Summary: Watch Naruto's growth in the aftermath of Wave, finding power through hatred. Can love save him? Plot divergence.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It is owned by Kishimoto Masashi and published by Jump Comics.

Warning: This story is rated T for violence, language and potential sexual situations.

Feedback: You can review anonymously. Please feel free to give me your input through review or private message. I read all the feedback I get. I only ask that you do not make demands and do not flame.

"Character speech"

'Character thoughts'

"Demon or large summon speech or jutsu name announced"

'Demon or large summon thoughts or jutsu name thought'

AN: For my fans, don't worry about NotS, because I WILL update it soon. Some people are worried that it's abandoned, but in truth I had finals, then I had to pack to come home from school for the summer, then I got sick, and I have people working on my house, and… you get the idea. Chapter 5 is almost finished, probably 75 to 80 percent there. I actually wrote this story awhile ago, but I decided to come back to it recently, so I touched it up some and published it.

Most of my story ideas are AU, mainly because I like stories that deal more with the demon magic aspect of the Naruto world. This story is a bit of an exception. Kyuubi will be his usual evil self, but Naruto will develop differently and tension will ignite conflict among Team 7. There is some Team 7 bashing, but I'm trying not to take it over the top like most people do, portraying Sasuke as a total psychopath, Sakura as his private tramp, and Kakashi as a delirious fan-boy. Basically, I'm trying to keep it as real as possible while still focusing on the negative character traits of those individuals.

A lot of the dialogue in this chapter is actually canon, even if the way I portray the characters gives a grim outlook.

But there's a second aspect to this story, that's more of an "underneath the underneath" cheap shot at Kishimoto. Supposedly, true power comes from love in the Naruto world, but it seems to me that the strongest characters in the Naruto world are those that draw their power for hatred. The biggest contrast can be made between Sasuke and Naruto. At the VotE fight, they were both on fairly even ground, with Sasuke a bit stronger still. In part 2 of the manga, Sasuke is portrayed as being vastly superior.

I won't say that people are strongest when they are like Gaara, killing simply for pleasure, but I think that Naruto would be far stronger if he'd seek power rather than attention, drawing in on his own hatred to give him strength then looking outside for love. That doesn't mean he won't find love. In this story, he will still be protective of the ones he loves, but he will learn to channel his hatred for others towards becoming strong, to acquire power.

As I said, I aim for a degree of realism, so don't expect Naruto's skill to go up dramatically overnight. Sasuke is still stronger than Naruto and will be for a little longer.

XXXXX

Path of Hatred

Chapter 1 – Rejection

XXXXX

"Sasuke-kun, how about a date when we get back?" Hearts filled Sakura's eyes as she asked him, her hands cupped together pleadingly, her feet twisting inwardly and her shoulders somewhat drawn in, subtly hinting at her insecurity.

Amidst the chorus of shouts of "good bye" from the villagers of Wave Country, Sasuke's quiet voice was just loud enough to be heard, though from the tone it was clear that the lack of volume did not correspond to a lack of resolve. "No thanks."

Sakura's shoulders drooped as she was yet again shot down. She had asked him out literally every day she had seen him for over a year now, but it was never easier for her to take the rejection. "B-but…" she mumbled out, unable to even finish her thoughts.

Of course, the loud and hyperactive hero, whose name was to be given to the very bridge he was walking on – though he did not yet know – hoped yet again for his chance to win Sakura's heart in the face of her rejection. Seemingly full of confidence, he asked, "Hey, hey?! How about me!?" Perhaps today she would finally give up on Sasuke…

"No!! Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura huffed and walked off, leaving Naruto to let his shoulders drop. It would have been comical if it were not so sad; the weight of insecurity that moments ago hung onto Sakura's shoulders seemed to jump off onto Naruto's instead. Entirely, unnoticed by his compatriots, a single tear dropped from his right eye.

'When will it be my turn? Even now… no, she almost seems colder now…' he thought, unable to suppress the chill that ran down his spine at that revelation; she blamed him for Sasuke's short-coming. She was worried that Sasuke was forever gone and her unbidden love never to be returned. It struck a nerve to realize how truly insignificant his feelings were in her eyes.

