Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or its characters. I do own any OC or OC like personalities I made up.

Chapter 3

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They suspect.

They suspect something.

These were the thoughts that were going through Naruto's head as she sat there and waited for the Third and Tuta to come back. And why wouldn't they? She knew for sure that she wasn't acting any way like the previous psyche that occupied this body. He knew little girls, so full of energy and he was no little girl. She passed the time by sorting through her jutsu list into lists of "do" and "do not". It annoyed her now that she really thought of it of how so few of what she knew she could really perform at the moment. There would be no Kage bunshin or rasengan in the near future that was for sure. When she became a ninja, well a ninja again she would have to be very cautious as to what she showed to her co-workers (She didn't really consider them comrades because after the way they turned on her so fast in the other life).

Naruto didn't have any doubts that she would become a ninja for Konoha again. It was ingrained to much into her. Even though the people in her village were complete hypocritical assholes it was still her home. She couldn't care less about most of the people but she found she still cared for the village itself and while that little epithany gave her some satisfaction that she hadn't been reduced to the remorseless monster like level of Orochimaru or Itachi it gave her no great joy. Besides, if she did try to leave the Third would just drag her back and in her weakened state the retrievers might "accidently" kill her. Naruto knew first hand just what blind hatred could make people do. Naruto and Konoha were stuck with each other.

Her mental ramblings were cut short by the Third and the doctor returning. They both smiled at her in a way that she could tell wasn't forced but also confirmed that they suspected something was wrong. Thier eyes weren't hostile in any way but were examining her in the way that only shinobi did. Ah,well so much for blending in unnoticed.

Tuta cleared his throat. "Well Naruto." He began "I am happy to say that there appears to be nothing wrong with you, although you could use more food in your diet." The man wasn't much of a liar, Naruto noticed as the doctor looked her up and down with worry. He obviously thought there was more damage then a few missed meals.

The Third cleared his throat before Naruto had a chance to respond, which was just as well since Naruto didn't really have any idea what she would say "Thanks for the heads up Doc. It's nice to see that the nine-tailed dmon fox stuck in my stomache that I shouldn't even know about is good for more then decoration."? No, that wouldn't have gone over well. "Thank you for your assistance, Doctor, but Naruto and I will be taking our leave now. It was an early visit and I am sure Naruto-Chan would appreciate getting that lunch I promised her."

Naruto hopped off the table and gave a slight bow to Tuta. "Thank you for the examination." Without another word she left the room.

"Will she be alright?" Tuta asked as the Third went to follow his young (In his mind) charge out.

The Third stopped for a moment, seemingly lost deep in thought. He finally turned to the Doctor "I don't know. I don't sense it's chakra or presence but something did happen to her. It pains me to see one so young suffering so much." He frowned, wrinkles deepening to show the full strain of his long tenure as both ninja and Hokage. "Everytime I visit the girl she always acted so happy and clung to me the whole time. She was never cruel or mean to a soul in this village."

"She is just a young girl." Tuta pointed out.

"Yes she is. One of the kindest I have seen. But when she was alone without anyone supervising her...I would not believe our village's people could be so purposely cruel if I hadn't witnessed it myself." Indeed he had. Frequent crystal ball checks on Naruto told the whole heartbreaking story. She was bullied and teased at every opportunity, rediculed by even adults and there wasn't a thing she could do about it. Patrols around her neighborhood even caught attempts of property destruction on her apartment by grief blind villagers several times. The images he saw when she was alone were even more gutwrenching. She would be hiding in whatever alley or in the woods alone crying her eyes out for what seemed hours on end. It was the same in her apartment. Her desperate attempts to use her dolls as surrogate friends and family did nothing more then point out the fact that she was alone even clearer, causing more breakdowns. Naruto still tried though, he saw that whenever she walked down the street all smiles, desperate to find someone who would care about her.

"She's really been mistreated that badly?" Tuta asked. The Third was known for his unfledging loyalty to Konoha and it's people. For him to even imply such a thought...

"I'm afraid that I may have been to assuming in that everyone would just honor my law and the dying wish of the Fourth."

