Full Summary: Naruto is run out of Kanoha at the age of 5 and meets up with the terrible Demon of the Hidden Mist, Zabuza Momochi. For seven years he is trained by Zabuza untill, in the land of waves, he meets up with the people who should have been his teammates and friends. Can he still become Hokage? Can he still defeat Orochimaru, Pein, and Madara? Can he still fall in love with Sakura?
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did I wouldn't be writing here would I?
Chapter 1: Run Naruto
Run…run…run…
It was midnight and the village of Konoha was in an uproar. Dozens of people ran through the streets, each of them carrying a torch, or a knife, or some other lethal looking item. They were searching for someone. They were searching for Naruto.
Said Naruto was currently hiding behind a large building, nursing a nasty burn on his left shoulder. He knew that he healed better then normal people, though he didn't know why, and so he wasn't that worried about it becoming something worse then it was.
I t still hurt like hell though.
He looked up and sighed as he saw two more people run past, each carrying an iron pitchfork. Why did they hate him so much? What had he ever done to them? Sure he was a prankster, but so were a lot of kids his age. Surely he didn't deserve this?
"Look!" yelled a voice from the street, "I've found him! The demon is here!"
Naruto cursed and dashed out of the alley, nearly two dozen angry villagers hot on his tail. Why weren't the ANBU coming? Why wasn't the Hokage coming? Why wasn't anyone trying to help him?
Naruto recognized the street that he was on and took a right turn toward his apartment, hoping that he could hide in there until his attackers calmed down. The sight that awaited him was not at all a pretty one. His building was on fire! Black fumes rised up around it. Two ninja stood on the rooftops of nearby buildings, blowing more fire onto his home. Naruto was horrified but he didn't have time to cry, not while the village mob continued to chase him. Naruto ran again.
Naruto's five year old mind was working overtime as he tried, desperately to find a way out of this. Off in the distance he spied the gates of Konoha and sadly nodded to himself. He hated to even consider it but he knew that he had no choice at this point…he had to leave the village hidden in the leaves. He would die if he didn't.
He moved as fast as his young legs could carry him, his few months at the ninja academy being the only thing that allowed him to stay out of the grasps of the longer legged villagers. He saw the gates slowly closing. He wasn't sure if he was going to make it. The ANBU guard on duty was closing the wooden doors, though he did so so slowly that Naruto suspected that he really didn't care if he escaped or not. Either way they would be rid of him. A moment before the doors closed Naruto slipped through them, a tear rolling down his face.
Shouts of 'Good riddance!' and 'Never come back demon!' reverberated from behind the closed doors.
Sarutobi dashed towards the gates in panic. Only a moment ago he had been in his office, doing all sorts of boring, tedious paperwork, when the academy instructor Umino Iruka had come to him, telling him that Naruto's house was being burned down by the villagers and that Naruto himself was no where to be found. Apparently Iruka had tried to stop them but had been unable to do anything.
The Third Hokage arrived at the gates to find an enormous mob of what had to be every able bodied man and woman that wasn't a ninja in the entire village. Of course no ninja would dare take part in it lest they incur the Hokage's wrath, but that didn't mean that they had to put their whole effort into helping the boy.
"WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING!?" he asked with terrible fury evident in his voice.
The villagers turned and looked up at their Hokage in fear. No one answered his question.
"YOU FOOLISH PEOPLE!" He continued, "HOW DARE YOU DO SUCH HORRID THINGS TO A CHILD! YOU SHOULD ALL BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!" Without waiting for an answer Sarutobi jumped clear over the gates and ran into the woods to try and find Naruto.
Meanwhile, a young girl with pink hair watched from her window and wondered.
A young boy named Haku paced around the area outside his camp. He had been traveling for a while now with his new master Zabuza, the famed swordsman of the hidden mist. Over the past few months he had seen things and learned things that he had never even dreamed of back in the hidden mist village. Zabuza said that with time he would become a perfect weapon. Haku wanted nothing more then to aid the man who had given him his life back.
