Better Equipped

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. 

: Thoughts

Chapter 1 – Reincarnation Mishaps

     "I'm sorry for doing this Naruto," said the Fourth Hokage, the leader and strongest ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village.  "You're going to be a hero of the village.  Grow up and make me proud."  The forbidden jutsu was completed and Kyuubi, the demon fox was then trapped inside his child.

     Did someone just say Naruto?  Oh my god, where the hell am I?  Who is this man?  Holy sht, I'm naked!  Am I a freaking baby?  This must be a bad dream. 

     King Emma was having another fit in the Underworld.  "Damn, we accidentally misplaced another soul.  Reincarnated that boy into the wrong body.  Now the original soul in that newborn baby has been knocked out and would probably be seeing me in a bit."  The Lord of the Underworld then turned to his servants and asked a question that he was pondering.  "Say, did someone remember to erase that soul's memory of his previous life before all this?"  Seeing that everyone was shaking their head, he left off a sigh.  "Oh well, the kid better be entertaining."

Naruto at age 4

     For the past years, the new Naruto had tried to get use to his new life.  He was a twenty-three year old trapped inside a four year old body.  In addition, he was trapped inside a Japanese ninja series.  Everything was pretty much weird.  All he remembered before coming to this world was being in a car accident.  He doubt there was some dimension traveling jutsu so he gave up the fact about going back to his world for the time being.  Another frequent activity he does was to create strategies for himself so that he would be able to overcome future hardships.  He knew much of the Naruto world from reading the mangas and watching the animes.  He was ready to use everything he knows to give him a big advantage to surviving this crazy place. 

     It was about time that Naruto started to train seriously.  His small body was functioning better than the previous year.  He could walk and run without falling.  It was around noon as he stood in front of the Hokage Monument.  Wow, the monument is pretty amazing.  Wonder how long it took to crave each of those faces.  Anyways, the 4th face there is supposed to be my father or at least the father of this body.  All I have to do now is to wait and hope the Third Hokage comes around.  Then I can start manipulating him into training me and stuff.

     As luck would have it, the Third did come.  The Hokage Monument was one of his favorite places in Konoha where he usually goes to when he is troubled with village's affairs.  The main head of the Hyuuga Clan had killed the leader of the Hidden Cloud Ninja last night for trying to kidnap the heir to the clan.  Now, the Hidden Cloud wants revenge for their leader's death.  It seems like their goal was to steal the secrets of the Byakugan and they still want it after their mission failed.  Things were becoming troublesome very fast.  It was then he saw a familiar face that was gazing at the monument.  "The Hokage Monument is great is it not?  It is one of my most favorite places to visit.  The faces on the cliff bring back many memories, all which is good of course."

     Naruto was a bit startled since he was in deep thoughts.  He then realized it was the Third Hokage who spoke to him and that it was time to set his plans in motion.  "I always heard of the Hokage Monument but never got to see it until now sir.  It's good to leave the house once in awhile and the next thing I know, I found myself here." 

     Okay, now I let in a moment of silence before continuing. 

     Naruto looked up at the Third with a sad face.  "Sir… do you hate me?"

     Sandaime Hokage was shocked at the boy's question.

     "Everywhere I go, people give me cold looks as if I did something terribly bad.  I don't remember I did something wrong to them and yet everything stays away from me.  I got yelled for playing with a group of children my age yesterday.  Even today as I was walking here, everything stayed a distance away from me and whispering something while giving me cold stares.  Does everyone hate me?"

     The leader of the leaf knew too well what was going on.  Everyone within the Leaf was afraid of the boy since he was the container of the Kyuubi.  The fear they had turned into hatred.  Naruto who should be the hero of the village was now looked upon as a disease.  The Third felt he was partly to blame for Naruto's tragedy.  Him being the leader of the village had the power to enforce everyone to treat the kid better but he knows that it wouldn't really help the matter since that wouldn't erase their fear and hatred.  All he could do was to order the people to never reveal the secret that the demon fox was sealed within Naruto. 

     "No one hates you Naruto," the Third reassured.  "All you need to do is to show everyone that you are a person who should not be hated." 

