Hello all Storm here with a new story! Well not so much more of a rewrite of an old story, that's right I've finally gotten around to rewriting my Naruto/Zen-Aku story and hopefully it'll turn out better than the first one. So, without further ado.
I own nothing
"Come on!" Shouted Naruto Uzumaki as he struggled against his bindings
Naruto was currently tied to a wooden post at Training Ground Seven. The reason he was tied up was because his new sensei, Kakashi Hatake, and teammates, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno, had left him tied up, right after Kakashi had preached how those who abandoned their friends and teammates are trash.
'Why the hell was I even tied up, I at least tried getting the bells, Sakura didn't even try being taken out by simple Genjutsu and fainting!' Naruto mentally ranted
While anyone who knew the blonde would be shocked at what he thought of his "Precious Sakura-chan", being left tied up for ten hours tended to leave even the kindhearted Naruto feeling bitter.
"They couldn't even leave me something to untie myself with, no they just left me here." Naruto grumbled getting close to untying the ropes
For the first few hours Naruto had believed they would come back and untie him, that they simply forgot to. But when five hours had past Naruto realized they weren't coming back and he had to untie himself, hard to do when he couldn't reach his weapons or move his arms, leaving to simply struggle against the ropes hoping they'd come loose.
He had thought after his teammates had offered him their food that maybe, just maybe, they could have been friends, or at least a working a team.
'That's what I get for getting my hopes up.' Thought Naruto bitterly before with a final tug he managed to loosen the ropes enough to reach his kunai pouch and cut through the ropes
Rather than going back to his apartment Naruto decided to go for a walk, besides who'd be there waiting for him.
'Oh right no one.' Naruto thought looking down
After a while of walking Naruto stopped and looked up in surprise when he saw he was standing in front of a ruined shrine, what surprised him though was the swirl above the entrance, the same one that's on the back of his jacket.
"Wh-what?" Said Naruto confused why would the symbol on his jacket be on this building
Deciding to investigate Naruto slowly walked into the shrine, careful where he stepped not knowing how damaged this place was. Reaching a large set of wooden doors Naruto pushed them open finding himself looking at a wall of different masks with ornate black flames painted below them.
Naruto wasn't sure what it was, but he felt a cold chill run up his spine, sensing a darkness resonating from the masks, or at least one of them.
Whatever it was Naruto wanted to get away from it and quickly walked further into the temple away from the dark presence. Entering another room Naruto stopped when he saw another mask this time resting on a stone altar with a few other objects around it. With the mask was a large double sided crescent shaped blade, a dagger flute with three holes in it, three small dark colored crystal balls with animal figurines within it, one of a wolf, another of a hammerhead shark, and the last was an alligator.
The mask itself was shaped like a wolf, but Naruto could still feel something off about it, not as bad as the dark feeling he got from the other masks, but close to it. Unsure of what else to do Naruto grabbed the mask looking it over not seeing anything wrong with it.
'What's the worst that could happen.' Naruto thought putting the mask on his face
Next all Naruto knew was darkness.
*Next Morning*
"Where's Kakashi-sensei and that Baka!" Shouted Sakura in anger
She and Sasuke had been waiting for three hours for their sensei and teammate, while Sakura didn't care if Naruto showed up or not as it gave her private time with her Sasuke-kun.
Sasuke just didn't care.
"Yo!" Said Kakashi with a salute and eye smile
"You're late!" Sakura screeched, which Kakashi promptly ignored frowning when he didn't see his third student
"Where's Naruto?" Questioned Kakashi
"Who care's where that Baka is." Sakura said, Sasuke not saying anything
"Now, now Sakura that's no way to talk about your teammate." Kakashi chastised
"Funny, considering you had no problem leaving me tied up." A voice said getting all their attention
They saw it was a teen with spiky jet-black hair, amber eyes with slit pupils, pale skin, wearing black steel-toed boots, black form-fitting pants, black fingerless gloves, a burnt orange shirt, and a black leather jacket zipped up with long coattails. Though what stood out the most were the jagged whisker marks, three on each cheek.