Naruto recalled the events of the fight earlier.

XXX Flashback XXX

The mist had begun to clear. Haku had jumped in to save Zabuza from Kakashi's Raikiri (Lightning Edge) at the cost of his life; meanwhile Zabuza had stopped pouring his chakra into making the mist.

Seeing Naruto safe brought hope to his pink-haired teammate – if Naruto was alright, then she wasn't alone. And more importantly, if Naruto was alright, so was Sasuke...

Sakura yelled out, "Naruto!! You're alright!!"

Finally, Naruto felt like he was receiving recognition from his teammate and crush. 'Sakura-chan…' he thought warmly. She was beginning to acknowledge him, or so it seemed.

"Huh," she asked, "what about Sasuke-kun?" Naruto stiffened. Sasuke was dead. How could he tell her? What would she say? Would she hate him? "Naruto!! Where is Sasuke-kun?!"

Naruto grimaced and tried to fight back the tears welling up in his eyes for his fallen teammate. Sakura's hopeful expression began to fade. She shook, fighting back the sobs, hoping that no harm had come to him.

Tazuna placed a hand around hers reassuringly, "I'll go with you. Then you won't be breaking your sensei's orders."

"Okay," she said softly, and then she and Tazuna dashed past Naruto, Sakura not sparing him a glance.

When she found his body, all she could bring herself to do was cry.

XXX End Flashback XXX

Naruto remembered how she had been so relieved when Sasuke had stirred.

XXX Flashback XXX

Tears streamed down Sakura's face as she sobbed, barely even hearing Sasuke's voice say, "Sakura… you're heavy..."

As soon as she realized that Sasuke had indeed spoken and that it was not an illusion, a single word escaped her mouth repeatedly, "Sasuke-kun!! Sasuke-kun!! Sasuke-kun! WAAAAAAAH!"

She thought she had lost him and her love had not prevailed. Even with Naruto alive, without Sasuke, on Team Seven she would always truly feel alone. With those thoughts in mind, she dove onto him, hugging him tightly. In his weakened state, he tried in vain to push her off, wincing at the pressure her body placed upon the senbon needles still stuck within him. "Sakura, that hurts…"

"Ah, sorry," she yelled, suddenly pulling up off him and blushing embarrassedly.

Sasuke sat up. "What about…" he asked, then he coughed lightly due to dried blood making his throat uncomfortable and Sakura moved in a silent fuss to help him without interrupting him, causing him to silently push her back before continuing, "Naruto? And that… masked kid?"

"Don't move," Sakura yelled out, as Sasuke tried to get up further, trying to keep him from opening up anymore wounds. "Naruto is fine! And that masked kid is dead…"

Sasuke froze as if caught in one of Haku's techniques, his eyes widening. "Dead? Did Naruto kill him?"

"N-no," Sakura stuttered, unsure exactly, but not believing Naruto could defeat such a foe when Sasuke failed. "I'm not sure, but he protected Zabuza."

Sasuke relaxed a bit, feeling relieved; he was glad his "death" was not in vain, yet at the same time any jealousy that crept up in the back of his mind was brutally forced back down as he cleared all thoughts from his head about Naruto being able to do that. "I see…"

Sakura's mood suddenly shifted. "I had complete faith in you," she said, hands clasped together and a blush adorning her cheeks. "It's impressive that you prevented attacks to your critical areas!"

Sasuke's face darkened somewhat, realizing that Haku had done the same thing to him as was done to Zabuza, putting him into a "near-death" state. "No…" Sasuke replied, but it fell on deaf ears.

Sakura suddenly stood up. If one of her female friends were here, she would be chatting up a storm about Sasuke's greatness, but without any of them and with Tazuna being an old man, there was only one option: Naruto.

"Naruto," she shrieked excitedly. "He's alright! Sasuke-kun is alive!"

Sasuke hid his face, but waved his arm coolly. Naruto was too caught up in relief to be bothered by Sasuke getting all of Sakura's attention. It was just because he was the injured one, right? He wanted to believe that, but her actions spoke differently. The seeds of doubt that she'd ever be able to think of him the same way as Sasuke had already been planted.