A low sound interrupted Haku's musings. He strained his ears to try and hear better. The sound was coming from a point not to far away from where he was, in the opposite direction of the camp. He walked toward the sound and was surprised when he recognized it as sobbing. It didn't take long for him to find the source, a boy even slightly younger then himself with blonde hair, blue eyes, and odd looking whisker marks on his cheeks, crying his heart out. The boy hadn't seen him yet. Not sure what to do, he ran back to alert Zabuza.
"Zabuza-sama!" he exclaimed as he reached the campsite. The Demon of the Hidden Mist looked up, "There is a boy in the forest and he seems to be very upset. What should we do?"
Zabuza thought for a moment. A boy? Upset? Why would he care about that? Even if he did care he wasn't sure what Haku wanted him to do about it. He wasn't exactly known for his ability to comfort others. On the other hand maybe he should go check it out. If not for the prospect of gaining another follower, then at least it would improve Haku's trust in him. He supposed that there would be no harm in going to see the boy.
Zabuza slowly stood up and nodded, "Lead the way Haku." He said.
A moment later they were heading in the direction Haku had found the blonde boy. Haku couldn't hear his crying any more and for a moment he was afraid that the boy had left, but he hadn't, he had simply stopped crying, his red and swollen eyes being the only remaining evidence that he had been crying at all. Zabuza sighed but walked over so that he was standing directly in front of the boy.
The blonde haired child looked up into the eyes of the Demon of the Hidden Mist. Zabuza saw sadness in his eyes that surpassed even Haku's when they had first met, and hidden behind this sadness, was an inner strength that Zabuza had never seen before. Zabuza could tell that this boy would become strong one day, with or without his help.
"What's your name kid?" The swordsman asked.
"Naruto." The boy answered, "Uzumaki Naruto."
Zabuza nodded, wondering what he should do next. He turned to Haku who simply gestured him to continue. "So…" He continued, "what are you doing out here by yourself?"
Naruto looked down again, "My village hates me." He answered, "I don't even know why. They call me 'demon' and 'monster', but I don't know what I did wrong."
Zabuza almost looked sorry for Naruto. He turned around and sat down next to him. "A demon huh? Well people have called me a demon before too." Surprised, Naruto looked up to him. "So I guess that makes us both demons." The swordsman continued.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked.
"I am Momochi Zabuza, master swordsman of the Hidden Mist village." He replied, "I am also one of the greatest ninja in the world."
Naruto looked sad again. "I was going to be a ninja," He stated, "I wanted to become Hokage one day, so that people would respect me. I even entered the academy a few weeks ago…but now I'll never be a ninja." His eyes began to tear again.
Zabuza smiled, though you would never be able to tell under the wrappings that covered his face. "Well you don't have to give up just yet." He replied. Naruto looked up in confusion. "I am a ninja," Zabuza continued, "I already have an apprentice, but I don't think I'd mind having another one…and I'm sure Haku would enjoy your company, he has seemed a bit lonely." Zabuza surprised even himself by how kind he was able to make himself in this situation. "But you would have to listen to everything I tell you, no matter how hard it is for you." He stood up again and held his hand down.
Naruto didn't know what to say. In a way he welt as though he had been given another chance…he could tell that this person was strong, and that he could help make Naruto strong as well. Perhaps he should follow this person and become a ninja under his teachings. On the other hand, many of the things that Konoha had done to him had made the poor boy untrusting. Could he really believe that this person would just offer him a new life right out of the blue? Furthermore, what did he mean when he said that he would have to listen to his orders, "no matter how hard it is."? What should he do?
When Naruto didn't answer, Zabuza lowered his hand and turned to Haku, who had just walked out from behind the trees. The swordsman shrugged as if to say "I tried" and began to walk back to the camp. Haku looked sadly at Naruto, wishing that there was something he could do to help, but knowing that there was nothing. He turned to follow Zabuza.
Naruto sighed. He didn't know if he could trust these people, but the alternative was to sit here until he starved or until someone else came along. And someone else might not be as willing to help as these people. Naruto stood up, wiped the tears from his eyes and ran after the two people who had offered him another chance at life.
Had he stayed for only another moment, Sarutobi would have found him, would have gone back to the village, reentered the academy, become a gennin, and wouldn't have seen Zabuza or Haku again for seven years.
But he didn't.