"Naruto." Said Kakashi shocked at his students
"Who else." Naruto said
"What's with the new look dobe, finally deciding to act serious." Sasuke taunted
"I don't know Sasuke, have you decided not be buried up to your neck anymore." Retorted Naruto, Sasuke scowling at the reminder
"Naruto-baka stop trying to act cooler than Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted charging at Naruto preparing to hit him
Naruto side stepped the sloppy punch and Sakura stumbled to ground. Growling Sakura prepared to get up to hit Naruto again for getting her dress dirty, but before she could she screamed in pain when Naruto stomped his boot on her back and stabbed a large crescent blade into the ground dangerously close to her face.
Leaning in close Sakura gulped when she saw Naruto's eyes glow dangerously, possessing none of the usual affection he has for her.
"Let me make this very clear for you pinkie, I'm not your punching bag anymore, you raise your fist against me again be prepared to lose it. Remember that next time you try hitting me you stupid, worthless, sorry excuse for a kunoichi. But please try hitting me see what happens." Naruto growled, Sakura shaking in fear
"Naruto that's enough get off your teammate." Ordered Kakashi
"Stay out of this trash." Said Naruto
"What did you just say?" Kakashi said narrowing his visible eye
"You heard me I called you trash because that's what you are. You talk about how those who abandoned their friends or teammates are trash, well you all left me tied up yesterday with no way to untie myself, therefore you, the emo, and his fangirl are all trash." Said Naruto, Kakashi frowning and Sasuke glaring at him
"That doesn't matter you'll let Sakura go and address me as sensei, Genin." Kakashi said pulling rank, making Naruto scoff but getting up
"You know it's funny how you reprimand me for defending myself, but not Sakura for trying to punch me. Then again I guess that just proves you're like the rest trash-sensei." Said Naruto returning his blade to its storage seal
"Okay team, today we'll be working on teamwork exercises and doing a couple D-rank missions. Let's go." Kakashi said choosing to ignore what Naruto said
While Sasuke and Sakura followed Kakashi, Naruto hung back creating a Shadow Clone.
"Go." Ordered Naruto, as the Shadow Clone followed the others while Naruto went the other way
Like hell he was doing other people's chores.
*Timeskip-a week*
A week has passed since Team Sevens formation and he could not have been any worse. Kakashi hasn't taught them anything useful besides teamwork exercises, which were useless considering Sasuke and Sakura hated Naruto, Naruto didn't care about his teammates, and Sakura only cheered Sasuke on and not bothering to train.
Though Naruto was aware of Kakashi giving Sasuke private lessons, lowering his already poor opinion of the of the cyclops. Not that he cared what Hatake and the Uchiha did, considering Naruto had been sending a Shadow Clone to all team meetings, while Naruto himself had been focusing on his training. Which was improved greatly when he learned everything a Shadow Clone learns is transferred back to the original, allowing Naruto to get several months' worth of training done in only a few days.
He brushed up on his Taijutsu, began practicing Kenjutsu, and working to master his Elemental Affinities. It was simple for Naruto creating two thousand clones, having five hundred work on Taijutsu, another five hundred work on Kenjutsu, another five hundred reading up on everything he should have learned in the Academy and anything else useful, finally the last five hundred split between his affinities. While the real Naruto did physical exercises of ten laps around the village, two hundred pushups, sit ups, and pull ups, all while having gravity seals on his body and clothes.
Safe to say Naruto quickly rose to being the strongest in his age group and more than a few Chunin.
Currently the real Naruto stood with his "Team" in the Hokage's Office. The reason Naruto was here rather than a clone was because he learned Hatake planned to take them on a C-rank mission and Naruto wanted to test his skills.
Looking at the Hokage Naruto couldn't deny the satisfaction he felt when he saw the old man wince when his eyes fell on Naruto. It was understandable considering the conversation they had the morning after his transformation.
*Flashback*
"Naruto are you sure you want this as your new Ninja License picture?" Sarutobi asked hesitantly looking between Naruto and his new picture
While he had wanted Naruto to retake his picture without the face paint he wasn't sure wearing a transformation was any better, not knowing this was Naruto's new appearance.
