A/N: After much deliberation, I've finally decided to write my own Naruto story. This is an AU story featuring what Naruto's life would be like had both his parents lived. As I continue this story, you'll more than likely see some of the changes I've put into this story. I'm open to suggestions for later chapter improvements. But other than that, this story is much different than most like this that I've seen. So here goes.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any places or characters thereto. Naruto and all its components are copyright Shonen Jump and Masashi Kishimoto. All rights reserved.

Naruto: The Life That Could Have Been

Chapter 1

Twelve years ago, the Village Hidden in the Leaves or Konohagakure no Sato was attacked by a giant demon known as the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The damage it caused was disastrous and so many of the village's shinobi were lost fighting it. The greatest shinobi of their village, the fourth Hokage, had planned to seal away the demon within his own son using a unique and powerful jutsu. Instead, however, the former third Hokage prevented him from doing so and sealed the demon within the fourth Hokage's son himself.

Shortly after that fateful tragedy, the fourth Hokage revealed the secret of the jutsu to the entire village and made it his law that his son whether having the Kyuubi sealed within him or not, would be the living legacy of what the Third had left behind. Time passed, and like all children the boy grew. The said boy had now been seen running through his village with a big grin on his face after achieving the greatest thing in his life.

"NARUTO!!!"

"COME BACK HERE!!!"

"When I get my hands on you…!"

The boy had laughed very loudly as he continued to run from his pursuers while carrying a bucket of yellow paint. His name was Naruto Uzumaki and the local prankster of the entire village. It was no secret that he loved to pull pranks; it was one of his hobbies that helped him in his shinobi training, much to the disappointment of his parents. In the Hokage's office, the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze was busy signing a document when a Jounin from the village interrupted him.

"Hokage-sama, you must come quickly!"

Minato sighed as he rubbed his temples. "Don't tell me; it's Naruto again, right?"

"I'm afraid so."

Minato took a deep breath and sighed. "I'll find out what he did from, you-know-who; she's bound to find him anyway."

Meanwhile, Naruto continued to evade his pursuers and finally managed to hide himself using a camouflage tarp at a wooden fence. Watching them continue to look for him, he grinned and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Ha! Losers, they couldn't find me in a million years!" Naruto said triumphantly.

"They might not Naruto," A feminine voice said, causing the boy to pale. "But that doesn't mean that I can't."

Naruto couldn't help but be frightened of this person; because when he slowly turned around, he saw the one person he feared the most standing behind him. She was tall, wore almost the same kind of outfit he wore but it was more…shall we say…revealing in some areas; her red hair was long and almost framed her oval face where a pair of blue eyes, much like his stared back at him with a look of mirth, playfulness, and anger rolled in one. Her name was Kushina Uzumaki, his mother.

With a nervous laugh, he raised his hand up next to his head. "Uh…heh, heh…Hi mom!"

Almost immediately she was in his face. "DON'T YOU 'HI MOM' ME, NARUTO UZUMAKI!!!" She yelled causing the boy to fall onto his behind. "You've got some nerve pulling what you just did!"

"Aww, c'mon mom! You gotta admit it was pretty funny!"

Kushina glared at her son. "Painting the Hokage Mountain? I find that hardly funny Naruto!" She exclaimed. "Do you know what that's called Naruto?" After getting no answer, she finished. "That is called Vandalism, kiddo! You're just lucky your mother isn't part of the ANBU Black Ops, otherwise I'd send ya straight to prison."

Naruto went as pale as a ghost when she said that. "Y-y-y-y-you don't mean that do you!?"

Seeing her son like that, Kushina's attitude softened a bit. "I am merely stating a fact Naruto, no need to worry about that." Seeing him relax, her glare returned. "But even so, it was uncalled for! Therefore, your punishment will be to, after school, scrub off every last bit of paint on the mountain!"

"What!?" Naruto blanched. "But mom that could take all night!"

"Not if you don't slack-off, Naruto!" She shot back pointing a finger at him before straightening her stance. "I'll have Iruka-kun supervise you while you work. And I don't want you coming home until every last pigment of paint is off of that mountain, is that clear?"

Naruto's face fell and he grumbled, "Yes mom."

"What was that?" She said bringing her ear closer. "I couldn't hear you."

"Yes mom." Naruto said, a little louder.

Kushina grinned and stood up. "Good," She then grabbed her son's ear. "Now come on, you're going straight back to class!"

"OW! That hurts mom!"

Minato sighed as Kushina had told him what their son had done. It was no surprise that his son was a genius when it came to pulling pranks and evading capture from even the most skilled Jounin. After Kushina had dropped-off Naruto back at the academy, she went to his office and told him what he did and what his punishment was. He had to admit it was a fitting punishment, but then again Naruto was still twelve years old.

"Don't you think you were a little hard on him, Kushina-chan?" Minato said as he stared out the window of his office towards the village.

"No way, Minato," She replied as she stood next to him. "He brought this on himself." She then let out a frustrated sigh. "I swear though, that boy is nothing but trouble. I'm just glad his sister isn't like that."

"Not yet anyway." Minato quipped with a grin but it faltered when she glared at him. "Still, painting the mountain?" He had a perplexed look on his face when he echoed those exact words.