XXX End Flashback XXX

Naruto was unusually quiet as the team traveled through the forest back towards Konoha. They were going at an unusually slow pace, which usually allowed for conversation, but Naruto wasn't saying anything.

Not that his team seemed to mind. Kakashi was somewhat worried for his student, but at the same time he was hoping Naruto would learn to be quiet like this all the time. Besides, Kakashi was enjoying this new found peace. 'Keigo moaned as Kaeda worked her way down his chest, unbuttoning Keigo's shirt and then kissing that area. She worked her way lower and lower, finally getting to the top of his pants. Hastily she unbuckled his belt, then unbuttoned his pants and with her teeth began dragging the zipper down. Pulling the material down –'

"Sasuke-kuuuun," the pink one whined.

Okay, so maybe Naruto wasn't the only loud one. Well, at least the pink one followed the rules and would not waste time and energy trying to argue with Sasuke. Had Naruto followed Sasuke's lead, maybe Sasuke wouldn't have been put into a near-death position by Haku. Sasuke had known better than Naruto, that they should not both allow themselves to be trapped within the mirrors, which he openly yelled at Naruto for back on the bridge. Nevertheless, Kakashi would have to pull Naruto aside to talk about that; though all had gone well in the end, had it been anyone other than Haku in that position, Sasuke would surely have been dead.

'Can't let that happen; it would be an insult to Obito's memory. I'm going to have to start training again,' he thought grimly.

Meanwhile, Naruto was having different thoughts. He was starting to wonder why he had always chased after Sakura. She was beautiful, but there were other girls even better looking, Ino among them. She was smart, but more of a nerdy book-smart type than a clever trickster type like Naruto – 'if I can call myself clever at all.' He frowned at that train of thought. Shaking his head he realized, 'No, I won't become Hokage if I doubt myself.'

But that raised another issue. 'Do I really want to become Hokage? Why? For acknowledgement? But the Hokage isn't just the strongest in the village. Even I know that.' Naruto recalled that almost every time he entered Sandaime's office, the man was doing paperwork of some sort.

Shaking his head again he cleared his thoughts. 'Has Sakura-chan's opinion of me changed? Am I still 'annoying'? Why always Sasuke? Her eyes say it all…'

XXX Flashback XXX

Naruto sat next to Sakura on a park bench, henge'd into Sasuke. He wanted to know what it was that made Sasuke "so cool." Why did all the girls always want Sasuke? He would always shun them anyway, so why did they continue chasing after him? Did they truly think he was just shy about love when he wasn't at all shy about anything else?

"Sakura," he said, "there's something I want to ask you."

Too immersed with her own thoughts of love she asked, "Huh?"

Now came what he wanted to find out. "What do you think of Naruto?"

She glared at the ground in front of the bench, anger floating just beneath the surface. "He's always getting in the way of my love and he seems to enjoy seeing me struggle. Naruto doesn't understand anything about me, he's just annoying. All I want is for you to acknowledge me."

The words rang through his head like dozens of church bells sounding just over his head. His eyes widened imperceptibly, but in Sakura's love struck stupor, she was far too entranced in her own feelings to notice the true feelings of 'Sasuke,' or rather, Naruto, in front of her.

"I'm serious," she breathed out, a blush now adorning her cheeks. Shyly, she tilted her head down somewhat, looking up into his eyes from underneath, a magic sparkle of hope and dirty innocence glistening from within them. "I would do anything." Her shoulders drew in, hinting at her poorly veiled insecurity yet giving her a cuter image all the same. "Because I like you…"

As she leaned in for a kiss, Naruto's mouth hung somewhat open and his eyes were as wide as saucers, a slight blush adorning his cheeks as he realized, 'I finally understand why I like her… in a way, she's like me.'

XXX End Flashback XXX

'But she isn't like me,' he realized with a frown. 'She wants to be acknowledged and she's also loud like me… seeking attention. But, beyond that… she's the one who doesn't understand me.'

