade. Though those guys might disagree," Naruto and the rest turned in response as the Kazekage, Raikage, Mizukage, Tsuchikage, and several ninja appeared in front of the circle of Leaf ninja.

"So this is the boy then."

"Tall and cute. But I can't believe your Jinchuriki isn't a ninja."

"Coward then. Those types in the Cloud are easy to spot."

"A coward or not, we must protect him," Gaara, the Kazekage nodded to the Hokage as he stood in front of the taller Naruto.

"You have the last Bijuu and it is imperative you follow our instructions. Regardless of your beliefs towards ninja."

Surprisingly, the blond had calmed down. His movements secure as he nodded once to the red haired Kazekage.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Naruto did not seem to hold fear at the moment.

'Strange…'

Shikamaru thought the same as well apparently. The Nara opened his mouth to say something before a monumental explosion rocketed against the outside of the field.

The barrier glowed bright purple, not recognising the chakra and immediately buffering the attack.

"Positions!" The Hokage roared.

"How did they get past the battalions surrounding the village!"

Jiraiya, grim, pointed to a single man. The ninja wore an orange mask that swirled eerily into a brightly shining Sharingan.

"We assumed he could teleport some distance but did not anticipate the entire length of the village," the toad sage's words triggered rage in the Raikage.

"This is the bastard that captured Bee! Darui, Mabui, now!" Both Cloud ninja jumped forward, only to fall back as an enormous toad exploded into existence in front of them.

"Easy. We can't rush in against opponents like them. Gama, hit them with some oil."

Jiraiya flipped forward, landing on the toad's back as it grunted an affirmative.

Breathing in and out, the two synchronized as a blast of oil ignited mid air and smashed against the ground beneath the Akatsuki.

The flames exploded back and Neji was forced to spin into a rotation as chakra expanded around the entire circle and Naruto, shielding them in time.

"Jiraiya-sensei, we have done this before," an orange haired man with metal piercings stepped around another eerily similar ninja who had single handedly intercepted the powerful combination attack, his arms smoking.

"Nagato," Jiraiya growled before leaning back as Sasuke blurred forward only for his sword to clash against a familiar sight.

Sasuke grit his teeth as Itachi revealed himself.

"Little brother…"

Sasuke roared as his Sharingan spun rapidly.

"Enough of this." Everyone paused as a legend appeared.

Madara Uchiha stood, young as the day he'd fought against the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. The man was white haired, his skin pale and unnatural. His eyes glowed purple and red as his gaze swept across the forces defending Naruto. Six balls of pure blackness hovered behind him.

"You!" Onoki held a hand to his heart as the rumors were finally validated.

Tsunade looked between the orange masked man and the strange form of Madara.

"Who are you then?" The Hokage was met with a chuckle as 'Tobi' slowly revealed himself.

"Impossible! You died Obito!" Kakashi's words were mirrored by multiple others and Sasuke and Sakura, sensing their sensei's distress narrowed their eyes.

"Haha, a reunion for everyone it seems," Deidara laughed as he watched the events unfolding.

"You bastard…" Temari knew this was the man responsible for nearly killing her brother.

"Hah, I call first dibs," Temari glanced at the Rock ninja, Kurotsuchi, the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage.

Madara stepped forward, freezing everyone.

"We do not need the Kyuubi anymore. I have already become Jinchuriki of the Ten Tails, Juubi, with the large chakra from the Eight Tails. The little amount of Nine Tails chakra I needed was easy enough to locate. But more is always welcome and with so many leaders and forces in one place, it is a good time to crush a rebellion." And with that, the most suffocating pressure of chakra fell atop the shoulders of every person.

"H-he's a monster!"

"This chakra is unreal!"

Pure waves of chakra exploded across the field, throwing ninja back. A particular powerful shockwave careened off to the side and obliterated a hill with an enormous explosion.

"It's impossible!"

"Haha! When peace is finally created you will all thank me. Those of you who continue to struggle will die. If you seek peace, lay down your arms and kneel!" Madara's loud proclamation echoed out into a silent field.

And one by one, almost by instinct, ninja began to kneel to the monster in front of them.

"Kiba! What are you doing!?" Hinata screamed.

"Hinata… you felt that, right? That chakra, it's not human," Kiba looked down, ashamed to look up from his knees at his teammate. He looked back at Naruto, understanding the fear a man might be driven to.

Shino followed suit. And then even Ino, her father urging her down. Choji. The proud Neji. And so many others. Tsunade looked around and sighed. It was over then.

"What do you want Madara?"

"Do I have to repeat myself? Kneel and no blood will be shed."

Tsunade looked down before giving the order of surrender. She kneeled. The Third Hokage nodded to her despite the shame she felt. Hinata looked around desperately before hesitantly following suit after the Hokage and Kurenai.

The rest of the Kages gave the same order and with great shame kneeled.

Kakashi blinked once before staring at Obito. He kneeled almost without thinking. Gai pushed Rock Lee down and closed his eyes as he kneeled.