"That's right;" She nodded. "From the Shodaime, all the way to you." She then let out a little laugh. "You should've seen what he put on your face."

Minato fumed and said, "It's not that funny Kushina."

She grinned at him. "Maybe, but it was still funny."

Minato had a grin of his own when he suddenly grabbed her in his arms and swung her down where they were about a meter above the floor. "You're lucky I love you so much, Kushina Uzumaki."

Snapping out of her startled look, she grinned back at him. "If you didn't you wouldn't have married me, Minato Namikaze." She said in a sultry voice.

The two of them kissed briefly before Minato brought her back to her feet. "Still, it was a little harsh on him. And don't forget, his exams are tomorrow and he'll need all the rest he can get."

"Well I have Iruka-kun supervising him."

"Like that's gonna help?"

"Then what do you suggest?" He gave her a look and she knew exactly what he was thinking. "Oh no, no, no, no, no! Don't even think about it."

"C'mon, Kushina; when was the last time we ate out as a family?"

Kushina had no answer to that; Naruto didn't deserve this after pulling what he did. But then again, like Minato said he needed all the rest he could get for his Genin exams the following day. She also knew that if there was one thing that would always motivate her son, was a bowl of steaming hot ramen from Ichiraku's.

She sighed in defeat. "Alright, we'll go to Ichiraku's when he gets done."

"Great!" Minato exclaimed. "Make sure you take Yukina and meet us there."

She nodded but stopped. "Wait a minute, 'us'?" She echoed looking at him.

"I'll go tell him and pick him up, OK?"

She reluctantly nodded. "Alright," She then scowled. "But he better get every last bit of paint off."

While his parents were talking about him, Naruto was back at the academy. After being effectively returned to class, courtesy of his mother, the class had been told they were to repeat doing the transformation jutsu, much to their dismay. At the moment, they were all lined up and at the moment, a girl with pink hair named Sakura Haruno stood at the head of the classroom. She had her hands in a two-handed hand seal.

With a cry of 'henge' she transformed into a perfect copy of Iruka Umino, the class instructor.

"Very good, Sakura." Iruka said marking her score.

Sakura changed back with a look of triumph on her face. "Did you see that Sasuke-kun?" She cheerfully asked a black-haired boy in front of her.

"Next, Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka called, and the boy Sakura referred to stepped forward.

Naruto was still grumbling at the fact that he got caught; by his own mother for that matter. He was also still grumbling at the fact that he had to clean all that paint he used on the Hokage Mountain with Iruka-sensei as his babysitter. Still, he had a surprise waiting for Iruka-sensei.

Speaking of whom, at the moment he just wrote down Sasuke's score after he had also used a transformation jutsu perfectly. He then turned to Naruto. "OK, next up Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto walked up to the front of the class. Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched by only one of the girls in the class; a pale-eyed, blue-haired girl named Hinata Hyuuga. She was poking her index fingers together and watched him with a slight blush on her cheeks.

'Naruto-kun, ganbatte.'

Naruto put his hands together in the necessary hand seal and cried out, "Henge!"

When the smoke cleared, instead of a copy of Iruka Naruto turned himself into a girl with his blonde hair except in pig-tails and the same whisker marks on her cheeks. But the most significant part of this transformation…was the fact that she was stark naked and looking at Iruka with a sultry stare. It was too much for Iruka as he was flown backwards after the blood in his nose erupted like a volcano.

Naruto changed back and was laughing up a storm. "HA, ha, gotcha! That was my Oiroke no jutsu!"

Iruka, after recovering and putting some tissue into both his nostrils, yelled to Naruto. "CUT THE STUPID TRICKS!!! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!!!"

Later that day, Naruto stood on a gangplank against one of the faces on the Hokage Mountain, scrubbing away at the paint he had used for his prank. On top of the head of the face, Iruka stood there watching him. All the while, Naruto was grumbling about how unfair his mom had been making him do this.

"Man, this stinks." Naruto gripped as he stroked more of the paint off the rock.

"I don't wanna hear it, Naruto." Iruka called down. "Your mother said every last bit of paint."

"Yeah, I remember!" Naruto called back up.

Iruka shook his head almost in frustration. While he didn't show it, he had taken a liking to the boy when he started at the academy. He remembered the night the Kyuubi attacked and remembered he was taken to the hospital to be treated for his wounds. It was there he met the boy for the first time when he was a baby. When Naruto became his student, he often got permission to take Naruto out to Ichiraku's ramen where they would be joined by the rest of his family. It was no secret that Naruto looked up to him as much as he looked up to his father; and Iruka saw himself as an adoptive older brother to both him and his sister.

But at the moment he was Naruto's teacher and was also responsible for watching him as he cleaned the mountain. He was about to suggest to Naruto that he would take him to Ichiraku's before he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw that the hand belonged to none other than the Yondaime himself! Standing up straight, he almost knelt down for respect.

"I'll take over from here, Iruka." Minato said as he flashed Iruka a smile. "You can go home now."

Iruka nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Minato then looked down and saw his son, still scrubbing away at the paint. He then took a moment to take a look at each of the faces of the Hokages depicted on the mountain and couldn't help but chuckle. Despite some of his poor grades in the academy, Naruto was a genius when came to pulling pranks; and this, by far, had to be his best. Still, Naruto was still working hard and that was all that counts.