That gave Naruto a thought. 'Does she still see me the same way?'

"Hey, Sakura," he suddenly called out, "I was wondering –"

"No! I won't go on a date with you. You're annoying," she said firmly, agitation and even a venomous undertone laced into her words. It seemed very much the same as before, possibly even worse. Normally he would just dismiss it and say that, "She is having a bad day," but he couldn't help to feel that these were her true feelings.

'That answers that,' he realized grimly. Barely in a whisper, "I wasn't going to ask," escaped his lips.

However, with Sasuke brooding on his loss to Haku, replaying those events from earlier in his mind, and with Sakura trying to get Sasuke to go on a date, only Kakashi heard the comment.

'Good, that should help improve the team's dynamic,' Kakashi thought, not realizing that it would have the exactly the opposite effect. 'Maybe I'll have my talk with Naruto tonight. He seems to have grown enough to hear this.' With that in mind, Kakashi went back to focusing on his book, relying on his highly developed senses to pick up any possible threats in the area, though there were none.

Naruto walked on silently, pondering this turn of events.

XXXXX

When the team set up camp, Kakashi specifically chose to take first watch along with Naruto, who said nothing to refuse. Sakura jumped up and screamed, "Yatta!" Sasuke just made a grunting noise that sounded vaguely like "hn" before unrolling his sleeping bag. Naruto positioned himself in a tree, clearly lost in thought.

"You're annoying."

The words Sakura spoke earlier still rung through Naruto's mind. 'Always me, always me, well maybe she's the one who's annoying.' Out of the corner of his eye he glared at her coldly as she used a mirror and the light from the fire to fix her hair. 'She's just going to mess it up when she sleeps.' His eyes hardened, then softened again. 'Damn it, why does she have to be so pretty? I'm bad at hating people,' he realized.

Naruto sighed and leaned his head back; he did not know what to think – life was confusing, and his own actions seemed to make it even more so. 'It only makes sense if you don't think about it,' he thought grimly.

He turned to look back at the camp; Sakura was already asleep and Sasuke had fallen asleep long ago. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, though based on the decay of the timber for their campfire, at least half an hour,

It was at this time that Kakashi decided to make his move. "Yo, Naruto, got a minute?"

Naruto did not reply for a moment, instead merely staring out into the darkness, then tilting his head upwards to look at the stars. "I guess."

"It's good that you aren't so loud, but are you feeling okay? Any problems with the seal?" Kakashi sounded so nonchalant and even a tad lethargic, but the meaning of the question was very clear. The unspoken words seemed to reach Naruto on the wind: "Are you a danger?"

"No. No, I just…" Naruto's mouth opened and closed several times as a part of him felt the need to scream out his problems, but would that really get him anywhere? With all the noise he made, even after spending so long on Team Seven he had changed nothing. "Never mind, I'm just feeling a little down, that's all."

Kakashi eyed him skeptically for a moment before nodding. He started utilizing the tree walking ability to move to another location, but stopped for a moment. "You know, orange is not the best color to wear on the field. The basics of a ninja are to hide yourself well. You need to learn to think before you act. Against any other opponent, the most likely outcome at the bridge would have been Sasuke's death. A good shinobi would recognize that scenario as an obvious trap that should have been dismantled both from the inside and the outside." Kakashi then strode off into the darkness, satisfied that his words would finally be able to get through Naruto's carefree shell.

Naruto watched Kakashi's retreating back. The words seemed to play over and over in Naruto's mind. "A good shinobi would recognize… The basics of a ninja are to hide yourself… You need to learn to think before you act… the most likely outcome at the bridge would have been Sasuke's death…"

Naruto scowled as his emotions ran wild. Anger, hurt, confusion, sadness… these emotions and others all fought for dominance over Naruto's heart. A heat seemed to well up from Naruto's stomach until his anger seemed to overcome all the other emotions. With that anger he felt strength. His eyes shut and his fists clenched.

"I didn't think you would freeze like that."

'Kakashi-sensei…'

"Are you alright… scaredy cat?"

'Sasuke…'

"Naruto doesn't understand anything about me, he's just annoying."