At that Tuta's eyes widened. "They have been disobeying the law? That is a capital offence!"

"No, except for the individual who assaulted Naruto yesterday none have. They have been going behind her back rediculing and isolating her though. I fear it's only a matter of time before it becomes to much for her and I shudder to think what would happen."

Tuta just nodded as he listened to his leader vent. He could tell that he needed this for quite a while. "It won't come to that will it? Naruto didn't ask for this burden and it is dishonorable and embarressing behavior for a hidden village to act like this."

The Third smiled "It is nice to hear that there is at least one person in Konoha that doesn't see her as a monster." His smile abruptly vanished. "However, if it does appear that this incident has done something to the seal then I would have no choice to..." He trailed of completely. it hurt him so much to see any member of his village hurt or leave the world before thier time, and to purposely dispose of a young girl who commited no crime only because of actions far beyond her control was almost to much for his poor old heart.

Tuta cleared his throat. "Well, I don't think it will come to that. Don't forget that the one who did the sealing was the Fourth. He wouldn't leave anything to chance or make it so a simple blow to the head to destroy all he worked for."

"I wish the rest of the village had your faith. There are many in the council who protest my treatment of her. They say she is the demon and influencing my actions."

"Hokage-Sama thats rediculous"

"Be that as it may. There are also some who use that as an excuse to undermine my credential and are pushing for thier own power gain. This is the last thing this village needs after losing so many of our best and brightest that night. We can't afford to segment ourselves."

Tuta's eyes went wide. "I had no idea it was so bad..." Tuta was a career medic-nin ever since he put on his head band for the first time. As such he didn't get out of the hospital much so things like politics passed him over a bit,

"The leaf will endure. But as long as I associate with Naruto this is something I will have to personally endure. " The Third wondered just what was happening to his home. People were becoming petty and weak-minded and he felt he couldn't do anything to stop it.

"Excuse me."

Both Doctor and Hokage jumped at the sound of the small voice. They turned to see Naruto standing at the door. The Third kicked himself mentally for not picking up the presence of the girl. He must be slipping at his age because there was no way a child with no trainingcould conceal herself from him...right?

But even more important- what did she hear? He was going on about how Naruto would break under this mental strain and here it was that he might have unwittingly pushed her over the edge.

Naruto looked up at the Third, eyes empty. "You didn't follow me out." Was the lone comment.

The Third smiled down warmly at his charge. "Please excuse me Naruto-Chan! I was getting some last bits of advice from the good doctor." That was true enough, but the Third vowed to be much more careful in the future in discussing this sort of subject around Naruto. The Third said goodbye to Tuta and left with Naruto, leaving a very concerned medic-nin in thier wake.

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Lunch found the pair settled in the warm stall of the Ichiraku ramen stand (Naruto got to choose the place and his love of ramen was just about the only thing that survived his life intact). The old man running it practically fell over in shock at the sight of the Hokage himself walking in and was quick to get the pair settled and served. The first minutes passed in silence as the Third finished his bowl and watched with shock as the little two-year old practically inhaled four extra large helpings of miso-ramen. The propreitor laughed at the sight, mentioning how he had a daughter just a little older and how he wished she loved his ramen like Naruto did.The Thirdsmiled at the sight of Naruto combing each bowl down to the last noodle, finally sighing in satisfaction when he finished. Then he remembered Naruto's phyisque when he stopped to collect her that morning. This might have been the first real meal she got in who knows how long. He would have to try to fix that. But first he would have to see how she was doing mentally.

A few moments passed as thier bowls were taken before the third broke the silence. "I didn't know you loved ramen so much. Whenever we went out before you would just choose the closest place to where you lived."

"It's cheap and I don't get much money."

"Naruto, your orphan's fund gives you plenty of money."

"There's no money in my apartment." Naruto had yet to turn and look at the Third during this whole conversation. Could one blow to the head cause that much damage?

"Well I will look into it and make sure you get what you are supposed to."

"...thank you Hokage-Sama." With that Naruto hopped off the stool and went to leave.

The Third turned after her. He was not about to let her go so easily. "Naruto wait! I would like to talk to you for a moment is that alright?"