"Oi, Naruto!" Minato called down to his son, causing the boy to pause in his work and look up passively.

"Oh, hi dad; you hear to scold me too?" Naruto called back up as he continued his work.

Minato chuckled and replied, "No, Naruto, I'm not here to scold you." He then grinned. "But I gotta admit, that was pretty good artwork there kiddo." He said, being granted a laugh from his son. "When you get done, your mother and sister will meet us at Ichiraku's; how's that sound?"

That caused Naruto to look up at his father with a look of pure excitement on his face. "You mean it, dad!?"

"Have I ever broken a promise to you?" Minato replied with another grin.

His son looked back at him with the same grin and went back to work, this time with much more intensity. "Alright! Now that's a good motivator!"

Later that evening, after much effort, Naruto managed to clean off the mountain and went with his father and indeed, met his mother and sister, Yukina Uzumaki, at their favorite restaurant, Ichiraku's Ramen. If there was one food that the entire family always sat down to eat to, it was ramen. Tonight was no exception; since it was Naruto's reward for following through with his punishment, much to his mother's reluctance.

Naruto sat in between his sister and father while he slurped up the noodles from his bowl. Yukina had their mother's looks, but she was more like her father; calm, collected, and reasonable. She did have a few of her mother's personality traits and she also loved both her parents. Her choice in clothing was more of her favorite colors, red and blue. Her outfit reminded Naruto of Ino Yamanaka's, a classmate of his and her outfit. If there was one person Naruto loved to tease, it was her.

"Ne, Onii-chan," Yukina said as she swallowed a bunch of noodles. "Is it true that you painted the Hokage Mountain?"

Naruto swallowed his noodles and looked at his sister with his patented fox-like grin. "Ha, you betcha, Yukina-chan! You should've seen it!"

Yukina giggled, while Naruto's parents shook their heads and rolled their eyes. Kushina then turned to her son.

"Seriously, Naruto," She said. "What possessed you to do that in the first place?"

Naruto slurped up another group of noodles and looked at her. "Well, ya see mom; I just wanted to make my final prank before I graduate a good one."

"I hope it's your final prank, Naruto," Minato said as he looked at him. "Do you have any idea on the kind of heart attack you can give to your old man?"

"Sorry, dad," Naruto said sheepishly. "But, I just know I'll graduate tomorrow. That's why I wanted to make this prank a good one; after all, I'm also aiming to be Hokage one day, just like you."

"We heard this before, Onii-chan." Yukina said flatly after she swallowed another group of noodles.

"I know, sis," Naruto almost snapped back with an annoyed look. "But this is my way of saying that I'll be greater than any of the Hokages." He then pointed his chopsticks at Minato. "That includes you, dad!"

Minato chuckled and Kushina gave her son a look. "Well I hope you do pass tomorrow Naruto. This will be your third try after all; and you know your father and I can't afford to keep putting you through the Academy."

Naruto looked at Kushina with his famous grin again. "Don't worry, mom; this time I'll pass for sure! And when I do, I'll work as hard as I can to become Hokage!"

This brought a proud smile on both his parents' faces. If there was one thing they knew their son was good at, it was working hard. Yukina also smiled at her brother and then gave him a brief hug.

"I just know you'll make it this time, Onii-chan!"

"Thanks, Yukina," Naruto said ruffling his sister's hair. "That's all the encouragement I need."

The next day came and already Naruto was psyched to pass. However, he was in for quite a disappointment.

"Well class, this is it." Iruka announced as he stood in front of the Genin hopefuls. "Today for your final exam, we'll be going over the bunshin no jutsu."

Immediately Naruto paled and lowered his head in fright. 'Oh man, anything but that jutsu! That's my worst one yet!'

About an hour later, after most of his other classmates had done their turn with Iruka and Mizuki as their judges, Naruto stood in front of the two teachers as they sat behind a desk that had a couple of rows of their village's hitai-ate. The hitai-ate of a hidden village carries the symbol of the village to show strangers their village of origin. For Konoha, their village's symbol was that of a spiral leaf. To say Naruto was nervous would be an understatement.

Ever since he started training to become a shinobi of the village, he always had trouble with just one jutsu: the Bunshin no Jutsu or clone technique. Each time Naruto tried it, the clone would appear very sickly and goofy looking; it was the main reason Naruto had failed the Genin exams twice already. So Naruto was more than nervous, he was shaking in his sandals!

"Ok, Naruto," Iruka said as he looked at Naruto. "Whenever you're ready."

Naruto nodded and brought his hands together in a hand seal. He closed his eyes and concentrated, letting his chakra to focus on the task at hand. He then opened his eyes as he felt his chakra ready for his control.

"Bunshin no jutsu!" He cried and shortly after, a puff of smoke appeared next to him.

When the smoke cleared, a figure sprawled on the ground replaced the smoke. Now the bunshin no jutsu, if used correctly, would help confuse an enemy by creating a perfect copy of the user. The copy would move the same way as the user, but it would not be as solid as the real thing. Naruto's version wouldn't even be considered a 'perfect copy'! He created the copy, but it looked very sickly and pale; not to mention goofy looking.