'Sakura…'

"Hey, that kid… the only one who failed…"

"Good… We can't have him being a shinobi…"

"You are the demon fox!"

Fiery red orbs snapped open, piercing through the night. Black slits for pupils focused their killing intent out towards the vast emptiness the darkness provided.

Naruto stood then slammed a clenched fist into the tree he was sitting at, shaking it violently and knocking off whole chunks of wood. He jumped down then stalked off into the night.

Over the top of his book, Kakashi merely watched lazily before going back to reading as soon as Naruto was out of sight. He was barely concerned… though he would have been had he caught a glimpse of Naruto's face.

XXXXX

Naruto crashed through the forest, not caring one bit if he scared away animals or attracted other people. Chakra flared about him and his blood red eyes gleamed with hatred that would freeze even a seasoned shinobi. It was… unnatural.

Naruto's fist slammed into a tree, cutting halfway through its trunk. Sap mixed with blood and started to sting. He winced and drew his hand out, eyeing curiously how a strange red chakra was healing his wounds at a prodigious rate. 'Kyuubi…'

Naruto closed his eyes and turned his face towards the stars, opening round blue orbs towards the heavens. Tears streamed down his face. 'Haku, if you saw me now, what would you say? Does power truly come protecting those you love? You died Haku… you died protecting Zabuza. Why?'

Naruto raised a sleeve and wiped away at the tears. 'I don't think I entirely understand you my friend, but you and I are different. I was given this burden and… through my hatred I seem to become strong. Perhaps some day I will understand what it means to protect someone you love, but… for now, I must acquire power.'

"You're a bit off."

'Kakashi-sensei…'

"Who's going to acknowledge you?"

'Mizuki-teme…'

"Dobe."

'Sasuke…'

"Listen Naruto, I'm going to explain it simply. Somehow try to remember it with that slow brain of yours."

'Sakura…'

"YOU FAIL!"

'Iruka-sensei…'

"Monster."

"Demon."

"Why won't he just die?"

Naruto's fists clenched. 'I will become strong! I will acquire power!'

Naruto's right hand shot to his kunai pouch and with it he grabbed a Kunai. His left palm slammed into a tree. Blood splattered everywhere as Naruto impaled his left hand with the kunai in his right. 'I swear by this pain that I will become strong. I swear that I will think through every situation and do what's best for me. Through my hatred for those who hurt me and for all the times I've been hurt, I will become the greatest shinobi ever.'

XXXXX

"Team Seven, report," the old Hokage commanded. Normally, a full report given directly to the Hokage is not necessary to conclude a mission; however, being the first C-rank mission of Team Seven, it was necessary that Kakashi give a formal report in front of his team, demonstrating proper protocol.

Kakashi stepped forward. "During our escort to Nami no Kuni (Wave Country), we encountered two sets of missing-nin both working for the same organization. The first was a pair of chuunin from the Mist known as the 'Demon Brothers,' who after subduing, we left for the ANBU to take in for questioning. We ran into an unexpected complication when Naruto froze during the action and received a poisoned wound to the hand." Sandaime grimaced and Naruto frowned at the remark against him, though neither interrupted.

Kakashi continued, "At first I was going to have the team return to Konoha as the completion of the mission was no longer necessary, but Naruto used his own kunai to extract the poison. I was at first worried that Naruto would pass out or die from blood loss, but the injury he sustained was not as bad as it first appeared." Kakashi lied, and Sandaime right away saw through it, but with the other members of Team Sewven in the room, he was by no means going to reprimand Kakashi; the secret was greater than the value of the information contained in Kakashi's report.

"Though at that point the mission no longer was necessary due to the client lying about the rank of the mission, we continued because of our client's inability to pay for a higher ranking mission combined with the status of Nami no Kuni at that time." Kakashi paused his speech to let the Hokage acknowledge the change in mission parameters. Sandaime puffed on his pipe and then nodded.

Kakashi continued, "After questioning our client about why he lied about the nature of the mission, we discovered that the organization responsible for the attacks on our client was the Gatou Shipping Company, thus we prepared for the possibility of encountering higher level shinobi."

