A/N: New pilot episode…as usual, whether not it has potential will be dependent on what you think. So do read and review would you kindly?

…

[Hi no Kuni wilderness, shortly after the Kyūbi attack]

It'd been roughly three days since the Kyūbi attack, and a sense of normalcy was starting to return to the land…all things considered, things could've gone worse in Hiruzen's opinion. After the outrage of two days prior, there was no way he could trust the village with young Naruto's safety. He revealed the truth to the current generation, thinking he could believe that the people would not allow their hatred of his tenant to cloud their judgment. While the majority of the village was too set in its hate to be trusted with Naruto's safety, he did have a solution on mind.

"Hokage-sama, why are we traveling this far into the wilderness?" asked a kunoichi. She held a bundle in her arms, carrying a sleeping Naruto as she and seven ANBU accompanied Hiruzen. She wore a snake mask on her face, marking her as a member of ANBU herself.

"We are going to see someone that I know and trust, Hebi," he explained, "With all that has happened back in the village to young Naruto, we cannot raise him in the village. The only problem is that he is a long-distance traveler; he's not guaranteed to be at our destination, but I'm counting on my friend being there."

"Who is he anyway?"

"He's a wandering sage."

"A sage?" asked Hebi, disbelief clear in her tone. "Are you talking about that pervy toad?"

"As much as I'd like to ask Jiraiya to take up the responsibility, the man is operating a spy network; putting Naruto in his care would endanger him more than just leaving him in the village," explained Hiruzen, turning to face Hebi. "And before you ask, Tsunade was my next choice…I'll admit, there's a chance that putting Naruto in her custody would do her some good; that being said, it's way too risky with her drinking and gambling. And it'll be a cold day in hell if I allow Danzo to take Naruto in, especially after seeing what the man has done to his own ROOT operatives."

"I can see why." Hebi agreed, "Every time I pass by them, they give me the jitters. Seriously though, what can you tell me about this sage?"

"He is one of the deadliest men I'd ever met." answered Hiruzen, "The first encounter was on a mission to save a farming community from a bandit army. He'd arrived in the village shortly after we did, asking for alms. Needless to say, as soon as he found out we were hired to stop the aggravated assault by the bandits, he chose to stay behind to help with the defenses. In my youth and pride as a genin, I didn't see anything special about him; to me, he was just a big brute posing as a sage. Also fueling my hubris at the time was the fact that I couldn't even sense any chakra from him.

"Anyway, Tobirama-sensei brought us all to begin the assault the next day. It all went well, considering we found their base of operations. What we didn't know was that the bandit leader had already sent his forces to ransack the village. After dealing with the scumbag, we rushed on back to the village, only to walk into a slaughter."

"A slaughter…?" asked Hebi, "How bad was it?"

"Oh it was bad; for the bandits." answered Hiruzen. He took Hebi's silence as a sign to continue on. "The entire bandit army was killed to the last man—their bodies had shown evidence of having exploded. Eyewitness accounts had stated that the sage had successfully defended the village single-handedly. They also stated that he rapidly tapped each bandit on various parts of the body, before they all exploded…as though explosive tags went off in their bodies."

"Wait a minute…they all exploded from the inside after he tapped them all? Well what happened to the sage?"

"After the whole mess with the bandits, he left the village." explained Hiruzen, "I haven't been able to see him for quite some time, but we've had several encounters throughout my life. He wasn't exactly the talkative sort, but I came to know that he was a rather nice guy…so long as you didn't push his buttons. I came learn that when I was a Chūnin, assigned to help assassinate a Kage-level nuke-nin…the sage was there, walking away from the target as he exploded in a shower of blood and gore."

"If he's that dangerous, then what makes you think you can trust him?"

"If we find him, you'll have to see for yourself. And we're in luck, he's here."

The party stopped at a massive temple, standing at least two stories tall over a clearing. Hiruzen opened the door, beckoning for the ANBU operatives and Hebi to follow. Sitting on the altar was a gigantic Buddha statue, flanked on both sides by ferocious kongorikishi statues standing guard. Before the statues was a lone, hooded figure with his back to them. After hearing of the capabilities of this sage, they were all on guard around him. The Hokage however, approached calmly; his confidence was borne from knowing the man quite well.

"It's been quite a while, hasn't it?" asked Hiruzen, coming to a stop behind the man.

"Indeed it has," answered the sage, his focus still on his hands, "though I suppose this is not a friendly visit if you've come to find me yourself."

Curiosity had gotten the better of Hiruzen, compelling him to walk closer. A look over his shoulder revealed that the sage had a wooden sculpture in his brawny hand. He was carving away at the finer details with a small chisel, as the block of wood took on a very familiar form. The sculpture was of a saintly woman that seemed to exude a sense of serenity, as though all the sins weighing down his soul were lifted with her forgiving half-smile.