"You already spent all morning with me. Besides, i'm tired. I am going home." Naruto stopped at the entrance to the ramen stand. "One more thing. I don't want you visiting me anymore."

Now the Third was rocked back on his heels. "Naruto what are you saying? You enjoy it so much when I visit you."

"You said that associating with me is bad for your reputation. I don't want to cause you so much trouble."

'So she did hear me.' The Third thought sadly. "It's nothing Naruto. Don't let it bother you so much."

"If you say so. But I still don't want you to visit anymore, and while your at it just send the money to me now."

"Naruto, why are you acting like this? I barely recognize you today."

The little blond was silent for a full ten seconds. The Third was about to ask again when Naruto finally responded. "Yesterday was a real eye-opener for me. I want some time to myself to think things over." With that final comment Naruto left.

'I failed you." The Third thought to his dead predecessor. 'I thought that the people of this village would learn to accept her but now it seems that it will not come to be. I'll still look over her to the best of my abilities but I hope you will forgive me for the damage that has been done.' The Third left to return to his duties, as well as to look in to rearranging Naruto's financial aid process's he could do at least that much.

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Naruto felt bad for leaving the old man like that but it had to be done. Truth be told she didn't know a damn thing about what happened to this body before today, besides the fact that it's a different gender then she used to as well as being in desperate need of real food. It did, however, give Naruto an excellent excuse to get the Third out of her hair, provivding he respected her request. Naruto didn't hate him or anything even after what he said about having to kill her if she was corrupted he was the Hokage and making such choices was part of his job.it wasn't like he wanted to do it. Naruto respected his commitment but didn't want him impeding her growth. This time around she planned on using every moment of her life in preparation for whatever comes her way. Akatsuki in particular was at the top of her mind.

In her last life the demon collecting syndicate was practically a natural disaster. Naruto's friends were strong, but in the end were no match for the upper echelons of Akatsuki. The best they could do was fend off the weaker members. Naruto often had to face them alone, especially in the later years when that waste of life Uchiha was shadow controlling the council and doing their damn best to finish her off. But this time would be different because Naruto had something going for her this time. This time Naruto had extensive knowledge of each of thier techniques, styles and personalities. Better yet since they didn't know that she knew Naruto would have surprise on her side. Naruto didn't need the Third walking in on her while she was honing her devestating counter stradigies and wondering just where she learned what she did. Granted the roster could be slightly different this time around but Naruto was certain the higher leadership wasn't, and that gave her an edge.

A close second was that damn snake Orochimaru. Naruto wasn't actually worried about him that much. In the years after the death of the mad sannin and his mentor/father Jiriya Naruto did extensive research on seals. In fact he did extensive research on pretty much any book she could find since that was the period in which all her friends were being killed by a madman wearing the leaf headband and Naruto was pretty much all alone. She spent most of her time at Tsunade's estate which was Naruto's only real safe haven in her own village. It was in Tsunade's family's library that Naruto dug into everything she could in a desperate attempt to hide from the grief and the hate that was choking her from all sides. It was there that Naruto managed to come up with a trick that she hoped to put Orochimaru out of condition. It was worthless then but with the help of someone else in the village Naruto had high hopes it would work now.

The thought of roasting those people alive over an open flame cheered Naruto up greatly as she arrived at her apartment. The combination of the daily emotional rollar coaster as well as eating enough hot ramen to choke someone twice her age had exhausted her. Naruto understood now why Orochimaru gave his future vessel's time to mature before taking them over. On her way to the refuge that was her lumpy bed she stopped at the door to what used to be her training room in her old life. Curiosity getting the better of her she walked in. One last surprise for the day she thought.