Naruto looked panicked as he looked at the poor excuse of a clone. If there was one thing he could never get right, it was this jutsu. He had managed to perfect his henge no jutsu without any problem; it was this basic jutsu he always had problems with. Even his parents couldn't understand how he couldn't create a good clone. When he took a look at Iruka-sensei, he knew he was in for it now.

"YOU FAIL!" Iruka shouted. "Now get rid of that thing!"

"Now just a second, Iruka," The other teacher, Mizuki, said. "Naruto's moves were impressive and he did manage to create a clone. This is his third try and maybe this time we could give him a break and pass him." He suggested giving Naruto a hopeful look on his face; but it wouldn't last.

"No, Mizuki," Iruka said, shaking his head. "The other students have managed to create three perfect clones each. Naruto managed to only create one and look at it; I wouldn't even consider it a clone. Therefore, he can't pass."

Naruto just stared angrily at Iruka, not believing what he was hearing. He tried so hard to pass this year's exam; and again he failed because of one simple jutsu. It frustrated him to no end that his favorite teacher, again, denied him of his next step to becoming hokage.

Later, the newly graduated class all met with their parents and guardians proudly showing off their new hitai-ate to them. Minato smiled with pride as he saw all these bright new faces of the new graduates; they would soon pass one final test before becoming apart of this village's protectors and be on their way to becoming great shinobi. But his smile turned into a frown as he didn't see the face he was looking for, his son's. The said boy was sitting in the only swing a few meters away from the crowd of parents and kids with a glum look on his face. In the crowd a couple of women spotted the boy and looked at him with looks of pity.

"Look, it's Naruto." The first one whispered.

"I heard he was the only one who didn't pass." The other whispered back. "Do you think it's because people still think of him as…"

"Shh! We're not supposed to talk about that!" The first whispered frantically, interrupting the other.

Minato couldn't help but overhear and look at his son. He could just see it in his eyes that Naruto didn't want to face him right now. Sighing, Minato turned to see Iruka standing next to him also looking at Naruto with a frown that had both the look of disappointment and shame; the same frown he wore. He looked back to see Kushina coming up the school grounds wearing an expectant smile; she was obviously hoping to hear that Naruto had passed. When she entered the school gate, however, she saw Naruto where he was when he failed the first two times and her smile turned into a shocked frown. She then went over to Minato and the look in each other's eyes said the same thing.

"Iruka," Minato said, turning to the young Chuunin. "We'll need to talk to you later."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Iruka nodded before they all turned to see the swing now empty.

"Where'd he go?" Kushina inquired as she looked around to find Naruto. Before she could go look for him, Minato placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Let him go, Kushina," Minato said with a slight frown. "He needs to blow off some steam."

"Iruka, why didn't he pass?" Kushina asked her son's teacher. The look on his face told her what she needed to know. "It was the bunshin jutsu again?" Iruka nodded in affirmation. She let out a frustrated sigh. "Kuso, I don't get it; out of all the basic ninja techniques he always has trouble with that one."

"He did try, but it just didn't come out quite the way we expected it to be." Iruka said looking at his favorite student's parents.

Kushina looked at Minato. "You don't think it has something to do with…that, do you?" She asked trying to avoid what she was trying to say but her husband knew what she was talking about.

"It's possible," He said looking at the swing where their son was. "But I may have an idea…"

Meanwhile, while his parents spoke with his teacher, Naruto was with his other teacher, Mizuki, on a rooftop of an apartment building.

"You know that Iruka wasn't being mean, Naruto." Mizuki said after Naruto complained why he didn't pass.

"Then why does he have to pick on me all the time?" Naruto complained again.

Mizuki turned to Naruto. "He just wants you to succeed as much as any teacher would. He also wants to make your parents proud of you; especially your father."

"But I really wanted to graduate." Naruto said, his voice almost faltering. "Now I can't go home and tell Yukina-chan that her onii-chan graduated."

Mizuki chuckles slightly, finally telling Naruto, "Well then, I think I may know something that can help."

Naruto looks at him expectantly as Mizuki starts to explain.

Later that night, Yukina was watching the front door expectantly as she wiped a plate clean with a rag. It had been two hours since school came to a close and she was getting a little worried about her big brother. She had been told that he needed to be alone for a while and she could only assume why. She might have been four of years younger than him, but even she knew when her brother has had a bad day.

"Yukina-chan," Kushina's voice broke her out of her reverie and she looked at her. "You can put the plate back now."

"Hai, Okaa-san." Yukina nodded as she walked to a cupboard and put the plate in it. She then looks at Kushina. "Okaa-san, when do you think Onii-chan will be home?"

Kushina smiles slightly, she was glad that her daughter was a little naïve unlike her brother. "I'm sure he'll be home soon, Yukina-chan."

"I hope so." Yukina replied, her face solemn before she went back to her chores.

Kushina looked from the kitchen to the window towards the Hokage Mountain. She was also beginning to worry about Naruto. It had been a couple of hours since she saw him completely depressed at the academy and he wasn't home yet. It made her wonder if he was too ashamed to come home and face his family for letting him down. If he was, then he might be out for a long while.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock at the front door. She told Yukina to finish her chores and be ready to make dinner before walking to the door and opening it. She was surprised to see Iruka standing there and almost out of breath.