     Jeez old man.  Basically, you are telling me to take care of this shit alone.  Guess I need to go to stage 2 of the plan. 

     "I have another question sir.  You are the leader of the village right?  Do you know who my parents are?  Can you tell me about them?"

     He's asking a lot of questions.  He's not ready to learn the truth about his parents yet.

     "Your parents were very strong Naruto.  Your father was actually close to me.  He was a very proud man.  He lived and breathed for Konoha just as much as I.  I remember when you were born, he told me his dream was to see you grow up and become a respected ninja."

     This is certainly new.  I don't recall him ever mention this in the series.  Then again, the Fourth being Naruto's father still remains a secret.

     "My dream is to be a ninja.  Not just a normal ninja but a great one.  But I don't think that is going to happen."

     "Why do you say that," the Third asked. 

     "Well, it's because I am alone.  Most ninjas have families.  These ninjas are taught at school and also trained by their parents at home.  This totally gives them an advantage, especially ninjas that come from special clans.   They have secret techniques that only they know.  I'll get my butt kicked by everyone.  It's not fair!"

     The conversation had really turned interesting and it amused Sandaime.  "Oh?  What do you know about the special clans?"

     "I have been reading a lot of books.  The Aburame Clan control bugs that eat chakra.  The bugs actually live inside the host's body.  The Uchiha Clan has the Sharingan.  They are able to copy most to any jutsu plus they can see through genjutsu.  The Hyuuga Clan has the Byakugan.  They can see a range close to 360 degrees, see far, and see through things and genjutsu.  In addition, they can see the chakra coils within the body.  These are just some clans out of many that have special skills or bloodlines."

     Sandaime was very impressed.  The Fourth's legacy seemed to be very knowledgeable about the different clans and their abilities.  "Why did you choose research on these clans?"

     "Well, I like to think that having sufficient information upon your opponents and allies is just as handy as a sharp blade.  With the right information, even an unbeatable opponent will fall.  I want to know what kind of ninjas are around me and what I will need to do to be above them.  It seems like I need to do a lot of training."

     Damn, all that geezer does is smile and nod to whatever I said.  Looks like I have to go with the direct approach and make him adopt me.

     "The Fourth looks a lot like me.  He is my father isn't he?"

     The Third made no reply.

     "I'm not stupid Hokage-sama.  There is a picture of the Fourth in my home and the resemblance is uncanny.  How come everyone is hiding this from me?"

     "I didn't think you were ready with that information," the Third replied.  "In fact, only a few selected people actually know that you are the Fourth's legacy.  We were afraid to tell you about your father because it might cause you more pain that you are feeling right now."

     "Does it have to do with the Kyuubi that attacked the village?  The villagers whisper its name whenever I am around.  I didn't pay much attention to it since I had no idea how it would relate to me."

     A sad smile appeared on the Third's face.  "I don't think you are quite ready Naruto.  I will tell you everything when it is time."

     "Hokage-sama, you are known as the Professor who was said to know all the jutsus in the village.  You taught the Three Legendary Sennins and one of them taught my father.  Can you train me in replace of my father?" 

     I finally asked him.  I wonder what response I will get.  One of the responses I might get is that he is busy to train me since he is the Hokage whom has many responsibilities.  Guess I will need to continue persuading him.

     "Perhaps by training with you, I will begin to understand more about my father and his reasons on why he abandons me to save this village.  And when I understand him, I want to be strong enough to protect this village and everyone in it like he had.  I know you are a busy man so I won't disturb you carelessly.  In fact, I think I can help you.  I have a feeling that my life will be full of hardships, which is why I want to be ready for it when the time comes."  Naruto got down on his knees and looked the old man with strong determination.  "Please Hokage-sama!"

     It was true that he didn't have time to pick up a student.  He was just taking a short walk to clear his mind about last night's events, hoping that it would help him think of a way out that would not harm his village.  Then Naruto appeared and said he wanted to be trained by him.  He thought over what Naruto said and it was true the container of Kyuubi would was destined to face many problems.  The boy does show signs of high intelligence for a four year old and he was practically a close family member. 