Kakashi opened his mouth to speak more, but this time was interrupted by Sandaime. "And you didn't request for help?"

Kakashi smiled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I did not think help would be given. The most likely outcome would be that you would call us back. We were no longer obligated to continue, and the situation in Wave would have only worsened."

Kakashi waited for Sandaime to nod before continuing with his report. "To avoid detection, we entered Nami no Kuni by means of a row boat. Not long after entering the country we were attacked by the jounin missing-nin Momochi Zabuza of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Zabuza managed to momentarily capture me, but Naruto and Sasuke managed to come up with a plan that freed me, allowing me to finish the battle by defeating Zabuza. Afterwards, a Kiri (Mist) hunter-nin finished Zabuza off using senbon. However, since the hunter-nin did not dispose of the body on the spot, we arrived to the conclusion that the supposed hunter-nin was a fake in league with Zabuza. While recovering from the battle, I trained my team in improved chakra control so that they could help in the upcoming battle. At dawn on the seventh day, the team minus Naruto headed to the bridge."

Sandaime raised an eyebrow. Filling in the answer to the unspoken question, Kakashi hastily added, "Naruto slept in late recovering from training." Sandaime furrowed his brow; standard mission protocol dictated that unless Naruto was badly injured or incapacitated that he would be woken to join his team. Sandaime had the distinct impression that Kakashi regarded Naruto as a wildcard that could either help or hurt the mission.

Kakashi, however, continued in his report, ignoring the unasked questions that played through his leader's head. "When we arrived at the bridge, we found it shrouded by a thick mist and the workmen badly beaten. Zabuza and the hunter-nin, referred to as Haku, walked out of the mist side-by-side, revealing that they truly were working together from the start. Zabuza revealed that Haku observed the first battle to determine the weaknesses of the Sharingan. Haku and Sasuke engaged each other while I focused my attention on Zabuza and Sakura remained as a last defense for Tazuna. Haku was revealed to carry a bloodline limit as he used one-handed seals to freeze water in ice shards."

Sandaime raised his brow again, impressed by Haku's display of chakra control. Indeed, it was possible to perform jutsu with one hand or even no hands at all, but the level of chakra manipulation required to do so would be substantial and impossible for most individuals, including him. In fact the last person Sandaime knew who was able to perform techniques without using his hands was none other than… 'Uchiha Itachi…'

"However," Kakashi continued, only mildly amused with Sandaime's impressed visage, "since Sasuke was able to match Haku in speed, Haku utilized his bloodline to make mirrors of ice, which he traveled between to through senbons at Sasuke. I was unable to help because of Zabuza's presence, but relief came when Naruto arrived, though that relief was somewhat short-lived when Naruto chose to enter the dome of mirrors as well."

Naruto glared angrily at the floor, wanting to speak up to defend himself, but feeling strangely unable. More and more he felt his hatred building until…

"…the seal seemed to weaken." For Naruto, time seemed to stop as he was yet again reminded of the link between himself and that infernal fox. Yet again Naruto realized that his entire life would be held under scrutiny, even long after those around him were on "friendly" terms with him.

As Kakashi spoke those words, he noticed Sandaime's eyes imperceptibly widen and a brief trace of anger flashed in his old, wizened eyes. Kakashi knew he would be reamed out later for even saying that much in the meeting, but he purposely remained aloof, so as to keep his other two subordinates from discovering the truth literally an arms length away.

Sasuke and Sakura of course both looked at him quizzically, but missing Sandaime's expression and ignoring Naruto as per usual, they thought little of it.

In his normal lazy drawl, only slightly more attentive sounding for formality's sake, Kakashi just continued the aloof act. "I decided the end the fight with Zabuza quickly and used summons to pin him in place as I charged a Raikiri (Lightning Edge). A mirror materialized next to Zabuza and Haku stepped out, taking the blow instead. At this point the summons were dispelled due to senbons hitting them, presumably thrown before Haku teleported. Zabuza continued to attack with his sword, but his attacks were wilder and sloppier and I was able to stab both his upper arms, making them useless. At this point the battle was brought to a close as Gatou appeared.