Naruto walked in and raised her eyebrow slightly. Littered all over the room were more dolls. Lots of them. The other Naruto was clearly more into them then she thought. She walked in furthur and saw in the corner one of those little girl tea sets that girls her age play in. Three of the chairs were occupied but the fourth wasn't,obviously used by the other Naruto. on closer inspection the floor under that chair was scratched up. It was obviously used often and considering the treatment of demon vessel's in general it wasn't hard to figure out why. 'She fell in on herself' Naruto realized. The Third mentioned something about the other Naruto being lively but She figured that was just an act in front of him. Naruto suspected that in reality she pulled a Hinata and hid in here all day. It was probubly even worse then Hinata because she didn't have a massive clan and a feared family reputation to protect her. She walked over to the table and picked up some papers on it. They were drawings. A few of them were of Naruto and the Third but most of them were of Naruto alone. She could see the crudely drawn pictures were crying in most of them. Since the other Naruto most likely couldn't read this was probubly her only way to express her pain.

Naruto looked around the sanctuary of a girl wronged so much. For the first time since her friends died she felt real emotion. That emotion was rage. How dare the fourth go to the afterlife a hero and leave a child to muck in the aftermath of his actions. Naruto used to admire him so much but now she hated the guy. Damn the villagers for being such cowards, letting their petty feelings ruin a child's life just to make themselves feel better. It was almost to much but naruto wouldn't break and become what they wanted her to be. No, she would survive this time, beat the bad guys and make things better for her friends. Even though they don't know her and likely never would she would be a strong ninja, stronger then she was before and keep an eye out for them, if just for the memory of her comrades long gone.Naruto would survive for the little girl who loved dolls.

But first she would get some sleep. Her feet were killing her.

As Naruto finally turned in to rest she spotted her clock. It was barely past noon and she was exhausted already! Naruto had her work cut out for her. She would have to improve fast.

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In the next year and a half that past she did indeed improve fast. Surprisingly, Naruto didn't jump straight into training. She spent the first few weeks after that day getting the lay of the village. It was the same for the most part. Konoha was still recovering from the Kyuubi attack even after two and a half years and the outer walls had plenty of openings that weren't watched that she could take advantage of later. Morning's and afternoon's were spent catalouging their locations while night's were spent going through every beginner level chakra exercise she knew, and there were a lot. Naruto soon developed her sense of detection enough that she could detect her chuunin watchers. It was soon obvious that they weren't exactly the elite of the chuunin level, which was another useful fact she could take advantage of.

After a month passed Naruto moved on to the more advanced regimine. She found out that if she snuck out of her apartment early enough the chuunin would just think that she was staying home all day. Maybe they just didn't care but either way Naruto was alone and after sneaking out of the village through the holes she located in the weeks before she had the atmosphere Naruto wanted for training.

It was funny how things changed. Before Naruto would have done anything to be in the company of someone. Now she couldn't care less. When was the last time she got to be alone like this? Naruto couldn't remember the last day she got a full nights sleep she was always being sent off again after a few measly hours of rest with her complaints being met by derision and scorn. Now...she was still working 15 hour days but they were her choice, not some slimy councilman's and that made all the difference. She was happier going about the forest's of Konoha then she was fighting for it. Since her old techniques were mostly obsolete until she grew up more she commited all of her formidible knowledge into an alternate style and after a little inspiration from the other Naruto she settled on something she knew would be invaluable in the future, regardless of how it turned out.

So it was that the morning a year and a half later greeted a whole new Naruto. She was dressed in a dark blue jacket with black pants with shuriken pouch's sewn into the legging. Under the jacket was a skin-tight fishnet shirt. She cut her hair short, shorter then it was before when she was a boy this age. She pulled up her jacket's hood over the full head mask she wore. Only her eyes were visible.

Naruto skipped breakfast. She overate last nightand she had a long history of bad milk in the morning related incidents. She double checked her gear and made for the door. There would be no training today. Today was the day she made a try for genin. After a year and a half of solitude Konoha would finally be reminded of her existence. Naruto wasn't interested in glory anymore but she knew she would turn heads today. One thought lorded over all others as she walked out the door and faced her destiny for the second time.

'Showtime.'

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Well there it is chapter 3. I know I promised combat this chapter but things got strung out. I'm not good at those 10,000+ chapters other writers can do but I hope doing 5000 or so will let me get it out on a more regular basis.

I swear upon my hatred of Sasuke that there will be more interesting content next chapter. I just can't bring myself to progress without at least an attempt at good plot. Next chapter you will see a taste of Naruto's new style.

As always please review I beg of you all.