"Yes, I thought it best to start acting like a Shinobi rather than a child." Said Naruto blankly
"Very well, if that's all Naruto." Sarutobi said
"Actually, there is one more thing I wanted to ask Hokage-sama." Naruto said, Hiruzen's head shooting up at that since Naruto's never referred to him as "Hokage-sama" before
"What is it Naruto?" Questioned Hiruzen worriedly
"Why didn't you ever tell me about the Uzumaki Clan?" Naruto said
Out of all the questions Sarutobi thought he'd ask, this was one of the ones he was hoping he wouldn't here.
"What are you talking about Naruto, there is no Uzumaki Clan." Sarutobi said nervously, Naruto nodding and humming as if in agreement
"No Uzumaki Clan huh. So, the Shodaime Hokage didn't have a wife named Mito Uzumaki, Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri didn't work together to destroy a village called Uzushiogakure, and the swirls on the back of flak jackets are just for decoration. But like you said there's no Uzumaki Clan, just like you said you never said you didn't know why everyone hated me, oh wait." Said Naruto, while the Hokage grew paler with each accusation
"Naruto please let me explain-"
"Save your excuses Hokage-sama, I've heard enough of them. The only thing I want know is did you ever plan on telling me?" Naruto questioned
"Of course! I planned to tell you when you were older and mature enough to handle the news." Said Sarutobi
"And how old would I have to be when I was "mature" enough to the handle it, huh? Twenty, thirty, or maybe when you were long dead, and I remained ignorant." Naruto retorted
"I would have left instructions to my successors to inform you." Replied Hiruzen
"And you really believe anyone in this village would have told me about the Kyuubi or my Clan. They'd be more likely to laugh behind my back at my ignorance, turned me into a mindless weapon, or finally kill the demon brat. I don't whether your delusional or just plain stupid." Said Naruto, Sarutobi frowning at the insult
"Naruto despite what you may think I have always had your best interests, and I am still your commanding officer." Sarutobi said
"No, you've had this villages best interests, if you cared you would have told me a long time ago, but you didn't. Why were you afraid that I might leave if I found out I had a clan, that you'd lose your precious Jinchuuriki, or maybe beneath all that kindness and grandfather persona you hate me just like everyone else in this village and you loved the fact that I was alone believing I was abandoned because no one would want a demon for a son." Said Naruto
"How do I know you haven't kept other things from me, like who my parents?" Naruto said with the Hokage flinching all the confirmation he needed
"That's what I thought. Let me make something very clear to you Hiruzen Sarutobi, we're not friends, we're not family, I want nothing to do with you anymore, the only time I will interact with you is to receive missions. Nothing more, nothing less." Said Naruto turning to leave
"Naruto, I'm sorry." Sarutobi said, Naruto pausing in grabbing the door
Turning his head, the Hokage saw a single glowing yellow eye.
"Save it for someone who cares." Said Naruto exiting the office
*End Flashback*
The thought of that meeting still hurt the aged Hokage, not for the fact Naruto tore into him and all but said he hated him. But the fact the entire time Naruto never once faltered not giving away any sign of what he was feeling, maintaining the perfect poker face. It would have been easier if Naruto had gotten angry, since Naruto was usually terrible at hiding his emotions, the Hokage would have been able to handle it better. Instead Naruto remained in control the entire time and verbally destroyed one of the strongest people alive.
"Team Seven here a for a C-rank mission Hokage-sama." Kakashi said reading his customary orange book, snapping the Hokage from his thoughts
"Right, I have one for you. An escort mission to the Land of Ancestors. You can meet the client at the gate in an hour." Said the Hokage
"Alright team go get packed and meet the gate in an hour." Said Kakashi
*Later*
Naruto walked towards the gate, having finished grabbing his scrolls which had all his supplies sealed up, and saw an old man standing a small caravan of carts.
"Are you the client for the mission?" Said Naruto looking at the old man, who turned to see Naruto
"Yes, are you one of the Ninja that'll be protecting us on our trip to the Land of Ancestors?" The man asked
"I am, the rest of my team should be here soon." Replied Naruto
"So why are you heading to the Land of Ancestors?" Naruto asked wanting to get information on this mission
"Well I'm an archaeologist and I wish to explore some ruins there, I have already set up an excavation site but needed more workers and tools. You know it's even rumored that the Land of Ancestors was the birthplace of the Sage of Six Paths, just imagines what kind of artifacts could have been left behind." The man said, with Naruto raising a brow
"And your hoping to see if the Sage left anything behind after his time. Well anything useful." Said Naruto, the man nodding
"Indeed, anything that might shed some light on the first God of Shinobi. By the way my name is Tenji." Introduced Tenji
"Naruto." Naruto replied
They the descended into silence until finally the rest of Team Seven arrived.