"An army of thugs accompanied Gatou to the bridge with the intent of killing not only us, but Zabuza as well. Gatou then went to defile Haku's remains by kicking his body. At this time, Naruto gave a speech to Zabuza that caused him to take action. Using one of Naruto's kunai, Zabuza attacked the thugs and managed to kill Gatou before he was defeated. The thugs wanted to raid the town to make-up for the loss of income Gatou provided, but the villagers came out and backed us, driving away the thugs without anymore casualties being had. Haku and Zabuza were then buried on top of a hill over-looking the village. Shortly after, the bridge was completed and we left to return to Konoha without incident," Kakashi concluded.

The Sandaime's normally sharp eyes seemed to glaze over for a second as he was lost in thought. Suddenly, his eyes sharpened again and met Kakashi's. "Very well, good work Team Seven. Dismissed."

Sasuke just turned and walked off, planning his training regimen. Sakura turned to follow him and glanced back at Kakashi and Sandaime once before chasing after him. Kakashi disappeared with an audible "poof," heading to the bookstore to purchase the latest of the Icha Icha series, which he had yet to lay his fingers on. But it was none of these actions that concerned Sandaime.

What concerned Sandaime was the look of loneliness in Naruto's eyes as he raised them from the floor to meet Sandaime's own eyes. Sandaime's old face softened. He was Sarutobi, known throughout the shinobi world as Sandaime Hokage, "the Professor," and even hailed as the "God of Shinobi," felt at a loss as he was again reminded of his greatest failing yet – greater even than failing to kill Orochimaru when he had the chance.

XXXXX

AN: In this chapter, I both character bashed the other members of Team 7 yet I managed to keep them very close to canon via dropping in actual quotes out of context. For instance, Kakashi said, "The basics of a ninja are to hide yourself well," during the bell test.

And yes, "WAAAAAAAAAH," was an actual Sakura line in canon. God I hate part 1 Sakura. Part 2 Sakura is actually good and I do like her, but I truly hate part 1 Sakura. I also hate how Kishi didn't show us enough to justify her development as a character between parts 1 and 2.

Naruto's characterization has changed dramatically. He's going to start being more introspective. He's going to try to think before he acts. He's going to start drawing power from hatred.

He's not going to be an angsty emo kid like Sasuke already is. No, Naruto still loves people, but from now on, he inherently distrusts people he's not familiar with. Also, his hatred is going to get channeled into his training and his desire for power. He will go much further, even consciously turning to Kyuubi before he ever meets Jiraiya.

Naruto's pairing has already been CHOSEN. I will gladly take romantic criticism but I will ignore anyone who tries to convince me to change the pairing. The pairing is non-negotiable. For the time being, I want that pairing to remain a surprise. Though, I will say this, it's an uncommon pairing, but not FemKyu (that's my favorite fanon pairing so I felt I had to clarify).

XXXXX

If all goes well, I intend for this story to be part 1 of a 3 part series. This part, Path of Hatred, follows the canon part 1 plotline fairly closely in terms of arcs, with the major difference being in Naruto's characterization. This part will end after the Sasuke retrieval arc.

Should I choose to continue this story afterwards, Part 2 will be called "Path of Revenge." It will actually be Sasuke-centric (gasp!), though I may end up splitting "screen time" between Sasuke and Naruto. I know a lot of you out there hate Sasuke, but don't hold it against me that Sasuke will be the "star" of part 2 – he will NOT be a good guy. Naruto in this story isn't all lovey-dovey and so he doesn't have that influence on Sasuke that Orochimaru was talking about in canon.

In other words, the lead character of part 2 would be a bad guy.

Part 3's name is undecided but it will most likely be "Path of the Shinobi," though I may ditch the whole "Path of" deal and just call it "The Shinobi Way." Part 3 would be a mix of Naruto-centric and Konohamaru-centric.

So, if I see this project through in its entirety, you'll see a trend from light to dark to light again as is the case in most trilogies (LotR and Star Wars would be obvious examples).