"Is that Kan'Non?" Hiruzen guessed.

"Very observant, I see you have a good eye," replied the sage, his focus on the carving. There was a sort of meditative feeling as his chisel went to work. "I am making it for someone that died recently. So what brings the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato to this neck of the woods?"

"I've come to ask a favor of you."

The sage's silence beckoned Hiruzen to continue. "I would like to ask that you raise a child."

"Can you not find a home for the child in your village?" asked the sage. Hiruzen said nothing, his silence speaking volumes. "I take it there's a reason you can't."

"I can't tell you much, except that I fear for his life."

The sage sighed, placing the Kan'Non figurine on a dais. "He's the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yoko isn't he?"

Hiruzen turned to stare the sage, shock written across his face. "Don't look so surprised, I'd heard about the Kyūbi attack in a nearby village just two days ago. The fact that you won't speak of why you fear for his safety is also a dead ringer as to who he is."

"Do you have any ill will against the Jinchūriki?" Hiruzen asked, his voice taking on an edge.

"No, I don't hate them," the sage replied simply, "in fact, I pity their fate…my hatred instead goes to the foolishness of people that abuse them."

"You're not the only one who feels that way." Hiruzen added, "Sometimes, I too wonder if Hashirama-sama made the right choice in allowing the other nations to have the Bijū. So, will you take him in?"

There was a moment of silence before the sage stood up, and turned to face Hiruzen. At his full height, he was at least a head taller than the ANBU escort. He had an aged appearance about him, and the muscles that rippled across his body only served to make him look even more intimidating. The sage pulled down his hood, revealing piercing eyes that served to intimidate the old Kage and a head of black hair greyed out with time. His features were angular, but still chiseled out even in his old age; with his appearance, he would have no trouble in keeping a woman by his side. In short, the sage was an old-timer that wasn't to be taken lightly. "Let me see the child."

Hiruzen motioned for Hebi to come forward with young Naruto in her hands. The sage gently lifted the blanket on the baby's face, studying his features carefully. "Such a pity that an innocent child would be burdened with such a fate," he noted, turning to regard Hiruzen. "Does he have a name?"

"It's Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto."

The sage sighed. "What would you have me do?"

"Raise him, spend as much time as you can with him to ensure he is brought up proper," answered Hiruzen, "All I ask is that you bring him back at the age of nine so that he can attend the Ninja Academy. I promised his father that he would grow up to be a fine shinobi of Konoha, and that's a promise I intend to keep."

The sage shrugged. "I suppose it's only fitting. It's plenty of time for me to teach him."

"Will you do it?"

"I see no reason why not," the sage answered, "the road of a wanderer is lonely. It's times like these that a friend is always helpful."

Hiruzen nodded to Hebi, who seemed reluctant to let the child go. The sage gently took Naruto in his brawny arms, watching as the Hokage and his entourage left the clearing. "You will be a worthy successor, Naruto. I will see to it that you will use its teachings well to bring peace to these lands."

…

[Konohagakure no Sato, nine years later]

The vibrant colors of greens, whites, and reds brought life to the flowers as they bloomed with the onset of Spring. The chirping of birds only served to make it clear that life was beginning to return to the world. Overall, a good day for Hiruzen to laze about with a pipe in his mouth…puffing his stresses away before being forced to go back into the piles of paperwork on his desk.

It'd been a good nine years since he'd entrusted the sage with raising Naruto, and the village had gotten a lot quieter. Well, barring the growing corruption taking root in Konohagakure no Sato's business world. There was word that the civilian business owners were trying to undermine his authority, but he was unable to get any proof of foul play. Combine that with rumors of criminal activities going on under his nose, and Hiruzen began to wonder what the point of reprising his position as Hokage was.

Still, there were some perks to taking up the mantle again…for one, he could smoke indoors without his daughter-in-law around to bother him. That, and he could enjoy free goods wherever he went. But above all, as long as he was Hokage, he would have a say in village affairs to make sure those civilians knew their place.

There were three sharp knocks at his door, breaking Hiruzen from his reverie. He sighed in frustration as he sat back up. "Come in."

"Hokage-sama, you have a guest." said the secretary, fidgeting as she closed the door behind her. The look on her face was what Hiruzen had associated with fangirls.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Some old man who said you came to see him nine years ago," she explained. "He's like…your age, except hotter!"

Hiruzen had a fair idea as to whom she spoke of. Though he wanted to be certain he was on the same page as his secretary. "Did he come with a child?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact."