"Iruka-kun, what's wrong?" She said with concern etching out of her voice.

"It's Naruto," He said through a pant, catching her immediate attention. "He's…"

"Stolen a forbidden scroll!?!" A jounin exclaimed amongst the many gathered ninja in front of Minato; almost immediately after the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves.

"That's exactly what has been reported." Minato said calmly, his face stern. "Now I know what many of you are thinking; but right now we need to know the reason why Naruto took that scroll. So I want him brought back here in one piece!"

With a chorus of 'hai' the assembled ninja dispersed in separate directions looking for the blonde troublemaker of a son of his. While they went searching for him, Minato kept contemplating on one thing; what possessed Naruto into stealing a forbidden scroll? He knew he was upset that he didn't graduate with the rest of the class, but he didn't think Naruto would pull something like this!

'Naruto, what are you going to do with that scroll?' He asked himself as he looked up at the starry sky.

The said blonde sat on the ground near an abandoned cabin reading the scroll. After Mizuki had told him about the scroll, he gave him instructions on how to get it and where to bring it. Naruto, wanting nothing more than to do whatever it takes to become a ninja, followed those instructions and took the scroll from the Hokage Tower. He would've left a note explaining to his father the reasons why he took it and that he would return it, but he would've gotten into more trouble for that, considering Mizuki told him to keep it secret.

"Let's see," Naruto mused as he read the scroll. "'Kage bunshin no jutsu?'" He then let out a groan. "Aww man, I suck at this!"

Back in the village, Kushina, after hearing the events from Iruka immediately shot out of her home to look for her son. She was more than mad right now, she was absolutely furious! She knew that Naruto was upset for not being able to pass, but she never expected him to pull something like this.

'When I get my hands on that son of mine…' She seethed in her mind. 'Painting the Hokage Mountain is one thing, but stealing?!'

Elsewhere in the village, Mizuki was triumphing over Naruto's naïve personality. The boy actually believed that Iruka would graduate him if he used a move from that scroll he told Naruto to 'borrow'. What Naruto, or the rest of the village, didn't know was that Mizuki was going to take the scroll for himself and flee the village. It's not like anyone besides his family would miss the boy anyway.

Naruto, after working on the new jutsu he read on the scroll, was now sprawled on the ground completely exhausted from trying it out. It took him a few tries, but he got the jutsu right and now all he had to do was to show it to Iruka and he'd graduate just like Mizuki said. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard footsteps; wary on thinking it maybe his mother, Naruto sat upright only to see Iruka standing that sneering at him.

"Naruto…" He nearly growled, with his eyebrow twitching.

Naruto put his hand behind his head and laughed nervously before jumping up with the biggest grin imaginable. "Aww, I got caught; and I only learned one technique too."

This confused Iruka; Naruto stole the forbidden scroll to learn techniques? Not to mention he practiced there until he was worn-out?

"Ne, Iruka-sensei, I'm gonna show you a great jutsu so please let me graduate if I do it!" Naruto said excitedly. "If I show you a technique from this scroll I can graduate, right?"

"Huh?" Iruka was perplexed by that statement. "Who told you that, Naruto?"

"Mizuki-sensei did." Naruto answered. "He told me about this place and this scroll."

'Mizuki!?' Iruka thought incredulously as everything began to piece together. Mizuki used Naruto and tricked him into believing that Iruka would graduate him from learning a technique from the scroll. The question was, why? Iruka's thoughts were interrupted as he heard something coming.

Elsewhere in the forest, Kushina leapt from tree branches following Iruka's trail. Like him, she had a gut feeling she would find Naruto somewhere around here. When she was about to jump from another tree branch, she heard the faint sounds of sharp weapons striking something made of wood not too far away. With her mother instincts taking over, she increased her speed towards the cabin ahead.

'Oh Kami-sama, I hope that Naruto isn't in danger.' She thought fearfully as she stopped on a tree branch to see a sight she wasn't expecting.

Instead of seeing Naruto riddled with shuriken or kunai, it was Iruka, who was now pinned to the wall of the cabin. Opposite from him was Mizuki, who was grinning very maliciously. Naruto, on the other hand was looking from one teacher to the other in utter confusion and fear.

'What the hell is going on here?' Kushina thought as she approached the scene very quietly and hid behind a large tree.

"I'm surprised you found this place, Iruka." Mizuki said with a sneer.

"So that's how it is," Iruka said through the pain of the kunai embedded in his body.

"Naruto, hand over that scroll." Mizuki said again, this time in a sly tone.

"H-hey, w-what's going on here?" Naruto stuttered.

"Naruto, don't let him get the scroll no matter what!" Iruka yelled as he pulled a kunai out of his body. "It's a dangerous scroll that contains forbidden jutsus." What Iruka said next was what really broke the camel's back. "Mizuki used you so that he could get a hold of it!"

Kushina clenched her fists in anger hearing this revelation. 'That bastard! He tricked Naruto! That's why he stole the scroll, because Mizuki told him to! And Naruto believed him because he was a teacher, someone he could trust! When I get my hands on him…'

"Naruto, Iruka is afraid of you from obtaining that scroll." Mizuki said with a sicklier, suave tone.

Kushina could see Naruto tense and knew what was coming. 'Oh no…'

"What are you talking about, Mizuki!?" Iruka yelled before turning to Naruto. "Naruto, don't listen to him!"