"Naruto-baka what're you doing Kakashi-sensei said to get packed!" Screeched Sakura, Naruto turning to her boredly
"It's called a storage scroll, useful little thing so one doesn't have to carry around heavy bags. I'd have thought the "smartest" genin kunoichi would know." Naruto mocked wrinkling his nose in disgust
He could smell all of the make-up and beauty products in her bag, how she became a kunoichi Naruto will never know.
Sakura turned red in embarrassment and reared her fist back prepared to hit Naruto.
"Ma ma Naruto be nice to your teammates. Now that everyone's here let's go." Said Kakashi stopping Sakura
Releasing a "Tsk" Naruto walked forward as the caravan began moving forward, all while sliding his flute dagger back up his sleeve, not that anyone noticed.
*Timeskip-Six Days-Land Ancestors*
Six days have passed since Team Seven set out to the Land of Ancestors and haven't encountered any trouble, aside from the occasional bandit though they were easily dispatched. They were now in the Land of Ancestors, which didn't have much besides a few forests, rivers, grassy plains, hills, and some mountains in the distance.
It left Naruto a little underwhelmed that the Sage of Six Paths home country was too boring.
'Seriously you'd think there'd be something here.' Naruto thought in annoyance
"Ah we've finally arrived!" Said Tenji, snapping Naruto from his thoughts
Looking he saw they were at the excavation site, where several people were already hard at work digging through an unearthed village.
"Alright Team form a perimeter around the site and keep in radio contact." Ordered Kakashi, getting a nod and "Hn" from Sakura and Sasuke respectively while Naruto just walked away
Naruto looked around the excavated village, a little surprised the buildings were still in relatively good condition. He soon arrived at a small compound with a large house and a few smaller buildings, all enclosed in a fenced area, he also found Tenji sorting through several old books and scrolls.
"Ah Naruto-san! Come here and look at these." Said Tenji spotting Naruto and waving him over
Going over Naruto got a closer look at the scrolls, most looking to be about history.
"Look, if I'm right these could possible date back to before even the clan wars. Here look for yourself." Said Tenji excitedly handing Naruto one before he could say anything
Growling a little at the scroll being shoved in his hands like that Naruto looked it over. Most of the writing was ineligible but he could still make out a few words.
'Asura… Indra… Hagoromo… Otsutsuki? Otsutsuki, maybe a clan.' Naruto wondered
"So, Tenji you mind telling me what you left out of the mission request?" Asked Naruto skimming through the scroll while noticing Tenji flinch a little
"I-I don't know what you mean." Tenji said, Naruto hearing his heartbeat pick up a little showing he was lying
"My teammates might not be very observant Tenji, but I am. The entire time we were travelling you were tense, jumping at every noise, and always looking around as if expecting someone to jump out. So. Tell me. What. You. Left. Out." Naruto repeated, Tenji sighing in acceptance
"Well you see while my profession might not be the most dangerous, it sometimes attracts the wrong attention whenever I discover some artifact that others may consider useful to themselves. Well when word got out that I was planning an excavation to what might be the homeland of the Sage of Six Paths, let's just say some less than savory characters wanted to join for their own benefit." Tenji explained
"Missing-nin." Guessed Naruto
"Yes. They offered "protection" to me and my workers in exchange for anything of value we might find. I rejected the offer, but they didn't take kindly to that before leaving. So, while I did go to Konoha for more workers and supplies, I also wished to hire a team of ninja in case those missing-nin showed. I didn't mention this as I wasn't sure if the Hokage would still accept the mission or not." Said Tenji, Naruto nodding
"Understandable, considering a Kage always puts their village first and damning everyone else." Naruto said
"I'm guessing you don't really like the Hokage, may I ask why?" Asked Tenji
"I was told one to many lies." Replied Naruto shortly
"So, any idea where these missing-nin are from?" Naruto asked
"I don't. They wore headbands much like the ones you and your team wear, if memory serves the plates depicted four lines evenly spaced apart." Said Tenji
Naruto searched through his memories to figure out which village it could be, realizing that it was Amegakure.