"Then let them in Kotone, I've been expecting them for quite some time now."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

The door was opened, allowing both the sage and his charge to enter. The sage had not changed since he was last seen…much to Hiruzen's envy; but that was not what really got the Hokage's attention. That honor went to the blond boy that stood next to the sage, wearing a minimalized outfit built for speed: brackish-blue cargo pants were tied down at his ankles just above his sandals, likely to cut down on air resistance; an orange tank-top was worn over his chest, showing roughly six years' worth of hard training on his body. On his hands were a pair of fingerless gloves with reinforced leather palms for a stronger grip and hardened plastic knuckles to protect the fists. Around his neck was a string of large, hand-carved prayer beads that sagged in front of his chest. On top of it all, the most distinguishing thing about the boy were the three whisker-marks on each of his cheeks.

"And how are you today?" asked Hiruzen, knowing exactly whom he was looking at.

"Fine, sir," answered Naruto, "It's just that it's the first time I ever set foot in this village."

Hiruzen smiled, simply glad to see the baby he'd left in the sage's care had grown up so well. "I'd like to speak with you again after the Academy," he said, his eyes taking on a very sly glint, "speaking of which, I'd hurry or you'll be late for your first day of the Academy."

Naruto's eyes had shrunk to pinpricks with realization. Hiruzen allowed his grin to widen, his expression promising more mischief. "Well? What are you waiting for? It's downstairs, behind a pair of metal doors. You can't miss them!"

After a few awkward seconds, Naruto quickly bowed before bolting out the room, leaving a laughing Hiruzen behind. With the two of them left behind, the Hokage allowed his laughter to settle as he turned to regard the sage. "How has life been for him?"

"We've been living very modestly, as far as being on the road is concerned," admitted the sage, "given time, he will be a fine shinobi for your village…albeit, a very specialized one at the moment, but a fine shinobi nonetheless."

"Specialized?" asked Hiruzen, "You mean to tell me you've taught him in your taijutsu style?"

The sage nodded. "I gave him enough of a foundation to find his own fist. Given time, I am certain he will not only be a good shinobi, but a fine successor to Hokuto Shin Ken."

Hiruzen felt shivers running up his spine upon hearing the name of the sage' martial art. Oh, he'd heard of Hokuto Shin Ken, its bloody reputation as an assassination art, as well as the havoc it was said to have inflicted upon the bodies of its victims. To think I once witnessed this vicious art in action! "Well can we see the results of his training?"

"I'm certain that you will see it shortly."

…

[Konoha Ninja Academy, 10 minutes later]

Naruto sat in the stands with the other students, busying himself with a hand-sized piece of wood he'd found on the way to the stands as he awaited his turn for the 'talent show'. It was an exercise taught to him on the road three years ago, to build up what his teacher called 'hand-eye coordination', as well as to work on his 'fine motor skills'. To that end, he was taught to take a knife and carve the wood into whatever shape he liked, and he had a week to complete each sculpture; for the first few tries, Naruto wound up cutting his hands before learning to be more careful.

As time progressed, and in addition to his training in Hokuto Shin Ken, Naruto was challenged every week to carve his sculptures faster and more accurately. This week, he was challenged to find a subject, and carve it into the wood without looking back at the block as quickly as possible. To that end, his hands worked separately from his body to shave the bark off the wood before he began carving on it.

Many girls seemed to be glomming around a pale, onyx-eyed boy with a duck-butt haircut as he brooded silently. There was a look to Uchiha Sasuke that Naruto just didn't like…which really turned him off about this person. In addition to that, he had no love for his holier-than-thou attitude. Definitely not a good subject, he thought to himself, besides, way too easy.

Looking through the swarm of fangirls, he thought he'd find a good subject among them, but to no avail. Even though he enjoyed the fact that they all annoyed the Uchiha, a lot of them were way too plain even practice. Although he had to admire the determination of the pinkette and her blonde friend in trying to get the duck-butt's attention, neither Haruno Sakura nor Yamanaka Ino were good subjects. A shame though…I'd have liked to carve you both at the same time.

Sitting just outside the swarm of fangirls, and enjoying the anger starting to boil over in her fellow raven-haired student was a girl with features not too different from Sasuke's. Her black hair was done up in a bun behind her head, with two of them framing her smooth, streamlined face. There was a measure of mischief in her eyes that made it clear that Uchiha Satsuki was completely different from her older twin brother. Interesting…and she's in a good pose too. Best to do the twins another day though.

"Hey! Get a load of this dweeb!" said a voice standing above Naruto, interrupting his train of thought. He paused in his reflexive carving to find that it belonged to a burly boy surrounding him with two other boys. One of them had a fair amount of muscle to go with the flab that weighed down his body, and the confidence he carried himself with made it obvious that he was the leader. "What're you doin' with that? Somethin' gay?"

"Just working my brain," Naruto deadpanned, his hands getting back to work on carving the block as he stared back at the lead bully, "which is something you don't seem to be using."

The bully quickly grabbed the knife and block from Naruto's hands. "And you're a dumb-shit for being rude!" he taunted, "although, because it's your first day, I'm gonna be nice and take your gay-ass necklace too!"