    What should I do Yondaime?  He is your child which means that he has great potential of becoming a future Hokage.  Like father like son…maybe.  Guess I do owe you for your great sacrifice.  I won't turn my back on your son when he needs my help.

     "My training won't be simple."

     All Naruto could do was smile.

     Oh my god!  I did it!  He's going to teach me.

     "There's another thing too sensei.  Is it possible if I can stay at your house?  I could start training early and stop training late."

     "You want to move in too?  I can't see the harm in that I guess.  It has been awhile that I had company since my son moved away after his marriage."

     "Cool!"

     Did I forget to mention that I can take a look at your scrolls in your library easier this way?

Naruto at age 11

     Things have really gone well for the young ninja.  Naruto was able to learn many jutsus from the old man and his library.  He even got to peak into the Fourth's forbidden scrolls.  It turns out that the forbidden scroll was to be given to Naruto when he was ready.  Being ready meant he was able to fully utilize and control the demon fox within him.  As long as the scrolls were meant to be his, it wouldn't hurt too much to peak at it first. 

     When Naruto felt it was time to train in using Kyuubi's chakra, he confronted the Third about knowing that Kyuubi was sealed inside him.  This way, he didn't have to sneak around to train and the Hokage could give him pointers as well.  Naruto spent many hours practicing on chakra concentration since he knows he is bad at it.  He theorized that his body is continuously undergoing changes to cope with the fox demon's immense power, which was why his chakra concentration is weak.  The positive side was that his body is getting stronger than the average person.  Since his body is constantly upgrading itself to become strong to cope with Kyuubi's chakra, the results gives him great stamina and an abundance it chakra in his normal state. 

     Naruto has met many people that he wasn't suppose to after he becomes a Genin.  He met and associates with many Chuunins and Jounins since he spends a lot of time with the Hokage.  Many of them were also appointed to be his short term tutor, teaching him special skills he thought was important to have.  After moving in with the Hokage at age four, Naruto started to cover half his face with a mask just like Kakashi does.  This was to hide the whiskers on his face so that people won't know he is the child that carries Kyuubi.  He didn't bother to change his name since he never gave it away before putting on the mask.  People recognize him in the original Naruto timeline because of the whiskers and that he was infamous with the pranks he pulled.  Not even the Jounins know about his identity.  This was a guarded secret between Naruto and the Hokage.  Both feel it was necessary to do this in order for Naruto to live a life where people don't judge him because of the fox.  Naruto knows that his secret won't last long since there is a high chance that he will need to access Kyuubi's chakra for help in the near future.  Ninjas that were involved in the Kyuubi battle would remember the evil power of the demon fox.  For now, Naruto just hopes that he gets on people's good side before they know the truth.

     The orange jumpsuit was certainly not this Naruto's style.  He prefers black color clothing which was a color ninjas usually wore in those Japanese ninja movies he watched in his past life.  He wore black pants and a black shirt that Sasuke wore in the fourth saga in the Naruto anime.  The Uchiha symbol on the back of the shirt is replaced with the Uzumaki symbol.  He also started to wear weighted clothing to help increase his strength and speed.  He wore weighting anklets that was hidden behind his pants and weighted gloves and vest.  The weighted clothing really worked in the Dragonball Z series and it certainly helped Lee.  However the gloves and vest would also increase his strength not just speed. 

     Since Naruto pretty much knows how tough his life is going to be, he concentrates hard at school.  If there were questions he forgot to ask the Hokage or his tutors, he would ask them in class.  He made sure to listen to Iruka-sensei and jog down notes about chakra concentration, which he still sucks at.  He's close to Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, and Hinata.  Naruto tends to hang around them whenever he is on break from training.  Hinata was the first person he met from that group since he often visit the Hyuuga Clan with the Hokage when he was young.  It seems she was already shy when he first met her.  He wonders if being kidnapped at a young age damaged her self confidence or maybe it is just her nature.  He hasn't met the rest of the cast yet but he knows he will next year when they become Genins.

Author's Note:

Well, I always wanted to do an SI so here it is.