Mizuki then laughed. "You want to know the truth, Naruto?"

Kushina's eyes widened in fear. 'He's going to tell Naruto! I have to stop him!' She then pulled out a kunai and got ready to leap into the fray.

"No, Don't!" Iruka shouted frantically.

"What truth?!" Naruto cried, not understanding anything.

"Why…" Mizuki began but was interrupted by the shrill voice of Kushina.

"DAME!!!" Everyone's eyes turned to see her charging at Mizuki. "Shut your yap, Mizuki!"

Before she could get any further, Mizuki threw several kunai at her. She tried blocking a few of them but Mizuki threw more and they ended up hitting her and pinning her to a tree.

"OKAA-SAN!!!" Naruto shouted in fear, watching his mother get hit.

"How nice of you to join us, Kushina-sama.' Mizuki said with a cold mirth in his voice, while emphasizing the formality he gave her with almost utter disgust.

"Mom!" Naruto cried again as he ran to her side. "Are you okay?"

Kushina looked at her son with a grin, but it almost got overshadowed by her pain. "I'll be alright, Naruto," She said before she winced again, causing Naruto to worry. "I'm just glad you're safe."

"Well, isn't that sweet…" Mizuki quipped again with sarcasm in his voice. "…It almost pains me to want to kill you, Naruto." Mizuki's grin returned. "But then again, it'll be nice to have your mother see your reaction when I tell you the truth."

"What truth?" Naruto cried out again.

"Don't listen to him, Naruto!" Kushina snapped fighting back the pain she was enduring.

"The boy has the right to know, Kushina-sama." Mizuki said again with a shrug. "He's bound to find out sooner or later, so I might as well be the one to tell him."

"Tell me what!?" Naruto shouted, almost impatiently.

"You see, Naruto, a rule was made after the incident that occurred 12 years ago; a rule that only you weren't allowed to know." Mizuki began to explain with his sneer returning.

"Only me? What rule was that?" Naruto asked, his voice almost wavering.

"Stop, Mizuki!" Iruka shouted to no avail.

"Urusai!" Kushina added her protest, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

"It was a rule that said that you…are a demon fox." Mizuki said with an even more sinister grin.

Naruto's eyes widened when Mizuki said that, Kushina on the other hand felt the tears that formed in the corners of her eyes run down her cheeks as she winced hearing this.

"In other words, you're the Kyuubi no Kitsune that killed Iruka's parents and nearly destroyed our village." Mizuki finished with his grin growing more as he reveled in Naruto's reaction.

"STOP IT!!!" Iruka shouted, trying to fight back the pain he was feeling.

For Naruto, it all made sense now. For as long as he could remember, he could see looks of fear, hatred, and cold stares directed at him. Every year on his birthday, when he would go out on his own, there would always be one drunken villager or another trying to kill him for reasons he could not understand. He always remembered having to clutch his mother's hands in fear as they directed those hateful stares at him while she returned them with even greater pity. It also explained why all the friends he's tried to make were always forced away from him and why Yukina would always come home crying after hearing people make fun of him in front of her. All these years, Naruto wondered why all of this happened to him and now here Mizuki was telling him the reason why.

"The village and your parents have kept this a secret from you." Mizuki continued. "Why do you think some people stared at you the way they did? Didn't you ever felt that it was weird that every parent tried to keep their children away from you?"

Naruto cursed as he felt his chakra surge through him. Kushina couldn't believe her ears; Mizuki was telling Naruto the 'abridged' version of why Naruto was hated by some of the villagers. It was true Naruto had a hard time making friends, considering the more fearful mothers worried that Naruto might hurt them; but she knew that there were some who thought differently. The tears that had been forming had begun to flow even faster for every word Mizuki spoke; it pained her worse than what these kunai were doing to her.

"No one will ever recognize you! Even Iruka hates you!" Mizuki shouted with glee seeing Naruto like this. But he decided to add more pain to Naruto's life. "Hell, I bet your own mother can't stand you anymore."

That struck a chord in Kushina as her eyes snapped open and she clenched her fists fighting back all the pain she endured from the Kunai. That was, by far, the biggest mistake Mizuki had done that night; tricking Naruto to steal a forbidden scroll was one thing, telling Naruto why some of the villagers hated her son was no problem, but to say she felt the same way as those idiotic villagers was the biggest lie Mizuki could EVER make up. She then saw that Mizuki was getting ready to throw one of the big shuriken he carried on his back.

"Die, Naruto!" Mizuki shouted as he threw it at the boy.

"Naruto, look out!" Iruka shouted as he watched as Naruto tried to get away from it.

At the sound of metal hitting flesh, Mizuki, Iruka, and Naruto were shocked to see Kushina hovering over her son with the shuriken sticking out of her back. Naruto felt the tears that had welled up in his eyes begin to flow down his cheeks. He then felt even more warm liquid as his mother coughed up blood and the droplets splashed his face.

"O-okaa-san…" Naruto choked as he saw his mother's pained face looking at him with sadness and shame. "W-why?"