"I'd really give those back if I were you, shit-head," growled Naruto, controlling his anger as his prayer beads were taken off his neck. At the moment, all he could do was glare at the bully and his gang.

"Well you're not me, are ya?" laughed the bully. "What, you think your gay-ass necklace makes you stronger? More like it makes you look like a pussy!"

"Uzumaki Naruto?" came the voice of Iruka, interrupting Naruto's train of thought.

Heaving a sigh, Naruto stood up and walked around the jeering gang of bullies as they heaved insults at him behind his back. Even some of the fangirls seemed to join in as he walked down the stands, before coming to a stop next to Iruka and his assistant. Well, at least I get to take my anger out on something. "Iruka-sensei, do you have any boulders around?"

The scar-nosed teacher looked at Naruto with no small amount of confusion. "Not right now, why?"

"I think I lost my prayer beads, so I need a harder target now."

"Are those beads important?"

"Yeah they are," explained Naruto, "they make me weaker, because I don't have very good control over my power yet."

Iruka had no idea what was going on, but shrugged. He rapidly flew through hand seals before planting them on the ground. A few tense seconds followed before a large rock rose from the ground. "There we go. You now have a harder target."

"Thanks." Naruto began to stretch as he walked towards the boulder, coming to a stop within an inch of the man-made rock with his middle and ring fingers perpendicular to its surface. He took a deep breath before punching the boulder with an exhale. Upon making contact with his knuckles, the boulder shattered, pulverizing it before the pebbles began smashing through the forest and shredding a branches and knocking over trees. By the time the force of the blow had died down, a mile-long scar had pointed the way to the Hokage Monument.

There was a tense silence that permeated the stands; nobody could believe what they'd just seen. Even Iruka, who'd seen more than his fair share while on active duty, could not help but let his jaw hang in utter shock. Through it all, Naruto began to rotate his shoulders as he strode towards the stunned bullies. The tone he'd taken seemed casual, but there was a dangerous undercurrent that was directed at the bully. "Can I please have my stuff back now?"

The leader of the bullies began to move slowly, as though any sudden moves would end in his death. His motions had a frightened shiver to them as he first put the prayer beads back around Naruto's neck, before handing him back his knife and the shaved block of wood. Throughout it all, he had a nervous smile on his face that was mirrored by his colleagues, both of whom started curling up into shivering balls…their leader too scared to even move after that. Much to Naruto's disgust, he was pissing and shitting his pants. "Don't you ever do stuff like that again. Am I understood, shit-head?"

The leader gulped and quickly nodded, before Naruto walked away. He did not want to be around the smell of shit and piss as Iruka found the strength within himself to continue the tryouts.

…

[Hokage's office]

He just could not believe his eyes. All that power, and from a punch with an inch of space away from the fist. There's no way in hell that's Hokuto Shin Ken! Hiruzen thought, That's way too much brute force for that!

"What you're seeing is the foundation for Naruto's Hokuto Shin Ken style," commented the sage, sensing Hiruzen's skepticism, "it is a variation called Gō no Ken."

"A fitting name, but why does he need a limiter?" Hiruzen asked.

"When I first unlocked his potential, Naruto smashed through three feet of reinforced concrete with a single, gentle push. The amount of chakra that he gave off was instantly absorbed into his muscles, more than tripling his strength by a hundredfold. This made the power-regulating prayer beads a necessity, and I have since been training him to regulate the amount of chakra he can put out. As of now, he is now capable of reducing his chakra output to roughly around jōnin-level."

The implications were worrying for Hiruzen, but he still had a very important question: "How much can he output without his prayer beads?"

"It depends on how strong the opponent is," answered the sage, "but assuming the opponent is of equal or lesser skill to him, Naruto is capable of putting out about the same amount chakra as a Kage in his prime without his limiters. Against a stronger opponent? Even I am not certain."

Hiruzen was speechless; the boy had the potential to be a Kage-level threat. On that note, he was glad that the boy wore his prayer beads. There was a good chance that if he were to spar with a students without them, he would likely be the only graduate. Still, it was a very interesting prospect to see how he develops…

…

A/N: And now we're done with another pilot episode. Do review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!

…

Vocabulary

Kan'Non—the Japanese translation of Guanyin, the bodhisattvah of mercy. She's usually prayed to by pregnant mothers, hoping for a healthy birth.

Hokuto Shin Ken—the basic style taught to Naruto. Translated, it means 'North Star God Fist,' but it is usually translated as the 'Divine Fist of the North Star.'

Gō no Ken—Raoh's style, it's usually translated as 'Fist of Power.'

…

Cameos/References

Naruto's outfit—pretty much my take on how a monk-class RPG character would look if placed in a modern setting. Here, I pretty much based his outfit after a parkour traceur with gloves that are good for both a good grip and a hard punch.

Naruto's demonstration—the famous one-inch punch taken up to eleven.