Disclaimer: This is a fan made story, I don't make Naruto.

Author's Notes: I'm just testing the waters here. This isn't a promise of anything.

Oyabun

Interlude

Three years ago, Konoha came under attack by a joint alliance of shinobi from Suna and Oto. Their joint attack crippled the village and ended with the death of the village leader, the Third Hokage. It was not the first time the village had seen loss and it most assuredly would not be the last. While the village was busy with rebuilding, few paid attention to the fighting that took place in Konoha's own back alleys. Many wanted to take advantage of the village's desperation for their own ends and the one who rose above it all came to be known as the 'Bloody Fox of the Leaf Village'.

Many died at the command of the Bloody Fox, as if to remind the village of its own horrific past years ago when the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked. A single night of devastation that left many dead and claimed the life of the village's fourth Hokage. It was the same for the Bloody Fox, who orchestrated a series of desperate and impossible gambits to defeat rivals. In so doing, the Bloody Fox secured the position of his clan as the sole group operating in the village of Konoha. The most curious detail in this story was the age of Blood Fox.

Twelve years old.

The most violent, unpredictable, and ruthless gang leader was a young child by the name of Naruto Uzumaki. A child, whose actions could only be compared to a tantrum. A tantrum that was cold and targeted - vindictive of anyone who crossed it. But this is not his story.

Konohamaru Sarutobi was a member of the village's distinguished Sarutobi clan and the grandson to the village's Third Hokage. As a result, he knew the weight of respect and expectations that his lineage carried. And he hated it. He was not a Sarutobi, and he was not the Hokage's grandson. He was Konohamaru - he strived to be acknowledged, not for the name of his clan but for his own merits. He treasured everyone who came to recognize this about him, his friends, his jonin sensei, and his eternal rival - the boss.

Perhaps it was his own naivety, but he recognized Naruto Uzumaki as a good friend because he was genuinely the first person to treat him like another human being. Granted their meeting wasn't at all friendly and Naruto admitted to having no idea who he even was. Maybe that's why he could so easily hit him in the head and tell him to shut up. It wasn't the friendliest of meetings or the nicest, but that difference in behavior stood out to Konohamaru - someone who'd spent his entire life being pampered and called 'Honorable Grandson'. It left his curious and longing for more - not to be beaten and abused, but to be treated as a person.

Konohamaru was warned multiple times to keep his distance from the gang boss, but he found it difficult to understand why. Many said he was a murderer and a criminal, but Konohamaru couldn't believe anyone like him could be capable of such things. Even on the day his grandfather had died, many had kept a noticeable distance from Konohamaru - but he distinctly remembered Naruto being there beside him. That was three years ago.

He was twelve now, a genin rank shinobi graduated from the academy ready to serve his village and go on missions to prove his skill. He'd been assigned to the same team as his friends Udon and Moegi, under their jonin leader Ebisu. Unfortunately, he didn't get the excitement of an expedited chase through the forest or a heroic last stand against overwhelming odds. His missions boiled down to doing chores, assisting with shopping and chasing down stray pets for the nobility. The missions were tedious and he felt someone of his skill level shouldn't be wasting time on them.

And it was that type of mission he and his team were on today - another catch the stray pet of some noble's wife. This mission was fairly routine for shinobi and many would wonder if the nobles intentionally let their pets go stray or if their nobility were just so carelessly stupid. Whatever the case, his team was scouring the village now - staying in contact with their radios and coordinating their search as they moved in a grid pattern to find the cat.

While they moved to the next are, Konohamaru noticed a small crowd gathered outside his favorite restaurant - the popular Ichiraku Ramen. The young genin stopped on the one roofs to observe the scene below - Teuchi, the owner of the restaurant had gotten into a heated argument with another man in a black suit whose shirt was untucked and jacket unbuttoned. The man condescendingly remarked, "I ain't paying shit for that crap you call ramen. You should make it up to me and make it free."

"You should have said something if you had a complaint," Teuchi grumbled, holding out an empty bowl for all to see, "But the fact is that you ate the whole bowl and tried to run off without paying."

"Don't you see this mark old man?" the man tucked at the collar of his shirt to reveal a tattoo of a black dragon on his neck, "If you got a problem with me, you'll have to take it up with my boss."

"Maybe I will," Teuchi said back. The man expression soured and he shot Teuchi a nasty look. The old chef stood firm and tapped his foot on the ground impatiently, extending his hand for the payment he was owed. The gangster spat in his hand, "There's your payment."

Konohamaru was about to jump down and get involved when he noticed the crowd part slightly. A young blonde haired teen with whisker marks on his cheeks and a scar on the right sight of his face stepped forward. He dressed in a white dress shirt and black slacks fitted to his height. Tied to his waste were a pair of katana he kept sheathed on his left. Notably, there was a long black trench coat he wore with the characters for fox emblazoned on the back. His very presence spread a mix of either calm or anxiety through the crowd. And they were right to do so for Uzumaki Naruto, leader of the Kitsune clan.

Naruto stopped just short of the two and asked, "The weather is way too nice today to be wasted on fighting. What's going on?"

"Oyabun," the gangster said curtly with a bow, "This old geezer tried to rip me off with his cheap ramen."

"He ate the whole bowl without complaint and tried to walk off without paying the bill!" Teuchi tried his best to remain calm but it was clear he was agitated, showing Naruto the empty bowl. Naruto nodded and walked towards his subordinate member, "Was the ramen that bad?"

He received his answer with a honeyed frown, "Yeah boss. Made me sick to my stomach. Honestly, I don't know how a dump like this could still be open."

Naruto nodded his understanding, much to Konohamaru's disbelief. Teuchi never made bad ramen, and there's no way he would ever serve anything he thought was terrible. The guy was obviously lying to get a free meal. Naruto turned away from the gangster to face Teuchi, "How much is the bill?"

"Fifty ryou," Teuchi said. Naruto produced his wallet handed the appropriate currency to Teuchi, plus some extra, "This should cover it. Thank you for serving my clansmen. I'm sorry for the inconvenience he caused."

"Boss, don't pay for his crap! That food wasn't worth-" The gangster opened his mouth to protest but stopped when Naruto elbowed him in the gut with enough force to knock the wind out of him. Before there was anytime to react, the blonde gang boss brought his leg bag and swept his underlings leg to knock him off balance. With his left hand, he grabbed his clansmen by the face and pushed him to the ground with a loud crack. The gangster looked up at his leader in stunned silence, covering his nose to stop the blood flowing out like rivers, "Both! Whath da hell?"

"Come to my office later. I want to have a word with you," was all Naruto said to him. He didn't sound mad either, just...calm. Konohamaru would've preferred to hear him mad because the calm was unnerving on his own. The Naruto offered a bow to Teuchi, "I apologize for his behavior."

"No need to apologize," Teuchi said hesitantly. Naruto straightened himself out and departed, the crowd moving out of his way to let him through. In all this time, Konohamaru realized not a single shinobi appeared to resolve the matter. The more he thought of it, ninja didn't seem to patrol this part of the village and only came when they were off duty. He couldn't think on it any longer because he heard his radio go off, "Konohamaru? It's Udon! Any sign of the cat?"

"Sorry, nothing yet," Konohamaru said back. He'd completely forgotten about his assignment and took off for the next rooftop to continue his search.