Through her pain, Kushina managed to choke out her own words. "Because…you're my son." Naruto's eyes widened even more. "It's a mother's duty…to protect her child…no matter the cost." She coughed again as her tears continued to flow. "I'm so sorry, Naruto." She sobbed. "Had your father and I known this was going to happen, we would've done something about it."

Mizuki was amused at the scene. "Don't make me laugh! Your parents can't stand you for everything you put them through! She and Iruka just want the scroll back!"

Kushina was about to yell a retort at Mizuki, but Naruto suddenly dashed off!

"NARUTO!!!" She cried as she tried to reach out towards him.

Mizuki leapt down to where she and Iruka were and sneered at them. "Naruto isn't the type to change his mind, you know that. He's going to take his revenge on the village using that scroll."

"Shut up…" Kushina said in a low whisper as she pulled the shuriken from her back. "You don't know a damn thing…"

"You saw it in his eyes didn't you, the eyes of a demon fox?" Mizuki continued to chide.

"I said SHUT UP!!!!" Kushina yelled as she threw the shuriken back at Mizuki, who simply side-stepped the weapon as Kushina fell to the ground, where Iruka went to her side.

"As long as I kill Naruto and take the scroll I'll be fine." Mizuki said with an arrogant smirk. "I'll take care of you two later." He then dashed off after Naruto.

"No!" Kushina said as she tried getting up but winced in pain.

"Kushina-sama, you shouldn't push yourself!" Iruka exclaimed with worried eyes.

"I don't care right now, Iruka." Kushina said looking at Mizuki's back. "Right now we have to stop Mizuki from brainwashing Naruto any further before he kills him!"

Back in Konoha, Minato could only watch from the window of the Hokage's office as he looked at the village. He was still wondering what possessed Naruto into stealing the forbidden scroll in the first place. He knew that Naruto wasn't that unstable; someone must've forced Naruto into stealing it.

'Naruto, just what are you doing with that scroll now son?' Minato thought as he looked up at the moon.

Back in the forest, Naruto leapt from tree to tree trying to avoid all three grown-ups from coming after him. It didn't last long as he saw Iruka catch up to him.

"Naruto, what Mizuki said back there was a lie! You know your parents aren't like that! Hand the scroll over to me! Mizuki is after it!" He cried out, but Naruto suddenly changed his direction, body slammed 'Iruka' down to the ground.

After he did so, Naruto took the scroll off of his back and set it down next to him as he sat down against a tree. 'Iruka' panted after feeling the air rush out of him from having that attack hit him. He then scowled at Naruto.

"How…" He began before transforming back into Mizuki. "How did you know I wasn't Iruka?"

'Naruto' grinned lopsidedly and transformed into Iruka and the scroll next to him transformed into Kushina just as he said, "Because I'm Iruka."

Mizuki continued to scowl at the both of them. "Why do you two bother protecting that…thing?!" He spat looking at each of them individually. "You Iruka, he killed your parents! And you, Kushina-sama, how can you even consider that boy your son!?"

"I was like Naruto when I was younger, so I know what it's like for him to grow up without friends!" Iruka shouted before clutching his leg in pain.

"You're protecting that demon…" Mizuki was going to finish when he heard Kushina snap.

"My son is not a demon!" That caused the real Naruto to peak round the tree he was hiding in and both Iruka and Mizuki looked at her.

"Don't you get frustrated with all the trouble he causes, Kushina? After all, he does put you and dear Hokage-sama through a lot of complaints." Mizuki snapped, emphasizing Minato's title.

Kushina looked down. "It's true, Naruto does drive me and Minato up a wall…" With that said, Naruto hid himself again letting his tears well up. "He frustrates me to no end so much that I don't even know what to do with him." She continued to say before grinning. "But then again, I was also like him." That caused Naruto to stop crying and listen. "I used to be like my son; always getting into trouble and driving people to the point where they might pull their hair out of their heads…" She nearly laughed at the memories of her childhood. "But then, that's why…" She looked up to the sky. "That's how I know that he's my son; because he was just like me more than his father."

Hearing this stunning revelation from his own mother, Naruto couldn't help but to understand his hereditary more. It explained why his mother was so strict with him; why she always scolded him for the pranks he pulls and never for getting a mistake in his training. In fact, she always encouraged him in his training; she was one of the main reasons Naruto worked so hard, he wanted to make her and his dad proud. If she didn't love him, then why would she always be there for him?

Mizuki scoffed again. "Tch, just because he was like you makes no difference. He's still a demon!"

"SHUT UP!" Kushina snapped, causing Mizuki to flinch. "You don't know a damn thing about Naruto! Sarutobi-sama sealed the Kyuubi no Kitsune's chakra into Naruto just an hour after he was born! Minato wanted to be the one to seal it in Naruto because he thought he had the best knowledge of the Shiki Fuin Jutsu; but Sarutobi-sama insisted that he'd be the one to do it. It took a while to convince Minato otherwise, but Sarutobi-sama knocked him out and sealed the Kyuubi's chakra into Naruto instead of Minato and do you want to know why?" Kushina explained before inquiring.

After a momentary silence she asked again. "Why do you think none of those villagers openly showed their hatred towards Naruto? I'll tell you why, because they'll fear of what Minato would do to them if he had found out that they were going to do exactly what you're planning to do!"