"Damn it all, Naruto!" Shikamaru caught the arm of a surprisingly still Naruto and hurried him back, behind the slowly kneeling group. Only Sasuke and a bizarrely stubborn Sakura still stood.

"We don't have much time. He's lying about blood not being shed. He still wants the Kyuubi and he'll kill you even if he doesn't need to," Shikamaru watched Madara walk forward and as if by the mere force of his power, Sasuke was pushed to his knees. Sakura's physical strength pulsed once before she was crushed against the ground as well.

Shikamaru grit his teeth, not able to take his eyes off of the legendary Uchiha.

"Funny. It's odd how you murderers can flip a switch. To care so much for another person like this but then slit the throats of innocent people in the next breath." Naruto's words staggered Shikamaru, as he tore his arm free from the Nara. They echoed into the entire field, garnering flinches from his old team and the Third especially.

Naruto stepped forward, his tall height making him easy to see as well as the blond hair swaying in the sudden gust of wind. His tapered black pants and orange tee looked out of place on a ninja but some noticed the change in attitude, and immediately the image of the Fourth Hokage came to mind.

"Oh? You believe your defenders murderers?" Madara surmised.

"Hah, I know this guy Madara-sama. He's the Kyuubi host that thinks all ninja are murderers and hates them apparently! Naruto Uzumaki!" The strange black and white man, Zetsu, exclaimed. Several kneeling ninja looked at Naruto in anger.

"I knew it. A non-ninja Jinchuriki never made sense," murmured Temari.

"Some of us don't have the constitution, dear," Mei, the Mizukage, muttered.

"Naruto! What are you doing? Please, he'll kill you," Hiruzen urged the man he still saw as a son, even after all these years.

Madara chuckled before responding, "It's understandable for one to hate this system. It has taken everything from me and it's why I seek to correct it. Do not worry, young Naruto. With your death a new age will begin. The Infinite Tsukuyomi will cast a genjutsu reflected on the very moon. The genjutsu will force peace amongst the dreams of this entire world."

Naruto paused as Madara revealed his full plan. Several ninja growled as what truly awaited them.

Tsunade nearly stood before Madara pinned her down with a gaze.

"Well, you had me up until your plan. It's not worth it if none of it is real. I actually have a better idea," Naruto's nonchalant words echoed before everyone's eyes swung to him.

Madara frowned.

"A better plan? Do tell."

Neji watched bewildered as a Naruto he had never seen before talked face to face with the most powerful ninja he had ever seen. He looked at Hinata, meeting her confused eyes before turning back.

Naruto clapped once and the sound seemed to carry unnaturally over the field. Neji's Byakugan seemed to catch a fraction of chakra accompanying the sound wave.

"Well, I just started it. It should take around … twelve more seconds more before it's done."

Madara's glowing eyes flickered around, blurring as it took in too much information to quantify.

"You… triggered some kind of fuinjutsu. But it had an activation chakra too small to be anything truly significant. What did you do?" Madara harshly demanded.

Naruto waved a hand to appease the anger from the crazed Uchiha.

"Ma, ma. I'll explain, don't worry," Naruto's words nearly had chuckles echo out from Jiraiya. Tsunade looked around, not understanding what exactly gave Naruto so much confidence.

Madara stepped forward and Naruto smiled before continuing.

"Hmm… what is the smallest thing you know?" Madara paused, not understanding the relevance of the question.

"Enough games! Speak!"

Naruto pouted before sighing, "Well then. Anyways, the smallest thing isn't a grain of sand, which I would have answered when I younger. No, the smallest thing is not even perceivable by human eyes. In fact the smallest thing is so small it exists in multiple dimensions, interposing them at the same time. But dimension is the key thing here. Seals can mess with dimensions surprisingly easily. And some seals can be altered to open and close spacetime, producing enough quantum particles, some of the smallest things."

As the explanation grew more and more complex Madara grew more mystified. The ninja in front and behind Naruto were flabbergasted, not understanding where a non-ninja could become so talented at the fuinjutsu.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, who merely shrugged in confusion.

Naruto crossed his arms and looked around for a bit before sighing, "The biggest problem I saw ahead of me was the sheer scale of problems. Too many people, too many enemies, too many evil acts. But I had quantum particles, an infinite amount that could penetrate into the strongest defenses, exotic or not. How to use them then? Well, how do you create a perfect world? My answer was to make sins like killing and rape and corruption impossible. Not deterred, but impossible."

Madara looked down at his hand and squeezed it shut, only to look up at a smiling Naruto.

"Humans brains were complex, too complex. But I had shadow clones, time, and plenty of evil to work with. Categorizing the neural activity for each sin, killing, indirect or direct, rape, malicious and life threatening corruption, slavery, oppression, malicious theft… well it took a while but I figured out the little details. Seals came in handy again with their ability to mimic intelligence like that barrier you just destroyed. Combine both concepts and you have quantum particles that could slip into brains and use ingrained seals to effectively read minds. In the end you have quite the peace enforcing tool, don't you think Madara?" Naruto's voice carried over the entire field, reaching everyone.