'Strange, if I recall Ame doesn't have any Missing-nin. It's likely they were sent on a mission by there leader to retrieve any artifacts they might find, under the guise of Missing-Nin.' Naruto surmised as a breezed brushed against his face and he inhaled deeply
Looking to the side his eyes glowed and he saw the four figures hiding through the trees.
'Idiots.' Thought Naruto he'll handle them later
"So, anything you can tell me about the Land of Ancestors, any interesting sights?" Asked Naruto
"Hm, not much really, no one stays long enough to settle. As for sights well the only one I can really think of would be the Peaks of Demise, over there, see them." Tenji said pointing to the south where Naruto saw a large grouping of mountains
'Something over there, it's powerful.' Naruto thought knowing he'll go there when the time presents itself
*Later*
Naruto stared up at the full moon admiring its beauty, all while still keeping his senses sharp for the Ame Ninja lurking in the shadows. While he could have easily snuck off and dealt with them earlier, he waited to see what they'd do. The fact that they hadn't just charged out means at least one of them was smart enough to not recklessly engage an unknown enemy, even if three of them were children.
'Doesn't matter the results will be the same.' Thought Naruto knowing before the night is done they'll all be dead
Standing up Naruto saw that everyone had gone to sleep, and he knew now was the time to act. Pulling out his flute dagger Naruto held it up to his mouth and began playing a haunting melody.
*With Ame Ninja*
Hidden in the trees were four Ame Ninja, three Genin and one Jonin, having been sent on this mission by their leader Pein to retrieve any artifacts left behind by the Sage of Six Paths. The leader of the team was Aoi Rokusho, a missing-nin from Konoha and the one responsible for stealing the Nidaime Hokage's Raijin no Ken.
Aoi thought the mission would have been easy, threaten the leader of the expedition to handing over all the artifacts they find, kill any witnesses, then get back to Ame. Now however things became complicated with Kakashi Hatake here, while Aoi was confident he could handle him with the Raijin no Ken he couldn't risk the chance of Hatake sending a message back to Konoha for back up, complicating the mission.
Suddenly Aoi was pulled from his thoughts when he heard something along with a fog appearing out of nowhere. The sound increased in volume and Aoi thought it sounded like…
'Flute music.' Thought Aoi confused of where the music was coming from
Just then they heard a strangled cry from Kagari and turned immediately to see him, but the three were shocked to see a deep slash going across his chest before he fell over dead.
"Defensive formation!" Ordered Aoi as he and the remaining two Genin stood back to back looking around for who could have attacked them
Suddenly Mubi was thrown away and Aoi could only see a black blur before Mubi was bisected.
"Wh-who's there?!" Oboro shouted in fear backing away when a large curved black blade emerged from his chest
When the sword was pulled out Aoi finally got a look at what had attacked his team and he wished he hadn't.
The demon, as that's the only thing Aoi could think it was, had the appearance of a wolf garbed in night black armor, with a yellow gem in the middle of its belt, long grey hair coming out of the back of its head, and wielding a large crescent blade resting on its shoulder.
All in all, Aoi had n ever seen anything like this before and wished he hadn't.
"Wh-what are you, what in the hell are you!" Aoi shouted backing away
"I am the Duke Wolf, Zen-Aku! And I am your death." Said Zen-Aku pointing his blade at Aoi
"St-stay back!" Said Aoi pulling out the Raijin and activating it feeling more confident with the blade
"You think that toy will stop me." Zen-Aku said walking towards Aoi
"Ha! You can't beat me, with the Raijin I'm invincible!" Shouted Aoi assured of his success against this beast
"Very well, let's see how the Raijin no Ken, stands against a blade of wind." Said Zen-Aku channeling chakra through his blade and began spinning it around
"Wind Style: Crescent Blade Crescent Wave!" Zen-Aku shouted launching several blades of wind at Aoi
Aoi, confident in his swords power, slashed at the blades of wind. Though he was shocked when the wind blades passed through the Raijin and slashed into body. Aoi had only a second to register the attack before blood exploded out of the slash wounds.
"H-how?" Aoi muttered in shock
This didn't make sense, how could he have been beaten, with the Raijin he was invincible.