That made Mizuki pale but Kushina continued. "Minato didn't get his reputation for being the "Yellow Flash of Konoha" for nothing! Those villagers were afraid he would end up doing what he did to so many enemy shinobi during the war to them if they openly acted against his wish that Naruto be treated as a hero!"

She then looked at Mizuki, with her eyes narrowed. "And do know something, I pity you Mizuki. In fact, I pity all of those villagers you said that hated Naruto. Why? Because they don't know Naruto as well as me and his father do!

"I gave birth to Naruto, I raised him, I helped train him to becoming a shinobi, and I went through hell for him! He works hard and does so with people like you laughing at him in the face! Not only that, but he always knows how to make people like his sister smile and that is a big plus. But above all; to me, he is Naruto Uzumaki, my son, a ninja of Konohagakure…" She then closed her eyes with her finishing statement. "And I love him."

Hearing that, Naruto couldn't help but be ashamed of himself into thinking that his parents would ever hate him. He could always remember when he was younger, that every time he needed someone to cry to when things went wrong for him, he would turn to her; his mother. True she would yell at him for causing trouble, but when she wasn't scolding him she loved him as much as any mother would love their child. In fact, she always sang a lullaby to him whenever he had a nightmare before he got too old for them. Closing his eyes, Naruto made his resolve.

Mizuki scowled and scoffed again as he got his second shuriken ready. "Fine, then why don't you DIE with him!"

Just as Mizuki was about to throw it, he felt a knee kick him in the chin and he was sent flying just as his shuriken went flying the opposite direction. When he and the other two adults looked, they saw Naruto glaring at Mizuki and holding the scroll next to him. If looks could kill, Mizuki would be eleven feet under by now.

"If you even think of hurting Iruka-sensei or my mom…" Naruto said in a cold, angry voice. "Then you're as good as dead!"

"Huh! Talk all you want, I can finish a kid like you with no problem!" Mizuki said confidently.

Naruto then put his index and middle fingers into a cross hand sign as he continued to stare at Mizuki with killing intent. "Just you try, because I'll return it a thousand fold!"

"Then try if you can you stupid demon fox!" Mizuki dared.

Naruto then shouted, "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!!!"

Then, before Mizuki, Iruka, and Kushina's eyes dozens of copies of Naruto appeared all around them! They weren't like the ordinary clone jutsu; far from it. In fact, all of these copies were exact replicas of Naruto himself! They weren't sickly looking, or goofy-looking; they were exact copies of Naruto from his blonde hair all the way to his orange jump suit!

'The shadow clone jutsu!' Kushina mused as she grinned at what her son was doing.

'These aren't just ordinary clones,' Iruka thought as he too watched proudly as his student produced them. 'They're made of flesh, bone, and chakra all rolled in one.'

Mizuki looked bewildered as he stared at all of the clones in fear. All at once they began to charge at him and his screams could be heard throughout the forest. When it was all over, he was sprawled on the ground battered and bruised; Naruto dispelled the jutsu, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Heheheh, I think I overdid it." He then ran over to Iruka and his mother. "Mom, Iruka-sensei, are you two OK?"

"We're fine, Naruto." Iruka-sensei said looking at Naruto with a smile.

Naruto then turned to Kushina with his eyes looking shameful. "Mom, did you mean all that?"

"Everything I said?" She confirmed when he nodded his head. Her face went soft as she stroked Naruto's cheek with her hand. "Of course I did. I could never hate you, Naruto. Like I said before, you're my son; and I'll never see you for anything less."

That did it, Naruto dived into his mother's arms and hugged her fiercely while crying into her shoulder softly. She embraced him and stroked his back trying to soothe him from his crying. She then kissed his head just as he pulled back and she gave him a wry grin.

"Just don't pull another stunt like this again, OK?" She quipped causing the two of them to laugh.

"Oi, Naruto." Iruka said, interrupting the mother-son moment. "Come on over here, I'd like to give you something.

A couple of seconds later, after Iruka insisted he close his eyes, Naruto asked, "Hey sensei, can I open them now?"

"Yes, Naruto." When Naruto did, he saw that Iruka was standing there with a proud smile, while holding his goggles. The one thing missing, however, was his hitai-ate, which was now wrapped around Naruto's forehead. "Congratulations, you graduate!"

Naruto couldn't believe his ears, but it was confirmed when he felt Kushina's arms wrap around him in a fierce hug before she kissed his cheek. Kushina then looked at Iruka.

"Iruka-kun, can you go back to the village and get an ANBU squad back here so they can apprehend Mizuki. Naruto and I will handle returning the scroll." She said.

"Hai!" Iruka yelled before running off.

Kushina then went eye-level with Naruto. "Then, what do you say after we return the scroll we go get your sister and celebrate with ramen?"

"Really!?" Naruto asked excitedly receiving a nod from her. "Thanks mom, you're the greatest!" He hugged her and she laughed.

"You know it kiddo!" She quipped as the two of them walked back home.

To Be Continued…

A/N: WHEW!!! That took me a while to finish. This has GOT to be the longest chapter I have EVER written. I hope it meets some of your expectations. I basically depicted Naruto's family, almost reminiscent to my own but in the Narutoish way. I wanted to give Naruto a sister because I felt that him being an only child was not cool.

Anyway, I hope you folks know what to do from here so please send me reviews!