And slowly, understanding spread and with it came chaos.

"That's not possible!"

"Wait… he can't mean that he can hurt us if we do something like kill right?"

Tsunade's eyes burned with fury as she screamed, "What did you put into our brains!?"

Naruto mockingly laughed, "Don't worry, you won't feel a thing. A fair warning though, these particles are out of my hands. Once they've been released, that's it. They'll exist forever and… remove threats as they come."

Madara scoffed.

"A bluff. That type of fuinjutsu, even for an Uzumaki is too complex."

"You're free to test it out Madara," Naruto's confident words threw the man. It couldn't be that the boy was telling the truth.

"Allow me Madara-sama, I have multiple hearts," Kakazu stepped forward before pulling out a kunai. Kakashi and Sasuke tensed, prepared to defend Naruto.

The blond looked at the cloaked Akatsuki member before sighing. He waved down his old teammates.

"Any attempt at immortality will be negated. These quantum particles will quite literally attack you from a location so small that it will wipe you from existence. No second chances."

Kakazu nearly stumbled but ploughed forward before standing still in front of Naruto.

"I'll gamble on this one." A flash of metal before nothing.

What was once a threatening Akatsuki member, existed nothing. Not even the man's clothes were left. The gleaming kunai had disappeared before a scratch could even touch the blond.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"I did warn him. Anyways, I know this invalidates the whole ninja system and all, but I'm sure if you put your minds to it, you can make something of your murderous lives," muttered a yawning Naruto.

Madara stood still before he exploded with chakra, the black balls behind him forming into a staff as he warped behind the Uzumaki. A second later the legend was gone. Everything he once was, as if it had been pulled behind reality itself. The Bijuu within him, his plan, even the presence he emitted.

"N-no Madara!" Obito dashed forward but hesitated to do anything even as the blond Jinchuriki casually walked away. Even after the boy was responsible for the permanent death of Madara Uchiha.

"Holy shit!" Anko shouted, in disbelief as the guy she wrote off as a coward just put Madara Uchiha to rest.

"Naruto!" Neji flickered in front of the Uzumaki.

"How!? We watched you, how could you have done all while we remained unaware?" Naruto tilted his head at the question before widening his eyes.

"Ah, so you were the one that sent gramps away to Cloud. Two words, asshole. Shadow Clone. I knew I was being watched constantly so I just needed a bit of sleight of… er body to pull a fast one. Acting like I was afraid of my own shadow helped the illusion." Naruto pushed Neji to the side and walked away.

Hinata ran to catch up with him, "You did this then. You never gave up when you found out?"

Naruto turned to face her before stiffly nodding.

"I couldn't let murderers like you live freely. It took me five years too long, enough to stain souls like you and Sakura, but I finally did. Hah, I didn't expect to use it today, I still had a few tests to run, but oh well…" The blond turned away from the red faced Hinata, shame and a sense of wrongness coloring her. She now knew what she and the rest felt watching Naruto constantly. It was envy. She watched, envious of the path of innocence, of good, that Naruto had taken.

Kakashi and the Third appeared in front of Naruto.

"Oh boy…" Naruto muttered.

"I want to apologize. We, we were weak. We followed a system we thought was the only way, but we were wrong," Kakashi waited for a response but received none. He sighed before stepping back.

The Third looked at Naruto's eyes, the pools of blue that used to ask him to read a story while he stayed up at night. He nodded once and stepped back, not knowing what to say.

And in the spirit of things, Sakura and Sasuke stepped behind Naruto, the Uzumaki not bothering to face them.

"I think I always tried justifying it to you Naruto. After every mission I'd stand in front of a mirror and talk, trying to convince you why I did it. But I guess my imagination of you was too strong. Because the pain. The guilt. It never went away," Sakura confessed, tears building up in her eyes.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the blond before grunting, "I can't kill my brother now. But I guess it doesn't matter anymore."

The Uchiha sighed as he looked down at his closed fist.

"When I was young, I thought of you as my friend, that I understood you. But after that day, I realized I can never understand a person as good as you. And because of that that I can't be your friend." Naruto reacted for the first time, shaking as he lifted both arms to the sky.

"You idiots! You damn idiots! You should have believed me, you shouldn't have done it. You…" He looked back, tears in his eyes.

"You ruined everything. We were supposed to be more." Naruto threw his arms down and sighed. He turned forward and walked away.

With one hand waving back, he spoke his final words to the ninja, "Do everything you can to make up for it."

Author's Note:

So a fanfiction user recommended me a story by lord of the land of fire called "The Shinobi Test" which I also recommend to anyone who enjoys a good story. After reading it I just impulsively typed out a story based on the same premise of a messed up ninja system. A lot of similarities but I'd like to think Naruto would do things in a different way.

This is just a one shot, so it didn't interfere much with my other stories, but I wanted to put it out there before losing it. Please check "The Shinobi Test" by lord of the land of fire out for a different twist.

Thanks for reading.