"You were so assured of that swords power you forgot the fact, wind beats lightning, and the fact just because you have a powerful weapon makes you strong. It just made you weak." Zen-Aku said picking up the deactivated Raijin, while Aoi was still in shock
"Don't worry I'll make sure to find a worthy wielder of this blade. You can die with that knowledge." Said Zen-Aku, as Aoi finally bled out
Storing away the Raijin and his own blade in a storage seal, Zen-Aku pulled out his flute dagger and began playing, vanishing in a swirl of wind to his next destination.
*Peaks of Demise*
Reappearing Zen-Aku put away the instrument and looked around finding himself in a large valley surrounded by mountains. Though what truly held his attention was the truly massive tree stump with large twisted dragon shaped roots surrounding it in the very center of the valley.
"What is this? What could have possible grown to be this large?" Zen-Aku wondered out loud preparing to approach the stump
Though before he could take a single step he fell to one knee holding his head in pain.
"No… not… now." Groaned Zen-Aku as his body began changing becoming more human
When the change finished in Zen-Aku's place was Naruto Uzumaki panting from exhaustion.
'Damn it, even after training as Zen-Aku for weeks I still can't stay in that form for long.' Naruto thought
He had also been training as Zen-Aku, trying to extend the time he could remain as the Duke Wolf, so far, he could remain in that form for ten minutes. But Naruto was trying to make so he could stay as Zen-Aku for as long as possible, along with shortening the time it took to transform.
'Problems for later, for now I need to focus on… whatever the hell this is.' Naruto thought turning his attention back to the large stump
Approaching it Naruto couldn't help but marvel at the sheer size of it, making him wonder just how large the tree that used to grow from it was. Though the closer Naruto got to it he couldn't deny the dread creeping up on him, being this close to it, he could feel the chakra it was radiating, as if the entire tree was made of chakra.
'What are you?' Wondered Naruto reaching out a hand and touching one of the roots
That had been a mistake as his mind was assaulted by several different visions, of a white-haired woman eating a fruit, a red eye with three concentric rings and nine tomoes, two men fighting the woman, a man with purple eyes giving people chakra, and finally a monstrous creature with ten giant tails unleashing an earth-shattering roar. Before it ended Naruto heard a voice echo in his mind.
"Absorb me. The God Tree… the Ten-Tails. Absorb everything."
Naruto pulled his hand back gasping at what he just saw and heard.
'What the hell.' Naruto thought looking at the tree in shock
His shock only increased when a pathway opened up through the roots, hesitant to go down an unknown path, though considering the last time he went into a unknown location he got Zen-Aku, so maybe he'll get something useful here as well.
'Though just to be safe…' Thought Naruto unsealing his crescent blade
Walking down the path the roots Naruto kept his senses sharp for any movement. Eventually he came to an open area, in what Naruto could guess was directly under the stump given all the roots going in and out the walls.
In the center of the room was a pedestal with a large scroll, one Naruto recognized as a summoning scroll.
"What's this doing here?" Naruto wondered sealing his blade now that he sees there's no immediate threat
Going over to the scroll Naruto lifted it up to see what contract it could be, finding the kanji for the animal summons on the front
"Direwolves." Said Naruto a little surprised having never heard of a Direwolf Contract
Then again, the only summons ever mentioned in the Konoha Library are the Snake, Toad, Slug, Dog, and Monkey contracts, which Naruto found a little arrogant as if they ignored the fact there were other summoning contracts.
Though Naruto had to decide if he wanted to sign it, considering he already had his Wildzords.
'Then again it would be useful to have summons to fall back.' Naruto thought
Also, the fact he couldn't think of a better summons for the Duke Wolf to use.
'I should probably get back now.' Thought Naruto sealing the scroll away
No need to let his "team" find out.
So, what did you think, good. Yep Naruto is alive this time around and instead of fully taking him over he and Zen-Aku merged, so while Naruto's in full control in both forms he will have some of Zen-Aku's mannerisms along with being darker. Also yes they went on a different mission, there is no Wave Mission it's gone, not showing up, just imagine a different team went on it and completed it. And as you can guess the Chunin Exams are next, they will also be different in a way I think none of you can guess. So, review if you liked go away if you didn't.
Storm out